Presents
Posted: December 24th, 2016 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 258 Comments »It is Christmas Eve and I’m about to hit the road to go visit family and see what gifts Santa brings my nephew Jason…and the rest of us, assuming we haven’t committed any unsportsmanlike penalties or wiped out TD passes due to not being on the line of scrimmage. In the spirit of Christmas, let’s talk about some presents we’ve gotten.
First, and foremost, is Carson Wentz. I know he has some doubters, but I think anyone who has watched this young man all year with a clear mind can see he is very talented and has all the intangibles to be a championship QB. He’s got a lot of issues to work on, but they are things that can be coached. The things he does have for sure are things that can’t be coached. He’s big and athletic. He’s tough. He’s unselfish. His teammates love him. He is hard-working and committed to the game of football.
The win over the Giants. Losing destroys your soul, one week at a time. You begin to expect it. Ambivalence sets in, which is the worst kind of sports fan to be. You don’t care if the team wins or loses. It was important for the team to win for their own reasons, but it also is good for those following the team. An Iggles Blitz reader pointed out in the comments section that sports is all about hope. Only one team wins it all in a year. The other teams hope to be that team in the future. Too much losing kills hope. A “meaningless” win against the Giants helps to restore hope. Plus we got sad Eli face for a whole week. Thanks Eli.
Lane Johnson’s return. We’re all upset with him for the suspension, but at the end of the day, this team wasn’t winning the Super Bowl this year, with or without him. Hopefully Johnson learned a huge lesson and he can become a rock on the O-line for the foreseeable future. We all wondered how he would play in his return, especially in a short week. Johnson had a good game and reminded us all how valuable he is. The Eagles are 4-1 with him on the field this year. That makes me feel even better about the future.
A season finale with Dallas. We get to care about the final game. No one wants to get swept by Dallas. The Eagles have a chance to beat the Boys at the Linc, something that hasn’t happened much in recent years. It would feel really good to head into the offseason with wins over the Giants and Cowboys.
Sam Bradford. The Vikings are getting beaten by the Packers as I type this. A loss would help to improve the draft pick the Eagles got from Minnesota in exchange for Bradford. The Eagles paid a steep price for Wentz, but dealing Bradford for what will be at least a mid-1st rounder makes that deal feel so much better.
Malcolm Jenkins. The Eagles secondary needs work. No one would dispute that. Jenkins is the guy you build the secondary around. He can play short or deep. He can man the slot. He can play man or zone. He can hit and tackle. He can blitz. He’s a team leader and does good work in the community. Thank god the Saints were dumb enough to let this guy hit free agency. I love having Jenkins as part of the Eagles family.
Brandon Graham. I feel so happy for Graham, who had some terrible luck early on. He played well as a rookie and then hurt his knee. That made his second year almost completely a wash. The next year he was a role player on a defense that was awful. He showed signs of getting back to his previous form. Then Chip Kelly got hired and Graham was moved to OLB. He struggled there for a year, but made big progress and became a regular player in 2014. He started at LB in 2015 and had a good year. This season he was rewarded with a move back to 4-3 DE and Graham has played lights out. His whole career he’s had to hear about Earl Thomas and JPP. Graham is a good enough player that those questions are gone and we can talk about whether he’s getting enough national recognition or not. No one questions the fact he’s a terrific pass rusher.
Fran Duffy. I’ve not been able to put out my game reviews much in the last couple of months. Work and family issues have been overwhelming to my schedule. Fran does brilliant work for PE.com. He cheats by getting the All-22 before anyone else, but we’ll forgive him for that because he’s so awesome at what he does. If you don’t read his pieces every week, you should.
Happy Holidays everyone.
*****
Personal note…A few of you asked about the lack of posts this week. My grandmother died on Monday and we had a gathering on Thursday and then the funeral on Friday. That limited my ability to post stuff.
No reason to be sad, though. Granny Pat was 97. She got her money’s worth out of life and then some. She was the best grandmother anyone could ever want and helped make me the person I am today.
_
Condolences Tommy.
Another present we have in Philly is Iggles Blitz. This is a good time of year to give back too Tommy and click on that “Donate” button.
So sorry for your loss, Tommy.
Godspeed to your grandfather
Sorry to hear about your grandmother Tommy.
My condolences. 97 is awesome and hopefully you got the genes so we can look forward to your posts for years to come. Merry Christmas, big T!
SMH watching the Pats.
https://twitter.com/NFL/status/812749390083260416
https://twitter.com/MikeReiss/status/812734915448111108
Rowe’s only 2 picks came from Fitzpatrick.
That would have been a TD if Carroll was covering him.
https://j.gifs.com/Nx1Rq8.gif
None of our past 6 CBs knew how to turn their head around.
Sorry for your loss. Are you saying Granny Pat loved Funyuns and PBR?
OT: Merry Christmas!
http://i.imgur.com/9azZT4Z.gif
You like that?!
Well, I found it amusing, in a goose-necking kind of way. Not my best look, I know.
I’m not sure if you got my joke there.
He just destroyed her knee. Kurt Cousin’s legacy will be, “I ended that cheerleader’s career”.
Let’s keep calling him Kurt Cousins
Will do.
Knee and face .. but no scorpion .. she bounced right up like a real champ
Is it just me, or did the DL kind of hit him out of bounds and push him into her?
That poor girl.
She took it like a champ
If Chip loses the next 2 games and the 49ers end up with the #1 pick in the draft, I can’t see Chip being the coach in 2017. How could they keep him?
I really don’t know how he got the SF job in the first place. I hope he stays in the league as long as possible. Then the Eagles only have to worry about 30 other teams.
Merry Christmas Tommy. Hope you have a good one. I’ll have one for Granny tonight.
Sorry for your loss Tommy.
Condolences Tommy. But I’m wishing you and your family the merriest of Christmases!
The changes she saw in 97 years is pretty amazing to consider. You are lucky to have spent time with her. I will give my 86-year old grandmother an extra hug tomorrow in honor of yours.
Merry Christmas or happy holiday of your choice to everyone out there.
“Losing destroys your soul, one week at a time.”
How sweet would this be? Lions put loss 3 on the Dallas Pretenders tomorrow, and Eagles give them a gut punch just before their playoff bye. Three weeks to ponder 2 consecutive losses, and really wonder if they belong in the post-season. Eagles better show up.
