Year of the Goblin
Posted: January 18th, 2018 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 282 Comments »
The Eagles drafted Jalen Mills in the 7th round of the 2016 draft. The big question at the time was whether he would play S or CB. Mills had played both in college and it wasn’t clear where the Eagles preferred him.
Jim Schwartz fell in love with the precocious rookie very quickly. Mills was far from perfect, but carried himself like a confident veteran. He had the right combination of skills, confidence, attitude and coachability.
Mills started twice as a rookie, but finished 5th on the team in tackles. He got plenty of playing time. There were some ugly moments, like getting beaten by Alshon Jeffery for a big play. Mills did show enough promise that the Eagles felt comfortable with him as a potential starter in 2017.
There was an open competition at CB in the spring and summer, with just about everyone on Earth getting a shot. Mills won a job and started the whole year. He played well enough to be a 3rd alternate to the Pro Bowl. Mills finished 4th on the team in tackles, picked off 3 passes and broke up 14 others. That’s a darn good year.
Numbers don’t always tell the whole story and that’s certainly true here.
Mills was covering Julio Jones on 4th down with the game on the line in the divisional round of the playoffs. The pass was thrown to Jones, but Mills had him well-covered and the pass was incomplete.
Think about that for a minute. Jalen Mills vs Julio Jones. To every person on the planet, that was a huge mismatch. Well, all but one. Mills probably felt he was perfect for that assignment and wondered if Jones could handle him.
This wasn’t the first time that Mills made an impact play. The Eagles were struggling with the Niners at midseason. Mills picked off a pass late in the 1st half and ran it back for a TD. That broke the game open and the Eagles won easily. Go back to the season opener. The Skins drove down into scoring territory. Kirk Cousins was under pressure and forced a pass into coverage. Mills picked it off. That kept the Skins from even getting a FG and helped the Eagles to get off to a 1-0 start.
Mills had a key pass break-up in the Oakland game. Michael Crabtree would have had a 1st down at the 2-yard line, but Mills got a hand on the ball and knocked it away. The Eagles might not win that game without that play. Mills also picked off a pass late in the win over the Panthers.
There are more than a few plays that Mills would like to have back. He got burned for a long TD in the Raiders game. He had a costly holding penalty in the win over the Giants a few weeks back. He had a couple of pass interference penalties in the Carolina game.
Jalen Mills isn’t and won’t ever be a shutdown corner. He is a tough, competitive corner that will tackle and make some plays. The Eagles defense doesn’t finish 4th in yards and points without him. He’s been very good this year.
Sunday will be his biggest challenge of the year. The Vikings have a pair of terrific WRs. This is the kind of stage Mills wants. The NFC Championship on the line and good competition for him.
He doesn’t have to be perfect. He just has to find a way to make a big play at the key moment, kind of like he’s done all year.
_
“Jalen Mills isn’t and won’t ever be a shutdown corner.”
Just don’t ever tell him that.
I’ve always hated when writers throw in these kind of blanket statements about the future. You see them at the end of a lot Tommy’s articles when he specifically praises a player or the team. It’s like he feels he has to throw in some hedges so he doesn’t appear too homer-ish.
At least throw in a “probably,” Tommy!
I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say he’s not Revis in his prime, or even as good as Lattimore as a rookie. But he gets it done.
Neither of which Tommy said, and neither of which I objected to.
He’s in his 2nd year as a 7th round pick. Maybe hold off on saying definitively what his ceiling is going to be throughout his entire career?
https://twitter.com/LRiddickESPN/status/953663987761270784
They’re missing a 6 at the top of that image.
You could argue that he has that backwards: Character sets the floor and talent sets the ceiling.
For example, no matter how good my character, I would not be able to raise my ceiling to be that of an NFL player. On the other hand, a person with all the talent in the world can be a complete failure if they have a bad character/attitude/work ethic.
Character gets your foot in the door, but you’ll only get as far as you’re willing to cheat.
I love Mills as much as anyone here, clearly but It’s most likely true. Then again we don’t need him to be a shutdown corner. Keep the play in front, make a tackle and occasionally jump a route and get a pick.
That’s all we really ask the CBs to do in this scheme.
There’s no need for any Homer phobia around here probably Tommy,
Mills ran a 4.48 at his pro day which isn’t shutdown corner speed, and he doesn’t have the length of a guy like Richard Sherman to make up for it.
I think it’s unlikely he’ll ever be a shutdown CB, but your point is nevertheless well-taken. Expressing things in way-too-certain terms is a really common vice in sports media.
Sherman – sheesh! He makes one lucky play in the playoffs in his first (or 2nd?) year by tipping a ball the slightest bit and suddenly he’s the best corner since Prime. He’s got the reputation now and nobody challenges him – just like Nnamdi Asomugha was supposed to be!
Sherman is (or at least was) a legitimately great player.
I think that’s debatable. He excelled in a system that played to his strengths, with a high level of talent at all other DB positions, and was routinely allowed to play “thug” style CB by the refs.
For my .02 he is one of the most overrated players in the league. Hypothetically, I believe that if you drop him in on any other team he’s just a guy at best, and possibly a liability on a team that collects a lot of laundry (like our Eagles or the Raiders).
He excelled in a system that played to his strengths
This is true of literally every NFL player who plays at a high level.
And I’m arguing that he wouldn’t play at this level on any team that isn’t Seattle.
He might be ok on the ’91 Eagles team as a backup.
Peters would not be as dominant in a system that required him to run a ton of extra plays and have greater stamina (he wasn’t as good when he was playing in Chip’s up tempo system). Julio would not be as dominant playing in a system that didn’t properly utilize his elite speed or leaping ability (he wasn’t as good this year in Sarkisian’s system as he was last year in Shanahan’s). Tomlinson would not be as dominant in a pass happy system that didn’t give him the ball at least 20 times a game. I’m not sure that I agree with your argument re: those players.
But even if I grant you the point, I think what I said definitely applies at least to every CB in the league, because the defensive backfield is such a system-dependent part of a defense. If you take in-his-prime Darrelle Revis and put him in a Tampa-style cover 2, you are wasting the ability that makes him special. DBs are always most effective when they’re playing a system that emphasizes their strengths.
The super elite DB is about as rare as the super elite QB.
I’m not even close to considering Sherman in that category. In my view, he’s more akin to Jalen Mills than he is to Revis. His elite skill is holding without drawing a flag. Maybe that works on another team… but it definitely works in Seattle where they game plan to mug the other teams WRs so often that the refs can’t possibly flag all the penalties.
Ehh. I think you’re drinking the Haterade a bit too much.
Sherman can annoy me but I have no problem saying he’s an outstanding player.
Could be.
I’d reverse it, too. I think if Mills was on that Seahawks defense, people would be raving about how he’s the next Richard Sherman.
