Just Like the Good Old Days
Posted: August 12th, 2016 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 208 Comments »There it was in front of me, the Eagles running the 4-3 defense. And what a magnificent sight it was. Even better, this was a good 4-3 defense. Schemes aren’t magical. It takes the right combination of players and coaches to make something work. The Eagles appear to have that with Jim Schwartz, Fletcher Cox, Jordan Hicks, Malcolm Jenkins and the rest of the D.
We didn’t see a group that threw exotic blitzes at Tampa. We saw mostly base looks. The Eagles just happen to have some very talented defenders, and for the first time in a while, the group plays in a scheme that should consistently bring out the best in them.
What was so encouraging is that the defense didn’t look new. Those guys weren’t confused on where to line up and who to cover. There didn’t seem to be a whole lot of mental mistakes. You saw players in the right gaps. You saw the front four working together to bring consistent pressure. DBs aggressively came down in run support, but weren’t out of control. Receivers weren’t running by them on play-action passes and getting wide open.
The biggest issue was screen passes. The Eagles got burned by those several times. That is something Schwartz and his coaches will work on, but I think they also know that is something they will have to live with. You can’t attack on every snap and also expect your players to sniff out every screen.
Attacking did work. The Eagles had 3 sacks, 5 TFLs, 2 FFs and 3 INTs. Tampa finished the game with 21 carries for 31 yards. The Eagles mixed in some 8-man fronts, but the real key was the guys up front being in the right gaps and being disruptive. This allowed them to “play the run on the way to the QB”, which is exactly what Schwartz wants.
One of the most encouraging moments came in the second half. The Bucs had a 3rd and short situation. The Eagles showed a very aggressive blitz. CB C.J. Smith knew the situation and broke on the ball, knocking it to the ground. This was a UDFA rookie making a nice play. More importantly, it was the marriage of blitzing and coverage. The cover guys have to understand what is going on in front of them and how that will play into the overall situation. Smith saw the blitzer in front of him would have a free run at the QB. Smith knew the QB would have a hot read and try to get rid of the ball quickly. Smith then acted on that and broke on the ball at the perfect moment. That’s team defense. The overall scheme worked. And if a rookie UDFA gets that, it shows you the players are being well coached and that the scheme is well thought out.
The starting defense saw more action than the starting offense. My guess is that Schwartz wanted plenty of reps for his guys in the new scheme so they could get comfortable on the field and he would have some tape to coach them off over the weekend. Games help you see things that practice just can’t.
The biggest question mark on the defense is the secondary and we still don’t know what to make of that group. The starters will play more next week against the Steelers. And they will face a group of quality receivers so that should be a good test.
Right now Jim Schwartz should feel pretty good about what he saw. The talent is there for this group to be good. It was good to see so many young players and backups play well, showing this group might be deeper than we expected. Of course, Schwartz won’t be telling his players about their TFLs or their takeaways. He’ll be talking about missed tackles, poor angles and sloppy coverage. He isn’t going to start handing out gold stars to this group anytime soon, which is exactly the kind of coaching those players need. Tough love makes for a tough defense.
*****
Some good moments.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/763879145096876032
Just put some Gause on it. #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/hPqP18Cvjw
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) August 12, 2016
*****
Good news on the injury front.
I appreciate the concern Eagles fans but nothing serious I'll be fine just a precaution. Good team win tonight though #FlyEaglesFly
— Brandon Brooks (@bbrooks_79) August 12, 2016
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There certainly was a lot to like from the defense.
I was impressed by several of the DBs last night including Grymes and Smith. Certainly a far cry from Roc Carmicheal(?). Saw some good break ups from Jaylen Smith as well. Im starting to get a abit worried about Rowe… Didnt look great and perhaps safety would be a better position.
Jaylen Watkins?
The CBs may not have top of the line talent, but I honestly think they all have a decent shot at making it in the NFL. That’s pretty impressive depth.
Agreed. Clearly we don’t have the best top end talent or that clear shut down type of corner, but I think the concerns are a bit over blown. If the pass rush is as fearsome as we expect it to be, they should be more than adequate. And, I’m very excited about our improved depth. By the end of last year we had three guys that could be reasonable starters, no nickel back as that spot was manned by Jenkins, our safety, and very little after that. This year we have similar level starters (Maxwell/Carroll vs McKelvin/Carroll), but the backups are much better (Rowe/Biggers/Evans/Rice/Watkins vs Rowe/Brooks/Mills/Shepherd plus we still have Evans/Rice/Watkins on the roster as well) At the very least, depth has been substantially improved.
I always thought Rowe looked and played like a Safety. He’s just a little too stiff in the hips to ever be a great CB. But, he hits like a ton of bricks and covers reasonably well and seems intelligent. I feel like he’d be a great FS. But, given our current roster his only shot to start with us is at CB.
If all this is true (and it probably is), you have to wonder if he could be part of a trade involving say, an OL? Always amazes me how few trades there are in the NFL.
Physical slot corner. Just play press and knock the crap out of the slot WR.
eh…physical slot corner isn’t really a thing. Being in the slot is a lot different than being outside. You’ll notice most slot CBs need a stepping stool to reach the top shelf. They tend to be smaller, quicker guys for a reason. Since slot receivers are typically lined up a yard off the LOS and since the CBs don’t have a sideline to work off of, the WR they’re guarding has much more room to operate and it becomes exponentially more difficult to play bump and run from the slot. Plus they have many more options for which way they can break their routes. From the slot it’s a lot easier to break outside or inside. That’s part of the reason Chip liked the match-up problems Matthews creates in the slot. He’s always going to be going up against smaller CBs since big guys without ample quick twitch change of direction can’t typically succeed in the slot and his size will always be a mismatch in his favor. Plus Rowe’s major physical downside is that he has tight hips and has some issues flipping his hips around at full speed. In the slot, he’d have to do this on every play and he’d have to do it while is greatest strength, his ability to be physical and play bump and run as well as his straight line speed, is neutralized. On the outside he’s able to get right up in the WRs face more often, he can utilize the sideline as a barrier to limit the WRs options, he can utilize his straight line speed against the routes that are typically run from the outside more so than from the inside and he can angle himself with his back to the sideline and his front facing towards the rest of the field without having to constantly have to flip his hips as much as he’d be doing in the slot.
