Carson.Wentz.
Posted: October 28th, 2017 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 115 Comments »
We are one-and-a-half years into the Carson Wentz era. He’s playing lights out and the Eagles are off to a great start at 6-1. You can make a strong argument that Wentz should be the front runner for MVP right now.
One of the interesting things with Wentz is trying to figure out who he is and where he’s going. He was the #2 overall pick in the draft, just like Donovan McNabb was. But think how different they are. McNabb started for all four years at Syracuse and was a great college player who led his team to major bowls. Wentz went to North Dakota State and started 23 games in his college career.
McNabb started 6 games as a rookie and threw 216 passes. Wentz started all 16 games and threw 607 passes. McNabb had little help from his skill players in his second season and had to carry the team on his back. Wentz is surrounded by good players, which has allowed him to grow his game at an exponential level.
McNabb developed into a franchise QB and Pro Bowl player. He led the Eagles to the Super Bowl in his 5th season. How will things turn out for Wentz?
I wrote a piece for PE.com on how Wentz is one of a kind. Instead of trying to compare him to this guy or that guy, we need to learn to enjoy him for being such a unique QB. He is a special player.
There used to be a schedule for young QBs. Wentz and guys like Jared Goff, DeShaun Watson and Dak Prescott are showing that the old schedule no longer applies. The NFL is different. Coaches are different. These players are different.
It is going to be fun to see how things play out for Wentz and the other young QBs.
*****
Roster Move: #Eagles have signed T Taylor Hart to a two-year contract and placed T Jason Peters on Injured Reserve. pic.twitter.com/LXp00W7zfc
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 25, 2017
There aren’t good OL on the street. The Eagles added someone they like and that they know. He knows the offense and the blocking scheme. He’s not going to be on the field right now so he’ll have at least a week or two to get ready. Isaac Seumalo will be the #3 OT for now. Let’s hope neither Hart nor Seumalo is seeing the field any time soon.
*****
It sounds like the Niners will be without RT Trent Brown on Sunday. Garry Gilliam, former Penn State TE, will reportedly be taking his place. That isn’t good when going up against Brandon Graham.
Niners QBs have been sacked 23 times already this year. That total is likely to go up on Sunday.
*****
We’re looking at rain on Sunday. Wind could also be an issue. That’s not ideal.
The Eagles are the better team. They are more talented. Poor conditions take away some of that.
Then again, maybe the poor conditions will force the Eagles to focus more and will actually bring out the best in them when facing an 0-7 team coming off their worst loss of the season.
*****
Darren Sproles has been one of the best PRs in the league during his career. I wondered how his absence would affect the Eagles.
Kenjon Barner is currently 2nd in the NFL with an average of 16.3 yards per return. The Eagles block well and Barner has shown the ability to make initial defenders miss, which is crucial to a good return.
The personnel department made a smart choice when they signed Barner to take over for Sproles.
_
Boom!
Welcome.
FYI, West Ham is giving me an ulcer right now / this season. Hanging on by a thread vs. Palace.
I have been reading Tommy, Spudz, Jimmy & BLG for years…this is the most excited about a team I have been since at least 04 (dream team F@#$ U Assmunga & Vince Wrong!)
Yeah, 2004 was a a fever pitch due to TO and when they had all of those wins in a row to start the year it was amazing.
I have the next 2 locked up and 8-1 into bye…I want to demolish the Cowgirls in their building than start to see who we have to beat on our way to Superb Owl….E A G L E S EAGLES!!
We can get away with a loss to Denver and not damage our ability to have the best record in the conference. The only “must” game in the next 4 is @Dallas. I’d expect to win at least two of San Fran / Denver / Chicago.
I think the rain will actually help us, it plays to our strengths. We’re better at running the ball than they are, and our run defense is smothering.
The only thing I don’t like is that rain increases the chance of an injury, I think, and we’ve had enough of those recently.
Everything plays to our strengths in every game if we’re coached properly and bring enough effort/focus to the game.
The NFL IS different.
When QB Aaron Rodgers came into the league in 2005 he sat on the bench for 3 full seasons watching Brett Favre play. He had zero starts in 3 years and then finally started all 16 games for Green Bay in 2008, his 4th year in the league.