He ran 4.6+ at the combine
It’s a vice because people want it
Mills ran 4.61 at the Combine. Sherman ran 4.60.
However, you are right. Sherman is 2.5 inches taller. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched Mills get beaten and said, “Man, if only he was 3 inches taller!!” because clearly that was the only thing holding him back…
IIRC Mills was supposedly nursing an injury at the combine. He did run faster at the LSU pro day so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt on that.. he’s no burner either way though.
With Sherman, I think it’s a combination of height, arm length, and physical strength. At his peak he was outstanding at jamming guys coming off the line, and his ability to leap and get his hands up helped compensate for his lack of top end speed. Mills is not the jam player Sherman is, in addition to not being as big.
BLG is the king of hedges. He’s petrified to put himself out there on anything.
it’s not the first time he has used those words to describe JM.
Is it safe to say that Gym Shorts was right about Rowe this entire time?
He knew Rowe was going to get injured?
“injured” so he only costs a 4th not a 3rd?
For the sake of arguing, yes. Yes he did.
Eric Rowe was much much better than Leodis McKelvin.
That’s like saying Cary Williams was so much better than Bradley Fletcher. That’s just way too easy.
I wonder if this would happen in Philadelphia?
http://vikings.wygwg.org/
RPO. Nobody ever really used it until Saturday morning. Now – nobody can shut up about it. RPO. RPO. RPO. Know what set that play up? RPO. Know why that pass worked? RPO. Know why it’s so windy – RPO. PUKE.
…..
Watching all those offensive line plays(there were 1000 of them) makes you feel like the Eagles should have won that game 40 – 10. There were pancake blocks all over. Lineman running down field making plays. As it showed on the previous thread – Ajayi was taking chunks of yards off at a time during that scoring drive. What happened the rest of the game? (is the answer the difference between Wentz and Foles?)
yep, you listen to everyone comment on the game, you’d think philly did win 40 to 0, but if they stick that ball in the endzone one more time, all these commentators would be right, so yes the difference was between foles and wentz, but a win is a win
Ajayi fumbled in Atlanta territory on one possession and the Falcons played good red zone defense (which is different than defense between the twenties) on the others. What do you mean “what happened?”
so — you’re saying — all of clips of the linemen being superman are a farce because once into the redzone — those same guys couldn’t do the job?
No, I’m saying that even if the linemen are pancaking guys in a conventional defense, it’s different in the red zone. Defenders are bunched closer together and the back seven can support the run more aggressively because they have less field to defend and don’t have to worry about getting burned deep. How many times have you seen a goal line play where the OL gets leverage and puts the DL down, but a LB steps up into the hole to make a tackle?
It’s harder to both run and pass in the red zone. That’s why there are so many offenses that can move the ball well between the 20s but have trouble scoring points.
Wasting downs giving the ball to Blount. Turnovers, Foles not being Wentz
https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2018/1/17/16904222/minnesota-travel-agent-eagles-fans-gang-members-philadelphia-vikings-nfl-nfc-championship-game-fox
Did you guys catch this link from BGN? Minnesota Fox News talking about going to Philadelphia and the Linc with warnings and advice for fans.
“It gets pretty notorious down there.”
Speak for yourselves. I intend to be the people your parents warned you about.
The b-roll footage during the report was Will Smith getting tossed on the playground from the Fresh Prince opening, probably.
I’d say they should move to Bel Air to feel safer, but Eagles fans already took over LA twice.
The streets are very safe here. It’s the people you have to watch!
to be fair, when I had season tickets (in the days of the Vet), I witnessed many fights. I sat on the end of a row and it seemed like the entire first half I had to get up to let people by to get beer. The second half was letting people by to hit the bathroom. The halftime cutoff of beer meant a mad rush to buy before last call.
The worst game was a Monday night against the Giants. the lower seats were all bought by NY fans. When the game ended all of the Giants fans had to climb the steps past a gauntlet of Eagles fans. The animosity of the fans yelling at each other all game sparked a huge brawl in my section. Security came and had trouble keeping the fans apart. There were a lot of innocent bystanders who got caught up in the battle.
If I were a Vikings fan going to the game, I would wear my Vikings gear under a coat and not cheer wildly if Minnesota does well. Be polite and maybe by a beer for the Eagles fan sitting next to you.
I love our rowdy fans and I consider myself one, but the good-old days were not so good. I used to vend at the Vet as a part-time job, I was a souvenir salesman. I was a college student and it was great. Even when I didn’t work, I had a pass to every game and concert. I would work Phillies games on weekends but stopped working the Eagles games. There were too many mean drunks. In my opinion, it went beyond fandom and into real violence and cruelty. It got to the point where women were unsafe and I know guys stopped bringing their kids. That the Police Dept actually put a Court in the stadium is revealing.
My parents are immigrants and are huge Eagles fans. Back in the early 00s we were scared to go to any of the games because of the reputation the fans had.
I went to the Linc in 2010 and the place was pretty decent. I’m guessing that the people cleaned up with the new stadium and more expensive tickets?
I know most fans get annoyed with the Philly fan reputation, but I love it.
That’s right, come to our stadium at your own risk. You wear another team’s jersey maybe you die. Better stay at home so a crazy ass, loud as hell eagles fan can have your ticket. HFA – we protect our home.
Now I’m not condoning anyone actually doing anything violent to another fan, but I don’t mind the reputation. Also if you wear another jersey you are an AAAASSSSSSHHHHOOOOOOLLLLLLEEEEE!
Reverend Mills
..
I hate the name green goblin. .for me we had a minister in Valley Forge. .he was older, calm and very well respected.
U gotta get right with it , Ur gonna hear it here for a while 🙂
I hope he is here playing tough for years!
..
Masked Man called him SKITTLES . Does anyone else cam him that? That’s a very cool nickname imho
Prediction: Mills will be a good safety some day.
Sweet about time my dude gets some love
Mrs. Mills?
lmao got me
I see Mills as a S longer term – give me Darby & Jones with Robinson in the slot.
I’m not a fan of the “look at me” attitude and finger wagging bs, but, whatever, it can be ok if his performance on the field continues to improve.
The good thing is our secondary seems to be much better than it was this time last season.
I understand not liking his attitude on the field, I’m not the biggest fan either. It will drive you nuts during bad stretches, but it’s not a bad one to have as a corner, short term memory, nothing seems to faze him, and it can annoy the opposition.
If it works for him and the team is ok with it, so be it. As a fan, the “look at me” players are not the ones I follow. Give me humble, mature and respected leaders like Celek, Peters, Cole, Jenkins, Dawk, Westbrook all day long.
Robinson is likely gone after this season. He’s played well but I don’t think you can justify spending the money it will take to keep him when you have Darby-Jones-Mills-Douglas all under 25 years old and under contract at the position.
