Attitude Matters
Posted: November 2nd, 2017 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 192 Comments »Jalen Mills is delusional. He thinks he is a combination of Deion Sanders, Darrelle Revis and Superman, but only better. He breaks up a pass. We see the finger wag. The receiver drops the ball. We see the finger wag.
Mills is convinced he is responsible for everything good that happens and he won’t acknowledge things that went wrong. Good CBs need a short memory and his memory seems to be as short as it gets.
Jim Schwartz could see Mills attitude right away last year. That helped Schwartz fall in love with him. Schwartz doesn’t want corners who hope to do well. He wants corners that think they can shut down anyone on Earth and do it with ease. Schwartz loves players that are confident and aggressive. That’s why he hated Eric Rowe.
You can pull up a scouting report and see that Rowe had the right size, length, speed and agility numbers to be a good starting corner. You can see some clips from college where he looked really good. But Schwartz saw up close and personal that Rowe didn’t have attitude. He didn’t believe in himself. He didn’t have the finger wag.
Rowe “picked off” Christian Hackenberg in the 2016 preseason finale. Actually, he was out of bounds, but he still caught the pass. Rowe kept that ball. As a trophy. This was a guy who was genuinely thrilled to almost come up with an INT off a crappy rookie QB in the preseason finale. That would make sense if Rowe was a rookie himself, but he was a second year player. Rowe battled against Megatron on national TV as a rookie. How could he celebrate the almost pick like that?
Mills struggled as a rookie, but has made great strides this year. He will never be anything close to a shutdown corner, but he is showing that he could end up being a quality starter.
https://twitter.com/Eagles/status/925716784698753025
Mills has played in all eight games this year. He has 10 pass breakups and 3 INTs. He has 33 solo tackles and a TFL.
Rowe has played in 28 career games. He has 50 solo tackles, 12 PBUs and 2 INTs.
A lot of people were very upset with the Eagles and Schwartz when Rowe was dealt. Schwartz gave Rowe all spring and summer to show him something. That never happened. Never came close. Schwartz knew it wasn’t going to happen so he was ready to cut bait and move on. The Eagles dealt Rowe and Mills got a lot of his playing time.
You obviously want really talented players, but at the very least, you want guys that play the way you want. Mills plays the way Schwartz wants. He is cocky, aggressive and willing to take chances. I don’t know what the future holds for Mills with Ronald Darby, Sidney Jones and Rasul Douglas in the mix, but I can tell you that Mills won’t be giving anyone his job. He will fight like heck to stay on the field and it won’t shock me if he does.
*****
Doug Pederson has emphasized competition all year long. This could be players on the team competing in weightlifting or in a practice drill. This could also be players battling for playing time.
Constantly competing has brought out the best in many players and the team as a whole.
This mentality will be important as Jay Ajayi tries to fit in on the field and in the locker room. He is talented and will be taking someone’s carries. Someone won’t be happy about that. Duce Staley and Pederson will share the message that the best players will play. This won’t be about draft status or salary. If you’re good, you play. If someone is better than you, they play.
It is easy to say this, but getting players to buy in is the challenge. Pederson has been preaching it all year so that will give his message credence and it won’t come across as random coachspeak.
*****
Eagles promoted QB Nate Sudfeld from practice squad to roster. Another team (not sure which) tried to poach him. Team likes him a lot.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) November 1, 2017
The only thing keeping Nate Sudfeld from the Hall of Fame is Carson Wentz.
I hate losing Hamilton, but the Eagles had 6 DTs and someone had to go. They love Destiny Vaeao and still have high hopes for Elijah Qualls. That made Hamilton the odd man out. Personally, I like Hamilton better than Qualls. Time will tell us which one is the better player.
*****
Vance Joseph told the team this morning, as expected, Brock Osweiler will start vs the Eagles.
— James Palmer (@JamesPalmerTV) November 1, 2017
I’m not sure how I feel about this. Trevor Siemian was really struggling so you can argue that facing him would have been better. At the same time, Osweiler is not a good QB. And he’s a huge target for the pass rush to go after. Sunday will be interesting.
_
I was def worried about Mills going into this season, but man he has really improved.
Lets get this W!!! Lets get that 8-1 record!! #FlyEaglesFly
Is it possible the Sudfeld move indicates a lack of faith in Foles?
Read somewhere a team was trying to sign him off the practice squad forcing Eagles to promote him. Must like him as a long term solution at backup QB to Wentz. A cheaper one too.
Eagles must be impressed by what he has done so far and think he can be a long term backup.
I kind of expected the Eagles to draft a QB in 2018 to be the no.3 and then take on Foles back up role in 2019, but maybe Sudfeld can be that guy for the Eagles.
