Updated Look at RB

Posted: May 3rd, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 213 Comments »

The Eagles didn’t get Dalvin Cook or any of the other tailbacks we wanted in the draft. They didn’t sign Jamaal Charles (now a Bronco). There aren’t any rumors of the team trying to trade for a runner. So what is going on?

As Wooderson said in Dazed and Confused, “Patience darlin’, patience.”

The first thing to understand is that the Eagles won’t solve every problem and fill every hole this offseason. I’ve said that a few times, but it bears repeating. Rome wasn’t built in a night, nor a championship football team. The Eagles wanted a stud RB in the draft, but things didn’t go as they wanted. Jeff McLane reported the Eagles tried to move up for Dalvin Cook.

The Eagles attempted to trade up for Cook in the second round, an NFL source said. But, for whatever reason, they didn’t pull off the exchange.

Why not give up the pick and go get Cook? Are they nuts?

The Eagles showed real discipline here and stuck to their evaluations and long term thinking. Cook would have made the team better in 2017, but wasn’t necessarily the better long term move. Think about the past decade. Have the Eagles had a harder time finding RBs or CBs? It should take you half a millisecond to answer…CB.

The Eagles wanted to move up, but only at the right price. You can find RBs all over the place. You have to be careful about putting too many resources into a pick you spend on a RB. Against the Ravens and the #1 run D in the league, Ryan Mathews was 20-128, Byron Marshall 9-22 and Kenjon Barner 3-6. Early in the year, the Eagles dominated the Steelers. Wendell Smallwood was 17-79 and Kenjon Barner 8-42. The Eagles had 6 different RBs run for 20 or more yards in a game. The backs did a good job, but the real key was the OL opening holes.

It would have been a ton of fun to watch Cook running behind that O-line. That would have been glorious. But the price had to be right. RB is the one position where you can truly find players anywhere. The team has not had that same luck with developing or even signing CBs. They had to be able to spend good resources on CBs (if they were available). Sidney Jones is the most talented CB draft pick in more than  decade. There is risk in that pick, but with the Eagles track record, I think rolling the dice was smart if the medical reports were favorable.

Not overpaying for a RB also felt very much like a Ravens move. Ozzie Newsome never panics. He lets the board come to him. He knows there will be weak spots on his team, but is willing to take a chance on the guys already on his roster. He also knows there will be moves to be made in July, August and September.

No one is going to see a lineup of  Wendell Smallwood, Darren Sproles, Donnel Pumphrey and Corey Clement/Terrell Watson and think the Eagles are done. They would love to upgrade. That could mean a trade for Mark Ingram. That could mean signing a veteran like Rashad Jennings. The Eagles could also sit tight and see how the young guys play this spring and summer.

They will find a long term answer at RB in the next year. The Eagles wanted that player now, but the plans didn’t work out. They will now rely on the players currently here and see how things go.

No need to panic.

Patience darlin’, patience.

*****

I will say that Donnel Pumphrey has grown on me (insert your own growth joke right here). The kid has potential.

I will write a long piece on him. Simply put, there is a lot to like. There isn’t much to dislike, beyond size.

*****

The Eagles wanted to add a developmental QB and they found one.

Very interesting move.

Evans, 6-3, 232, is a talented athlete that did some big things in his short time at Virginia Tech. He is gifted. He should not have come out early. Maybe he needed the money and was desperate. I just hate to see kids come out early that are not ready.

Evans has NFL potential, but needs a lot of work. He has little chance to make the roster this time around. You play him a lot this summer to see how he does and then you stash him on the practice squad.

*****

Shittu flashed good potential in the preseason finale, but doesn’t sound like he was healthy. UDFA Winston Craig is very similar to him, but is more athletic. Craig has to feel better abut his chances of really pushing for a PS spot.

Shittu will be missed.

_


213 Comments on “Updated Look at RB”

  1. 1 Charlie Kelly said at 12:16 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    HOT TAKE ALERT – sproles or pumphrey will be the eagles starting RB this year

  2. 2 Anders said at 4:18 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I guess Pumphrey or Smallwood starts

  3. 3 Charlie Kelly said at 5:01 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    why not sproles? he should of been/could of been a starter his entire career. send him out a starter in his final season

  4. 4 Anders said at 5:08 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Sproles has started 28 out of 168 games he has played in.
    Even last year, he only started 5 the second most of his career.

  5. 5 Charlie Kelly said at 8:53 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    he should of started every game for eagles last year

    esp since being a starter is basically who is out there on the 1st play lol

    as for his career he should of been a starter for most of his career.. but he played behind LT and Michael Turner lol

    i been watching sproles since his rookie year, i seen him in a preseason game was in awe. Think i made a thread every year on the eagles message board about trading for sproles lmfao

  6. 6 kajomo said at 9:22 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Sproles is too small to be an every down back. That’s why they draft punphrey…

  7. 7 Charlie Kelly said at 8:50 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    sproles is an every down back. theres literally nothing he cant do.

  8. 8 kajomo said at 12:08 PM on May 4th, 2017:

    Then why doesn’t he play the majority of the snaps?

  9. 9 Charlie Kelly said at 6:17 PM on May 4th, 2017:

    because hes been type casted into the scat back role his entire career

  10. 10 Walks With Penguins said at 2:37 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I like the undrafted kid Corey Clement – has the physical makeup of a 3-down back. Out of all the RB’s on our team currently, he has the build to be that workhorse back we need. Don’t count him out.

  11. 11 philllyfanatic said at 12:35 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I would have loved to move up ten spots to get Dalvin Cook, but the cost would have been our second round pick and pick number 99. Now we’d have a nice running back, but we’d have no corners to speak of.

    I really like Rasul Douglas. His size and length will allow him to cover bigger receivers and what he might lack in top end speed he can make up for with that frame. In the short and intermediate routes he has a real ability to break on the ball. And obviously a healthy Sidney Jones could be a shut down corner.

    Dalvin Cook would have been a luxury this year, but at the end of the day it’s more about the offensive line than the actual running back. Mathews, Smallwood and Sproles all had success behind this line. This line should be much improved this year. I’m happy to roll with two very good CB prospects and no bell cow running back this year.

  12. 12 P_P_K said at 9:09 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I wanted Cook really bad but you’re right, it is more about the O-line and getting those CBs.

  13. 13 Mitchell said at 1:07 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Damn it, ATG. You got me on that one, big time. I Shittu not.