He has the physical tools to be a physical press CB on the outside where he can play press and knock the crap out of the WR. I just think his skill set is more typical and conducive to playing safety and thus his ceiling is higher at that position.
[…] Tommy Lawlor There it was in front of me, the Eagles running the 4-3 defense. And what a magnificent sight it […]
missed it, did Marcus Smith do anything?
Ofc not.
so you’re saying he didn’t miss any tackles?
He was concussed in practice this past week and hadn’t returned yet. Impressively, he manages to disappoint without even suiting up.
My biggest positive was good LB play from the 2nd string. Walker and Goode were both had quality performances and looked like above average back up types. It may work out that we have good enough depth (5 deep) there going into the season and it is not the hand wringing concern we had all off season.
My biggest defensive concern were our young CB’s. Think Carrol and McKelvin will be a solid if unremarkable pairing in 2016 – which considering our safety talent and front 4 is not going to be a big issue outside of 1-2 games where an elite WR puts on a show. Problem is none of the young DB’s really flashed to me, and considering our cap situation we really want one of the younger CB’s to push for a starting role and show long term promise to be a quality started in 1-2 years when we will likely loose Carrol and McKelvin.
Needing 2 new starting CB’s by 2018, and having limited cap and draft picks is a scary place to be as a franchise.
On the Winston strip sack, the announcers got it wrong. Cox knocks the ball free as he goes past. Winston was throwing a handful of air when Logan hit him. The ball was already on the ground by Cox.
Based on the defense last night, this team is going to be a lot more fun to watch than last year, even if the record ends up the same.
Well, except Reuben Randall. That guy is a liability. He was jogging when Wentz put it over his head, he swatted at the Huff fumble (speaking of liabilities) and just gives off this vibe that he either doesn’t understand or doesn’t care about what is happening around him.
I thought he had a chance on the long ball as well but he just kinda stopped… Very fruatrating.
Randall is one of those guys I hope Pederson ‘makes an example of’ by cutting him early.
There were reports about his questionable effort before the Eagles signed him & they have dogged him all camp. Send a clear message that while this might not be the most talented team at a particular position that effort or lack of it from veterans like Randall.
It is what Kelly should have done with Austin immediately after the Dolphins’ game last year. Imagine Belicheck or Parcells would have cut him immediately that night and made it clear on the Monday morning recap that Austin was gone and lack of effort especially in key spots is simply unacceptable.
You want Rueban Randle to be cut because of his first preseason game?
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Good luck with that one… As if we have 5 better WRs..
<<fb. ★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★✫★★::::::!il747r:….,……
Randall was brutal to watch last night. Of course, so were most of the receivers.
But the defense was a lot of fun to watch. The line is super aggressive, but I thought they seemed to play more under control than they did when Washburn was the DL coach.
Though, I am preparing to have an aneurysm when they get burned by misdirection plays and screens during the regular season.
Why am I having flashbacks to Steve Smith (NYG)???
I have been preaching that this D makes us a contender for the East since we signed Jimmy.
This is Reuben Randle’s bubbling over with enthusiasm look…lol
I think Fletch might deserve a gold star, Tommy!
For anyone interested…..
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/763955705963433985
The fourth throw is the one ATG and I were talking about below. Dude just gives up. I really think he had a chance at making that catch.
Rueben Randle being lackadaisical is the reason the Giants let him walk in free agency.
I have a feeling we’re going to dislike him for much the same reason
Hmmm that ball was out of bounds no way for him to get to the ball and be in bounds. I can’t kill him for that one.
You never know unless you try and he didnt…. At all.
sure, some poor throws in there. Some were caught and could have been slightly better throws…
but i’m amazed at the number of drops, intentional throws out of bounds, and throws he made while getting hit.
i’d say its a promising start.
I forgot what a real QB looked like on the field.
Took at look at some potential options at linebacker for a post over at Eagles Rewind.
https://eaglesrewind.com/2016/08/12/looking-for-a-linebacker/
How big a need do you think LB is at the moment? With the way the coaching staff has been speaking about Walker and his play last night he seems like a solid back up candidate for MLB. Add in Goode who is in my opinion a quality back up WLB how big a need do we have at LB really? I guess part of this is because i think SLB is becoming the fullback of the defense and just not a priority position in the same way it was 10 years ago.
If we have an injury in the next 3 weeks then things will obviously change and the team will need to make a move, but for now i would be hunting for 1 or maybe 2 WR’s to take on the bottom of the roster who could have some upside.
To say nothing of OL!!
Still think our staring 5 can be fine, not worried about 2nd string OL (with changes because of people moving up to the 1st string) getting beaten up in the first preseason game against starters.
Our WR group without Matthews was hot garbage.. which is far more scary and has no prospect of improving.
Right now we’re fine, but certainly it’s improvable. You can get by with 5 if you carry two (Gause and Tavarres) on the PS. However Goode is an FA after the season and it’s certainly a position that could be upgraded on the fringes and help upgrade the ST as well.
Good stuff, Tyler. If one of those guys push Myke off the roster, I will know who to talk to.
I didn’t watch the 4th quarter but he’s not going to get claimed on waivers and the structure of his deal basically guarantees him a PS spot.
Here is an interesting tweet from a friend:
Does Wentz get more playing time in the preseason than the regular season this year?
I don’t think so especially since Bradford will get more PT next week and should get at least a half in the 3rd game but it is likely Wentz gets at least 6 quarters or so this preseason.
Watching the Wentz throwing twitter, it looks like he’ll be the real deal once 1) he stops overthrowing open receivers, 2) receivers consistently catch the stinking ball and 3) we have a fully functional O-Line. Is that too much to ask for?.
Based on based on recent history, you can ask for one of those things at a time. But you don’t get to know ahead of time which one you get in any given week.