Good point – I do not see Mills in the slot so maybe Douglas picks that up or we find another external option.
I think Mills would do fine in the slot against the bigger, stronger type slot receivers (JMatt, Larry Fitzgerald, etc.) but would struggle against the quick shifty guys like Beasley. I agree it’s not a perfect fit for him. Long-term he may be a safety but I suspect they’ll continue to play him at CB for the foreseeable future. Could shift Darby or Jones inside to play slot on nickel downs.
I don’t think he breaks the bank and CB is one of those positions you can never have enough of. If Jalen moves to safety in the corey graham role you can certainly justify keeping Robinson.
Sure, they can at least feel him out to see how much money he wants. I’m not sure I want to spend more on him than he’s making this season though. Money’s only part of it – there are only so many snaps to go around, and with Douglas and Jones both likely to be ready for bigger roles next season there will be fewer available.
My thinking is that Robinson played at a pro bowl level for a slot corner. You are unlikely to get that level of play from Rasul who would be the 3rd corner in that situation. You also now have to have a solid plan as the #4 CB. Our starters would have suffered a nasty ankle and an Achilles injury in the last year. That #4 guy is going to have to start at some point. I also like the idea of using Rasul and his size situationally based on match ups. No reason he can still get plenty of snaps.
I would rather cut Curry and keep robinson for 3.5-4.5mil a year and find a #4 DE in the draft.
I disagree. Not that I don’t value CB depth, but I think we have that regardless of whether we bring Robinson back (and we can always draft a guy to play slot corner or sign another bargain free agent – guys with that skill set aren’t *that* hard to find). Curry is overpaid, but is a *very* solid run defender and more impactful as a pass rusher than his sack numbers alone suggest.
Barnett is going to be taking the starter snaps. I also think Steven Means would be fine as a #4 DE, but want to draft another fairly high. We have Graham, Long and Means on the final year of their deals. We need some long term answers moving forward.
Re-Signing PRob and moving Jalen to safety provides depth at 2 positions and gives us a ton of flexibility. I’m not saying it’s a given, but I don’t think there is 0%chance he returns like some people. For a team that has really struggled at CB I am not eager to let a good one just walk out the door.
It all comes down to how much he wants to be paid. If he’ll come back on a cheap deal, knowing that he’s going to be playing a limited role as a slot CB, I’m fine with that.
I agree with you that DE should be a spot they hit somewhere in the draft, but I think they need a developmental player there more than an impact guy. They should 100% go BPA, but assuming equal player quality among available prospects I’m prioritizing positions to target in this order:
OT: JP is old, Vaitai could possibly develop into a long-term starter but it never hurts to have competition/insurance in case he’s nothing more than a swing tackle.
LB: Bradham might not be back, and at this point Hicks has to be considered an injury question mark going into every season.
S: Jenkins is getting up there and will need to be replaced in the next few years, McLeod is also a veteran, no young depth.
Then DE.
RB
JP’s injury is a problem. He won’t be cleared medically prior to FA, so we can’t use his cap $$$ to upgrade the roster. That has me believing we bring him back for at least another year. Also this is a pretty lack luster OT class. I hope we trade back to recoup some picks and that makes landing a quality OT even more difficult. This year is loaded with interior guys though
I think Bradham is almost a must sign type of guy, but we still need to add someone. Hicks can not be counted on and we still may move on from Kendricks. Tahir Whitehead could be a cheap stop gap guy in FA with a Schwartz connection. We would still need to draft 1-2 guys.
This is why I like moving Jalen to safety. He played their in college and is a perfect fit there for how we play Malcolm. His supposed lack of speed is also minimized there.
I would add OG, CB (if you move Jalen and don’t re-sign Robinson), and WR to the list. WR is my dark horse need. Keep surrounding Carson with weapons. A guy like Deon Cain or Jaleel Scott would look great opposite Alshon.
I have no objection to drafting a WR or OG (or a RB as A Roy suggests below) either, assuming they are BPA. As for CB, I think they probably only let Robinson leave if their intent is to leave Mills there. I could see a move to S a year or two down the road, but for now I think they’ll keep him at CB because Jenkins and McLeod are still playing at a high level.
Wiz is under contract for 2 more years.
CBs get paid more than safeties. Therefore he’s gonna be a CB here or on Schwartz next team.
Last thing on my mind is what he gets paid. Eagles tell him where to play as long as he is under contract. No player is bigger than the team; they do their job or GTFO.
If Schwartz plays favorites and does not do what is in the best interest of the team & organization, he should be fired imo. He can go join Lombardi and drink beers for all I care.
Funny thing is, what he gets paid is pretty near the top of his mind, and definitely the first on his agent’s mind.
He’s a starting corner in this league. He’s going to want starting corner money, especially because it will be more than starting safety money, and some team out there will pay it to him.
Sure but if he’s a better player at S than CB the money is pretty similar. Rodney McLeod makes comprable money to Prince Amukamara and David Amerson
He can think about it all he wants – he plays for the Eagles and does what they want him to do or he can hit the curb. No good or smart team makes football decisions based solely on what a player makes or what he wants. The decisions are made in the best interest of the team’s success. If the Eagles believe he is a better S than CB, that is where he plays.
I usually feel the same way about showy players but I’m actually ok with Mills’ on-field persona, even respect it. He doesn’t need to be humble, his origin as a 7th round pick is humble, our expectations for him are humble, and he’s doubtlessly been humbled or straight up humiliated countless times by players more talented and physically gifted than him. His attitude is a sign of either resilience or obliviousness, but to me there’s nothing more Philly than an eccentric dude that has no F’s to give and a tough SoB to boot.
All this is to say, it helps that he is playing well and by all indications is a great teammate, and is incredibly grateful to be able to play football and to the Eagles for giving him his shot (and is wearing green!). If any of those things weren’t apparent I’d probably be right there with you.
No disrespect to Thielen and Diggs, who are an excellent pair of starting WRs, but neither of them is Julio Jones, so I’m not sure this is Mills’ biggest challenge this season. Maybe the biggest challenge for the secondary as a whole, but not sure about Mills specifically.
He has developed into a very solid player and was a great value in the 7th round.
“…neither of them is Julio Jones…” and combine that with those Case Keenum ducks, it should be a good day for out secondary!
Theilen and Diggs have different games than Julio and Sanu. I think Mills matches up better against Julio than with Thelen/Diggs.
Julio is bigger, faster, stronger, and quicker than either of them. Thielen might – might – be his equal in route running, but can’t match up to him on sheer physical dominance. There is no CB for whom either he or Diggs is a tougher cover than Jones. Jones is either the best receiver in the league or 1A along with Antonio Brown.
Julio isn’t as good as Brown
I think you can make a case either way. Brown is a great, great player and more consistently productive, but Julio can overpower defenses in a way Brown can’t.
