A Year Ago
Posted: May 15th, 2016 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 183 Comments »It can be interesting to look back and compare the present with the past. I decided to look back a year and see what was going on.
- Tim Tebow was an Eagle
- Evan Mathis was skipping OTAs
- Walter Thurmond was moving to FS
- DeMarco Murray was the new RB
- We were still getting used to Sam Bradford as an Eagle
- We were introduced to the term “reconditioning”
Tebow…next question.
Chip Kelly did not like Evan Mathis holding out. That situation got out of hand and it hurt the team. OG became a problem area once Mathis was cut loose.
Thurmond played pretty well and that move worked out better than hoped.
Murray…next question.
Bradford was a likable person, but disappointing player last spring.
Reconditioning was a term listed as part of Shaun Huls job title. It was just a new word to us.
2016 is very different.
Sam Bradford is now a public enemy, after trying to force his way off the Eagles. As for the disappointing player angle, we’ll have to wait and see on that.
LG is still a mystery. RG should be a strength, with Brandon Brooks now manning that spot. Instead of just handling LG to Allen Barbre, he’ll be battling Stefen Wisniewski, Malcolm Bunche and rookie Isaac Seumalo for the job.
Chip Kelly didn’t handle the Mathis situation well. This year Fletcher Cox is skipping the OTAs. Doug Pederson and Howie Roseman are saying all the right things and being patient. Mathis was an older, descending player. Cox is in his prime and is one of the best players in the league so that has to be kept in consideration, but it still feels good that the new guys are handling this the right way. Being adversarial with your players just doesn’t accomplish a whole lot.
Safety looks like a strength right now.
Murray is gone after a horribly disappointing season. Ryan Mathews is the man for now.
Last year the notable backup QB was Tebow, for all the wrong reasons. This year that will be Carson Wentz, and for all the right reasons.
The biggest change of them all is going from trying to decipher every comment and move by Chip Kelly to wondering if new coach Doug Pederson can get the job done.
*****
While looking back at last year, I stumbled across this prediction.
Eagles over/under win total is 9, per Bovada. I'll take the under. (Hides).
— Jimmy Kempski (@JimmyKempski) May 12, 2015
Is there anything worse than Jimmy Bama being right about something?
_
Even a broken clock is right, twice a day.
https://twitter.com/Jay_Tw1st/status/732004913966944256
Wonder how many of Odor’s teamates shout “HODOR” ten times a day
[…] Tommy Lawlor It can be interesting to look back and compare the present with the past. I decided to look back a […]
Bradford was a disappointing player last spring? He was still rehabbing which was expected. Am I missing something?
I don’t get how he disappointing. I thought he played considering he had no running game, a weak OL, WRs who couldn’t catch, and an offense that was very predictable.
Yeah but It wasn’t in reference to Bradford’s season. The article was referring to this time last year. I t wasn’t even mandatory OTAs yet.
I just don’t understand what Tommy is referencing…that he wasn’t back to 100% yet? Most people weren’t panicking yet.:This was statement I was talking about:
Bradford was a likable person, but disappointing player last spring.
If you wanna stand up for Bradford you can take it to a cowboys blog
Tommy drank the Jimmy cool-aid at some point. The only crappy thing is Jimmy, in all his pessimism, has been more right than wrong.
To be fair, Jimmy might seem awful pessimistic, but is it true when the things he is pessimistic about turns out to be correct more often than not?
I mean, how would you write an article about the last 10 Cleveland Browns season without being negative? Obviously we’re not the Browns, and Jimmy often writes his opinion about future, not history. But its hardly pessimistic to complain about the OL last off-season when the OL played like it did.
I think Jimmy is a bit more plugged in than he lets on, but in all fairness, in a league that has 31 losers and 1 winner every year, it’s a hell of lot easier to be pessimistically right than optimistically.
We weren’t all disappointed to acquire him? Especially the way we did?
Could be I guess but he didn’t say he was a disappointing acquisition. His statement was he was a disappointing player last spring. He was traded in the winter technically March 10th. To me he was talking about Bradford’s performance in May last year.
Just the way he said it, it didn’t sound like he was talking about that.
Lol he didn’t even really start practicing til the first week in August
Tommy forgot to mention I thought the Eagles would win 12 games last year. Honestly, I thought Chip was transcendent. I really did. After the season someone revealed Sam wasn’t allowed to call audibles! I’m still trying to figure out how anyone could expect such an offense to thrive. The defense was equally hampered by the coach. Wait a second… I’m trying to remember the name of last years DC. Oh yeah, it was that Bill Davis. I’m also trying to recall a time Andy Reid could gainfully employ two receivers. Oh, and I just remembered that the Chiefs did not score a single touchdown thru the air in 2014. Doug is his protege. I won’t get fooled again… not this year.
Ummmm… The Chiefs scored plenty of points through the air in 2014. It just wasn’t with the WR. They were also a pretty good team in 2014.