When QB Steve Young came into the league in 1985, he started 4 games and then 14 games for a bad Tampa Bay team. Upon arrival at San Francisco in 1987, it was back to the bench. He mostly watched Joe Montana play. He never got more than 3 starts in a year for the next 4 seasons. In his 6th and 7th pro seasons he finally started 10 and 16 games for the 49ers.
Top QB prospects get thrown into the starting role in their 1st or 2nd season these days. Teams want talent on the field. Prospects don’t sit around holding a clipboard and learning the game for 3-5 seasons like they did in the past.
For that reason then, the ability to scout and evaluate a prospect’s game leadership and team leadership qualities is crucial. The fact that a college QB can call and execute the play when you show him a flashcard of Donald Duck from the sideline is great. But it might not tell you everything you need to know about how well they will lead your team.
McNabb and Wentz both got thrown into the mix relatively quickly. But when I look back on Donovan’s career, it’s seems like it was the lack of personal maturity that held him back from his full potential. Thankfully, the Eagles scouted for that kind of stuff in Carson’s case. Now the benefits are obvious on the field.
It seems like it’s just a matter of time before Carson will have the Eagles playing in big games again. But in his case, we already have confidence that Wentz will find a way to take the team to a higher level when he gets the chance.
It was also easier to sit a guy for a year or two when they were on 6 year deals rather than 4 year deals with a 5th year option.
I don’t really get how his character prevented him from reaching his full potential. His career was on the decline at age 27 after the Super Bowl due to injuries.
Anyway, I think 2008-09 was McNabb’s best season despite being benched that one game.
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/McNaDo00.htm
If you sort by rating his best years were 04, 06, 09, 07, 08.
And he’s missing appx 20 starts over his career due to injury. That’s about 30 TDs and 4500 yards. That would get him from 23rd to 16th in yards and 29th to 17th in TDs. I’d assume that also would have given him 2 or 3 more Pro Bowls.
So inappropriate voter fixation on Super Bowls and personal narratives (so FUCK YOU Bettis and Warner and the fucking idiots who support you and voted you in!!!!) aside, McNabb would have a good case for the HOF is he didn’t have durability issues.
Injuries have always killed Philly QBs.
Cunningham’s in 1991 cost us a title.
McNabb always struck me as a good guy that got put through the wringer that came with fame. I don’t think it had anything to do with maturity or character as much as mental health, he might have been mentally at his healthiest coming out of college and then: Got boo’d on his draft day. Dealt with the Rush Limbaugh crap on one side, boxers questioning his blackness on the other. The athletic qb dog whistle. Lost half his team to TO. Eventually he seemed to shape his career on transforming into black Peyton Manning, just to defeat the “athletic qb” stereo type. Of course, that drive to turn into strictly a pocket passer may have also been coach driven to stay healthy as well. He gets traded by the guy who had his back through all of it. We come to find out at this point he is so insecure that won’t take coaching because implying that there are things that he can do to get better is an affront to his greatness. Before you know it he is out of the league well ahead of the great QB schedule. Now he’s a bitter drunk.
Take his career, now measure that against some of the things that were important to him and became obsessions. Win a super bowl. Be recognized as a great (HOF) QB. Single handedly defeat the stigma on black QB’s, be a leader to his team and the black community. All of those things were so tantalizingly close. I can’t blame him for cracking a bit. Hope he see’s a therapist, he seems like a genuinely good guy that had a tough shake (relative to other superstar athletes). Wish nothing but the best for McNabb. Hope one day he can move past it and be closer to the Eagles organization and fans. He should really be a Philly homer the way Terry Bradshaw is a Steelers homer.
Is it me or does anyone else have a heart attack with Barner and his punt returns
Short seizure
Love Barner as a returner. He’s super patient back there, and usually gets a couple yards when there is none to be had.
I despise him as a running back. I don’t think we run enough plays to really need to rotate 4 of them.
The return work has bee great. The ball security, poor decision making running the ball, dropped passes, and bad bass blocking are all reason that I also despise him as a running back.
