Hit the Road
Posted: September 6th, 2016 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 270 Comments »Eric Rowe got traded to the New England Patriots today. We’ve been talking about this for a week or more and it finally happened.
The details of the deal still aren’t exactly certain, but here is what we think the Eagles got – a 2018 4th round pick that can become a 3rd rounder based on certain incentives. Initially the Pats included OL Josh Kline. He reportedly wasn’t a player the Eagles wanted. They were going to shop him around the league in hopes of landing a late round pick. For some reason, Kline was taken out of the trade. It doesn’t sound like the Eagles will get any additional compensation, but we’ll have to wait to have that verified.
Go read articles about the deal and a lot of people see this as Howie Roseman and the coaches getting rid of another Chip Kelly player. That’s just lazy thinking. Rowe is 6-1, 205. He runs 4.45. You think the Eagles, who have struggled to draft and develop DBs for years, didn’t want Rowe to pan out? That’s nuts. Roseman, Doug Pederson and Jim Schwartz would have loved for Rowe to have a great summer and win a starting job. The Eagles would love to have a big, fast CB playing at a high level.
The problem is that Rowe didn’t play well. He really struggled in the spring and early part of the summer. Rowe did get better, but never came close to playing at the level that was expected of him. Rowe played Safety for most of his time in college. He is most comfortable seeing things in front of him and then going forward. That doesn’t work in the new system. Schwartz likes to mix in a lot of press coverage. That requires the CB to turn and run with the receiver. The DB then has to be able to feel when the ball is coming, He reads clues from the WR and relies on feel/instincts. This is where Rowe struggled. Even when he broke up passes, Rowe looked iffy, as if he was guessing on the ball. That worked okay against backups, but wouldn’t fare so well against starters.
I think Rowe can still be a good player, at CB or possibly S. But he needs to be in the right system. Schwartz’s didn’t fit him. You can rip Schwartz for not being able to figure out Rowe and get him to play well, but no coach is going to get every player to succeed. Schwartz got all the guys on the DL to adjust well. He got Jordan Hicks to play well. He got Jaylen Watkins to play the best football of his young career. Nolan Carroll is playing well right now. Rookies Jalen Mills and C.J. Smith outplayed Rowe this summer.
Marcus frickin’ Smith had a breakout summer. And he missed time with a concussion. Schwartz gave him opportunities and Smith took advantage of them. Rowe made minimal progress. Worse, he never looked really comfortable playing in the new system.
Hitting on all those guys and missing on Rowe…I’ll take that.
And as for the Chip Kelly nonsense…if this was really about him, why is Josh Huff still here? Why is Kenjon Barner still here? Why is Nelson Agholor still here? The Eagles could have traded him after the strip club incident and said they were just moving on. They kept him and the coaches have done nothing but praise Agholor this summer. The coaches love Jordan Hicks. He’s now the heart and soul of the defense. Ryan Mathews is going to be the starting RB.
A little secret for you here. The Eagles kept players who played well. They got rid of guys who didn’t. It really is as simple as that. Winning football games is hard. You don’t have time to go around getting rid of players who were brought in by someone else for the heck of it. You keep good players no matter where they came from or how they got there. If they fit the scheme and the price is right, you keep those guys around.
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Trading Rowe opens a roster spot. The Eagles could promote CB C.J. Smith to the roster. They could also re-sign LB Najee Goode. That makes the most sense to me. The Eagles still need a third QB. That could factor into any moves.
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Don’t think that Howie is done tinkering with the roster.
Eagles were shopping OL Josh Kline after landing him (before he reverted to Pats). Also shopping OL Josh Andrews and more….
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) September 7, 2016
Eagles also indicated willingness to other teams to potentially move C/G Stefan Wisniewski as well. Clearly looking to move OL
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) September 7, 2016
I was surprised when the Eagles kept both Wiz and Andrews. From what I hear, the coaches love Andrews. Wiz is a better player and might have some value as teams look for help with interior O-linemen. You’re only going to get a late pick, but better that than nothing. And moving one of them would open a roster spot. As noted above, the team could use a LB or QB or possibly a CB.
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Short term, Goode is probably the only guy who could be active Sunday.
[…] Tommy Lawlor Eric Rowe got traded to the New England Patriots today. We’ve been talking about this for a […]
idk, i think we might actually need whiz at some point this season
seumola and andrews can both play center so what else is the issue
Depends on how competent you think Andrews is.
Seumola hasn’t practiced at C in the NFL at all. You really want Andrews on the field?
playing OG. whiz is better than both, issac has potential but is young..
The stockpiling of picks appears paramount. If Bridgewater does not hurt himself, then no draft pick starts this year. We are not a good enough team for that. The FO wants flexibility to move up and back in the draft.
You’ve been listening to Howard Eskin too much. I hate when people act like the past perfect tense doesn’t exist. e.g. “If Bridgewater had not hurt himself…”
I was honestly confused.
Wait I thought we were rolling with Isaac at LG?
Liked the trade when it included another player to somewhat make up for giving up a 2nd round pick for a 4th (we all know Belicheat will pull Rowe when he’s getting close to making it a 3rd!)c- even if we just shopped the new guy. But getting just a 4th is not a good deal.
Late 4th at that.
NE is going 0-16 this year.
It’s a 2018 pick. And this is Brady’s last year
I actually think Howie snookered the Pats. It’s clear they didn’t like him and I suspect they might have cut him but were hoping to trade him for any pick. The Pats gave up more than they needed to, IMO.
Not Neccessarily…. If we cut Rowe, it’s probably unlikely that the Pats would be able to claim him off waivers… There are probably like 10 teams ahead of the Pats in the waiver wire order that would pick up Rowe… I assume Chip and his weak secondary would try to claim him…. The Pats are too low in the waiver wire hierarchy to be able to claim a kid like Rowe… Trading for Rowe was probably the only way the Pats could get him
But they shouldn’t have had to give up a 4th+ to get him. My guess is that either Howie snookered them completely by intimating that they liked Rowe, or he led the Pats to believe he had good offers from one or more of those teams ahead of them in the claim order.
It’s acceptable if he was going to ride the pine all year because his value would have gone way down.
Sort of a like a new car, a drafted player will be worth less than the pick you used even if you tried to trade him the very next day.
DGB was drafted in the same round, same year and he just got back basically Josh Kline without the pick. And if Rowe plays well in NE, maybe that pick turns into a 3rd, which is a very substantial pick.
The Pats were going to cut Kline if they didn’t include him in deal(and apparently now are going to cut him). It appears no other team would offer anything for Kline. When the deal was first announced with Kline, from what I read at least the reaction was mostly to overwhelmingly positive. I don’t see how not getting Kline changes that.