Given the number of picks, I’d be really surprised to see them take a QB. I’d guess they pick up a crappy veteran or two for camp.
Keeping Sudfeld means they don’t have to burn a valuable pick in a year when they don’t have a lot of firepower.
Honestly with Wentz so good now, only having 1 super cheap guy is the right move. No reason to have an expensive backup moving forward.
Also some team will give Foles a chance next year consider the overall QB play in the NFL
Correct, even if you only get back a 7th rounder, trading Foles is the right move in the offseason due to salary.
I think the cap savings if traded is 5.2M vs. a savings of only 4M if they just release him. Either way, I imagine he will be gone if we like the young kid, but when it brings you an extra million that 7th rounder looks even better.
Does not need to be expensive cough *Daniel* cough, but we do need to have a reliable backup in case Wentz goes down. This team should not lose all hope to a championship season bc the Eagles were willing to short cut the QB position
Colts, supposedly.
I don’t know Doc. We only know that Foles’ arm has not been tested much in games or public practices. Think he had 5-6 snaps on Sunday but he didn’t throw a pass.
Rather a lack of faith in Foles’ contract.
more pointedly-lack of cap space
According to OTC his cap number next year is $7.6 million, with only $2.1 million in cap savings of they cut him. Howie WTF are you doing? Stop overpaying for backup QBs.
Not really.
The way you should ideally work your backup QBs is spend a late rounder/priority UDFA every 2 years. You preferably hide that guy on PS for 2 years (they couldn’t anymore with Sudfeld) or backend of your 53 and let him develop. Then you use the final two years on his rookie deal to have a cheap ass backup.
Foles was brought in because Carson is young and so the extra set of veteran eyeballs doesn’t hurt and we didn’t have viable backup QB in place. So in 2019 Sudfeld becomes QB2 and you find a late round pick or UDFA you like and repeat the process.
I’d even say that Sudfeld becomes QB2 in 2018 already. The chunk amount of Foles’ salary can be rather spent on signing guys like Jernigan and other important own Free Agents.
Maybe but it’s really only a net of about $1.5 mil.
Way less money than say Vinny Curry.
Curry has more TFLs than Foles though!
You can find a ring chasing backup DE for < $5mil
The ring chasers are old and get hurt…Ahmad brooks comes to mind…
Chris Long seems pretty healthy
I read yesterday the plan (or hope) may be Sudfeld is back up next year and Foles is traded, perhaps to a team as a holdover QB while that team finds one. Like a team where an assistant from the Eagles goes (after they win the SB).
They’re all same tall lanky similar body type. Probably able to run same offense. Rather than switching from Vick to foles.
Pederson is like Andy Reid, he wants a backup veteran QB and wants a young QB to develop. Eventually Sudfeld will show some promise, then Howie will trade him for 3rd or 4th pick. Ha!
I never had any love for Rowe, so I wasn’t as bothered as the Rowe lovers. He has tight hips and was always trialing behind guys. Pretty sure Schwartz hated that more than his attitude if Rowe was actually decent. Then again people were calling me crazy when I didn’t want to touch Jones and grab Lattimore in the draft.
Is it confirmed that we dumped Hamilton for Sudfield?I really thought he had a future here as a main backup.
“He has tight hips and was always trialing behind guys.” – what are you implying?
Cutting Hamilton is official. If he clears waivers, again, he might end up on the PS, again.
Always thought he looked like a safety to me
I thought the same thing, similar to what Dallas did with byron Jones
“You can pull up a scouting report and see that Rowe had the right size, length, speed and agility numbers to be a good starting corner.”
Measurables
“A lot of people were very upset with the Eagles and Schwartz when Rowe was dealt.”
I wonder what the opinions would have been if we had traded Rowe for Ajayi directly.
“Duce Staley and Pederson will share the message that the best players will play.” I understand this approach — with rookies/part time/older players. I can also see this approach when a starter goes down(say lineman) and 2 back ups complete. Don’t agree with the approach with established RB’s (sans NE). I think this promotes instability. Players like to have their role defined. AJ you’re the starter – Blount — short yardage guy. Smallwood/Clement – keep in shape. If that doesn’t work – work in Smallwood/Clement to see how they do. That’s better/more stable than — Clement played better so he’s in. Wait – Blount played better so he’s in. Wait, AJ scored so he’s in. Each time you have 3(or more) players thinking – what the hey, I played well too. Couple that with — if Blount and Smallwood were dominating – no trade would have happened(Eagles need draft pics). I don’t think they traded for AJ so he can rotate in and out with 3 to 4 other rb’s the next 2 years. I don’t think this is a ‘hey – whoever’s hot plays’ as indicated — I think this is the AJ/Blount show….