I agree with you 100%
On the QB front; they need to get Foles traded after this season. It’ll save $7 mil vs. the 2018 cap. I’m going to need that money with Hicks due for a deal along with Jerningan, Alshon, and Bradham up for new deals. If Wentz is fully entrenched as a reliable 16 game starter; we can go a lot cheaper at backup.
There will be a market for him. Not worried about that
To disagree with daveH below me, the QB market is going to be insane this offseason. Alex Smith, Kirk Cousins, and even Drew Brees might be available on the open market, along with whoever Minnesota doesn’t decide to keep, be that Bradford, Bridgewater, or Keenum. 2-3 of the three of those guys are going to get contracts they don’t deserve somewhere. Garrapollo will also be a UFA.
Foles has value, but it remains to be seen how much after that shitshow. Honestly, I think he’s worth keeping around.
This is what Tommy wrote in his PE article…”He spends a tremendous amount of time studying his playbook and the opponent so he can make the best decisions possible”.
That quote is what separates the great QBs from everybody else.
I would recommend anyone who didn’t watch the video of John DeFilippo breaking down Carson’s film that was released this week to go ahead and do so. It’s very enlightening.
Understanding your opponent, their tendencies, formations, and individual players can only be done through immense preparation. Think of how many times Wentz threw into double coverage as a rookie and how he always seems to be throwing into favorable 1 on 1 situations this year. That’s not by accident.
Great points. And it is easy to lose sight of the fact Wentz was QB3 the moment he was drafted and didn’t get starters reps / work until Bradford was traded. He was operating at a massive coaching/prep/rep deficit going into last year. I think his critics (especially Bayless, that air yards piece of shit, and douchebag Fahey) lost sight of that.
Bayless and Fahey couldn’t see a butterfly if it was sitting on their nose.
Could they find a hand grenade with a pulled pin if we put them in their pockets?
I’m hoping not, and I’m willing to test that hypothesis.
*science
From Sheil yesterday…
“Pederson’s greatest strength as a head coach may be that he doesn’t try to do everything. Howie Roseman, Joe Douglas and their staff handle personnel. Jim Schwartz is in charge of the defense. And offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland takes the lead on the run game.
Pederson’s job is to work on the offensive scheme and game plan. He is responsible for building relationships with players and creating a culture in which those players can thrive. And of course, he takes the lead in developing the franchise quarterback.”
I found several things in the quote interesting.
1.) Stoutland takes the lead on the run game. We’ve all heard that Duce will some day be a head coach, but yet, he’s not even the point man on the run game.
2.) I’m curious if Schwartz does get the opportunity again to be a head coach, does Doug have a defensive coach on the staff that can step into the defensive coordinator position and utilize the players that were brought in/drafted to fit into Schwartz’s scheme. Or is the defense going to get a new coordinator and have to learn a new system.
It bothers me that Schwartz has never developed a coaching tree. Although I can see Reich, DeFilippo, possibly Duce (based on the constant chatter about him by the beats), and even Dave Fipp, the defensive side of the ball doesn’t seem to have any position coaches who are potential head coaching candidates, let alone defensive coordinator candidates.
Looking at Pete Carroll, his defensive coaching tree is quite impressive: Darrell Bevell (DC Seattle), Dan Quinn (HC Atlanta), Marquand Manuel (DC Atlanta), Robert Saleh (DC 49ers), Gus Bradley (former HC Jags, current DC LA Chargers), Ken Norton Jr. (DC LA Chargers).
Jim Schwartz has been either a head coach or defensive coordinator in the NFL for 15 years. Here is then umber of coaches who have developed under him to become a defensive coordinator or head coach…ZERO.
What’s wrong with being a great D coach ? If JJ left to be a head coach it could have been a huge waste of talent
His point may be that training the coaches under him is also important, if you want to have continuity. JJ had Ron Rivera, Steve Spagnuolo, Leslie Frazier, Sean McDermott, etc. learn under him. However it did seem that the Eagles could not identify good coaches to replace those guys when they left after a while, because after JJ sadly passed, only the too-inexperienced McDermott was left to try and take his spot.
Exactly
Yeah, McDermott was doomed. He took the reigns and couldn’t escape the fact that he was small potatoes, and every veteran on the team knew him as such in his entire time with the Eagles, and stepping into the shoes of a legend. And he was a few years too green to boot. Good to see him turn it around and make something of it all.