Pederson was the OC last year and Maclin alone had 8 TD’s I believe.
You are correct. I was trying to point out that Reid never really had a dynamic passing game but there is so much we don’t know. Of course people will remember Maclin and Jackson but prior to them it was, who… Owens for a year? I’m sure Donovan had something to do with that. Could Donovan read multiple targets? I kind of doubt it. When Reid did finally get two good receivers the team fell apart. This year I’m going to remove expectations. There have been many changes and there will be more. I don’t know what to think.
The offense was still very good at times with Jackson and Maclin. Mcnabb wasn’t the smoothest most rhythmic passer but he could absolutely go through his progressions.
There were multiple times in his career that he was considered a top 5 QB. You don’t earn that distinction without being able to go through progressions.
I wasn’t an admirer of Donovan. I wasn’t oppositional either. His W/L record was pretty good – that is what matters – but his completion % was pedestrian. He was traded to Washington at the age of 34 when he should have been in his prime. His best season was 2004 which was the same year he was throwing to T.Owens. His TD/INT ratio was 2:1. He was a good player but I doubt if he is remembered as a leader by most fans. Dawk was the leader. The Eagles have never had a top 5 QB. He wasn’t even a top 5 QB who failed to win a SB. But I feel you. He gave us a chance; playoffs were part of our itinerary. I think we will really like Wentz. Philly has never had a particularly cerebral QB. Those are especially rare.
Dawk and the defense came up pretty small in every big playoff game except for the 2004 NFCCG yet most of the blame gets put at McNabb’s feet and Dawk is mostly given a pass. It is similar to the way the Ryan Howard and Chase Utley dynamic has gone. The fan favorites are patted on the head and excused while the scapegoats are bashed consistently.
It would have to be that way in as much as we didn’t win a SB. Every player bears responsibility. I sure don’t disagree with that. Donovan gave us schtick. On balance he was good guy.
About Dawk, he was the emotional leader, W/L/D. It must be extremely draining for an athlete to represent a city. As fans we are too quick to forget. Besides most players have an inauspicious end to their career.
One of the corny ways I look at legacy is how the player responds to retirement. Ike Reese, Westbrook, Dawk – it is a long list – are players that returned to Philly and have prospered. Donovan is a wayward man. I don’t know why and I am not saying what he should be. But if I were to sketch a picture of Andy’s Eagles that is what it would look like.
But yeah, he was our guy.
I think many will disagree that he wasn’t a top 5 QB in 2004 or at another year in his career. Can you name 5 QB’s better then him in 2004?
You cant use him having TO as a crutch against him. Many top QBs had top receiving weapons. It is not a coincidence that TO’s best year was with Mcnabb and he didn’t even play the whole year.
Remember the years when he was working with Thrash, Pinkston, Glew, and Brown as his starting WR’s? That is a handicap right there.
Keep in mind up until after the 2003 season passing was a lot harder. WR’s could get manhandled at the line and after.
Regardless of all of that I simply cannot agree that he could not go through his progressions. I remember numerous times in which he went through his WR’s, then TE, then settled on Westbrook, especially when he decided to run less.
You can fault his accuracy and mindset, but it is simply false that he could not read his progressions, especially in that Reid pass happy O.
Well, we agree on most things.
2004 was far and away Donovan’s best year. When we started this talk I was musing about Andy’s reliance on mediocre receivers. I brought up TO because it was the one time Donovan had a big time target and both produced.
As goes your aforementioned receivers I am with you there. The problem is that Andy really didn’t produce a WC offense on par with his mentors. His offense was – I don’t know – dink and doink.
I also agree that 2003 was a turning point for the offense. Unfortunately the winners of that rule change didn’t include the Eagles.
And then came injury concerns. At this rate there will never be another Dawk.
I do not know how good a grasp Donovan had of the offense. Mike Shanahan certainly wasn’t impressed. But if it was what you say it was it should have shown up on the completion percentage and elsewhere.
We are a historically QB starved city. R.Cunningham came ever so close. He won’t make the HOF but he impacted the game like few others.
I would never really consider Reid’s offense dink and dunk. 2013 and before maybe you could call it that, but he relied more on the run game then a dink and dunk pass offense. Even then he tried Pinkston deep plenty of times.
2004 and on Reid was anything but dink and dunk. That is when Reid began to overly fall in love with the passing game and consistently utilized Mcnabb’s big arm. He overly fazed out the run game, and instead of utilizing crossers and hitch routes as a substitute for the run game like the Patriots at times he utilized the screen game.
If you look at Mcnabb’s average yards per completion and compare it to other QB’s of that time you will realize that Mcnabb and Reid’s O was not dink and dunk.
I do not think Mcnabb is HOF material, but there is a reason why many people will argue that he is borderline.
If you simply look at the QB ratings and stats from those years you will realize he does fall in line with the top 5 in his prime years with us. Then add the wins to those numbers as well as they should be somewhat included in how you think of a QB.
