An Overview
Posted: May 2nd, 2016 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 365 Comments »We now know the team. Let’s look at the updated depth chart.
QB – Sam Bradford … Chase Daniel … Carson Wentz … McLeod Bethel-Thompson
RB – Ryan Mathews … Darren Sproles … Kenjon Barner … Wendell Smallwood
WR – Nelson Agholor … Rueben Randle … Jonathan Krause ,,, Cayleb Jones
WR – Jordan Matthews … Chris Givens … Xavier Rush … Marcus Johnson
WR – Josh Huff … T.J. Graham … Byron Marshall … Hunter Sharp
TE – Brent Celek … Zach Ertz … Trey Burton … Chris Pantale …. Dillon Gordon
LT – Jason Peters … Halavoulivaati Vaitai … Brett Boyko
LG – Alan Barbre … Stefen Wisniewski… Malcolm Bunche … Isaac Seumalo
OC – Jason Kelce … Josh Andrews … Barrett Jones … Bruce Johnson
RG – Brandon Brooks … Matt Tobin … Darrell Greene
RT – Lane Johnson … Dennis Kelly … Andrew Gardner
DE – Vinny Curry … Connor Barwin … Travis Long … Alex McCalister
NT – Bennie Logan … Beau Allen … Mike Martin … Connor Wujciak
DT – Fletcher Cox … Taylor Hart … Travis Raciti … Destiny Vaeao … Aziz Shittu
DE – Brandon Graham … Marcus Smith … Bryan Braman … Steven Means
WLB – Mychal Kendricks … Najee Goode … Myke Tavarres
MLB – Jordan Hicks … Joe Walker … Deontae Skinner
SLB – Nigel Bradham … Brandon Hepburn … Quentin Gause
SS – Malcolm Jenkins … Ed Reynolds … Jalen Mills
FS – Rodney McLeod … Chris Maragos … Blake Countess
CB – Eric Rowe …. Nolan Carroll … Denzel Rice
CB – Leodis McKelvin … Ron Brooks … Jaylen Watkins … C.J. Smith
NB – JaCorey Shepherd … Randall Evans … Aaron Grymes
P – Donnie Jones …Ryan Quigley
K – Cody Parkey … Caleb Sturgis
LS – Jon Dorenbos … John DePalma
I left off a WR / RB or two to save space. But these are the key players listed.
Overall, this is a solid roster. There are holes to be sure, but there is also plenty of talent. Don’t read too much into the order of players. This is a guess on my part. The players will set the depth chart with their performance.
I’ve also guessed at some positions. Stefen Wisniewski could play LG or C. Josh Andrews and Barrett Jones could also play G or C. I don’t know if Blake Countess is going to play CB, S or the slot. With so few Safeties on the roster, I went ahead and put him there.
Look back to last spring and check out the roster.
The big difference to me is summed up in one word…competition.
The LG was basically given to Allen Barbre last year after Evan Mathis was released. Riley Cooper wasn’t pushed at WR despite coming off a disappointing 2014 season. Vinny Curry was a key player, but couldn’t push for a starting role because he didn’t fit the base scheme.
This year feels different.
Sam Bradford is going to be pushed by Chase Daniel and Carson Wentz.
The Eagles added young veteran WRs Rueben Randle, Chris Givens and T.J. Graham to fight for roster spots and/or playing time.
OL depth is greatly increased with 2 draft picks and 2 good free agent additions. There will be true competition this year.
There should be good competition for the backup DE and DT spots.
CB is wide open. There will be competition for the starting roles as well as backup spot.
Some spots are weaker than others. There isn’t great depth at LB. The Eagles like a trio of rookies that they brought in, but it isn’t ideal to have that much youth at one spot.
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Jerome Couplin, Freddie Martino released as Eagles make room for the new regime's projects.
— Les Bowen (@LesBowen) May 2, 2016
Too bad about Couplin. I thought he had a chance to play this year. Injuries got the best of him last year and the position was upgraded this year.
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Howie Roseman had some interesting things to say about the draft.
Both videos are worth watching.
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Sam Bradford isn’t generating a whole lot of support for his recent actions. Brandon Lee Gowton has the story on Sam’s current situation, which is best described as twisting in the wind.
The Eagles have said all the right things publicly. They have tried to make contact with Bradford. He’s not responding.
I don’t know where he thinks he’s going at this point. The Eagles might be willing to trade him if the right situation came up, but it isn’t here now.
Bradford needs to handle this the right way. He’s made his feelings known. Now he needs to show up and start getting on with the business of football. If he’s dealt, he’ll be more ready for his new team. If he sticks around, he’ll be ready for the Eagles.
The big thing Bradford seems to want is a long term home. The best way to get that is to play well in 2016. If he’s up and down like previous years, he won’t be getting a long deal anywhere.
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[…] Tommy Lawlor We now know the team. Let’s look at the updated depth chart. QB – Sam Bradford … Chase […]
I think Sam is damaging his chances of getting a long term deal even more by how he is handling this situation. He’s not good enough to act like a prima donna, he just looks foolish behaving like he has all the leverage. A true competitor would have the mindset of “I’m going to keep the rookie on the bench.” Sam just looks like he’s running from competition. I can’t imagine his behavior is lost on the rest of the league either.
As Tommy said, the best way to get a long term deal is to show up and play good this year… The longer this drags on, the more he is hurting himself.
I agree with you. Question is does he fire his agent and pin it on him or continue with his foolishness?
You just hit on one other way he could save face , be accepted by his teammates and be welcomed back by the fans of Philly. He could fire his agent. I had yet to hear that as a realistic option for Sam. He could fire his agent, show up for the next voluntary workout and hold a press conference. His opening statement would be simple. ” I was upset when the team invested a bunch of resources into drafting a QB at #2. I honestly thought I was going to be in their long term plans here in Philly and I sort of felt betrayed after signing here. My agent said it would be in my best interest to ask for a trade to find a team that I could find a long term home with. Obviously that team or situation does not exist right now. I signed a contract to play here and I plan to honor that contract. I also plan to make it very hard for anyone to take my job. I am going to give it everything I have this season and everything else will take care of itself. I am happy to be back here at the facility and excited to get working with my teammates. ” If this is what Sam said 99% of the fans would accept it and we would be back on schedule for the current plan which is to compete to win the NFC East this year.
Yeah, it’s really the only play he has left, but he needs to do it very soon if he is going to be taken seriously.
He’d still probably have to answer a bunch of questions as to why he wouldn’t even take phone calls from Pederson, but that definitely does seem like his best option at this point, you’re right.
Sounds like you are Sam’s new agent, I’m on board with Sam if he says what you wrote verbatim. Well said and a got a laugh out of your post.
the way that mark sanchez is handling really makes me hate sam bradford, and i like sam bradford.
This is 100% on Sam. When you hear Gondon talk, he clearly didnt agree on this way.
The problem is players will get fire the agent if he goes against the players own stupidity, so the agent will just try his best but still do what ever it takes to keep his client.
” he clearly didn’t feel that way”. Interesting observation. Really had been hopeful, taking the other stance, that the agent went rogue a bit, with his radio spots.
Why do I have a feeling that Bradford conversation has roughly played out like this since last week:
Bradford: I want to be the Broncos’ QB. No, the Jets’ QB. I want a long-term starting gig. I want . . .
Roseman’s response:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eXQu5fkx4ps/Udtweol963I/AAAAAAAABsc/GoqJEJi5z1U/s1600/alison_coviello.jpg
Don’t sell yourself short Sam, you’re a tremendous slouch.
You wear sleeves like that, you get a free bowl of soup…. No offense.
Goonga, galoonga
It’s the best trade man, I got it from a Bronco.
OK I’m done now, I’ll show myself out.
I didn’t want to give him the death penalty, I felt I…owed it to him.
All I could think of when reading your Bradford “I want list” was Spaulding from Caddyshack reeling off all his wants & Judge Smails then barking ‘You’ll get nothing and like it!!”. LOL https://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=0f6l1QljpMo
I think that the Eagles will end up signing a veteran LB who gets released elsewhere who can fill a need as a backup that could start if we have injuries.
The area on our roster that scares me the most is at CB. Erik Rowe showed flashes, but he also made lots of rookie mistakes. We have no idea if he is good enough to be a #1 Corner. Nolan Carroll is coming off of injury and the rest of the CB depth chart is a complete question mark.
Our division has a lot of very talented wide receivers. CB is probably our weakest position. Unfortunately we really can’t upgrade this area until next FA & draft.
things change but they stay the same. good pass rush makes ok corners look good.
I agree. You rush the passer to improve your coverage.
Thank you, finally someone else questions their options at CB. I’ve felt this way since last year as we watched our secondary get beat regularly.
I don’t think anyone thinks that we are set at CB for the next 5 years. We could be, but I haven’t seen anyone who assumes that will be the case
I’ll disagree with Rowe. Making rookie mistakes are not a “strike” mark against him, it’s expected. Name 1 rookie who came into the league and didn’t make rookie mistakes. They all do.
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Rowe’s play last year is why he’s giving a chance to play this year. That’s how the process should work with draft players. I’m not saying CB is solid — just stating that Rowe more than deserves a chance to start…
Other than being burned to a crisp by Megatron, I’d like to know what other “rookie mistakes” are such a concern.
It has a bit more depth maybe than last year but lacking depth right now at CB, DT, and LB.
There isn’t much upside talent in terms of difference makers here either. This strikes me as a best-case 9 win team; worst-case 4 win team with a 6-7 win team (lean towards 6 right now) & a last place finish in the NFC East.
Eagles won’t come out and say it but this is a rebuilding year. Next year will be one too given the current state of the roster, what they gave up to get Wentz, and Wentz being just starting in ’17.