LOL. What fantasy land is this story fom?
Are you an Eagles fan? I didn’t think so.
That must be it
It’s from the “this is probably what would happen to the Eagles if we were in Dallas’ position” fantasy land.
Plus, we bang up both Dak and Romo, creating a health and performance-related qb controversy.
Holy cow! An insane coup happened in Green Bay today. The question is, who loses their job, the coach or the players?
https://twitter.com/Andrew_Krammer/status/812783618967928832
the players were idiots
Can they trade one of them to us now?
Not sure I want that kind of stupid on this team
Maybe it was their plan to get out of Minny?
Id rather not see their plan to get out of Philly. What they did took a special kind of stupid
So true but I’m that desperate for a #1 CB.
They should draft 2 CBs within the first 4 rounds
Yea I hope they do. CB is supposedly very deep this year.
it would be a shame if we don’t grab at least one early
This is so bad. Zimmer is an amazing coach. I cannot believe these idiots decided to alter the gameplan on their own. This really needs to carry over to a Vikings loss next week.
Maybe he’ll bench their DB’s and just play 7 on defense.
Granny Pat doing PBR Keg Stands in the sky
So sorry for your loss. My best to you and your family. Merry Christmas and your eagle fan family loves you T.
Any consolation for Vikings that Sam had a monster game when they got eliminated from the playoffs.
I wonder how upset they are about that 1st rounder.
They need to lose next week too.
Meh, obviously as high as possible, but in August we hoped we had a QB, but had to suffer not having a first round pick.
In October we knew we had our QB and we had a first round pick, albeit one that looked to later than 26.
Now we have our QB and cannot pick later than 18th. I’ll take that worst case scenario.
Puts us in good position to get either, one of the RB prospects thats highly rated but drops to our pick(Fournette or more likely Cook), but if that fails, we’re picking in a spot where the likes of McCaffrey, Freeman, Foreman etc. might be available.
Freeman went back to Oregon… but I’d say no to picking a RB in round anyway. If we draft an offensive player it should be John Ross or Corey Davis
I’d never heard of Adam Thielen before this year and now he’s popping off for 200 yards and 2 td’s. What the fuck?
He MonStar’d Treadwell
Carr out with something broken. Really sucks for OAK.
Yeah they were a legit contender this year, definitely top 5 type team.
Mariotta with a broken Fibula. Not a good day for Qbs. Glad Wentz isn’t playing
Yeah, lost in all the Zeke/Dak hype over in Dallas is that their offensive line has stayed remarkably healthy for most of the year. Injuries can derail a super bowl season no problem.
I just think the media is choosing to ignore how good the OL has been in Dallas to make a more sensational story. Zeke and Dak have already been elevated to HOF status.
Yeah NFL.com had a redraft already with dak going number 1 lol
That’s just insanely stupid. In a redraft he wouldn’t even be the top draft pick on his own team FFS.
I think ive seen constant praise for that big D All ASS O line all season
This is REALLY bad for the playoffs.
I’m not sure which NFC team can beat the Cowgirls but I’ll be rooting for everyone that’ll face them.
I hope they get Green Bay in game 1. They look to be peaking, and Dallas could control the clock and still lose.
Just finished X-mas shopping came home and, the Browns fucking won??? That sucks, the only thing that made them interesting was their 0-16 season.
I wanted to see 0-16, but at the same time I felt bad for Hue. I think he is a solid coach that is being completely undermined by that organization.
I don’t get the love for Hue. He looked like a child on Hard Knocks a few years ago and was clearly the worst coach in a room full of mediocrity, which clearly matched his time time in Oakland. He’s being dealt the worst luck I think I’ve ever seen in CLE, but that’s on him for going to CLE.
Hey, since the Vikings have been in a giving mood lately, maybe they’d want to deal us Stefon Diggs for like a 4th? Maybe the 4th they gave us?
Lol, Jared Goff with the solid 10/21 for 88 yards and an int stat-line. Still winning the game because the San Fransisco Chip Kellys are hot trash.
Not sure if it was mentioned, but in the spirit of the article: shout out to Jason Peters for insisting that Wentz take a break to get checked out. He’s the living embodiment of a protector. Going after the guy that put a cheap shot on Foles back in the day comes to mind. Peters is aging and has a penalty problem, but it’s good to have him in the Eagle’s family. Hope he gets into the hall one day.
INDEED !!
Well said.
Is it really that much of a penalty problem, or was John Lynch correct in citing slow snaps by Kelce?
I’ve heard he tries to go imperceptively (in real time) early every snap to compensate for his declining athleticism. Would be interesting to watch his false starts, see if he is dropping into pass pro on the majority of false starts. Combine that with a slightly delayed snap from Kelce, I could totally see the penalties piling up.
It wouldn’t surprise me (and makes more sense than Wentz having an odd cadence, which I heard another announcer speculate, since this has been a thing with JP for 2 or 3 years now), Kelce has been a mess at anything that isn’t running down field ridiculously fast for a lineman and clobbering linebackers and DB’s. He’s probably the reason we run to the outside so much, we get the chance to pull him and get him on the move (his strength) rather than go N-S up the gut (his weakness).
I like Kelce, seems like a good guy, and very smart. Hope he coaches one day. I hoped that years of mastering technique and strength training would help him get a bit more stout, but it just hasn’t happened. Seems to have gotten worse.
It’s not something that is just coming about due to his old age. If you remember the first 2 years we had him he had a ton of false starts. He has always tried to time the snap perfectly.
Or ask Kelce to cut weight and turn him into a tight end. His brother is pretty damn good at it. 🙂
Rams playing not to win the game right now
Sorry to hear about your grandmother, bro. Merry Christmas to you and the rest of our fellow Birds fans!
https://twitter.com/Jason_OTC/status/812822741116211200
Please stay top 15. Please stay top 15
We can get up to #9 with some things breaking our way
If we win we are in theory helping our 1sr round pick if min falls below us
“US” ? You don’t work for the Eagles, you dick sucking, donating money to a RETARD LOSER.
I think the Jaguars will be good in a year or 2 with a proper coach. Picking at the top of the draft every single year certainly helps
Says nobody in Cleveland, Jacksonville, or Los Angelis.
Hence the thing about finding the proper coach. They have a talented roster
No, the Browns and the Rams need their whole FO/scouting department to be revamped.