The Birds were one of the most if not most consistent teams for a long time. Mcnabb was a franchise QB then, and he was a HUGE reason as to why we were so.
Again, all you have to do is look at the numbers and compare.
I wish he looked better and I hope he returns home to the accolades he deserves. I was never of the opinion he had the kind of aptitude required of a top 5 QB. That said he had a very good 2004 season. In hindsight that was his chance. I won’t mention the end of the game.
you forgot 2009 to 2012? Jackson+Maclin with Celek and Avant wasnt any good?
0 playoff wins good.
no Avant was not any good…ever.
Rookies, injury . TO best eagles reciever ever
I thought Bradford played well last year and the trade was a pretty solid deal. I honestly wouldn’t have minded going forward with him for the next 5 years. If Bradford was on the Bengals, Texans, or Jets they would be contenders.
Evan Mathis is the one who asked for the release. I don’t get why the Eagles succumbed so late in the off season.
Byron Maxwell wasn’t a bad signing.
Murray signing was terrible, Algholor was a reach, and I felt like the Eagles should have taken Ali Marpet or Jake Fisher over Eric Rowe.
I hate how they decided not to draft a single offensive lineman in 2 straight drafts with most of our starters being in their 30s.
Agholor has played 1 season and Rowe looked pretty good last year.
How was Agholor a reach? He went right where he was ranked by most and Rowe was a better playe than Marpet or Fisher last year and plays a much more important position.
If Rowe is our starting CB for the next decade, he will have been a great pick
Algholor was NOT a reach – he went pretty much right where he was predicted to go. Huff the year before was a reach for sure!
Jimmy Bama is the biggest know nothing of nothingness!
Did he predict Megan Fox will never do raunchy again…? NO!
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2016/05/09/megan-fox-says-her-raunchy-days-are-over.html
do raunchy again? She never did raunchy. She’s confusing her lack of acting ability to her hot body. Remove the hot body and she becomes — um — an actress on Ninja Turtles(a movie nobody goes to see)…She’s no Margot Robbie….
Sam was hitting the receivers and if some of those were caught we might be having a different conversation.
As it stands those passes were not caught and Sam deserves some of the blame.
The bottom line is he has put a lot of additional weight on his shoulders this season and it just might be too much for him to overcome.
I remain confident that he can play well and has an opportunity to dig himself out of this mess.
The only way this ends well for Sam is if he wins and puts up good numbers on a consistent basis.
Oh shit Tebow was on the Eagles a year ago. Jesus.
Don’t worry, Jesus already knows.
This isn’t the first time Jimmy predicted something….
You forgot one, Tommy:
And in his memory:
Everyone focuses on the negative.
He never fumbled for us, there were no plane conversations with the owner, no goal line halfback passes, no late night fire alarm pulls, he never slid to avoid contact with a CB, no bar fights with cops or women tossed from his party bus, really no problems at all as an Eagle.
In a way, he was our best running back since Westy.
Again this feels like reaching to support an argument that we are so much better off now with Roseman and Pederson and that all is well. That is one scenario that could play out, but it also could be another mirage.
Let’s just see what happens. Roseman’s record as a GM is very mixed. He was lucky to get a second chance by Lurie and they are rebuilding on the fly. This year is likely a non-playoff team. He has made some good moves this off-season, but we have no idea if Pederson or Wentz, the two main decisions, are going to pan out.
I know it is natural to want to keep reassuring ourselves that the same people who hired Chip would not make what turned out overall to be a mistake, that they must have learned valuable lessons etc but that is not a guarantee. For myself, my confidence level depends on the results. This is a performance business and the Eagles need to show on the field they are better before I’ll buy it. I hope it goes very well and we are finally on our way to another sustained run of excellence.
That’s a glass half empty outlook. I prefer glass half full approach.
Waiting to see what happens = glass half empty? Disagree. None of us know what will happen or if these moves are good or bad now. We can all hope and do hope, but we need to see what happens on the field before we’ll know with more certainty. I think that is a very realistic approach based on what has happened here since 2008. The Eagles have lost their blind faith card and need to earn it back IMO.
I stand corrected, you have an ambivalent outlook. Personally, I’m optimistic.
Pederson – the jury is out until further notice. Same with Wentz. Same with our DC. Past success doesn’t = success in Eagle land(see the bevy of hires by AR his last couple of years here). Unfortunately, that’s where we’re at….
