Homegrown
Posted: August 29th, 2016 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 263 Comments »D is for defense.
D is also for draft and develop.
It wasn’t all that long ago when the Eagles struggled to draft and develop defensive talent. Picks didn’t pan out for a variety of reasons – injury, attitude, athleticism, scheme fit, alien abductions. You name it. That led to more than a few mercenaries being brought in. Asante Samuel, Cullen Jenkins, Jason Babin, Nnamdi Asomugha, DRC, Darryl Tapp, Ernie Sims and Will Witherspoon were among the many guys brought in between 2008 and 2011. These guys weren’t role players. They were brought in to be impact starters or key players.
Things have changed in a big way. Think about the DL.
DE Vinny Curry … Brandon Graham
DT Bennie Logan … Beau Allen
DT Fletcher Cox …. Taylor Hart
DE Connor Barwin … Smith / Means
Either 6 or 7 of the top 8 on the DL will be homegrown players. That’s pretty darn impressive. And Barwin wasn’t given mega-money to come here. He’s played his best football as an Eagle. Means has bounced around the league, but he’s really been developed by the current Eagles staff. He has played 12 games, but only has 6 career tackles so he is still very raw.
The Eagles best LB is Jordan Hicks. He’s homegrown. Mychal Kendricks can be a very good LB at times and he’s homegrown. Joe Walker looked very promising this summer. We’ll have to see how he comes back from the ACL, but he could still have a bright future.
The secondary is largely built on outside players, but there is even hope out there. Eric Rowe was a 2nd round pick last year and after a slow start this spring/summer, he’s been coming on as of late. Rookie Jalen Mills has potential. He’s been uneven this summer, but looked great in the spring. Fellow rookie C.J. Smith has come from nowhere to battle for a roster spot. None of these guys will be mistaken for Eric Allen anytime soon, but there is hope.
At Safety, Jaylen Watkins has really turned his career around. He’s playing the best football of his young career. Rookie Blake Countess is talented, but needs time to develop. I’m guessing he’ll be on the practice squad this year.
Who gets credit for all of this?
There isn’t one person. Howie Roseman certainly gets some. Eagles scouts have done a good job in the past 5 years of finding defensive talent early and late. You also have to give credit to the assistant coaches. Jerry Azzinaro did a very good job with the DL while here. Rick Minter scouted Jordan Hicks multiple times and then helped develop him last year. Jim Schwartz has done a great job of pushing players this year. He expects success and pushes them to live up to his standards. DL coach Chris Wilson has been a terrific fit with the scheme and players. LB coach Ken Flajole has done good things as well. Cory Undlin has more vets in his group, but he’s gotten some young players to step up.
It will be interesting to look back on this in January and see which players had good seasons, which disappointed and if any guys surprised us. No matter what, it does feel good to see the Eagles getting back to developing serious defensive talent. Let’s see if someone else from this group joins Fletcher Cox in the Pro Bowl this year.
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Excited about the defense. Now if they could just do the same with the receivers1
Reid actually had fixed it for us, but some crazy guy undid it all.
How many cumulative yards for Desean, Jeremy, and Lesean this year? How many TDs?
I am going to say 4000 and 22.
4000 is steep, Desean and Maclin are 1k receivers historically – and you are asking Lesean to get 2k all purpose yards in a backfield where there are other backs taking touches off him.
Think 3k is a good number and maybe 3500 yards if all 3 stay healthy all season.
Desean is playing for a pay check though. Let’s go 3500
I loved Desean pre-concussion. Post-concussion, I don’t know. Seems like he lost something.
Except for that whole defense part
Some high level defensive talent was brought in under Reid: Cox, Graham, Curry, Kendricks
Browns released Paul Kruger.. crazy how a couple of years can change a man…!
Think Browns are trying to go process. Is Kruger going to be someone you want on your team in 2018? Not really, so cut/trade those guys and go and try and develop young players.
TTP
he only played in 4 games last year
Chip should realize he has hit NFL Rock bottom when the Niners become way more dysfunctional than the Browns…
Team was a mess before he got there, not ure he’s making it worse. That team is going to be terrible though, it’s a shame. He would have been better off taking an OC job.
Rock bottoms n the sense that he was hired by the Eagles when his stock was the highest and he had multiple teams wanting to sign him…. 3 years later he had to take the San Fran job which was even less attractive than the Browns job, and struggled to find a defensive coordinator… it will be hard for chips NFL stock to get any lower at this point
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Then again. If they plan on firimg Baalke and letting chip and Gamble run the show next year, Then im sure it can get even worse lol
Analytics ftw
He is 30 man, happens to the best of em.
Bryan Stork failed his physical with the Redskins and has reverted back to the Patriots.
In a saga which refuses to end, Stork has now been cut, traded, retired, and now reverted in the last week. Again the owners of his rights, the Patriots will almost certainly release Stork before tomorrow’s deadline. Washington will have to look elsewhere for interior line depth.
Its so good to see the Eagles playing good Defense alongside a decent and solid offense. We’ll see how the season pans out but definitely this D is an improvement over last year already, even though it’s the preseason I can definitely tell that. Hopefully the offense remains semi-solid and mainly can finish drives in the red zone.
Looks like no Wentz for final preseason game. Probably won’t see him through another pass until 2017.
If last game is meaningless, they will probably play him.
Yeah ideally we have locked up the 4th seed as NFC Least champions with 9 wins, and bring Wentz in game 17. Then we beat the Vikings 13-10 at home before getting blown out by the Packers.
