The Hard Way
Posted: October 10th, 2017 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 304 Comments »The Eagles are 4-1 and atop the NFC East. They are tied for the best record in the NFC. They have the best point differential in the NFC.
What makes this so impressive is that the Eagles aren’t having some magical season. Think about the Pro Bowl for a second. No runner or wide receiver is up for Pro Bowl consideration. Zach Ertz definitely is. Carson Wentz might be, but has tough competition with the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Cam Newton. Any of the offensive linemen could make it. That is one area where the Eagles are loaded.
Fletcher Cox should be a Pro Bowl’er if he stays healthy. Brandon Graham has a shot, but there are a lot of good edge rushers. No LB or CB will make it. Malcolm Jenkins absolutely should. Let’s say you’re looking at five Pro Bowl players. That’s good, but nothing crazy.
Last year when Dallas had its breakout season, Dak Prescott posted amazing numbers. Ezekiel Elliott led the NFL in rushing. Receiver Cole Beasley had the best season of his young career. Sean Lee stayed healthy, playing in a career high 15 games and setting a career high in tackles. Young players like Byron Jones, David Irving and Benson Mayowa had breakout seasons.
The Eagles have been more methodical than magical. They’ve had to deal with a lot of injuries, which has led to some sloppy play. The Eagles are playing well this year, but guys aren’t performing at unexpectedly high levels.
The good news is that winning like this is better. When a team has a lot of things go right and players peak, it is hard to repeat that. Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott remain incredibly talented players, but they aren’t putting up the freakish numbers that they did last year. Dallas has already lost as many games in 2017 as it did in 2016.
The Eagles are doing things the hard way. This is something that can be repeated over and over. As the team gets better and the stars begin to really emerge, that’s when you might have something special. We saw that with the 2004 Eagles.
The current group isn’t special. I do love the fact they seem very much like a team more than a collection of stars. Give Doug Pederson and Carson Wentz credit for some of that. Also give credit to other leaders like Jason Peters, Cox, and Jenkins. This is a team where everyone seems to have bought in and they play as a group more than as individuals.
It is possible this team could be something special by the end of the year.
I think it is exciting to see the Eagles be able to win playing good team football. The 2013 team made the playoffs, but Nick Foles had that insane year (27 TDs, 2 INTs) and there were a lot of lucky plays. The 2010 Eagles were a lot of fun, but Michael Vick was doing some crazy things and that just couldn’t last. I guess you’d have to go back to 2009 to find the last Eagles team that played this kind of football.
I’m really interested to see how the Eagles evolve over the course of the season. I do think there is a high ceiling for this team.
*****
One thing this team has in common with the 2013 Eagles is strong OL play. Jason Peters started the season slowly, but he’s gotten hot.
Shot 11 – Continue to be amazed by Jason Peters. Has been on a tear. Great job getting two defenders on both of these runs. All-time great. pic.twitter.com/U6FuEP4ZWw
— Fran Duffy (@fduffy3) October 9, 2017
Good blocking is contagious. You see TEs and WRs doing a good job as well. Zach Ertz is having the best year of his career as a blocker!!! Who knew that was even possible?
LeGarrette pinballing his way for a huge pickup, becoming a weekly occurrence. #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/C6210juawe
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 8, 2017
If this line can stay healthy and continue to block well, this season could prove to be a lot of fun.
_
Those Peters highlights… In the second, just look how defeated the DE looks after Peters lets go of him.
If the NFLPA had any teeth whatsoever, they’d organize the Dallas players to collectively kneel during the anthem to call Jerry Jones’s bluff. He won’t forfeit a game.
But they don’t. The NFLPA is a joke, and I’d love to see any other union out there have fun with this debate and the fake flexing of nuts Jones is doing. But they won’t, because they are fucking useless.
Fun fact, at just about any other time in our country, most of you would be angry at me for making a pro-labor statement rather than anything regarding police brutality. What a time to be alive.
Sobering fact – police shootings are down 70% in the last 50 year’s. So are NFL players late in getting social awareness? Are they not current on police shooting statistics? Or are they just reacting to videos of police shootings gone viral? While the most complete answer is yes to all the above, videos are probably the most impactful. There are references in articles about foreign attempts to disrupt American elections & political climate using social media, videos, etc. How factual this is will be unrolled in the coming months. But it certainly is – sobering thought.
Police shooting can be down and there still be a problem right?
If most police shooting was primarly gang related, nobody has a problem. The problem is the seemingly high amount of unarmed black people getting killed while getting arrested (often not getting arrested for anything).
As much as it is the unarmed being killed, the real problem is not one of these cops has ever gotten into serious trouble.
It’s a really shit situation that has no easy solution.
You make an example out of a few crooked cops then all of a sudden you might have no protection and their “brothers” might come after you. You don’t make an example out of these guys and the situation never gets better. It’s a massive hornets nest at this point, the person who finally has the balls to make it end will be taking a bullet (maybe literally) for all of us. I don’t want to point out how crooked the cops are in third world countries because I don’t want to believe that we’ll get to that point. If we ever reached that point then all of the NFL players protesting would probably be getting blackmailed, “taking a vacation”, or worse.
Maybe I’m romanticizing jobs like the police but I always thought it would take a special kind of person who wants to serve and protect. It’s a damn shame how corrupt some of police forces have gotten but they’re mostly at fault as well.
Policing has never been about “serving and protecting”. Many individuals go into thinking that, but this system is set up to intimidate and detain. This is why pot smokers got put in jail when corrupt landlords got tax breaks and more.
Not saying that’s false but there are good and bad people everywhere. I’d like to think there’s some good people left in the police force for my own sake.
I’m going to speak up on behalf of the force in my small town. Thirteen cops. They all live right here, their kids go to the same schools as everyone else’s kids, we see them out of uniform all the town. Every one is a good person seemingly trying to do a good job. In part, because any bs would not be tolerated by the community. I don’t know if this type of effectiveness and honor can be replicated on a larger scale.
thanks for posting P_P_K I think one of the most impactful advancements we could make is having more officers get out of their cars and interact with the community. Get to know people, and get in the habit of getting to know people. We’ve got about 40k people in my small city, and there’s only 1 cop I know outside of being an officer.
Thanks. I lived in Philly and had some seriously bad encounters with cops, so I am sensitive to what it’s like when the police force emphasizes force. It sucks.
Maybe cities are just too big to really establish community. I don’t know. I do know that in small communities the complex character of a person is known, we’re not stock figures in some drama.
It’s not about people. It’s systems. In fact, it’s the goodness of most cops which keep them from going completely brownshirt.
My original statement is by no stretch controversial.
what the heck does pot smokers have to do with landlords?
the system is set up for LEO’s to have to go into possibly dangerous situations and must be perfect every time. Despite that there are the Michael Bennetts of the world who then lie about encounters for their own benefit.
You clearly have no idea what it means when adults talk about systems.
from the guy who compares pot smokers to landlords getting tax breaks?
good grief
Yup, one set of illegals hurt nobody and got fined and jailed -the other illegals hurt thousands and get your undying devotion.
Read some books, bro.
“It’s a really shit situation that has no easy solution.”
I know this comes across in a casual way but I think there’s a lot of maturity and wisdom in your statement. Perhaps solutions to many, though not all problems, can be found with the starting point being the recognition of the complexity of problems, the need for nuance in discussion, and agreeing that no solution will be perfect or 100% agreeable for everyone.
bullshyt. many cops have been prosecuted. try google sometime.
The funny thing is, any decline in recent years might be entirely based on the rise of cell phone cameras. Cops are finding out they just can’t do anything
they want with impunity anymore.
No, most of the decline is because of the decline of gang related shootings (gang crime is down)
“Cops are finding out they just can’t do anything
they want with impunity anymore.”
That is not true, this is exactly what the player are protesting. That cops can just empty a full clip into an unarmed man and not get any more than a slap of there hands
That changes nothing
Is Harvey Weinstein less of a creep and sexual harassment not as bad because that behavior used to be more commonplace?