Big Red has one hell of a coaching tree. Should get into the Hall on that alone. There may be no more influential figure to football in the modern NFL. Belichick is the most dominant, but the most guaranteed way to be terrible in the NFL is to try to imitate Belichick. Meanwhile a huge swath of coaches in the NFL were hired and groomed by Big Red at some point.
Matt Burke is the Dolphins DC. You could also argue Todd Downing is from the Schwartz tree.
Also most OL coaches design run game.
I feel like PR is the only time I want to see Barner because that’s the only time he seems to know where to run.
And sometimes knows how to catch.
Rain you say?
Run the ball/ Stop the run/ Wentz the game
So do the Eagles ever actually prepare for “rainy” conditions?
I mean, when the forecast calls for rain, do they (or any team, really) simulate slick conditions during practice by pulling out one of those Hollywood rain machines (or even just whipping out a hose), just to remind them of the difficulties?
Seems like that could be useful.
Slip n slide
Hmm, good question, I’ve seen some teams that are run with an old school philosophy and are not deterred by bad weather (you will usually see this demonstrated in camp during the off season, they don’t run inside at the first sight of rain clouds), and I’ve seen teams that are terrified by non-contact injuries caused by poor field conditions.
At the very least they should practice with a wet ball for Wentz and his receivers to get used to.
“(or even just whipping out a hose)”
That got Mike Mamula in lot of trouble in Lehigh
Traditionally teams will just soak balls in water buckets during practice.
Otherwise it’s too hard to simulate or predict how the field holds up. Ironically if the field goes completely to shit it actually favors passing because OL can’t really dig in and drive people.
GREAT Film Breakdown of Carson Wentz by scout Brett Kollerman (who has a lot of great game film breakdowns) it’s 11 minutes long and details how great Wentz has been identifying coverages by using hard counts and Audibling, converting on 3rd down etc.
one of my favorite quotes from this breakdown
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50nawhiwMDg&t=13s
“You can’t coach this…you can’t develop this..nobody just learns how to stay calm… run right through multiple tackles and just find the open receiver 50 yards down the field..you either got it or you don’t and Wentz has got it..Believe me he’s got it…and while we’re on the subject, lets talk a little bit about his mobility and toughness in the pocket ..this guy is 6’5 240 and moves like Russel Wilson, he’s a cerfified freak of nature…he’s not deceptively fast..he’s just straight up fast, he’s not just strong…he’s Crushingly powerful! every week i see tacklers just bouncing off of him and running past linebackers and safeties to make first downs..for pass rushers —trying to tackle Wentz is like trying to tackle a pissed off grizzly bear!” he’s a F*cking animal both in and out of the pocket, and when you fail to take him down..he has the arm talent to make you pay”
What a time to be alive!
Wow, he made this before the Washington game. He’s got to be feeling pretty good about making this video before the national Wentz awakening.
Damn WOW that’s awesome. TYVM for posting it.
So one of the things I’ve noticed from Ertz is he’s much more physical this year. He’s not just a big catch radius that can run routes, he is knocking safeties out of tight coverage at the line and beating them with physicality, as seen at the 3:40 mark. We’ve seen this manifest in his blocking and even after the catch a bit. There’s something in the air in Philly, and Ertz has caught it (like every pass thrown his way).
Thanks for posting. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go change into a new pair of pants.
Per Bill Simmons:
It’s been such a bummer of a season that America’s unhappiest and most untrusting fan base, Philadelphia, is talking itself into the following two possibilities …
1. Carson Wentz winning the MVP
2. The Eagles winning a Super Bowl
When Philly football fans have HOPE, you know somebody shook the sports snow globe.
It really is a weird season. It’s definitely working for me, though.
Definitely a weird season. First place? What do we do? Injuries to Peters and Hicks are the only thing keeping me grounded.
I definitely find myself in an identity crisis as a Philly fan in the national media environment.
First 4 weeks: “How come no one is talking about the Eagles??? Where is the respect??? Why won’t anyone acknowledge Carson Wents, stop talking about Alex Smith!”