That’s why I was talking about Jaguars. I dont know how the Browns and Rams even came into the conversation
I am just using them as examples of teams that pick in the top 10 year in and year out.
掐指一算，这个博客能风光一百年！
Tommy. My condolences.
Two QBs with broken legs today. I’m glad our guy is safe and finished this week.
Tommy, glad your grandmother had a great life and you will get to celebrate it. Don’t let the demand for more articles stress you out. Just remember it’s a good thing that so many people want more of your great work. We readers can wait. Merry Christmas!
Love this site Tommy- rational thoughts about my irrational Eagles fandom. My condolences.
My condolences for your loss, Tommy. Thanks for giving this little blog the time you have. It makes a lot of people happy.
Respekt to your family T Law.
Please dont be out there driving like Josh Huff.
Travel safe.. too many frustrated Bird fans in constant need of your insights.
Sorry for your loss, Tommy.
Sorry for your loss Tommy. Here’s to a life well lived.
“I know he has some doubters, but I think anyone who has watched this young man all year with a clear mind can see he is very talented and has all the intangibles to be a championship QB.”
This cannot be said enough times. The few of you on here who really seem to doubt Wentz can hopefully be won over by Wentz being coached through the things he’s not doing as well as necessary yet.
The doubters will be won over when he performs well consistently and stops making back-breaking errors. He’s done really great for a rookie. He still has quite a ways to go.
There have been guys who’ve flashed potential that went downhill, too.
Nick Foles.
I thought Nick had proved he would be at least an average QB in this league. (some will say he never passed the eye test, though 😉
Yeah I thot Nick was t h e man.
Wentz really has doubters? I don’t understand that at all.
He easily exceeded my expectations of what a good rookie QB looks like. I remember times where im seeing him struggle yet I still think to myself “This kid is going to be so good”
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Our veterans seem to love this kid. I don’t take earning the respect of the lockerroom for granted especially when he was placed in the difficult position when we traded away a our veteran starting QB who this Lockerroom had openly lobbied for right before the season started.
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Every rookie QB is going to have bad games. Rookies on really good offenses like Dak Prescott get their flaws and bad games masked a little more, where as bad Games by a rookie QB in an offense with some pretty big holes can be magnified.
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When Carson had rough stretches in games I don’t think I ever felt like he unraveled or like it was too big for him. In a lot of his losses I felt like he wasn’t the reason for the loss.
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The kid took some big hits and even tho he played most of the yeàr behind an OL that was in flux playing Musical chairs, even tho he was often asked to throw way too much because our OL issues made it difficult to run the ball, even tho he was asked to throw too much on a team that lacked weapons, this kid held it together pretty well, he would get rocked but still not keep him from standing tall in the pocket with his eyes down field.
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I’d be baffled by an eagle fan who isn’t so damn excited about the future Undler Wentz. finally we have the answer to The revolving door at QB and we can start building the stability and continuity that these Offensiive players have never been able to develope playing with a QB each year.
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Hopefully Pederson will grow and improve enough as a coach to be able to keep him in place because stability and the scheme Continuity that comes with it is so damn important for a developing young QB and offense/defense for that Matter. Not since Jim Johnson did our players get 3-5 years of continuity and stability playing for a great philadelphia defensive coordinator. looks like Schartz will be back next year and I think thats Big. Stability under an established quality defensive coordinator intruigs me to see how much he can grow this defense
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Is there any doubt that Carson will work like a mad man this summer. I feel so fortunate that he was able To get so much valuable Experience to start building on and with an intelligent, driven, hardworking kid like Carson, I bet all that valuable Experiemce he got this year will expedite the growth we see from yeàr 1 to yeàr 2. Bet against this young man at your own peril. Got a lot of respect For how this rookie went about his Business in a tough situation that Wasnt all candy and unicorns all year
Doubter can just mean we _don’t know for sure_, not the same thing as hater. I’m just not going to say he’s “there” until he actually is doing it on a consistent basis. But he’s obviously shown flashes and exceeded expectations.
Doubting is fair. He isn’t there. I would say he is right on schedule though.
If he was elite already there would be nothing to doubt or project.
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Think its normal for people who think Carson will become the Franchise QB to be able to fairly critique a kid and be honest about his current flaws and areas he needs to improve to become the player we need him to be, Pretending he doesn’t need to get Better in any area would be delusional. Doubter to me does not mean someone who is honest about his flaws and areas he needs to improve.
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A “Doubter” to me is someone who doesn’t think Wentz is the long term answer for this franchise. I don’t think Wentz supporters should be delusional and pretend that he doesn’t have flaws. A doubter is someone who thinks this kid isn’t the answer to our Franchise QB need and that we need to continue looking for that guy
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Thinking we found our Franchise QB doesn’t mean pulling out the Pom poms and overlooking all the areas he needs to improve at in order to become the QB we think he can be
as an add on…there are those who think people are doubting, when they aren’t. For example, if Wentz had a bad game and someone posts, “man Wentz is awful”. Poster doesn’t mean Wentz career is awful nor does it mean Wentz is having an awful season nor does it mean “ah man, they ruined Wentz by playing him”. Yet other posters will jump all over that comment as ‘hater’ or ‘negative’..Maybe the poster simply means that Wentz had a bad day…..Tommy posted that Eagles weren’t going to win the SB this year with or without LJ. When posters said that since day 1 of the season, we were all “negative” — which was never true…
I think you can fairly critique a players performamce and poïnt out what he needs,to work on, while still being very excited and confident about his long term prospects.
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I don’t have much doubt about this kid putting in the work it will take to become our franchise QB. He clearly has all the tools, and he seems to have the tempermemt, intelligence and work ethic to realize his full potential. While I feel strongly about his future I have no problem talking about the areas of his game he needs to Improve on to become the caliber of QB I believe he can become
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Obviously Carson Wentz isn’t there yet, nor should anyone expect him to be at this stage of his pro career. Since he isn’t elite yet, obviously he has flaws keeping him from being at that level. That’s just a fact, the kid needs to improve in a lot of areas, but so does every rookie QB to ever take an NFL field.
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There is nothing wrong with fairly critiquing the current flaws of young players that we are very high on. believing in a young QB does not mean pretending he is perfect, it does not mean turning a blind eye to areas he needs to improve on.