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However — (and I hope I’m wrong) — I’m not a fan of Pederson. I am judging a book by it’s cover. I think he’s out of his league. I think he has a specialty(working with QB) but that’s the top of his capability. He’s probably a perfect fit under a good HC. While I expect Wentz to eventually take us deep into the playoffs, I don’t think Pederson will be the HC when that happens. Right now, everything seems fine because HR is handling most of “this”. AR handled most of it in KC. Soon Pederson will have to stand on his own…that’s when we’ll find out…
on what basis is your Pederson opinion formed? Is there really a basis to say the hot coordinator (say, Gase) makes a better HC? I don’t think so. I’m not saying Doug will be great, just that we don’t know so there’s no real cause to be so down on him.
just my personal opinion. I don’t like this type. I don’t like the way he conducts himself. He may end up being the greatest coach of all time for the Eagles. — it’s like when the Joker is watching the finance guy on TV and says he knows a squealer when he sees one…I look at Pederson and get a similar feeling(no, not a squealer lol). To me(again, I can be wayyyyyy off base with this opinion) – he’s the wrong person for that spot as HC. His type to me is someone that talks a good game but when it comes to game planning and running the team – he’s over his head. Again, no basis. I hate Rex Ryan and have plenty of basis to hate him — but I really don’t have a specific reason other than he fits the profile of people I don’t like…Then again, I thought CK was the guy I really thought would turn this team around — he turned out to be the joker for this team…won’t be the first(or last time) I’m wrong about someone. I only have 5,000 ft view of him — he might be the greatest person ever in person…
Heard the media talking about how it’s odd that as a first year HC Pederson is being allowed to fly under the radar….. I don’t really get it, what are we supposed to say about Doug at this point? How am I supposed to feel about the guy? I know he has a lot of improving to do in terms of handling the media, but that’s pretty irrelevant when it comes to his ability as a HC.. What else would the media like me to go off of praising doug of ripping Doug? We haven’t even had an open practice yet. It’s not like he is some inexperienced college coach to where we can question how his scheme will translate.
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Im completely indifferent to Pederson right now. Not because I think he is underwhelming,but because there is barely anything to judge him off of. How can be excited or be worried about Pederson at this point? Im hopefull, as I am with every single person that becomes an eagle
Literally have no clue what pederson will run, or if it’ll be anything different than andy’s
The scheme part should be fine. We have a lot of NFL Experiemce on our staff. Im more on the lookout for his :
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ability to get his team prepared every week.
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Will we play with discapline? Or will we look like a stupid Undiscaplined team like we saw when Rex Ryan brought the bills to the Linc last year?
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Can we make in game adjustments?
I’m still surprised Kelly did so poorly his third year. I know they didn’t have a terrible season, but some of the personnel decisions were head scratching, and the biggest disappointment was Kelly’s lack of adjustments when defenses shut the Eagles down.
Well, I’m an optimist and excited about the basic pieces left in place here. Especially after the off-season moves we should have a solid OL and above average defense at least. Bradford should be at least an average QB. I’m more worried about RB than anything but hopefully that position will work out.
CK and Tebow = CK jumping the shark…I’ll still never understand that move…
Cox is the man…get it done HR.
Eh, Tebow was a camp body. Didn’t take up a roster spot. Didn’t affect the season at all. I’d say cutting Mathis was more his shark-jumping moment, followed quickly by his insistence on a four-play-max playbook.
agreed. The Tebow thing, even though he was a camp body, caused an unnecessary environment. There was no need for Tebow — except to create a circus….
Haven’t seen much evidence this affects the locker room at all. Fans are way too concerned about what the media says and does.
In fairness the 4 play max playbook worked magic in Tecmo Bowl.
Chip talked to BB, talked to Tebow’s QB coach; likes less gifted guys that have great work ethics. Thought he could do something with him in the red zone. Thing for me was he’d gone completely away from dual threat QBs except for Tebow.
The interesting thing about this season compared to last year is that in 2016 camp and OTA’s beat reporters consistently and across the board identified that the the 2015 team was the deepest and most talented they had ever seen in camp with depth and quality players across the roster (eg: Talked about how much better the roster looked compared to NE compared to 2013).
Wind forward to today and here are the significant changes to the roster:
Lost: Maxwell, Murray, Kiko, Thurmond, Thorton, Ryans, Sanchize, Cooper.
Gained: Daniels, McLeod, B Brooks, R Brooks, Bradham, McKelvin, Givens, Randle, Wisniewski, Wentz and Seumalo + rest of 2016 draft class + year 2 improvement from Agholor, Hicks and Rowe.
Now in my opinion WR has to be better, OL depth and talent is hugely improved, QB depth is much better, RB is thinner on paper, CB depth is better but lost a starer in Maxwell, Safety is better, LB is thinner, DL is effectively unchanged (loss of Thorton made up for by scheme change).
I think generally while beat reporters go over the top i think there was a significant part of truth in what was said. which takes me to my point……..which is that why when we went 7-9 with what in my opinion was a worse roster being awfully coached and play called for large parts of the year does this roster project to be a 5-6 win team?
So many analysts and fans seem to me to be stuck in the “Chip the genius” thinking that leads to the conclusion that if Chip could only get 7 wins out of this roster than boring Doug and crew must be worse by 1-2 games even with a better roster, which after what we saw in 2015 seems insane.