I just wonder how patient the Eagles really are going to be with Wentz and if they really are willing to not play him regardless next year as long as Bradford/Daniel are healthy.
fans won’t stay for a losing team — see what happened last year?
They were more disgusted by what happened with the team than anything and with Kelly I bet. The team essentially quit on Thanksgiving & the fans knew it.
What the bipolar Eagles’ fans will scream for this year is Wentz. It will be all year long starting in preseason. If Bradford doesn’t play that well and/or this team gets out to a bad start, the calls will be deafening.
you sound like tom condon.
One point I thought was spot on about a majority of Eagles’ fans have almost zero patience and wanting to see Wentz right now.
Problem with a rebuilding year is we wouldn’t have the high first round draft pick.
you’re kidding yourself if you think this is a rebuilding year. This is rebuilding “years”.
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That 4 win season will be a nightmare knowing they gave up that in the trade for Wentz. That’s going to hurt a bit….but that’s the sacrifice to move up…
Everything points to the birds pla ning for two or three years down the road when the young talent that they gave contracts to, assuming Cox gets his, and Wentz mature together and they add a few pieces. At that point they will serious contenders, Romo will be wheelchair bound and Manning will be ready to join his brother in retirement. I just hope fans can be patient given how long we have been waiting.
Im most excited about the defense and watching OL.
I also think a guy like McCallister and Countess can be a part of the dime rotation.
Agreed. No matter what else happens, this defense is going to be fun. On offense, I’m not expecting much but I’m interested to see what sort of hybrid that Pederson comes up with. As part of that, I’m interested in seeing if Pederson is capable of “coming up” with something. How is he as a pregame planner, how is he at creating his own offense. I have no idea, which makes it interesting.
But the consolation prize is watching Schwartz work some magic with long-time favorites like Graham, Curry, Cox, and Barwin.
On offense it will be the OL except for Peters (do not expect much from him) and how Pederson can get the ball to Agholor, Matthews and Ertz. If those 3 can produce early on and all push 800 yards and 5+ TDs, I think it will be good.
Yea, this is what I am most curious about. It doesn’t really seem like we know anything about how Pederson is as a game-planner or play-caller. Is he an innovator? Can he out-scheme opponents and make half time adjustments? Can he be a brilliant offensive mind? From the way he talks and carries himself, he doesn’t exactly appear to be a guy, who is coming in with new ideas and an agressive mindset. He seems to be more of a stick-to-the-script type of dude, the script being the Holmgren/Reid west coast offense. But obviously things could be totally different once he gets into his office and closes the door behind him. My biggest fear is that Pedersen is an uninspired, paint-by-numbers type of coach who will be conservative in his play-calling and put the offense behind the curve. We will see..
If only he didn’t look like such a Goober.
I think at least some of what we’ll see out of Doug will be a lean toward allowing a capable QB audible into favorable situations given what the defense is showing. I like the idea of finding the favorable match-ups and trying to exploit them.
Hopefully, Doug has the skill set to draw up plays that look similar, but execute differently to set up the defense for feeling like “they’ve seen this before” and then the surprise factor kicks in as the play does something new. Outside of scheming that kind of thing up, I’ll be happy to just have a deep playbook that the players actually know and can utilize.
Last year’s RG that never was might be this year’s RT? With a few injuries of course.
Kind of interesting that in one video, Roseman said a team tried to trade up in the 5th round to take an offensive player, and the team told him later it was to take Big V.
And then in the other video, Roseman gave the same story about Seumalo in the third round.
For all his emphasis on character and commitment to football, why didn’t CK understand these faults in Bradford (and for that matter Murray ) before he gave away the farm in acquiring them? Sure seems to continue to paint the picture of “amateur night” in the front office last season.
Well that is the problem with free agency – you do not know peoples real character. The fact Dallas and St Louis had no solutions at either position and where happy to trade/not resign was probably a sign that they did not like some aspects of both players. But the problem is coaches and other players rarely throw guys under the bus and if there are ?? about their mentality you really struggle to find out before they walk into your building unless you identified them in the predraft process.
Yeah there was a good point that the texans gave osweiler 70+ million dollars and O’brien had never met the guy before.
“Well that is the problem with free agency – you do not know peoples real character.”
Conversely, you have an exact read on the character of Fletcher Cox. I’m happy Howie is making every effort to sign him. I’m of the opinion that the only guys you pay break the bank money for are guys who you know.
Eagles were happy to deal FOles, nothing to do with character. Like Bradford, he just kind of sucks.
Eagles didn’t resign Cole, nothing to do with character. Like Murray to the Cowboys, they saw him as over the hill and not worth the price.
Bradford for Foles was worth a shot, why not. It’s including a second round pick that is so idiotic.
still remember CK’s words that he spent months researching Bradford prior to the move…..
Bradford already has a ton of money. Maybe he will just retire.
If that is the case, there had better be forfeited bonus money that reverts back to our cap.
Not certain, but I think that’s the case for non football injuries.
Why would you retire if you are guaranteed 22 mil just to show up? Makes no sense
That’s how we think.
Sam’s already rich. He might just hate playing football.
He might be a lot happier hangout on a ranch in Oklahoma.
Nobody is turning their back on 22 million. Nobody
Barry Sanders, Calvin Johnson, David West, Patrick Willis, Jake Plummer.
Not very common, but it does happen.
Actually they wanted to retire. This is different Sam Bradford doesn’t want to retire.
Fair point. However, there were rumors that he was contemplating retirement after his most recent knee injury.
Nice to see the 90 taking shape. As the roster ultimately becomes the 53; it’ll be nice to see where we have some upgrades from last year.
I see what Dallas can be with a healthy Romo and Washington continues to grow and think we’re still not quite in the playoff discussion, but think this team will give it a strong go each week.
The really excited element of the team is going to be the sack totals generated from the D-line this year. I hope we see a few twisted wrecks of QBs laying on the field. In particular; I’ve been waiting for over a decade to see Eli body rocked and his inappropriate consecutive games played streak ended.
OL competition: as per above, there are 17 players vying for what typically are 9, 10 at the most, slots. Subtract the 4 given starters and there are 13 players competing for 5/6 slots. Subtract further the couple (2) of UDFA’s who have no chance of making the active rooster and the couple (2) of leftovers from last year who shouldn’t be on an NFL team, and that leaves 9 NFL-worthy players for 5/6 slots. The OL depth will be upgraded and some prominent names won’t make the rooster.
It is an interesting roster that is for sure. Really deep in places and thin in others.
OL- Added 3 players who should make the roster this offseason and Kelce/Peters/Johnson are locks as well.. Barbre, Wisniewski, Tobin,Kelly, Gardener, B Johnson, Greene, Bunche i think could all make the 53 depending on camp performance so it should be a battle royal in camp for those last 4 roster spots.
DB is the same – Jenkins/McLeod/Rowe/Carrol/McKelvin are near locks but after that you have a huge group of young upside DB’s who will need to fight for a spot on the 10. any of Reynolds, Mills, Countess, Maragos, Rice, Brooks, Watkins, Shepherd of Evans could make the final 5 roster spots.
LB i think is pretty thin with little roster competition – Kendricks,Goode, Hicks, Walker, Bradham and Long (think he plays SLB not DE) – after that unless Tavarres shows something i don’t see any surprises.
WR is even worse -Agholor, Matthews, Huff, Randle, Givens and then /shrug. Think we may go with 5 only at WR and go 4 RB deep or carry a FB over a 6th WR – see no one i want to spend a roster spot developing really.
I’m hoping it’s a “Rome wasn’t built in a day” thing. Hard to upgrade every spot. Next year(or maybe a veteran cut) Eagles can upgrade WR and LB.
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That’s where I thought the draft was interesting(not great) but interesting. The team had areas of need and drafted a player(s) for each of those spots(not bpa). Positions they drafted were almost predictable. It’ll be interested to see if they take the same approach next year.
Think our LB situation is good with our starters.. we just lack depth. I think Long might be a decent SLB/special teamer for us and i trust Goode to be a competent back up… unfortunately after that we have nothing that can be depended on – lets pray for decent health.
WR needs to see Agholor step up. WR’s making huge steps up in Y2 is very common and lets hope comes out and puts up a 1000 yard year and it is a decent unit. If he does not then it is going to be a big problem all year.
Let’s hope he steps up. Going to be interesting to see this offense scheme. If it’s true that Pederson called the plays the second half of the games last year – not much production went to the WR’s(re TD’s). Hoping that’s not the case on this team…
After Cox and Logan, DT is a major concern. roseman admitted that DT and LB are major concerns that we weren’t able to address
I guess you forgot we gave Brooks $40M
I think the bigger issue from Bradford’s perspective is trading away picks and choosing a QB #2 is tough to swallow for a vet QB trying to prove himself and believing those picks could have improved this year’s team. Any vet QB would be upset with this situation – what Bradford needs to stop pushing is the trade demand since the Eagles have made it clear they are not dealing him and there are no realistic landing spots anyway. I still believe Roseman should have let Bradford walk and saved the cap space. Sign Daniel and have him keep the seat warm until Wentz is ready. They signed Bradford so they obviously believed they can win this year, but then undermined that approach with the moves to acquire Wentz.
Two different transactions. When they signed SB, they had no idea getting to 2 was a possibility. Maybe it was a goal, maybe it wasn’t. We’ll never know. Moving to 8 was huge. Moving to 2 was monster. It took those moves to happen, Eagles had no way of knowing that was possible. The had to secure SB when they did…
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The bigger issue with Bradford is him being an unprofessional baby. If your confident in what you, then you never worry about who else is signed. If you’re mediocre and you know it, you don’t like the signing.