Then trade Bradford for 2x seconds and build with Wentz in 2017.
Assuming Bradford doesn’t get hurt …
They would probably go with Daniel depending on the situation but it increases the possibility Wentz will play.
Packers probably wouldn’t be #4 seed (Unless Bridgewater is really good). Likely SEA/AZ.
In my scenario they are the no.1 seed, we play the no.5 seed in the Vikings in the wild card round and then play at Lambo in the divisional round.
throw! THROW a pass not through how do you through a pass. SMH
I mean do we really all need to be a grammar Nazi on a blog site? Especially when on my phone you are just about never going to see me use an apostrophe, proper sentence, or anything close to the English language. As long as the point gets across..
For instance last week I was talking about Eric Rowe and said I wanted to a homegrown receiver. Everyone knew I meant CB (how Freudian of a slip was that?), and didn’t say anything.
Relax!
He did correct himself, so it’s not like he was giving someone else a hard time.
Just something bugs me in general because it applies so much to me!
Grammar Nazi to himself? Calm down Francis!
You wanted to what a homegrown receiver?
Can homegrown players theory work on offense? π I’m all for young talent…I don’t think any team wins without some hired help. It is nice to have a good core. As impressive as the DL may be, we have a pretty impressive safety duo….
Azzurino seems like a guy they might want to bring back after Kelly gets fired in SF.
Azz has coached 2 gap for at least the past decade, beyond that it’s hard to track.
Wilson seems fine and has about as good a pedigree , he has coached Fletcher, Leonard Williams, Gerald McCoy …
If you assume linear progression from Hicks, and a healthy year; would he get the Cox treatment of having to wait another year for the Pro Bowl?
I think if Hicks plays like he did last year for this whole season, he will definitely be in the pro bowl. He was making game changing plays and putting up stats (INTs, FFs, & FRs). I think the thing that hurt Cox the most was not having the eye-popping stats (re:sacks) that get players recognized.
I agree with both your points. Hicks has huge potential and I predict the scheme this year will enable Fletch to get those sacks.
I predict his deal will look cheap by weak 8, i’m so excited. Def have this defense in fantasy
I can’t wait to see what Cox can do in this defense with the handcuffs taken off! He should have a huge year!
I thought Cox murdered Andrew Luck with that hit on Saturday
And to think…he usually doesn’t go as hard in the preseason. (pun intended) Just imagine what he’ll do when he starts “playing” for real. Haha
What i liked most is that we got pressure with a bunch of different rotations – what a difference a coach makes.
It is definitely encouraging to see that we can get pressure with just a 4 man rush. That is going to help us in the secondary so much! Unlike Billy D. who liked to give the other team’s WR a 12 yard cushion on 3rd and 10.
My favorite part of the game, aside from seeing Sammy Dollaz deliver strikes all over the field.
DBs are doing a much better job at jamming and the DL is crazy, i’m surprised they left luck in for so long.
Agreed! I would scream at my TV when our CBs were right up on the line and when the ball was snapped, they would bail. What is the freakin’ point of being right on the LOS then!?! Its not like they were fooling anybody. “Oh, maybe this time they are going to jam the receiver.”
He could be in the running for Defensive PY.
Remember how Nolan Carroll played great until week 10 and 11 last year when Ryan Tannehill and Jameis Winston made him look like the 2nd coming of Nnamdi. Having played all of 7 games in the NFL, I’d just like to see Hicks finish the season at a steady level before I get my hopes up.
I am very excited about Hicks’ potential, but we have been burned so many times by a promising rookie year that ends up being a JAG or worse. Don’t get me wrong, minus the injury, Hicks has done everything he needed to do so far to suggest he is a great find last year, but it is stated almost as a given that he will be a stud this year, and that’s simply not reality. He has certainly paved the way for it to become reality, but he has to play a full healthy season at a high level still before I’m just going to assume he plays at a consistently high level.
Hw about we just judge playΓ«rs by their play? Until he starts to struggle why the hell should a fan not be excited about him and sit in fear waiting for the other shoe to drop? Sounds like taking fandom a little too serious..l don’t know about you, but I choose to rather be excited about Hicks until his play gives me some reason to think otherwise… Shouldn’t be afraid to change your oppinion when presented with new information. I’d rather wait fil hicks gives me a reason to not be excited about him
I’m not hating on the guy, I just don’t think a 7 game career is enough to stat talking about future Pro Bowls.
I’m definitely excited about Hicks. But it seems like way to often we take extreme views on players. They are either busts or pro bowlers. There is an enormous middle ground between those two ends that we don’t often enough acknowledge. Personally, I do my best to avoid simplifying it to those two options, and for me, Hicks is good. He has the potential to be great. I am excited about that potential. But potential doesn’t mean anything once the ball is snapped. I’m just reserving judgement until I see more of a sample size and see that staying healthy is something he can do.
I am not particularly worried about the Pro Bowl, I just hope he doesn’t get the same Cox treatment that Agholor did.
Tennessee cut Blidi Wreh-Wilson. Cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson was a 2013 third-round pick who played 34 games for the team over the last three seasons. He started 14 of those games, but the addition of two free agents and two 2016 draft picks appear to have pushed him off the roster this time around.
D is also for Doug Pederson, who is as much of a home grown coach as you can get. Overlooked in all the criticism of his hire is the FO knows him and vice versa, and there’s been little to no friction wasting energy with him as HC.