‘WR has to be better’ — agreed. But the question is – can they be? I’m hoping they will be.
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5-6 is expected(I guess) when a team rebuilds. I’m not expecting 10 wins. I’m ok with 5 to 6 wins IF WR’s step it up and the defense is pointing the right decision and we see some ‘rookies’ contributing. Basically signs the team is pointing in the right direction. 7-9 last year – that team was not pointing in the right direction. I’m hoping Hicks n Bradford don’t get hurt. Might be a bad sign if Hicks gets hurt again…
Randle is a limited player but he is > Cooper, and i simply cannot conceive how Agholor is going to be worse in 2016 than 2015. They will definitely be a better unit, the question is to what extent.
The defense last year was the best it had been in some time. So that perception was certainly true on defense. On offense, we might have reasonably thought that Murray/Mathews could at least come close to replacing McCoy, and we assumed Mathis would be back instead of creating another OL black hole by just releasing him. And by that point had some trust that Kelly’s teams would at least produce on offense. It was that latter part which was the stunner — whether it was the players or scheme or the particular combination, it was the offense which was terrible.
This is building castles on not even sand, but air. The media that everyone complains about constantly said the roster was great and the team ended up sucking. So based on that initial prediction, and the loss of a few starters, the addition of some rooks, a rook coach who has won far less than 20 games in his career (20 less, in fact), and maybe one or two non-impact FAs, we should assume better or equal results this year?
Let’s wait and see if Jimmy is right with his prediction. I have seen horses throwing up before.
Damn
That prediction is from last May, for last season.
What a fall for the BoyKing. His lack of play in Pittsburgh and now release from the Panthers means there is something more in play than anyone knows.
Yea…for him to get cut this early from the Panthers means something serious is up. Maybe you could chalk up his lack of playing time in Pittsburgh to him just being in the dog house with a certain coach that he didn’t get along with. But, two teams in a row that don’t want anything to do with him (three if you count Chip Kelly and the Eagles) is pretty damning. Anyone have any idea what’s going on? Because, it’s not talent. He’s proven he’s a good nickel CB especially for $800K a year like he signed in Carolina.
Probably a malcontent. Instead of making the best of his situation, he doubles down complaining about it.
I assumed the same
They did draft a ton of CB’s. It could just be after rookie camp they liked what they saw for the nickel position.
https://twitter.com/BrandonBoykin2/status/732241125227016192
maybe he doesn’t want to play slot corner?
For what it’s worth, Louis Riddick is saying on twitter that there are concerns about his true ability and longevity
someone knew
Titans waived QB Zach Mettenberger.
pretty surprising
there’s was a conversation about him being a starter, then they went and took a qb second in the draft and now…
But even that doesn’t really explain it… I mean I can understand if they got to training camp and Boykin Wasnt playing much better than the rookies to justify keeping him… Have the Panthers even had any team activities yet? They don’t have a new HC so don’t their OTAs start this week?
Denver bound.
Sanchez got injured the other day in a weight room accident
his headband got caught in the weights?
Listed as a one week injury
A stat: Free agent Zach Mettenberger’s 16.5 “total QBR” is the worst by any
quarterback with at least 10 starts since the invention of the statistic
in 2006.
Don’t mind me. I’m just here to see all the “sign Brandon Boykin” posts..
If Tom Condon is his agent it just might happen.
If the coaching staff wants to take a look and Boykin is willing to come here to compete at earning his Nickle corner role / ST gunner spot. Why Not? Maybe he gets the humble pie that Trotter got in 05′.
4th team in 10 months…that says something isn’t right.
I agree. Different teams, different schemes, different regions. When he was in Philly, his play was better then average and close to elite as a STer, no arrest, no drug suspensions, no police questioning him. Then only thing that I have read, is he was unhappy about not getting a shot at the outside. It has to be locker room attitude. Unless he lost his skills. I haven’t watched him since he left.
He must be a giant asshole.
It’s interesting because he has gotten so little Playing time since leaving philly, and his stock has taken a nose dive, so i would think that he would be thrilled to get on the field as a Nickel corner which probably rules out him being a malcontent about not getting a shot to play on the outside. When he was thriving as a slot CB, you can ATleast understand if he wanted to get a shot on the outside, but when he can’t get on the field anymore at all, I would think he would be happy just to get a chance to start in the slot, which makes it hard to believe that he is looking for his 4th team in a year all because he is being an asshole about wanting to play on the outside…. At this point I would think he would be thrilled to be a starting Nickel CB again..
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Always seemed like a good kid. Not sure how someone gets cut two months after signing as a FA, weird…. I could understand if he didn’t perform up to par in training camp, but no idea what to think about all this
We don’t love him no more
That 5th for Boykin is looking like an absolute steal currently.
I don’t get it. He was a good to great nickel corner for the Eagles. I though he was an excellent ST gunner. I wonder if he doesn’t want to except his role or if he has a TO locker room toxicity that doesn’t match his actual talent.