Or any given quarter last year…
No, but it might be a loooooonng wait
Give about a 50-50 of each of those happening and we have a 12.50% chance of being the real deal 🙁
Not a good look for Big V
The whole line seems to miss the snap. Bizarre. Maybe it was early?
from what i remember, yes – it was an early snap from the C. no-one on the OL was ready for it.
edit: on second look, wentz seems ready to receive the ball, so maybe i’m wrong…
jimmyk’s summary of this play:
“This next play is great. The center snaps the ball too early, and the entire offensive line is beaten. Watch RT Halapoulivaati Vaitai. He doesn’t even get out of his stance. There are multiple free rushers coming at Wentz, but he gets outside them and delivers an accurate sideline throw to Paul Turner, who ran his route short of the sticks. Wentz gets no help at all on this play and still almost converts a 3rd and 11.”
http://www.phillyvoice.com/carson-wentzs-first-professional-game-gifs/
Puts perspective on how bad the blocking was when Wentz got hit, see even when they were glorified traffic cones he could get away unscathed, they must have been worse than traffic cones (or trash cans, lets sign that guy) to get him killed the rest of the snaps
Even if it is early Big V doesn’t even move when the guy he should block crosses the liine of scrimmage…maybe he was banking on the play being blown dead. Still bizarre.
You sure that wasn’t the free play?
reminds me of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AqnsjEPLIA
Caught staring at the cheerleaders
Just want to put out there that when I was whining for people (Tommy) to talk about Gardner, I wasn’t endorsing him as a player. Just felt he should be talked about due to his contract.
Pretty funny to see he is playing LT now when he was supposed to be a guard before.
Does Sunday Ticket cover preseason games? Curious if I need to go ahead and renew that now.
No.
It was briefly mentioned yesterday, and everyone already knows it, but I have to bring it back up.
It is a disgrace, and an outright scam to make PSL/season ticket holders pay full price, or pay at all for that matter, for preseason games.
The field isn’t painted. The uniforms are not the official game day uniforms. The replays aren’t good. There are fewer cameras on the game. Coaches don’t play to win. The best players are held out.
It’s completely anticompetitive and a joke. That would be fine if the pricing reflected it. The field yesterday looked absolutely pathetic, like Jeffrey Lurie was too cheap to dress it properly. I think it’s completely unacceptable.
Everything was perfectly fine for a scrimmage. I agree the season ticket thing is totally BS, though
after seeing friends with season tickets in different sports sell high demand tix for way over face value (including to their friends, which I don’t really agree with doing), I really don’t have any problem with the preseason tix prices. It’s part of the season price.
“Friends”
Yeah, but on the other hand, it’s like the only sport where you can buy season tickets for a reasonable sum because there are only 8 (+2) games.
What pisses me off are the prices for food and drink inside the stadium. I know that’s a thing in most stadiums, but that doesn’t make it right.
Thinking it through and watching some replay GIF’s, I kind of see Wentz’s physical game as a more athletic Joe Flacco. They have similar size and arm strength, but Wentz looks like he’s going to be more mobile than Flacco ever was.
Here’s hoping he has Aaron Rodgers’ accuracy, Tom Brady’s competitive spirit, and Peyton Manning’s pre-snap reads.
Heck I will take any 1 of those 3, and I think he is going to be in pretty good shape.
“Omaha!”
He’s lucky he didn’t break his neck on that flip.
Seems like the Eagles haven’t learned a lesson since the Steve Smith fiasco. Never ever sign a former Giants player again. Ever. Thanks.
Seems you haven’t learned not to make too much out of what you see in the PS 🙂
Plus training camp… 😉
And scouting reports.
And game tape.
I liked what I saw last night:
1) Wentz showed, simultaneously, why he was the second overall pick as well as why he needs to sit and learn for a year. I thought he showed all the traits of a good starting QB that you’d want to see from a rookie. He stood tall in the pocket under pressure. He never seemed to get happy feet or have the horrible tendency to bail out the back of the pocket or throw off his back foot like we watched Nick Foles do so many times. He showed all the athleticism and arm strength you’d ever need. He climbed the pocket and showed better footwork in the pocket than I ever saw him do in college. He showed some good anticipation and reads. However, he still needs to work on his accuracy. He still locks on to receivers a bit too much and rarely gets to his second and third reads. But, overall great showing by the rookie.
2) Special teams still looks like a major stength (minus Cody Parkey, who I’m starting to seriously doubt will beat out Sturgis this year)
3) The defensive line lived up to the hype of being the strength of the team and should be a lot of fun to watch. Also, the simplified scheme seems to have made things a lot easier on our LBers.
4) Looking forward to watching this team utilize all three TEs this year. Wouldn’t it be nice though to have at least one of either Jackson or Maclin still here? Those WRs are atrocious.
Things I didn’t like:
1) Pretty much all of our WRs. Randle is a turd. Apparently, the Giants weren’t crazy for questioning his effort, intelligence and dedication. Huff continues to put the ball on the turf. Nobody makes a play for the QB ever. Just a total lack of talent across the board.
2) the second team offensive line could literally stand to have 4/5 players replaced
3) Chase Daniel. You cannot convince me that he deserves to be the highest paid backup QB in the league. I’d honestly rather have Nick Foles at this point.
You are one of my favorite posters here. Because I tend to agree with you almost always.
Thanks! The feeling is most definitely mutual.
get a room
lol
AR snagged him in KC.
Good observations. And what the hell happened to Parkey? Kickers are so weird.
Good post. Unfortuantely I think the 2nd team OL is not much worse than the 1st – and may include a couple of the same players.
How much Would you give up for Gordon!?
josh Huff….Next time he pissed hot the NFL will throw the book at him
My favorite play was subbing “Filthy” Joe Walker in specifically to try to counter tampa going for it with one yard to go, Joe subs in, makes the play blowing up the RB behind the Line of scrimmage. That’s how you step the hell up when called upon…. The kid might be a “player”, which would be fantastic since Hicks is such a stud that he can make an impact at any of the 3 LB spots in a 4-3… Longterm, it may be best to move Hicks to the WIL which is the playmaking LB spot, especially if Kendricks continues to insist on missing games over a hamstring
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Seumalo blew a blocking assignment getting confused by a DL Stunt, but I also saw a lot of good from the kid.