  14. 14 Wrongthink said at 1:18 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Is getting Aerosmith tickets Pumphrey’s top priority of the Summer? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrtQ5uIOcKY

  15. 15 anon said at 1:58 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Rationale for not getting an rb in 2016 draft bc 2017 draft RB class was supposed to be so stacked. Me thinks we’ll be a pass first team this year?

  16. 16 DrGeniusPhD said at 2:04 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I think we would have been a pass first team anyway.

  17. 17 Sean Stott said at 3:10 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Hah, I remember everyone in 2016 saying that it was the 2017 QB class that would be great.

  18. 18 Media Mike said at 5:30 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Well, the 2017 QB class kind of stinks.

  19. 19 Media Mike said at 5:31 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    “Me thinks we’ll be a pass first team this year?”

    That would have been the case even if we had Walter Payton.

  20. 20 Buge Halls said at 7:09 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I’ll have to check my draft recap, but I’m pretty dam sure that the Eagles did indeed draft a RB this year.

  21. 21 eagleyankfan said at 7:15 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I’m pretty sure he meant a 1st and 2nd down back(or all 3 down back) and not a sproles replacement….

  22. 22 Mac said at 10:40 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Buckle up man, this is (and was always going to be) a pass first team. In fact, this is a pass first league at this point. I feel bad for folks who are stuck in the stone age of football.

  23. 23 BobSmith77 said at 11:44 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    If this a team that expects Wentz to pass 40+ times/week on a regular basis, they won’t even be .500.

  24. 24 Donald Kalinowski said at 12:36 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Carson was our 1st round pick, we didn’t have a 2nd or a 4th, and G/C was a more pressing need. They did draft a RB in the 5th.

  25. 25 DrGeniusPhD said at 2:03 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    What about Byron Marshall? His switch to WR doesn’t seem to make much sense now.

  26. 26 Anders said at 3:13 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Marshall is more Danny Woodhead then a pure RB.

  27. 27 Dave said at 8:40 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I think Marshall would be a Pro-Bowl slot receiver playing with Tom Brady. Much better hands than Woodhead and amazing ability to make guys miss. I am very high on him in that role.

    Watch highlights of Marshall vs Woodhead or Cole Beasley (both small, shifty slot receivers). IMO, Marshall is much more elusive.

  28. 28 eagleyankfan said at 9:03 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I’m not saying Wentz is Brady – but Wentz is pretty good. I’d imagine he’d be almost as productive with Wentz — but with that said — if Marshall can be that good — who do you see making the team at WR? (carry 5 or 6?)

  29. 29 Anders said at 9:06 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Right now Jeffrey, Smith, Matthews, Agholor seems 100%. Marshall is battling Gibson and Hollins for 1-2 spots.

  30. 30 Nick C said at 9:09 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I don’t see Smith as a lock. Just a hunch, but he can be cut to save a lot if he doesn’t perform in camp. Gibson and Hollins can be homerun threats and potentially beat him out. I don’t see it happening, but just wouldn’t consider him a Lock.

  31. 31 Anders said at 9:16 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Lets just say I would bet on pick from day 3 to beat out a veteran like Smith. Unless Smith has lost his explosion or just plain sucks, then I think he sticks.

  32. 32 Sb2bowl said at 9:38 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Agreed- for his guaranteed base of $500k, he will have to work his way on the roster. And he’s on a year to year option (team) going forward.

    I like his chances this year; but if our guys develop going forward, he’s anything but a lock to make the roster.

  33. 33 A Roy said at 12:01 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Probably trying to trade Matthews…

  34. 34 Media Mike said at 5:12 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    There is still a lot of time between now and the start of camp to add a vet RB to the mix. There are a ton of name out there.

  35. 35 Forthebirds said at 9:08 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    isn’t Blount still unsigned?

  36. 36 A_T_G said at 7:23 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I won’t forget, Tommy.

    “My big break was a poop joke on the preeminent Eagles football blog.” – me at the Nobel Prize in Literature Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony.

  37. 37 Rellihcs said at 7:47 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    You’d deserve that shit too.

  38. 38 Sifter said at 7:29 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Just had a quick look around the league rosters for potential trade targets at RB, and a couple of names jump out. Jeremy Hill, Alfred Blue and Jerick McKinnon all have one year left on their contracts, and all 3 saw a RB drafted pretty high last weekend who will challenge them for carries. So the likelihood of being able to acquire them should be pretty good.
    Hill in particular would be a good guy for the Eagles to get, as he can carry a good workload and then let the little guys flit and float off the field and inject themselves when the D is ripe for picking.

  39. 39 MattE said at 10:04 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    in all honesty for whatever reason I think Cincy just hates Gio and rather Mixon/Hill combo and ship Gio out lol

    …..me I like Gio

  40. 40 CrackSammich said at 10:07 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Gio got an extension last summer. Hill is on his last year of the rookie contract and has not. But if they don’t want Gio, I would love to him here.

  41. 41 MattE said at 10:10 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    high profile RBBC in Cincy

  42. 42 MattE said at 10:12 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    …..meh might be able to get a bit better compensation with Gio under control? I dunno, Cincy is f*cked up lol

  43. 43 eagleyankfan said at 7:53 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    100% on the ‘there is no rush’. This team isn’t a finished product yet. We’ll still be lucky if we get 2 starters(not warm bodies) from the draft. Expectations of grabbing 3 starters was a pipe dream.
    ….
    While patience is the key word here — 100% disagree with premise — “You can find RBs all over the place.” I guess that’s true if talent isn’t a consideration. Might was well say — “you can find WR’s all over the place” — Eagles have plenty of them….Maybe it’s because I don’t want a warm body back there…finding a true 3 down back is hard(not necessary in today’s nfl). I’d prefer that 3 down guy though…
    ……
    Wonder if one of those WR’s were still there at 14 – who the choice would have been

  44. 44 Anders said at 8:19 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    The best case scenario (not been unrealistic) is that Barnett and Jones becomes pro bowl players, while Rasgul becomes a dime/nickle CB with Pumphrey becoming a 15 carries+3-4 catches per game RB and Mark Hollins becomes a 40 catches per year guy while been a great ST’er.

  45. 45 eagleyankfan said at 8:59 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    that would be awesome. I often forget to include ST’ers. A couple of these guys seem like they’ll contribute right away on special teams…

  46. 46 Ankerstjernen said at 9:44 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Best case is that Barnett turns into Suggs, Jones turns into Revis, Rasul turns into Sherman, Pumphrey turns into Sproles, Hollins turns into Malcolm Floyd and Gibson turns into John Brown. The Qualls turns into Bennett, and Gerry turns into Buchannon. There, I fixed it.