Rotoworld speculates that there must be some off the field issue we don’t know about…. Whatever that means, HASNT been arrested to my knowledge, no major injuries… Pretty weird
It has to be something. Because he was, while playing in Philly, an above average Nickle corner and a near elite STer. If Boykin still has his skill I can’t see how any coach would not want him on their team. It has to be locker room/ off field issues.
49ers player retiring ot play rugby in olympics
Hayne’s not going to be able to. Apparently won’t pass a piss test.
I don’t think anyone really cared about him besides aussies and niners fans.
I had completely forgotten about Tebow. Thanks for that…
re Boykin: Chip Kelly got one right?
on second thought, it must have been a Roseman move.
>>>>>>
At least he seems to have come to grips with the fact that he is a slot CB at best.
Is Belichick the only HC to survive having Tebow on his roster?
byron jones to play safety
that is a surprise tbh
yeah makes he happy about our chances.
our chances of what?
Matthews/Ags being able to get open when we play cowboys.
Think jordan Mathews is primed for a BIGTIME year
On the other hand, it wouldn’t be overly surprising if we saw his career year last season.
Works too hard to not improve. Think Bicknell will prove to be a horrendously Incompetant WR coach with the improvements we see under G-lew this year… I expect him to recieve better QB play than he got out of SAM last year and their chemistry should be significantly improved. I really look forward fo the difference in routes compared to what chip had our WRs running. Jordan is more than a guy who just runs crossing routes all game.
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Seems like chips offense got stale and defenses were so much better prepared to face us last year, so I don’t know that Jordan enjoyed the same boost a lot of our skill players enjoyed from Chips scheme in the past.
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Jordan also made a ton of mistakes that kept him from really having a big year, I would hope he cuts at least half of the drops down from last year. But I can see why people would think that his stats could suffer with Ertz projecting to have a career year in Dougs offense and Agholar playing a much bigger role than he played last year.
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Year 3 is when he exploded in high school and college, and we can count on him to doing everything in his power to contiue that trend in his 3rd pro season. Kid wants it, and he works for it, and I think there will be a lot more to his game than what we saw just scratching the surface in his first two seasons,.. Stat wise, he had a more impressive two year start to his career than he gets credit for, but he left a lot of plays on the field and has plenty of room to continue to grow .
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I’d like to see him reach new heights as a Redzone threat
was annying just watching LBs getting ready to tee off on j. matt last year
Yeah he took some big unnecessary hits
Care to elaborate?
remember virgil green? really wanted him last year – he did a lot of nothing last year
I still woudnt scoff at an opportunity to add him. Allegedly denver is looking for more out of him this year.
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Im really happy with Burton as a #3 TE/FB(hopefully), so im not interested in adding TE TIL Celek retires
Thurmond was the only good one.
MS2 gave a decent interview with Lombardo the other day, sounds like McCalister has a fun personality(a fun interview) and a lot of Swag… Be great if those two are able to contribute to our pass rush this year. McCalister says he is weighing 243lb right now, and that he is going to bulk up to 255lb for The season, as he put it “a few weeks and a couple of pizza’s away”..
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I assume schwartz is going to want to keep 5 DE’s and 5 DT’s. Be great if we find out that McCalister can make the 53 man roster as a rookie, he is probably the last player I would want to expose to being poached on the practice squad. He can always stub his toe and go on I.R but I like his upside enough to prefer having him practice all year with the team. No idea what can be expected of him from a special teams standpoint.
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Don’t bother listening to any Joe Walker interviews, watching paint dry is more exciting. Apparently they are starting him off as a Middle LB. With the lack of depth at LB after Najee Goode as our #4, Walker probably has a decent shot of making the roster, especially if he balls out on Special teams.
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The most interesting camp battle on the defensive side of the ball is probably going to be CB. That’s easily the hardest roster spot to project. curious to see who will rise to the top and wins those backüp CB spots, and there is some competition to see which two will start outside between Rowe, Leodis and Nolan
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I need one of the 3 Undrafted DTs to take Taylor Harts roster spot. No idea how we could possibly handle an injury to Cox or Logan this year.. God forbid
Bradford is scheduled to address the media tomorrow, sure our media is sharpening their knives today.
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As a bradford fan, pretty cool to be in this position where we can see what bradford can do this year without having to worry or care if he gets injured. Knowing our luck, he is going to have a career year and complicate matters.
what exactly is a career year for Bradford?
staying healthy for 16?
winning more than losing?
http://www.gladiatorguards.com/Blog%20Images/Jim-Mora-Playoffs.jpg
not minimal improvement… he has to put it all together and have big year.