But the consensus is Bradford sucks and never would have any FA options, right? Or at least that’s what people keep saying. So why would the Eagles have such urgency to sign Bradford prior to the start of FA? I think they clearly wanted to play both sides.of the fence – put a team on the field this year that could be competitive, but really be rebuilding around a new QB, offense, head coach etc.
Signing Bradford 100% made sense. You have a new coach, new scheme etc etc. Continuity with players is important. Keeping the QB is the smart move. HR/Pederson do not believe Bradford is the QB of the future. It’s only a 2 year deal. Bradford was a bridge from day 1. They had to take care of that first in case drafting a QB didn’t happen. If they were unable to stay at 8, a QB wouldn’t have happened until later. I don’t think they are playing both sides of the fence. It’s always been about rebuilding….even if that meant drafting a QB next year…
Disagree. They signed Bradford as a backup plan in case they could not get either Goff or Wentz. If continuity was a valid concern, they never would have drafted Wentz or.made the moves to get into that position. How about the continuity at RB and CB with the trades of Murray and Maxwell or at LB by moving out Ryans and Alonso? A new coach and system is the perfect time to get a new young QB so everyone grows together. Bradford is an expensive bridge, in 1999 they paid Pederson how much?
I think I agree with you – that they wanted to remain competitive this year during a rebuild. And that’s the smart thing to do – you don’t want the young guys getting used to losing. Furthermore, if you don’t have Bradford playing this year, the trade for Wentz is going to look even worse, because next year’s one is going to be a top 5 pick, possibly a top 2. Which means Cleveland could conceivably end up getting the better QB out of the deal.
No, they need Bradford to play and play hard for a contract from someone else this year. Otherwise, there will be a whole raft of negative consequences that they don’t want to deal with (including marketing). Sam’s got to realize that the Not For Long league doesn’t give players long term homes, especially at the $$ levels he’s looking for, unless they’ve proven themselves. I think people are too down on him, but he clearly hasn’t proven that he deserves a long term QB contract. He might be able to do it this year on the field, if he commits to it, though…
Bingo. You get it. Bradford was close to a “must” sign…
But isn’t that why they signed Daniel? Why sign both Bradford and Daniel? Makes little sense especially at the max rates they signed them for.
You’ve highlighted why Bradford is upset – the plan was to compete this year and then that was totally contradicted by the Wentz moves.
I think this was about being flexible. If they get a rookie, Chase can be the caretaker/teacher, he knows the offense well etc. Bradford can be the starter and maybe, maybe, the light turns on. you don’t know if you will get a rookie.
I think you need to see them as separate signings not a “why pay so much for the 2 qb’s together”. It makes more sense thinking one of them likely wasn’t going to be on the team past this year.
They signed chase to be more of a quasi coach, than they signed him to ever help us win games on the field
You’re disagreeing — but saying the same thing as I’m saying. Bradford was, is, always intended to be – a bridge. It’s not a back up plan. Bradford was signed for 2 years to start and play — and that’s it. He wasn’t signed for the future. Either way – it’s a qb you use to get ready for a young QB that you draft and groom. There is zero chance the Eagles knew 100% when they signed Bradford that they had a shot at Wentz. That doesn’t mean they were hoping or planning – it’s just saying there is no way to know at that time, they were getting Wentz.
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Continuity of “what’s now” vs. what you’re grooming are two different things. You can’t clean house, draft all young players and say you’re going to compete in 3 years. It doesn’t work that way. Weren’t those players reasons they were able to move to 8? That’s just more proof, that there is no way HR new that when they signed Bradford that he’ll be able to go from 13 to 8 to 2. Impossible to know. Again, still doesn’t mean they weren’t making moves for the future.
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You think signing Celek, keeping Peters etc are moves for a Superbowl run? Of course not. They are here for continuity and to show the Eagles want to “compete”.
Bridge, back up plan, truth is SAM was clearly our best option at the time for a team still trying to find its future at QB..,THATS reality of the situation, people can put whatever title on it that helps them sleep at night. Goal is to put together the strongest roster, and Bradford was our best option since Chase has no business ever starting in the NFL..
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The goal is to put together the best roster possible, and both Bradford and Wentz were decisions that accomplished that in the minds of eagle decision makers
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When you DONT have a franchise QB you have to add the best options you can get your hands on and hope a Franchise QB emerges. We didn’t have a better play than signing Bradford.. Call it a bridge, back up plan, whatever. It made perfect sense to sign him because of the unknown of draft night… Cowboys DIDNT think they needed to go after a backup QB assuming they could get one in the draft, and now they are kicking themselves because they missed out on uber Raw Lynch, and got stuck with Dak Prescott
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The goal is build the strongest roster possible. We can assume and project security, but that’s never certain in the NFL where teams try to draft someone better than you every offseason
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If the Eagles wait Til round 7 for a QB, if he out plays Bradford, SAM would be in the same position
where your logic falls through is — if Bradford was a “back up plan” in case they didn’t get Wentz — now that they got Wentz — don’t you throw away your back up plan? He’s not a back up plan. He’s a bridge until your rookie can take the reigns….
No because the backup plan is relevant only until Wentz is ready which again is why Bradford is upset. As soon as Wentz is ready, Bradford will be sent packing or put on the bench. He gets that, he is not stupid. He knows the Eagles have now changed tact and Wentz is the future and soon enough present as well. Plus why did the Eagles need two bridges if Bradford was only a bridge? Is Daniel a rope bridge and Bradford the steel bridge? Lol
Signing Bradford was the right thing regardless Imo, had they let him walk, I feel the price to move up would’ve been higher with teams knowing we would’ve desperately needed a qb…. If Bradford left and we missed out on wentz/ goff.. Then what?
Amongst the owner, the GM, & the new coach, which one doesn’t want to have a better record than last year and outdo CK’s regime? The obvious answer is no one. I don’t believe the motivation is hiding a re-built; the motivation is not missing CK at all
There wasn’t a consensus when he was resigned; all we heard about was his magical 7-games when he played like an average QB for once. Many of us thought we’d end up paying $20M/year for his ass and were pleased with how it turned out.
Because the consensus is stupid
“Any vet”. Not really. Favre was a jerk, but he didn’t pout about Rodgers. Montana didn’t like acquiring Young so he went out and played like a Hall of Famer. Drew Brees….
The difference between those guys and Bradford? Is it just that they’re Hall of Faners?
Favre wss upset, it was reported at the time but like you said he got over it because the team drafted Rogers at #24 and it was not firm he was the QB of the future. Wentz was picked #2 and we gave up a boatload to get into that position plus we’ll be paying Wentz a handsome contract. The Eagles basically have paid Bradford to be a place holder and to disguise a rebuild.
Plus, not that he was the paragon of emotional stability, but I don’t think McNabb ever forgave Reid for drafting Kolb in 2007.
I agree about letting Bradford walk. My read was that roseman signed Bradford so he wouldn’t need to give up too much for a QB in the draft-he could just wait until next year. Now we’re in a situation where we gave up a lot and it doesn’t matter if Bradford starts or Daniels starts. It’s all about wentz a year from now, hopefully as the d is getting good in the new scheme. It looks to me like Pederson amd probably Lurie fell in love with wentz more than they expected. It turned out to be an inefficient way to do business, but as others have said, it won’t matter if wentz turns out to be even pretty good.
For arguments sake, say we don’t make the trade. Say we for the sake of keeping precious sammy happy use all three of those 2016 picks on O.
Do you really think: Jack Conklin, CJ Prosise, and Chris Moore (plus Semualo) really move the needle that much in 2016?
Bradford wants to go to Denver and get a SB ring or he wants to o sit the vench and collect 22 million. Don’t kid yourself. Also he isn’t sitting at home eating cheetos and watching soap ooeras. He is working out. He doesn’t have to be ar nova care to workout.
I’m worried about our LB depth. I don’t want to call Hicks and Kendricks injury-prone… but they do seem to get banged up a lot. And there’s just nothing behind them.
RBs are a little thin, too, but I think that group can get us through the year.
Obviously, we still lack a No 1, and perhaps even a legitimate No. 2 receiver, depending on how Matthews and Agholor come along.
That said, the rest of our roster has clearly improved. Our secondary looks to have gone from our biggest liability to near-beastly. And our D-Line is dope.
O-Line is much better/younger, and we now have a serious QB prospect.
It’ll be interesting whether we take a step forward, a step back or tread water this season. Whichever it may be, I think if the 2017 offseason is as productive as 2016’s has been, we’ll be set up pretty good.
Let Bradford/Daniel manage this transition year. It’s more of a rehearsal – new talent, new system, new management. 2017 will be the moment of truth.
“Obviously, we still lack a No 1, and perhaps even a legitimate No. 2 receiver, depending on how Matthews and Agholor come along.”
1st 2 years
Rec-Yds-Y/R-TD
Dez 108-1489-13.6-15
JMatt 152-1869-12.3-16
Assuming JMatt stays the same or gets marginally better, he is a #1 receiver. To suggest he may not even be a #2 is mind boggling.
Alright maybe I was a little dismissive of Matthews, but let’s not get crazy with our Dez Bryant comparables. Personally, his stats may be decent but I don’t see him demanding double-teams or producing against stud corners like Josh Norman anytime soon. But sure, I’d love to be wrong about that.
What you actually are describing is an All-Pro receiver. An All-Pro is much different than just a #1 receiver. There are only 2 to 4 of them named per year, which Dez was in 2014.
With that I would agree with you, JMatt will probably never be named to an All-Pro team.
No. I’m describing a No. 1 wide receiver. Antonio Brown and Julio Jones were All-Pro last year, but there’s still Dez, Beckham, and Desean in our division, alone. AJ Green and Deandre Hopkins are great too.