  47. 47 suthrneagle said at 1:24 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Yuv got tunnel vision

  48. 48 Ankerstjernen said at 5:40 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Lets just have our fun now, before reality sets in.

  49. 49 Stephen E. said at 1:07 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Best case? I expect an average starter from a third round pick, not a 4th corner.

  50. 50 Anders said at 4:29 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    A nickle/dime cb plays more snaps than the will lb.

  51. 51 ChoTime said at 9:26 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    This article puts together some nice perspective about why teams don’t draft RBs high much anymore.

    https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-nfl-likes-running-backs-again-kinda-sorta/

  52. 52 Mitchell said at 8:33 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Remember Devin Smith coming out of Ohio State, touted as an amazing deep threat with historic ypc? I believe he was drafted in the late first early second. You know who reminds me of Smith? Shelton Gibson. He has very similar deep ball tracking and the Eagles only used a 5th…. STEAL.

  53. 53 D3FB said at 8:54 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Let’s hope Gibson has more than 135 yards after 2 seasons

  54. 54 Mitchell said at 9:40 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Well hes already not playing for the Jets so theres a start.

  55. 55 Dave said at 8:35 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I’m all for having a 3-down RB who can do it all…have breakaway speed, run with power on short yardage situations, catch the ball, and pass block.

    The problem with having a 3-down franchise RB is that players get injured.

    RBs have ~40% chance of missing at least 1 week due to injury
    RBs have an 18% chance of missing more than 4 weeks due to injury

    I’m not sweating it too much as recent NFL history has shown that you can get by without a 3-down back.

    http://www.footballoutsiders.com/stat-analysis/2015/nfl-injuries-part-iv-variation-position

  56. 56 Christopher Backhaus said at 9:13 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Hello Tommy and other Eagles Fans!

    Do you know if the Eagles have approached LeGarrette Blount?

    I would love to have Blount pound the middle and help close games, and to pair him with Sproles and Pumphrey.

    Have a nice day.

  57. 57 MattE said at 9:58 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    To be Blount I agree

  58. 58 anon said at 10:16 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    $$ he wants it, we don’t have it.

  59. 59 sonofdman said at 1:17 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I may be in the minority, but I don’t want Blount. He has had no sustained success anywhere outside of New England, seems like an a-hole, and wants more money than he’s worth.

  60. 60 kajomo said at 9:25 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    What happens when Smallwood gets hurt (he was hurt twice last year) and the average wait of our RBs is close to an NFL cheerleader than a NFL football player? We need to add someone. I’d be fine just keeping Matthews on the roster.

  61. 61 Anders said at 9:26 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Why do we need a 220 pound guy?

  62. 62 Bert's Bells said at 10:46 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    To make me look slim.

  63. 63 kajomo said at 10:47 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    It was pretty apparent that this offense was best with a healthy R Matthews in the game. It kept us on schedule and force teams to honor the run. Additionally we will continue to struggle in the RZ without a back that has some power element to his game. Again matthrws was a weapon in the RZ I don’t need a 220 guy, but 180 isn’t going to cut it.

    I still think we blew a chance in not trading up for Dalvin Cook. He’s not 220, but would have balanced this offense. We don’t have that now. While I don’t care about this year necessarily, I do think a balanced approach will help Carson’s development.

  64. 64 Anders said at 4:31 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    It worked the best because he is a great rb when healthy not because of size. Or did the 2013 eagles or 2008 eagles not work fine with a 200 lb rb?

  65. 65 kajomo said at 8:35 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Again I didn’t say we need a 220lbs guy. I just done think 180-190 is going to cut it. It’s what has limited Sproles’s role his entire career.

  66. 66 ChoTime said at 9:32 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Being small as a RB has advantages as disadvantages. The main problem is durability. So as long as Sproles doesn’t have to carry 25 times a game, week in and week out, the offense could theoretically do fine.

    That is, assuming it was doing fine in the first place, which is far from guaranteed with an unproved QB and a bad WR corps.

  67. 67 Anders said at 9:35 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Why are people talking about 20-25 carries per game?

    There was 2 RBs last year who averaged over 20 carries per game. Bell and Elliott.

    Most guys are around 15 carries per game.

    Also what does Sproles size have to do with durability? I guess 270 pound Eddie Lacy will never get injured because he is big?

  68. 68 MattE said at 9:53 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I am the most anti-Bama RB guy you will meet lol

    ….even Ingram can’t really be considered a “success”, Henry has a good shot, but I could see a Brandon Jacobs type career arc for him.

    …..David Johnson and Gurley have a shot at 20+ any given game

  69. 69 Kelce's Beard's Rollerskates said at 10:00 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I don’t remember the early Sproles years, but neither Smallwood nor Pumphrey have any serious injury history to speak of

  70. 70 ChoTime said at 11:36 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I don’t know, I was actually attacking that narrative. There has been a weird resurgence of “workhorse RB” love the last year or two.

    Being a little guy, yes, size matters as far as durability.

  71. 71 Birds4Life said at 9:50 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Did you know that Corey Clement is 220 pounds?

  72. 72 xmbk said at 10:07 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Are you really counting on someone who was passed over 253 times?

  73. 73 Sb2bowl said at 10:29 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Sounds like my dating record………….

  74. 74 A Roy said at 11:57 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Got here late. Do you mean “passed over 253 times” or “Fat Rob is probably the guy you want?”

  75. 75 Sb2bowl said at 1:03 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    What if they aren’t mutually exclusive?

  76. 76 xmbk said at 12:20 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Conley can help you. Too soon?

  77. 77 Birds4Life said at 10:38 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Are you saying that no UDFA RB has ever made it in the NFL? RB is the easiest position in football to find. Jordan Howard was 2nd in the league in rushing in 2016, drafted #150. Does that make him bad because he was passed over 149 times?

  78. 78 D3FB said at 11:05 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Fat Rob is probably the guy you want to use not Howard.

    Howard was considered a 2nd or 3rd round guy who fell because of injury issues, a weird background (transferred from UAB because the program shuttered) and questions about him being a product of the system (Jason Spriggs and Dan Feeney on the OL, Indiana had just produced Tevin Coleman the year before)

  79. 79 Birds4Life said at 11:24 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    He was the first player I could think of off the top of my head that was drafted low and was productive in the NFL. I don’t really know much else about Howard. Alfred Morris is another back drafted in the sixth round that was productive too. Kelley’s situation works better though.