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If you compare Wentz performances to the Elite NFL QBs, obviously there leaves a lot to be desired still. if you compare Wentz play to the top rookie QBs of recent NFL history,there is a lot to be excited about. The kid has the physical and mental tools, he allegedly has the drive and work ethic. It’s up to the coaches and the kid to make sure he realizes his full potential. If that happens, we should have a legit franchise QB on our hands… But potential isn’t promised. All you can do is find the kids with the best combo of upside and intangibles that you would bet on reaching that upside…. I don’t know about you, but Wentz is looking like a good bet to me….
It’s fair to wonder who quickly his accuracy and touch can progress. Ditto some of his ill-advised gambles. Favre seemed to get credited for that early in his career with the Packers but criticized later on for playing a lot in the same manner.
Quite sorry about your Grandmother Tommy. My grandfather made it to 97 as well. His body ultimately failed him, but his mind was still sharp at death. I hope you were able to enjoy your time with her up until the end.
Thanks for sharing with us, Tommy, the sad as well as the sweet. It’s wonderful you shared such a bond with her, and she will always be a presence in your life.
Thanks also for this blog, the gift that pleases so many year after year.
Hear, hear
Condolences, Tommy, and also thanks for all you give. Happy holidays to you and everyone else here!
Sorry for your loss. I never seen a year where so many people lost family members during Xmas week. My heart goes out to all the families I know that have had to deal with Loss this Xmas (like 6 families that I know of), as well as an 81yr old lady who was senslessly shot n killed in south philly yesterday
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All the terrorist attacks around the world this week DIDNT help either…. Stay Classy Planet Earth smh 2016 really needs to end ASAP
My condolences, Tommy. 97 years though, wow!
Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Merry Christmas everyone. Tommy sad to hear about your gma, but since you can’t live forever i’m happy to hear she led a full life
Speaking of holiday cheer is it sad that i’m just hoping for teams not to make the playoffs?
If the historian, ACViking is around, i’d be interested to know what % of super bowl willing teams or even NFC/AFC champs had no in-season changes to their o-line. This team seems to be night and day with the starting 5 healthy, Vikings last year were sb contenders and AP was the rushing champ when all OL healthy, this year they suck and can’t run the ball.
As an organization should you be looking for OL w/out injury histories? Instead of trying to get a bargain on injured guys.
Also interesting to year that in the beginning of the year steelers were running behind 5 ol, now they’re running behind 6, like 30% of the time. How often have we used an extra ol – is that something we should do more?
Hey Andy i think it would be fair if you gave us Hill for letting you tamper and get Maclin..
Chiefs drop TD pass, right in his hands. . Next pass dropped at the 5 in the hands again .. wonder if total drops are way up in the mediocre nfl this season
Sorry to hear about your loss Tommy.
More I watch Reid and the more I appreciate him as a coach & what he acomplished here. Still has share of detractors as does McNabb because they didn’t win a Super Bowl.
Sure the same people will root against in the playoffs too but I’m rooting for Big Red to win the Super Bowl this year. Especially love to see him beat the Pats in Foxboro in the process too.
He doesn’t deserve a mercy victory.
I was ready for AR to leave us (about 3 years before he did), but I too have great respect for his comprehensive approach to the role of HC. He picked a run and gun slinger and tried to force him into a WC QB, and it was a credit to both that they made a go of it. He’s got a natural WC QB now, and they are a division winner again, and one of the top 5 teams in the league. Didn’t the Chiefs and Dolphins play a historic playoff game eons ago? A reprise would be fun to see.
I’ll go as far as to say that I think Reid is a better coach than The Hoodie.
Condolences on the loss of your grandmother Tommy. I’m glad she had a long, good life.
Couldn’t agree more about this season. Still lots to work on, but Wentz looks like the real deal, and having a franchise QB is the most important piece and the hardest one to get right. Tons of reasons to be optimistic heading into the offseason.
There are 2 questions we don’t have to answer next year(hopefully). Who the HC will be and who the QB will be. That’s huge after a few years of instability. I also think the Eagles know more about their roster(and some of their coaches). Eagles will build on what I think was a successful rebuilding season. Nothing but excitement for 2018. Year 2 of building a new culture….
When was the last time we into the off season with no questions at QB? Feels good man.
Even after Foles’s incredible year Chip wouldn’t fully endorse him (nice confidence boost for the kid). Though looking back it feels like Chip really didn’t like that Foles took from his shine, or probably any of the guys who did well on O that he got rid of.
If the HC keeps calling double reverses with the QB as the lead blocker, they will be replacing at least one of those sooner than you think.
A quick Fanspeak draft
15: R1P15 RB DALVIN COOK FLORIDA STATE
39: R2P7 WR COREY DAVIS WESTERN MICHIGAN
71: R3P7 C ETHAN POCIC LSU
110: R4P7 LB MICAH KISER VIRGINIA
136: R4P33 EDGE DAESHON HALL TEXAS A&M
149: R5P7 CB DAMONTAE KAZEE SAN DIEGO STATE
186: R6P7 S RAYSHAWN JENKINS MIAMI (FLA.)
225: R7P7 EDGE BRANDON BELL PENN STATE
And a First Pick (with some clutch trade downs)
Round 1 Pick 23 (MIA): Desmond King, CB, Iowa (B+)
Round 2 Pick 8: Takkarist McKinley, OLB/DE, UCLA (A-)
Round 2 Pick 19 (T.B.): Dorian Johnson, OG, Pittsburgh (A)
Round 2 Pick 23 (MIA): Kendell Beckwith, ILB, LSU (B)
Round 3 Pick 8: D’Onta Foreman, RB, Texas (B+)
Round 4 Pick 8: Zay Jones, WR, East Carolina (A+)
Round 5 Pick 1: Derrick Nnadi, DT, Florida State (A)
Round 5 Pick 8: Marlon Mack, RB, South Florida (B+)
Round 6 Pick 8: Julie’n Davenport, OT, Bucknell (B)
Round 7 Pick 8: Speedy Noil, WR, Texas A&M (B-)
Twitter needs a “block mock drafts” button.
Saw the shape of this post and immediately thought: “looks like the comment sections are ruined for the next few months”
I’m not a fan of the mocks either, but at least there’s been a noticeable drop in the 3000 word ruminations this season.
TRue.