Let’s hold off any parades. He hasn’t even been the HC of any games yet…
The Jerry Jones’ philosophy of “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today” is really going to hurt them with the Romo deal. What I am disheartened to see a bit is that not only does it appear that the Skins might have their best GM since Casserly but that Snyder & his cronies have finally taken a step back to let the football people run things along with making key decisions:
“Romo’s deal was so onerous — and Dallas’s cap situation was still ugly enough — that the Cowboys restructured it during the 2014 and 2015 offseasons, converting a combined $28.5 million of Romo’s base salaries into signing bonuses and pushing them into the future.
Those moves tie Romo and the Cowboys together for the foreseeable future,
regardless of how either Prescott or Romo perform in 2016. In 2017, Romo has a cap hit of $24.7 million. If Dallas decided to trade its quarterback or if Romo decided to retire, $19.6 million in dead money would accelerate onto the cap, which is a non-starter for a team that already has $185 million in contracts on the books next year. The only way the Cowboys could feasibly move on from Romo would be to designate him as a post-June 1 release, and even that would slap them with $12.7 million in dead money in 2017 before an additional $8.9 million hit them in 2018.”
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/page/BarnwellNFLPreview160829/nfl-dallas-cowboys-win-nfc-east-dak-prescott-playing-much-tony-romo-injured
Yeah managed to keep the GM sober in WAS, but he’s turned that team around quickly
yet the deal Washington gave to Josh Norman will haunt them
they still do bad deals
Norman looks pretty darn impressive to me though.
a lot of money tied into one guy
Norman helped cover up for an intellectually limited “coordinator” and putrid “safety” in Carolina. I bet they miss him more than Washington “overpaid” for the guy.
Proud of Doug and this coaching staff
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More often than not. There is usually a major long shot in camp who does everything right, out performjng a more established veteran day in and day out in practice, and preseason games. but far too often, when it’s time to put together the 53 man that Player gets left off the roster for a more established veteran with a bigger name. It happens so often that I have almost become conditioned to overlook the positive work a kid like Paul Turner does, because it’s pointless if tye majority of the time that player ends up being left off the roster for a more known commodity that didn’t bring it every day in the offseason like the no name LONGSHOT.
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This his so common that I would have bet that Paul Turner would end up being left off the roster for One of the veterans like Givens or Randle.. To my surprise both dissapointing veteran WRs were Εet go, and it’s not looking like PT is going to get the roster spot that he has EARNED this offseason, and I think it’s great and in think it sends a fantastic message to the locker room, and new players like DBG…. Now, when a guy like Shwartz says “This is a merit based defense”, maybe its not typical coach speak/white noise.
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And not just with cutting Randle and Givens, I don’t know about you guys but I didn’t expect MIKE Martin to get cut. I thought schwartz really liked him and he would end up making the team even tho he hasn’t played and we have multiple backΓΌp DTs who have been performing well and certainly earned a roster spot more than MIKE Martin did sitting in the trainers office all preseason
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paul Turner DOESNT have a big pedigree, Wasnt a high pick, ISNT some athletic freak with a big size or speed advantage, yet by keeping him, I love the message it sends to everyone… Fron DGB’s poΓ―nt of view, he just got here and he sees a guy like Rueban Randle who has been a starter for years in tthis league, is still in his athletic prime, coming off an 8 TD season to a team who was weak at WR, and DGB just watched that underachiever get cut, while no name Paul Turner who is 5’10 worked his way onto the roster
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Look at KEndricks, been our startkng LB for years, he missed most of the preseason, and now schwartz and Doug are making him play in the 4th preseason game. Good for them! This is a great message to send to a young team from a new coaching regime. No name playΓ«rs can no longer feel Like there is nothing they can possibly do to realistically make the team, and it sends a message to our established starters that we expect you to work and prove why you are the starter Consistently.
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Good for Pederson and his coaching staff… I don’t expect meaningful contributions from PT on sundays, but if he has oyt worked Randle and Givens this summer, than im happy he got the roster spot he earned becUse that isn’t always the case with some coaches. They may all preach “Meritocricy” but I think it’s powerful for a coaching staff to prove to its players that its how things will be done around here.
FFS
https://twitter.com/Tim_McManus/status/770315687239753728
Lol… He might be better off worrying about getting an NFL job first, before he worries about using his platform to protest
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Some how, 8th string Linebacker Myke Taveres choosing to sit down during the National anthem, probably isn’t going to get the kind of attention Kaep gets… And considering thursday may be his LAST NFL national Anthem, I’d worry more about my career if I were him… Especially since protesting the national anthem ISNT the best way to try and bring social change, there are probably so many better ways that he can try to make a social difference….
Can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Doubt people are sitting just because they are lazy.
I call that “cheap, Lazy. Activism” that will realistically accomplish NOTHING, there are plenty of better ways where he can be a more effective instrument of change than protesting the national anthem, what he did is lazy activism which is one small step above writing #Timeforchange on your Twitter account.
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Even his excuse of sitting down during the National anthem to draw attention to the problem and “Start the coversation” is bullshit… That Conversation has been started already, by now everyone in this country is already aware of the problem, and what he did ISNT even a blip on the radar of change..