  80. 80 xmbk said at 12:19 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Big difference between writing him off and counting on him. The odds are stacked against him, the guys who make are exceptions to what they call a /Rule/.

  81. 81 Birds4Life said at 12:34 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Who’s counting on him? OP said “What happens when Smallwood gets hurt (he was hurt twice last year) and the average weight of our RBs is closer to an NFL cheerleader than a NFL football player?” So I pointed out they got a 220lb RB also.

  82. 82 xmbk said at 1:28 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Sounded like you were assuming he’ll be on the roster. Might as well count Watson. I think we will have a RB on opening day who’s not currently on the roster.

  83. 83 Birds4Life said at 2:27 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    They are going to keep 4 RBs on the roster. Could be Clement, could be someone else, idk.

  84. 84 kajomo said at 10:49 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I’m not counting on him until we see him play. If he proves he can be an active game day RB I would feel a little better, but that’s at best 50:50 right now

  85. 85 Birds4Life said at 11:02 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I don’t think you need to worry. If the OL does its job, our RBs will have success. If the OL doesn’t, then it doesn’t matter who the RB is. We had Marshall and Watson at RB at the end of last season, and they did ok. Plus now we have actual WR that will keep other teams from loading the box against us, which will also help the run game.

  86. 86 A_T_G said at 11:08 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I think you are being generous by giving an UDFA a 50/50 shot at being active on game day. Those guys are more likely 50/50 to make the PS.

  87. 87 Ark87 said at 9:57 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    All part of the plan. Then Doug would be forced to throw on every down.

    #theprocess

  88. 88 Rellihcs said at 10:02 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Simple, RBBC – Qualls and Beau

  89. 89 sonofdman said at 1:13 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    “What happens when Smallwood gets hurt…?”

    I assume you would use a small bandage or maybe a small cast of some sort.

  90. 90 D3FB said at 9:55 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Interesting note from a predraft Interview with Qualls:

    Q:Another fun question I asked a couple of your teammates was, if you were going to war tomorrow and could only bring one of your teammates, who would you bring and why?

    Qualls: That’s tough man [laughs]. If I was allowed to bring multiple
    guys with me, I’m taking the entire defense. I really developed a
    relationship with those guys. I absolutely trusted all of my teammates
    out there on the field. I didn’t have any doubt that they were gonna’
    come to every game and to every practice with the mentality that we just
    want to win at all costs. If I had to pick one person, it would be
    Sidney Jones. His talent doesn’t even need to factor into my decision,
    that’s the guy I’ve developed the closest relationship with. Me and
    Kevin [King] grew up near each other so we’ve been cool for a minute.
    I’m close to a lot of my guys, we had some classes together as well.
    Sidney Jones is basically my little brother though. I’ve cared about
    that dude since he got here. Our personalities are very similar, we like
    to stick to ourselves. At the end of the day, I know that I can call on
    him, and he knows that he can call on me. I find the two of us very
    similar. I just love that kid man.

  91. 91 CrackSammich said at 9:57 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    They can eat their lunch in the car together, at least?

  92. 92 D3FB said at 10:07 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I would love to find an interview where someone asked Sidney his LEAST favorite teammate and he was like:

    “Elijah Qualls, man that dude just will not leave me alone. I wake up everyday with 15 texts from him. He’s literally twice my size. I hate that fatty”

  93. 93 sonofdman said at 1:11 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Ha!

  94. 94 ChoTime said at 11:35 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Reminiscent of the Tebow/Cooper connection, amirite?

  95. 95 MattE said at 9:57 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Eagles need to roll up a Blount!

    LeGarrette that is, happy belated 4/20 everyone.

  96. 96 Kelce's Beard's Rollerskates said at 9:57 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    first sentence is #fakenews — they absolutely got the tailback we* wanted

    *I

  97. 97 Stephen E. said at 10:18 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I always enjoy a firm #2.

  98. 98 Dave said at 10:46 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Here are the combined rushing attempts + reception targets per game in the NFL last year.

    When you remove the bottom 2 players since they were limited to 1 and 8 games, there are only 8 running backs in the NFL over 20 rushing attempts + reception targets per game. For comparison, there are more franchise QBs than RBs at this level.

    For Comparison, Ryan Mathews was at 13 rushing attempts + reception targets per game while Sproles was 11, Smallwood was 7, Barner was at 3.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ad5e71d997b5aa477971023ad8a9b208623b152f514120f170ebb46c43b2c0a0.png

  99. 99 D3FB said at 10:58 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Just because you CAN give a guy the ball 25 times a game doesn’t mean you SHOULD

    Comparing RBs to QBs is strange.

    Buffalo led the league in yards and ypc. Shady didn’t have 20 touches a game.

    I’d still probably take Atlantas RBs over any of these guys.

  100. 100 ChoTime said at 11:34 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    People love volume. QBs who throw for lot of yards, RBs who run for lots of yards. In the NBA, players who put up a lot of points. No one cares if it took Kobe 25 shots to get his 30 points.

  101. 101 Rellihcs said at 11:34 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Tell me more.

  102. 102 ChoTime said at 11:41 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    The Who is also the greatest rock band ever because they had the most volume. The best hairstyles are the pompadour, the afro, and the beehive, in reverse order.

  103. 103 Rellihcs said at 11:49 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    The what?

  104. 104 A Roy said at 1:05 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I don’t know…

  105. 105 ChoTime said at 2:07 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/7a/03/20/7a03205bdadce1b6cc20b32a7b08b59a.jpg

  106. 106 Rellihcs said at 2:09 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Jalen Mills > that.

    But could he put a football helmet on?

  107. 107 A_T_G said at 12:09 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Fake news!

    The Who did not have amps that went to 11.

  108. 108 CrackSammich said at 11:43 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    “Would you like to know more?”
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdrjzE1SE58

  109. 109 A_T_G said at 12:09 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    https://twitter.com/TheOnion/status/848976415928143872

  110. 110 Rellihcs said at 12:10 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Half the battle.

    Thank you sir.

  111. 111 BobSmith77 said at 12:21 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Sure they do and offense efficiency is widely recognized as a valuable asset to evaluate NBA players.

    Maybe old sport writers and very casual fans but advanced stats have seeped broadly into the game too especially among fans under 40. Throwing shade and dunking social media highlights just cloud that fact a bit.

  112. 112 BobSmith77 said at 11:39 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Patience through the draft but the RB position is a mess for this upcoming season. Last year they at least had Mathews and Barner going into camp.