I’d still like the trade, but not knowing anything about Kline, it sounded like we were also getting another backup OL at about the Wiz level (i.e. better than Andrews etc.) which many of us still think of as a need. If he’s basically roster bubble (not much better than Andrews to begin with) then yeah, doesn’t matter much. I’d be happier with better conditions on the pick.
But literally no one wants Kline, not the Pats, not us, and not the teams Howie called. The last vehicle I bought unexpectedly came with a fancy key chain that showed up in the mail a month later. Kline was that key chain.
Pats.y Kline on Death Rowe Records
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Too valuable to split
Big mistake to trade wiz were 1 injury away and lane Johnson suspension away from Tobin at rg
I don’t like trading him with Wentz at QB. What is one of the biggest worries with rookie QBs? As Mike Mayock said taking too many hits. Keep a strong, deep OL.
Think moving [Bradford[ means we’re rebuilding, non-starters and old guys are probably on the table.
Could willingness to trade Wisniewski indicate they don’t expect Lane to be suspended at all? Of course, the B sample hasn’t even come back yet – supposedly.
I think it’s an indication that they just really like the young guys (Seumalo (sp?) and Andrews).
Andrews is on the trading block.
Alright then, just Seumalo.
They like Andrews. But I just don’t think it’s in same category as Seumalo if he’s on trading block. Its not like anyone’s going to offer more than a 7th round pick at this point for a Josh Andrews.
No, and I think they have him on the trade block more or less to see if there’s any interest there. I can’t imagine anyone values him more than the Eagles do, though. Wiz on the other hand would probably net you at least a conditional 6th based on playing time or something. Wiz’s problem is that he’s only on a one year deal, so whoever would trade for him is basically getting a possible rental.
If they can get a bigger return for Wiz, I assume Andrews would then be off the block.
If they REALLY liked Andrews he wouldn’t be on the trading block , no way.
Yep, good point. I tend to agree that I’d rather just keep Wiz… too much risk otherwise of bad OL play getting your QB killed this year.
No… Think it’s an indication that Wis wants out of Philly, since it doesn’t look like this is a situation conducive to earning the Longterm contract he is looking for
I hate the thought of trading Wis, but I get the feeling that Wis is not happy here and he is the one pushing for a trade. If that’s the case, no point in keeping a disgruntled player on the bench
I was just about to post something to the effect of, “Is Wis the biggest jerk in the NFL, because he can’t seem to find a team that wants him around long even though he’s played well during his career as a starter,” but I think you nailed it – if Wis isn’t starting then he knows he’s better off going somewhere that would give him that shot, since he’s on a 1 year prove it deal.
Getting draft picks makes sense especially for guys who a) don’t exactly fit the system or b) are older. Stock piling picks allows us to build a team around our young QB and/or move around in the draft.
Yea but trading up in the 2nd round for young talented players and then trading them just one year later for 4th round picks two years in the future isn’t the most efficient method of stockpiling picks and building up the young talent on your team.
Hopefully we don’t change coaches every year, true…
True, it’s not efficient, but it is better to get the 4th (with the possibility of it becoming a 3rd) than just straight up cutting the guy isn’t it? Rowe did not look good and I honestly think his status as a 2nd rounder was all that kept him on the roster knowing he could net something in return in trade.
I would rather they had kept the guy and given him more time (rather than hanging onto Mills) but this is better than nothing in return.
Well yea…anything is better than nothing. But, like you said, I’d have rather kept Rowe and worked on his technique for another year or moved him to safety, than keep Mills who I think lacks the physicality to overcome his lack of speed and therefore will never do much more than shine in shorts and then get toasted in our bump and run scheme once the pads go on.
IMO, Mills was just as bad as Rowe.
Mills was a 7th. You’re not getting that trade for him.
But he probably has more potential to be good. Rowe is probably least good at press coverage, which I assume Schwartz wants to use more, so Rowe could still excel on another team — just not ours. It’s disappointing since he did show promise, but if we can get a decent draft pick (and 4th round is decent in my book) then I’m OK with it. Mills I’m sure has better hips, so he could probably play eventually, but still needs to learn other skills.
I seem to remember reporters saying that press coverage is where Rowe excelled?
This was in reference to him not looking good during practices, but since his strength involved jamming and hitting receivers at the line, he might show up better in actual games.
wtf? Rowe’s only good skill at CB was his press coverage.
Sorry, more turning and keeping up afterwards. Yes, he was good if he got a hand on them. There must have been something that Schwartz just did not like and didn’t think Rowe could ever do.
Mills was the media’s darling till the pads went on. Then he all but disappeared. Too slow and too grabby. Combine that with can’t/won’t tackle and I’m actually slightly surprised he’s on the team. Felt Smith was better by the end of preseason to be honest.
Most other positions can overcome a lack of speed with some regularity, CBs who can’t run fast are extremely rare.
Yeah but where’s this narrative coming from that Mills is slow?
Ummm…his 4.61 40 yard dash time at the combine. It’s literally the reason he fell to the 7th round. That and his lack of speed actually showed up on film quite a bit this preseason as he showed a propensity to get beat deep and looked a step slow and lacking recovery speed.
I think people here would be tickled pink if the two trades were
1. Rowe for DGB
2. Kelly for a 4th.
I would have been tickled pink with Kelly for a bag of footballs.
Just not from the Pats; they would be flat.
yehbut MOAR footballz in da bag!
Bradford already splitting first team reps at Vikings practice.
Come on, new coaches do get rid of players they didn’t draft and irrationally hold on to ones the did. It happens. He’s played one year!
Death Rowe
Had to go
Why?
No one knows.
Hicks is safe
As is Logan and Ertz. And even Watkins (even though he was yo-yoed around a bit).
Logan Hicks ..great artist. Ha you made me think …
Chip shipped out quality players willy-nilly.
The cupboard bare, fans ache.
Ownership bristled and shipped Chip out of Philly,
Howie won’t mimick Chip’s mistake.
Brilliant. lol
Taco Friday was replaced
by shakes with dubious powers.
If only Lane would check his shit
‘fore taking in strange powders.
Howie kept the stadium stocked
with unis, jocks and cleats.
While Chip went mad, and we got bad
and counted our defeats.
And now the Birds are in a flux
and no man’s job’s secure.
We’re dropping players left and right
Why? No one knows for sure.
It’s finally clear, it’s Howie’s show
win or lose the game.
And if these draft picks don’t pan out
We’ll know who is to blame.
Damn, who knew Eagles fans had mad poetry skills?
I bow to your superior word smithing.
Less than a week away from real football. Holy shit I’m excited.
Anyone else think that Kelce could be on the block? They have Wiz, Andrews, Seumalo, and a guy on the PS that can all play center. Kelce is the only one that would net them anything worthwhile.