The shootings are a problem, but the bigger problem is the total lack of any accountability for using deadly force. Policing is a very tough and demanding job, but they hold a very serious responsibility in carrying weapons and having the ability to take human life.
The incidents that have happened in recent years show in video or otherwise that the decision to use deadly force is being made too easily and brazenly and that conflict resolution skills are not used enough. They also show community policing and training practices need to be enhanced & developed & enforced more.
Getting pulled over for a traffic stop or walking around town should NOT equal death for anyone. Yes, we ask a lot of our cops (and we all need to do more ourselves to create community, mitigate crime, guns, poverty and drugs etc. ), but we cannot have minority targeting and shootings that result in a shrug and nod anymore. The cop has got to be addressed so he/she can learn from the situation and next time NOT have to use deadly force.
or the video of Michael Bennett shaking the policeman’s hand after being detained. Bennett then lied and said he was profiled and held at gunpoint. The police bodycam shows Bennett was lying.
yet this fraud Bennett will be applauded for taking a knee.
I’d like to see a link to your stats.
I’ve found FBI stats that show shoot OF cops is down since 1961, but nothing on shootings BY cops.
Of course, when you’re enforcing Jim Crow by shotgun and noose and rolling out Thompson machine guns against miners the counting stats will pile up.
Or if the Cowboys players had any balls at all they’d just do it on their own.
They don’t though. It’s like Jason Witten, who’s own father abused his mother while he was growing up, yet this is what he says about Zeke’s domestic violence case:
“Look, there’s no place for a man to put his hand on a woman, and most of you guys know that it’s a situation that’s affected my family as a kid, and I put a lot of work and attention and have a platform to step out and speak on stopping domestic violence,” Witten said after Saturday’s 13-10 preseason loss to the Los Angeles Rams. “Having said that, Zeke is continuing to work through it, and he’s talked about that. The game and all that stuff, that’s not what you deal with. He’s our teammate, and we’ll continue to work through it with him and have this opportunity to grow from it, and I think that’s what his focus is now.”
Translation: Shit, he helps us win football games so he gets a pass. He’s no Lucky Whitehead after all.
Everything someone says before ‘but’ is bullshit. ‘Having said that’ = but.
It is true, none of the players in Dallas have the stones to call Jerry’s bluff which is sad and likely why Jerry said it in the first place.
We also know Garrett is a sycophant who cannot brush his teeth in the morning without Jerry’s permission.
One would think at least one player or coach or someone would highlight how Jerry has completely missed the point of the protests.
Jerry knows he can cozy up to Trump, wrap himself in the flag and he will not pay any price. Think about it – he just said that any Dallas player who expresses their constitutional rights will be punished. There should be absolute outrage against such a stance from all corners. It is completely un-American and does more dishonor to the flag or anthem than anything the players did.
The Dallas fans are just as gutless unfortunately and, surprise, Goodell has been SILENT. He knows until his contract gets extended that he better STFU because Jerry is already wants his head on a platter.
applaud Jerry for taking a stand. most owners are sitting back and allowing a few players to destroy the NFL ratings.
Taking a stand a demonize a fake position and play politics with people’s constitutional rights is hardly worth applause IMO. Jerry is sucking up to the President and making sure he covers his ass. All he cares about is money. He is a massive fraud and jackass to boot.
For the 500th time, the protests have NOTHING to do with the flag, anthem, patriotism or military. Trump has developed a straw man argument to demonize players of color for expressing their constitutionally protected rights of free speech and to rile up his base so they think he is actually “doing something”.
The PR stunt by Trump & Pence at the Indy game is the latest example of how despicable this is and how far they will go to divide ALL of us.
Trump and the rest of all of us need to deal with the REAL issues: social and justice for ALL, not just for the rich or connected or well educated or white color. That is what the flag, anthem and real patriotism used to stand for – American values of liberty, equality, opportunity and justice.
Trump does NOT want to deal with that issue because 1) he is completely ignorant on what to do 2) part of his political base are racist and view people of color as “getting what they deserve” 3) another part of his base resent athletes or successful people in general and love to see them knocked off their “high horses” and 4) he is not interested in governing or actually helping people; he is only in office to line his pockets, help his cronies and retain power for as long as he can.
So, instead of dealing with the real issues, Trump uses it to divide all of us which allows him to skate free of any accountability and responsibility to act for all the people of this nation as President.
It will be his next demagogue cry at his rallies: instead of “lock her up” or “Mexico will pay for it” or “Russian interference is fake news”, he can use one about spoiled black athletes who are out to ruin America. Those who believe it will be suckers all over again IMO.
“…the protests have NOTHING to do with the flag, anthem, patriotism or military.”
I’m going to take all politicians out of the equation for a moment to ask a sincere question: Regardless of the intention of the players, many people do interpret their behavior in terms of patriotism, the military, etc. As such, is this an effective form of protest/communication?
On the one hand, they are drawing attention to their cause. On the other hand, they might end up alienating potential supporters because the message is lost in the symbolism. What do you think?
People see and hear what they want to see and hear.
Always worth keeping in mind when talking with others. Helpful to look in that mirror when thinking about oneself.
I agree it is NOT the best forum or platform to make the protest. I think it has alienated some, but assume it has also heartened others.
I do not want politics in my Eagles games either, but the bottom line is people have a constitutional right in this country to protest and speak out in support of change. The NFL is on record stating no players will face retribution for using their rights. Every owner except 2(?) supported their players & coaches after Trump’s initial comments.
It became a unifying dynamic rather than a dividing one. If they had just stayed on that path, Trump would have eventually dropped it and moved on to demonizing something or someone else. Unfortunately, Jerry popped off and now we are back into this stupid fray.
TV coverage really is all the players have that will reach the widest audience possible – they obviously can do other work in their communities to raise awareness and promote constructive change, but the reason this started is because the country was ignoring or downplaying what was going on.
People of color were being killed and nothing was being done to address it. Thus the athletes and others felt compelled to speak out.
“Thus the athletes and others felt compelled to speak out.”
I’m giving the players the benefit of the doubt. I figure most of them are young men who understand what it means to be a minority and are trying to figure out how to move things forward in society. I hope you are right that people are being heartened. Most of the players probably don’t have experience with activism and are getting on board a train they think is positive but, perhaps, they don’t understand the way it is perceived by others. The problem I see is that the message is getting lost. Protest without persuasion, effective communication, gives the lowest amongst us a chance to manipulate the entire discussion. But to not protest what one objects to is cowardice. Honestly, I don’t have the answer.
When guys like Jenkins speak and act, I know I pay attention. When Kap wears pigs in police uniform socks, he loses me. And for the politicians, well, it would be nice to hear a voice that rang with integrity.
Amen, I agree we need much better leadership than is currently not only in the WH and Congress, but at many state & local levels. Too many politicians are in it for money, status and power and are not doing enough to actually help unite the country, help people succeed and make our systems work better for all.
That why, unfortunately, I’m not surprised by any of the comments or actions by our political leaders. I feel more like, “Yea, what would one expect?”
Wrapping the debate up in the flag was done with full intention of alienating potential supporters. It’s the All/Blue Lives Matter, the What About Men’s Rights, the Job Killing Bill, the Anything to Change The Subject.
You need to understand that there is no way in which to bring up the conversation without conflict.
One week he kneels and locks arms with the players, now he threaten to fire them. I’d applaud him if he really took a position but he sure seems hypocritical.
The NFL is killing itself and it has zero to do with the protests. Jerry and his fellow owners should look in the mirror and ask themselves about the crappy product being sold to us fans. If I was not a die-hard Eagles fan, I would likely not watch any NFL football. It is boring, riddled with subjective rules, drenched in commercialism and largely a money grab at this point. Jerry is just trying to keep the gravy train running for as long as he can.
On top of that, linear TV watching is in decline, there’s so many other things to watch or otherwise keep you entertained, and the younger generations are simply not as interested in traditional sports as the previous ones.