  113. 113 Rellihcs said at 11:48 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Two things:

    We’re not quite going into camp right now
    and calling our current RB situation “a mess” is quite a stretch…

  114. 114 Ark87 said at 12:03 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    You’re right, too many factors go into the running game like how good is the O-line, how healthy is the O-line, is it a good scheme, is the passing game effective, etc. It’s impossible to predict whether we will have an effective rotation at running back at this stage.

    If we were a bruising team with a dominant defense and a physical offense, and we were on the cusp of a super bowl, I might be more concerned. For now we just have to wait and see how well the people they picked work out.

  115. 115 Rellihcs said at 12:06 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Yeah. I was caught up myself in all the RB talk and it made sense given what the draft had available. But we’re OK and likely to add to the bunch.

  116. 116 Ark87 said at 12:11 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    yep, I’d like to have better players, everywhere and always. I’d love to have some proven backs (besides Sproles) but RB isn’t the hill to die on, they just aren’t this team’s identity.

  117. 117 BobSmith77 said at 12:19 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Not really. They don’t even have org depth/bodies there right now. I did look at org depth charts and there isn’t a team with more uncertainty. Even 49ers and Browns have better options albeit underwhelming ones.

  118. 118 Rellihcs said at 12:24 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    There’s a glass, and some water. We see it a bit differently. Or at least half-so.

  119. 119 BobSmith77 said at 12:26 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Fat man who is dehyradred and that gulp or two of potable water isn’t sufficient.

    Agree with Tommy that they’ll have to make a move or two simply because of what their options are right now. If Mathews was healthy, they wouldn’t be great but it would at least be passable for the time being.

  120. 120 D3FB said at 11:48 AM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Kenjon Barner had 34 career carries going into last season

  121. 121 BobSmith77 said at 12:15 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Yes and Mathews was incredibly injury prone. Eagles don’t even have a guy who can be carry it 12-14 times a game right now unless they think Smallwood can manage that workload.

    Sproles has defied the age curve but is really an option for more than 3-5 carries/game and Smallwood 6-8/carries? Maybe Pumphrey get the occasional running attempt but I can see him being used anymore than sporadically.

    Eagles even need bodies/org depth at RB right now and don’t have much salary cap room to do it.

  122. 122 D3FB said at 12:37 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Eagles went into camp last year with
    Mathews, Sproles, Smallwood, Barner, Marshall, O’Neal (who didn’t even make it to first cuts)

    This year they have
    Sproles, Smallwood, Pumphrey, Watson, Clement (Marshall can move back easily)

    So they’re ok on bodies, they just need Watson or Clement to earn a spot on the roster. If not Howie is the king of the player for player camp trades. It won’t be anything sexy.

    Look the RB group is underwhelming but they’ll be fine enough.

    Eagles RBs carried the ball 377 times last year.

    If you project carries for 2016 it could look roughly like:
    Smallwood-150
    Sproles-100
    Pumphrey- 75
    RB4-50

    Nobody averages 10 carries a game.

    It won’t be GOOD, but it’ll be competent and that’s enough for now.

  123. 123 BobSmith77 said at 12:45 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Sproles career high was last year at 93 and he got injured late/less effective later on due to the workload. Eagles should be figuring he is more of a 50-60 attempt guy this year and I’ll be stunned if Pumphrey gets 75 carries or Smallwood holds up over 150 carries.

    They need another dude in the mix who will have a higher workload than that RB4. It isn’t going to be a star or even a diamond in the rough but just a functional RB.

  124. 124 D3FB said at 12:55 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    It’s Sproles last go around. I think he and the team are probably committed to emptying the tank.

    If Smallwood can’t handle 9 carries a game he shouldn’t be on the roster.

    The team didn’t move up in the fourth without a plan for Pumphrey. If that plan doesn’t involve getting him 4-5 carries a game when their is a lack of quality above him, that should be a giant giant giant red flag.

    RB4 is basically going to be a guy to get some situational touches in short yardage, and take 7-10 carries in a couple games when injuries crop up. It might be higher but not massively so unless earned.

  125. 125 A_T_G said at 6:12 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    *Gordon – 4

  126. 126 CrackSammich said at 12:17 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    There’s a lot of question marks at the position, but unknowns don’t necessarily guarantee bad. I’ve thought the same thing about whatever unknowns they trot out at D in Dallas, and they keep holding up their end of the bargain. If we stay injury free on the OL, our rag tag group will get enough to not be be embarrassing.

  127. 127 Mac said at 1:40 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    WR: Hot mess -> fixed in FA, improved in the draft
    CB: Hot mess -> improved through the draft
    DE: Solid -> improved through the draft

    O-line depth: Weak -> improved in FA
    QB depth: Weak -> fixed in FA

    All of those positions are more important than RB.

    But yes… Complain away.

  128. 128 BobSmith77 said at 3:30 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    CB is still a mess. It is a very interesting, very flawed roster right now and I’m curious to see how they adjust & game plan with it.

  129. 129 Donald Kalinowski said at 12:32 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    If Pumphrey can put on 50 lbs of muscle, he’ll be a stud. He reminds me of LeVeon Bell. I still don’t see how someone that thin can be an effective RB.

  130. 130 CrackSammich said at 12:35 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    If anyone could put on 50lbs of muscle, they’d be a stud. That’s… an unrealistic amount of muscle to be gained, even with steroids.

  131. 131 Donald Kalinowski said at 12:41 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    thatsthejoke.jpeg.

    He still needs to do squats. Sproles, Woodhead, and MJD all had fat asses. White girls would make fun of Punphrey’s ass

  132. 132 CrackSammich said at 12:49 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I’m sorry, I don’t get jokes.

  133. 133 Bert's Bells said at 12:51 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CFijJiXUEAA6bQ7.jpg

  134. 134 MattE said at 12:53 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    what plan was Michael Jackson on?

  135. 135 Bert's Bells said at 12:58 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    The Lane Johnson special.

  136. 136 MattE said at 12:59 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    gotta admit I do like the ‘Working out with Sasquatch” commercials

  137. 137 BobSmith77 said at 3:29 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    It makes you bold? No thanks.

  138. 138 suthrneagle said at 5:08 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    hysterical

  139. 139 Ryan Rambo said at 1:37 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    LMAO!!!!

  140. 140 ChoTime said at 2:04 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    You can put on 50 lbs of muscle using this weird trick…

  141. 141 CrackSammich said at 2:08 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    If only. I’ve been a twig my entire life.