Interesting hypothesis.
Seumalo played his best in college at center. Wiz has been serviceable at guard. Gordon has showed a lot of promise at guard with the possibility of moving o one of the tackle spots in the future.
Why not wait until after the season. You’re probably not going to get more for him in draft choices now so close to the season. Teams want to have a whole off-season to build chemistry.
Not at all, would be death to our team this close to the season, in my opinion way worse than trading Bradford.
Doubt they move a starting OL with the future of the franchise under center.
I don’t think so due to how close we are to the start of the season and how few snaps anybody else took at first team center.
Hot seat for sure.
WIsniewski was a starter at center.
I’m going to be less kind than the posters below, CAS. Why in the world are you suggesting Kelce is on the block? Sure, while changing the QB position, might as well switch out the QB of the offensive line. Makes perfect sense. So, let’s begin the season with a rookie QB who hasn’t played more than the first preseason game and then have him centered by someone who has little to no experience on the NFL stage. Recipe for disaster.
Smh WTF is wrong with Eagle fans? People are losing their minds
If German eagle had read this to me over a Spaten in a noisy Hoffbrau, id have asked him … ‘”since when did you start reading of Spadaro mate ?”
Then leave if you dont like Tommy.
you wanna piece of me pal
Is that how you read it? Incorrect conclusion.
Oh ok. Then why mention Spadaro?
Cuz spuds always spins every decision is the right one .. he has a franchise agenda so you can’t get unbiased insight from him. Which is cool. Actually i dont even know since i stopped reading spuds so long ago ..the moment i found t law in fact
Was subtle..but not that subtle. Why so defensive about Spadaro ?
Cool yo defend him but i hardly insulted him ..
Don’t like Spaten. Much rather prefer Franziskaner!
Although we’ve come
To the end of the Rowed
Still I can’t let you go….
Pats.y Kline on Death Rowe Records
认真拜读中……
It’s only 5:18PM here and all the trade rumors are done till tomorrow. Sad. Gonna rewatch us beat pats last year, that’ll cheer me up…
I like to do that from time to time, too. Though I prefer to say “I’m going to watch us not lose to the Pats again.” With that being one of those signature Kelly games where we just could not play with a lead to save our lives, and all. lol
“And as for the Chip Kelly nonsense…if this was really about him, why is Josh Huff still here? Why is Kenjon Barner still here?”
Why indeed?
Lmfao
Um, it’s not like they didn’t try to get rid of Huff(or Aggie?). HR brought in a handful of vets etc. to take a look. Barner — Eagles drafted an RB(who is on the 53) and another RB who’s on the practice squad. Point is — those are two silly questions….IF Huff was such a stud, a trade wouldn’t have been needed to get a WR…..
I don’t like the trade, because the return does not justify giving up on a 2nd year player who flashed talent in year 1. It is a different scheme and has new roles and responsibilities for a corner to execute, but Rowe is hardly the first young player to struggle with a scheme change and then get to grips with it during the season and next offseason and be in a place to contribute 12 months later.
Especially because we have 2 aging CB’s with short term deals – finding long term starters at CB is a vital step for the teams long term future, and i think any 4th round pick is going to project no better than Rowe to be a starting CB in this scheme in the future.
I’m guessing — value. Wentz in = total rebuild. Stock pile picks? Not sure what else to think….
I trust Schwartz, Pederson, Howie and Undlin (who coached him last year) enough.
Will the Pats maybe make him good? Yes, does it mean it might become good here? Most likely no.
I hear you…. I don’t see how any fan could be excited about that trade… But it’s much easier to swallow when you have a highly respected defensive Coordimator that we really trust
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While we don’t like the trade, im sure we would like it a lot less if they ended up cutting Rowe
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Personally, I would have kept rowe This year and next summer before I even considered giving up on him, especially when its not like we have an abundance of yoûng corner talent
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But what’s most dissapointing is not trying him at Safety before we gave up on him
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No point crying over spilled Milk, hopefully Mills or another young player step up and become the young corner we hoped Rowe would be
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Hopefully the Compensation has been slightly adjusted since we aren’t taking Kline
One thing that people have to be wary of is not threatening our team chemistry by throwing virtually every player into trade scenarios..
Peters, Sproles and Kelce are players unlike the ones recently traded that have a huge influence on other veterans and especially younger players on this team.
I really don’t think that any return would trumpet the potential loss.
Sproles/Peters are no longer core players. That train ended with the Bradford train. Love me some Peters and Sproles. But their age + rookie QB = not long term plans.
SProles and Peters are important to the development of Carson… And NOTHING should be more important than that, especially now that SAM is gone..
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There is value in keeping a check down weapon like Sproles for our developing yoûng QB
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And People have really lost their damn mind if they think we even have close to enough OT Talent to be able to part with JP right now… It’s probably more important that we not get Carson Killed than to get an extra 6th round pick
Continuity — sure it’s nice. Lots and lots of rookie QB’s that were extremely successful in their careers didn’t have a Sproles or JP. I get what you’re saying. From an Eagle fan perspective. For overall growth — it’s over rated. I’m not comparing Wentz talent, just the situation — P. Manning and Luck etc. all go their tails whipped their rookie seasons. They turned out just fine. Eli gets his tail whipped daily lol. Again, I’m not saying they aren’t talented and I’m not saying they wouldn’t help. I’m just saying they are not in the future when this team achieves it’s ultimate goal. If HR gets the right trade — he has to think about it. Eagles would still survive….
Luck and Peyton manning played for the worst team in the NFL that deserved the #1 pick…. Our team had the 13th pick during a yeàr where we under achieved and exhibited all the signs of a poorly coached team, and our roster is clearly improved from the roster that under achieved last year while still not being bad enough to get a top 10 pick…. BIG DIFFERENCE than the talent Peyton had to work with as a rookie
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Peters and Sproles wont be part of our future, but neither is the player we get for some shit 7th round pick we would get for trading them
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You don’t learn and develope just by stepping on the field… You want to develope Wentz? Than we need to protect him and give him the time needed to execute… A young QB isn’t going to Develope if he is getting killed every play because he has no time to throw… Wentz needs to EXECUTE in order to improve, and that can’t happen if you sorround him with dog shit in the name of adding a bunch of other 7th round picks
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The better the offense around Wentz, the better chance he has of executing, thus the more he gets out of playing this year
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Wentz is in a much better position than what Peyton was drafted into…
You’re dead wrong abt the talent around Peyton Manning in 1998.
RB Marshall Faulk
WR Marvin Harrison
OT Tarik Glen
TE Ken Dilger
These are just the HOF and Pro Bowl players. The rest of the O-line was composed of players who had lengthy, solid careers (save Tony Mandarich).