Then there’s guys like Brandon Marshall, Demaryius Thomas, Jarvis Landry, Sammy Watkins, Mike Evans, Larry Fitzgerald, Jeremy Maclin, Allen Robinson and others. They’re not all-pros but they’re damn good and that’s half the league.
Jordan Matthews isn’t there yet. You want to project and say he could be? Fine. I agree with that. He could be. But he’s not there yet. Brandin Cooks, TY Hilton, Emmanuel Sanders, Allen Hurns, Eric Decker and four tight ends all had bigger years than Matthews last year.
I’m not trying to hate on the guy. I like him too. But potential is still just potential. Let’s see how he does on the outside. Maybe he takes the next step. Great. But maybe he doesn’t. Maybe his ceiling is Eric Decker.
Dez, Marshall, Green, Hopkins, Jones, Brown, Fitz…all were 1st or 2nd team All-Pros, none in their first 2 years in the league.
All the other guys with many years of experience were not as good as JMatt their first 2 years in the league. Comparing him to guys in their prime is not apples to apples.
As for the young guys, Robinson and Beckham are the only legitimate studs. JMatt has just as good or better stats through his first 2 years as the rest of the young guys.
Well it has been hard for him to get no.1 CB attention playing almost exclusively in the slot, and he has been pretty much extensively double covered… just by a LB and a slot CB not a Safety and CB.
There is this weird dismissal of Matthews by a lot of fans because he dropped 2-3 more balls than he should on average? because he was open enough but Bradford refused to throw to WR’s unless they were fully open? I think he is a gifted kid with an insane work ethic. He will be at least a very good wr.2 and could break out as a no.1 wr this year playing outside.
To keep up with my Dez comparison, JMatt dropped 11 balls over the past 2 years, Dez dropped 10 while playing 7 less games.
JMatt seems to play much better on contested balls and tends to drop simple ones where he sometimes lacks concentration.
Oh agreed. Also I think the fact that we required good YAC to get 1st downs i think it is understandable that he focuses to early on getting focused on making yards rather than catching. Think he will learn catch the ball 100% then worry about getting extra yards.
He was 52nd in the league by DVOA last year, which is an efficiency based stat. He was 65th in the league by yards/reception. His performance was on the low-end of a starter. We recently had some low-end starter CBs and people breathed a sigh of relief when they got churned.
What stats he did rack up were by volume, by being the best of several bad options. If you have to throw, but your choices are JM, Huff, and a crappy rookie, where are you going to look? A better player in his position would have put up way more yards.
To be fair, he was 14th in the league in DVOA in 2014, so at least there is some empirical evidence that he can be effective in certain roles.
In learning more about Wentz, should I be excited that he calls all the protections at the line? I’ve read that is advanced QB’ing. Is it, and does it really matter? Like maybe it’s nice, but the center can do that so in the scheme of what it takes to be elite, that’s small? Or on the other hand, this means he understands the strengths/weaknesses of the offense and defense better, can audible out when needed, etc.?
or just lie to me and tell me this means he is already elite.
Depends… are you the kind of person who likes to be pleasantly or unpleasantly surprised? 🙂
Probably just means that he is a little more prepared to play in a west coast offense than your typical full time spread offense college QB.
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Shit, Wentz can actually command a huddle already. Sounds pretty simple, but it’s amazing how many top QBs get drafted after never huddling in college
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It really bothers me that majority of the top colleges run that spread crap, which isn’t in the best interest of preparing their QBs for life at the NFL level.
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Glad that this kid didn’t spend his college career looking to the sideline for each play call/adjustment. glad that he actually has some experiene with 3, 5, and 7 step drops instead of spending his entire college career exclusively in shotgun. Obviously he ran plenty of plays out of shotgun, but he also got a lot of experiemce that translates to life as a west coast offense QB
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Growth Rate is what will determine how great Wentz can be, and how Quickily he will Develope enough to be able to win games at this level. Hopefully we find out that this kidis some Qb prodigy/Savant who develops at a faster rate than we could have imagined…. Can’t assume tnat tho
I also like that his brother and brother’s wife are moving to Philly with him, so that Carson can focus on football.
Make Carson GREAT… the first time!!!
For the scheme Pederson runs, having the qb call the protection is very good and it’s better the qb call it then the center because the qb cab also audible.
In chip Kelly’s system it means nothing because they always loon to the sideline and can’t change out of bad plays
There was definitely a loon on the sideline!
This guy takes offense at that statement:
As long as he doesn’t take offense the same three ways over and over again.
That’s not bad.
it’s remarkable what Chip was doing. I tend to think just going back to a regular offense and bringing in Schwartz will have such a benefit to our team.
Meh. It’s not a particularly hard skillset to learn. It’s another thing that gets blown out of proportion. The stuff he was doing at NDSU was pretty rudimentary (not alot of messy boxes and hybrid looks in FCS). All the freshmen OL and probably the RBs could make those level checks.
As long as the QB knows where the pressure is coming from and what the protection is doing, that’s what’s important. That’s what tells him who he’s responsible for to see if he has to go to the hot route.
He’s not a guy that’s going to get to the line and get in a chess match of checks with Luke Keuchly.
ok well what do you like about him? I’m trying to feel good about him.
Jared Goff is better and life is pointless?
Coach —
I have a lollipop for you . . . if you’ll step off the ledge and come back into the room.
you can’t make me.
A lolli and a big bowl of ice cream.
Yummm!
Deal
Do you think, when shooting for the Titans’ pick, the Eagles were taking Wentz or Goff?
I honestly don’t know. We may not know for a decade.
A measly lollipop? Always though Dum-Dums were vastly overrated even as a kid especially when you got one of the terrible flavors the bank always seemed to have especially Butterscotch.
Root beer or throw it in the trash.
Their certainly not the worst candy around (candy corn should win that title every time especially if you have to consume an equal portion of candy corn to say the size of a candy bar) but they are certainly in the running.
I laughed so hard the first time I saw this:
Neco Wafers give candy corn a run for the money.
it’s not like we were choosing first and had a choice between the two, so it’s not really relevant.
Who did you like better, Goff or Hundley?
Goff. I liked Hundley more than Wentz though.
Blake Bortles was a toolsy moxie guy and has turned out pretty good?
My biggest reason to feel good about him is that the Eagles clearly have a plan for him. The offensive staff was put in place to groom a young QB (why I was always pretty sure they were going to try like hell to get one). Defillipo has had 3 high profile rookie QBs while he was a QB coach before. They’ve got a nice diverse set of schematic backgrounds. The brain trust knows they put their jobs on the line to draft him, whenever he does play that means that his development will be just as important if not more so than wins. They aren’t going to open it up and make him drop back 50 times a game until he’s ready to.
I am nervous that you are unenthusiastic about Wentz. Let me ask you this: if Goff wasn’t in this draft class and Titans took Tunsil with the first pick, would you be happy with the Eagles getting Wentz? In other words, do you not like Wentz or just prefer Goff?
I saw Wentz as a mid to late first round QB in January based on film.
But if we wash the film off, then he’d look better… right?
But we weren’t going to get him mid-first round. We weren’t going to get him at 5, according to the Cowboys. Knowing that, as Howie presumably did, do you get him at 2, or do you pass on him?
I’m fine with the deal. He makes me nervous but it’s still infinitely better than more retreads and mid round QBs. Also I find the oh just build a historically good D argument comical as well.
Would you have thrown in the 2018 first rounder on top to get #1 for Goff?
Probably.
This exchange didn’t make me less nervous. But thanks for helping me understand where you are coming from.
“toolsy moxie guy” is the new “high motor” for me.
“good bubble” is hard to beat though.
Looks like over half of the 2013 first round picks were busts – aka teams didn’t pick up their 5th year option. crazy.
Lane is like the only top OL from that draft to live up to the selection.
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Joekel is trash and the Jags didn’t pick up his option.
Fisher is just as bad but I think KC picked up his 5th year option.
Cooper has been a bust up until now and the Pats declined his 5th year option.
Chance Warmack was good in 2914, but had a rough 2015 season
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This shows why drafting a guard so high is stupid. How can teams be expected to pick up a 5th year option that pays a guard in the neighborhood of 11million? Even if Chance Warmack dominates, can’t give a guard that much money
It’s not like you can’t resign a guy without picking up the 5th. It’s something to consider, but not the deciding factor.
Yeah, in some cases like the Patriots, thats actually probably the plan… Don’t pick up his expensive offer, but sigń him to an extension for much less…. But that only really works if the player HASNT lived up to his draft stock, because he can turn down the team extension, if a team will give him good money in free agency… Jonathon Cooper has been a bust, so the Pats probably can get him back at a better price without some other team drastically inflating his value on the open market..
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Chance Warmach is interesing because he hasn’t been a total bust, he had a some solid years, and last year was a down year, there is still a chance he can have a big bounce back yeàr, turn down an extension from the Titans and make more as a free agent
Teams always have the leverage of extending a year ahead of time, most players on a rookie contract will take the big bucks rather than risk injury for even bigger bucks. More importantly, most agents will push for that. But yes, in general a G better be kickass to draft in the 1st.
Well Long has played well
The 3rd round that year was probably better than the first.
T.J. MCDONALD BABY!!!!!!!!! My ultimate man crush.