Apathy I guess. Also not a fan of mocks or the draft in general (until we know who we get).
If I’m not the one launching one, I’ll strive to keep them as replies to somebody else’s mock. Then you can downsize the post and only have to do it once. I get the exercise vexes a lot of you, but a group of us do enjoy them and I find the feedback I get from others on the specific players selected to be really informative.
I hope we dont wait that long to draft a CB or only take one.
I think a top end skill guy (or 2) trump the need for a CB. Sure CB is a gaping hole. I just want to pour every resource into ensuring that the QB works out. Not to mention Baltimore proved this year that offense > defense these days.
We cant win our division without CBs. And right now all we have is Jalen Mills.
I’d say we can’t win the division without an improved D. But is that a better DE getting more pressure helping the cover group, is that a better guy in the LB group who can make less mistakes in guessing the wrong hole to fill and/or missed tackles and/or covering better (these are all shots at Kendricks!!!), or an actual better CB who can allow the pass rush more time to get home?
CB is the weakest link on defense right now. Another edge rusher is needed but CB is straight desolate.
I don’t think you’re wrong, but I still won’t force CB if the value isn’t there when we’re picking. There are upgrades needed all over this roster.
Its a tough call, but I really would prefer a WR or RB at that top spot. Obviously use BPA though. Hell if a tackle is jumping off the board at you right there, then do it. My dream scenario is for a guy to help Carson.
I’m 100% on board with BPA. We need upgrades at starter at every position group except QB and S; so I’m really going to root in best player the whole way.
First draft of the year- no trades.
15: R1P15 — RB LEONARD FOURNETTE LSU
39: R2P7 — CB CORDREA TANKERSLEY CLEMSON
71: R3P7 — EDGE RYAN ANDERSON ALABAMA
110: R4P7 — WR JAMES WASHINGTON OKLAHOMA STATE
136: R4P33 — WR JAMES QUICK LOUISVILLE
149: R5P7 — OT WILL HOLDEN VANDERBILT
186: R6P7 — CB CHANNING STRIBLING MICHIGAN
225: R7P7 — G KYLE KALIS MICHIGAN
Micah kiser is staying at uva…
So ideally for playoffs;
Cowboys, Giants, and Steelers all lose as early as possible.
I deem New England, KC, Detroit, Green Bay, Atlanta, and Seattle permitted winners of the title.
I deem Oakland, Miami, and Houston not worth discussing for title purposes.
houston is in the playoffs? Can we relocate to AFC south that division is terrible.
Just like the NL East!
I hate the Steelers (almost as much as New England, but for different reasons). And I loathe the Cowboys. Giants I’m “meh” about, but I’ll be happy to see Sad Eli face any day
I’d like Detroit, Atlanta, KC, Miami, or Oakland to make a run from their prospective conferences
Gotta hate the friggin Giants man. In all honestly I hate them more than the Cowboys. Cowboys haven’t done anything in 20 years to deserve real hatred.
Their fans tho. I live in Dallas. They are the WORST!!!
I always hear about how the “Dallas resident” fans are super white collar and not all that die hard. Seems like the most die hard guys live everywhere else! They suck in DC!!!
I’m in north east PA- most of these mouth breeders can’t even spell Dallas, but they know how to root for the star.
Maybe that’s it- simple minds go for the shiny object most often flashed into their eyesight? I dunno…………..
I really don’t hate the Giants; I can’t stand them, but my deep seated disdain for Dallas rules over all. I’ve got at least a tiny bit of respect for Giants fans, some of them actually know how to hold a conversation regarding football.
How Eli has a super bowl appearance, much less 2 MVP’s is beyond my comprehension, but it is what it is. Dallas on the other hand is the bastard child of the NFL; they are allowed to do as they please, get favorable decisions in games (see playoff game against Detroit) and suffer almost zero repercussions for their violations even during the season (see Michael Irvin, Dean Blandino party bus for example).
It’s bullshit, and I’ll never root for them. I won’t root for the Giants either, but if it comes to it- NY all day over Dallas.
Someone needs to stop Dallas, somehow. I’ll take any other outcome.
A team with a good enough pass rush to consitently rattle Dak and good D-line to contain Zeke. LEGGO!!
Is Dak playing this week?
They might want to put him on ice with Hicks lining up in the middle against him.
Week 17? Hmmm, not sure. I know they are going “business as usual” w/ no limitations for tonight’s game vs Detroit.
Don’t worry. They will lose in their first game unless some scrub squad squeaks through.
So if the Bears beat the Vikings and the Bucs beat the Panthers wk 17, our 1st rounder from the Vikings will be #9?
We need a little more than that to happen, but that’s the start of it.
It really is sad to see what is happening with them. I feel scummy benefiting from their demise. I always thought Zimmer was a good coach. What the heck is going on in Minn?
That being said… a top 10 WR or RB would feel pretty friggin good man. Lets get this kid another mule to shoulder the load.
“I feel scummy benefiting from their demise.”
LOL…I don’t! I don’t hate them though. All my hate is reserved for Dallass, but I want as good a pick as we can get. We need help brotha!!
WTF is going on with the Viking DBs going Rogue on Zimmer?
Apparently the DBs decided during the week that they were going to go against the coaches game plan and on their own they decided that they weren’t going to execute the game plan. The game plan during the week allegedly called for Rhodes following the #1 WR all over the field, but the playërs decided they were just going to lineup normally instead of shadowing the top WR
..
Very surprising to me that this would happen to zimmer especially with defensive players being insubordinate, Zimmer has a ton of cache as a defensive coach and he has a long relationship with Newman, one of the two cormers Who openly disrespected him like this
.
Curious to see how the Vikings will handle this because Xavier Rhodes is one of their most valuable players. I would think the vikings Couldnt allow this to go unpunished
Add in the fact Norv Turner resigned, and I feel like Zimmer needs to really lop off some heads this off-season or he is destined to failure.
Odd how mediocrity and dysfunction seem to follow Sam Bradford.
Do you think it has anything to do with the Sleeves?
Yea man it’s not a good look. It’s almost like Zimmer has to swing the axe, or the owner might have to take the Axe to Zimmer.
.
terrence Newman is 38 years old, so that’s an easy cut even tho Zimmer has a very long relationship with him, but Newman shouldnt have taken it for granted, But Xavier Rhodes is an elite corner, that’s a dicey situation and it will look Transparant and bad if he punishes the 38yr old while givng Rhodes a pass
..
