DB Swap

Posted: August 27th, 2017 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 40 Comments »

Quiet Sunday morning? Not for the Eagles.

Brooks is out and McDougle is in. I wasn’t sure if Brooks was going to make the roster. The top three Safeties are set with Malcolm Jenkins, Rodney McLeod and Corey Graham. Chris Maragos is mostly a STer, but is technically a S as well. I think the Eagles might have been leaning toward Jaylen Watkins, who can play both S and CB. Brooks is a pure S.

McDougle’s background info from PE.com.

A third-round pick (80th overall) in 2014 out of Maryland, the 5-10, 195-pound McDougle has played in 20 games for the Jets primarily on special teams.

He rebounded from an Achilles injury that wiped out his rookie season to contribute four tackles on special teams and one tackle on defense in 14 games in 2015. McDougle started 2016 on the Jets’ practice squad before being promoted to the active roster on November 12.

A three-year starter at Maryland, McDougle had 151 tackles, six interceptions, 22 passes defensed, and two touchdowns in 39 games (28 starts). He was an Academic All-ACC selection as a senior. Maryland honored McDougle for his leadership despite a shoulder injury in his final year with the inaugural Dexter McDougle Ultimate Team Award.

McDougle has good speed. He can play outside or in the slot. He’s got some NFL experience. He made some good plays in the slot in a preseason game.

So what does this mean for the DBs?

I think the Eagles like the trio of Ronald Darby, Jalen Mills and Patrick Robinson. I think they like Rasul Douglas. I see McDougle as a replacement for Aaron Grymes, Ron Brooks and CJ Smith.

Ron Brooks has had a tough time staying healthy. Can’t do that when you’re a fringe player. Grymes has flashed as a CB. I wonder if his performance on STs is the big thing hurting him. Smith has just been up and down this summer. You can still put him on the practice squad if you cut him.

McDougle is far from a sure thing. He’s had injury issues of is own and has been a disappointment so far in his career. He’s having the best summer of his young career, partly because he’s in the best shape of his life. He really dedicated himself this offseason and the results have been good so far.

The Jets needed a #3 S. The Eagles needed help at CB. Both players were having good summers, but they were caught in a numbers crunch. Now the players have a chance to actually get on the field and contribute on D and STs this season. This trade works for both teams, and both players.

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40 Comments on “DB Swap”

  1. 1 Guy Media said at 11:19 AM on August 27th, 2017:

    “I think the Eagles might have been leaning toward Jaylen Watkins, who can play both S and CB.”

    NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!

    Watkins is putrid. Get his toasted rear end the heck off of this roster.

  2. 2 Fufina said at 11:22 AM on August 27th, 2017:

    If you are playing your 4/5th safety your in deep trouble anyway. While Watkins is not good, he is probably better than most of the leagues 4th safeties.

    At this point i don’t have many worries on defence outside of health… our CB’s are the weak point but the rest of the D should be good enough to account for that.

    Im worried about the offence far more, and getting some kind of consistency with OL in pass pro, and finding a running game.

  3. 3 Guy Media said at 11:23 AM on August 27th, 2017:

    All true, but the sight of Watkins disgusts me………so I’m not going to be happy if he’s on the team.

    And I agree there are bigger fish to fry with this team.

  4. 4 SteveH said at 1:05 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    Hypothetically, if you had to launch one person out of a cannon into the sun, would it be Watkins or Kenjon Barner?

  5. 5 Guy Media said at 1:06 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    Can I use a rocket and tie the one I don’t shoot into the sun under the rocket so he can get incinerated?

  6. 6 SteveH said at 1:07 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    Mmmm, for the purposes of this survey, no.

  7. 7 Guy Media said at 1:12 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    Survey declined!

  8. 8 P_P_K said at 1:26 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    Great question!

  9. 9 Guy Media said at 1:27 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    It seemed fair to me.

  10. 10 ChoTime said at 4:50 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    You know, he’d be dead long before he reached the sun. Most people can only hold their breaths a few minutes.

  11. 11 Crus57 said at 5:54 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    If we have access to NFL personnel and this cannon, why not choose ODB or Dez Bryant?

  12. 12 laeagle said at 10:05 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    I think we need a rating system so that we understand the relative hate for the various players who have tickled his fancy. Something like a Game of Thrones scale. I’m guessing Barner starts off at “Ramsey Bolton”, with Watkins maybe being like one of the shitty Frey sons.

  13. 13 Insomniac said at 2:43 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    Watkins is a better CB than safety.

  14. 14 Ray888 said at 3:09 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    Being versatle to play either CB or S means there is the option to carry one less DB & go heavier at anther position where the Eagles don’t want to lo lose a player; i. e., keep Watkins (S/CB) instead of both T. Brooks (S) & Smith (CB) in order to be able to keep, say, a 4th TE like Brown.