Last 3 weeks: “Ok guys take it easy, could you go back to calling the Eagles pretenders?” *extreme discomfort*
It would be more exciting if it was week 16 and the playoffs are a lock. But still in the first half of the season, there are no guarantees for anything. Even entering the playoffs at 13-3 makes me nervous because I don’t want them to be last year’s cowboys. Lol
Or last 3yrs Chiefs
Unwarranted pessimism is just as irrational as unwarranted optimism.
I refuse to be an irrational Philly sports fan. Wentz is turning into a great QB. If he were doing the things he’s been doing this season in a Raiders or Patriots or Steelers jersey, there’d be no question about this among the Eagles fan base. If he had some kind of horrific injury that permanently damaged his throwing arm or something, it’s possible he might not be one of the best half dozen QBs in the league for the next decade. Barring that, though, I don’t see any way he doesn’t succeed at that level.
Eagles fans need to relax and enjoy this.
To clarify:
Bill Simmons is not an Eagles fan
Bill Simmons did not say the hope is unwarranted, just rare to see
Bill Simmons, an outsider, observes overwhelming hope being expressed from Eagles fans.
Ark87 says: Sure is an odd season, Bill Simmons, I like it.
I don’t get the negativity police blasting every stray thought that isn’t “EAGLES SUPERBOWL BAAAABBBYYYYY~” As Bill Simmons observed, the Philly fanbase is by no means having a meltdown.
Oh yeah, I read Simmons all the time, I know he’s a Boston guy. Just commenting on the tendency to negativity/pessimism he notes among the Philly fanbase.
gotcha, well we are a tortured fan base. Bout the only thing we have going for us is that we aren’t Browns or Bills fans (they’ve had some very good teams, but I couldn’t handle all those super bowl losses in a row then watch the team fade into 20+ years of irrelevance)
I have a good friend from Cleveland. The Cavs winning last year took some of the sting out of it, but before that his attitude was basically to have a sense of humor about it – the city’s teams have been losing so long in heartbreaking fashion that nobody expects them to win, and it almost became comical. Sort of a “it will be amusing to see how they blow it this time” thing.
Do you think that consecutive SB losses sting more than consecutive conference championship losses? The one can tell 15/16’s of the league to suck on it, and the other is just another no-name contender. That’s my take anyway.
I don’t think we are close to “America’s unhappiest fans.” Maybe slow to believe good fortune, but let’s look at Ohio. I work with a fellow from Cleveland and anytime I ask him what his Browns are up to, he just laughs like a mad man. Bengals fans are notorious for their love of their team and their hatred of it’s owner. There was a residue of reverence for the Brown family because Paul Brown is an NFL legend, but that has been waning for years.
How about Oakland fans? They have been staunch, loyal, partisan fans despite the ego-maniacal ownership, and its inability to do right by them. They are just supposed to go back in the woodwork when their team abandons them.
Peyton Manning is a fading memory in Indianapolis, but those fans live for basketball and tolerate football. Now they are losing patience and not at all happy. And oh yeah…they do not like the team owner.
Patriot fans are always pissed off because they cannot escape the cheaters label. And Dolphin fans are moodily waiting for Don Shula to return.
Even when the Eagles were a running (and tackling) joke, The Vet and Franklin Field before it, were sold out most Sundays. I think we are more resilient than unhappy. I will grant that we have more than a few idiots who will drink and fight at the games, but that is damn near league wide from what I can see.
I agree with everything you said until the last sentence. I say, let fans fan. Everyone does it differently.
Tommy and his buddy Jimmy had a small Twitter exchange re OT Staley.
Would you trade Vaitai for the 33 years old Pro Bowler from the Niners?
Vaitai for Staley straight up? Sure, maybe. I think Vaitai’s ceiling is probably “slightly above average starting RT” and while that’s not a bad thing to have, it’s not game-changing. I could part with it to solidify Pro Bowl-caliber play at the LT spot for the next 2-3 seasons.
It would mean the end of JP in Philly though. Don’t see him agreeing to playing Guard after coming back from his injury.
We may be looking at the end of JP in Philly either way. The dude is going to be 36 and coming off multiple ligament reconstruction surgery on his knee. I know he’s a freak of nature but the list of players who have come back under those circumstances is very, very short. We have to start planning for life after Peters.