Wentz has no Faulk. And certainly no Harrison.
Speaking of, how is the roster improved from last year? It’s the same players minus the QB and the RB.
Bradford is the only player we lost who the coaches wanted on the team.. I doubt the front office and coaching staff views demarco, KIKO, Maxwell, Miles Austin or Riley Cooper as playërs they wish were still on the team
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guard was the biggest weakness of last years roster, and that has been upgraded nicely
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We may not view our WR as significant upgrades right now, but only a moron would rather have Coop and Miles Austin
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Walt Thurmond had a nice season, but only a moron would claim that McLeod isn’t a significant upgrade
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We have more depth at LB than we had last year, and only a moron would think Bradham isn’t an upgrade to what KIKO gave us last year
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Our DE position is improved now that Curry counts as an edge rusher, MS2 has made some improvement and the addition of Means… Lol MS2 and Means would probably start at DE for the Cowboys on Sunday
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Doesn’t take a genius to realize that Leodis will probably play better than what Maxwell was last year
.,,
not only have we upgraded the team almost across the board, but I think last years roster underachieved and showed all the tell tale signs of a poorly coached team. The roster may not be drastically improved across the board, but it takes a real moron to not see that this roster is easily better in plenty of areas than last years team
Only a moron, like only a moron would think the Vikings would trade for Sam Bradford?
First, we were talking about offense, and you are mostly talking about defense. Yeah, we have a nasty little DL.
Still, the upgrades you mention are very slight, realistically, changing out weak starters for average starters, maybe, but mostly re-arranging the furniture. It’s not at all clear WR will be better, and it’s just as likely Sproles and Peters and Matthews will decline as counting on these in-house improvements.
Be honest and look at the good skill position players around the league and compare them to what Wentz is going to have to work with.
What position groups with the exception of Losing Bradford will be worse than last year?
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UPGRADE MEANS BETTER THAN LAST YEAR. It does NOT AUTOMATICALLY MEAN GREATNESS!!!!
I’m not completely sure that the CBs we have are better than Maxwell last year. He was good, just not worth the money. We’re getting better bang for our buck, but Maxwell was still the best CB last year. But hopefully the line is good and makes it easier to mask any CB deficiencies. I think we have better depth for sure.
Nolan was our best corner Last year in his first taste of extensive outside cornerback experience, I expect him to build on that this year… we lost boykin, and JaCorey so we didn’t really even have slot CB, having to play Jenkins in the slot… Brooks is no world beater, but better than any slot CB we had last year.. Leodis has a richer pedigree than Marshall who only had success for a year or two playing with 3 all pro DBs…I don’t think Leodis is the answer at starting CB the last 3 years, but the play of Leodis under Schwartz was easily much better than what Maxwell gave us last year
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I feel confident that our secondary is the best in the division, for whatever thats worth,,, think the secondary will prove to be much better than last years unit
Right, and keeping the best talent around him. You don’t want to replace Sproles with a guy who can’t catch passes, or Peters with a turnstyle who will get Wentz killed. If we had heir apparents waiting in the wings, that’s one thing… but in general I’d like the most talent around Wentz that we can — seems like that would be the best bet for him to learn and do well. You want to take as much pressure *off* of Wentz as you can.
Watch him become the starting Pats safety !
I totally expect that, i could envision him taking over for mccourty in a few years just like i envisioned him taking over for malcolm jenkins here.
I love swartz as d coordinator but when has he ever been a great evaluator of Db’s? When has he ever had great corners aside from the ones he inherited in Buffalo? It always seemed like the secondary was always the weak link of his defenses.
Not happy about giving up on rowe so soon, and hope that we made the right decision
Agreed on all points. Very disappointed by the decision to let go of him without even trying him at safety, which is where I always thought he’ll end up. I found him very overrated last year, people were in my opinion getting a bit too excited by his play as I saw clear speed/agility limitations (even the INT he’s praised for, he was 1/2 steps behind the receiver then with no help over the top), but given his history, body type and physical approach, I hope we’d give him a shot at safety.
By the time Rowe should take over from Jenkins or McCourty, he would have left in FA.
Rowe might be good with the Pats, but that does not mean he would be good here.
so we are just going to take the same pick from the Pats without Kline? That’s what I’m hearing. Where is the upgrade? ok ok the upgrade for a player we don’t want, but still.
I agree with the folks below who don’t like this trade.
Haven’t seen any clarification yet, but it sounds like it
Byron Maxwell said his reason for coming to Philly last year was “Cash flow, all day.” Chip saw growth mindset when he looked at Byron, Byron saw growth of bank account when he looked at Chip.
Chip also forgot the part of growth mindset when looking at him self.
I said this more than once, it was amazing that Chip was so gung ho about everyone around him having a growth mindset when he himself was such a closed minded individual.
emotional intelligence
Can’t wait to see the Rams DL unleashed on Chips offense
I think trading Wisnewski for some shit late draft pick is a terrible idea because nothing is more important than protecting the kid, especially now when we are one hit away from Chase Daniel which would easily be worst case scenario for this season.
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Initially I was annoyed when I saw the report that they want to trade Wis, but thinking about it, it’s probably likely that Wis is the one asking for this trade, it’s no secret that Wis signed hoping to get a long term deal that he already feels as Tho he has earned. For where he is in his career, I can’t blame Wis for not being willimg to sit the bench which really hurts his ability to ever get the contract he wants..
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Since it will be we weeks before the NFL suspends Lane, Barbie Doll is starting at RG, and once they suspend lane, Barbie moves to RT and by then Seumalo should be ready to start… So unless Brooks or Kelce get hurt (God forbid) it’s going to be difficult for Wisnewski to get playing time this year… I really would love to have his ability, experience and G/C versatility on the bench, but I certainly understand why Wisnewski would want no parts of that..
So initally I was Dissapointed seeing HOWIE trying to trade him, but realistically its probably what Wisnewski wants, heck he may have asked for it, and I can’t kill Roseman for trading a backüp who doesn’t want to be here.
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Although the report is that they are trying to trade Wis and josh Andrews… Don’t we need to keep at least 1 of our 2 Backup centers? Seumalo may be able to play Center and Guard for us long term, but he needs to focus on the guard position during his rookie season..
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Josh Andrews isn’t fetching us anything worth a damn in a trade…but we should be able to get a 6th or a 7th for Wisnewski, especially if a team suffers an injury at starting G or C…. Maybe we can do one of those trades where we use Wis to move up one round in the draft like the Eagles trading a 5th and Wis for a 4th.. Or something like that
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DO NOT TRADE SPROLES! A check down weapon like him will come in handy for our developing young QB… And we will need our ST to play well more than ever now that we are going with the kid.