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Vaitai clearly isn’t ready, he had some bad moments like getting caught in his stance too long after the ball was snapped, but I also saw some promising signs from him, flashing ability to Mirror pass rushers, and I was really impressed by this one play when he blocked his man to the inside, then was aware enough to recognize that a DLineman was looping outside his man, and Vaitai saw it, he passed his initial man over to the Guard and was able to recover in time to stonewall the stunting DT coming from the outside. That was really impressive for a Raw Tackle in his first taste of NFL action, but clearly he has a long way to go… Hopefully he is a quick learner
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Our backüp Safeties were BALLING last night, Maragos was all over the field and Jaylen Watkins was pretty impressive in Coverage. Be great if one of those two can become a late Bloomer like Kurt Coleman flourishing in Carolina
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Means flashed some physicality and explosiveness for a guy that Wasnt even a blip on our radar when the Eagles scooped him up off the Practice squad last yeàr. Hopefully MS2 can play next week and flash enough ability to make it an interesting battle between him and Means
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I didn’t even see Alex McCalister get close to a QB last night. Often the RT was able to ride McCalister outside keeping him away from the QB
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Barner didn’t look bad running the ball. Hopefully Smallwood can go next week. I’d be pretty damn thrilled to get 13 games out of Ryan Mathews this year.
I thought overall the team played well, seemed prepared and ready. There were mistakes etc. naturally, but the only one that bugged me was McKelvin getting burned on Tampa’s TD. Otherwise, I thought the D held up, the O showed some signs and ST looked in mid-season form.
great to see us back in an attacking 4man DL. Great to see the Eagles huddle on offense and line up under center and use a plethora of different formatipns even though Pederson trolled us starting the game out of shotgun.
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More than anything, I was so happy to once again see the Eagles actually lineup in Power formations and run the ball… Lane suspension and an injury to Peters would always be a big blow, but it would have been the end of the world under chip because he wasn’t much of a fan of giving his OL help in pass protection… Under Doug, we will be better equipped to handle a weakness in our OL with Doug giving our OL the help that they need, whether it’s having a WR or RB chip on their to their pass route, or keeping multiple TE in to help the OL
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One thing that isnt talked about enough but might be one of chips offensive schemes biggest flaws is chips blocking often didn’t give the OL enough help to counter what the defense was throwing at us,. Too Damn Often chip would just leave the 5 OL to fend for themselves no matter how many defenders the defense is sending at the QB, and earlier in the offseason, Bradford made a comment that was really telling about what a mess last year was, it was a subtle dig at chip that has flown under the radar, but very telling of chips flaws:, the media asked him something like how he feels being back in this offense where he can set the protections and the media member said something to Bradford like “you must look forward to Dougs Offense after all the times last year you had to deal with zero blitz while chips only kept 5 guys in to block, and Bradford laughed and responded “You Think?” As to imply that chips did a terrible job of protecting Him, too Often only keeping 5 lineman in to block while the situation required like 7 blockers to counter what the Defense was throwing at him. Sounded like he thought chip Did a poor job protecting him, and that chip often failed to give the OL the help required to counter what the defense was throwing at us, needed to be successful
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curious to see what percentage of our passing plays did chip not give the 5 offensive lineman any help whatsoever…. While andy Reid had his brain fart moments like allowing WInston Justice to give up 37 sacks in one game, but we saw plenty of time when Andy went Max Protect or gave the OL some type of help when needed… Feel like chip wanted to run what he wanted to run, and often he was stubborn enough to not alter his blocking scheme because of what the defensive coordinator was doing, which is Odd because “Big Balls Chip” coaches like a pussy any way, ONLY reacting to what the defense is dictating to us, hardly ever imposing our will on our defense, so you would think he would change the protection to compensate what the defense was throwing at us, but too often Chip wanted to call what chip wanted to call, and If that play design was drawn up with 5 guys in to block, chip would often run it and not bother to adjust the blocking scheme to compensate for what the defense was throwing at us
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Clearly Sam seems to think that Dougs offensive schemes will protect him better than chips offense…. Hopefully our offensive lineman will also perform better than our OL did last year… Improved personnel, improved protection via scheme, improved and more comfortable Bradford, hopefully leads to a better offense than the slop we sat thru last year
Only 45 minutes until I get to watch the game for the first time.
Each time we throw the ball, yell, “Drop!” Being right so often might mitigate some of the pain.
Could be a drinking game.
More like a “get completely hammered” game
Let me know if you enjoy watching chase Daniels take a beating as much as I did. He hasn’t given me my 7million worth yet, but last nights beating was a good start to making him earn that gift of a contract he was given
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Wentz didn’t have a great game by any stretch of the immagination, but his performance made it really easy to see why the Eagles fell in love with him
2 things I noticed right away, Caleb Sturgis’ facemask offers no protection to his face, and Rodney McLeod is on the kickoff coverage team.
Sam’s first pass … He missed an open Ertz to check down to Celek.
I replayed that twice and completely agree. Under no pressure and took the checkdown to Celek.
Same. I needed to make sure I was being objective. I wish the first team offense didn’t get that short field
I love all the TEs on the field at the same time. Hope that trend continues.
I think it has too. Besides Matthews we need pass catchers. And we need the TEs to help block with Johnson out and Peters eventually hurt.
It may be the first time he checks down from an open receiver to a covered guy underneath, but it won’t be the last.
All hail the 4-3 Defense.
Does this positive BS spin sound familiar?
“Chip Kelly’s Up Tempo Offense Helping 49ers Defense in Training Camp.” LOL
http://ninerswire.usatoday.com/2016/08/11/chip-kellys-up-tempo-offense-helping-49ers-defense-in-training-camp/
Man am I glad we are rid of that clown.