I don’t think any of this happens, but I’d run around my room screaming and flapping my hands if our OL was Staley-Peters-Kelce-Brooks-Johnson
I think his injury may mean the end of JP in Philly. Do you bring him back when he will miss the entire offseason and training camp while still not knowing if he will even be close to what he was before athletically? I don’t think we can count on JP next year so we need to plan to play without him.
Yes.
Probably not.
I’d think about it, but probably not.
This is the best I’ve felt about an Eagles team since 2007 or 2008 at least, not coincidentally the last time I was confident we had a franchise QB. I never bought fully into the “Dream Team”-era Reid teams or Chip Kelly’s first team as sustainable foundations for success because I wasn’t sure we had a franchise QB in either case. I’m certain we do with Wentz. What we’re seeing is not a flash in the pan. The guy is good. He has elite physical talent, elite mental toughness and resiliency, and a rapidly maturing football brain. There are still areas he can improve on, but there’s no reason to believe he won’t do so because he clearly loves the game, wants to be great, and learns from his mistakes. He’s going to be a great player here for a decade or more, barring injuries.
With a QB like that in place, everything else gets easier. Not only do you not have to worry about the difficult challenge of finding a top QB, you free up resources (draft capital, money, etc.) to fill in holes in other parts of the roster. You become a more attractive destination for key free agents. And you become better able to compensate for things like the loss of your HoF left tackle or your Pro Bowl caliber middle linebacker, because you have a guy at the game’s most important position who can make plays to overcome your team’s deficiencies.
Happy days are here again.
Eagles play down to their opponent and pay for it. San Francisco 26 Eagles 9.
Downvote .. won’t happen. .might be close because still many moving parts of the team .. but Carson won’t let sloppy game happen
Do we really not all realize what D_E is doing each week?
Sssh you might ruin it
I personally did not. Now that I get it I’ll give him an upvote
I just got it. . Way to stick up for him. Yep this is a sure letdown game. . It’s gonna suck
The Eagles could well lose the game, especially if bad weather contributes to a sloppy, mistake-filled contest. But it will be a 20-17 type loss if they do lose it. San Francisco doesn’t have the firepower to score 26 on them nor the defensive fortitude to hold them under 10.
Does it suck to be wrong every single week?
I think that’s his goal
Barkley/Wentz 2018! In my beautiful dreams
For a second I thought you were talking about Matt, and thought “is he even still in the league? I’d take Foles over him as a backup”. Then I wondered whether you might be referring to Charles, and wondered what connection he had to football, then thought maybe you were jokingly proposing that the two of them run for governor/lieutenant governor in some state somewhere next year. It was only on my 4th try that I realized you were referring to Saquon.
My feeling on that: if we have a pick as high in the draft as Barkley is likely to go, we ought to be spending it on JP’s replacement or on another stud defensive player or perhaps WR, not on a RB. Decent RBs can be had further down the draft board so I don’t think using a top 15 pick on one is a great use of resources, even if the guy is a great talent like Fournette, Adrian Peterson, etc.
How about a safety as well? It’s not like McLeod is that great and Jenkins isn’t exactly young anymore.
Safety would be a possibility under the “stud defensive player” heading.
I would say OT and RB are wayy ahead of Safety on the needs sheet going in to next year.
I wouldn’t say RB is way ahead of safety. A viable RB can be had without much investment. A safety on the other hand..
I could see Douglas or Mills following Jenkins path and ending up as an impressive safety.
Mills possibly could be a poor mans Jenkins but only if he stays with the team as one. Douglas probably sticks as CB. From what he has shown so far, he needs to play the sidelines and has to get his hands on guys. Neither of those guys have the burst that we need for a true playmaker.
I believe that description of Douglas is exactly what was said about Jenkins as a disappointing corner on NO. Those are traits to cope with a speed deficiency, but they have plenty of speed for safety, both tackle well, and both will stick their noses into traffic.
I just like watching the dude and it would be awesome to keep him in PA on the Eagles.