Hate that Jordan Reed is on Skins, he was a beast last season
Surprised that Sam and his agent HAVENT put an end to this hold out crap yet. What the hell do they expect to accomplish now? It’s actually a stupid strategy on his agents part at this point. it’s clear that the Eagles really want Sam at QB this year, its also clear that we won’t give him away for some lowball trade offer…. So SAM and his Agent should be primarily concerned with doing everything right Hoping some team steps up and makes an offer we can’t refuse…. By bradford continuing to hold out and cause problems, WOULDNT that encourage other teams to keep trying to lowball The Eagles? I understand the strategy of trying to cause enough drama To get the Eagles to accept a lowball offer for you, but now that it’s clearly not going to work, what’s best for Bradford is to come in, work his ass off to give himself the best chance to earn The security he is looking for
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Sucks to have to deal with this counterproductive drama that isn’t in the best interest of Bradford or the Eagles..but i guess we should be thanking Sam, because the one person benefitting from Sams actions is Carson Wentz who will be gven much more reps than he would get if Bradford was practicing with the team….. Wentz is our prized investment, and bradfords actions are helping no one but Wentz, which is dumb because he should be worried about doing everything possible to try and keep Wentz on the bench.
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Im going to be completely baffled and blown away if Bradford stays home until the mandatory activities on June 7th because that is not in Sam’s best interest
Yeah it’s so dumb, but it’s voluntary workouts. Cox isn’t there either. But as i said below the way mark is handling this is probably why he’s stayed employed despite being terrible on the field.
he’s just making his appearance at mandatory workouts more awkward
Yeah if he is smart he will join the team way before mandatory camp, come back to work during a time where it’s not open to the media, have a few weeks of team work under his belt, let some of this drama die down before he eventually has to answer to the media at mandatory mini camp.
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If he waits Til June 7th to show up, he will have to deal with a media circus at mini camp, which isn’t in his favor since not many people agree and support his actions
“It’s actually a stupid strategy on his agents part at this point.”
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You’re premise is wrong. So your statement is wrong.
At the last OTA practice, Bradford — upon being told by Lurie, Roseman, and Pederson about the trade up — walked out.
All by himself, Bradford walked out on the Eagles.
Tom Condon didn’t drag him out . . . using puppet strings.
What Condon’s done since then is try to make the best case in the media for having his client’s desire to leave the Eagles carried out.
That’s what agents and lawyers do — no matter, as in this situation, how bad the client looks to outsiders.
Bradford is not being controlled by Condon.
what’s your feeling on bradford – is he a brat? i’ve obviously defended him but now i think it’s time for him to come back and be a good teammate. if i’m the eagles i just carry him to the season he can play or not play, but i’d completely destroy and value he had going forward.
make him play in the fourth quarter of pre-season games with the 3rd and 4th string linemen
they could RGIII him and let the line no block until he gets hurt and then they’ll block perfectly for Wentz.
that way Bradford gets hurt and is done. Eagles collect insurance on his contract and both sides can move on.
He wouldn’t go in the game.
can he do that?
what would the repercussions be?
could he be suspended without pay?
The hearing would definitely go in his favor.
A —
I was never a fan of the trade. Or of Bradford.
But his behavior since learning of the trade is astounding. A real lack of self-awareness.
As for coming back, he’s drawn a line — a very bright one — that he’s *not* returning to NovaCare until, at the earliest, MTAs.
He has more than enough money to go “Full Carson Palmer.” Or just walk away from the NFL.
My guess is, he and his wife have discussed, and will continue to discuss, walking away.
I could be wrong. But he nearly retired after his 2nd ACL.
And the entire NFL views him as a bottom-tier QB. It was that way in free agency. And before the draft.
To your last point, the Eagles should squat on his rights . . . which aren’t very valuable anyway.
As the story is unfolding… it’s looking more and more like the guy who contemplated walking away from football may very well end up walking away from football.
I just wish he wouldn’t have been such a self centered prick who was willing to drag down a 2nd franchise with his half-hearted efforts.
In the end, his legacy may be that he wasn’t man enough to play the game, nor was he man enough to walk away from the money.
“In the end, his legacy may be that he wasn’t man enough to play the game, nor was he man enough to walk away from the money.”
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Great turn of phrase.
wont he just take the CPalmer tactic.. retire? hes got money and that forced the bengals hand and boom hes a stud again..
Palmer had some success before he retired
true true
Agree it’s a possibility. (I wrote elsewhere that my guess is he’s thinking about it.)
In his more sober moments, Bradford has to know his reputation — as a player and employee — is not particularly good.
That “magical” 7-game stretch wasn’t nearly enough to convince other NFL teams he’s anything but a bottom-tier QB. At best, a 1-year “let’s take a look” guy.
Heck, in those 7 games, he threw only 10 TDs (call it 12 with a couple drops). That’s still bottom tier over a 16-game season . . . and not particularly good in today’s NFL.
he’s no Nick Foles
If he retires before even playing a game after taking that contract, wouldn’t he have to pay back the entire signing bonus?
Yep.
He wants to be a starting quarterback. Whu would he retire after his most productive season? Where does you guy’s come up with this crap?
If he wants to get paid, he has to play. The financial penalties once training camp, and especially preseason, start will be substantial. The Eagles could be content to just sit tight and let it come to that. If they could get back a substantial amount in trade, sure that could make sense. But otherwise they may get more for him next offseason.
As for Bradford, retiring would be the only way he could reasonably avoid playing if the Eagles don’t deal him or release him. But that comes with the financial penalty of having to give most/all of that money back. If he’s not willing to do that, and the Eagles don’t trade him, then he will eventually come back to the team. He won’t have a choice.
He is going to be at all mandatory camps preseason season practice etc. Just don’t expect him to do well.
He could play it that way I guess. Wouldn’t get a job elsewhere again and may end up the #3 QB, but he’d collect the dough. You’d hope he would have a little more pride than that.
Well I doubt he does. He is going to e benched his second year here. He sees his future as dismal either way.
He’ll be traded or released after the season.
I wouldn’t dismiss it. Sam’s a rich man. He might be a different kind of cat. You know, I don’t approve of his thing here, but I think people should wait until he proves he’s being a pu$$y before assuming it.
” Bradford is also an avid ice hockey fan, his favorite team being the Vancouver Canucks.[89] Bradford is also a scratch golfer, and was a basketball player in high school.[90]
Bradford, a born again Christian, also appeared in a short film of testimonials from celebrity videos called I Am Second, sharing his faith about Christianity and winning the Heisman Trophy.”
how do we know Sam and his agent were having discussions on how it would be handled and Condon says, if you hear they are taking a QB just leave practice. I will discuss the rest with the media. I dont know, just spitballing here, dont know the timelines exactly. Seems like it could still be orchestrated unless this all started at that moment as Bradfords doing.
You’re right. It’s possible Condon and Bradford planned it.
On the other hand, a few days before the trade, Bradford was quoted as saying he had no reaction to the possibility of the Eagles trading up for a QB — since it hadn’t happened yet.
Seems as though, if all this was contrived, that was the time for Bradford to drop a hint — and Condon, too — that if the Eagles traded up, Bradford would be “disappointed.”
Condon’s as good as it gets in the agent business. He has to know that Bradford looks like an ass.
I know, this is not working out well for his client…..yet anyway. Not looking good going forward either. It was strange that he seemed fine with it when first asked and then had a change of heart like oh wait, your taking one of the top 2 QBs, cant have that. If it was some middle rounder than fine lol
P . . .
Spot on. Great post.
Bradford has painted himself into a corner. He assumed a trade would happen before the draft. Now he is stuck. Either he ends the tantrum and crawls back with his tail between his legs or he refuses to play to try and force a move.
Crawls back for involuntary practice? I don’t see why he would do that. He doesn’t want to play here. It’s plain and simple. They can either trade him or cut him but Sam bradford is not going to work hard for the eagles.
he has to come back in June for mandatory practices.
the decision is his at that time.
For three days.
I don’t doubt for a second that he will be there. . But if you were Doug Pederson would you really want him there? He is going to be a total disruption.
the Eagles will force Bradford to make the move. They will act like business as usual. If Bradford acts out it just diminishes his value
His value is already set. Akk NFL teams see this for exactly what it is.
he could be on a RGIII career path
They aren’t moving him unless a team offers some legit compensation that makes sense…. The Eagles aren’t going to pay 11mil to get some 5th round pick in return,
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And SAM can’t hold out without losing a ton of money, and the one thing bradford and his agents do well, is make money… Unlikely that he sits out and loses money when that won’t get him traded any faster than if he would come back to work..
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Lol how do you think this looks to other potential suitors down the line, who may be interested in SAM, but have to worry about him crying and going crazy when they want to also draft a young QB.
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He can’t sit out past June 7th, that would be such self destructive insanity on his part, his agent swung and miss, gave Sam bad advice, and countining this course of action is counterproductive to what SAM wants, a team that will give him a chance to be the guy. He has a better shot at eventually getting his wish, if he puts an end to this counterproductive nonsense,,,, he is ONLY hurting himself. Im sure The Eagles won’t view getting Wentz a few Ganes of playing time this year as the worst thing in the world. SAM has a lot more to lose than Roseman and Wentz do… If this would help Bradford at least I would understand, but I don’t see any benefit in his actions…
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The faster he cooperates, the better he plays, the sooner a team will give the Eagles enough compensation to move him.. And if SAM thinks he will get cut after this season, think again, they can hold him hostage yeàr two until a legit trade partner emerges,,, so what SAM should be concerned with is doing as much as possible to get another team to believe in him enough to make the Eagles an acceptable offer… Because the eagkes have two years to hold him trying to recoup some trade Value for him,,, he is dumb if he thinks he is just getting cut and freed to sign with anyone after this season,,, and he damn sure can’t afford to sit out two years out of principle, when he barely has even had a career up to this point
his agent . . . gave Sam bad advice
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And you know this how?
Sources?
Published stories?
No one — including you — has any idea what Condon and Bradford discussed. Zero.