As I think Gary said yesterday these casualties happen in scheme changes. I have one question though. Wasnt Rowe drafted and toutes here as a press corner?
Eagles gave Sturgis a 1 yr extension,,
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Pats officially cut Kline
So it looks like the 4th is not even conditional..?!
Yeah I am really not a fan of this move. What a waste of a pick.
BGN saying it’s believed to be conditional, could move up to a 3rd. So who knows.
Trade official.
Have no problem with moving Wisniewski. Signing a marginal vet, increasing his value and trading him for a pick is essentially creating a pick out of thin air.
All I know is – I am going to start trusting my eyes more with regards to draft picks and players in general. Last season, the first time I watched Rowe try to cover a WR it was obvious he lacked the agility to turn, lacked the quickness (regardless of his alleged 40 time) to stay with quick receivers. Same with DeMarco Murray last preseason – the dude ran like a lumbering slob and looked like the slowest guy on the field.
Rowe has consistently struggled when he has to turn to stick with receivers who make a cut at the top of their routes. I don’t know whether its his hips or what, but its not something that got better.
He’s better when he can just run and use his size and speed to stick with a receiver, but even then as we saw this preseason his technique looked very suspect.
I’ll be curious if the Pats see him as a corner or a safety. Regardless I’m ok with moving him. The Eagles wouldn’t have shipped him out if Schwartz thought he could play for us.
“Game Speed” is real
Rothlisberger, Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, Andy Dalton, Mark Sanchez, Luck, RG3, Russell Wilson managed to make the playoffs during their rookie seasons…
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Realistically there is no way we can go into this season expecting Wentz to take us to the playoffs, but my hope is that Wentz wil have enough success to at least make this an entertaining season. regardless of who our QB is, it doesn’t change the fact that our rivals ARENT very good this year, so hopefully Wentz can at least keep us in the division hunt… there is nothing worse than waiting months for football to start, only to be eliminated from contention by Halloween. Fortunately, I dont think anyone in our division will be good enough to have more than a two win lead over the rest of the division at any point this season, so hopefully when we get to DECEMBER we will still be playing meaningful games.. That’s really all I can ask of Wentz. Just be good enough to keep us in the hunt of what should be a wide open division
..
our division isn’t any better than it was when RG3 took the skins to the playoffs and had that big rookie season running around like a chicken with his head cut off and throwing to his first read all year.,. i DONT think there is any question that Wentz is more developed as a passer than RG3 was as a rookie. Wentz will read defenses better, and is more advanced in terms of seeing the field and going thru his progressions than RG3 was when he took his team to the playoffs as a rookie, and Wentz has the running ability that was a huge part of Rg3 rookie success.
..
It’s not fair to go into the year holding Wentz to the standards RG3 set as a rookie, nor is it fair to expect Wentz to take us to the playoffs, but hopefully the kid can play well enough to keep us in the hunt and make it an entertaining year. I don’t ever want to be in the position we were in during the 2012 season when our year was OVER by Halloween. fortunately Our rivals really suck this year!
..
I want to see a hungry, aggressive, Physical defense that takes on the challenge of carrying a team with a rookie QB. I want to see coach Fipp continue to produce one of the better special team units in the NFL, and I want to see an Offensive line that moves the ball in the run game, and protects Wentz giving him enough time to have some success and grow over the course of the season.
..
Hopefully come December, Wentz has us in the mix to win the division one or two games out of first place. Give me that, and I can live with the results at the end of December. I have no idea what the kid will be capable of as a rookie, but I do feel confident that our Rivals ARENT good enough to run away with this division. When we aren’t good enough to have realistic expectations of contending this season, the next best thing is hoping for an entertaining season and constant growth over the course of the year
..
Few people expected us to win the division with Bradford, so we really can’t expect to win the division now… With that said I dont think we are any worse than the Washington team RG3 took to the playoffs, and our division isn’t much stronger than it was during RG3’s big rookie season, so while its not fair or realistic to expect The Wentz led Eagles to be the favorite to win the NFCeast, it may be a mistake to waive the white flag on the year just because we are going with a rookie QB
I think this defense is easily comparable to the Jets D when Sanchez got the start. Offense isn’t all that different either.
What haoppened to the Patriots the year Sanchez won the division as a rookie? Was that the year Brady got hurt, Cassell led them to 10 wins but still missed the playoffs?
…
I really don’t think highly of this cowboy and Giants roster. Skins could be the top dog in the division depending on what Cousins looks like, I really liked our chances to win this slop division with Bradford. But who knows what the Wentz led offense will look like.. If I had to guess, 7-9 or 8-8 is probably a fair expectation, but expectations are proven wrong all the time in the NFL
..
hopefully the OL can stay healthy so we can give the kid the best chance possible, and we need the offense to make the most of the short fields provided by the defense
..
Think it’s safe to assume that only the team that wins the division will make the playoffs. unlikely that we will see a Wildcard team come out of the NFCeast
didn’t rowe shut down odb last year? he went up against ones all year and i thought did pretty well, but then i think sammy dollaz is a franchise qb so what do i know
I dunno how the trade goes from a conditional 4th and OL Kline to just a 4th. I would have liked to get at least a 3rd (and this year instead of 2 years away), because the Pats almost always draft at the end of the round. But if the coaching staff really didn’t see ANYTHING in him, I guess it’s whatever…
Depends if the Eagles were viewing Kline as value that we were getting in return, or if we were going to take him off the Patriots hands as a cap dump so that the Pats WOULDNT have been responsible for his contract…
..
We are assuming that we were viewing Kline as value that we were getting in return that we could trade… But it could have been the other way around, where taking his contract off the Pats hands could be part of the reason they were willing to make that 4th round pick a conditional pick, but now that we aren’t taking Kline, the trade isn’t AS Attractive to the Pats, which in turn causes them to remove the chance that it could become a 3rd round pick, making it just a 4th round pick
..
Fans are assuming that Kline was part of our compensation, but he could have been viewed as a Cap dump that we had to take in addition to giving the Pats Rowe to get them to give up a 4th that could become a 3rd
Actually . . .
Trading Kline would have INCREASED the Pats’ dead money in 2016 — NOT saved them money.
Cutting Kline SAVED the Pats’ $250,000.
http://overthecap.com/player/josh-kline/2576/
So your theory, while interesting, is contradicted by the facts.
That’s odd… normally a trade is better or the same as a cut cap-wise (better if there is future guaranteed salary). Wonder if there was a trade kicker or something. But yeah, the numbers aren’t high enough in Kline’s case to make that much of an issue either way.
Depends on what part of Trade ledger Kline was on,
,,
The assumption is that it’s Rowe was traded for Kline and the 4th(conditional 3rd)
.