Great points
all very true
They don’t have to show the players kneeling. They can point the cameras literally anywhere else in the stadium, but they choose to point them at the players. Whose fault is that?
good question. it’s obvious that networks like ESPN have a liberal bias. Maybe that’s the reason.
The NFL has been sticking its nose into politics far too long. The NFL doesn’t know who its audience is and is paying the price for it.
Maybe you should start the Conservative Football League.
NFL rules state that players must be on the sidelines and stand for the anthem. These rules aren’t being enforced. The NFLPA can’t organize against rules it agreed to.
Maybe the NFLPA and the players should look at decreasing revenue from the kneeling antics. This will hit them in the wallets come next TV contract. Ratings are falling. Merchandise sales are down.
People tune in to the NFL to see football not politics.
Ratings have been falling for years. You’re going to have a real hard time trying to pinpoint it to your pet cause.
Personally, I’d put the declining ratings on there being a 5 minute commercial break every 2 minutes and a flag on ever single play. Combine that with it being more difficult to go to a game, or even a bar, than to watch it at your house. Combine that with people eschewing the traditional cable packages that pay the NFL’s bills. But yeah, go ahead and blame the black players.
Peters being a pro-bowl level rock at LT is really going to be missed when he’s done.
*Hall of Fame level rock..
*Hall of Fame level rock star
We are 4-1, but we beat bad skins, bad giants, bad charges (payback), bad cardinals.
This thursday will tell a lot about the team – hopefully they aren’t hung over from sunday.
The skins is not a bad team. They have only lost to us and the Chiefs
1) If team x loses to Eagles, then team x = bad team.
2) Complain that the Eagles only beat bad teams.
Negadelphian logic.
Agree that Washington looks to be a solid team this year. That said, the other 3 teams do kind of suck. Take a look at “Strength of Victory” and “Strength of Schedule” that Reuben Frank posted yesterday. Not super impressive. Let’s beat some good teams before we start making hotel reservations in Minneapolis…
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/0d6ab37f0d8593e12a268ff313c42e6bb487b964df444709129e03a2256e0873.jpg
What is it with you people?
Being happy about a team winning =/= Saying they’re going to the Superbowl
Exactly, who is making hotel reservations in Minneapolis?
https://media.giphy.com/media/3o7aTkJH5vly0Zvec8/giphy.gif
What I meant to say is who is making hotel reservations in Minneapolis…when you can get a nice place right across the river from the stadium in St. Paul!?
That’s fair – Just pointing out that the Eagles have benefitted what has turned out to be a fairly soft schedule to start the season.
But for sure I am happy with winning too.
3) Complain about Negadelphian logic
Can’t complete the circle without that.
Uh…not really. Take our wins out of their records:
Giants are 0-4
Chargers are 1-3
Cards are 2-2
They are what their record says they are, mediocre to bad.
Considering the Cards beat Indy and SF (another 0 win team) and the Chargers beat the Giants, they could conceivably be worse than their records say they are!
You forgot a team (which was the subject of the comment I replied to).
Football Outsiders’ stats had them at #4 in the league. Most likely, they are actually a _good_ team.
If we suck thai week I think it’s an outlier. Teams react weird to short week away game. If we win it says we are a good team that can beat good teams. If we lose I don’t think we can take much for rom it.
In the NFL today, even the mediocre teams are gimmies especially on the road
Washington played KC much closer than us. Their final score discrepancy was almost entirely on the last-minute fumble-recovery TD.
In fact, the Eagles beating the Redskins on the road has looked better and better each week.
Scatterd thoughts….
This short week will be interesting to see the continuity of the line. One would think it’s a helluva lot more difficult to heal Oline vs DL even with last week’s trouncing. WR’s have been beating press coverage all year on account of the time OL has given Wentz. Quick throws will win this game…. They like to delay blitzes from LB… This is certainly a confident team. Any word on Darby’s return? If we can bottle Cam in the pocket, maybe Robinson will catch the ball this week. Fun team on the rise.
“Good blocking is contagious”
It’s true. When I was a young kid, I was like every kid, I wanted the ball. But I was one of the biggest kids on the team so I played OT and DE. Took me a long time to put any enthusiasm into blocking. Wasn’t until I really experienced dominating a defensive line as a unit that I understood the primal appeal of blocking.
Carson Wentz might be, but has tough competition with the likes of Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees and Cam Newton.
I can already certainly guarantee you guys that Dak will get in before Wentz. If it’s deserved is another story…
Peters has never truly gotten the appreciation or accolades he deserves locally.
Eagles’ player I have seen with maybe the exception of White. It includes Dawkins (who is overrated by this fan base a bit)
Maybe for the casual fans? JP has been a fan favorite for years now. He might have had doubters in the trade for him but he quickly proved he was worth every penny.
I can only speak for myself but he’s been my favorite Eagles player since Dawkins left the team.
Not saying he isn’t appreciated to some degree but you almost never see a Peters jersey at a game. See a lot more Johnson jerseys by comparison.
Not sure if I have had a favorite player since Cole departed a few years ago even if there are several I like.
I’d like to say that getting a Lane Johnson jersey is the better and safer investment since JP is old/injury prone/easy target to trade (or cut). Maybe that’s me being in denial and/or having no real clue how to gauge the love for players.
It’s surprisingly hard to find a Peters jersey, at least in my experience looking online. It’s often at the end of the list after such stars as Smallwood and even Jake Elliott these days. Or you have to use a custom one and pay extra.
Might have something to do with the fact that JP wasn’t drafted by us. However I think he is viewed as a legend locally.
Nationally he hasn’t received the same attention for the past few years due to his age, despite the fact he deserved it.
The moment he stood up for Foles against the Skins he went from a Hall of Famer to an Eagles Legend!
Eagles at #2 in Power Rankings. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000859501/article/nfl-power-rankings-week-6-philadelphia-eagles-fly-up-to-no-2
Many balked at the #3 ranking last week.
I’m still content thinking this is a top 10 team.
Yea, I don’t know that #2 is accurate but it sure is a hell of a lot of fun seeing us in bright lights.
I always have to laugh about discussions when a team can be considered a Super Bowl contender.
Do we really have to wait until next year? Well, what if JP doesn’t come back, Jeffery’s future is still up in the air and any serious long-term injury could also hinder your ‘Super Bowl’ plans for next year.
What about this year, especially in this mediocre NFC?
As long as you are relatively healthy and can ride the train, the Eagles HAVE to be considered serious Super Bowl Contender, THIS year already.
It’s still early doors, but nobody – besides the Chiefs – looks to be overly dominant this season.
Let’s hope Darby – and even Jones – can / will contribute this year, the sky’s the limit.
#FlyEaglesFly
It’s still just a bit early but, hell yea, every team has flaws. The Eagles look as good as most any other team, warts and all. As I posted, the Eagles are #2 in at least one Power ranking. After we beat the Panthers on Thurs night and Pitts beats KC on Sunday, do the Birds become #1?
I always remember this when talking about the Super Bowl:
2005 Pittsburgh Steelers 11-5
2007 New York Giants 10-6
2010 Green Bay Packers 10-6
These teams were all Wild Cards who won the Super Bowl.
You don’t have to be the best team or have home-field advantage to win the Super Bowl, you just have to get on a hot streak during the playoffs.
That 2007 SB game was the first time in my life I cheered for the Giants.
Me too! I hated the cheater Patriots and could live with the Tiki-less Giants.
Fun fact: Tom Petty was the halftime show that year making it actually worth watching.
If the offense can keep up and we get Cox and Darby back this team should be a contender. There is no elite nfc team this year
Cardinals acquire RB Adrian Peterson from the Saints
Yea, I think that was the plan all along – sign Peterson and hope to flip him for value at some point. The Saints have good RB and did not need him. Wonder what the return is for the Saints
Kamara time!!!
https://twitter.com/FakeSportsCentr/status/917787118830870528
Cox is practicing today! Huge boost for the dline on a short week.
