No Fly Zone
Posted: July 25th, 2021 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 4 Comments »The Eagles pass defense was an issue last year. Opposing QBs had a rating of 102.4 when facing the guys in green. I don’t need analytics or experts to tell me that’s not good. The team spent a fourth round pick on Zech McPhearson to help the situation, but the defense still needed more.
Boom.
Roster Moves: #Eagles and CB Steven Nelson have agreed to terms on a one-year contract and the team released DT Willie Henry. pic.twitter.com/e7usgnEVVX
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) July 25, 2021
Super Bowl, here we come!
Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but this move does help the defense quite a bit. The Eagles now have veterans starters in Darius Slay and Nelson. Avonte Maddox can move to the slot, his more natural position. McPhearson will compete outside and in the slot. Craig James and Michael Jacquet will compete for a roster spot and to be STers.
This isn’t a long term solution, but it should be a big improvement over last year’s CBs. Nelson is a proven outside CB. Maddox played there last year, but wasn’t a good fit. Maddox should be an improvement over Nickell Robey-Coleman in the slot.
McPhearson is a talented rookie and the coaches are high on him. This takes pressure off having to play him and allows him to develop naturally. McPhearson might be good from Day One, but it won’t hurt if he struggles as a rookie.
One of the benefits of this is that the Eagles can try to figure some long term plans. They can see if Nelson is worth bringing back on a longer deal. They will have a feel for McPhearson and whether he should play inside or outside. They’ll also hopefully have a feel for whether he’s capable of starting in 2022 or needs more time. It would be great if Maddox could stay healthy and thrive in the slot. He’s been moved around and had some bad luck. Maddox is due for a season when things go his way.
Eagles have signed cornerback Steven Nelson to a one-year deal worth more than $4 million, per source. A top free agent cornerback is off the market.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) July 25, 2021
#Eagles have about $3M in cap space so my guess would be that the Nelson contract will have four void years in it. Can turn a $4M contract into a $1.6M cap hit for the year.
— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) July 25, 2021
The Eagles still need to sign OL Landon Dickerson, the team’s second round pick. It is a bit surprising he’s not been signed yet. Part of that may be due to the fact he’s coming off a torn ACL. Draft picks are slotted in terms of salary, but contract structure is a different story. The front office will figure all of this out and get it taken care of, but there is work to be done.
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I feel like the #Eagles have had one of the oddest offseason. Its a rebuilding team but they added Steve Nelson, Anthony Harris, Joe Flacco, Eric Wilson, Ryan Kerrigan. Hassan Ridgeway, Andrew Adams, and Richard Rodgers all on one year deals in hopes of competing.
— Jason_OTC (@Jason_OTC) July 25, 2021
The Eagles are rebuilding, but when you have veterans like Fletcher Cox, Jason Kelce, Brandon Graham, Brandon Brooks and Lane Johnson you cannot just tell them we’re focused solely on the future. You need to bring in young talent, but there isn’t anything wrong with mixing in older players on short/cheap deals to help bridge the gap. The NFC East is still a weak division and you never know who is going to win it.
The Eagles have erred in previous seasons by spending too much money and/or resources in veterans. This year the team spent judiciously (mostly) and chose players who were good scheme fits.
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We got this report a few days ago.
Latest on #Eagles Zach Ertz. I know hear there is a great chance Ertz will be on team at start of season. Been told Zach will be there at start of training camp Tuesday. Zach has been working out in team facility for close to last 2 weeks with teammates. He’s over the issues.
— Howard Eskin (@howardeskin) July 21, 2021
Ertz is reporting for financial reasons, but I still don’t anticipate him being an Eagle this year.
He wasn’t happy last year and it showed. We don’t want a repeat of that.
The Eagles are still hoping to get something for him, but other teams are not taking the bait. They are trying to see if the Eagles will just give up and cut Ertz. You know Howie Roseman desperately wants a decent pick (fifth round or better). Who will win the waiting game?