  142. 142 Mac said at 3:21 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I can teach you how to not be a twig… but the muscle part is a different story.

  143. 143 Mitchell said at 12:36 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    50 lbs of muscle?#?! Egads!

  144. 144 MattE said at 12:51 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    you are basically asking him to add another 27.77777% of his current self lol

    …no problem lol

  145. 145 Gian GEAGLE said at 12:51 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    You want him to add like 30% of his current body weight?

  146. 146 MattE said at 12:51 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    see below lol

  147. 147 MattE said at 12:52 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    can you imagine him at 5’8″ and 230lbs lol hahahahaha

  148. 148 Gian GEAGLE said at 12:53 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I’d love to see him perform at the combine at that weight

  149. 149 D3FB said at 12:56 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    That’s basically Doug Martin after a big meal

  150. 150 MattE said at 12:58 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    wrestled in High school/college:

    after being eliminated in postseason competition the first thing I would do is gain 7-9 lbs in 1 sitting after season was over lol…. for reference I was a 112lb’er in High school lol so that was a lot for me.

  151. 151 D3FB said at 1:10 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    The weight fluctuations/cutting are wild in wrestling. I did it in 8th/9th grade in MN. We sucked so I ended up being the JV 89/71. I hadn’t finished growing or lived in a weight room yet so here I am this doughy 14 year old getting crushed by seniors who are starting LBs for their HS teams but JV in wrestling because they have All-State guys in front of them. That got old in a hurry.

    The wildest weight flucation I ever saw was in college football though. My freshman year they converted a G into the starting C. He was 6’4 320 and went from being in good shape for OL to having to be the focal point in a fly around D. During a two a day the second week he lost 12 lbs during the morning session but put most of it back on before the afternoon session. He walked out of the afternoon practice down 28 pounds from what he had weighed 7 hours earlier.

  152. 152 A_T_G said at 1:13 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    That is kind of terrifying.

  153. 153 D3FB said at 1:18 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    The scariest part is he was just normal football camp tired. Not I just lost 10% of my body weight in less than a workday tired.

  154. 154 DrGeniusPhD said at 1:25 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Yeah and all because they like hugging other guys but are ashamed to admit it 🙁

  155. 155 Dude said at 5:00 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    And you probably don’t even know about mat-wood.

  156. 156 daveH said at 5:19 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Double down vote .. jeez y’all whatta g’Wan. ..no joe Pa sweat dreams here puh leeese

  157. 157 MattE said at 1:26 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    holy shit.

    The worst I had it was 6 lbs (118) down to match weight (111.7) in 2.5 hours before weigh-in’s…..consisted of wearing (3) sets of sweatpants/shirt, garbage bags under that, jumping rope in the showers with all the showers running full blast hot water, and running 6 miles before my match.

    The kid I wrestled was not good (pinned him earlier in year), and I beat him by like 3 points lol and then proceeded to collapse once i got off the mat.

  158. 158 D3FB said at 1:26 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    The two best words in wrestling “weight allowance”

  159. 159 ChoTime said at 2:04 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I think my buddy in HS wrestled at that weight. Apparently he was infamous in his family for using prunes to drop weight……….

  160. 160 P_P_K said at 2:56 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    We worked out in those old sweat suits, ate ex-lax, and spit into buckets before weigh-ins.

  161. 161 Sean Stott said at 3:25 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    High School wrestling brings back bad memories for me as well. All those things you mentioned, and our training room had the heat turned up to like 95*

    It was ridiculous and in hindsight I can’t believe I ever weighed 103 pounds.

  162. 162 P_P_K said at 4:55 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    After basically fasting from food and water for several days while working out like madmen, we’d weigh in and then retire to the lockeroom and eat roast beef sandwiches and donuts. It’s a miracle we didn’t barf all over the mat.
    Now, there are rules in place about how much weight a kid can cut.

  163. 163 Dude said at 4:57 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Oh my, I remember the shit-laxing days. My buddy literally put chap stick on his butthole because it would get so chapped from constant wiping.

    I don’t think my guts ever fully recovered from the abuse I put them through.

  164. 164 daveH said at 5:16 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Sorry, too much information. had to exercise the dreaded downvote on you dude

  165. 165 P_P_K said at 5:24 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Are you saying football players suffer life-long head injuries, wrestlers suffer butthole injuries?!

  166. 166 DrGeniusPhD said at 1:23 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Being thin helps him slip between the gaps in the line.

    Breaking tackles is great and all, but it really doesn’t happen all that often. Most guys in the NFL are pretty good tacklers. It’s better to avoid the tackler in the first place and Pumphrey is very good at that.

  167. 167 A_T_G said at 2:09 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    But with an extra 50 lbs. or muscle he could hit two holes at the same time.

  168. 168 Dude said at 4:54 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    That would be a shocker.

  169. 169 A_T_G said at 6:02 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Well played.

  170. 170 BobSmith77 said at 3:28 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Needs some of this:

    https://media4.giphy.com/media/3o6Zt02xHVXksH87Ty/giphy.gif

  171. 171 William Brown said at 12:46 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I would just like to add that Pumphrey is about the same size as Warrick Dunn, who played for 12 years and had 10,000 yards rushing. I really like this kid and even though he doesn’t fit the profile think he is going to surprise people.

  172. 172 Gian GEAGLE said at 12:50 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    On one hand I went into this offseason knowing we couldn’t fix all our needs, but on the other hand, RB is like the easiest position to fill so i kind of feel like we shouldnt have to go into the season with Wendell, Pumphry and Sproles. It shouldn’t be hard to sign a stop gap veteran like the Vikings did with Latavius Murray on a 1 yr deal.
    ..
    The fact that we don’t seem to be showing much urgency makes me wonder if we are prematurely assuming Ryans Eagles career is over. I’d take Ryan Mathews for half The season before he gets hurt because I have a hard time believing they will go into the season with Sproles as The only RB they know they can trust in pass protection, which was Smallwoods most glaring weakness as a rookie.

  173. 173 MattE said at 12:55 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    agreed, RB was the least of my worries in all reality.

    now am I disappointed a little bit we missed out on Cook, not gonna lie, yes.

    …but easy come, easy go. I guess the Vikings needed to give us a little jab in the gut after the Bradford / Washing Machine + 1st Rd Pick Deal

    Howie to Speilman: “I want that new front loader Maytag you got too….”