Long live the 4-3.
It works if you have a great efficient offense. Give Chip Aaron Rogers and that WR/RB crew and he would put so much pressure on opposing defenses that he would break many teams by half time – at which point your defense really is not under stress.
Problem is if you have a bellow average NFL offense then it is utterly counter productive and you are self harming with running that kind of pace.
My eternal question will be what would have happened if they had kept DeSean/Maclin and invested picks and $$ in keeping our offensive line elite….
Give Aaron Rodgers and those receivers to any coach and they’d wear defenses out.
Good luck with Gabbert and Kaepernick.
This! A thousand times, THIS! Chip’s scheme would work great if his offense is a juggernaut filled with athletic playmakers. But, everything is so interconnected that it completely falls apart if everything isn’t functioning as it should. His offense must be able to consistently drive down the field otherwise the whole house of cards crumble. And, he’s too married to his scheme to adjust when it doesn’t. Once the offense sputters, literally everything else about his system becomes a burden rather than an advantage.
I would really have loved to see what he could have done with the 2010 roster. A healthy Vick with Maclin, Jackson and McCoy would have been so fun to watch in that offense.
It was kinda fun for a couple years when the offense was good. But yeah, the uptempo with a bad offense is enough to make you forget the first two years.
If Filthy Joe Walker proves to be a player then there shouldn’t be this giant need for Linebacker depth. Im not familiar with NFL teams who are 5 or 6 men deep in terms of LB’s capable of starting on their rosters. If we Need Linebackers, than the Cowboys and Giants must be desperate for LB’s.
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najee Goode is a Capable backüp who has shown the ability to come in and hold the fort down when called upon. najee might start for the Giants or Cowboys lol.. Right now, we can count on having 3 solid starting LB’s and one backüp we can depend on in case of injures(Najee)
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I don’t know if we can handle an injury to two of our starting LBs early in the year, but maybe by Midseason, Joe Walker will have improved enough to play if needed. If we find out that we have two solid backups, im not sure how much more Depth I could reasonably expect
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Understanding that durability ISNT the strength of our starting LB’s, out of Hicks, Bradham and Princess Michelle Kendricks and her delicate fragile hamstrings, I’ll be happy as long as two of the three are available each week, As long two are on the field, we can cover for the 3rd with Najee, playing Nickel, and maybe even Joe Walker if he improves a lot over the course of the season….
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If Jaylen Watkins and Maragos keep balling like they did last night, maybe we can move malcolm Jenkins to Mark Barron type of Linebacker role on some obvious passing downs, with Mcleod and Maragos or Watkins in at safety to help compensate for an injury to a starting LB
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I won’t worry about our LB’s unless two of our starters are missing, we can handle an injury to one linebacker
Goode has made his fair share of special teams plays.
More like Najee OK
Really rough watching Tampa destroy our 2nd OL, even if it is their first team D.
It makes it hard to evaluate the wrs.
I can agree with you first statement.
OK, now that I have finished watching the game, it’s pretty obvious that the receivers don’t just drop balls thrown from Bradford. I find it ironic that our WR coach, Greg Lewis, carved out an 8 year NFL career not due to being big or fast, but for his ability was to catch everything thrown his way. I imagine Howie will put a premium on natural hands ability over all other traits in future wide receiver draft prospects.
You can’t be talking about the same Greg Lewis that played on the Eagles. You give him way too much Credit, in fact you give him credit .okay yes Super Bowl catch that’s it. The moment Andy Reid cut him he wasn’t anywhere close to having another job as a professional receiver. He sucked. He was part of the worst receiving crew in NFL history.
I credit him for playing in the NFL for 8 years and having great hands, that’s it. He was slow and skinny and averaged about 20 catches per year for a little over 200 yards per year with the Eagles. He was not great, but the main thing that kept him in the league was his hands. If he had hands like Nelson or Huff, or even Mathews, he would have never made it out of his first training camp.
BTW, he was traded by Andy and was not cut. He then played for 2 more seasons.
Can a WR coach teach you to catch?
I’d imagine not, that’s why I called it ironic that he was their coach.
He apparently can’t teach routes either, the WR’s looked terrible last night.
Did Avant retire yet?
Yup. He was the recipient of a pretty famous “walk off” touchdown pass from Brett Favre in Minnesota (I want to say in 2009).
I like how u describe it.
Hated him… but respect all players especially UDFAs
Would he make this team?
I believe so. I’ll go one farther, Paul Turner is the new Greg Lewis, an UDFA WR who will make the team this year.
Yuck. Means Chip destroyed our recieving corps.
Yes he did.
8 NFL seasons for an undrafted Free Agent? He had a decent career. He wasn’t cut – he was traded to New England and then played two seasons for the Vikings before calling it a career. Greg Lewis kept a couple of high draft picks on the bench – like Reggie Brown and Freddie Mitchell – at various times in his career.
Youre right. Ihe may hav been our best reciever under AR. vomit
TO best ever for us
He had very good hands. Players on the team would always speak of his hands. I don’t recall ever seeing him drop a ball.
Andy Reid traded him. He didn’t cut him. Glew then continued on to have one of the biggest post season catches in Vikings history.
If you play in the NFL for 8 years you don’t suck.
All true but he sucked. Blind squirrels find nuts sometimes.
AR kept him for 6 seasons, with his avg 1.35 catches per game. . Belichek traded for him and cut him almost immediately
Would he make this team ??
Yes, he more then likely would.
Watch #77 in that gif. He has one on one and gets pressure and then peels off after the pass and gets a de-cleater
Is anyone else psyched to have a QB that can throw the slant again?
I’m just hoping we have a coach who will call the slant.
Yes, but “again?” I commented during the game that I can’t remember the last time we ran a slant that looked routine and normal.
I completely agree abut the return to the 4-3. That’s just been the Eagles defense for as long as I can remember and I’m pretty old.