I think the plan is for now, best RB plays and the results will define the roles….but come late season and playoffs, people will know their roles.
and that’s a huge bonus when you’re 7-1….but I think there’s more to this than “best rb plays”. If the results were better, as of today with the current staff, AJ wouldn’t be needed. That kind of says already who the best(or better) backs are. That would mean the thought process of ‘hot hand’ doesn’t hold true. By default, AJ is already the hot hand. But that’s just me thinking out loud. 7-1 – plenty of time to see how things iron out…
Why are you reversing his initials?
And I disagree. Getting Jtrain was first of all, not just about this year. And I hate simplifying things to the point where – they got him therefor it definitely means that they weren’t happy with what they had.
I’ve heard a lot of criticism about the backs we had, and a lot of it is valid, but we had the best record in the NFL and were in the top 10 (5?) in rushing before the trade. So I think it’s plenty fair to call BS on the “the RB’s weren’t getting it done” narrative – which really, you have to entirely ignore the big picture and get mired in paralysis by analysis to buy….
Howie saw an opportunity to get much better – and pounced.
As far as playing time/snaps going forward – there are many dynamics that contribute to those decisions. And it will be dynamic going forward.
typo…
you’re words “to get much better”. So, first you say – Eagles are just fine…then say ‘get much better’. You’re arguing my point. Next – go look at Blount’s numbers inside the red zone. He’s not getting the job done. That’s a fact.
(working backwards on your points) —
– Is “the job” to get Blount good redzone numbers, or to win football games? We seem to disagree on the answer
– Why can’t you get much better from just fine? If I need $1,000 a week to live a decent life, is an opportunity to take in $3,000 a week not “much better”? You don’t have to be in a bad situation to get much better. Am I wrong?
don’t let facts get in your way:In Philadelphia. LeGarrette Blount has gotten 18 red zone carries. That ranks fifth in the NFL but Blount has only scored twice. Blount has eight carries from inside the 5-yard line. He has -5 yards on those eight carries and one score. Expect Ajayi to start eating into Blount’s goal-line work and produce better red zone numbers now that he’s running behind a much better offensive line than the one he had in Miami.
Also Blount I read is on pace to have 2nd most carries in his career. Eagles FO prob thinks best result is he splits with Blount and they are fresh for the playoffs and hammer everyone, then next year Blount is gone.
Douglas is a long-armed, rangy guy that is at his best breaking on the ball and attacking.
Mills is aggressive, tackles really well, and shows excellent awareness and leadership.
Both are a liability running stride for stride with a fast WR.
I can’t help but picture a future when Jenkins slows where our secondary is compromised of CB Darby, FS Douglas, SS Mills, and CB Jones. It makes me happy.
I don’t think Douglas will ever be a safety. I could see him playing on the outside while Jones or Darby slide into the slot. Just because Douglas can’t ply the slot doesn’t mean he can’t get on the field in nickel.
Speaking of this, what will our secondary look like next year?
CB- Darby, Jones
Nickel – Mills
Safeties — Jenkins, McLeod
Depth – Douglas
Off roster- Robinson
Can Mills succeed in teh slot?
I got robinson staying on the roster for depth just based off of his above average slot play this year alone
He can succeed in the slot. He’ll tackle and can cover the jitterbugs. He’ll be vulnerable on third and short/medium when he has to get up on the line to guys with vertical speed just as he is on the outside. But there’s also likely to be safety help closer to him.
Long term Mills is probably the heir-apparent for Jenkins. Let him play robber, deep half, and drop him down in man.
I like Hamilton better than Qualls as well. I hope they add Hamilton to the PS.
I’m tired of it when, mentioning Mills, you have to say what he will never be. “He will never be a shut down corner, but…”. I’m tired of the backhanded compliments. Jalen Mills is a good football player. Get over it.
He’s a good cornerback when he plays 10 yards off the line of scrimmage and has a safety playing over the top, just like almost all corners in the NFL.
In other words, he’s a good cornerback
He’s playing so well that according to Charles Davis, he is in contention for the Pro Bowl.
Sarcasm aside, PFF has little regard for Mills:
“WORST-GRADED: Jalen Mills, CB, 46.5
The Eagles may have the best defensive front in football, but the back end is relying a little bit on smoke and mirrors, and the unsustainable play of Patrick Robinson, suddenly the team’s best cornerback due to injury. Robinson has six pass breakups and two interceptions, and has played phenomenally well, but the Eagles secondary is being relentlessly targeted, and may struggle to maintain parity over the season.”
https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-ranking-all-32-nfl-defenses-after-week-6
This was written prior to Mills’ game against the 0-7 49ers who had a 3rd round rookie QB starting his 2nd game.