  174. 174 Gian GEAGLE said at 1:30 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    If Sidney Jones grows into a quality #1 CB no one will care about Dalvin Cook. If both Sidney and Cook realize their full potential, Jones will be so much more valuable. I hate the argument circuling sports radio about how we could have just drafted Quicy or Tabor in round 2 instead of a CB who needs to be red shirted, as if there is no difference between the 9th CB who was drafted in the 40’s, and a CB who was considered a consensus top 15 pick and the #1 or 2 rated CB in this class
    ..
    Also have to be realistic about our timeline. The roster around Carson ISNT ready to win a Super Bowl, and typically developing young QBs arent ready to carry a team to a Super Bowl until years 4 or 5 into his career. If Carson get us to the Confrence championship in 4 years, We will have wasted like half of Dalvin’s Cook career and that’s if a kid with his injury history is even lucky enough to last 8 years in the NFL.
    ..
    Because RBs have the shortest NFL life span, may not be a horrible idea to wait to make a significant 1st or 2nd round investment in the RB position until the year before we think Carson will be ready to really contend for a Super Bowl. Im not suggesting we don’t invest in RBs for the next few years, but because of the short shelf life of RBs, it may not be a bad idea to wait until your team is really ready to contend before making a significant 1st/2nd round investment in the RB position

    It’s a lot harder to find a top notch NFL corner than it is to find the next Dalvin Cook

  175. 175 MattE said at 1:38 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    either position i think you need to take shots on players in terms of quality volume on your roster, however are top flight corner skills much more scarce, hell yes, but still gotta collect as many bodies as possible in both positions and hope the chips fall in your favor.

  176. 176 Nick C said at 1:07 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I don’t think we filled all our needs. We took some nice steps but this is at least a two season process. CB is not fixed at all. Mills is slow, Douglas may be better suited for the slot and our best corner has never played in the NFL and is coming off an Achilles tear. WR’s are on one-year deals. Our top RB and LT will probably be retiring after this year. LB depth is thin. DL looks good, but injuries can always happen, and Jernigan is a FA after the year as well. We can hope for all these one-year deals to play really well but then of course we have to pay them. And none will come cheaply. I like a lot of the moves we made, but probably won’t know for 1-2 years if these rookies pan out.

  177. 177 Gian GEAGLE said at 1:16 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I don’t know if Trubisky can play, but I didn’t know if Carson could play either when we traded up to draft him. Seems like the Bears are trying to follow the Eagles blueprint of doing everything possible to fix that position when you don’t have a franchise QB. The Bears probably won’t be able to recoup a first trading away Glennon but they can probably turn him into some type of compensation in the next year or two If The rookie proves to be legit

    I actually liked Glennons potential when he was in Tampa so I don’t blame them for signing him before they knew if they would be able to get Trubisky, it’s not like they had better options. I also can’t really crucify the Bears GM without knowing what type of offers the Niners had on the table that the Bears had to bid against. Wonder if the GM even gets to keep his job long enough to find out if Trubisky was a good pick or not

    Kind of weird that Bear fans think so much of Glennon and so little of Trubsiky that they despise the trade, you would think that a FANBASE that hasn’t had a franchise QB since I have been alive would be more willing to take a flier on the top QB in this draft when they are already stuck in the NFL basement
    ..
    But where the Bears Failed to follow the Eagles blueprint is that they invested in this yoûng QB but they failed to follow a crucial part of the Eagles plan, which was going overboard sorrounding The young QB with people who really know how to Develope young QBs. We have 3 Former QBs, what some have called “A quarterback incubator” in Philly investing in Carson’s development. John Fox won’t ever be mistaken for a young QB whisperer

  178. 178 DrGeniusPhD said at 1:20 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Chicago gave all that up to move one spot. They got played.

  179. 179 MattE said at 1:30 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    yeah, in that light Howie’s moves were much more well received than Chicago’s “Hold my beer” moment, I think a more comparable compensation for trading up would be the Chiefs due to the amount of picks they needed to get up to #10 (I think they moved like 17 spots?), the one thing everyone forgets about the move for Carson last year was the MIA trades to get from #13 to #8 and then from #8 to #2

  180. 180 xmbk said at 1:30 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Made no sense. If SF wanted Trubisky, they wouldn’t have done the deal. If someone lower down wanted him, they would have out bid Chicago. Lynch thought they were trading up for Solomon.

  181. 181 MattE said at 1:31 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    plus from everything I am hearing SF was prepared to take Foster fairly high so not surprised they moved back for the assumed slip of Foster

  182. 182 Gian GEAGLE said at 1:42 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    the Niners knew they were getting Solomon when they decided to make the trade with the Bears

  183. 183 MattE said at 1:50 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I think Lynch was aiming for Foster past #5 + Extra picks, instead he came out with Thomas + Foster + Extra Picks

    I only assume this because they have Armstead and Buckner already there and I don’t think SF is ready to give up on those guys just yet.

  184. 184 Gian GEAGLE said at 2:06 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    if they were willing take take Foster #8, no reason they couldn’t have taken him #3, actually San Fran said they would have considered Foster at #3 and they told Sal pal they were considering him with the #2 pick at the combine before news came out that he was thrown out

    No one twisted their arm and forced them to take Solomon instead of Foster

  185. 185 Ark87 said at 2:10 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Supposedly they thought the bears were trading up for Solomon, and were thinking about Foster. Peter King was in the 49ers war room and they were shocked. Seems like they lucked into looking really smart. Bears sort of said take our picks, unprompted, to get up to a pick no one wanted, for a player no one was going to take there. Meanwhile the 49ers are looking at a player that it turns out everyone would end up passing up for medical reasons, instead the bears take Trubisky, Soloman falls back into their laps, and look brilliant when they end up with Foster at the end of the first.