  15. 15 Guy Media said at 11:25 AM on August 27th, 2017:

    So go 10 at DB
    Darby, Mills, Robinson, Douglas, McDougle, one of Grymes/Smith/Brooks
    Jenkins, McLeod, Corey Graham, and Maragos,

  16. 16 or____ said at 11:36 AM on August 27th, 2017:

    No so sure mcdougle is more than 50/50 to make it

  17. 17 Guy Media said at 11:38 AM on August 27th, 2017:

    Seems odd to trade a keeper S for a guy who won’t make it. I liked how Brooks played down the stretch last year.

  18. 18 or____ said at 11:44 AM on August 27th, 2017:

    Can’t disagree. We’ll see how it pans out. I too liked Brooks, but mostly compared to everything else we tried at third safety recently which is not saying anything.

    I heard Brooks is liability in coverage, more a LB type….

  19. 19 Guy Media said at 11:44 AM on August 27th, 2017:

    He didn’t look like a liability in coverage when he was picking off passes last year down the stretch however.

  20. 20 or____ said at 11:48 AM on August 27th, 2017:

    Should we say the same of Kendricks? I know, preseason, but still…

  21. 21 Guy Media said at 11:49 AM on August 27th, 2017:

    Ha ha ha ha ha. I’ve seen enough of Kendricks blowing coverages in regular season games to not let any pre-season foolishness sway me.

  22. 22 or____ said at 11:52 AM on August 27th, 2017:

    Precisely. Point being, one pick does not make a good cover guy.

  23. 23 Guy Media said at 11:53 AM on August 27th, 2017:

    Oh, I agree. But I don’t think I saw a single negative play made by Brooks last season.

  24. 24 unhinged said at 1:00 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    Is Jones going to be on IR?

  25. 25 Guy Media said at 1:02 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    I’d assume PUP until week 10 or whatever and then off to the IR. If he’s as good as we all hope, I’d prefer him on cheapo wages through the end of 2021.

  26. 26 FairOaks said at 6:27 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    Might be good to get Jones some limited action late in the year. Skills can get rusty. He can stay on the PUP through week 14, if need by. (Well.. he has to come off the PUP after week 11 I think, then the Eagles have three weeks to let him practice, then decide on active roster or IR.)

  27. 27 T_S_O_P said at 12:20 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    He’s a gunner I presume. I think it is more about what he provides Fipp at the bottom of the roster as much as it is about challenging in the slot.

  28. 28 A_T_G said at 12:57 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    I think part of this deal may be winning points with the players. Rather than cutting them after game 4, which was clearly in the cards for both guys, Howie finds each of them a tryout with better odds. As a fringe veteran or UDFA, that might sway me towards signing here, everything else being equal.

    That said, if they already decided Brooks wasn’t making the team, there is no downside here. Churning those last few spots, good work.

  29. 29 Guy Media said at 1:05 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    I think the churn is wise if they were cutting Brooks. If they were keeping Watkins to cut Brooks anyway, I question the intelligence of those involved.

  30. 30 SteveH said at 1:06 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    I think Watkins is pretty much converted to corner now, but with the option of being an emergency safety, if he makes the team at all.

  31. 31 unhinged said at 12:58 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    Notwithstanding the merits of this move, I am encouraged by the continual attention to our defensive secondary. I don’t think any DB can relax, and that is a good thing.

  32. 32 Insomniac said at 2:46 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    I just think we don’t like what we’re seeing out of Grymes, Smith and Brooks. None of the really fringe guys after those three have shown much.

  33. 33 SteveH said at 1:02 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    The rare player for player swap. This is Howie do it.

  34. 34 ChoTime said at 4:51 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    Meme-worthy!

  35. 35 Insomniac said at 2:44 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    Fun fact, Brooks was taken one spot ahead of McDougle in the draft. Howie is downgrading our DB depth so we need to fire him!!

  36. 36 FairOaks said at 6:22 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    Guess you *trade* for a position of need… 😉

  37. 37 A_T_G said at 7:25 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    I believe the Jets also threw in an almost new mouth guard, so it evens out.

  38. 38 scratcherk said at 2:54 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    Didn’t the jets just have an all safety draft?

  39. 39 Ray888 said at 3:34 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    ROWE WATCH II: NE played most of first half w/ 5 or 6 DB’s, so Rowe was generally on the field, mostly at RCB but sometimes against slot receiver. He seemed to always be in a press position and continued to touch-down a prone receiver as his preferred method of tackling. There were some positives for him – broke up short pass over the middle, didn’t give up deep pass along the sideline, and had an interception. On the deep pass, Rowe did not bat down the ball or subtlety ride the WR out of bounds, but rather benefitted from the WR not controlling the ball to the ground. On the interception, he was in the right place to get a tipped ball (much like Kendrcks). So good results but not necessarily doe to his great play. Didn’t see him in second half. Trade looks to remain a 4th at this point.

  40. 40 A_T_G said at 7:24 PM on August 27th, 2017:

    Good lookin out. Thanks.