Or we could just bring Mike McGlinchey home
2018 draft board:
1st pick :bpa
2nd pick: bpa
And so on
2018 draft strat
trade down
trade down
trade up
Nah, that’s extreme. If the BPA is available is a QB, DT, DE, etc. I don’t think you take him over a player who fills a need on the roster if the gap is narrow.
One day . . .
I’d like to read the internal memo in the Browns’ 2016 draft file that lays out, in detail, their evaluation of Carson Wentz.
Not only the scouting dept’s view of his pluses, minuses, and projection.
But also Hugh Jackson’s and GM DePodesta’s.
And of course the eval by owner Jimmy “but…but…Johnny Football” Haslam.
All internal documentation from those years were disposed of but
here is a recovered excerpt from a Browns Scouting report shred bin:
“…his name is literally Football…”
The amazing thing is that this Browns front office appears to have blown it two years in a row in the most spectacular, over-the-top way possible. Not only do they appear to have whiffed on back-to-back chances to draft franchise QBs in Wentz and Watson, they originally owned the picks used to select both players and traded out of the opportunity to draft them. Everybody whiffs on draft evals from time to time, most of all the Browns. It’s an inexact science. But that is beyond garden variety personnel evaluation incompetence – it requires an almost comic level of ineptitude.
I think Watson was forgivable. There were lots of people that didn’t even have first round grades on due to questions about arm talent. Now, it’s looking like those people were wrong, but the Browns probably weren’t in the minority in that evaluation.
Wentz certainly had a handful of detractors, but most evaluators viewed him as a high-end (although not can’t-miss) prospect. The Browns’ evaluation was definitely an outlier and looks laughably had now.
What baffles me is that Watson is winning despite having a weak arm and barely decent accuracy at times.
Fu vkkk in pennn f uc kkkkkkkkkkin state …
You couldn’t pay me to watch the world series
Will we see another “Muddy Night Football” played tomorrow:
The 2007 “Muddy Night Football.” A storm system dumped 1.5 inches of rain on Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field just before a Steelers vs. Dolphins game. Footing was so terrible, the only points scored was a Steelers field goal late in the third quarter. It was the lowest scoring game ever played on Monday Night Football.
Here’s hoping that the Eagles will come out on top this time after losing 14-0 to Steve Young and the 49ers in another rain filled playoff loss back in 1996.
I was thinking that game was going to end 0-0. There was a punt which stuck in the mud when it landed; no bounce. If memory serves they had brought in all new sod due to a high school game before and the rain just destroyed the sod.
Funny enough I am just watching it on YouTube again. They’ve had winds up to 60mph. What a mud fight that was…!
Rookie Terrell Owens lining up next to Jerry Rice.
Are we that old already?
Just you!
Rainy. But no mud–artificial field.
I can’t remember the last night a young high-profile pro athlete in Philly who became this successful in his 2nd season.
Maybe you can argue Iverson in his 2nd season.
Big Piece
Howie is a magician, but Caldwell down in Jacksonville might be the GM of the year. The talent influx on that defense is ridiculous.
Biggest talent addition is Tom Coughlin.
I’m glad the Eagles didn’t hire him as Coach though.
Duane Brown was added to the Texans active roster today, if any of you here were holding out for that trade to happen.
This team has done some good things. 6-1 looks great. The team is playing as a team despite the injuries. 2004 was a special team before the team took the field. I don’t have the same confidence as the TO year, I do feel good so far this season. I’m letting the game and success come to me, if warranted .
My weekly bored at work stats post:
-Eagles are currently in a 7-way tie for second in the league with 21 touchdowns. Chiefs are leading with 23. There’s some real head scratchers in the bunch, with the Cowboys, Packers, Patriots making some sense, and then the Rams, Jaguars, Texans making less sense based on previous years.
-Eagles are 3rd in net points. Leaders are… Jags and Rams, by a very wide margin.
-Eagles are one of 8 teams undefeated in their division. We are one of two (the Falcons at 3-0) undefeated in the conference. We are the only one that is in both lists.
-I had no idea Bills defense was allowing the second fewest points. Seahawks are first.
Awesome stat list.
Going to be a battle in the AFC South – Titans, Texans, Jags.
Bills always have to fight their way through Foxboro to be relevant.