Completely agree with everything here
First thing that jumps out at me is the lack of depth up the middle on D. But it really all comes down to coaches developing the players at this point.
oline front and depth look better than it has in a long time; surprised to see Huff ahead of randle at this point since they are both gonna be learning a new offense
Randle transition should be easier spending the last two years in McAdoos Greenbay west coast offense which Probably has a lot of similarities with Pedersons Westcoast offense,,, his experiemce in McAdoos west coast Attack is what I liked the most about the Randle signing, along with his Redzone production
i love that he’s not riley
Yeah that sure does help!
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Is coop even gonna play in the NFL next year?
hope he plays us, frankly. i’d like to see him go over the middle against our new SS
Mark Sanchez said he views the Broncos’ selection of Paxton Lynch in the first round as a vote of confidence.
“That’s been the message I’ve received,” Sanchez said. “I’m thrilled about this opportunity.” Lynch oozes upside, but he is a raw prospect who would be well served sitting behind a veteran for a year. Sanchez looks like that veteran. At this point, it would be surprising if he is not under center Week 1.
“If you’re confident in your ability, you’ve got no problem helping a guy,” Sanchez said. “If you see something, whether it’s on the field, off the field, you can just help him out as much as you can.”
“Whether it was a veteran that came in, any of the names that were out there, any of these guys in the draft that are becoming pros this year, my focus wouldn’t change,” Sanchez said. “The most important thing for me was getting involved with the players here, meeting these guys, develop a relationship, learn this playbook as fast as I can and then get involved in the community and establish myself as a leader on this team. That’s going to take time and that’s going to take reps, no matter who was here. It happens to be Paxton [Lynch]. We’re happy. He’s a great talent. He’s going to add to our quarterback room. That’s going to make it fun.”
“See how that is done, Sam? It really isn’t that hard, you jackass.”
Oh, wait, he didn’t actually say that out loud, only in subtext.
The difference Sanchez has zero chance of ever being a starting caliber quarterback. Bradford does.
I’m glad he will be guiding Denver’s young QB and not ours.
Out in the Midwest they call it a butte fumble.
Mark’s just thrilled he’s getting paid millions to ride the bench again.
Now he can relax in his recliner knowing that the pressure of being the starter is gone. Of course, he welcomes his “mentor” role.
I don’t get it. he is starting this said
A recent observation about the stupidity of Dallas:
They were trying to trade back in to the first round to select Paxton Lynch. From the late teens to the mid twenties, they were offering a 2nd and a 3rd round pick. No one bit. Then they started offering a 2nd and a 4th after that. SEA said they would do it for a 2nd and a 3rd. Dallas said no.
My point is– if you were willing to trade a 2nd and a 3rd to get Lynch a few minutes ago, why wouldnt you do it when you have someone who’s willing to take that. You’re getting the same player for the same compensation you were just willing to spend on him. Who cares what number selection it was. Long live Dallas stupidity.
once they offered a 2nd and a 3rd there’s no way a team would take less. Teams talk to each other and the offer was probably well known.
This is the danger of being to beholden to a value chart. The macho need to “win” the trade clouded their judgement.
Macho Harris? Now that’s a name I’ve not heard in a long time…
That’s worth a letter to Cowboys’ HQ.
Not sure this has occurred to them yet.
Dallas draft went great (for the Eagles). If they had gone Ramsey and Jack 1-2, I’d be a lot more concerned with them. And they easily could’ve.
I don’t fault them for drafting Jaylon Smith. He should have been a top 5 pick. Plus their team doctor was the one who performed Smith’s surgery. I was hoping that the Eagles would have picked him in the 2nd.
Asking the doctor who performed the surgery how he’ll heal up is like asking the prostitute you hired how the lay was.
Analogy of the century for analyzing anybody taking $ from Jones.
I wondered if they could have just drafted him at the begginning of round 3?
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Allegedly Smith ISNT who the really wanted because they tried to trade up for both Lynch and pass rusher Ogbah.
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If smith goes on to have a 8 year career it will be a brilliant pick. I just wonder if Jack was The safer Gamble that they overlooked just because their doctor did Smiths surgery..
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They may have been able to take Jack in round 2 and Smith in round 3… Although its possible another team was comfortable enough with his medical to take Jaylon Smith in round 2
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Dallas pass rush is still weak, so I can’t complain too much about the draft they had, Facing Zeke will absolutely suck, but their defense is still suspect even when they get Gregory and Lawrence back
I’d be more worried about them if they had Jack, though.
I loved the headline I saw on Reddit. Something on the lines of
“Jerry Jones wanted to overpay to move up and draft Paxton Lynch. Stephen Jones said no way”
How the fuck is using a 3rd and 2nd rounder to draft a QB who you think can be a franchise player be considered an overpay?
I saw a picture of the war room and it was like Jerry and 4 family members. I know that’s how it works, but it would be really coincidental if the family members were really the best 4 people for the job. I’m happy that Jerry works that way.
Yes and no… People are typically anti nepotism, but in some cases, nepotism means a guy like Stephan Jones could have started to learn the business and be groomed for this eventual opportunity years before everyone else who he would end up competing with for an executive position… Just depends on what type of person Stephan Jones was growing up. Did he take advantage of the opportunity to really learn the business inside out, being smart enough to take advantage of getting a head start learning the business long before most people who eventually work up to that position in the NFL, or was he a spoiled brat who took it for granted, always knowing he would get this opportunity and didn’t feel the need to take his grooming serious growing up?
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Nepotism ISNT always bad… Some times it actually leads to the most qualified candidate, all depends on the person and how serious he took the responsibility of knowing he would eventually be given this position when he was growing up..
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In our case, hopefully Stephan Jones was a spoiled brat who took this all for granted growing up
I hope Paxton Lynch comes in week 8 and lights it up for Denver
I wonder if it was really only Jerry who was in love with Paxton.
I see Lynch as a poor risk for the first round. So Dallas was wise to avoid him; but getting Prescott isn’t exactly a good backup play.
If you are going to take a Raw upside QB like Paxton who may have to sit a couple years, not a Horrible idea to make sure you get that 5th year option on him taking him late round 1 instead of round 2
it’s not bad but they should have just moved back in the first and taken him mid first. the 5th year option is super valuable for Qbs.
I see him as more of a bust waiting to happen than a top prospect; he’s more likely to be ditched out after his rookie deal than to see a 2nd contract.
Another example; Elliot at 4.
In Howard and Spadaro’s latest interview talking about the draft picks, Howie states all of the prospects they took in the 7th had 3rd/4th round grades by their book. I guess that’s what happens in a deep draft so maybe this was THE BEST draft to trade picks to go up. http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/videos/videos/Inside-The-Studio-Howie-Roseman/70557754-d8c7-43ab-a68d-2681df335d4a
So it wasn’t Chip this whole time after all….
Same story every year. We shall see.
I dont remember him ever saying that. Meh
It seems to me (and not just the Eagles), despite regime, you always here about how the team got player X in round Y but they had a Z round grade on him. I’m sure that its true.
As you go down the draft board evaluations are sure to skew greatly from scout to scout especially with all the different schemes out there.
While I am sure that it is always true when we hear this (and we do), I just don’t think it really matters. Of course I am heavily in the belief that the draft is a pretty high % of luck. That, coupled with the fact that it is so hard to predict what your team will do, is why I don’t really get into the draft.
I remember so many people HATING on the Bennie Logan pick, LOVING Danny Watkins, etc. I’ll just wait and see how they do and judge them when I am good and ready!
Yeah but in this years case it’s probably the truth since most of them dropped because of being “problem child’s”
..
I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a big gap between a squeeky clean 7th round prospects and the kids we took late in this draft with charechter concerns..
.
Take away the past transgressions, doubt we can find a lot of people who had less than a 5th round grade on Mills..
..
McCalister is kind of like a Ms2 type prospect, all the tools to be molded into a quality edge rusher, but still raw and needs to spend a year or two getting stronger before he can really have a chance to succeed.. nice talent for round 7… Im not as familiar with Countess or the LB from Oregon
Wait, why wouldn’t that make it the best draft to accumulate?
It would. But of course, it’s BS.
I was thinking in terms of lessening the blow. If this draft were top heavy and the Eagles trade up there would be no good players left. However, in this one, although they traded up, there were still players to be had latter. They got their franchise qb and some decent players. Finally, do you really want to be the Browns?
Thought the Browns played it very well. Going for a game manager and building roster strength is not a bad strategy, be interesting to see if they can execute it.
Happy Teacher Appreciation Day to the educators on the board…
Anyone have thoughts on Bishop Sankey. I know he sucks, but if he gets cut – do we poke around? Or are we all RB’d up?
I think this team should maybe sign someone like him, just bring in one more guy in that group. Only it seems like 3 of them are smaller shiftier guys, maybe they need to bring a bigger back in
I miss the days when our RB’s and WR’s were NOT a weakness. #fuckUChip
I agree with #FUCHIP, but I remember when we had Charles Johnson and Torrance Small and went 11-5. I also remember when we had Stinkston and Trash and went 11-5, 12-4, and 12-4. And that was in an NFL where you needed better WRs because the DBs could get away with a lot more contact.
True, true….it just sucks now seeing how depleted we’ve become over the past few years and now trying to build those spots up again.
I had Sankey on my fantasy team. a waste of a spot.
He is completely useless.
Eagles are in a real bind. No one likes sam bradford but if chase daniels looks like ass and wentz plays and looks like ass this is going to be a not happy fan base come weeks 10-16. Especially after we watched the team give up last year.
Think it’d be better just to sell the rebuilding, and focus on 2017.