Something tells me that he could have played against the Cards, but DP saved him for this game to be safe.
Could be very wrong, but just a theory. One in which would never be admitted to.
How about Smallwood?
I think if it were playoffs he would have tried to play weeks ago, but it’s so important to let those soft tissue injuries fully heal to prevent them from lingering at this point of the season
This thread has too many comedic possibilities for me to choose one.
You talkin’ bout Cox’s soft tissue again?
I’d say that’s probable, definitely not doubtful.
Devin Funchess (knee) did not practice Tuesday.
It is a big concern after he was listed as a DNP on Monday’s report. He almost certainly needs to get in some work on Wednesday in order to play Thursday night against the Eagles. Rookie Curtis Samuel and Russell Shepard would likely see more work if Funchess cannot go, but neither will be a real fantasy option
Would be “so Eagles” for Russell Shepard to put up 150 yards on Thursday.
I am always amazed that so many JAGs we cut end up around the league for years to come.
Yet still many insist that players are what they are and very seldom improve over the course of a few years.
Brad Wing keeps helping us out though
Different guys fit different schemes. We have castoffs..even a practice squad placekicker.
To your point about feeling like a tight team, I submit Torrey Smith. As a new guy, an outspoken person, and someone who was struggling he was the perfect storm to create locker room tension. Instead, when he scored a touchdown last week, there was genuine joy from everyone to be part of his celebration. That was good to see.
The support that the team showed Ags through the past 2 years as well is a good example.
If this were another team his teammates could have gotten very down on him and he never would have been able to get his confidence back therefore saving his career.
Idk but it seems we dont talk about nigel bradham enough and the fact that he is an absolute DOG. everytime i watch this guy its either tackle for short or no gain, good coverage and big boy tackles, taking on block etc
Maybe Nelson catching footballs is unsustainable–I’m not putting that hoodoo on him though.
I’m not sure what to think about Patrick Robinson. Outside of what he’s doing this year I’ve never heard about him–and he’s playing like one of the best slot corners in the league. Anyone got a take on him?
He was a first round pick with the Saints in 2010 (who knew?). Looks like he had a few decent years (including a 99-yard INT return), but was apparently up-and-down. Signed with San Diego in 2015 and played well, which translated to a big contract in 2016 with the Colts. He was awful there (and frequently injured), so they cut him.
The gamble here was whether he’d return to his 2015 form (when he played the slot). Looks like it’s paying off.
Yeah, first, and no offense, but the whole “I never heard of him” test is weak at best.
He played pretty well in the slot with a previous team – i forget if it was SD or NOLA.
Sometimes context matters – he’s older, more mature, and more experienced now. I don’t know who he was playing with in terms of pass rush/DL, D coordinator, and safety in the past, but he’s in a pretty good situation now. Malcom Jenkins for example, is a nice guy to be playing in the secondary with.
Sometimes change of context and maturity/development can make a guy play better even if his history wouldn’t suggest so.
I could be totally wrong as well.
I thought he was just another JAG, likely to get injured and not see the field. Another Ron Brooks. I’m happy to admit how wrong I was.
That probably does explain his performance so far pretty well. He got a lot of burn in New Orleans so maybe he’s finally fully healthy after the past few years in the injury wilderness too.
But if there’s one guy whose performance so far feels like an outlier–considering their contract, the articles written about him over the summer, the reports out of training camp, past precedent–it’s P-Rob who PFF has rated as like the best corner in the league (if you believe in that sort of thing).
You could talk me into JP because of his age but watching him block is like watching a Tai Chi master.
Smallwood has not practiced yet, making him unlikely for Thursday.
On the plus side, the advantage of having a committee rather than a stud is that the team can keep rolling without much adjustment when one RB goes down.
Two so far.
What I love most about the success is that it isn’t happening due to any gimmick. That extends from mindset to field. There is no “Character trumps athletes” or disrespect card being played by the coaches. They instill confidence in their players in the way they coach the team and call the games. Big Dick Doug doesn’t punt. Ever. He is successful with it, even if he does it when logic really dictates he shouldn’t. He expects it to work. The team expects it to work. When Chip would eventually go for a 4th down confidence was the last thing that emanated from the team at the line pre-snap.
There is no let down in mindset. There is no step back game after the big win. Sure the games aren’t perfect, but they come out and play at their level every damn week (5x so far anyway).
This feels like something that is sustainable and repeatable (year after year). Is their level going to be good enough? Dunno, but I think they will play to it, and by default be some varying level of above average as long as it keeps up.
Big Dick Doug doesn’t punt. Ever.
I mean, he punted at the 50 on 4 & 1 against the Chargers.
Mind games
Imagine how awesome they be once they learn SWAGGER. sorry…
Do you have a stat for swagger? Swaggermetrics?
Swagger is the guy who shows up to poetry corner with a double kick pedal for his congas.
Awesome.
Ok, maybe, but that’s just bad-ass. And sad… well both.
What if he shows up with that, but has a guy who carries it all for him…. now that’s swaggtastic
No, a stripper who carries it for him.
Or a double-neck guitar at an open jam.
I want to hear about the SWAG-O-METER!
Swagometer….?
Yeah, one of those!
You get all the recs.
Uh, thanks, but usually not so, and that really don’t matter much.
Regarding the potus, the vp and jerry jones; If you want to live in a country where everyone has to stand for the anthem, why dont you move to North-Korea?
That is a stretch.
How about showing your protest some other way instead of disrespecting the county that is allowing you to earn MILLIONS.
Do you even know what is going on in N. Korea right now?
Only somewhat
“disrespecting the country”…
1. So granting employers the right to strip employees of their constitutional rights is supposed to be a sign of respect for the country?
All the tweets by the potus about “respect for the country” and shit is only proof that the usa is now officially a fascist empire, no “longer the land of the free and the home of the brave” unless the brave stand up for the constitutional rights of all americans.
Yes, and employer has the right to do that in THEIR work place.
Employers do not have the right to terminate employees for political speech.
If one is framing the protests as “disrespectful to the flag” (whatever that means), they are framing it as political speech.
As such, the players can not legally be required to act in any particular fashion in regard to the anthem.
Before Jerruh Jones opened his yap, the league could have made an argument that they were not trying enforce political speech. Now they can’t.
Employers have the right to terminate employee’s if their political speech is hurting their revenue. There is no debate to that.
Sort of like how the NBA is threatening suspension if you do not stand for the anthem, and they are getting away with it because it is their right to say that therefore protecting their bottom line.
That would be an issue for court. That means the NFL (or any employer) has to open their books and show the employee’s actions directly result in a detrimental situation for the company.
I’m unaware of this ever happening.
Not true, hence why the NBA states they will suspend any player that doesn’t stand and why Jerry has stated it.
I’m sure NBA players have spoken to their union regarding it in which the union confirmed the NBA has the right to do so, therefore why no players have sat despite their displeasure.
We’ll see. The courts will have the last word if a player loses a dime.
your understanding of “constitutional rights” is flawed
Employers usually don’t pay employees hourly or by salary to engage in political expression or partisan politics. They usually pay you to work. They also don’t pay you to sell Amway or Girl Scout Cookies to your coworkers, or raffle tickets. They don’t like you passing out flyers for social gatherings at the club or the lodge, or religious gatherings. Employers usually pay for work. Employers have rules about appropriate work place behavior. How you express yourself politically, socially, religiously or sexually outside of work are matters of personal rights. But wasting time on the clock is not a right. At least at my job it’s not. If you work for Green Peace or something it might be. Otherwise, no…
Are you suggesting that the NFL is a regular employer?
