CB Coach Johnnie Lynn Is Out
Posted: January 8th, 2012 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 62 Comments »The first domino has fallen. Or has it?
The Eagles fired CBs coach Johnnie Lynn. What do we make of this? Some people jumped on the notion that this was being done so that there could be a coaching shuffle. Maybe Andy would move Juan Castillo to CBs coach and then we could hire Steve Spagnuolo to be DC. Don’t be so sure of this.
Lynn was hired for a couple of reasons. He had the coaching experience that the staff desperately needed. Castillo was new to defense. Mike Caldwell and Mike Zordich were first time assistants. Lynn could help them based on his many years in the league.
Lynn also had been a DC in the past. That meant he could act as an adviser to Castillo if needed. Lynn was an older guy and wouldn’t be a threat to Castillo in the sense of some power struggle.
Lynn didn’t seem to do a great job with the CBs in 2011. He was given tremendous talent to work with, but the results were far less than what was expected. I think his firing was simply a way for the Eagles to upgrade at that spot. Lynn’s experience wasn’t as much of a help as was hoped.
There are some good choices on the market. Raheem Morris is a good DBs coach. So is Todd Bowles. Alan Williams of the Colts is an interesting guy, should the team make a coaching change. Rams DB coach Clayton Lopez is available. He worked with Nnamdi out in Oakland back in 2004-05.
If there is going to be a change at DC, it would make sense for him to choose the new CBs coach. I think we’ll start to get some idea of what’s going on later this week. I’m sure any DC candidates are looking around the league to see what is happening. Bengals OC Jay Gruden has a chance to be the Jags HC. Is anyone connected to him? If the Giants defense gets lit up, could Perry Fewell get the axe? Coaches want to see what all the openings are so they can make the best choices.
In a fantasy world, the Eagles would hire Spags and Bowles. You’d suddenly have one top shelf defensive coaching staff.
Here is a good interview with Spags by St. Louis writer Bryan Burwell. The key nuggets are that Spags has talked to several teams and that he’s open to being a DC or even positional coach. Keep your fingers crossed.
* * * * *
While watching the Lions play last night I tried to focus on MLB Stephen Tulloch. I came away disappointed.
Tulloch is a much better player than Jamar Chaney or Casey Matthews. I certainly don’t dispute that. However, I sure didn’t come away from that game thinking that he would be the answer at MLB for us.
His numbers wee good. 8 solo tackles, 7 assists, and a FF. One problem is that his defense gave up 45 points and 626 yards. Beyond that, he played a sloppy game. The Saints ran up the middle with ease. They finished with 167 yards on the ground. Tulloch struggled to get off blocks. He missed tackles on several plays.
I’m not saying Tulloch is a bad player, but he isn’t the long term answer at MLB. It won’t surprise me at all if the Lions look to upgrade themselves.
Sticking with the Lions for a second…they desperately need a CB who can cover and/or make plays. GM Martin Mayhew needs to be on the phone with Howie Roseman ASAP. That team could really use a guy like Asante Samuel. He’s got his issues, but the Lions CBs last night were torched over and over.
Originally I thought we’d get a 3rd round pick for Asante, but after that game, the Eagles just might be able to get a 2nd. The Lions need a CB who can step in and play at a high level right away. That’s Asante.
One Lion who did catch my eye last night was backup DE Willie Young. He was a 7th round pick in 2010 and has grown into being a nice pass rusher. This is the kind of guy I hope the Eagles go for in the upcoming draft. Young was a good pass rusher at NC State, but lacked the numbers to be a high pick. He’s 6’5, 250 and a perfect fit for the Wide-9.
This is the kind of guy we need to find this year. I like the 5 DEs we have in place, but I want competition. Washburn likes sleek pass rushers. Guys like that can be found later on. Look for someone with a good college track record and who is 6’4 or 6’5 and goes about 250 pounds.
In that note: go Falcons!!!
If the Lions were to acquire Asante, then Detroit would have a pair of bookend CBs who won’t get near a running back who’s broken into the secondary . . . Eric Wright (Lions #21) made a damn good impression of a someone concerned that New Orleans’ RBs may be radioactive. It was like watching Asante.
Spags DC, Bowles CBs, Castillo LBs.
Asante + a 2nd for Detroit’s 1st
Draft Kuechly and Z. Brown.
Suddenly we become the best D in the world!
A veritable “dream team,” to coin a phrase . . .
Indeed; I’d also like to point out (in case it wasn’t obvious) I wasn’t being entirely serious with that post. Although it would be a pretty impressive set of moves.
Oh yeah, I got what you were doing. Just adding another punchline.
I propose that the next man to use that phrase owes every Eagles fan a beer!