Giants won a SB on a dominant front and week secondary :). I don’t care where he’s rated 🙂
The Giants won with Eli. Twice!
That is so hard to wrap my head around.
GAH! Just reading that makes me cry
PFF also thinks Wentz is garbage.
Sarcasm aside, no one who knows shit about football takes PFF seriously.
Evidently 30 NFL teams don’t know shit about football.
Chip Kelly, who owns a share of the company, obviously does not know shit about football either.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dc-sports-bog/wp/2017/09/20/__trashed/
If you think the NFL gives a fuck about the grades, you’re wrong.
They pay for the charting information. The value to them is the quality control coach gets to go home twice a week.
But if you really want to argue that teams are more dependent on anonymous guys basing their grades off TV copy and posting 10 minutes after the game, instead of their large pro personnel staffs, by all means be my guest.
PFF grades are about as scientific as Jimmy’s report cards.
So people who know about football do take PFF seriously, just not their grades.
When anyone says PFF they mean the grades not the charting. You cited a grade.
You know your argument was trash now you’re trying to back out of it on semantics.
My comment was sarcasm.
So a guy who now has a financial stake in a company has now changed his opinion on the quality of their product? I’m shocked!
I think you got that backwards. He bought a stake in the company after he changed his opinion on the quality of the product.
That’s what it says in the advertisement/article you linked to. Of course, that story is being told specifically to advertise how great PFF is, with the intended effect of making more money for the stakeholders of PFF.
Note that Mills is still graded 10+ points higher than several other teams’ starting corners on that list who rated worst on the team. Even our worst players are not bad (well, Maybe Joe Walker) and that’s why the D is consistent.
Just like almost all GOOD corners. The great ones don’t need help, but we have suffered through a parade of guys in recent years that would not fit your definition of an NFL corner.
how many ‘shut down’ corners are there? They are a rare breed…hard to compare any CB’s to ‘shut down’….
Right. Brandon Graham will never be Reggie White….it’s just an unnecessary statement. Mills is a good player. He’s gotten a lot better since last season and you don’t see his lack of long speed show up too much on film. And although CJ Beathard is far from Tom Brady, Mills is clearly studying his opponents considering his INT from Sunday where he broke on the ball before the receiver did.
Another gripe. He will “never” be a shut down corner. Says who? I think it’s unlikely but I wouldn’t say never.
The Jags might have two…
I don’t think the true shutdown guys exist in the modern league.
Guys I would consider CB1 (a guy who can go toe to toe w/ anybody and handle themselves):
Butler
Gilmore
Jimmy Smith
Kirkpatrick
Ramsey
Bouye
Talib
Harris
Roby
Peters
Norman
Slay
Rhodes
Trufant
Lattimore
Peterson
Sherman
Trumaine Johnson
That’s 18.
I’d also allow arguments for
Darby
Treddy White
Apple
Janoris
You’re talking about a max of 22
Dre Kirkpatrick over Janoris?
I haven’t exactly done a ton of film study on them all. I wouldn’t fight you on that.
Apple, as in Eli? I certainly haven’t studied it, but it has always been my impression that he gets beat a lot.
again i’m not watching all these guys a ton but he’s seemed pretty sticky when i’ve watched him, i put him on the second list because he’s young and has some inconsitencies. Again he could be just kinda crap my sample size is pretty small.
I could definitely been wrong too, as my observations are purely anecdotal and probably biased because I like to believe players on the Giants and Cowboys are all overrated.
I have to disagree. It is Schwartz’s job to get the BEST out of every player he is given. Will it happen every time? No, of course not, but to blame everything on Rowe for why it did not work here is likely inaccurate imo.
The apparent reality that he already had a bias against Rowe since he did not have the “swagger” he likes and thus gave up on him, leading to him being traded for a 4th rd pick is not a ringing endorsement imo.
Rowe is not a great player and does have responsibility for his part of what happened, but why do we need to continue to bash him a long time after he left? We’ll see if Mills pans out long term – he has improved this year and he & Schwartz deserve credit for that. Yet, he still has issues as a CB and is far from a great player.
So you just throw fit out the window?
We see players constantly fail due to poor fit. Connor Barwin was a poor fit in our 4-3. Chris Long isn’t significantly more talented or explosive at this stage of their careers, but he is a much better fit in the 4-3 scheme.
Jason Babin sucked for Houston. Put him in a wide 9 and he terrorized QBs.
Byron Maxwell was a stud in the confines of the Seattle defense. He’a struggles mightily in Philly and Miami.