No, the NFL is similar and different from other employers. But they have some monopoly law protections from the federal government that they value. Congress could change that. ($$$) And they get money from the government for military recruiting and promotion ($$$). So they have some reason to be nice to the federal government, no matter who is in office. And they have a fan base that relates to 1st responders and national security and stuff. They don’t want ratings to suffer ($$$) so the players can have a free unpaid commercial at the start of every game on national TV about social justice sentiments like “the anthem sucks and the flag sucks and we don’t like it.” My point is that the social justice expressions are not necessarily wrong or bad. But they’re not good for business at many levels ($$$). The players have nothing negotiated in their contracts to say they can do that or that the NFL owes them protest time. And they can choose to go work for social justice organizations for $25K a year instead of the NFL for $2.4 million a year on average if they choose to do that instead and if it’s that important to them. But I don’t want them to kill the golden goose. They would be foolish to. They should make their money, pool it in the off season, buy radio and TV ad campaigns, and pursue social justice to their hearts’ content – in their own time.
“And they have a fan base that relates to 1st responders and national security and stuff” – sure – but that’s not what most people associate the national anthem with. It’s about our country. Which means non-tax paying homeless adicts, prison inmates, all the way up to the president and joint chiefs of staff – and everything in between. It’s not about just a part of the country, or a specific group that (valiantly, tirelessly, fearlessly serves in incredible ways – that should receive tons of respect and benefits duly).
Good for business is whatever – the NFL will be fine either way.
Easy for you to dismiss it. You’re not a team owner or a league executive. But you see JJ in Dallas said “Don’t do it or you won’t play.”
And ESPN suspended the show host that criticized him for that and suggested the Cowboys’ advertisers could be boycotted. The NFL pays everybody’s salary at ESPN. Content rights. Don’t mess with JJ’s advertisers!
You don’t care about the money. But the league does. And the players want that money too. They want more than ever in their next contract. They should be smart.
Are you implying that the league, owners, or players are actually in jeopardy of being in money problem situations? If so, I say you’re wrong.
And are you really suggesting that Jerruh would sit Dak, Zeke, or Dez? If so, I say you’re wrong.
JJ said he would sit any player. And the league wants the same amount of money or more. They don’t want less. Less money is a problem, yes. They have bills.
He strikes you as a guy who is always 100% honest, reliable, and sometimes low on funds?
Nobody will test JJ though. And his personal character in general is not the issue. He is serious about that, obviously. And you know JJ loves more money, not less.
If ratings drop, if advertisers in that stadium slip away, if season ticket sales and viewership trends down, if luxury boxes are unsold…. It’s going to be a money problem for JJ, sure.
I disagree and thats ok.
I am willing to call bluffs on most of that
Why don’t you bet your own job?
Sean Lee or Zeke Elliott might not appreciate it if you are trying to bet theirs.
I don’t know what that means, at all. Fantasy football? We don’t do the anthem at my job.
The protests are not saying “the anthem sucks and the flag sucks and we don’t like it.” If that is what you think the protest is about, your either haven’t been paying attention or are being intentionally ignorant.
The protests are not specific. It’s a vague negative.
“This sucks!” What does that mean? It’s vague, but it’s negative. The image portrayed is not positive.
It’s only vague if you choose not to listen when they explain it.
Two hundred players might explain it 200 different ways. But it’s endless quibbling here.
The protests are not welcome by the fans in general, the league, the advertisers, the owners. I don’t like politics in my sports as a regular old fan, personally.
And it’s not a “rights” issue. It’s a workplace policy issue.
And it’s bad for the football business for everybody involved.
So please stop justifying it and encouraging it.
You have no stake in it except that you might favor social justice issues in your spare time. Or maybe it’s your job to promote that.
If not, then you go to work and stage protests and see how it works out.
“So please stop justifying it and encouraging it.”
Why? Who the hell are you to tell me what I should be encouraging? I don’t give a shit that you don’t like politics in your sports. That’s too bad for you.
As far as a “workplace policy” issue, what they are doing doesn’t violate any workplace policies.
Who exactly in this situation is “wasting time on the clock?” I haven’t noticed anyone doing anything that affects their ability to play football, which is what they are being paid for.
If I am busy selling Amway products in the employee lounge, I am neither working nor am I available for W-O-R-K. Most any supervisor at most any job views an employee like that who does that regularly as an employee who is “wasting time” or “appropriating paid time” for personal reasons. It’s a work place time and attendance policy violation. It’s very common to have rules against that. You can’t usually play computer games at work either, or surf the sports pages on the net. Time wasting. Even though it’s important to you, it’s not important to the employer who is paying for your time.
Wait, so are you suggesting that players should be playing football or practicing, or talking to the press during the national anthem? This ain’t at all about time.
No. I’m saying they can be required to stand attentively and participate in the ceremony in a way that is not controversial or disruptive. They may be given an option to remain in the locker room until after the anthem. But it’s part of the job in the NFL.
Go play baseball, or go work for Green Peace if you don’t like it. Work place rules that affect everybody the same way.
You can’t kneel and pray like Tebow. You can’t wear headbands that say “Eat Cheetos!” You can’t raise your right hand and say “Heil Hit-er!” You can’t kneel in silent protest or expression of social justice causes.
Do that in your own time. The players have no negotiated right to do any of that. They are free to do any of that or all of that in their spare time.
Ok, but you are acting like the players are interchangeable and easily replaceable. That’s just not the case. If you risk losing a player that has particular skill, well there’s the negotiation power there.
Do you seriously think that – for example – losing Malcom Jenkins is “just another employee” for Jeffery Lurie?
Now that Jerruh Jones has expressly said standing for the flag is a political act, the NFL can not force players to stand.
Employers can’t force political speech. “Citizens United” has muddied these waters and a strong union like the NFLPA would mount a serious challenge and clarify/negate that interpretation of the decision.
It’s one thing to say NO PRO TRUMP SPEECH. He just said respect the anthem ceremony. He’s not banning a certain type of speech. If players wanted to release red white and blue balloons during the anthem, I guess that would be restricted too.
That’s an argument that can be made.
“No Hillary or Donald buttons at work.”
It’s not partisan. Just don’t do it. It’s a business distraction. People will argue all day about politics and get nothing done. And some of our customers won’t like it and go away. Not good for business. Less money for OT and raises next year.
If you fire a rich person for wearing a button, you’re in for a legal battle you might lose.
What makes you think that any employer can invent any rule that any prospective employee is obligated to follow? Are you advocating authoritarianism? Do you want to ban all expression that does not meet your approval? We might have a con artist in the WH who would agree with you, but your description of workplace rules is rubbish.
Your line of questioning is not even logical. I don’t have time for all your equivocation. Read my many posts here today on the subject if you want to know what I think about social justice causes being expressed during the national anthem/
You lost me. I have no idea what you are ranting about and no idea what makes you think this situation is at all similar to selling Amway products in an employee lounge. Are you saying that Malcom Jenkins has not been doing the W-O-R-K that the Eagles are paying him to do because he raises a fist during the national anthem?
Regarding wasting time, you know that standing, kneeling, or raising a fist during the national anthem all take the same amount of time. What time is being wasted?
The best employee in the company doesn’t have the right to smoke cigarettes in the building if it’s against the rules. MJ is great. But if he breaks the rules he could end up as an LA Ram or a 49er. Corey Graham and Rodney McLeod can start in Philly. Jenkins plays well, and he does nice stuff off the field for the community. But he has no right to “paid protest time” before every game he plays. The league and the game is bigger than just one football player’s job performance. It’s bigger than that.
Your analogies are terrible. Now we are talking about smoking cigarettes in the building? I’m done here.
My thing is smoking cigarettes all day. Your thing is Save the Whales discussions all day. Both are subject to workplace policy. How I use my employer’s paid time is subject to legal workplace policy. Those are all about my personal priorities compared to what the employer needs for my PAID time.
I doubt anyone will disagree with that.
The law protects workers from political pressure by employers and generally protects workers speech and actions that don’t affect production. (generally)
We can all type like internet know-it-alls but any actions to suppress player protests will likely be settled in court. And none of us know how that would play out.
Players can’t use court for that. They have a collective bargaining contract. Is there a right to political expression during pregame ceremonies in the contract? No. And the owner says don’t do it. Team policy.
Sure they can go to court over it. And they will.
If it’s in the contract, it could be voided. You can’t contract for something against the law.