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I think the Eagles are the last franchise that will treat him like a franchise QB based off his potential. Think he is going to have to really earn a starting spot with a new team. There have been some legit factors that have worked against him, but they improved his OL, he is getting an entire offseason to prepare as a QB instead of rehabbing all offseason, he will run an offense that suits him well, and no longer will defenses know exactly what we are about to do. He is in a healthy enough situation to where I don’t think he can have a bad, or average year yet still find a franchise who will go Gaga over what he can be. It’s put up or shut up time for him, not for our sake, but for his sake… If he only plays a little bit better, I don’t think we will see a team pay him for what he can be, nor will they pull out the red carpet to crown him their QB… If he continues to play average, thats how he will be looked at and treated by the other franchises
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Sam showed some constant growth over the course of last season, pretty impressive considering everything around him was falling a part. Promising sign to see him continue to improve, play some of his best ball late in the year. While the majority of the rest of our players played worse and worse the second half of last season. it would not surprise me in the least bit if he has an impressive season this year. Pretty everything about his situatuon projects to be better than the position he was in last year, so thats going to come with responsibility of finally putting it all together and performing as the QB teams thought he could be. OL should be much better than last year, which probably translates to a better run game. He has solid TEs to work with in an offense that really knows how to weaponize the TE position. givens and Randle are an obvious upgrade to Coop and Austin, while Huff, Jordan and Agholar should all be better than they were last year… He is getting the entire offseason to prepare for the season, where as he had to rehab last year and didng start really practice TIL August 1st….. So after this season, his Agent probably won’t have the excuses they have had up to now, and probably will no longer be able to sell teams on his potential… And the temper tantrum him and his agent threw this offseason probably didnt help other franchises opinion of him.
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He is going to have to player at a level or two above what he has been so far in the NFL if he wants to continue to be paid how he is accustomed to being paid, and I don’t think we will see another team make him their QB based off how much better they think he can be…. How he performs this year is going to dictate how he is treated by the rest of the NFL, and this is the first time he has been in this position…. Interesting to see how he responds. My expectation is he is going to be a lot better than people expect him to be..
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He don’t talk much and show it, but he is one of those quiet competitors, you have to be to perservere thru all the terrible injury luck he has had to overcome since his rookie year….im not expecting small improvement, Im expecting him to really impress the league this year, he has to, it’s sink or swim time for him. potential has taken him far enough, but seems like the league has put its foot down and Braford is done Eating off potential past this year
I think 8-8 would qualify too.
Nothing complicated about a career year from Sam; we just get better trade compensation for him. I also hope he plays lights out. I’ll take 16 games started, 4000 yards and a 35:14 TD:INT ratio!
Just don’t think I get it.
Yep. I like how we sit “currently” with this situation. His destiny is in HIS hands and we only benefit from his success. #BigBallzHowie
A gem from Bryce Petty: “For me, where I was when they drafted me last year to where I am now, it’s night-and-day difference,”
Petty said, via NJ.com. “For me, it’s a process. Just watching film,
I’m seeing things. I played Madden the other day, and it’s not just
picking run plays anymore. It’s like, ‘Oh, they’ve got an under front
[on defense].’ You start picking up things differently. That’s exciting
for me.”
Im just working every day to be the best video game player I can be,.,
describes my 7 year old
Eagles signed G/T Matt Tobin to a two-year contract through 2017.
Kill me please
i thought he was already signed? did they redo his contract to extend it? did they save $$$ or something because of it?
i just can’t see the reasoning behind it unless we are saving something in return.
He had signed tender for 1.6 million. It’s lower now in base salary according to Caplan via BGN.
http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2016/5/16/11686198/eagles-matt-tobin-contract-details-philadelphia-offensive-line-guard-tackle
That will probably free up the cap space we need to get Cox’s contract.
Oh, sorry, contacts. I meant that will free up enough space to buy contact lenses for Cox. It isn’t even the same order of magnitude as his contract.
Lowers his base salary for this year
Meh.
One time, that’s all I ask. I just want you acknowledge that Andrew Gardner is in fact a living breathing Eagle, one time.
Not saying he is going to be the LG, but I do think he is making pretty darn good money and wish he was as good of an option as he is being paid to be. Pretty blown away that he seems to be Mr. Invisible despite the last coaching staff’s belief in him (pre-injury), and his lofty pay check size.
Think he was clearly our best Guard last year, even tho for some reason he gets less praise than Barbie and Tobin. His injury may have hurt us more than we think. Shame he is an older,veteran, if he was Tobin’s age it would be a no brainer. Fortunately we made enough improvements at OL to where we probably can’t keep, Tobin, Gardner and Barbie… At least 1, maybe two will have to get cut..
Wouldn’t living/breathing require that he actual play and not be laying down on the job when we need him?
I mean, I think he can breath while in the training room. I haven’t been in there so I’m not 100% sure about that.
I get that you really don’t like that he got hurt and we needed him. The injury rate in football is 100%. Hard for me to hate a guy for getting hurt. If he has proven that he is going to be injured early in the season, for the season’s duration, I would change my mind. I haven’t researched his injury history, and will assume you know it better than I do. Does he?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Gardner_(American_football)
Banged up to start his career and never stuck on a roster. I just don’t see him as a premium option. I feel let down when we’re counting on a guy at a position thin on talent, but he also gets hurt. I consider everybody involved with the guard situation last year to be a target for venom.
premium option is a high threshold for this roster
I respect that.