Shit Id be happy to łet The Vikings keep their first round pick if they need us to “come to the rescue” and take Rhodes off their hands 🙂
if Rhodes was the mutineer, is that really someone that should be added to the lockerroom?
this whole story is insane, though.
Yeah that’s also a good point
I would risk it in a heart beat. The quotes from Xavier really sounded like he was just going along with the rest of the DBs anyway.
The vibe I got when reading them was that he was kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place. We have all experienced the coaches sucking up to the stud players. From my extensive knowledge of NFL locker rooms (thanks HBO), they don’t appear to be any different. Have to think it is hard for a guy to mutiny against a coach who loves him.
Please, 100% on Rhodes. Dude is a stud
Just read on NFL.com that it was Terence Newman that suggested to Rhodes that they stay on their preferred sides.
Like you alluded too, Zimmer and Newman have a very long relationship, which makes it strange that Newman would lead the mutiny.
Sorry for your loss, Tommy. My grandma was 94 when she passed away; the other is suffering from dementia and is a shell of herself. Cherish the good memories. I hope you had a great Christmas, none the less.
Thanks for your work on this website- I found you just as you started this website, and Jimmy was starting up BloggingTheBeast (I miss story time with Uncle Jimmy). I’m a daily (multiple) reader, though I don’t post terribly often. Glad to be among like-minded phanatics, this is my favorite online Eagles community.
I’m terribly sorry for being the party pooper, but there’s no chance in hell Matt frigging Barkley beats the Vikings.
SORRY this reply was meant to be for the post below..
Never say never.
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no it wasn’t!
(Figured as much, but I’m the only one at work and I’m bored, so it’ll slide this time). Lol
I feel like part of Jason peters infuriating amount of false start penalties has a lot to do with how he aggressively tries to force refs to call false start penalties on the DL jumping whenever a DL even twitches.
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Unfortunately I don’t think they keep track of how many times he successfully gets the ref to call false start on the DL lined up across from him so we can’t compare his success rate in those scenarios to the number of total times he gets flagged for offside penalties so we don’t know if it’s really a Net positive THATS beficial for him continuing to hunt off side penalties the way he does. Or is it hurting way more than it’s helping in which case he showed chamge his approach from hunting for those DL offside penalties and just put all his focus into cutting down on his false start penalties as much as possible.
..
But there are a lot of times where he jumps on purpose forcing the refs hand in throwing a penalty that benefits us in a big way. When he successfully pulls it off, he is a crafty veteran, when it doesn’t work it adds to league leading false start penalties, thin line between crafty veteran and liability.
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It’s a shame we don’t have the numbers to really be able to evaluate how much it is helping or hurting us. But if I had to guess, I don’t think it has been successful enough to justify his high penalty number. SO I think he should give some thought to cutting that out of his approach this offseason because the penalties are taking away from his impressive play at this stage of his career. Typically penalties are a direct reflection of being over matched from a talemt standpoint or its a sign of Undiscaplined knucklheads. But even at this stage I don’t think Peters falls in either of that category so he really has to come back strong and do somethng about that # of penalties next year. Baiting the refs into a free first down Isnt wortth the times he gets caught jumping that put our young QB in 1st and 20 or 3rd and 11
.
After last years mess with chip kelly, JP came back strong exceeding all expectations this year both in quality of play and durability. Got a lot of respect for the year Jason Peters had and I think he at least proved that he has another year in the tank starting at LT. He is a proud veteran who has to do somethng about cutting down his false start penalties in a half. The Silver linning to this years OL mess was that we got a look at a lot of players at multiple positions. We got to see how guys handle the adversity of the lack of continuity caused by constant injuries at OL, We got to see how our rookie QB held up and carried himself behind a line that was in flux all year, the kid never flinched, kept his eyes down field no matter who was blocking for him.
2012 we dealt with OL injuries all year, which led to andy being fired AFER a disaster season. The following year we started 5 healthy lineman all 16 games and led the league in rushiñg. We paid the injury Piper this year so hopefully we enjoy good health at OL next year. An Elite OL IMO is more valuable than any RB, WR, TE… Draft another OL or two and we could have some really impressive depth On our OL lNext yeàr which would make a world of a differemce,,,,, the Eagles starting OL hasn’t lost many games, while the young backups got a lot of work in and valuable experience this year. I like Smallwood as a young RB, but with a healthy OL we are a #1 RB away from having a potent rushiñg attack that makes a world of a DIFFENCE in so many ways. An elite run game in front of year 2 Carson could be interesting
..
This we saw two very important things this year:
1) the differnce between this team when we struggle to run, compared to what this team looks like when we are controlling the clock with a Healthy OL spreading 30 carries bêtween 3 RBs. It was a Niight and Day difference.
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2) the difference between how much our defense struggled when the offense sputtered, compared to how tough our defense is when they are playing with a lead
.
if we didn’t understand this before, the Dallas Cowboys certainly made sure Everyone understands know the Monster effect an elite OL and Potent Run game can have in so many important areas of the game. i feel Horrible for Ryan Mathews because he is dealing with a very serious injury, but it has made HOWIE’s decision easy. Time to go get a starting RB
John Lynch blamed Kelce’s slow snaps for a few of the false starts on Peters; I’m VERY inclined to agree!
Who made John Lynch the unofficial Eagles caller anyway? I feel like he covers every damn game. He is at least doesn’t have an obviously negative Eagles bias.
I’ll take him over Moose Johnson.
He also said during the telecast that Kelce was responsible for the snapping and cadence of the ball.
In other words, concussions are real and they will F**k you up. John Lynch is the perfect example, he’s scrambled
I don’t care if somebody throwing chicken bones to tell the future blamed Kelce; I’m agreeing with blaming Kelce.
I think he’s here for one more year, then it’s onto Isaac to man the center of the line.
Yeah, sadly, the recoup on unloading Kelce going into 2017 isn’t going to be enough to justify it.
http://overthecap.com/player/jason-kelce/755/
The $3.8 mil you get back might not be enough to really upgrade LG if you use Sem at C.
If I’m reading that correctly, and we hold on to Kelce going into the 2018 season, he will save us $6 million and cost us $1.2mil on the cap.