The best chance teams have of sucess is finding players that fit both the scheme and dare I say “culture” they are developing. If a guy that was drafted by another regime doesn’t fit and you don’t see it working, move on and get some value in return.
I could probably be a solid CB if you put me in a defense that commits penalties so often that the officials start ignoring them.
There are differences between types of fit in my view.
Barwin was a bad scheme fit for the 4-3 because he fit best the OLB role in a 3-4 scheme. Forcing him to become a DE in the 4-3 was doomed to fail.
Similar for Babin as you mention
Maxwell was a bad scheme fit for Davis’ system and bad talent evaluation by the Eagles. He was a component part in Seattle, expecting him to be a #1 CB here was folly.
Tommy is talking about attitude or confidence; a mindset that can help lesser talent succeed more than they might have otherwise.
I agree it is important, but I would not be judging players solely on that factor or, in Rowe’s case, dismissing talent simply because the player has a different personality or does not meet one’s “swagger” quotient.
culture over scheme??
The 2 should be linked. Not one over the other
I think that’s overreacting to the analysis. To me, the point is that Schwartz knows what he needs from his CBs. And those qualities may not be the same thing that other schemes need from their CBs. It seems fairly obvious that Schwartz wants aggressive CBs, and all the positives and negatives that come from that trait. They’re going to get burned by being aggressive – Schwartz doesn’t want that to affect them.
The fact that Rowe didn’t fit well with Schwartz’s scheme =/= he’s a bad CB. He’s just not the right fit, and it’s better for both player and team to recognize that early and move on.
I’d rather have a coordinator that knows what he needs from each position and ruthlessly applies it than have a converted OL coach who tries his best to make all the disparate pieces he has fit into a coherent scheme. I think the evidence favors the former approach.
Completely agree. The only scary thing is what if Schwartz gets poached for a HC gig? What if our new DC has different needs at some of these key positions? I think it will be important for DP to find a DC that is comfortable with the current roster while Schwartz has more leeway to rebuild the defense.
I disagree.
As far as skill set and measurables, Rowe fit into the Schwartz scheme just fine. Schwartz, like Chip Kelly and apparently Adam Gase, needs players who fit his mindset 1st, and skill set 2nd.
Obviously Rowe has been bitten by the injury bug in New England and hasn’t played much this season, but if he could fit into Belichick’s defensive system and the “Patriot Way”, it magnifies the narrow approach Schwartz takes in evaluating players.
Tommy didn’t bash him, he mentioned what happen to illustrate a different point.
He bashed him several times during the article:
1. Openly questioned why Rowe would keep a ball that he got in a game as if it showed him to be selfish or clueless. Seemed vindictive and stretching to make a point.
2. Stated Rowe does “not have attitude” and “does not believe in himself”. How on earth does Tommy know this? He doesn’t. No player who made it to the NFL does not believe in themselves or have some attitude. Otherwise, they would have given up long ago and stopped working the long hours to hone their craft.
The point is Rowe did not have ENOUGH attitude to placate Schwartz or overcome his bias which is sad.
3. Stated Schwartz hated Rowe. I’d love to hear or see proof of that; seems over the top. If Schwartz truly hated Rowe, there must have been a lot more going on than just this issue. We never heard of anything so call me skeptical.
4. He posted stats for both players while completely dropping context that Rowe missed time both seasons and plays backing up two good starters in NE whereas Mills is starting due to our lack of other options at CB. If Mills was in NE, he would not be starting either. It certainly makes Rowe look bad in comparison, but again is slanted.
1,2,3: Tommy is privy to conversations with people that you are not.
4. He did provide context. 28 career games played for Rowe vs Mills 2017. This is an eagles fan website. People know what’s happened with rowe.
For more specific context: 1046 career snaps for Rowe vs 506 for Mills this year.
As a point to attitude, the Seattle Seahawks put a huge emphasis on this. They like guys that have overcome adversity in their lives and have a chip on their shoulder. Many athletes are given passes throughout their lives and are not used to overcoming adversity. They come to the NFL where everyone is crazy talented and struggle to adjust to competing for playing time or not being a star. The Ravens always look for tough, physical players. The Patriots force players to conform the “the patriot way” or they are gone. Nobody is safe.
This all boils down to what we call creating and identity. It is something our eagles teams have lacked for a very long time. Great teams have an identity. Something identifiable about the way they play the game, the way the practice, and the players the bring into the fold.
Great point. And I believe we have several if not many guys on our team that fit that description.
“Identity” is most often applied after winning.
and it’s brother chemistry.
I think Cleveland has a pretty clear identity right now
They have their own brand of winning.
you can’t spell process without P-R-O
They also have a very talented secondary and have invested huge dollars into it too. More than any other NFL team.