But it could have been the Pats give the Eagles the draft pick. And the Pats get Rowe and the ability to dump the kline contract on the Eagles.. Any Cap saving matters to a team like the Pats who are all in, Super Bowl or bust mode
..
Clearly the Pats don’t want Kline, since they cut him when the Eagles didn’t take him… I would assume the Pats had already tried to trade Kline, so it didn’t make much sense that the Eagles were accepting Kline as part of the compensation for Rowe, but were hoping to trade Him, since obviously the Pats couldn’t find a taker
…
I just heard a report that the Rowe trade was completed, the Eagles get a 4th, no mention of conditions that could make it a 3rd round pick either way… Those conditions are built in long shots, and probably not worth much more then the cap saving of a Cheap cpntract like Kline,
.
Just speculating…
I get the vibe that he doesn’t care enough o practice like he plays.
https://twitter.com/Astonia67/status/773360091491958785
I am not on Twitter but find you very informative, if you could just repeat all your twitters here that would be great ok?
85% of my Eagles or draft related content gets repeated here.
Also be less of an old stooge and get twitter.
ok good
Grandpa Simpson says no way, yells at cloud, turns Matlock on.
So you’re saying that it’s possible non of the teammates went to his birthday party?
Posting your own tweets here is a sign of geniusm. 😉
I am now paid by a major digital media corporation for my thoughts on the Eagles, I have transcended retyping 140 characters.
Coach –
What’s up on the job front?
Still underemployed and searching but doing Eagles coverage for Bleacher Report on the side.
what are you looking for, maybe IB connections can help.
Liberal Art Econ degree, so just about anything entry level business related (preferably not sales, don’t really have the personality for it) in the Philly, Allentown, Downingtown triangle.
multiple buddies of mine have gone the head-hunting route…. seem to be good gigs money wise & easy to get a foot in the door (probably good for networking in general).
Look at you! Don’t be above selling out dude. No hippies allowed around here!
if you never sell out then everyone assumes no one asked you too lol
I don’t expect wentz to be some world beater this year… But I hope he plays out of his mind, and has some Monster performances against the Browns and Cowboys who had a shot at getting Wentz.
..
After the classless Browns went on record trashing Wentz to the media about how they didn’t think he was worth the pick and that they don’t believe he will be a top 20 QB, Wentz has an opportunity to make that franchise look really foolish this week. RG3 is probably going to take a beating this week in the Linc, and I assume our Defense will make Him look really bad, if Wentz can put together a big time performance, that franchise is going to really feel some negative Heat next week…
.
I understand that wentz will have plenty of struggles this year, but for just this one week, I want to see him have the game of his life. it’s Classless for a teams front office to trash another teams draft pick publically. the Browns need to get what they deserve, RG3 getting scraped up off the LINC floor all day, while Wentz torches that weak Browns defense, causing the Browns to have to answer questions all next week about why they passed up on Wentz.
..
i so badly want Wentz to look amazing on Sunday, while RG3 looks as Incompetant as ever.
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Wentz did an interview with Angelo Cataldi (WIP) this morning, and was asked if he had any revenge on his mind going into the Browns game. To no surprise, the poised Wentz refused to take the bait, but I hope that all of our WR’s and OL are fully aware of the Browns public anti Wentz comments, step up and rally for the rookie this week
..
It’s one thing for young WR’s to make mistakes and drop passes for a veteran like Bradford, but that can’t happen with a rookie QB, it’s time for the young WRs to grow up quickily, step up, elevate their games and rally around the Rookie QB…
..
Wentz just needs to avoid throwing at Joe Haden, and not throw to the TE or RB who is matched up against Kirksey because that LB can cover…
..
Now that Roseman managed to recoup almost all our draft picks for next year, if the Browns are still having a yard sale, I hope Roseman tries to get Christian Kirksey off the Browns during next years draft to eventually replace Bradham, or at the very least, Kirksey has a chance to become a stud in coverage (nickel) that we hoped To see from Kendricks which hasn’t happened
is it definitively now only a 4th, with no condition to become a 3rd?
Seems that way
McLane said on twitter that there are conditions based on playing time tied to the pick, no further detail yet though
When Eagles officially announced Bradford trade in transaction wire, it was for 2017 1st and 2018 4th. We know that that 2018 pick can be elevated. I assume it’s the same with the Rowe trade. We just don’t know the exact conditions. I assume that it’s pretty difficult for that pick to become a 3rd.
I’ll guess it’s a Pro Bowl escalator.
McLane said it was based on playing time. Didn’t know specifics.
“Why is Nelson Agholor still here?”
Indeed.
I understand the hate but dont agree with it. It’s his sophomore season and he showed flashes last year. Needs to improve a lot obviously but waaay too early to give up on him
exactly… on average WR’s don’t start realizing their potential until year 3
some never do
hands of stone
can’t create separation
That’s what she said.
Mitchell…
http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2016/09/new_orleans_saints_release_qb.html
Omg omg omg!!!! Its happening! I didnt even reas the whole article and frankly, I dont care why he was released. PICK HIM UP HOWARD! We need another qb, BB!
Well, Josh Kline probably needs a hug wherever he is
Pats signed LB Quentin Gause to their PS.
Won’t surprise me if he becomes a starter eventually under BB.
not everyone is Patrick Chung
But BB is the one.
the Dark One
RUTGERZ
https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/773560839571996673/pu/vid/320×180/-VBkg5NCqfjJPM9A.mp4
MM will love the last 20 seconds!!
why does he say Barner should be cut?
That’s… the most I’ve ever heard Fletch say.
Rather compete for a bad NFC East or build for the future?
Don’t think they have to be mutually exclusive… I don’t know about you, but I spend too much money on Tix to not root for a divison title..
Hoping we can develope our puppies while being competitivr in the division down To the very end… I want meaningful games in December.
Compete. I would like to see this defense come together and perform in the top 10, special teams continue to be special, and offense perform at least around the top 20.
Why not both?
Probably went something like this:
Eagles: 4th isn’t enough for Rowe
Patriots: We’ve got this guy, Kline, that we’re going to cut. Want him?
Eagles: Eh, there’s already a couple players on our roster that are the same guy. Let me call around to see if we can move him or Wiz or Andrews, because I’d rather keep the roster spot open for someone else and we don’t need another backup OL.
Media: TRADE INCLUDES KLINE OMG
Eagles: Now that it’s obvious that these guys aren’t worth the pick, you can keep him and we’ll roll with the guys we’ve got. Can we get that conditional 3rd we were talking about still?
Pats: No.
Eagles: Fuck it.
The information was probably leaked by Kline’s agent (or Rowe’s). No reason for reporters to not believe him.