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Cheap lazy activism “trying to start the conversation”..really? Two months ago we saw Lebron, CARMELO, Chris Paul, Deayne Wade, take a stance and draw attention to the cause, and they did so in a way that didn’t offend anyone… Just 5 days ago, pro athletes, sports writers. University professors. City council members got to get in Chicago to have a summit to really have this conversation and try to bring some real change to our society, and they did it in a way that didn’t offend anyone
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When you offend a group of people, your message gets lost, and instead of having the conversation we get side tracked now by having to debate whether he was disrespectful to the military or not, which takes away from the real conversation… Kaep has barely even practoced this summer, so if he cares this much,why didn’t he go participate in the Chicago race summit last week? Why isn’t he using his platform to bring a similar Summit to San Fracisco?
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My brother is serving his 3rd tour in the army, and personally I didn’t feel offended by what Kaepernick did. But if people Are offended by something, than it shouldn’t matter if I think they are right to be offended, and as long be offends people while trying to deliver a good message, it’s counterproductive, and realistically there are so many better, more impactful ways Kaep can make a difference, yet all he did was offend certain people for no reason since sitting during the anthem will accomplish nothing that he thinks he is fighting for
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It has become Black Community vs the Police… History taught us that when two sides are so divided on something. That pointing the finger at the other side and demanding that they change Typucally doesn’t work… IMO the most impactful way we can actually force change is to clean up our side of the equation instead of pointing fingers at the other side and demand that they change… If we take the steps to improve our part of the equation in the black community, THEN that shines a powerful light on the other side (Police) and puts pressure on them to clean up their own backyard…. Obviously the police SHOULDNT be killing any innocent people, I don’t care what color they are. It’s wrong, and it needs to stop, but we aren’t going to get anywhere If we continue this anti police culture in our communities. If our youth treats the police like shit, than we are just as wrong as the police… Just look at the “Stop Snitching” crap, that’s some of the most Ignoramt shit I have ever heard of… When the fuck did it become cool in our Culture to protect criminals who are polluting our own neighborhoods. We are so messed up that our kids THNK it’s cool to protect the criminals instead of helping the police clean up our own neighborhoods…. You know how many good hearted policemen there are who get treated like shit?
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Until we take ownership of cleaning up the trash and improving our communities, we are wasting time pointing at the police and expecting them to do all the changing, until we become partners with the police departments and work together to clean up our society, all this talk is just that… Talk!
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Until we care about helping police clean up the trash in our neighborhoods, instead of harboring criminals with this ignorant “stop snitching” crap, nothing will change, as for the Police, it’s time that good police officers stop protecting bad police in the name of protecting the sheild, and start exposing the bad cops.. Because by protecting racist or bad police offers, they are giving the public a reason to hate the police, which in turn makes the jobs of good policemen even more dangerous,
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Both sides need to stop pointing fingers and start doing THERE part to clean up their own trash..once we can accomplish that, THAT puts REAL pressure on the other side to get their shit together… We have so much to do in terms of cleaning up our own communities and raising our youth right. If we Do OUR PART to clean up our side of the Ugly equation, then we really have the power to demand the same from the police.
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We need to enter a partnership with the police, where we step up and work to make our communities better, clean up our own trash, and the Good police need to put an end To the defending the police fraternity at all costs, and step up and start policing the trash out of their own police department
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This problem will ONLY be solved by coming together as people to work towards change together, yet all Kaepernick accomplished was managing to segregate us more by offending members of the military community which is counterproductive and takes away from the message he was trying to deliver
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And the change needs to start with how we are raising our youth. Too many boys have kids and DONT raise them, and there is also a large portion of the population that has kids that they can’t raise because they are in prison. the best way To help change this is for our generation to step up its parenting better than the previous generation, especially in poor neighborhoods
is there a TL/DR for this post?
Sure
People sat a lot in the 60s
This was my issue in how he went about it. Usually, if you are in a position like him, you’d consult some people first before doing something like that. He didn’t do that and decided to go out on a limb all by himself.
wonder what his next career choice will be?
Uhg that pissed me off, so many good people died to have a country he can do that in. You think you can change something by sitting on your butt? Love your country enough to stand at attention during the anthem, then care enough to go make your country a better place. Get up off your butt in all cases.
I know the country has plenty of ugliness, I’ve seen it. But why should the country change for you if you don’t care about it? Got to own that stuff, get in the game and make a difference.
Well said
save time
cut him now and he can sit as long as he wants anywhere but on the field
Wish he didn’t cave.
I’m not a big Kap fan, but respect his opinion on this.
looks like PT is getting the roster spot he earned,…anyone know what his value is to our special Teams? Is it possible that they have their eye on another WR like the Cayleb Jones kid instead of PT?
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With MIKE Martin out of the way at Defensive tackle, I assume it comes to Taylor Hart vs Destiny Vaeao, unless they decide to keep 5 DT’s, but I think that will be hard to do If we are planning on keeping 5 DE’s… My guess is they 4 DT, 5DE, and keep Braman instead of keeping a 6th LB
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Lol andrew Gardner took a pay cut and they cut him anyway..lol that’s cold, but it makes some sense with Vaitai being the backΓΌp RT, and Keeping Tobin is important with him being the LT behind older JP who comes with durability concerns
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Wisnewski had a BIG game against the Colts. They have tΓ΄ugh decision to make in Seumalo vs Wis for that last starting spot
Think we will keep 10 DL, and 5 DT’s and DE’s. We will normally dress 8 DL on game day so it makes sense to have a couple spare at a high attrition position.