Yeah after the drafted everyone in it. It’s not like they signed a bunch of FAs. The developed those guys by instilling a culture.
this game is kind of a freebie, would be awesome if they won but it’s the Dallas game that is so much more important.
Kinda disagree. Eagles are big game hunting now, the no.1 seed is massive for this team. The Link is a becoming a fortress and i have no desire to go into some of the more hostile stadiums in the NFL if have to play the Seahawks, Saints or Vikings deep in the playoffs.
We need a buffer considering we still have to go west coast and play the Seahawks and possibly give them a valuable tiebreaker over us if we lose.
We are a better team than the Broncos and they are coming into our house. We have to win those games if we want to be a top seed.
It’s important but it’s an AFC game so it’s not as valuable from a tiebreaker perspective. Wins are good but a win over Seattle or the Rams is more important both from a head to head and tie breaker standpoint.
Tiebreakers only matter if your records are tied. I’d rather just win these AFC games so it’s not even a discussion!
I have to admit I’m kind of shocked, but McDermott has been doing a great job in Buffalo. He got rid of quite a few good players from that roster and has them at 5-2.
Check out this feature.
Jalen Mills is one of the most enjoyable players on the team to me. Love the swagger. Love the fight. He’s like a tough little dog that becomes the Alpha Dog in the pack of big dogs.
Eagles’ website has a feature on him called “The Green Goblin” with Jalen’s story, nice photos and great art direction. Rarely do you see player features like this. Check out the NFC Defensive Player of the Week.
https://spark.adobe.com/page/r1JVvil5RrcVk/
He’s an easy guy to root for, that’s for sure. Although I’m just not sure of that green hair nub on the back of his neck.
Just can’t take the nickname “goblin” .. yuck
Damn, Wentz is the NFC player of the month while Watson is the AFC player of the month. Cleveland fans are having a bad week.
A bad “week” is a good month for Browns fans.
All this crap about how their front office outsmarted us a few years ago. Sheesh.
To be fair, they did build a great team with all those draft picks, which really set them up for the future, and with their FA signings put them in great position to win, and just need the QB to be a dominant team.
That QB will be in a great position, I mean going to a talented team thats already… Oh wait, they’re 0-8 and look horrible all around. All that talent they were supposed to add in the draft hasn’t looked all that talented. That roster just has very little actual NFL talent.
And they have been doing this long enough that any talent they do find is leaving out the back door as fast as it is coming in the front.
Really easy to get fluffed by the football analytics community when you hire a guy from Football Outsiders for your front office.
To be fair, some of us thought we were going to be the next Browns when we rehired Howie as GM and hired Doug as coach.
Coming to a theater near you….. “Dummy Ball”
(working title, also in consideration)
“Crummy Ball”
“Remember the Draft Picks”
“Any Given Trade Day”
The story of Paul DePodesta, Chief Strategy Officer of the Cleveland Browns and avid Magic the Gathering Grand Master
Starring Kevin Costner as Paul DePodesta a real Cleveland Front Office Exec….. this time.
Samuel L. Jackson as Sashi Brown, a Browns GM who overcame odds in someway.
Dave Chappelle as Hue Jackson for some reason.
…..and introducing Tommy Lawlor as Howie Roseman.
Movie Tag-Line: “The Sixers Did it….”
(Alternates)
“Started at the Bottom, and Still There”
“The Browns… we have uniforms and everything, it’s great”
“Can’t be as bad as “Draft Day” the Movie”
Is it ever a good week in Cleveland?
I met my wife in Cleveland. That was a very good week!
Let her know the analytics recommend you trade her for 3 or 4 crappy wives that you will divorce in two years.
Lol
When SB has played and NBA is gearing up for playoffs. That might be 3 or 4 good weeks.
From a weather perspective, about 2-4 weeks in the spring and 4-6 weeks in the fall.
That and the fact they still live in Cleveland.
Has Mills even done the finger wag this year? I’ve been waiting for it, but it seems like he’s moved away from it.
(Which is good; I hate the finger wag gesture almost as much as I hate the “feed me” gesture…)
I’m starting to think you haven’t watched any games this season when the defense is on the field;-) Between Mills and Rasul, there are quite a few finger wags per game.
I’ve actually heard that GEICO has approached both Mills and Douglas to revive the “not in my house” commercial.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtXtOuxBuvQ
Strange that no one else corrected me then. I guess everyone else is blind too.
I watch the games with a group every week. We all finger wag each other every time one of those 2 do it. Its something we look for and laugh about when it happens.
https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/927445711934779393
Haha! He finally brought it back yesterday!
I burst out laughing when he did it…making Mutombo proud.