The collective bargaining applies to the owners as well. And punishments are covered in the collective bargaining agreement. If an owner subjected a player to a punishment outside of the collective bargaining agreement for kneeling during the anthem, you better believe that the player and the player’s union would challenge that in court.
Would you stop quibbling?
Teams have all kinds of rules. Dress code, timeliness, diet and exercise, all kinds of stuff. Owners, GMs and Coaches all make team rules. Employers make all kinds of workplace rules. Football teams make playing time decisions and even levy fines and dock pay and give suspensions all the time. And they can cut a player for “conduct detrimental to the team.”
You are becoming irritating now. You don’t have much info on the subject but you keep arguing points.
Please stop going on and on about the topic. Your logic is very weak. But we have both expressed our points of view. Enjoy your sports!
I’ve been in several meetings where the hot dog employees have lit up in non-smoking buildings. Happens all the time.
It might happen. But if another employee gets terminated for smoking, they have a law suit. Unfair labor practice.
That’s great corporatist logic, but the first amendment isn’t granted by any employer, and no employer has the right to take it away based on any ideology. If you do your job, your mind and your expression are not your employer’s business…unless your manner of expressing yourself prevents others from doing their jobs. The billionaire owners want to promote an image. They sign players to win games. The NFL, aka the billionaires club, wants to conflate a sport with love of country. They are the ones wasting time. Skip the ritual and get on with the game.
Save the anti-capitalist name calling, youngster. You can say or do anything you want on the job. We have free speech in America.
But nobody owes you the job after you do that. If it’s inappropriate for all, then you bet your job.
Reasonable and fair workplace policies are what we all live with. You can’t fly a KKK flag or an Anifia flag at work. Or wear the T-shirts. Against the rules. If you do that, you are subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination.
So spare me the “protest boy slogans.” The league and the teams may incorporate the national anthem in the opening ceremonies or not. Players have no say in that. And they have no negotiated right to “protest time” on the job during the games.
I haven’t called you any names yet, but you sound like you’ve got serious anger issues.
At this stage it’s an Irritation Issue. I’m being as patient and understanding with you as I can. But you are becoming an irritant.
Second request to you:
Please feel free to read my posts in this thread thoroughly if you have an interest in my thoughts on player expressions and gestures in support of social justice causes during pregame ceremonies and the national anthem. Thanks.
Antifa and KKK are equivalent to you?
Antifa and KKK are both extremist political groups. There are similarities and differences but they are both violent. But if I was the boss at work, I would discipline an employee who brought issues that either group favors into the workplace. I might also discipline the Save the Whales guy too. I might discipline the employee who was passing out Donald buttons or Hillary buttons too. I might discipline the guy selling church raffle tickets too. I might discipline the guy wasting time taking too many smoke breaks too. If Colin Kaepernick wore those pig socks to work, I might discipline him too.
Interesting that you identify with being the boss. Says a lot, doesn’t it?
I have frequently been the boss when I went to work. But even the boss has a boss. But I have no problems with legitimate authority figures – parents, teachers, supervisors, governors, coaches, police. Life is full of them. You have authority issues Cho?
Well, I’m self-employed.
What is legitimate and what is not is the question. For millennia, the divine right of kings was the primary political theory. Later on, we called it plantation mentality. Many still defer to the rich and powerful (they’re rich, so they must be good) and default to their position. Not me.
1) And if you’re not rich you are morally superior and good?
2) But if you have riches or power and you make jobs for others you are still automatically bad?
3) And if you are elected to office you are automatically corrupt?
4) And if you own a sports franchise you are equal to a slave plantation owner?
5) But if you work at the sports team for $100 million over 4 years you are morally superior, yet oppressed and disenfranchised?
Okay, you’ve failed both the politeness and the clarity of thought test. Go to the corner for two days and we can try again later.
Well my freedom of expression is not subject to your tests, Cho. Your test is only whether I agree with you or not. There’s a lot of people who want to suppress freedom of thought and expression with notions of “political correctness.” It’s a dangerous trend in society as far as I am concerned. So, you should just politely back way off on that.
I think you’re a cool guy and everything. I enjoy reading your posts about sports and dialoging with you too. But dialoging with me about any subject is a privilege. You can go sit in a corner and think about that, I mean, if that’s what you choose to do.
As for me, I’m going to root for my Eagles and think as independently as I can about politics at all times. I will do that without any need for the approval of a bunch of guys who either have hidden agendas, or who are basically unsophisticated in the way they think about all kinds of issues – sports, politics, culture, society and otherwise.
And at this point, I will follow my own advice and keep politics off the sports blogs. See you around, big guy.
Okay, I appreciate your taking the time to express yourself, but I don’t think you are I are going to have productive political discussions, so this seems a good time to end it.
You the Man, big guy.
Next time let’s stay with football!
Yep those who support ethnic cleansing and those who exist simply to beat the fuck out of ethno-facisit are exactly the same.
Maybe you could hire no women if you were the boss. Minimize those pesky male-female flirtations. Or anyone who has a picture of their family on their desk. Can’t have employees thinking about anything other than work.
And the first owner to bench or especially cut a player who does choose to take a knee is going to get sued out the wazoo.
Yep.
1) Just now you want to beat me over the head with a blunt object or something, just like you said, because of what you think of me.
2) And some extremist on the right wants to hang me from a tree because of what he thinks of me.
3) And some extremist from a foreign land wants to blow me up with an explosive because of what he thinks of me.
But you say that you are very different from those other two extreme guys. Yep. I can see and feel the difference now. There’s no equivalence at all.
They are not stripping them of their constitutional rights!!!! Stop spreading false facts that only get spread. It is sad. Do research, learn, apply, then come back so we can have an EDUCATED debate.
While you are at it go protest in front of the NBA headquarters if you feel so strong about all of it.
You say you want to stand for something then go do it instead of typing false facts on a keyboard.
You don’t have to stand. They also don’t have to employ you. No one is shooting these people who aren’t standing. Stop being an over-reactionary libtard.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DLy02_3XkAEwgS7.jpg
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2d6b6389747935d5f99265adb99e8e890da041956b24a50c1eb726e5bf274fb2.jpg?w=600&h=358
lol. of course it’s a white guy wearing a MAGA hat.
Ah the NFL fans, we’re the real victims. /s
Football’s been pretty great as usual. Anyone pretending the protests or the counter protests (Pence taking a trip on the tax payer’s dime to attend a game so that he could storm out of the stadium in outrage when the 49er’s shockingly continued the protest they’ve (in)famously been doing for quite a while now) is being silly, it has had no effect on the quality of the sport. Even the game between 2 garbage teams mentioned above actually was pretty good. It’s just a bunch of snowflakes too sensitive to confront a real issue. Just redirect from a real issue, and the swoon “ but what about he soldiers?!”
You don’t agree with the form of the protests or what the protests are about. Fine. Get some thicker skin, pound back some beers, it will all be over before the first beer is empty, then enjoy the damn fine product the NFL still provides you.
Got damn!
Picture 1: Slave with no rights. Picture 2: Black person living under Jim Crow laws (not equal rights). Picture 3: Professional sports player.
Was this supposed to be clever?
Look who has the power and who doesn’t in each picture.
In the last picture, the fans have the power. They’re the ones who actually pay money to watch games/consume ads while watching games. The God Emperor has no direct power over NFL players. Pretending otherwise is disingenuous.
It’s not about Trump, my friend.
People will see what the wanna see and explain away the rest.
New troll?
i’ve been wondering… what part of kneeling is disrespectful?
someone who would rather sit on the bench and look at the ground during the anthem? ok…sure.
but kneeling? seems more respectful than a lot of things people do during the anthem (wear hats, talk, etc).
maybe its not the best comparison, but wouldn’t people find it disrespectful to stand up in church during prayer?
something i find to be disrespectful to the anthem are people that boo, but i’m also not going to get all worked up about them…
traditionally people stand for the national anthem. it’s a tradition that goes back over 100 years.
many consider anything less than that to be disrespectful.
yea, i get that. people also say that you should remove your hat, but not everyone does that. we don’t go sending them death threats over it, do we?
here is a link from the gov about the flag, rules and such.
https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/RL30243.pdf
§ 301. National Anthem.