I have them keeping 25 players on offense, 25 defenders, and 3 specialists…. I think 18 roster spots will be allocated to the trenches (9 OL, and 9 DL) but the #5 DE is better than #5 DT so I think they go with 5 DE, and 4 DT?.. SigΕ Destiny Vaeao off the practice squad if a DT gets hurt…
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Defensive roster (25 players)
4 DT:
cox
Logan
beau
hart vs Vaeao for the 4th spot
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5 DE
BG
Barwin
vinny
MS2
means
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6 LBs
Hicks
Kendricks
Bradham
Tulloch
Goode
Bryan Braman,., when you have 5 LB with NFL experience, your 6th LB is just going to be a special team player anyway. So instead of keeping a ST LB like Gause, they are going To end up using that #6 LB so they can keep Bryan Braman,… Makes no sense to keep a ST player like Gause, but cut a better ST player in BRAMAN, so I think they will end up using that #6 LB spot to keep our ST ACE!
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Then I got 10 DBs, most likely 6 CB and 4 Safeties
4 Safety
Jenkins
McLeod
maragos
watkins
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6 CB
Leodis
Brooks
nolan
Rowe
mills
CJ Smith vs Aaron Grymes, loser goes to the practice squad
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Ideally im sure they would prefer to keep 5 DT, but I don’t know where we can subract from to keep an extra DT…my best guess would be cutting both Grymes and CJ Smith and only keep 5 CB’s,
I don’t know what else we could Sacrafice other than the 6th CB to keep a 5th DT
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Your thoughts?
I think Braman should be more than a ST – he can get sacks.
Sort if ironic that you don’t give Mr. “I’m not the GM”, credit for bringing in these guys Bennie, Beau, Taylor, and basically the whole secondary
Mills, Brooks, McKelvin, and McLeod make up 3/5 of the starting secondary. How exactly should Chip get credit for that?
Whole secondary was an exaggeration, but you get my point.
I’m not sure how much credit Chip should get for defensive draft picks. He really seemed to allow Billy Davis and the defensive position coaches to be involved in the draft process. Heck, wasn’t Azz’s title assistant head coach?
We know Chip had some defensive input…βSo when we could get our hands on (Hart), we had him rated a lot higher,β Kelly said. βI know I say that a lot, but thatβs true for us. We would have taken him in the third. Weβre fortunate. I think Howie (Roseman) did a great job of how we ordered it today. The other guy would be gone first, so let’s take him. He guaranteed me Hart would be there in the fifth and he was right.β
odds on Myke Tavarres making the final roster just got a bit longer
Not even sure if he is going to make the PS.
Wentz spending that signing bonus on a new tat…
So, are the Rothlisburger comparisons simply because they’re both so damn ugly?
I dunno, I never saw any of Big Ben’s tattoos…
I hope it’s the one about not marking up your skin.
Another great post. You’ve been on a roll.
Hey, don’t forget to tip your waiter. Tommy works hard for those Funyuns.
I’m starting to feel like the straight man in a comedy skit.
Chargers finally signed Bosa lol
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Broncos are trying to trade Mark Sqnchez.. Good luck with that, It would be great to see Dallas sigΕ sanchez
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How long until the Desperate Cowboys sigΕ Paul Kruger and Quinton Coples?
I can;t believe chip passed on Paxton Lynch. The guy was ready-made for his offense.
White, you mean?
Is that you LeSean?
No seriously, a big dude (who presumably won’t easily get injured) who can run and throw. The air raid offense he ran at Memphis isn’t that far off from Chip’s offense.
Krapnick will be on the bench all year
and this has nothing to do with a protest
Unless the Niners cut him
I wonder how his contract affects this decision
He took a team friendly deal so 49ers could sign his teammates – guess that was dumb. Deal i think is basically a series of 1-yr deals after this year (which is guaranteed)
bench him this year and make him 3rd string
cut him after the season
I feel like they spent the $, cut him, fuck it. He’s not getting close to the field, he’s a distraction (although now there’s a PR issue) feel like both parties are better off moving on with their lives.
Never expecting a player to take a team friendly deal again – that went totally sideways on Kap.
Could it be that this is a publicity stunt in order to make himself un-cutable this season?
We don’t know. I’d don’t want to say he doesn’t care about what he’s protesting, or that it’s not worthy of protest. Just curious he does it now when he’s trying to get himself out of dodge. Problem with that is if he really is protesting, he may have cost himself long-term to get another contract.
Lots to unpack and not enough space to write in. Without guaranteed money, this is a very huge risk he’s taking.
One might almost say that someone who is willing to take actual risks for what he believes in is in some way admirable, as opposed to a bullet proof star who can say whatever he wants.
I agree with you
what other long term contract is kap getting?
He’ll be able to sit all he likes.
Looking at homegrown v external talent positionally is revealing:
The last very good CB we drafted were Lito and SBrown? They were drafted in 2002. Think about that, that was 14 years ago.
The last very good S we drafted was Michael Lewis from that same 2002 draft. Again, 14 years ago.
Those two positions alone highlight why the defense has been so up/down the last 8 years or so. We’ve been forced to sign external talent like Samuel, Nnamdi, Jenkins, McLeod, McKelvin, Carroll, Scounces, Maxwell, Fletcher, Chung etc. and most have been either mediocre or worse. Plus it leads to a massive lack of continuity which is bad for a defense.
Offense has not been much better albeit more recently.
The last very good OG we drafted was probably Shawn Andrews in 2004. OT and C have been better with Johnson & Kelce, but the trade for Peters was necessary since we had not drafted a very good OT since Herremans in 2005 and he was forced to play OG.