He might be Mr. Invisible, but at least he isn’t Mr. Ingocnito.
I wouldn’t mind a Mr. Incognito on this line!
Open practice tomorrow – excited to see differences.
The slower pace might be a little aggravating. 3 years of Chip and I think i have shorter attention span.
After the delay of game flags and/or the forced timeouts that never were successfully overcome by the big red regime, I was somewhat awed by Chip’s self-imposed pace as a play-caller. I know there is an underside to that pace, e.g., the extremely brief playbook, but how refreshing to see a reflexive consciousness of the clock. I have a nervous fan’s concern that the rookie HC – who is determined to call the plays – may be reminding us all of the frustration borne of sloppy logistics. I hope he destroys those damned concerns.
I worry more about the rest of the game coaching then the last minutes. I know they are important but if he cant produce the rest of the time it wont matter much.
I hear ya, but I wasn’t specifically referring to last minutes. If my memory is not completely haywire, there were play-clock issues on a pretty regular basis. The big guy wanted the perfect call, and 5 would have to take the snap in a hurry. That approach undermines the QB’s opportunity to look over the defense, and ultimately allows the defense to know the alignment at the snap.
What annoys me with that is that there was always an undercurrent (Eskin) of blame towards McNabb for those frequent delay of game issues………………………..then Reid replicated that nonsense in KC. I hope that Frank Reich and Jim Schwartz can bend Pederson’s ear quickly if he falls into those bad habits.
I really loved Reid so much, but that play calling blunder-fest was a constant source of annoyance.
didn’t have a growth mindset. I wonder if our offense will look at lot like KC’s we don’t have a maclin-like talent – but we have Ertz, who is always poised for a breakout.
We can certainly use TEs as weapons.
Excited about Jamaal Charles playbook in the passing game for Sprolesy..
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Tho it’s scary to think what our run game looks like when Ryan Mathews inevitably misses 2-3’games… Too big, powerful, explosive, can’t survive all of the crazy collisions he causes. Tackling Ryan Mathews can’t be fun
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Media MIKE wiil be thrilled to hear our OC raving about Barner lol
Hopefully Mathews works on his hands. Was at the Jets game where he dropped a bunch of guaranteed TDs on wheel routes
That “growth mindset” nonsense. Kelly needs to take his own advice.
I think it’s good if actually used.
It’s actually not nonsense unless the person saying it doesn’t actually _do_ it.
The terminology is too cumbersome.
Ozzie and the Ravens are in trouble for putting their Rookies in full pads which is a clear violation of the CBA
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Seth Joyner Owned elliot Shithead Parker on Twitter for posting that Cox ISNT worth the money and that we should trade him,,, Get him Seth!!!
Ozzie isn’t the coach. That’s all on Harbaugh. But what a gutless move. Putting rookies in full pads, which is 100% going to lead to a ton of hitting, is just treating expendable guys with no voice like shit.
so russel westbrook says of Curry, ” he’s not nothing I haven’t seen”…. ?
I hear ya man, I think.?
Haha, I guess we’ll see right?
Is that a triple negative? My head hurts!
I don’t know it might be so negative that it actually means what he is trying to say, I think?
They’ve played many times, so he has indeed seen him.
he’s not nothing, so he is something, I haven’t seen….
Fixed it
“he’s
notnothing I haven’tseen”Translation…”I’ve never seen anything like him.”
ha! but that’s not what he meant.
geez English is hard
Really? Too funny.
I ain’t not a bit unsure what he is saying.
Wait to hear what Westbrook has to say after he gets concussed by all these hard fouls.
Former Eagles VP of Player Personnel Ed Marynowitz is back with Alabama which is where he was before being hired by the Eagles.
Looks like Billy Davis is the only Chip hire still out of work.
Marynowitz isn’t technically a Chip hire. Howie hired him in the spring of 2012.
I forgot. Howie hired him, Chip promoted him.
I think he’s like a LBs coach in JAX or something like that.
They interviewed him, but never hired him. Rotoworld says he is still out of work.
ah interesting, as he should be. Wonder if SF was like no way youre bringing davis here.
Not surprising. He could come up with good initial game plans at times, but was horrible with in game adjustments. Furthermore a good OC after watching tape of his D would completely out coach him.
His D was just too vanilla at times. The 3-4 allows you to make a more confusing D for the O, and enables you to be more unpredictable. He did not capitalize on that.
Good for him. He got sucked into something that in hindsight was just a ticking time bomb. I wonder at what point in the season he started to think he never should have made the move.
Curious to see how he performs in the NFL in the future if he ever chooses to try and make a return.
I hate when Jimmy is right about things I’m wrong.