Sam Bradford is in a bind if he doesn’t play. He played a 14 out of 16 games and settled on a 2-year deal on the off season.
Does he expect to get a long term deal in the off-season from another team if he sits out for an entire year? At the age of 29 going onto 30?
Does he expect the Eagles to just trade him for whatever compensation they can get while paying him $16 million over the course of 2 years?
attitude problems could reduce his numbers but RG3 got a contract with similar problems
QB- Hopefully set for the future
RB- nothing special, but not terrible
WR- probably the worst unit in the NFL, definitely bottom 5.
OL- Solid group with decent depth. Not great but not a liability either
DL- Pretty decent, but I’m not sure what to make of Curry
LB- I think they’re a lot worse than what people expect. Hicks was great last year but we don’t know how he’ll come back from injury or was just playing at an unsustainable level. Then you’ve got Kendricks who I’m not a fan of at all. Not great in coverage
S- Probably the best unit on the team
CB- Solid group, nothing special
Ha, you’re even more cynical than me. DL is pretty good, but maybe not elite. I am curiously to see what OL looks like in a non-Chip system. It was ridiculous last year, but maybe that was mostly scheme.
QB, of course, is the main thing. Just keep in mind how hard it is to get a good one. Sam Bradford was a #1 overall draft pick!
we’ll never know how badly Chip’s “scheme” screwed up the O-line because we’re so busy undoing his neglect from the personnel end. would 2017’s o-line look any better than 2016’s in that same unimaginative scheme?
It is very hard to stop a guy that knows exactly what you are going to do before you do it. The OL will be better.
I generally agree and it seems most of us arent expecting much in terms of record. Maybe a notch below .500 if that. Then its all coming down to coaching really on both sides of the ball. Really hoping Shwartz is a big factor here keeping them in games while the O figures it out. Then special teams and getting Parkey back.
Hicks tore his pectoral… its not a career damaging injury unless it does not heal properly and even then it only increases injury risk not reduces play level. Kendricks is inconsistent but he has been very good at times… and he is now playing his natural position and should be able to go and play make. Starter wise these guys have far higher upside than almost any group Andy ever had. LB is not such a premium position in a 4-3.
WR is hard to project – depends on Agholor having a 2nd year bounce. If he plays to his talent level then we have 2 decent receivers and pretty decent depth. Projecting how any of our WR’s will play in this new scheme is almost impossible, but they have upside to be a pretty solid unit if things go well.
OL to an extent depends on Peters health but if he is healthy then we can have a really good OL since just moving out of Chips scheme will help to a significant degree and they were not as bad as people make out last year.
remember a few years back when Andy and KC played Eagles and that little slot receiver tore it up all day on our pitiful D. Thats the offense
Hicks has missed significant time in 3 of the last 4 seasons. He needs to play the next 48 games straight in order to shed that “fragile” label.
I’d be ok if we took sean lee in the 3rd rd.
Although Sean Lee was taken in the 2nd, had a better pedigree than Hicks, and came from a far better program.
super early but i want to give it a shot.
final 53 barring any trades or injuries
QB- Bradford, daniel, wents
qb:3
rb-Matthews, sproles, smallwood
rb: 3
wr-matthews, agholar, huff, randle, givens
wr: 5
te-ertz, celek, burton
te: 3
Lt-peters, big V
lg-Wiz, seumalo
c-kelce,bruce johnson
rg- brooks, gardner
rt- johnson, kelly
ol: 10
offensive count:24
rde-graham, ms2, maccalister
1 tech-cox, racitti (hopefully a trade for allen/hart gets someone better)
3 tech-logan, martin,
lde- curry, barwin
de: 5
dt: 4
wlb-Kendricks, goode
mlb-hicks, walker
sam-bradham, braman
lb: 6
cb1-rowe,mckelvin
cb2-carroll, rice
nb-jacorey, brooks
cb: 6
fs-mcleod,countess,maragos
ss-jenkins, mills
Safety: 5
defensive count: 26
k-parkey
p-jones
ls-depalma
st: 3
Overall: 53
I like it. It was very similar to how I did mine yesterday.
Wow, both of you have Depalma winning the LS battle? What does that guy’s wife look like?
What, no (fill in the blank)????!!!!!!!!
if you could coach him up for it braman would make a good backup sam. has the size and athelticism to cover and blitz. he goes 6’5 250. runs in the 4.6-4.7 range. has impressive athleicism (39 inch vertical). obviously depends on if he has the instincts but i dont see him making the roster at DE and i want him on this team
and he’s badass
Agree. I don’t think he’s a 4-3 DE.
I think Fipp will find a way to keep him around.
Apparently Kiko is lighting up Dolphins camp. I like the guy and hope he succeeds but sucks for us if he goes back to stud lb.
Think people thought that trade was way better than it was. Bmax’s deal was reasonable after we paid huge amt. up front, kiko obviously super cheap – probably just hated chip kelly.
The cap dump was still beneficial to us if Brooks and McLeod can be as great as I think.. If we benefit from the cap dump, we have to give up some value to trade 5 spots into the top 10…. As long as Brooks and McLeod become big parts of our future like I think they can, even if Kiko gets back to pre injury form I’ll vie ok with how the deal worked out, even tho I would have always liked to see how he looked another year removed from the injury before giving up on him… We had to give up something we value to get up to #8..
..
Think it has a chance to be a solid trade that worked out well for both teams, and that’s fine with me… I don’t néed Roseman to rob teams in every trade, just solid trades that make us better, and if Wentz and the big free agents are legit, it will be more than an acceptable price to pay… And Miami gets Tunsil so it can turn out to be a win/win..
..
Even if BYRON has a bounce back yeàr, Id probably rather have McLeod and Leodis
..
I expect Brooks to eventually go down as a jon Ryun type home run signing, who will be a big time player for us for years to come. I never imagined that the Texans would allow him to reach the open market.
Runyon was a 2nd Team All Pro his last season in TN.
Brooks seems like a very good guard.
Either Houston knows something. Or he was a cap casualty.
In what way possible was Maxwells deal reasonable? He was getting paid 9.7, 11.7, 11.2, 10.95 and 10.75 million pr. year with us.
I get that maybe he wasn’t as bad as most Eagles fans think and looking at the 2016 FA market it wasn’t ridiculous, but even after his paycut in Miami, he is still paid like a top 10 corner, which is outrageous considering he wasn’t at best an average starter. If he raises his play sure, then great but that deal was NOT reasonable.
It’d be so Eagles for Kiko and Max to be pro bowlers next year
That hurts.
Maxwell is a solid CB, and with the cap going up and with us eating his signing bonus he will be ‘fine’. However he is not a difference maker – he was not at Seattle and was wrongly cast as that with the Eagles. I think he will go to Miami and be solid – and they will be ok with that. Kiko is the upside play, but he did not appear to be a fit with Schwartz anyway so i do not see the problem of putting him in a better situation to succeed.
so kiko’s “a shark in the water” at this point in training camp?
Not to mention it got us our guy. That whole thing just has to work out now.
The Eagles aren’t the only team that has players like Lorenzo Booker, Hank Basket, and of course Na Brown himself.
Wes Welker, Danny Amendola, Leonard Weaver, Jared Allen etc etc etc.
They better hope they get that out of Maxwell, since there is talk of rookie Xavier Howard to start on the other side… Talented kid, but boy does he like to get burnt making over agressive mistakes and I’ll advised gambles. Nice prospect, but I’d be scared to death of starting him week 1 as a rook
Happens all the time to lots of teams. I wouldn’t be really surprised. Different places work differently for different guys…different. Honestly hope the best for both of them.
My avatar is a nice indication of what I look like when I think about Jake Arrieta.
We could have had them if Jim Schwartz wanted them so I’m not worried
I’m sure that is a lot of fluff from the Dolphins coaching staff. He’ll be back to his garbage play soon enough. When actual hitting needs to take place; Kiko will nowhere to be found.
The Dolphins already won that trade when the best player in the draft fell to them at #13
We were pretty excited about Kiko all the way through the first game. It doesn’t mean much yet.
Terron Armstead got a 5 year deal from the Saints,,,real nice pick by NO
Signaled the end of Trent Cole’s career in my eyes.
I don’t get the reference. What does Saints OT to do with Trent Cole’s career?!
Cole played like poop in that playoff choke vs. New Orleans at the end of the 2013 season.
Ok. So we’re basically talking about one game. Shoot it was the Eagles last playoff appearance. 🙁
Cole fading into oblivion was unfortunate. Not sure if that game was the real indicator of that, but his 2014 sucked here.
Still love him. And one of the better 5th round picks by the Eagles. Just like Brent Celek.
LoveD what he did here for most of his career, but he was definitely done when we cut him.
though sadly still more productive than BG.
Yes, agreed.
Think if i remember Armstead played Cole his rookie year n shut him down
Could have had him and Lane. I guess Bennie is a nice consolation prize though.
I hope Mills and Countess get a look at CB. Mills on the outside and Countess in the slot.
Pre-season games are going to be really fun to evaluate some of these new dudes.
Oh definitely, can’t wait ….probably the most excited ive been to see the preseason since..last preseason
Remember how amazing last pre-season was when sammy b played Green Bay? I was telling everyone it was a super bowl year.
I keep hearing Mills as a safety but they probably like him for his cover skills also so versatile
https://twitter.com/AngeloSports/status/727568251996143616
what’s a Kyle Washington?
That offense looks like how I used to call plays in Madden.
These highlights are hilarious.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3nC_cNjUJ0
So looks like we want a downfield passing game?
I like the way they mix 4 vertical routes with 5 verts to keep the defense guessing.
Talent beats scheme apparently hahaha
Michael Vick jacked up!!!