RB and WR would have been better if Chip had not made bad personnel decisions with McCoy and Jackson and, after dumping Jackson, decided to pony up for Maclin.
Which brings us to QB – last very good one was McNabb in 1999 which tells a main part of the story for why we’ve been inconsistent. Kolb, Foles, Barkley, Kafka, Hall, Feeley led to experiments like Vick and now Bradford and Daniel. Hopefully, Wentz will be the right answer; we need it.
Drafting hasn’t been great here.
Understatement of the year π
Drafting was bad 2006-2009 where we had entire drafts without getting impact players. Since then we have been batting either at league average or better since then. The problem the team has had post 2008 is that we have lacked a franchise QB to build a team around – which means you do not just need to be good – you need to be great at every aspect organisationally to build a contender.
But then i think our roster is pretty good and i expect us to win 8-10 games this year.
What impact players have we gotten since 2009?
Cox? Curry a little?
Look at the WRs, Marcus Smith, even Lane is iffy.
DeSean (2008), LeSean, Maclin…Chip jettisoned all the offensive impact players. Ertz may turn into an impact player as well as JMatt.
Okay. Those were pretty early in that period though.
Since JJ died, the defensive draft picks have really been hindered by coaches and scheme, especially Graham and Curry (you could add Marcus Smith too). I would imagine that if they came into the league with Jim Schwartz as their coach from day 1, they both may have been Pro Bowl players and Marcus Smith may have been a good player in his own right.
The offensive side is just crazy with Chip getting rid of elite players and replacing them with schemes that don’t take advantage of their skill sets. Ertz riding the bench because Celek was a better block is a prime example. Riley Cooper starting over JMatt, who was only taught the slot WR position, was asinine.
That’s the thing that has me excited more than anything this year, Dougie and Schwartz seem hell-bent on putting guys in the best possible position to succeed based on their skill set, not the coach’s scheme-specific requirements.
Ertz makes an impact on the ground every time a LB or
Safety look at him.
When did Roseman take over as GM?
Unclear due to the Eagles refusal to establish firm roles of responsibility (or at least to share them publicly), but Roseman was made GM in 2010 after Heckert went to Cleveland.
However, Roseman was elevated to Director of Football Administration in 2003 and thus was part of the decision making group with Lurie, Reid, Banner etc. from that point forward.
Roseman was considered Banner’s guy having come up under him and picking up the salary cap mastery first hand; Banner left in 2012 as did Reid.
Roseman worked with Lurie to hire Kelly and Chip & him did the 2013 and 2014 drafts together according to reports with Roseman having final say. Then Chip demanded final say, Roseman was put in detention and 2015 unraveled in a major way. Roseman got total control back this off-season and certainly did not sit on his hands. We’ll see what happens from here on out.
he needs a go-gm to draft and he can work on trades.
Joe Douglas. And so far so good?
Official in 2012. The two drafts with the most day was 12 and 13. It’s clear that 14 and 15 was chips drafts and 10 and 11 was Reid drafts. 16 looks like Howie draft as well
Andy hit his jackpot with Donovan and it was all downhill from there.
I think you need to take into account we never used a 1st or 2nd round pick on a cornerback since 2002, until Rowe last year. Correct me if I’m wrong, but outside of Kendricks, we never used anything higher than a third round pick on LB either.
http://chipwagon.typepad.com/eagles/2016/08/a-new-era-with-some-refreshing-changes.html
Nice little article on the Pederson offense if you’re into that sorta thing. I am.
haha he just couldn’t stay away?
Haha I for sure thought he would just change the colors to Gold and Red for the 9ers but apparently he is going to stick with the birds.
I’m glad, he’s my second favorite writer.
Sounds like he’s an Eagles fan. When Chip was fired, he said he’d probably shut down the blog (even after Chip was hired in SF). I hope he’ll be active this season.
I figured he was like that Saltveit guy who follows Chip around but I hope as well that he starts firing out more blogs and concepts for this Eaglea iteration.
Not at all. Chip was just a blog friendly coach because of his different approach
Why? The guy is an eagles fan not a chip fanboy
I always enjoy his stuff. Glad to see he’s back. Dougwagon or nah?
Me too. And I think maybe the OffensivePedo-files.info? I don’t know I’m just spitballing here.
And he said nice things about Sammy Dollaz.
Great, I thought that guy was going to hang it up. Class act.
I didn’t see anyone post this. I guess because of Smallwood and resting guys but something to watch lol.
https://twitter.com/Eagles/status/770276479192236032
i would assume this is just to have someone to take snaps for the last preseason game? or do they really want to get a better look at him as a practice squad candidate?
The former.
UPGRADE!!!!!!
https://twitter.com/CoconnellFox29/status/770357322845720577
smart agent
difference between getting another tryout and hanging on the corner bitchin’ about what might have been
This
Almost #Ballers agent material!!!
If any agent anywhere looked like the freaking Rock, athletes would have their crap together. I’m sure the Rock is cool and all, but I just wouldn’t risk pulling a Manziel and lose that guy a ton of potential money.
He’s not good enough to not stand. Neither is Kaepernick, which is why he’s going to get cut.
http://chipwagon.typepad.com/eagles/2016/08/a-new-era-with-some-refreshing-changes.html chipwagon with a new post
Not sure if it’s been posted here as the it seems most of the Philly media hasn’t picked it up but we’ve reportedly signed DL Jake Metz too. He was one of the Philly Soul guys we tried out today. Arena Leaugue’s DL of the year.
think that means we take the WR too?