I’m not going to argue too hard with you though, I think that’s absolutely a respectable opinion.
All I know is if you had Thielen and JJ — you win fantasy championships :). With a little from an ‘ok’ runner from the Rams…
I always liked Mills in a red zone situation because he doesn’t have to worry about anyone blowing past him. With Mills, it comes down to not being in a situation where he doesn’t have the necessary speed to recover. However, his coverage skills have improved immensely.
My ideal scenario is Jalen moving to safety to replace Corey Graham. They can play him at safety, move him around to cover TEs, or even play in the slot. He is always available for CB should we have a bunch of injuries or guys like Jones and Rasul don’t develop. I would also like to keep Robinson for another 2-3 years if the market isn’t crazy for him this offseason. Guys playing at his level aren’t easy to find, but his limited market this pst offseason and him taking less money to play with Jenkins makes me feel like we have a shot to re-sign him. That would give us tremendous depth across our secondary and we can focus our limited draft capital elsewhere.
“Guys playing at his level aren’t easy to find”
Guys playing at his level aren’t easy to pay.
Do you guys really think he’s getting 7-8 mil on the open market? No way.
He isn’t Richard Sherman with a long history of playing at a high level. He has had multiple injuries in the NFL. He’s 30yo. He hasn’t been a starter since his days in NO.
Robinson found a good fit here in Philly. He came here on the vet minimum. He came here in part to play with Malcolm Jenkins. He deserves a bump in pay, but he isn’t going from vet min to crazy long term deal. We have no salary cap dollars invested in CB. We can afford him at 3.5-4.5 mil per season for the next 2-3 years.
Sure someone may offer him more, but I don’t think it will be way more. We offer the culture, stability, scheme fit, and winning that Robinson could value as a vet coming to the end of his career.
I would not pay a 30 y/o CB $4.5 million a year on a multi-year deal to play slot CB. Just don’t see that as good value.
Look at corner play across the NFL and tell me why a team wouldn’t pay Robinson this offseason (not $10m, but more than the Iggles are willing to pay).
Gang he’s not re-signing. As I said yesterday, CBs are the deepest youngest and cheapest group on this team. Howie needs it to stay that way so we can afford to pay for talent at other positions (WR, OL, LB, DE/DT, even backup QB etc etc). Robinson is neither coming back cheap nor likely to be a slot CB next year. It’s a done deal.
Listen, guys. Players taking significantly less money to stay on the same team is the exception and not the rule. Stop this narrative right now.
So, for example, you’d go to Cleveland for $4.5M rather than stay in Phil for $3.5M even though the difference is $1M minus taxes minus potential playoff money in Phil minus possible Lombardi in Phil?
It does happen, but is the exception, not the rule. And really, I don’t blame players for taking the money while they can get it. These guys can play until they’re 30 or so if they’re lucky, and should squeeze every last dollar out of their ability while they have it.
Romo could have gotten $20M to be a QB this year. I doubt he’s getting that as a broadcaster. Some don’t need to squeeze every last dollar.
Romo made more than $100 million in his career as a franchise QB.
Most NFL players are not in that income bracket. A guy like Patrick Robinson definitely isn’t.
As I said in another post, it’s all relative. Long felt he had enough money and gave his season to charity. He certainly doesn’t have $100M. At what point…$10M, 20M…does it become “enough”? Depends on the man.
e.x.c.e.p.t.i.o.n.
You all seem to to think every single one of our free agents are coming back on reduced salaries. Not happening.
No, but some will…and 18 of the 22 starters are already locked up, so we’re not talking about a large number of players who will be paid large amounts of money.
We’re talking about those 18 of 22 preventing us from making offers for the FAs of what they’re worth.
Depends on if we overpaid for any and by how much, I guess.
The only starters who aren’t under contract for next season are Bradham and Ellerbe (and Blount, if you want to count him and not Ajayi as the starter). So I’d call it 20 out of 22, 21 out of 22 if we consider Hicks and not Ellerbe our starting MLB going forward.
http://www.rotoworld.com/teams/contracts/nfl/phi/
I used 18 because either TLAW or Kempski cited that at some point. I can believe what you say, too.
Maybe you just overvalue our own players.
Robinson signed here on the vet minimum. He was offered a little more from another team but chose to come here. That should tell you what the league thought of him. He’s had a good year, but it is unlikely to sky rocket his salary to tops at the position.
Trey Burton is not a guy teams want as a #1 TE. How many teams outside of the patriots spend big money on #2 TEs?
Bradham is the one guy I could really see breaking the bank and unfortunately is the guy we need the most.
Blount waited forever to sign with us and didn’t break the bank. Sproles is coming off an ACL injury and is old as hell.
Which FA is leaving here and getting a massive contract?
Trey Burton is not a guy teams want as a #1 TE.
I wouldn’t be so sure about that. I think Trey is in a very similar position to that of Delanie Walker a few years back – versatile guy, undersized for a full-time TE, got limited playing time in a Swiss Army Knife role for a winning team, but then got paid to be a starting TE by a rebuilding one. I could see history repeating.
It only takes one team and all that…but Delanie is a better blocker that could play all downs. Burton is small even for a move TE. I think that limits his playing time and as a result his earning potential.
He certainly has value in the passing game, as a ST guy, and a move TE, but he’s not going to be get crazy money.
TE is a really weird position though. Some guys get paid tons of money while everyone else struggles to get more that $3mil APY.
Moves that could be made to make room for Burton are cutting Celek and/or Maragos.
I want to keep Burton badly, but I’m afraid he’s one of the most likely of our pending FAs to get overpaid in free agency. We’ll see.
It’s certainly possible.
The eagles will award each player a value and try to sign them for that. If that player can get more on the open market we let them walk.
The original comment was that we are all irrational and think all of our players are coming back on way undervalued contracts. I think our FA class is really hard to read. They aren’t starters, but have talent. How the league views them will be interesting. It can go either way and only takes one team to pay them.
While I would love to have Burton or Robinson back next year I don’t think either is worth paying crazy money too. I don’t think any smart team will over pay them. But there is always the Browns, Raiders, etc that could throw a curveball.
Agreed. Assign them a value and don’t go above it is the smart way to go about these things, and what I think Howie will do.
And i don’t want Nigel B to leave either. .. .
Robinson was a very good slot corner who took money to play as an outside corner. Just like in our camp, he was not able to play outside, and bombed out in Indy. He’s not going to be making vet minimum next year.
I never said he was making vet minimum. I said I’d give him $3-5 mil per year on a 3 year deal. I don’t think he gets significantly more than that on the open market. 30yo journeymen getting massive contracts are the EXCEPTION
You’re right Chris Long only has made $89 million in his career.
After taxes, agents fees, etc. It’s probably only $40M. My point is just; what is enough? Everyone has a point where more money doesn’t do shit for your life.