I don’t know about Zach Brown. He seems athletic and quick, sort of the playmaker type, but i can’t shake that he seems soft, doesn’t tackle or get off blocks well. However I am intrigued by having a player like him at WLB to be the one to get the glory stats and make plays.
Can he cover? He really needs to be a good cover guy to be a 1st round alternative to Luke Kuechly who i am starting to fear won’t make it to our pick. Damn late season wins.
Brown is big time athlete. Can cover, rush, and make plays.
Sloppy tackler. Can be physical, but that isn’t his strength.
You would need to offer Asante, our 2nd and Tampa Bay’s 4th, assuming Asante still has 3rd rd value, I suspect he’ll only garner a 4th rd pick due to his age and salary.
With the sloopy CBs play seen in the playoffs, Asantes value should still be a 2nd rounder, even with a down year, Asante was still one of the best CBs this year
This Tommy Lawlor guy doesn’t take a break, does he?
Thank god for that. I can’t wait for the off-season were T-Law post his thoughts. Its incredibly well written and maintains a very high standard. Tommy will be my number one source of targets in the FA and draft, and its not even a discussion.
D’Qwell Jackson
Possibility. Had a terrific year.
The allure of playing for a playoff team….(say that loosely) may be enough to pry Jackson away from the browns. He is a tackling machine. He plays in a very tough conference so he knows how to make plays. I wouldn’t mind rolle/Jackson/zack brown. I also did like the idea another poster had…package Asante and one of our 2nds for the lions first. Get Luke and Zack Brown in rnd 1. Still have a second….get possibly a DT or CB. Can’t wait till march!!!!
I didn’t like Tulloch last year either. He’s competent within his limitations, that is, we’re talking a 5’11 245 lb MLB with 4.84 speed, so he’s fine between the tackles stopping RBs on the wrong side of the LOS (he doesn’t get a lot of stuffs, he’s not the type of MLB who explodes through the gap and makes plays in the backfield). He tackles well when he gets to the RB, but that inflates his stats, he makes more tackles than plays. He can cover in a short area – in other words, a more physical version of Matthews.
If you’re gonna upgrade Chaney, you have to consider that Chaney has upside, so it doesn’t make sense to bring in someone like Tulloch who only provides a marginal improvement and has zero upside. Either find a rookie who’s clearly superior (Luke) or a veteran who’s a substantially better player right now (Hawthorne). Otherwise, go cheap.
When watching JPP play BG better gets his ish together next season!
Why? JPP was the classic boom or bust prospect and would have been quite a risk. Don’t forget how many was screaming that he traded up for a DE, when it wasn’t a need. Picture how bad it would have been if we have taken a flyer.
Now, JPP has certainly worked out, but you can go back to every draft for every team and change at least one pick in the draft to a better player. No sense in going back and saying we should have taken this player and that player instead.
If I remember correctly BG was higher on the Gmens board then JPP. The Eagles moved up because they knew the Gmen wanted BG. Hindsight is 20/20. BG tore his knee. Not his fault. Washburn liked him. He was better at Michigan then Lamar Woodley. Woodley is pretty good. Let’s see how he does this year. If he’s a bust then we move on.
Have the Giants ever confirmed that Graham was their #1 DE?
Or is that information from an “NFL source” — like, say, Roseman?
I agree 100% with this, BUT we can still hold Graham to a higher standard given JPP’s play especially considering we’ll see him twice a year.
It’s not necessarily a matter of he’s better than Graham, more like our division rival’s 1st rounder has been better than ours and that’s a problem if we want to keep having a good team.
There is a rumor that lions offered a second round pick for Samuel last year but was turned down
a 2nd day pick, not 2nd round…
I’m sure the NFL will spin this as good defense, but these two teams are mediocre at best.
RE: Giants v. Falcons
Watching the G-men, and Eli Manning, it almost makes me long for D-Mac. And why I think the Birds need to draft a big QB early.
There’s something to be said for a 6’3″ 230lb QB who’ll stay in the pocket or scramble to buy time to find a receiver — as opposed to a 5’11” 195 lb whippet who’s pocket presence (shuffling to find passing lanes) is less than optimal and runs to gain yards, not find a receiver. Not to mention, he doesn’t last 16 games.
I enjoy watching Vick, very much.
But I liked that McNabb was a winner. You can’t blame him for all four of the Eagles’ NFC title game failures: the Rams were better — and the Eagles got there because of him; the Eagles had no business beating GB in 2002 (4th and 26) to face Carolina, and D-Mac was knocked out anyway; TB totally out-coached the Eagles on offense and defense; and Arizona was red-hot at the right time — although that’s the one game where D-Mac’s failure to score on the Birds’ last drive still burns.