Swamp Fox ran a 3-4 for Vermeil. Did pretty well with it, too.
hillary voters
president voters
Just like the good ol’ days – WRs can’t get separation, interior O Line is a sieve, and the QB is captain check down. At least they have a tight end – just like the good ol’ days, a running back who can grind, and a D line with some attitude. All told it adds up to 8-8. big whoop. F You Chip. This roster is your fault.
The roster sucked before Kelly.
F u Lane! Get the f outta Philly, you dumb arse!
did he get suspended?
No, not yet. He went on record saying his B sample (that he claimed would vindicate him) will most likely come back positive (as in positive for banned substances). He’s giving a line of bs trying to downplay the situation.
If he admits that he took something that triggered the positive test, He probably shouldn’t expect the B sample to come up clean
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I don’t see it as any admission of guilt or anything like that… Sounds like he has little faith of getting a fair shake.
,,
Say you are allergic to I dunno Onions.. You go to a restaurant, you make it a point to make the waitress aware of your allergy, are you not entitled to in good faith trust the restaurant not to prepare your meal with onions that would trigger an allergic reaction?
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Should people with allergies never go to restaurants because they can’t trust what will be put in their food even if they went to the trouble to alert the restaurant And make them aware of their allergy?
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Whether we are talking about foods triggering an allergy in your body, an ingredient that would trigger a positive drug test costing you millions, do we really want to live in a world where we can’t trust whoever prepares your meal, or whoever mixes your supplement to not put something in your body that you aren’t aware of? … When I go to a restaurant, or buy a supplement, im doing so in good faith that I won’t be putting anything in my body that im not expecting..
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Ignorance ISNT an excuse, so if I dont make the restaurant aware of my allergy, I can’t blame them for using onions that trigger my dangerous allergic reaction… But if you go out of your way to make sure you know what’s going into your body, and the chef or supplement company add an ingredient that you don’t know about, It shouldn’t be YOUR FAULT!
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When I go buy meat from the supermarket, I do so Assuming that I won’t be getting some crazy virus or disease from the meat.. And if they sell me tainted meat, SHOULDNT I be able to hold someone accountable.
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Living in a world where people can put things that you don’t know about in products that we ingest in our bodies is very dangerous… If Lane made sure to take the steps to educate himself making sure that there wasn’t a banned Ingrediants in his supplement, does he not have the right to assume that he isn’t putting something in his body that he doesn’t know about?
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If what Lane says is true, then any player is at risk. Who is the next player that gets screwed when someone lies about what Ingrediants are in a product they ingest? What if that happens to someone who has already been suspended for 10 games? We unfairly suspend a plauer for two years and Rob him of his career? I wouldn’t want to see that happen to a friggin dallas cowboy, let alone an eagle..
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You wanna suspend lane fine, but if what he is saying his true, something has to be done to get a lid on this problem. If someone is selling you a product that you put in your body, I don’t want to live in a world where you can’t in good faith trust that they aren’t adding Ingrediants that I don’t know about..
No but he will. Honestly f him. If I was Lurie I would flat out fire him. After giving him a $63m extension this off season. The really comical part is also that Lane still looks like a fat baby after taking peptides!
He’s just become my most hated Eagles player. Good job Johnson.
The big question with Lane moving forward is do you trust him? And if so, will he be able to perform at his expected level of play w/o the use of PEDs? I’m kind of scared to know the answer.
The fact is, Lane brazenly and imo, knowingly jeopardized his status by taking PEDs. He knew he had zero margin for error and still rolled the dice. I’m not going to bash the guy, but I’m not buying his bs anymore. At this point I’m preparing for Eagles life w/o him. He was supposed to be the foundation of our future and now that’s all in jeopardy.
I still say f him. As a second time offender you should know better. And yes, I am also preparing Eagles life without him.
Hard to support the guy. Not sure 10 years of good service beyond this year would totally wipe his slate for me.
Reuben Frank ✔ @RoobCSN
Lane said the first suspension was his fault but not this one. Said he got supplement online. Also said he doesn’t expect appeal to work.
that just sucks. Thanks for putting all that together. Just an upsetting situation, what a mess.
If this is all true, And he tried to do the right thing, then I hope to see him take someone to court and fight this… If you really tried to do everything right to avoid this, and still get suspended, that’s NOT OK
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I don’t believe he tried to cheat, you need something to gain, to Risk your families financial security by cheating, and Lane simply has NOTHING to gain by cheating, even if he had a down year this season, he would get another chance before the Eagles even think about cutting him…. MONEY, Financial Gain is the reason players Cheat, and the timing of this makes no sense. NOTHING to gain, EVERYTHING to LOSE… lane is at least two seasons away from having to worry about money and contracts. I have a difficult time believing he would try to cheat NOW when he has nothing to gain, and everything to lose.
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So there are ONLY two possible conclusions:
1) lane DIDNT try to cheat… Or
2) Lane is one of the stupidest players in the NFL.
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This would be easier to believe if this happened the year before he got a huge extension, or two years after he got this big extension. cheating NOW makes very little sense, especially since he has been caught before so it’s not like he is some naive guy who thinks he is so slick that he can’t possibly get Caught..
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Timing is usually important in life… Who benefits? What was there to gain compared to what you are risking?
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This is hard for me to make sense of all this…. Regardless, I hope we find out the truth, because while it sucks for Us fans to lose our starting RT for 10 games, we are talking about a young man, with a young wife and a young childs financial security… If he really cheated, Crucify him for all I care,,, but these are some heavy circumstances he is facing, and I’d hate to see someone who didn’t cheat, and took all the steps to make sure he wasn’t doing something wrong, to pay this steep price that he is facing.
.,
Hopefully the truth comes to light regardless of how it effects my fandom
The NFLPA response to Lane Johnson’s comments.
1. NFLPA does not approve supplements.
2. While the [Aegis] App may have listed it with a green check, players are reminded within the app, at team meetings and as part of the policy that a) supplements may contain stuff not on the label and b) still strict liability for putting it in your body if it contains something not on the label.