  186. 186 Gian GEAGLE said at 2:22 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I read it… A) I don’t believe everything Hear after the draft. Teams like tell you that everything worked out magically for them. I never heard a team say “well the player we drafted was #8 on our draft board, and he ISNT a great fit in our scheme, but Fuck it we drafteda him anyway. B) even if They didn’t think they would get Solomon which I have a very hard time believing (no disrespect to Peter King) when you decide which trade back offer to accept part of it is making sure you will be able to get someone you really want. I have a very hard time believing this narrative that it wasn’t crystal clear that the Bears were trading up for a QB. I call BS on that because to give up what the Bears did to move up one spot IMO seemed like they were paying a little extra because the Niners/Bears both knew they were trading up for a QB. For example, the Redskins probably would have been able to give up a little less compensation if the Rams thought they were trading up for a defensive End instead of QB RG3. You pay more when the team knows they are allowing you to trade up to get a QB, so to insinuate that the Niners ddnt know they Bears were targeting Trubisky is to Give the Bears GM credit for out bluffing John Lynch because if that was true and the Niners actually thought the Bears weren’t going to take Trubisky, then Lynch got played because it means he could have gotten even more compensation had he known they were getting a QB. And Lynch certainly looked like he knew what he was doing draft night, so regardless of what Peter King says, I don’t believe for one second that john Lynch didn’t know the Bears were taking Trubisky and it sure seems like Lynch got the Bears to cough up compensation that insinuates it was crystal clear that the Niners made the Bears pay to trade up for a franchise QB

  187. 187 xmbk said at 1:58 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    They were prepared to trade back to 8, figuring they could still get Foster as long as they picked before Cincy. So the silly season mocks aren’t completely a waste, apparently an NFL team was thinking the same thing as most mockers. But they made the trade with Chicago thinking the Bears probably wanted Solomon, and they were prepared to take Foster at 3. So yeah, they like him.

    Apparently Elway thought the Browns were taking Trubisky, many of the war rooms were as much in dark as we were, other than their own boards.

  188. 188 Gian GEAGLE said at 1:38 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Not neccessarily….. If a team like the jets or Browns were bidding to trade up to the #2 spot, they would have had to offer much more than the Bears paid, but the Niners would have to trade so far back that they would missed out on Solomon who they wanted. So the Bears and Niners would have had to compromise, Bears sweeten the offer to close the gap in more compensation that the Jets or Browns were offering, while the Bears took less compensation than they could have gotten so that they only trade back 1 spot and still get the player they want
    ..
    I think it’s a bit much to just assume that a veteran NFL GM bid against No one, and was totally suckered into the trade, the fact that Browns traded out of 12 when Trubisky was off the board leads me to believe they were legitimately interested in Trubisky, and with all their picks, No way they didn’t try to trade up for a QB they liked
    .
    I assume the Niners could have gotten more compensation dealing with another team, but they took less from the Bears so they could still get Solomon.

  189. 189 xmbk said at 1:48 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Did you read the MMQB article on it? Good insights into a draft. Chicago didn’t exactly get played, but they weren’t bidding against anyone. Niners were as surprised as everyone else.

  190. 190 Gian GEAGLE said at 2:02 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I read it

  191. 191 CrackSammich said at 1:33 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    If Trubisky works out, the price doesn’t matter. If they don’t get a QB, it doesn’t matter how much they didn’t spend (Cleveland). You can compare it to our trade for Wentz, but if he doesn’t work out, we’re exactly the same amount screwed.

  192. 192 DrGeniusPhD said at 2:50 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Trubisky isn’t considered near the prospect that Carson Wentz was. It’s a lazy comparison.

  193. 193 CrackSammich said at 2:51 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Neither are prospects anymore. That’s a lazy argument.

  194. 194 DrGeniusPhD said at 1:28 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Hey Bryce Brown is a free agent. just sayin…

  195. 195 Rellihcs said at 1:29 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Sign him, then trade him for another 4th, then use that in the NOLA trade for Ingram

  196. 196 Gian GEAGLE said at 1:30 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    So is Barry sanders

  197. 197 MattE said at 1:32 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Peyton Hillis could be our Christian McCaffrey (laziest comparison ever lol)

    ….however I do like the EXTREMELY under the radar move for Burkhead by NE

  198. 198 Gian GEAGLE said at 2:32 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Lane Johnson could be our Dalvin Cook

  199. 199 daveH said at 5:32 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Bet we could get dion lewis. .. or ryan Moats !!

  200. 200 A_T_G said at 6:01 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    But we need a Big Back® – Tony Hunt!

  201. 201 daveH said at 9:20 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I liked that pick !!! Man what a disappointment. .. only 1 Penn State RB ever made it… and he was hated

  202. 202 BobSmith77 said at 3:34 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Over/under win totals for NFC:

    NFC East

    Dallas Cowboys 9.5
    New York Giants 9
    Philadelphia Eagles 8.5
    Washington Redskins 7.5

    NFC North

    Chicago Bears 5
    Detroit Lions 8
    Green Bay Packers 10
    Minnesota Vikings 8.5

    NFC South

    Atlanta Falcons 10
    Carolina Panthers 9
    New Orleans Saints 8.5
    Tampa Bay Buccaneers 8

    NFC West

    Arizona Cardinals 7.5
    Los Angeles Rams 5.5
    San Francisco 49ers 4.5
    Seattle Seahawks 10.5

    Puts the Eagles right there in the running for a WC. Last year the Eagles were at 7.5 (8 in some sports books).

    A little surprised Cowboys weren’t at 10 and I bet you see a lot of casual betters taking the ‘over’ even if the money line is terrible.

    http://www.covers.com/Editorial/Article/32de140c-2e10-11e7-bcfd-005056830dca/NFL-regular-season-win-totals-released-by-South-Point-in-Las-Vegas

  203. 203 CrackSammich said at 3:50 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Betting man, I’m taking Skins over, Rams over, Bears under, and I don’t know, Falcons over?

  204. 204 Julescat said at 4:48 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Skins over?

  205. 205 SteveH said at 9:33 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    I think 8.5 is fair for the Eagles. 9.5 seems really low for the Cowboys, I see no reason they shouldn’t be able to make it to 10 this year.

  206. 206 Greg Richards said at 4:43 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Eagles claimed LB Steven Daniels off waivers from the Redskins. A lot of Eagles fans wanted team to draft him last year.

  207. 207 Rellihcs said at 5:12 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    This is awesome – assuming he’s healthy by camp/the season.

  208. 208 daveH said at 5:33 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Agree. . Googly ing his schituation now… gotta know

  209. 209 Greg Richards said at 6:43 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    He was a lot of people’s draft crush last year but the guy was a 7th round pick. I wouldn’t expect too much.

  210. 210 Rellihcs said at 6:49 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Yeah. Truth of course.

  211. 211 Laguna Eagle said at 6:53 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Pats have Burkhead, Dion, Gillislee, and White. Plus Bolden and a few others. Cinci and Saints seem like a good RB trade options as well. Forget the compensation right now, whose our most logical target?

  212. 212 Rellihcs said at 11:02 PM on May 3rd, 2017:

    Random ish thought but if the giants sign Blount, they might cut Darkqua… (spelling?)

  213. 213 Will Ft. Daft Punk said at 4:28 AM on May 4th, 2017:

    I was hoping we would make a run at getting Gilleslee