Designation. — The composition consisting of the words and music known as
the Star-Spangled Banner is the national anthem.
(b) Conduct During Playing. — During a rendition of the national anthem —
(1) when the flag is displayed —
(A) all present except those in uniform should stand at attention facing the flag
with the right hand over the heart;
(B) men not in uniform should remove their headdress with their right hand and
hold the headdress at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart; and
(C) individuals in uniform should give the military salute at the first note of the
anthem and maintain that position until the last note.
(2) When the flag is not displayed, all present should face toward the music
and act in the same manner they would if the flag were displayed.
there are a lot more rules than just standing that we don’t seem to care about.
Edit: the Code was apparently written up in the early 1900’s, becoming law in the 40’s. before then, it was just a free-for-all, i guess.
“before then (the 1900’s), it was just a free-for-all, i guess.” I know what you meant but the wording unintentionally led me to 2 thoughts. If only it was truly a free-for-all we wouldn’t be in this mess. The other being before the 20th century it was very much intentional that the government not dictate any behavior, but the bare minimum to maintain a society, upon its citizenry. Such a code would have been outrageous to early American citizens. Somewhere around the turn of the 20th century, patriotism became an overwhelming force where a country is owed your unconditional loyalty and not earned. (note it had been there for much of the 19th century, you can see its roots all through manifestdestiny) Pretty much every American sin that is not slavery, was done in the name of nationalism.
I asked yesterday, I’ll continue to ask until you answer: What are the players protesting?
This is valid question and I think reveals what a vulnerable position many of the players have placed themselves. At what point can they declare victory? Otherwise, do they remain seated or kneeling for their whole careers?
I think a lot of the players are well meaning but not familiar enough with advocacy to appreciate many of the dynamics at work.
That’s not at all the point that I’m trying to make. I’m not sure Julescat understands what he’s raging against, and I’d like for him to articulate it.
As for your point, advocacy takes many types. There are fundraisers. There are direct service folks. There are policy makers. And yes, there are celebrity faces. Expecting a bunch of 20 somethings to have all the answers isn’t only short-sighted–It’s dismissive in a way I don’t think you mean it to be. This may not be an end, but it has to start somewhere.
I know Tommy has a new post up but I wanted to write back to you out of respect, and thank you for cutting me slack and recognizing I was not trying to be dismissive. I am actually a professional writer but when I comment in Iggles Blitz I rarely edit. I appreciate your reading through my sloppy expression. Thanks.
I think you put it well that these guys are 20-somethings and, yea, I agree it’s a good thing they are starting somewhere. It’s good for them as citizens and good for us as a country. I’m concerned for them, though, because they could end up boxed into a corner by the likes of experienced manipulators like Jerry Jones.
The guys I know who played sports in college by and large spent their time in the gym, not the classroom. They are often immature in the ways of the world. In this case, what I’m seeing are well-meaning young men who don’t have enough background in advocacy or social movements to appreciate how things can play out poorly. I’d hate to see their careers disrupted and/or their message lost in a distorted narrative. As I wrote in another post, they must act, though, because to not act would be cowardice. What I hope for them, for all of us, is action and communication that is effective.
Some people will cling to their ignorance no matter what. Not much you can or should do about them. I find there are many, however, who I think can be reached. I just hope these athletes can get their message through without people will ill-intent messing up their lives and distorting their message.
Lynching black males was a tradition too, and white LE officers shooting unarmed black males is becoming one. The flag represents the WHOLE nation!!!
They aren’t mad about the anthem.
If they were this kind of stuff would bother them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSLtNtStIog
It’s the black men part that makes them mad.
What’s with all the CAR players DNP?
NAME POSITION INJURY MON. STATUS
Addison, Mario DE Knee DNP
Coleman, Kurt S Knee DNP
Cox, Demetrious S Ankle DNP
Funchess, Devin WR Knee DNP
Kalil, Matt T Ankle DNP
Kalil, Ryan C Neck DNP
Larsen, Tyler C Shoulder DNP
Newton, Cam QB Right Shoulder LP
Peppers, Julius DE Shoulder DNP
Stewart, Jonathan RB Ankle DNP
Worley, Daryl CB Ankle DNP
“At Detroit” is a tough outing…. That’s a solid opponent.
Yeah, that game really took the wind out of our sails last year after the 3-0 start.
Yeah, the Eagles were beat up after that. The Lions are not a top team, but they are a tough team these days with that new Coach Caldwell and Matt Stafford at QB.
I am loving the contributions of many of these unsung hero types. I give Mike Kendricks big props for staying ready to play and making his contribution to the LB rotation and the blitz package. And Steve Wisniewski who stepped up big time and stabilized the O line.
Beau Allen didn’t make us forget Fletcher Cox, but made it tolerable to play without him for several games. And how about “The Return of the Eagle,” Kenjon Baner? And what about “How to Get Your Game Together, Part 1 and Part 2” starring Nelson Agholor and Patrick Robinson? And don’t forget “The Super Soldiers,” Brent Celek and Trey Burton!
The list seems endless. Like Tommy says…. Team Football! This team is a lot of fun to watch!
Don’t get your hopes up for Cox playing on Thursday.
With a 10 days rest looming before the huuuuge divisional game against the Skins on Monday night I can see Doug P. saving Cox for the showdown on MNG.
Also if I had to guess the target return dates would look as follows:
– Darby: week 9 against the Broncos
– S. Jones: week 11 against the Cowboys (after the bye).
Thank me later.
Why would he be practicing today if they were planning on sitting him Tuesday?
I agree with you but I believe the answer is “mind games for game prep towards the opponent”.
Your answer is below. 😉
I’m hoping Darby will be close to ready against the Broncos, which means sitting him through the bye so he’s gaming against Dallas. Even if Jones gets healthy, I have very mixed feelings about throwing a rookie just off an injury into the mix during a playoff drive.
6 weeks for Darby is Monday night.
That’s his ‘soft’ target return. Don’t think Eagles will risk that. Cox will be more important in that game.
Fantasy advice: I have two QBs on my team, Carson and Cam. I started with Cam, but benched him because he was atrocious and Carson was average. Now, both are hot. Last week Carson edged out Cam by a few points
Who would you start?
Which Carson?
Ours.
Given weak CBs and Kurt Coleman at Safety… this could be a nice week for Wentz to throw some TDs to Alshon, Torrey, and Nelson.
I’m looking for Alshon to have 100yds+, 2 tds, and to go home after the game thinking, “I definitely want to sign with the Eagles long-term so I can play with Wentz.”
I wouldn’t mind him leaving me thinking that I want him long-term! Though so far he has giving me exactly what I expected (which is far less than the general sentiment seemed to be here).
I think he and Wentz have yet to solidify their game. Alshon is playing well but I think his upside is still to come. Plus. by having him on the field, the opponents D have been committing their #1 cb to him, opening up possibilities for the other wrs.
Better than what we had, but nothing special. If we were able to give him Riley Cooper money I would be all about it.
Coleman won’t play on Thursday..
Carson – being objective as I can. We have a superior pass rush, and their OL is weak. And we have been able to control Cam – I recall a big sack (Thursday?) night game within the past few years.
It was MNF back in 2014 (the Mark Sanchez cheesesteak game). I recall Cam’s mobility being significantly limited due to injury.
Aha
Cam. Solely because of an emotional hedge.
I am considering this.
That’s what I normally do. Especially when betting against the Spread at work I take the Eagles opponent 90% of the time. Should have picked the Eagles covering the spread last week though…
Soooo. This year I have done a few things based purely on emotion, in fantasy. A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to pick up multiple guys playing against the Eagles, and passed on them even though I thought they were slightly better options, because I didn’t want to support the enemy. Then last week I started 2 Cardinals WR against the Eagles.