Finger wag is good for a CB. It shows he’s passionate and engaged and I just can’t think of anything else I’d like for CB. Fist pump is worse than a finger wag although that’s probably what I would do haha .
I think it is more than appropriate for TD celebrations tho
Mills plays every snap along with Jenkins and McCloud. That tells you he is rarely out of position. What he doesn’t have with speed and size, the makes up for with understanding, positioning, and studying. I’ll take it.
I think the idea with Hamilton is that it is less likely that he will be picked up by another team. But keep an eye on NE, they are thin on the line and their top DT is injured.
I instantly thought, “OH NOT BROCK BREAKOUT GAME” But then remembered he’s been on like 10 teams since he started for the Broncos last FOR A REASON. Dude is a gonna be a sleeping bag on Sunday.
Like a Spinal Tap amp, Brock might go to 11.
The one fear is something of a dead cat bounce — maybe the other players have some brief hope, and play harder for a while. And there is no tape on Osweiler for the Broncos this year, so teams may take a bit to adjust. Siemian was getting worse and worse — would have been nice to be the last team on that trajectory.
I assume Paxton Lynch will be given a chance once healthy, which may be soon.
This secondary is all smoke and mirrors. Some qb with good wr is going to throw 50/50 balls all day and expose them. Hope db can get enough picks to scare them from that strategy and Carson and co can keep defense off the field or score enough points.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/77821a242a11d7f9ae5036d8afc1184a453490bb4bd47885cf74edcaf10da186.jpg
You get the prize!
Go back to the GB game last season or parts of the Giants game this season. An offense that has a OL/blocking scheme to slow down our rush and a QB with speedy weapons who can employ the quick pass game can give our defense problems.
Thankfully, not many teams have all those facets. The other help for the defense is we usually play with a lead and thus the opponent struggles with staying balanced. If we got behind against a team with the above facets, it could be a long day.
Huh? 50/50 balls all day? The big issue with our CBs (minus Darby) is speed not competitiveness in coverage.
I don’t think they’re that good but I wouldn’t say it’s all smoke and mirrors either. Darby, Jones, Mills and Douglas could be a nice set of CBs next year.
Astros WS win: trust the process
NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports the Texans fear Deshaun Watson suffered a torn ACL in Thursday’s practice.
Houston really doesn’t get nice things…. At least they can now get better draft picks, and come back in 2018 with their insane DL and a fit healthy Watson….
They got a world series tho
REALLY f’s my fantasy team, but I’m using Carson’s now lock for MVP as distraction….sort of….ugh
That’s absolutely awful.
That is absurd that his season ends on a routine handoff in practice. He also seems like a great guy. I feel bad for him.
Matt McGloin back in the NFL
Sh*t…hope its nothing too bad.
Zach Ertz (hamstring) was limited at Thursday’s practice.
Late-week additions to the injury report are never a good thing, though as of now, there’s little to suggest Ertz is in danger of missing Week 9. Assuming he gets the green light, Ertz will take a four-game touchdown streak into Sunday’s matchup against Denver.
Not a great sign…
https://twitter.com/jimmykempski/status/926169120294555648
Mrs Ertz probably pulled it.
Nice Zach. Take one for the team…
report I read said he was asked if he was good and that he replied yup and walked away( not favoring any leg)
Without him we may lose on Sunday.
https://deadspin.com/bomani-jones-on-tom-bradys-bizarre-training-schemes-t-1820038413
Glad somebody called BS on Brady. The Boston sports media made fun of it but they have been careful to not outright say Brady and his trainer are full of $hit.
The guy is a 2-time cheater in the NFL. Brady has proven to be dishonest and immoral.
Dude that is a mighty steep and lonely climb ..
Mills is still too slow to play outside and what has been a very good/great DL is covering for that.
Even when QBs have had time to throw its not like Mills is getting roasted. He’s just learned to not let every snap turn into a footrace.
I think Mills has shown all Spring, Summer, and now Fall that he is an adequate corner. Thought he showed himself as adequate last year. This year he is actually pretty damn solid.
Hate that we are getting Osweiler. That is an uber talented team. That spark could light one hell of a fire.
I Feel the same.
“We were underachieving slackers until Osweiler got under center,” said no one ever.
People seem to be more worried about Brock O. than Emmanuel Sanders who comes back to the Broncos lineup this week. Did Osweiler suddenly get good?
No. But he has a big arm to air it out. I think that’s where the fear is coming from
Kind of but I don’t like his slingshot throwing motion.
Mostly for the reasons I listed, but I am also nervous about Sander for sure.
Sanders is much better than Osweiler.
Yeah I agree he sucks.
You guys might remember the 2004 season; the last time we went to the super bowl after starting the season 7-1.