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For those keeping track…
Quarterback Deshaun Watson will report to the Texans today to avoid being fined $50K per day during their training camp, per @WerderEdESPN. Watson’s trade request remains in effect, with source saying nothing has changed in that regard.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 25, 2021
A lot of people believe Watson has a good chance to become an Eagle, if his personal situation ever gets resolved.
This is a very complicated situation, but any time one of the best QBs in the league might become available, you have to pay attention. The big key here is to see how his issues get resolved. There haven’t been any criminal charges yet. And there might not be any. But the accusations and stories are damaging on their own. We’ll have to wait and see how all this plays out before we’ll know Watson’s NFL future.
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In case you need a good laugh.
https://twitter.com/EagleSessions/status/1419344132347203586
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[…] No Fly Zone – Iggles BlitzThis is not a long-term solution, but it should be a big improvement over last year’s CB. Nelson is proven outside of CB. Maddox played there last year, but was not suitable. Maddox should be an improvement over Nickell Robey-Coleman in the slot machine. McPhearson is a talented newcomer and the coaches are high above him. This puts pressure on the need to play him and allows him to develop naturally. McPhearson may be good from day one, but it won’t hurt to fight as a rookie. One of the benefits of this is that eagles can try to come up with some long-term plans. They can find out if Nelson makes sense to bring back a longer deal. They will have a feel for McPheason and whether he should play indoors or outdoors. Hopefully, they will also feel whether he is able to start in 2022 or need more time. It would be great if Maddox could stay healthy and thrive in a vending machine. He was relocated and unlucky. Maddox is due for the season when he will prosper. […]
[…] No Fly Zone – Iggles BlitzThis isn’t a long term solution, but it should be a big improvement over last year’s CBs. Nelson is a proven outside CB. Maddox played there last year, but wasn’t a good fit. Maddox should be an improvement over Nickell Robey-Coleman in the slot. McPhearson is a talented rookie and the coaches are high on him. This takes pressure off having to play him and allows him to develop naturally. McPhearson might be good from Day One, but it won’t hurt if he struggles as a rookie. One of the benefits of this is that the Eagles can try to figure some long term plans. They can see if Nelson is worth bringing back on a longer deal. They will have a feel for McPhearson and whether he should play inside or outside. They’ll also hopefully have a feel for whether he’s capable of starting in 2022 or needs more time. It would be great if Maddox could stay healthy and thrive in the slot. He’s been moved around and had some bad luck. Maddox is due for a season when things go his way. […]
[…] No Fly Zone – Iggles BlitzThis isn’t a long term solution, but it should be a big improvement over last year’s CBs. Nelson is a proven outside CB. Maddox played there last year, but wasn’t a good fit. Maddox should be an improvement over Nickell Robey-Coleman in the slot. McPhearson is a talented rookie and the coaches are high on him. This takes pressure off having to play him and allows him to develop naturally. McPhearson might be good from Day One, but it won’t hurt if he struggles as a rookie. One of the benefits of this is that the Eagles can try to figure some long term plans. They can see if Nelson is worth bringing back on a longer deal. They will have a feel for McPhearson and whether he should play inside or outside. They’ll also hopefully have a feel for whether he’s capable of starting in 2022 or needs more time. It would be great if Maddox could stay healthy and thrive in the slot. He’s been moved around and had some bad luck. Maddox is due for a season when things go his way. […]
[…] No Fly Zone – Iggles BlitzThis isn’t a long term solution, but it should be a big improvement over last year’s CBs. Nelson is a proven outside CB. Maddox played there last year, but wasn’t a good fit. Maddox should be an improvement over Nickell Robey-Coleman in the slot. McPhearson is a talented rookie and the coaches are high on him. This takes pressure off having to play him and allows him to develop naturally. McPhearson might be good from Day One, but it won’t hurt if he struggles as a rookie. One of the benefits of this is that the Eagles can try to figure some long term plans. They can see if Nelson is worth bringing back on a longer deal. They will have a feel for McPhearson and whether he should play inside or outside. They’ll also hopefully have a feel for whether he’s capable of starting in 2022 or needs more time. It would be great if Maddox could stay healthy and thrive in the slot. He’s been moved around and had some bad luck. Maddox is due for a season when things go his way. […]