But we got the conditional 4th that can become a 3rd
Does Peter King not have an editor? setting aside the run on sentence, see if you can find the mistake. This is like 2 sentences into his article.
As for the Steelers, I sense a disbelief that the season ended the way it did, with a crushing loss mentally and physically in Denver, coming off a Ravens-Steelers type of vengeful match in Cincinnati the previous week that robbed Pittsburgh of wideout Antonio Brown for the AFC semifinal loss.
Can’t stand that b___rd.
Hold up, Peter King doesn’t have a beard… … Ooooh.
Beard was Tom Jackson…
Positively Homeric.
Per McLane, the 4th becomes a second if Rowe plays more than 50% either this year or next. Seems unlikely unless there is an injury to one of the starters.
Or if he gets the Boykin treatment.
Joking aside I don’t think it’s that far fetched that he’s going to play 50% of the snaps next year at the latest.
It’s much better than a pro bowl condition!! Well done; Howie.
Woah, just read that I wrote it became a second, edited that to correct it as a third.
That’s actually really good. Better than I expected the best to be which was 50% of both years. That way if he pans out for them we get a 3rd.
Exactly.
He sure as hell won’t be getting that unless there’s multiple injuries during week 1-3
So some people are worried he’s going to become good in New England but no way he can play half their games or time in 2017-18?
Why do you think he’ll be good in NE? The Patriots aren’t any better at developing CBs than any other team in the league. BB can put them into positions to succeed but that’s not even a guarantee regardless of how talented you are.
How is he going to beat out the already established proven starters when he couldn’t beat out just guys on our team?
I don’t think it’s a lock either way. But I’ve heard many say he could be come good there.
You apparently think there’s no way he can play half their games in a season out of 2 seasons as strongly as you worded it.
At any rate, if he doesn’t, getting a 4th it will be fine for someone who can’t play half the time in a season in 2 of his first 3 years.
If he’s good, a 3rd isn’t that bad in a year we have no second right now.
exactly. Thanks for putting it so well.
We win either way. If he does alright we get a higher pick, if he sucks ass then we get to know the Eagles made the right move in getting rid of him when they could and for such good compensation.
The only way we lose is if he becomes a stud corner and then we look like asses for getting rid of him.
Fantasy football question: Start Luck (who may die with that oline vs a nasty Lions DL or who could get off to a hot start against a weak secondary) or Wentz (who may look like a rookie vs Cleveland or demolish them because… they’re Cleveland).
You’re putting a lot of faith in our WRs. Go with Luck.
That’s a good point. Thanks!
I’ll take our WR over Luck’s swiss cheese OL…
🙁
Luck all the way
Well, this might be your last chance to start Luck…
Its week 1. Think about where you drafted luck (and if you even drafted Wentz). As of this week you go Luck and you sleep like a baby.
Pretty healthy going into the weekend at least. Curry was limited (Knee) and new WR Treggs Out (knee).
Lets protect Wentz and suffocate RGIII for a quick W
Patriots Corners contract situations in ’17-’18 which relates to reported Rowe draft pick conditions. Obviously they can get extended or re-sign if free agent:
Starter Logan Ryan is UFA in 2017
Starter Malcolm Butler is RFA. They can match but he could get interest.
Cyrus Jones rookie signed in 2017-2018
Justin Coleman ERFA
Jonathan Jones rookie signed in 2017-2018
Eric Rowe listed as 3rd RCB on unofficial depth chart on their off website.
They are carrying 6 safeties.
McCourty signed in 2017-2018
http://overthecap.com/player/devin-mccourty/1212/
Chung signed in 2017-2018
http://overthecap.com/player/patrick-chung/1237/
Duron Harmon is UFA in 2017
Nate Ebner signed in 2017-2018
http://overthecap.com/player/nate-ebner/1234/
Jordan Richards signed in 2017-2018
http://overthecap.com/player/jordan-richards/3912/
Brandon King is ERFA in 2017.
“Eric Rowe listed as 3rd RCB on unofficial depth chart on their off website.”
Is this the same unofficial depth chart that had Kline as the starter?
But good find, by the way. Don’t interpret my snark as a dismissal.
538 forecasts the Eagles at 7-9
http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/2016-nfl-predictions/
Shit, isn’t pretty much everyone forecasting the Eagles about 7-9?
Actually, could be rounded to 8-8, I was being cynical.
So can the deadskins, only percentage points better than us…
Yup. They give Washington 29% chance to win the division, the Eagles 27% and the Giants 25%.
Dallas on the outside at 19%.
Still, that’s an NFC-E that’s completely up for grabs.
Well all the power rankings have us 27-31 type range, so seemingly not. My expectations is 6-9 wins for the year, and 7 wins seems about perfect.
Well, actually 8-8 if you properly round…
Yeah, I was being realistic.
NFC East Champion chances:
Washington: 29%
Philadelphia: 27%
NY Giants: 25%
Dallas: 19%
As you would expect, no other division is as wide open.
I guess the data of what that Cowboys team was sans-Romo last year absolutely torpedoed them in that projection. But I think that run-game is going to make Dak into the next Nick Foles. It will make him looks waaaaay better than he is, so we’ll get to see the wheels come off that at some point months (hopefully) or years down the road, so that would be fun. Anyway, hard to give anyone in the division better or worse odds.
Though I think we have way more ways of being a trainwreck, so I’d probably give us lesser odds. Not saying I think we will be the worst team in the NFC East, I just think we own waaay too many scenarios in which this team is just terrible, so that has to be worked into our odds.
Seems pretty reasonable to me.
They’re statisticians so they’re not going by “gut”. I don’t follow their method here but it seems logical.
When looking for the Browns injury report I just stumbled across this report:
http://www.rotoworld.com/headlines/nfl/339634/report-browns-wanted-2nd-rounder-for-gordon
Lol. Good luck with that…
If nothing else – we get some help in early season games from opponent suspenions
To Tommy’s point about the Rams organization being not great — very strange, having watched Hard Knocks — to see that the strength and conditioning coach is the guy who physically walks players to Fisher’s office. This is stranger to watch than it sounds. And Fisher just sounds so burned out. Something weird going on in that building.
Is he the muscle to protect Fischer (and the water cooler in the hallway) from irate muscle-bound galoots?
It has that vibe, but its hard to know if its intentional. Just odd.
From Roto: Although he averaged just 2.8 yards per carry on runs behind or off tackle on 110 attempts, DeMarco Murray averaged 4.6 yards on runs guard to guard last year, behind only Spencer Ware, Thomas Rawls and Adrian Peterson for all backs with 50 or more such attempts. (makes you question why he wasn’t used more up the middle – but not that it matters. So in fantasy football — couple the above stat with: After Mike Mularkey took over for Ken Whisenhunt in Week 9, 56 percent of the Titans’ running back runs were run from guard to guard. — Maybe DM wasn’t such a reach. Hope he does great in Tenn. 🙂 …
Chip = imbecile
He is a talented back. Chip horribly misused him as the stats you provided suggest.