After that great start we went into Pittsburgh and had our arses whooped. This Sunday has sort of the same ring to it. And I wouldn’t mind if a possible humbling loss has us even more focused for the second half of the season.
Go birds.
This game looks nothing like that Pittsburgh game. That game was a showdown of undefeated teams. This is…not that.
Yeah. That Steelers’ team was a really good team (went 15-1) and they had just beaten Pats soundly the week before.
It was billed as a matchup between the best 2 teams in the NFL that week.
Eagles are home against a team who offense has been horrendous and just changed their starting QB for their former mediocre starting QB. Also coming off a short week against a divisional rival.
QB change is a bit of a wild care but no reason the Eagles should lose this one either.
Pittsburgh was the 1 in the 7-1.
Wondering what would have happened if Watson’s injury happened before trade deadline, and if Foles would have been considered
Best victory formation QB in the league.
Gotta give credit to this whole coaching staff:
Mills and Ags both looked like they weren’t going to be major contributors to this teams success. Both have helped us win games this year. Never would have believed it last year.
Wentz… sure
Ertz…ok
Cox… yup
Graham… definetly
but those two….. yea right. Glad to be so wrong!
I see where Kiko Alonso did not get suspended for a questionable hit on Joe Flacco. That is good news to me. That rule, as it applies to running QB’s is a gotcha rule. The QB can time his slide to elevate the probability that his nearest opponent will get flagged, or better yet, get suspended. The safe play for defenders is to run at the running QB with a determination to AVOID contact. This isn’t football. In an ill-conceived policy to allow the NFL to say they are doing something to protect the QB. Apparently the rule has been in place for decades, but the recent strategy to combine the right to slide with protecting the QB at every turn has yielded a de facto advantage to the offense. The Alonso hit came inches away from the first-down marker. Requiring defenders to exercise restraint after years of conditioning to play to the whistle is whack.
Agreed. I think QBs have a habit of milking that rule. Same with running out of bounds. Lots of QBs try to wait to the very last second in hopes the defenders will contact them just enough for a flag. Everyone one of them gets up and screams for a flag at the slightest contact.
Either get down or get KTFO.
Edit: Not saying Kiko shouldn’t be flagged. But I understand
Nice report, appreciated.
Suspended? No, but he certainly gave himself up, and it was certainly unnecessary roughness in every since of the term. The QB is considered down the INSTANT he gives himself up. Therefore he gains no extra yards on the slide. I don’t see the advantage.
Kiko is an idiot. We all know that. Only reason he hit Joe like he did is because he doesn’t understand the rule. He made a bad football play and was penalized appropriately.
I agree that QBs often try to slide late to get every last yard, and if they are hit in that situation, I have little sympathy for it. However, to me, Alonso changed his angle once the slide began rather than keep going, and that changed angle happened to impart a ton of force at the head. Simply hitting the QB there should be OK — Alonso had no time to stop — but I don’t like the last part. May have been instinctual as it happened very fast, but those are instincts you don’t want. If he had time to change this target to the head, he had time to change it elsewhere (or not change it and go over the top somewhat). But maybe they decided a fine is better. Flacco definitely slid late and deserved to still be hit, but the head stuff really should stop. No way was that spot Alonso’s original target.
On the side-angle replay i saw, Kiko cocked his shoulder so it would hit the ‘upper body’, and the shoulder ripped the helmet off. That is extracting maximum violence from the ‘tackle’. Hit to the head obviously, unnecessary roughness possibly. But suspend for what?
Joe Flacco is 6’5.
In order for Kiko to have “accidentally” hit Flacco in the head he would have to claim he was trying to tackle Flacco in the knees.
No one believes that.
I’m looking at pretty crappy screen at a bar, but are the Jets wearing all Kelly Green for color rush?
I thought that was Forest green the Jets have on
DeShaun Watson!! That sucks!
(Sorry just catching up on the day’s events after a long Thursday).
Now I’m googling what I’m missing
Tore acl in practice . Lost for year. Luckily they signed Matt McGloin said ….
Horrifying sad news for the kid.
My attitude is 50/50 100%of the time … thanks Eagles players, coaches & mgt for 100 pct of half the good 50
J Mat just fumbled .. only 2nd fumble lost by the Bills ask season .. % wise is enough to want to void the trade
Jets unis look terrible.
Im ok with the sparkle green on the helmets w double stripes
Cedric Thornton making some plays. . You gotta LOVE that cat, making a career from being undrafted !!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF5stdluEik
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp28tBhgb58&t=6054s
Man, this team is so much fun.
Goode & Bradham: “You know what I love about football?” “What” “Winnin’.”
I’m trying to remember that Osweiller was cut by the Browns.