Romo is already rich AF, dude. He’s not coming off his rookie contract, or someone who *doesn’t* have a future in broadcasting.
That said, Cutler, *did* come back for the money.
Romo could have easily been paralyzed the last time he left the field.
If he came back -it would not have been for the money.
If you were offered $3.5M a year to be a slot corner here or $7M a year to be an outside corner in Cleveland?
Everything’s relative. It really depends on the amount of the gap between the two offers. I know lots of people in regular life who take less money for various reasons…less travel, job stability, degree of comfort with management/position, e.g.
Right. Exceptions.
I’d go to Cleveland. If the different was $1mil I’d stay in Philly without a second thought
Remember, this is their job. They have like 3-5 years to make enough money to live on for the rest of their lives.
Well, technically, they need to make it to when their lucrative NFL pension kicks in…and they have that free college degree for their second career. I am only arguing that people in all occupations routinely accept less than top dollar because there are other considerations.
$5K a month when he’s 55, and that sweet sweet second career with a degree in Family and Youth Sciences.
I didn’t know the pension was even that much. Have to admit, seeing Bo Jackson hanging around conventions hawking stuff made me sad.
The current agreement is $76K at 55 or $201K at 65. With many, many extras. And while I didn’t use the sarcasm font for the college degree, they still had the opportunity to get a usable education. While we’re on the subject, I do believe they are exploited in college…at least in the major conferences where football is their primary “job” over class work.
Context. It’s all about context.
” opportunity to spread the message God has put on his heart ”
Green Bay, it is.
Nice knowing you, Trey!
Nice Reggie callback.
The degenerates of Green Bay need all the help they can get.
Wait, so your basic point is that I’m simple because I think money is an important part of deciding where to work?
Glad we cleared that up.
Well, I for one had no idea you had such a bad conversation on here about Maclin, but that context helps me understand where you are coming from… My original statement about Burton having reasons to want to stay on the team was made in a vacuum and wasn’t meant to make anyone upset. I do think that Burton has built something really good with his relationships on this team, and I don’t think it necessarily moves the needle if you’re talking about millions of dollars (which I’m not). If you think he’s the next James Casey and is going to get an offer from another team that is substantially better than the value he provides the Eagles… then I think that’s where we disagree. I really like Burton the person, but I’m not sold on him as a TE worth “must have” money.
I think the Eagles will come up with a good offer to keep Bradham, and I think Robinson is gone.
For what it’s worth I think it’s pretty clear that Maclin wasn’t just in it for the money, I think he preferred Andy (and was tampered with), and wanted to be close to home. The fact that it was also a better deal monetarily was just icing on the cake.
What if a player took less money for a better situation this year. Does that not prove he value fit, chemistry, culture? Is it unreasonable to think he may do so again.
Revis was a ducking mercenary. He wasn’t taking less money for anything.
It’s a personal decision that is handled differently by each person
I realize nobody wants to focus on the draft yet (with good reason), but because the Vikings reached the NFC Championship Game, the 4th round pick we netted from them in this year’s draft in the Sam Bradford trade is now a 3rd rounder. If we lose to them on Sunday, it will become a 2nd rounder if they win the Super Bowl. So we really want them to go all the way if we can’t.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2661547-sam-bradford-to-vikings-latest-trade-details-comments-and-reaction
Hmm, I think that was for the 2016 season playoffs and also hinges on how much Bradford played. The article you linked doesn’t specifically say which season though.
You’re right, good catch.
It was based on the 2016 season. So the Eagles get a 4th no matter what.
Mills isn’t Dieon Sanders. His detractors seem to think that means he isn’t a valuable member of this team. Would you rather have him or Byron Maxwell? Sconces (who sadly was one of the better guys of the last 5 years)? Asomougha (he isn’t important enough to check spelling on his name), or even Noland?
So no he ain’t Dieon, but Fletch isn’t Donald either, and I don’t hear people talking down on him.
Mills has been our best CB in a long time. Probably since Asante. You could make the case for Brandon Boykin.
Leodis McKelvin, Byron Maxwell, Eric Rowe, Cary Williams, Bradley Fletcher, Nnamdi, and DRC.
Ronald Darby > Mills and it’s not even close.
According to PFF (I know PFF sucks, blah, blah, blah) provided during the Falcons telecast, Mills is ranked 75th out of 122 CBs while Darby is 36th.
I think if Rasul Douglas were actually given playing time, he would be better too.
Will be really interesting next season, with Darby, Mills, Douglas and Jones all competing for starting spots. I honestly think Mills may well end up best in the Jenkins role as a hybrid safety 2-3 years down the line if he is still on the roster.
Mills is going to be playing corner for Schwartz’s next defense, just like Bradham and McKelvin did here.
Ugh. That rings disappointingly true.
PFF grades for CBs aren’t fit to wipe your butt with.
They have no way of knowing with absolutely certainty what a CB’s coverage responsibilities are on a given play (for example, whether getting burned on a deep route was on him for playing the short route or on the S who was supposed to help over the top but didn’t). Plus comparing CBs in zone schemes to those in man-to-man is apples and oranges, never mind defenses designed to give up short completions as long as they don’t get beat over the top.
I kind of agree Xeynon but I think that they probably do give you a sort of ballpark idea of how good a corner might be, like if someone is ranked 112th out of 122 corners, I don’t think he’s secretly a stud CB.
I think Mills and Darby are very different corners which makes them difficult to compare. It kind of reminds me of Lito and Sheldon.
Mills is like Sheldon, not as athletic, but a competitor and physical corner who will stick his nose in and make plays against the run.
Darby is kind of like Lito, he is more athletic and can gamble a bit, will probably get more interceptions, not as physical though.
I think Lito/Sheldon is a fair comparison.
I certainly don’t think Mills is an elite CB, but I think that conventional stats (PBUs, interceptions, opposing QB rating when targeting, etc.) do a decent job of telling us how effective a guy is or isn’t – don’t need the PFF guys watching tape and guessing at what the CB was supposed to do and arbitrarily grading how well he carried out his supposed assignment.
I thought it might be disrespectful to history to make the comparison this soon, but I agree completely that they fit a similar dynamic.
As a bonus, our defense is flexible enough to allow them to cover a receiver instead of a side now, so teams can’t line up their fast guy on Sheldon and their big guy on Lito all game long.
INCYDK, Sheldon was not slow. He ran a 4.47 at the combine.
Sheldon was fast, Lito was blazing fast.
Mills is slow, Darby is blazing fast.
Mills ran a 4.48 at the LSU pro day. Perhaps that was inflated and the 4.61 he ran at the combine is more representative, but it he had run faster than that in previous workouts. His fastest recorded time was a 4.47, the same as Sheldon’s combine time (though to be fair Brown may not have run his best time at the combine either).