No we have signed RB O Neal already instead.
We just opened up a roster spot.
Yes saw that. π
Saw on twitter that Reynolds got slightly hurt in the Arena Bowl. That could be a factor in him not getting signed.
****Season Opener @ the Linc Roll Call***
Anybody at the Linc on 9/11? I’ll be there and happy to meet up for a beer!!!
I’ll be playing golf in the Poconos and watching it ont DVR at 4PM. Have fun.
( be forewarned that German’s ‘a beet’ is Three Beers) .. and meant as a compliment
Excuse me? π
Browns have given up 14 sacks in 3 pre-season games. Have eagles defense locked and loaded for the home opener.
And RGIII will be at the helm. He’s in for a long day. The Browns fans will be looking at Wentz on the bench (hey that rhymes) and wishing for a do-over at the draft.
Wench on the bench rhymes, Dave. So does Wentz on the bents, but I don’t believe that tz and ch match up.
I rhyme better than Toto…
“The wild dogs cry out in the night, as they grow restless longing for some solitary company / I know that I must do what’s right, as sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti” (Toto’s “Africa,” 1982)
Here’s a great cover for your listening pleasure:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLrC7e3vSv8
You nailed it, my friend. Thanks for illuminating my day.
Did you watch the video? Mike Masse and Jeff Hall really kill it!
I did and I agree. It is incredibly evocative, Dave. I also checked out Mike’s website. He has lost some serious weight. Greatly appreciative. Upward and onward.
Ive alwsys mmble slurred that rhyme
Still a favourite tune. I bought the cassette to play in the car.
Sp when Wentz gets into a game you would just be left with winch stench on the bench…not as bad as cox, shittu or dixon the bench
..
Apologies
No apologies needed, daveH, as opposed to just plain Dave. I am howling louder than my dog. Laughs are a great tonic for today’s downers. Thanks and may you chortle as an immortal.
Yes Rhymes rule. It’s tonic for me and for not being Bionic
I’m Countess(ing) on you to perpetuate this rhyme without reason.
Like a rhyme with no reason
Our recievers aint pleasin,
Our O line is bleaker
Hope NFC is weaker
Pray for a 9 win season
..
Puke
Nine and seven, seventh heaven!
You can say Wentz on the fence… but i knew you knew and was just taking it to the next level.
Love how even their owner came out and said that they would only win 4 or 5 games.
If they aren’t the worst team in the NFL this year, I’ll be surprised. They look and have all the makings of a 2-win team.
If the Eagles lose to them in Week 1, people will lose their minds but for a change they should be.
Not sure if I share your assessment. I honestly don’t think they will be only winning 2 or 3 games either.
And beware of those ‘easy’ games. Especially as for the season opener. There are simply no gimmies in the NFL.
They have a good caoch. Im not sleeping on anyone. Drafted Josh Gordon in 2 leagues this past weekend. Glad he is out though!
Both Gordon and Arian eluded me this weekend.
I grabbed them in the 7th and 8th
Wentz is a no go on thursday. Damn.
Zero reason to watch.
I bet that we will watch regardless of that. That’s what the franchise and entire NFL is betting that people watch because the jerseys not because of the players. Sad reality
..
When you get really cool really great players like Dawkins and Westbrook DeSean Jackson you just want more and more people watch
I disagree. I would still like to see what kind of stats Paul Turner puts up against 3rd and 4th stringers.
On defense I’m looking forward to a heavy dose of Jalen Mills at corner as well as our ‘stand up’ man Mike Tavaress at Lb.
So here’s at least 3 reasons to watch.
Aaron Grymes was waived with an injury settlement. Likely not able to play Thursday so they opened up a roster spot. Wouldn’t be surprised if Darius Reynolds is getting signed along with Metz. About all the beats chimed in with some variation of wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up on the PS soon. Similar enough wording that makes me think they’re being fed that by someone with team.
Sounds reasonable.
surprised he was waived with an injury settlement, instead of put on IR. i guess the player has to agree to go on IR, and maybe he sees himself as likely to get a job somewhere else, thus the release?
follow up: can he go on IR if he clears waivers? seems unrelated – joe walker was put on IR without being released first…
They may want him 100% before they put him on active roster and available to play this year if needed.
Not sure he has to agree to IR. He could certainly call BS though.
What a shame. He earned a spot.
Would Metz choose the practice squad over the AFL?
AFL plays during the NFL offseason (April to August) so there’s no real overlap. Plus, being on a practice squad gives him a better chance of being given a spot on an actual NFL roster.
Practice squad is a little over 100K a year. AFL is $800 per game. Top end CFL salaries are less than a practice squad spot.
GE’s quick take:
It won’t shock me if Paul Turner doesn’t make the 53 men rosters with the Eagles carrying only 4 WRs.
Agree but I half expect they’ll add a WR via waivers or outside chance a trade.
Me too. Think they will add some ‘veteran insurance’.
Wait. Only 4? That can’t be right.
I consider Burton a wide receiver / TE hybrid.
After Matthews and DGB who are the other 2 guys?
Huff and Nelson
Paul Turner joining Josey and Bailey in UDFA heaven.
The two greatest Eagles receiver highlights moments of all time then have been dumped Or cut…
My quick reply; I can think of certain RB I’d rather see cut so we could keep Turner.