Philadelphia used starting left guard Allen Barbre at right tackle during practice on Saturday.
http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2016/8/13/12466438/nflpa-lane-johnson-eagles-comments-suspension-drugs-supplement-list-philadelphia
Not surprised.. Our 5 best lineman with lane out is:
RT Barbie Doll
RG Brooks
C Kelce
LG Wiz or Seumalo (later in the season)
LT JP.
.
It would be a bigger deal IMO if Barbe wasn’t practicing at RG,,, you don’t out turnstile Tobin in the lineup while Wisnewski is on the bench
Shouldn’t Eagles look into Jake Long? If he gets injured so what. Is he worse than Matt Tobin? Unless he’s too expensive.
http://www.baltimorebeatdown.com/2016/8/7/12396782/baltimore-ravens-should-consider-going-after-ot-jake-long-again?utm_campaign=baltimorebeatdown&utm_content=article%3Atop&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
I watched the end of the first half again when Wentz came into the game and one thing that really stood out was that Doug got the plays out fast. There was no delay, no wasting of time on the clock. I know its preseason with a vanilla offense, but that was definitely a concern with Doug, according to the media, when he was first hired.
let’s wait until they are behind late in the game to consider this obstacle overcome.
Wentz out for rest of preseason with hairline fracture in his ribs.
This season is getting off to a great start…..
Can we just fast forward to the offseason?
Sucks. Pre-season was his chance to actually develop and grow. And for the coaches to see exactly what they have.
Well maybe he’ll get more real game work now though .
That sucks.
How could you not excited about more Chase Daniel? Lol
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As much as he is being overpaid, łet him take as many hits as possible and earn that 7 mil which could have been spent on a quality LB or something
If the O-line he plays behind is anything like the one that played against the Bucs, he will be getting plenty of hits.
He won’t Get to play behind our starting OL so he should Take plenty of hits to satisfy my blood thirst , and I don’t have this unrealistic expectations of having 5 backüp OLineman that can hang with a teams starting DL. Teams may have a backup or two on their Line that can hang with a starting DL, but they damn sure won’t have 5 second team OL equipped to hold up against starting DL
Exactly. Chase may well end up with $7m worth of hits.
Dear Lane,
You’re a moron… That being said, quit feeding us BS and blaming the NFLPA. You just signed a 63M extension. Pay $150 and test the damn supplements yourself.
I hope Lane sues the supplement company for a bajillion dollars.
I’d bet the supplement company has clear disclaimer language.
Here’s a label for BCAA’s from a leading company:
Directions For BCAA 3:1:2: Take
one serving (1 scoop) of BCAA 3:1:2™ Energy mixed into 8-12 oz. of cold
water. For optimal use, take between meals, 30-45 minutes before
workouts, and/or immediately after workouts.
Warnings: For healthy adults 18
years of age or older ONLY. Consult with Physician, if using
prescription or over the counter medications, or have pre-existing
conditions like: high/low blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmia, stroke,
heart, liver, kidney or thyroid disease, seizure disorder, psychiatric
disease, diabetes, prostate enlargement/urination issues; or if taking a
Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitor or erectile dysfunction medication.
Discontinue use 2 weeks prior to surgery. In case of adverse reactions,
discontinue immediately and consult health professional. Do not exceed
recommended serving or use if safety seal is broken. KEEP OUT OF REACH
OF CHILDREN.
who are you saying to sue, maybe I’m confused? You think the supplement company had other ingredients in there? ok maybe. I don’t know why Lane is getting the benefit of the doubt.
Yes. It’s extremely common. They aren’t FDA drug level tested so there is a long history of companies fucking up their proudction lines and tainting products.
That being said. Again. Why does Lane get a pass?
To me he acted in good faith.
I think he should get one too especially if he took some bullshit BCAA off the shelf. There is no reason it should have anything REMOTELY ban worthy in it. To my knowledge this isnt some “dark alley deal” type substance.
Yea BCAA’s are less common than say protein powder but are in the next category along with creatines and preworkouts. They are extremely common and very popular at the moment.
Exactly. People acting like Lane took some Mystery X supplement from some infomercial.
They are very popular with college athletes. On the NCAA level, BCAAs fall into the category, “Impermissible.” This is a formal term that means a team cannot provide them but an athlete can use them on his/her own.
I guess one way to get to the bottom of this is to do a full analysis of the product he used. If it contains a banned substance that wasn’t on the label, then Lane should be off the hook.
To me he’s just a flat out moron.
Because he took a supplement that he thought was approved? Yeh, real idiot.
Yes because as a second time offender he should just know better. So now he’s one more moronic move away from his career basically being over. Can you still trust his brain? To me it’s a no.
Know better than to take an OTC supplement though? He may as well test EVERYTHING then.
Here’s an advice: just don’t take supplements. You’re a bloody O liner.
TIMING!!! #1, #2 and #3 reason for why players take PEDS is
1) Mo MONEY!
2) Mo MONEY!
3) Mo Money!
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TIMING is important in Life… lane had very little to gain by cheating NOW, and EVERYTHING TO LOSE… That’s where my benefit of the doubt comes from… Im trying to find out how common it is to see players fail PED test the first season after just signing a big money contract? What percentage of PED cases OCCURED right after a player gets a big money deal?
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I can’t think of what Lane has to gain by cheating NOW? Better chance of making a pro bowl popularity contest? Lane is at least two years away from even having to think about a new contract, or having to worry about the team cutting him for poor play
,,
Don’t these factors matter before just assuming to crucify the kid and fuck with his families financial security
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Does the timing make sense?
Is the risk worth what he had to gain by cheating?
Valid point.
well if it’s extremely common, maybe a BB dollar franchise and $60M player can figure out a work around.
He has no real basis for a lawsuit though given the current FDA regulations of supplements including liability.
If you put something in a product that causes a person to not be able to do their job there should be liability.
Why do you hope!? Lane is a rich mofo cheater. No need to wish this guy even more money.
Anyone watching this Argentina vs Brazil basketball game? LEGENDARY GAME! Such a fun, hard fought battle between two rivals. Brazil is down by 1 in double overtime
I’d like to see the numbers on how many players have been caught cheating going into the first season after signing a big money extension? I’d like to think this is a rare Occurence since the MOTIVATION for cheating is MONEY, and the TIMING is such that he has very little to gain by cheating and a shit ton to lose..