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000644566/article/deion-jones-has-off-the-charts-workout-at-lsus-pro-day
http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=124378&draftyear=2016&genpos=FS
Always add a tenth for pro day times that do not match combine times
Yeah the comparison is definitely not performance based, it’s just in terms of athleticism and skillset.
I left Darby outo f it because he only had significant playing time in 6 games this year.
You are a notorious Mills hater.
I would say Darby has much better potential, but their ply this season has been similar. Certainly can’t say Darby has been so much better it isn’t even close. That’s just not true
It’s funny how Sconces was definitely a better corner than Bradley Fletcher but people hate him just as much because of his attitude.
God we’ve gone through the dregs at cornerback over the years. Up until this season I’ve missed Lito and Sheldon so much. Hell even Asante Samuel was a ballhawk, even if he couldn’t tackle. sometimes you don’t know you have a good thing until it’s gone.
Asante could also cover pretty darn well, and again if he let up plays it was because he was trying to make them. I really don’t recall aggregious bites all that often.
Sconces did the fake tough guy shit like diving 2 feet to the left or right of a ballcarrier to make it look like he was trying to tackle.
Skittles is one of my most favorite Eagles players.
Skittles is a great nickname
I believe Malcolm Jenkins called him Skittles when he showed up as a rookie in 2016 with the lime green hair dye.
Dam 2 years with a green ‘do. . That’s badass. . Kind of kookie also and i like that. .
.Skittles is a proper nickname .. the green goblin is lame. …i could see myself getting a SKITTLES jersey in fact
I love it … he probably heard MJ call him skittles and chuckled and whatever happens he just rides if off ..
I doubt he gave MJ the finger wave
Mills will always have problems with speedy corners.
The scheme is for him to jump routes and go after ball. Therefore he will get beat.
Tackles everything in front of him even rb. No mention in article how important mills is to stopping the run in this scheme.
So the BGN article on which Vikings player would you take had me thinking, if you were taking a player for just this one game, or permanently, who would you take?
I think for just this game Eric Kendricks. Having him instead of Ellerbe for MLB would be massive, but I think moving forward we obviously have Hicks in place, so Kendricks makes less sense.
I think if we could poach anyone moving past this season it would be Diggs. The guy is an absolute beast who’s had the misfortune of playing with QB’s who don’t know how to utilize him. He’s tall, fast, and can high point the ball with the best of them. He actually reminds me of a slightly less physical but faster Alshon Jeffrey. If you had Jeffrey/Diggs/Agholor as your top 3 WR moving forward instead of Jeffrey/Smith/Agholor you’d be in really fucking good shape, especially with Ertz in the mix as a receiver.
Diggs, eh. He’s a good player but I don’t think he’s even the best wide receiver on that team.
I think my answer is the same regardless of whether it’s for this game or the long term: Xavier Rhodes. An elite shutdown CB could take the Eagles’ defense to the next level.
Definitely. I would probably take Rhodes and if not him, Harrison Smith.
Rhodes is the easy one. Griffin would be my second choice. Putting him on that DL wouldn’t be fair
He’s definitely really good, but I think is a bit more marginal of an upgrade over Graham/Curry/Barnett/Long than Rhodes would be over Mills.
I’d rather have Kendricks than Hicks. Hicks is too injury prone. I’d probably take Harrison Smith.
Taken out of context, that comment would have gotten your Eagles Fan Card pulled and shredded a few months ago.
But would you replace Hicks over filling a bigger need with Diggs or Rhodes.
All about Terps. I can endorse this. Rhodes too.
We get the better terp wide receiver and get rid of the crap one
Maryland alumni here
Stefon Diggs is 6’0. I like him too, and I’d take him for his high-pointing and natural athleticism. He doesn’t have anything close to Jeffery’s catch radius.
I’ll take Danielle Hunter. A guy with 26 career sacks and just turned 23. He and Barnett will eat souls for a decade.
Could this week possibly go by any slower? It feels as if Sunday is a month away yet.
Enjoy relevance while it lasts. There’s probably a coin flip’s odds or worse that it will be the last one we have.
Then we start talking about free agency/the draft.
One of the joys of playing deep into the playoffs is that you don’t have to wait long for the relevant part of the offseason to start.
Another joy is that you can watch the other playoff games with significantly more enthusiasm.
I do like to watch the playoffs even when the Eagles aren’t there. But when the Birds are in the mix, its just soooo much more fun to speculate on a future matchup.
E.g. – Jax v. NE will be so much more entertaining to watch because the Eagles are still alive.
Wonder what the odds are of a team getting HF for the SB. On top of that, have to travel to the #1 seed (of course the back up issue) but they have to play outside. Just saying. Thinking we are much better off than a little less a coin flip.
While at work today got into a conversation with an avid Vikings fan. He travels to see them at least once per season. He thinks they’re going to rip us up, so much so that he is passing on a trip to the Link and just making SB arrangements for him and his daughter, how nice.
The only thing going through my head at the time were those gif’s of our offensive and d-lines, and thinking good luck, cause I don’t see this happening. This Eagles team will win this game, no doubt in my mind, and A_T_G gets another bye week.
Coin flip = 50%, right? I mean how much of a chance do you give us?
I do think it’s ridiculous to write us off, but I don’t think we should favored here, either.
It was the (or worse).
I have a callus on my finger from repeatedly refreshing Iggles Blitz.
Ever since 2002 I’ve tempered my excitement. Almost 2 decades later and it still scars me. Enjoy the week
So many disappointments over the years; losing playoff games that were winnable. This team, under this Coach, feels different. They consistently find a way to get the victory. Even if our backup qb can’t take us all the way, the Pederson Eagles are something special.
My childhood ended on January 19, 2003.
Ha, that was the worst. I think that’s when my sports PTSD really kicked in.
Definitely the worst Eagles loss of my lifetime. The next year’s NFC Championship Game sucked too though.
I’ve been a Eagles & Vikings fan forever, so I win either way Sunday.
Howie Roseman named PFWA executive of the year.
I can’t think of any coach or executive who’s had such a fast and compelling redemption story.
Chip Kelly? ha. ha.
I just posted about that above, Steve. You were here two hours before.
I posted this link from BGN for anybody who wants to read about it. Only news report I’ve seen so far.
https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2018/1/18/16906082/eagles-howie-roseman-pfwa-2017-nfl-executive-year-philadelphia-joe-douglas-general-manager-personnel
Not a problem, it happens.
Turns out the Eagles are down with stats. “The approach is driven by an analytics team so involved in the operation that two members of the department — including coaching assistant/linebackers coach Ryan Paganetti, a Dartmouth grad with a degree in economics — communicate with Pederson in-game.”
“Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie has long had an analytics team in place; the desire for an optimal fourth-down strategy is not new. The difference is that the Eagles now have a more willing dance partner on the sideline in Pederson.”