Why would you cut Smallwood?
Why indeed?
Serious question: at this point is this just ‘your thing’ or do you genuinely still not like Barner?
“your thing”…love it!
you love his thing…
http://www.troll.me/images/beavis-and-butthead-lol/huh-huh-its-hard-huh-huh-hehehe-oh-yeah-hehehe-thumb.jpg
Dave, how did you embed an image without any comment?
If you just paste the webpage link for the photo in the comment box, no text comment is necessary.
Same goes for a .gif or video link.
Hm, I had tried that but instead of the image being embedded, it just showed the link which had to be clicked. I’ll try again. Thanks.
It doesn’t show up right away when you post the link. Refresh the page 30 seconds later and it should be there.
A 50-50 mix. I still feel that his spot on the roster wasn’t earned going back over the last two seasons and I don’t trust his ball security for the regular season.
He’s clearly earned the roster spot given who else is here, but I have a very low overall opinion of his ability to contribute to the team.
I wouldn’t be comfortable if he had to start over an injured Matthews, but as a punt returner and occasional change of pace back you can’t seriously be mad with him.
Relative to what I saw perform better than Barner on a per carry basis with Josey in 2014 and Mostert in 2015, I think we didn’t keep the best guy.
No shah8t!
Stick to your guns Mike! My mettle was teated with Riley.
Another perpetual thorn in the roster’s side.
I’m very sure I’m glad I wasn’t in the room when your mettle was teated.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hg7zdj6rn2hy9hb/Ytho.jpg?dl=0
https://goo.gl/images/Ht0p6h
What do you have against Darren Sproles?
That if Sproles gets hurt I might have to watch Barner get on the field.
Kendricks is being put through his paces; I love it!
https://twitter.com/MikeSielski/status/770357286577573888
I’m not so sure about this interpretation. Kendricks has gotten very few live reps in a new defensive system. JMatt is a WR who runs routes and already has a rapport with Sammy. JMatt isn’t reading and reacting the way a LB has to do. Apples to oranges IMO.
I agree with it complete because Kendricks is on my nerves as a persistent underachiever, maker of mistakes, and milker of injuries.
“persistent underachiever, maker of mistakes, and milker of injuries”, you just described my fantasy football roster every year perfectly.
Someone not so happy with their draft?
I don’t draft until next Wednesday evening. With a 14-team league, the waiver wire is slim pickins and trades can be tricky. I actually made the finals last year but then had 4 starters miss the final week due to injuries. C’est la vie!
I had a draft yesterday, it was terrible. I took eli manning in like the 5th round.
“…persistent underachiever, maker of mistakes, and milker of injuries.” I’m concerned my wife is going to put that on my tombstone.
http://www.twincities.com/2016/08/26/vikings-lb-eric-kendricks-playing-it-by-ear-for-sundays-game/
The first 2 D’s are ONLY
for Deeeeeeeeez Nuts
We talked about him before. Let’s do so again. Brandon Browner?
You mean the stiff that was terrible all year last year until he shut down Calvin Johnson in week 15, promptly causing me to lose the semi-final in my $ league? That Browner?
Forced Calvin Johnson to retire you say? Im interested tell me more.
Ha. That’s one way to spin it.
Talk about what exactly?
He didn’t get any younger. McKelvin will be 31 on Thursday. Carroll is 29, Brooks will be 28 in October. How about we keep our young CBs instead?
Cut twice by Seattle
One year with Pats, one with Saints.
PEDs or Adderall or some other additives.
No.
If somehow Agholar on the Eagles for 5 years I guarantee he will lead the franchise in drops for all time not even including drop to catch ratio.
I don’t think the guy can catch a ball if it is permanently duct taped to his face
Haven’t watched him play, but how has Jared Goff looked?
I haven’t seen him either, but I think I read some less than flattering reviews.
Would have been nice to see Wentz play the last 3 games.
True. Such a poorly timed injury.
I was encouraged with his play though, just sucks that it might be an entire year before we see him play again.
Exactly.
better than some loser team throwing out their rookie to die, though.
Throws a nice ball. Looks like a rookie though.
Hear he is a block head.
He is just emulating Ryan Lochte.
Good enough that there’s been no talk of case keenum not starting.
Is DGB going to be a starting outside WR? What are we expecting from him this year. Got a trade offer for him.. for spencer ware (snagged his JC handcuff).
He’s listed as starting outsie together with AGS, i think his ceiling is as high as he wants it to be though there are lots of passing options.
In fantasy he’ll be heavily dependent on red zone. I don’t like any of our WRs sammy spreads it around too much.
So you have ware and he offered you DGB? Who are your RBs?
Well Ware is more of a lottery ticket for when JC gets hurt. My RBs of note are David Johnson, Lamar Millers and Jeremy Hill.
And yes im holding him. My WR are more of the issue since I have Gordon. Either way the guys are a lottery pick, bench player for now. Its a double flex league.
Well I would probably pass on the trade for now. Charles will get hurt at some point and then you can get DGB and something else if you need it, or you have Ware. I think DGB will be more effective later in the year anyway. He will catch some fades for TD’s but given Sleeves spreading it around and dumping it off and him being so new probably not too many big catch or big yard games. Interesting trade though…I could see it either way.
ζθ§εΎδΈιηζ ·εοΌ
The WAS/TB game is being moved up to Wednesday to avoid the storm on Thursday. I don’t remember a game being moved forward before.