He’s here next year- I can’t really see any way he isn’t, but his question mark starts going into the 2018 season. So, we shall see
Yeah; that would be the best $ read.
Maybe… It’s probably not a case of one size fits all his mistakes. Im sure there were different reasons that contributed to all those penalties and lynch oppinion is plausible
It’s not.
Because otherwise Peters wouldn’t be the only guy who consistenly does it. Half of them he’s the only player that moves period. That’s not slow snaps.
It has felt like a lot of the times that he tried to get a flag on the defense he ended up getting one.
Oh that has definitely happend plenty of times. Shame they don’t keep track of those numbers so that we can know exactly how much it has hurt us compared to how much it has helped us.. But if I had to guess I’d say the amount of times he got flagged for isn’t worth the amount of times he caused a ref to flag our opponent
..
If he was outmatched and struggling to block an opponent I could understand the crazy amount of penalties, but it makes no sense for a guy who showed to still be an extremely capable LT to get called for that many penalties, needs to change his approach and make cutting the penalties in half a priority this offseason
Watching all of the Boxing Day soccer action has me thinking I need to ask German Eagle a question; why can’t the NFL get their grass in better shape for games? I’ve only ever been on one European pro field, OGC Nice’s stadium, but you wouldn’t believe how perfect the grass was. I’m getting a tad tired of some of the brutally poor NFL playing surfaces.
The NFL may be subliminally spiking it’s coffees with cyanide. The refereeing was appallingly bad this season, the yawning mediocrity of all the teams not named Patriots, the obsession with legally leveraging all of its properties to the point of eroding its own reputation, the ethical-judas-billionaire-boys-club ego-tripping fan-contempt, and the feigned concern for the protection of the players. Add these to the shitty groundskeeping, and remind me again why I’m a fan, please.
add the inability by the league to stop the political statements by players holding the audience hostage.
That may be your pet peeve, but it ain’t mine, and I seriously doubt that most fans begrudge the players their first amendment rights.
Are people still on about that?
Not so many I think.
I think thinks its silly to get that upset at someone kneeling or raising their fist for 90 seconds.
Add in the uncountable adverts during each broadcast and the constant fawning over players by both the SNF and MNF broadcasting teams
Absofuckinglutely.
Part of the grass situation is probably down to the differences in the games; soccer players are on average smaller and lighter, and action is more distributed around the pitch (with a few concentrations at the goals) so the turf doesn’t get as chewed up. Also there aren’t many times when soccer players are pushing against the ground with all their strength, something OL/DL do every minute or so.
Soccer fields are always in better shape because the players love to dive without damaging the grass..
or themselves…
That’s got some serious post of the year potential my friend.
Most of the damage is always the middle of field where the OL/DL tear it up.
A lot of those pitches are really high tech… They are heated and have suction systems to draw away excess water – this makes the pit he’s hard which is good for running fast and balls rolling true but is not the best for best for heavy contact.
They also often use hybrid turf where some of the underlying turf is artificial, which means that it stops it being ripped up by players feet, but in an NFL contact situations the hybrid turf can trap boots and increase knee and ankle injuries.
However probably the bigger difference is that for the biggest clubs it is a huge performance boost (clubs like Barcelona/Madrid/Arsenal pass much more than the smaller teams) meaning they have invested a lot more in the technology and its implementation. While if anything in the NFL you are better off having an awful pitch like the Bears had and being specialised in playing on it.
Kempski is on full “Kiss Bennie Logan goodbye” mode given his analysis of how weak the DT FA class is. That would really be a shame to see Bennie go, but I agree he isn’t a guy you can break the bank over.
Hard to say what we do- but he’s a recent draft pick, a stand up guy and a young leader on our team. On one hand, I can’t see how Howie lets him go. On the other hand, how much $$ do you allocate to one position group.
Barwin is gone next year unless he slashes his salary by 65%- he’s due $8.5, I can’t see them bringing him back for any more than $3mil and that may be an insult to Barwin. Good guy, but not very well suited for this defense.
Curry, Cox, Graham are all getting paid next year, and very well. We need at least another edge rusher, probably a low level FA signing that Schwartz is familiar with or who has played in a similar system.
I haven’t researched numbers, but the years that NY won their last two superbowls, they had excellent pass rush/DL, and merely mortal LB/secondary players. They had Spags which cannot be discounted, but their determination to have top pass rush paid off. Eli Manning was more of a beneficiary of the DL, than a key reason why they won those games. Our DL is not there obviously, but losing Logan only puts our DL further away, in my opinion. I hope HR makes a decent offer, at least.
He seems like a guy who someone will back the Brinks truck up for.
You are correct– Look at these numbers!!!
http://overthecap.com/position/4-3-defensive-tackle/
On the positive side? Comp picks?
Will never get comp picks as long as rosman’s running the show.
So, Overthecap just put out this list. Out of any of these players, who would you take, for how long, and for what price?
“Potential” Cut list for WR’s
http://overthecap.com/2017-potential-cuts-wide-receiver/
And for the people too lazy to click on the link, here you go. My Christmas present to you!
1. Victor Cruz, Giants
2. Danny Amendola, Patriots
3. Eddie Royal, Bears
4. Harry Douglas, Titans
5. Steve Johnson, Chargers
6. Jarius Wright, Vikings
7. Torrey Smith, 49ers
8. Eric Decker, Jets
9. Brandon Marshall, Jets
Cruz – no
Amendola – yes
Royal – no
Douglas – no
Johnson – no
Wright – no
Smith – yes
Decker – yes
Marshal – yes
None of the “yes” guys on any deals longer than one year.
I think Marshal still has some tread left on the tires, and he’s a guy that has overcome many obstacles in his life- could be a good mentor for our guys.
Amendola is a system WR, probably fits in the slot in Philly, but that spot is taken by Matthews.
Decker is the real prize here, but i think Jets will lock him up – Marshall can teach DGB how to be a WR.
The Eagles had pretty interesting WR roster decisions to make back in 2009:
DeSean Jackson
Jeremy Maclin
Jason Avant
Kevin Curtis
Reggie Brown
Brandon Gibson
Hank Baskett
Danny Amendola
They should have cut Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis.
Cruz – sure, nothing more than 1 year flier
Amendola – yes, keep money and term down… injury is a lock
Royal – Sure, kick returner gadet receiver. Vet min?