“Analytics are being deployed on the defensive side of the ball as well. Defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz might come off as an old-school football guy, but he studied econometrics — the application of statistical and mathematical techniques in solving problems — at Georgetown, and is known to be very much data-driven in his approach to the job.”
One guy apparently used be an intern at Football Outsiders, my favorite stats site. Suck it, hatahs!
http://www.espn.com/blog/philadelphia-eagles/post/_/id/23896/eagles-secret-weapon-an-anaytics-fueled-attack
One thing noteworthy about the Patriots is that they’ve consistently had the highest percentage of college graduates of any NFL team on their rosters for awhile now. The Ravens are also known for employing smart guys. Glad to see the Eagles following suit.
Eh – Chip tried this – doesn’t always work
I’d argue that Chip’s regime failed for other reasons.
Besides, nobody argued that they don’t also have to be talented.
Yeah, but then the one Ravens OL retired and the average intelligence nosedived.
John Urschel isn’t just smart for a football player, he’s smart by any standard. The guy is doing a PhD at MIT.
If this has already been consumed by you ravenous magpies I apologize. If not, to quote our German friend, thank me later
https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2018/1/18/16906046/eagles-latest-hype-video-pumped-nfc-championship-game-philadelphia-minnesota-vikings-bradley-cooper
You’re welcome.
Izat about you GE?
You rascal you!
Outside of QB, if you could pick any player from the NFL to play this game with us, who would you pick. (for the sake of the game act like he knows the playbook and the chemistry is here. And of course I know, we all we got, we all we need). I’m pulled apart between Von Miller and Zeke.
Aaron Donald, Luke Kuechly or Earl Thomas. One of those 3 for me.
Antonio Brown or Julio replacing Torrey Smith.
One Jalen for another (Ramsey for Mills) at CB.
An elite MLB (Luke Kuechly, Sean Lee, etc.) over Ellerbe.
Generally I’d want the biggest possible upgrade over the guy we currently have and I think any of those three would be a bigger improvement over our current starter than Zeke (not even the best RB in the league, Gurley is a better choice) would be over Ajayi, or Miller over Graham.
Brown is a good pick. Helps the PR as well and hes elite WR.
Speaking of Steelers, I’d also take Bell over Elliott at RB.
I think we overrate how good Zeke is.
Bell is the only one I would slighlty consider over Zeke but Gurley to me is overrated.
Even prorating Elliott’s 2017 stats over an entire 16 game season, Gurley had a better year (note that Gurley didn’t even play in week 17 and I’m NOT prorating his stats, just Elliott’s):
Gurley: 279 carries, 1305 yards, 4.7 YPR, 13 rushing TDs, 64 catches, 788 receiving yards, 12.3 YPC, 6 receiving TDs
Elliott (prorated through 16 games): 387 carries, 1573 yards, 4.1 YPR, 11 rushing TDs, 42 catches, 430 receiving yards, 3 receiving TDs
The only stat by which Elliott would’ve been superior is yards, based on the fact that he would’ve had more than 100 more carries, and he still would’ve had fewer total yards. He’s strictly inferior by any other measure. Despite running behind an OL that’s not as good as Dallas’, and not playing with the best QB in the history of the universe in Dak Prescott. 😉
My goodness… Dallas is going to run that kid into the ground in record time.
You have to run your RBs into the ground when you’re trying to cover up the faults of a severely limited QB like Dak. 😉
Does analogy hold for Pittsburgh?
Dak is too good to be replaced, and not good enough to win anything of consequence. Welcome to QB purgatory, Cowboys. Enjoy your stay for the next five years.
Nice insight. You convinced me.
I change my pick into…………………. Tyreek Hill :)!
Not a lot of Gurley talk last year…
Agree with the logic of having the biggest upgrade. Jalen is ballin’ but he is so young I won’t trust him yet. Hard to not like having Julio or Brown in the team. I hate Dallas and the ewok but in my book he is the best RB in the league by a mile, he is AP level and my logic is that it fits our biggest strenght, winning in the trenches.
He’s a top 5 RB but Gurley and Bell both have run just as well running behind inferior offensive lines, and both are better receivers as well.
2017 Cowboys Oline < 2017 Steelers Oline < 2017 Rams Oline.
Smith missed some games and Lael is not really good at tackle and Zeke hardly missed a beat. Zeke missed 6 games and he is 20 yards close to 1000. Gurley is 1300 for the whole season.
They are both indeed better than zeke in the passing game, and I don't really know who is the best at pass blocking. All around it is maybe a tougher pick than I thought.
Zeke missed 6 games and he is 20 yards close to 1000. Gurley is 1300 for the whole season.
Only because Zeke got more carries per game. His yards-per-carry was significantly lower (see post below).
As for OL, Smith missed a few games, granted, but is still one of the best LTs in the league. Martin and Frederick are Pro Bowlers. The Rams don’t have any OL that good. The Steelers have one (DeCastro).
The Cowboys OL just mashes on people when they commit to the run. They did drop off a bit this year I think because they let Ronald Leary walk, but they still have 3 all pro type talents on the line.
Lucky for us we had 3 all pro type guys ourselves this year in Johnson/Brooks/Kelce.
Imagine if we hadn’t lost Jason Peters. Without worrying about pressure from the left side Foles would probably be looking so sharp.
Every MLB is a 1/2 twist from done .. im far happier w our guy than lee or kookly.
.. my answer 1 year forward is to want Bradham back.
..
Earl Thomas for Brandon Graham … we’ve wanted that switch since year 1 .. they need a DE and we’ve always wanted ET … i DONT want to see Graham go at all, he’s been a great Eagle… but the twisted gods of f-ball may feel it the final destiny
.
And no interest in seeing ET go to d-all-ass
.
I love that Gives have to decide and negotiate with an injured ODB this contract season … great chance to leave both infuriated like how Andy passed off TO and let it wreck an entire season
Odell.
He is so unlikeable that I’m afraid he gives a boost to his opponents. I prefer Julio, Hopkins or Brown over OBJ.
Does it have to be a current player? Like on an NFL roster now. Just want to know the rules.
Since I’m bored and we are far from Sunday, I suggest we do current roster for now and all time roster later :).
It’s arguable that Zeke is just as unlikable.
It is :). But I prefer someone running behind this Prow Bowl line than someone catching balls from Nicky.
Ahhhhhhh reply fail lol.
I don’t think he could tell the difference from Eli and Foles at this point.
Point of order question: if I take Brady for our QB does it mean NE is forced to play without him?
Using this logic, I would pick someone crucial on the Vikings. Maybe Everson Griffin. Weaken their pass rush and make ours even stronger.
Tellingly, this logic still doesn’t make anyone want Case Keenum.