The first one worked the 2nd one didn’t. Take from that what you will.
I tried to keep my fandom out of it this year. I took NFCE rivals, and I usually don’t. I was going to avoid Eagles because they are often overdrafted in my league. I took Wentz in the 14th round of a 14-team league, then Smallwood in the 17th. I also have Dez.
Now, I am 5-0, facing the second place team. I am leaning towards Wentz, but it is a close call.
Wentz would stay in my lineup until he gave me a reason to take him out, or until week 9/10, Denver and the bye. Cam has Atlanta and Miami those weeks.
That is good logic.
Those were really good values for when you drafted them. I also have Dez in a league.
Trade Cam fuck him. Sell the buyer on Philly having no DBs. Cox is gonna wreck Cam and Philly will finally feast in primetime.
As a consumer of football, not having an Eagles game the next two Sundays will suck. As a fan that wants the team to do well, having 11 days off between a Thursday matchup and. Monday game plus a whole separate bye week is pretty great. They should be able to self scout and get healthy for the playoff run.
Agreed. I haven’t looked at the schedule yet but I’ll be searching for games with NFC rivals so I’ll have someone to root against. Oh, yea, hate for the Pats, too
I might be interesting to see how the Giants manage to field an offense this week.
Without OBJ, they won’t. What’s the over/under on Eli face?
One (3-hour long) Eli face is where my money goes.
It doesn’t look like a good week of football after our game.
The only games that look interesting are Steelers vs Chiefs and Packers vs Vikings. Rams vs Jaguars could be a wildcard.
Packers vs. Vikings doesn’t look THAT interesting… Did you catch the game last night?
The Viking are playing their B-team now, but the Pack earned a week of loyalty for beating the Cowboys.
Well yes especially when you compare it to the complete turds and most likely blowouts that will happen this week.
I think you might be overrating the Vikings.
Of course I am. but only because the other games are just that bad.
Most of the beats are still saying they don’t see Cox playing Thursday. With Beau being limited today our DT depth is paper thin.
And the biggest BEAT writer goes by the name of GE [scrolling down]..haha
THAT DIRTY NI GGER JENKINS INSISTS ON PROTESTING
So I don’t know how many people follow soccer here, but tonight the USMNT could still technically be eliminated from the world cup depending on the results. It’s VERY unlikely, but just the fact that we’re in that position on the last match of the Hex is fairly embarrassing.
“So I don’t know how many people follow soccer here”
There’s your answer right there. Soccer is at least 5th billing in viewership, and I can’t imagine it’s any higher than 4th in which sports the talent goes in to. Honestly, I’m amazed we do as well as we do considering.
Well we are pulling from a population of over 300 million. If even a fraction of our athletes are main sporting soccer it’s enough to field a solid team.
*shrug* We’re usually in the 15-30 range, which is pretty “solid” considering it’s not a major sport here.
Yep, I’d say closer to 30 than 15 usually but still we’re a pretty solid team overall.
Where’s the $$$ at. I’d rather play baseball
I think Michael Bradley sucks.
Does nothing but jog sound trying to look like he’s always anticipating. . But he is so lame.
Ha, i just watched the highlights and Bradley is walking in every single frame! !! He is the worst.
Here here. I am really looking forward to Argentina vs Ecuador tonight. Anything can happen and remember the last time Argentina has missed the World Cup was 1970…
It’s crazy that Argentina is that position as well… And honestly if they can’t defeat Ecuador with everything on the line, they don’t deserve to be there, Messi or no.
Inn Wharf Channel is this game on? They are showing the USA game on BeIn sports here. 🙁
Same here, its virus stream time.
You did this.
Asshole.
I HAVE THE POWER!!!!
Are we supposed to be scared of the Panthers?
Of course not. I just want to get out as healthy as possible after a short week. The MNG against the Skins is much bigger imo.
I’m leery of any thursday night games… sloppiness is the biggest enemy in those.
The hangover on Friday is what I’m wary of.
Scared?? No way. We are supposed to be prepared to win this game.
Their O-Line is missing 2 starters. The Kalil brothers. But even with them missing their O-Line is that great. Our D-Line need and should win their match ups.
No Olsen which makes the job easier on our LBs n S. Dickson be easy to handle. Not as much of a threat even though he had good game last week but that looked to be more blown coverages.
Their WRs fit perfectly for a DBs this time. Big bodies not speeders. So im thinking DBs playing up closer making Newton hold the ball a sec longer or force passes. Which is good for our DL.
Interior DL is where they are strong. With Short n Star. Their DEs average at best. Which is good coz we might not have Johnson this game.
Their LBs are good. They all can move. Ertz have a tough matchup.
DBs against this WR core. We got this. Or should have this.
That’s definitely a good start. On the flip side. Luke Kuechly lives where our offense likes to work. That’s going to be tough. Going to need a couple of big plays with Wentz’s arm to generate points, because it’s going to be hard to methodically drive down the field for 11 plays over the course of 8 minutes with a wrench like Kuechly being thrown in our gears. Will definitely be hard to keep up our 3rd down efficiency at any rate.
The game might hinge on, as you alluded to, the defense cashing in on some strong match-ups.
He’s about to be evicted. I’m actually excited for Thursday. We have seen this team play very sloppy at times and still win.
I also feel better now that the defenses have the deep ball on tape the middle of the field might be even more open
I’m scared of Thursday night games. They suck. Football on 3 days rest is a joke.
But 10 days off rest to prepare for the washington team at home is kinda a positive
Eagles fans making the front page of Reddit;-)
https://i.imgur.com/PxnXYOf.gifv
Wait is there Eagles beer cans??
No, not beer
Oh whats that they drinking? Fizzy drink or something? Wouldnt mind have a collector can like that.
Bud Light. Here you go…
https://www.ebay.com/i/202024747448?chn=ps&dispItem=1&ul_ref=http%253A%252F%252Frover.ebay.com%252Frover%252F1%252F711-117182-37290-0%252F2%253Fmpre%253Dhttps%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.ebay.com%25252Fi%25252F202024747448%25253Fchn%25253Dps%252526dispItem%25253D1%2526itemid%253D202024747448%2526targetid%253D335785606536%2526device%253Dt%2526adtype%253Dpla%2526googleloc%253D9006961%2526poi%253D1025197%2526campaignid%253D884782301%2526adgroupid%253D44756791576%2526rlsatarget%253Dpla-335785606536%2526abcId%253D1128996%2526merchantid%253D114973578%2526gclid%253DCjwKCAjw3_HOBRBaEiwAvLBbopB7lJMpceg5TtDGiu0pEZMIpBg-uvlMmPQRJ9Tjjom-Te0ppa3fLhoCJ-AQAvD_BwE%2526srcrot%253D711-117182-37290-0%2526rvr_id%253D1332883015107
Sweet thanks man. $6 including shipping.
And now that we have all accepted they will rest him…
https://twitter.com/rapsheet/status/917812168770441216
In a way, I hope Doug is pulling full Belichickian maneuver to F with the Panthers and lying his ass off on the injury report.
So all the cårds are on the table and everybody’s back on Thursday….
I like it
I still think they will rest Cox.
Maybe. But even if that is the plan now, sometimes when the evening rolls around Cox can persuade you to put him in.
So to speak.
Oh my sweet merciful jesus, the US failed to qualify for the world cup.
Really? Damn
We went out losing to Trinidad and Tobago. We deserve this.
No fair, two against one!
You know, I don’t normally like tricky playcall Doug, but this might be the week to bust out some out of the box stuff. Short week, probably going to be a sloppy game, maybe hit them with some stuff they’re not expecting.
How about…THREE ineffectual wide receiver screens!
Both teams power football with play action passing deep. Two play making quarterbacks. 4-1 vs 4-1
I don’t want to seem biased but this is probably the best Thursday Night Football is going to be all year.
THE EAGLES NI GGERS WILL LOSE TO THE CAROLINA NI GGERS