Harry Douglas – yes yes yes…buy low
Steve Johnson – meh
Jarius Wright – no
Smith – yes, I would even go so far as to give him a contract with some years and value
Decker – is he top 10 in the league? Top 20? I would be hard pressed to name 20 guys better. Yes, of course I want him.
Brandon Marshall – Body is gone.
How about Eric Decker and Smith
I’m actually surprised by the love for Decker. Personally I’d put DeSean above all of them. And it’s not even close.
I’m with you
Shout I stay or should I go now – Xmas edition:
Jason Peters
Darren Sproles
Ryan Mathews
Connor Barwin
Bennie Logan
Nelson Agholor
Nolan Carroll
Mykal Kendricks
Jason Kelce
Chase Daniel
Time’s yours!
Jason Peters – stay
Darren Sproles – stay
Ryan Mathews – Go, because either the staff doesn’t like him or they know he can’t handle a full workload
Connor Barwin – Go
Bennie Logan – Go
Nelson Agholor – Stupid not to keep him. If he isn’t good enough to warrant the 4th or 5th WR spot after camp, then he can go.
Nolan Carroll – I feel like he got burned way less than Leo? We might need him..
Mykal Kendricks – Stay
Jason Kelce – Either way, don’t care anymore
Chase Daniel – Stay of course.
Marcus Smith doesn’t eve make the list???
Stay I guess…
Stay
Stay
Go
Go
Stay, but it’ll be hard for him not to Go
Stay
Stay
Go, but he’s going to Stay
Stay
Stay
I put this together earlier- have a look.
Cap Number/Cap Hit/Savings
Connor Barwin
$8,350,000 $600,000 $7,750,000
Mychal Kendricks
$6,600,000 $4,800,000 $1,800,000
Ryan Mathews
$5,000,000 $1,000,000 $4,000,000
Darren Sproles
$4,000,000 $0 $4,000,000
Leodis McKelvin
$3,450,000 $250,000 $3,200,000
Allen Barbre
$1,950,000 $150,000 $1,800,000
Ron Brooks
$2,100,000 $500,000 $1,600,000
Matt Tobin
$900,000 $50,000 $850,000
Taylor Hart
$690,000 $0 $690,000
Josh Andrews
$615,000 $0 $615,000
Looks like we would have just over $6 million in dead money, with $26 million saved.
Leodis looks really easy to get out from under. I wouldn’t mind doing that. He is a former Bill though.
Leodis and Nolan.
I agree- not worth the money but Schwartz loves him. And if we let Nolan go, we need bodies
You have Agholar stay !!! Thats nuts..Insanity i tell ya…pure insane ness… ship him to CHIP or andy …
He signed a guaranteed contract and has almost a $5000000 dead money hit if he’s cut. Plus nobody is going to trade for him. Unfortunately he’ll be here next year.
TY for th explanation. . Has to be 5Mil .. 5 000,000 yep .. nice paycheck Nelson
It’s a money issue
Be sure to ship Jenkins and Couplin and Fipp and Stoutland too. And the science guy in the dungeon.
Nigel Bradham staying? Joe Butler, rght? Decent LB rookie to look forward to. . .
So the way I read this, Kendricks is scheduled to receive 6.6M next year, the hit to cut him is 4.8M, bringing in a savings of 1.8M and one less linebacker.
As critical of Kendricks as I have been, expecting to bring in a better player for 1.8M or less is optimistic. That leaves keeping him, paying more for less or paying a ton to upgrade.
Yummy options right there.
It should probably say cap number/dead money, but yes- you are correct
Howie has to try to trade Kendricks.
Scores of up-votes for correctly writing “to try to trade” . . . not “to try and trade.”
(One means make an effort to trade. The other means both to make an effort and to trade — but not tied to each other.)
I wish you were around today when my neighbor told me “your car needs washed”!
JP – stays
Sproles – stays unless he wants out
Mathews – goes. love the guy but I think he should retire.
Barwin – goes. We have like 17 mil in backup DEs that don’t perform.
Logan – stays at the right price. goes if he think he can get paid.
Agholor – stays.
Carroll – stays.
Kendricks – goes.
Kelce – goes.
Daniel – goes.
Your last three are brave dude. But not unrealistic.
I dropped two of the five presents my wife handed to me… Went to the in-laws and dropped the present that my mother-in-law handed to me so I’m riding the bench now
So your wife is Mrs Agholor?!
now thats the funniest thing Ive read today
In other news, Google Home (Xmas gift from my wife) is pretty awesome.
People have been bitching about Ertz and his contract but Vinny Curry is the 4th highest player on the team. He probably gets cut if it wasn’t for the guarantees left on his deal.
He’s the 5th highest paid 4-3 DE in the NFL. Crazy.
I don’t think anybody foresaw the fall off of Vinny’s play the way it happened this year, not the coach’s or the fans.
Vinny Curry wasn’t really a good player before his contract. It was mostly based on his potential with Jim Schwartz.
He has been getting free money, both he and Barwin. Its sad that you can argue that they are stealing snaps from MSII
没什么好说的，提前祝博主新年快乐！
FUGGIN’ DALLASS SMDH!!!!
Did you expect the Lions to win? I’m not sure I see Dallas losing against a NFC team
Did you expect Dallas to be 13-2 this season?? I see them losing to a team that has better options at cb. Johnson Bademosi got abused all night vs Dez. Packers can beat Dallas.
Condolences as well Tommy. Happy Holidays and thanks for the post, as usual. It felt soooo good to see the Eagles win against the Giants. Felt like a real team win. This season has been invaluable for Wentz, and although we’d all like a couple more wins, Im honestly more excited about the future with this kid. He’s top notch and makes plays happen, EVEN with a lack of a solid starting RB and no lights-out WRs.
Also, cant stop hearing about Prescott for obv reasons. But I’d be interested to look at stats based on Rookies who had “easier” goes at it their first year and then how their play fared in years to come vs. guys being on “worse” teams with less talent, worse OLs, etc? Not sure if there is anything there but just curious because there is definitely something about learning how to lose and not let it destroy your confidence that I think is invaluable for Wentz and the team this year looking toward the future. If the Cowboys go 14-2, make the superbowl and then get destroyed by the Patriots, as good as they are (and will be over the next couple years) I find it hard to believe they will go 14-2 next year.