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I know T-Law has said that McNabb’s time here was over. And his last two years don’t undercut that opinion.
But would McNabb be the same player under Reid as he was for the Shanahans and in Minnesota?
Not that McNabb ever was Tom Brady-accurate.
But D-Mac protected the ball — something that would have made a huge difference this year. And he’d have had McCoy, Maclin, D-Jax, and Celek to work with.
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This is why I think the Eagles need to draft a big bodied QB this year . . . like Tannehill from Tex A&M or Foles from AZ State. Unless Kafka is the future — which I just don’t believe.
Just a theory. ‘Cause I’m skeptical that Vick is the guy to get this franchise to the SB.
I’d love to see it, though.
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Post Script: Arian Foster may be the best RB in the NFL (w/ McCoy #1A). What a show yesterday.
Mark this as the first time ever an Eagles fan has called McNabb a “winner” on the Internet. Never thought I’d see the day.
Let’s throw a “fiery” in here for good measure!
McNabb is done as a starter unless he changes his attitude. Needs a big piece of humble pie. I love Donnie, but he’s got to recognize that he’s a descending player.
I might be willing to have him as a backup here if he truly bought into that notion, but I doubt that happens. McNabb left here feeling disrespected. Don’t know if that’s changed.
T-Law:
I was *not* advocating McNabb’s return.
Only that the Eagles draft a big QB this year — bigger than Kafka.
Cheers!
I’d still take him over Mark Sanchez.
How about Brock Osweiler from ASU. Kid is 6’8″.
“In a draft starved of talent past Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, Osweiler is the great quarterback hope. In April, it may be impossible for a team to overlook Osweiler’s extremely high potential.. He’s as naturally talented as any quarterback in this year’s class — that include Griffin. A team with an established veteran quarterback could take a chance on Osweiler as early as the second round”
http://www.mockingthedraft.com/2012/1/5/2685887/brock-osweiler-2012-nfl-draft-arizona-state
Could be an interesting long-term prospect, especially if Andy’s able to keep his job past the end of next season.
My only beef with drafting a QB high is that almost no matter what, win or lose, Andys time here is almost over. The next coaching staff is going to want to have “their guy”
If we reach the NFFCG or SB next year, AR will get 2-3 more years.
Or if we go 8-8 but have a bunch of really good reasons for doing so, then AR will get 2-3 more years. It’s okay – it’s not his fault!!
I agree. I love Vick. He is a straight warrior. But I don’t know if he can get us a SB. I would love a 6’5 big qb that can see the entire field, no tipped passes and has a strong arm. Just watch Cam newton stand tall in the pocket, I would love that.
But qbs r so tuff to find, Vick will b our qb for a few more years. If Vick learns how to move around in the pocket it will be huge. He can escape better than anyone, I mean move around And find passing lanes like breese. Vick seems to move to not step up when he shud, instead he runs right into sacks. And I too am not a fan of Kafka at all.
We just need an Oline made up of Woodhead/Rolle/Fletcher/Hall/Sproles with Welker at TE, and Vick could see everything clear as day!!!
Or just the guys that Brees throws behind, because it doesn’t stop his limited stature from seeing what is downfield. If your good enough, your big enough.
I don’t really get the sense that any of the teams who have played this weekend – other than NO – are any more qualified to be a Playoff team than we were, given our 2nd half play.
I just find it so hard to compare NFL teams these days. There are some obviously mediocre teams, of course, but you can watch most games and point to very specific instances where the game was won or lost most of the time. Even in blow outs, you can say “X” is the reason this team won against this team, etc.
The NFL has become so much about match-ups that I think it’s just a crap shoot.
Wow, bet Steelers fans thought no Ryan Clark wouldn’t matter today given Denvers passing struggles. Oops
I thought at the time that giving up a king’s ransom for Julio Jones was a mistake. The Falcons couldn’t even manage a single offensive point. They’ve actually regressed every year under Ryan.
Sort of like the Eagles the last 4 years.
Problem for the Falcons was timing, they trade for Jones a year late, as White and Gonzo have slowed down, Jones should have been no more than a complementary piece as a rookie, but he has to be the “man” with the lack of playmakers in this offense.
They also wore Turner down the last three years, and taking apart his OL doesn’t help, Baker (talk about bad 1st rd picks, tweener who should have been a 3rd rd pick, lacks the feet for LT, the size for RT, 33″ arms are short for OT but lacks the athleticism for LG) was replaced by a journeyman in Svitek, Hawley replaced Dahl, McClure is getting older and a physical OL became a meh OL.