Interesting, kid has a nice arm and good size. Seems like we may be following the seahawks method of aquiring back ups with similar measurables to the starters..hes big and athletic like wentz but of course more raw..
Mike is going to love this signing.
Running back depth; right?
Honestly, he looks like an H-back to me.
If you’re a duel threat; you’re no threat. Maybe he’s here to play wide out or TE?
The best seasons an Eagles QB ever had were from dual threat QBs. Just saying.
Who?
mcnabbulous
2004, McNabb’s best season, saw 469 passing attempts and 41 rush attempts. That ain’t duel threat; that’s a guy playing the game the right way.
but the THREAT was always there right?
Nope, clearly if the guy doesn’t rush for more than 50 times a year then he doesn’t qualify for “dual threat”. Obviously the guy didn’t run at all and the stats guy screwed up.
Ha ha. I can’t remember, but wasn’t 2004 basically when McNabb started to get lead feet and think he was Joe Montana? I loved how gifted he used to be how he could put defenses in tricky spots with his legs.
McNabb and Vick.
27-2?
True
That’s at the top for now. Hopefully Wentz smashes that.
what? you can be a dual threat. for example, Sam Bradford, he can hold out for money or get injured and not play at all. two ways to get you.
eaglesgameballs can crack you up with stupidity or grammar, both are fun.
mike vick, he can throw an INT or fumble.
Byron Maxwell was a dual threat as well, he wouldn’t tackle or cover.
Nice!
He’s a wideout
“The back-to-back Lone Star Conference offensive player of the year certainly has the athleticism to play another position in the NFL — which looks like it could be wide receiver.”
http://dal.247sports.com/Bolt/Cowboys-check-on-Angelo-State-QB-Kyle-Washington-44629910
Paging shah8 – Joe Webb 2.0???
Kinda bugs me a little bit how Howie threw out the ole’ “couldn’t fill all the holes (that CK made) in one off-season”. In general this is a better overall roster than when CK came in. If he hadn’t removed the elite talent it could be very very good. When Chip came in the bottom of the roster was really bad. Bottom of the roster has felt really good ever since 13′.
Might have been more of “you can’t change scheme philosophies easily in one year” type of statement, hopefully. We are switching from a 3-4 to a 4-3, and a big change on offense, etc. That is probably only reasonably done since we still had some 4-3 players on the roster.
It helps when your coach doesn’t gut your team every other season and failing to replace guys that were cut.
Er yeah… it’s kind of more important to have elite talent than good special teams gunners.
Gutted that the Germans lost today. However I will be putting money down on Thomas Müller scoring at least 7 goals in the Euros this year. Just like when Germany won the World Cup when Bayern Munich lost in the semis two years ago.
who?
what?
huh?
I think he is talking about that weird football where they use their feet.
Like…Caleb Sturgis?
Maybe that’s the reason why it’s called Futbol?!
Bayern was pretty unlucky for sure altho I think it is time for Pep to go. He just couldn’t get them over the hump in champions league. Continue to be amazed by what Simeone is doing.
It would be nuts if its a Man City/Atletico final. Atletico took down Bayern and Barca though, maybe they’re better than people have been giving them credit for.
Does anyone think it is possible that Bradford may just decide to retire if he cannot find a trade partner. Some may say it is farfetched, but lets not forget that it wasnt to long ago he thought about retiring.
possible but that would be really really weak sauce, even for Samuel
Wouldnt surprise me. He is pulling some really weak stuff right now.
I agree, he’s still better than some of the guys starting right now, especially if he had longevity on a team. I think what he doesn’t want to do is bounce around the league. It’s not like he “grew up” under one OC. Money aside (yeah i know) he’s had a pretty rough go of it.
I wonder how much he cares about “legacy.”
If he’s actually got a passion for the game, he might not want to go out like this; if he sticks it out one more year there’s a decent chance he can nab a long-term starting job next season.
He’d have to give the money back. All of it I’d think. If he wants to do that he may have a way out. Might have to pay agent out of pocket who knows.
He has made a lot of money, and i feel as though he is a player that has invested his money correctly and already has plans post football.
Returning that money might not be as big of a deal to him as we may assume.
$26 million signing bonus. Not a big deal? Likely still have to pay his agent fee -not getting that back,
So not only would he not be getting the guaranteed money he’d be losing three quarters of a million dollars to not play.
Yeah, don’t see that happening from a guy who has theoretically “invested his money correctly”.
Im pretty sure he has not received 26 million from us. Matter of fact at this point and time he has only received 5.5 mil.
OK. I picked the 26 mil as a signing bonus from some other internet knucklehead.
I still stand by the argument that if he’s “smart with his money” he’s not giving it back/retiring.
It has been happening around the NFL, and they are players that are younger and havent made nearly as much as him. He has contemplated retirement before.
It’s the giving back millions that makes no sense. He’s be out of pocket on his agent commission too.
In which again countless of younger less paid players have done it. For them it does make sense because they generally have a plan in place. 5 mill to Bradford is no where near 5 mill for us.
It’s a possibility, sure. But you can’t say a guy is “good with money” in the same breath as saying he’ll lose 700k (or whatever) to his agent and leave 10 million on the table when all he has to do is show up.
People who care about money care about money. There’s no such tithing as chump change to them.
Unless to them the rewards of retiring are greater then the rewards of continuing to play. Im sure he already has a plan in place for life after football. He has already openly stated that he considered retirement. When he said that he would have had to pay back more then 5.5 mil. That goes to show that he views turning over 5.5 back to a team a real possibility.
Yes, sure. But it is incontrovertibly bad fiscal management and bad business in general.
Also when other players in their prime retire, how many do so just a few months after signing a new deal. Theoretically the Eagles would actually have grounds for damages, they could claim signed in bad faith which has cost their operations a significant amount of money.
I agree he “can” retire. If he does so it shows he’s got no financial sense at all.
Returning the money after signing would be the best time to return it because at that time its almost like he never got it. More then likely none of it was spent.
I understand losing any amount of money is not good fiscal management. I have never alluded to the fact that i think it is. My point is that the reward of retiring could be greater then the need for that money, helped by the fact that he wisely saved/invested his money from the previous contract.
Regardless, it doesn’t matter now because he will be returning shortly. As disappointed as I am in his perceived personality, I do believe he is currently the best option for the Birds to win games.
http://www.phillyvoice.com/so-what-if-sam-bradford-just-never-shows/
dont think % is very high but its not zero either
Pretty sure he’d have to return the signing bonus, so no.
Conspiracy theory speculation – thinking back to when the Rams made the trade for the #1 pick, I remember thinking at the time that it was odd that it was sort of announced that the Eagles dropped out of the bidding. I wonder if while the Titans were shopping the pick and driving the price, the Eagles and Rams had a chat and realized they were chasing different QBs. Eagles pull out, maybe having the framework of a deal with Cleveland in place. The Rams maybe pay a little less as a result and promise not to change their minds and take Wentz. Unlikely, I know. Just throwing it out there…
Interesting theory, but I do not think that happened. I do believe, however, that once the Rams secured # 1 they did give HR and the birds a fairly clear indication that Goff was their guy which enabled us to move forward to finalize a deal with Cle. before the draft. That’s my opinion anyway. Good news is that it all worked out and that’s all that really matters.
Been saying this all along. 1) Jaylen Watkins is a really solid player. He showed it last season when he came back to the team (see PFF stats) PLUS he can also play safety. I think he should make this team 2) JeCorey Shepard is going to BE A STUD IF HE CAN FULLY RECOVER. He has all the talent in the world. Lots of fans dont know about him because he played at Kansas, late round pick because he ran a slow 40 time but that’s only because he was running on a strained hammy. Sucks that ACL Injury had to happen but look forward to him winning that Slot position.
Overall:
Defense:
I love the competition happening at the CB position along with some young talent. FINALLY a safety tandem we can really hang our hats on. Im really amped about Jaylen Mills growing behind Jenkins & McCleod.
Our Starting Linebackers are athletic and nasty however we lack serious depth for all LB positions; watch out for UDFA Myke Taverres making this team, the dude is a thumper. Our DLine Struggled to put pressure on the QB last season on a consistent basis but I look forward to my 2 favorite players, Brandon Graham and Vinny Curry, thriving in the 4-3 plus there is depth at this position. Cox and Logan, what’s not to love however we lack depth at the DT position. Bold prediction; UDFA Connor Wujiack makes this roster. I still really wished we had signed Nick Fairley.
Offense
Finally solid Depth at OL now especially the interior. I like our RB’s. Im hoping to see these young WR, take the next step; Huff drives me nuts because he has a lot talent but can’t seem to put it together. TE’s = Best Duo In Football and QB… not going there because this is all we talk about now but obviously a fantastically promising future with Wentz who clearly has all the tools.
In Conclusion:
My concern is the depth at DT, OLB, & ILB. Hopefully we acquire a Vet released from another team.
I know it hasn’t gotten a lot of attention yet, but the competition among the specialists could get interesting.
K: Parkey and Sturgis look pretty evenly matched – Parkey had an amazing 2014 but seemed to have cooled off last year before going on IR, while Sturgis had the best year of his career and was a lot better than I think most of us expected.
P: Donnie Jones has been probably the best punter we’ve had in decades, but he’s also 35. Now, special teams is one area where guys can be consistently good into their 30s and even 40s, but it has to be a concern. Enter Quigley, who’s been the Jets’ punter the past three seasons and been good to OK, and is also only 26 years old.
LS: Dorenbos is in the same boat as Jones: consistently solid and it is his job to lose, but also hitting the age where the dropoff could be very steep when it happens. DePalma is only an UDFA, but if he can show even a little versatility, who knows?