The only reach about him last year was Chip reaching to force him into a scheme he blatantly was not meant for.
Horrendous coaching on Chips part.
4.6 ypc would have made him the 14th most efficient runner in the league, which is much better than 41st (where he ended up).
The best RBs get in the 5.0 range. Hey! Look, there’s Mr. Ryan Matthews at 5.08 ypc, the 2nd best mark for any RB.
Ryan Mathews can be one of the best RBs in the league this year.
unfortunately — CK also ran DM to the outside. Where he was terrible. According to Roto – DM had the worst differential (negative) between running inside vs. outside in the nfl…
Good lord are the Saints embarrassing.
They have a ton of dead money this year
They have some dead money next year
They’ll have another $18 million of dead money in 2018 when the new Brees deal voids.
And still suck.
They totally should have sold Brees in March.
That’s not Howie do it!
So if I’m making a quick NFC Power Ranking
16) Niners
15) Giants
14) Saints
13) Bears
12) Rams
11) Falcons
10) Bucs
9) Eagles
8) Cowboys
7) Lions
6) Washingon
5) Vikings
4) Packers
3) Carolina
2) Arizona
1) Seattle
I could (optimistically regarding Wentz) see the Eagles as high as 6, right behind the Vikings. Could also see them as low as 14 if things go wrong, though, as well.
I can’t really see a 9 win playoff type team here. I’d welcome it though.
I could see the Vikings finish 0-16, then the Eagles drafting Watson #1 OVR, before trading Wentz to the Vikings for the next 3 1st rounders.
Why do you have the Giants lower than us? And the Falcons and Bucs who both beat us last year?
Swept Giants last season. Lost by 2 to Falcons in Atlanta and our D looks much, much better. Bucs you have an argument as they look improved as well.
I wouldn’t have ranked the Cowboys in front of us. Only team that really made us look bad in the East was Washington.
Bears might be better than expected given John Fox teams tend to improve in his second season. Given, they haven’t looked good at all this preseason. Expect the Vikings to be worse. Changing QB’s this late is a recipe for disaster and Bradford’s never managed to win more than 7. Cowboys D is going to be horrible.
Lot of mediocrity after the top 4 teams. Almost drop in a hat mediocrity.
ok fantasy folks — cj Anderson/Henry for Rawls/Reed. PPR league. would you trade for Rawls/Reed? Option 2: Murray/Henry for Rawls/Reed? Or would you stand pat with the RB’s? (my other rb’s are R.Mathews and Ware. My current TE is Barnidge)
Sit tight with Anderson and Henry.
And which Murray in the 2nd trade?
Demarco
I’d be more likely to do that, because only one of Murray and Henry can actually contribute, but I’d want both Rawls and Christine Michael along with Reed to cover my rear end.
My draft is about to start. Got first pick. Any reason I should take someone other than Antonio Brown?
PPR? Nope, no reason. LOL. He’s pegged to be a monster this year…
Not PPR. Standard yahoo scoring.
Still not reason not to take him.
Done. Someone took J. Winston 5th overall. #$#$%&@???
If you aren’t drinking the Wentz Kool aid yet, I suggest reading Jeff McLane’s piece on him…pretty cool, makes me feel like we got ourselves a quarterback.
That was a good read. I found this fascinating:
“The West Coast offense comes with extensive terminology, but Pederson has changed almost half the plays so that only one word is called in the huddle. Former Eagles coach Chip Kelly popularized this method in the NFL, although in the interest of his up-tempo offense.”
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/Its_showtime_for_Eagles_rookie_quarterback_Carson_Wentz.html
DVOA Projections just came out:
They have us at 27th in the league, with 7.2 wins.
They have WAS _below_ us, but NYG and DAL above. However, they have WAS also with 7.2 wins, and NY and Dal with 8.0. So the spread between NFCE teams is 0.8 wins!
I don’t know how much they have figured in recent developments.
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/dvoa-ratings/2016/2016-dvoa-projections
They’ve got Cleveland at 32nd.
I agree with them on how close the gap is between the teams. I’d have Philly higher, but hey, I’m a homer 🙂
One issue I have with their DVOA of Philly is they have Philly’s D ranked really low. I understand that given the Eagles D’s performance the last few years, but hard not to expect that to improve drastically.
I really don’t understand why they have the Giants ranked so high either. Giants D has been horrific of late. Offense has talent, but a poor O-line.
“I understand that given the Eagles D’s performance the last few years, but hard not to expect that to improve drastically.”
An interesting thing is that the last couple of years, the D was ranked very well, 10-15 I think, for the first half of the season, and then declined. This would fit in the with the narrative of being worn out because of the high snap count. Even if we haven’t truly upgraded, perhaps better coaching could bring us to that level consistently.
I think the Giants are a little underrated on this board because we swept them. I guess beating them twice a year will do that.
I have a hard time giving the Giants much credit. Not just because we swept them but because they just haven’t been that good of late. The media gets caught up in the stars, Eli and Beckham in particular, but ignores that the D has been awful and the offense average despite those guys. They’ve been the media’s choice for ‘we think they’re going to compete for the East and maybe a SB’ the last few seasons and this year, same thing. Not buying it.
I’m may be wrong, but I think the Giants will putting five guys in as offensive lineman so that may (or not) be an upgrade. There’s also a rumor that they might have a running back, but no one has yet to witness him.
Before the trade I honestly felt we stood above the rest of the teams. Now I have no clue. Seems like no one does…which is kind of refreshing. People are kind of admitting they have no idea.
As an Os fan, Ihope this turns out like the predictions did for the Oriole birds. Almost unanimously picked last in what was considered one of the weaker divisions in baseball. Turns out we are in the thick of a 4 team race and the division may get both wild cards.
The last time the Eagles fell apart, the new coach came in and won 10 games.
If Chip Kelly can take a 4 win team and turn it around with Bill Davis coaching the defense and playing the majority of the front 7 out of position in a 3-4, I’m not going to be shocked if Doug Pederson takes a 7 win team to the playoffs with a real defensive coordinator playing his players in their natural positions.
Chip Kelly and Doug Pederson aren’t the same people
Chip Kelly’s back to using his “Expanded” playbook — compared to “skinny” playbook he used in 2015 (below):
http://cdn.phillymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/USATSI_9523307_168380503_lowres-e1473717537313.jpg
http://www.crossingbroad.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Voila_Capture-2015-09-15_09-11-30_AM.jpg