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I’d like to see what percentage of PED violators got caught going into the first season of their big money extension? I’d imagine, slim to None…. Although that doesn’t account for human stupidity
http://www.phillymag.com/birds247/2016/08/13/carson-wentz-hairline-fracture-injury-eagles/
“Carson felt some discomfort and soreness as we began this morning’s practice. We decided to limit him throughout the remainder of practice and, as a precaution, sent him for a CT scan after practice. The scan revealed a hairline fracture in his ribs. We do not know an exact timetable for his return, but we hope to have him back before the end of the preseason.”
Ugh. No reason to watch the rest of the preseason.
Johnson is still foolish for taking this supplement but I understand his grievance with what has emerged and his frustration over what the NFLPA did & how they vet supplements including this one in particular.
https://twitter.com/JohnBarchard/status/764519722905927680
https://twitter.com/ilovechooch/status/764499886305865728
Basically.
Yes. Biggest BS story that Lane wants to sell. Cut him, Jeff.
I haven’t heard anything of substance from Jay Glazer about the suspension. Wasn’t Lane training with Glazer during this off-season? Did Glazer or his staff supervise or recommend the supplement?
Supervise as in How? Read the Ingrediants on the Label to Lane? Glazier or his staff “checking the product” would probably mean reading the label and checking it against the list of banned substances and using the NFL provided app to check the product,
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How else do you check the product? Do you really want to live in a world where it’s your responsibility to take every product you put in your body to a lab and make sure there isnt any Ingrediants that aren’t on the Label?.. You wanna sell a product that people put in your body, it’s your job to ensure that you aren’t adding ingrediants that you haven’t made a customer aware of
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It’s not realistic to expect every athlete to have to check each supplement at a lab because you don’t trust company not to screw with what you are putting in your body
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If the NFL is going to hold players to these standards and hand down these costly punishments than they need to figure out a way where the players can trust a product if they go out of their way to check wifh the NFL first.. If that App ismt reliable, than the NFL needs to start paying out of their pocket to test each supplement for the player,,. Im not paying someone to test my food every time I buy something from a restaurant to make sure their aren’t any hidden Ingrediants in my food
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If the NFL is going to suspend players like this, then they need to find a better way than a faulty app to provide the players with a way to check that they are following the rules of what they put in their body
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Just because Lane is an athlete, he shouldn’t have to pay a lab to test every product he puts in his body. That’s ridiculous
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about Glazer or his staff babysitting their clients. I just wonder if Lane got a recommendation or endorsement about the product by someone on Glazer’s staff, someone trusted. If this is the case, then it’s entirely likely other athletes training with Glazer are using the same supplement. I’m not looking to point a finger of blame. I am, though, wondering how and why Lane came to the supplement in the first place.
It’s entirely possible that Lane knowingly used an illegal substance and is just using this as a cover to protect his $ and image. It’s odd to me how some of you aren’t even willing to acknowledge this possibility.
None of us have seen the test results so it’s all speculation at this point. The bottom line is this is strike 2 and he was just given 60$ mill plus to be our next Runyan/Thomas/Peters. He’s got himself and our team backed into a crappy situation.
I agree with you that it’s possible Lane was doping and is using the supplement excuse to avoid the truth. I can’t speak for others, but it seems to me to be an obvious possibility.
At this point, though, I’m willing to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. It seems almost unfathomable, as her would have to be incredibly stupid and selfish to knowingly use a PED at this point in his career, after the first offense and just signing the contract. If that is the case, then he might be more of an addict than an idiot.
Even if they uphold Lane’s suspension, I still think this is as dangerous problem and something has to be done to better regulate it..
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In terms of supplements and even synthetic drugs, there are companies who just hand a molecular recipe to a lab in China, and you pay them to create the molecular recipe you give them. Many times the people at the labs DONT even know what they are making, they just mix the Ingrediants you ask them to mix. If what Lane is true, this wouldn’t be the first time a lab DIDNT adequately clean its mixing container before making the next supplement/synthetic drug…. Not being able to trust people selling products that you put in your body to not put anything in the product that you aren’t aware of is a very dangerous game..
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I don’t care what we are talking about, food, heart medicine, strength supplements, synthetic drugs, no one should be able to sell you a product that you put in your body that has Ingrediants in it that they are hiding from the consumer,,, you Want to make a living selling products that people ingest, then it’s your responsibility to ONLY use the Ingrediants that your customers think they are putting in their body
The Free Market is always right. Keep big government out of my Chinese supplements.
Layne for Deon Jordannz???
Hairline rib fracture for King Carson Wentzeslas. Likely out for the rest of preseason. Now I have no reason to watch until the season opener, but I probably will anyway cause I’m stupid that way.
Ill watch the starters and back ups in games 2 and 3, but i doubt there will be much worth seeing after half time now.
It’s probably for the best, did you see that hit he took? I wish we could say that was a freak incident, but he took hits all night, was only a matter of time before something worse happened. That 3rd string O-line is really bad, it honestly might be unethical to put a human being at QB behind it.Wild-cat through the 2nd half I say.
Lane could make a much more compelling argument if he still had some of that tainted supplement sitting around to be tested.
or could quickly buy an unopened container of said supplement to, bah the nfl is as hardline and draconian as it gets so it doesn’t matter, would help him sue the hell out of the people that made the supplement at least.
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It’s going to be pretty funny if McLeod Bethel-Thompson outplays Chase Daniel now that Wentz is out.
Just wondering… If Lane Johnson got busted because he took a supplement that was listed on an app recommended by the NFLPA, why didn’t anyone else get busted? I guess not one other NFL player took this supplement that was listed on the app recommended by the NFLPA?
If Lane Johnson’s story was to have any credibility, he would need to be sitting at a podium with 5-10 other players. And he would have NFLPA reps sitting behind him rather than releasing statements that he isn’t telling the truth.