Well, yeah, that’s sort of what I was getting at in the initial paragraph. While Julio is sort of forced to be the guy now, he’s also surrounded by a lot of old or injured talent.
They may have been better suited to improve the d or o lines considering they should have anticipated losing some free agents on the o line and they knew Baker just wasn’t getting the job done as a tackle.
I am in total agreement with you Eric. I thought at that time that the trade for Julio was foolish, and it looks like we were on point. The Falcons could have used those picks to bolster a solid but not great defensive unit. It’s clear that Turner’s clock is winding down (and they should have known that before this current season started).
Good teams keep their roster fresh, the Falcon’s are getting stale, and now lack the ammo to go hunting.
That trade could turn around the Brown’s franchise as well, but Ina good way.
It certainly could. I’m not really up to date on the Browns but my guess is that will a decent QB (RG III perhaps) and a better option than Hillis at RB (i dated a ravens fan for awhile and I do not like Hillis’ running style) they could be competitive in a very difficult division. The few games that I noted their box score seem to suggest their D is headed in the right direction.
Bad game by Dick LeBeau.
Tebowed!!! Love it!!!
Almost as good as Manningface and Matty Ice melting in the Play-offs once again.
Per Tulloch, I too wasn’t terribly impressed last night. However, it was only one game, and I think PFF had him as an all-pro alternate this year. I didn’t see much of him this year so I can’t speak to that. That said, he’s been a productive MIKE since getting the chance to start and only 27. Takeo Spikes wasn’t impressive when he was an Eagle then went on to have 3 productive years with the 9ers. I wouldn’t be so quick to think Tulloch is done unless they feel like he’ll be too costly and look to find a cheaper alternative, but I’m not sure an upgrade is readily available. The Saints also happen to have one of the best groups of interior linemen in the NFL. Hicks had his way with Suh on several occasions.
Ike Taylor was supposed to be having a fantastic year in Pitt….unless you judged based off of tonight….incorrect opinions can easily be formed based off watching a single game here or there.
Would you honestly feel any worse about having Tulloch in the middle than Bradley who many people really liked outside of the injury?
I would take Tulluch. He had over 100 tackles behind the wide 9 in Tennessee. There are other better options but if he hits the market and the Lions don’t resign him, Howie should at least ring him in for a LONG look. On his worst day he’s better than Chaney. Like Tommy said there are better options but he knows the wide 9, and knows babin and Washburn.
Spikes was a solid run stopper here, but lacked the range for WLB and wasn’t going to beat out Bradley in 2008 at MLB. As a 3-4 ILB, playing next to Willis, his weaknesses (lack of speed) were covered. Fit has a lot to do with performance.
Tulloch does what he does well, he tackles RBs and WRs in his area, but he rarely makes plays in the backfield, has below average speed and limited range. There’s a reason no one offered him a big contract, and that his old DC was only willing to give him a 1 year deal for $3M.
He’s an example of why you have to be a little careful with PFF, like fielders in baseball with high fielding percentages, he gets overrated because he makes the plays that come to him consistently, but the plays he doesn’t make aren’t as noticeable.
Chaney couldn’t make the plays that came to him consistently, which was kind of the point. Tulloch has been productive, if unspectacular playing behind the wide-9 his whole career. We aren’t looking for Urlacher or Lewis, but someone who you can rely on to make tackles and correct reads.
Spikes also is a plague on any team he plays for. No team he has played for has ever gone to the playoffs. Bengals, Bills, Eagles, 49ers and Chargers.
I realize that I wasn’t complete coherent in my post, but two main points I was making were
1) I wouldn’t take too much away from one game. Even if Tulloch hasn’t been that great all year, which I’m not sure has been the case since I haven’t watched more than 2 or 3 Detroit games in their entirety, this past performance being one of them, that doesn’t mean the player is done. That is point 2,
2) It can take a player finding the right fit to excel again, even after not looking like a standout player in a previous role.
Hey Tommy,
reading this articel is like I missed some news: Eagles fired the DC? You know more, then we do?
Anyhow: Great articel!
Johnnie Lynn was the Corner Backs coach, and one of the “veteran” presences on the defensive coaching staff.
Do yourself a favor and go read the article again 😉
I´m sorry that you didn´t understand my comment. I read the articel and understood it.
It’s fun when parallel universes collide.
Well, even so, Mac has me beat. I don’t even know what an articel is.
[…] Tommy Lawlor of IgglesBlitz noted that the Lions make would all the sense in the world to make a play for Asante Samuel. He thinks the price tag could as high as a 2: Sticking with the Lions for a second…they […]
Teeebow.
Honestly, what your opinion of him when he came out of college? Did you really think he would have this much success in the NFL?