Well, Frencheaglesfan did say “Outside of QB….” But still, there is no way you could justify taking Case Keenam when you could have anyone in the league.
Jason Peters, healthy.
Peters is great but I don’t think Vaitai is the biggest liability on our team. I’d rather replace a guy like Smith or Ellerbe where the marginal improvement is bigger.
We’ll be telling Jason you aren’t in his corner,
Hah.
Just think the upgrade from average starter (which is how Big V is playing) to HoFer is smaller than the upgrade from below average player to HoFer.
But think of the upgrade to the kicking game with Peters back:
“No more misses.”
Against Minnesota’s pass rush? Give me JP all day.
Against Thielen and Diggs give me an elite shutdown CB all day. I have more faith in the Eagles OL to shut down the Vikings’ pass rush even with Big V in there than I do in our DBs to shut down their receivers. Against Minnesota’s secondary give me Antonio Brown all day. I have more faith in our OL than I do in Torrey Smith to come down with a critical catch against them. Etc.
OL isn’t even in the top 3 of matchups I’m worried about for this game.
I’ll take Bobby Wagner.
Howie Roseman is voted NFL Executive of the Year! And well-deserved!
https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2018/1/18/16906082/eagles-howie-roseman-pfwa-2017-nfl-executive-year-philadelphia-joe-douglas-general-manager-personnel
Still waiting for Doug to get head coach of the year.
The article reports a NO for Dougie this year. It’s Sean McVay.
Doug did a better job in my opinion though. But 2-3 major awards are not all coming to Philly.
It’s not the way that these award deals are done. Share the wealth and all.
A landslide of awards is very rare, even when deserved.
I know. I’m just salty about it. McVay isn’t even the second guy for me. That would be Doug Marrone. It would be just plain stupid to say “Well Howie is GM of the year already so lets give it to McVay”.
Marrone did great! The Jags in the AFCCG? Big Wow!
I think Zimmer did great too. The Vikes got on a roll last year 5-0 undefeated, then got derailed. He got his team to stick with it and stay on track and grow.
For me it would be:
1. Dougie P.
2. Doug M.
3. McVay
4. Zimmer
5. McDermott
Things turned around in jax once dude from the Giants entered the building
All really good candidates. Doug is tops, obviously, but this is a year full of worthy guys.
Lol. If someone told me that the Eagles, Jaguars, Bills, and Titans got into the playoffs with Jaguars beating Steelers 45-42, Titans beating Chiefs, Birds beating ATL, and Jaguars and Eagles both in their respective conference championship games I would have burst out laughing.
Then add that Keenum is leading the Vikes looking the part of a franchise QB, Carson Wentz was nearly voted league MVP then tore his ACL. Include the other rash of injuries then I would have to smack you.
Crazy year.
To me it was always DP then Mcvay. I never thought of Marrone. Your right though. DP, Marrone, then Mcvay. How has Marrone not gotten more attention?
Inconsistency and that the old guys weren’t really sexy candidates?
People want to give credit to Coughlin instead of Marrone.
Stupid. Should he get some credit? Yeah, but Marrone is the one that truly runs that football team. Correct me if I am wrong but Coughlin is there to basically add his 2 cents in correct?
Just want to see Doug accept the Lombardo Trophy ..then he’ll be name coach of the January February
Matt Lombardo has a trophy named after him now? Don’t tell me Elliot Shore-Parks is next.
Was thinking Guy Lombardo at least
Completely off topic but does anyone else ever have to google how to spell Belichick?
Better to misspell it forever. Respekt.
It’s not chik, it’s cheat
Took awhile but I’ve got it memorized now.
Every time.
Same. Every single time.
Anyone know what happened to Danielle Hunter this season? Dude looked like a pro bowler last year and is an absolute athletic freak. Only had 7 sacks this year. Was he injured?
He seems to be playing more LDE this year.
Yeah Ben Simmons can’t shoot. Until he can develop a jumper that drops more than 25% of the time it’s going to limit his cieling in a big way. He doesn’t need to shoot 40% from 3 or anything, he just needs to actually be able to threaten an outside shot, once he gets that and they can’t just clog the lane against him it will open up his whole array of offensive potential.
If he can just get to being a 70% free throw shooter i will be happy, he is a borderline allstar his rookie year, with his defense being a massive positive over expectations.
If he develops a legit jump shot he will be a top 5 NBA player.
Not saying it will happen, but I remember Michael Jordan entering the league in the same condition. He managed to add a jump shot along the way.
It might or might not happen, but Philly really needs it happen.
Between Simmons and Fultz I’m wondering who the hell is in charge of teaching these kids to shoot.
So did Julius Erving after he became a 76er.
And the reputation grows…
From a CNN article entitled, “Jaguars vs. Vikings: The Super Bowl we don’t want, but probably deserve.”
“Now, before anyone panics, a couple of fellows named Tom Brady and Bill Belichick still stand between us and the End of Days, not to mention the pesky Philadelphia Eagles and their fanbase, which has somehow managed to grow even more unhinged over the last five days.”
We are even more unhinged. I don’t know what that means but I believe it to be accurate.
Then the article links to an article on that douchebag who punched a horse. Fuck him.
Who would want to be hinged anyway? Stuck in one spot, swinging back and forth all day? No thanks.
It’s like that Minnesota travel agent who compared us to gangsters. I didn’t realize I had such a dangerous reputation in the street!
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/217bf70d7448995b337fadb3eb69b62559129bd6ec8507424d1c52ec08b05ba3.gif
Charlie Mack, the first out’ the limo!
Us Eagles fans named “Steve” are definitely the most dangerous of them all!
Yeah come at me and I’ll… Call security. So watch yourself.
Nice, noone wants to mess with that. If someone messes with me, I will deploy my strongest sarcasm and then mock them for resorting to violence. We are definitely the type of fans they warn people in Minnesota about.
Writers are notorious for their capacity for physical violence, I’m told. I have to uphold the reputation.
Fake Sports News? Hahahaha!
Go SKITTLES !
I understand his view point but he missed how prepared Eagles were on both sides of the ball! Why was he expecting us to make the same mistakes in the playoffs?!
https://youtu.be/Mj87-uWMPok
Atlanta went out and beat themselves, and the Eagles had next to nothing to do with it.
That’s pretty much what I’m getting from that.
I was listening to the Ringer NFL podcast last night, and they not only described this game as mostly a Falcons loss and not an Eagles win, but went on to spend 90% of their NFC Championship preview slobbering over the Vikings and to describe Zimmer/Shurmur as giving Minnesota a “big coaching advantage” over the Eagles. There is just a ridiculous level of disrespect for what the Eagles have accomplished out there.
Of course I want the Eagles to win for our own sake, but I want it even more now to shut up all these national media blowhards.
Saw Pederson designing a play where Clement knees a pass to Smith. This must be in response to him not getting COTY.