Off Topic Thursday
Posted: January 12th, 2012 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 69 Comments »No major Eagles news right now, but some stuff worth talking about.
What the heck is up with Jeff Fisher? I’ve been a big fan of his since his days as an assistant to Buddy Ryan here in Philly. I always liked the Titans/Oilers while he was head coach there. They ran the ball and played good defense. Fisher had some personality as a coach, but kept it in check (see Rex, it can be done).
Fisher never won a Super Bowl, but I think he’s a better coach than his record indicates. The Titans had some strange situations to deal with. There was the move from Houston. That led them to Memphis for 1998 (temporary situation while the stadium was built in Nashville). In 1999 the team finally got to its new home and broke through and went to the Super Bowl that year.
They had some serious Salary Cap issues that led to rough years. They had the whole Vince Young fiasco a few years back. And bad luck hurt Fisher as well. He had good playoff teams lose to the ’99 Rams and ’00 Ravens. Those were special opponents. That’s not the same as losing to the 2009 Cowboys.
Now that we’ve established that I like Jeff Fisher and that he’s a good coach…pick a team, dude. Jeff is going back and forth between the Rams and Dolphins. Mike Florio floated a “conspiracy theory” that this was Fisher’s way of driving up leverage and getting the best possible deal. I naturally thought Florio was reaching and that Fisher was above pulling such a stunt. Now, I’m wondering. Maybe Mike is dead on the money and Jeff is milking every nickel he can from the two owners. One report had Miami offering $8M per year. Wow, if true.
I think Fisher should take the Rams job. They have a QB, RB, young MLB, and 2 good pass rushers. That’s the foundation of a Jeff Fisher team to me. The Dolphins need a QB, run a 3-4, and have lots of veterans. The Rams have the #2 overall pick and are in better cap shape. Seems like a no-brainer, but Jeff is turning this into a circus. Every time I go to Twitter I see an NFL insider reporting that Fisher is now leaning to (insert team). For the love of god, just choose a team.
Anybody else getting ticked at Fisher for playing this game?
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For SB Nation Philly I took an Eagles break and wrote about the new Penn State coaching staff. 2012 is going to be odd for PSU fans. I hope good/odd, but we’ll see how that goes.
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Jimmy over at Blogging The bEast gave out his Beastie Awards the other day. Some good stuff over there. Make sure you check that out. I love the Best Sideline Conversation choice. Very funny.
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We love to be critical of Andy Reid for not bringing home the Lombardi Trophy. He did get us to a Super Bowl and did have some playoff success.
What are Falcons fans thinking right now? That organization never had consecutive winning seasons until 2008 and 2009. They’ve now had 4 winning seasons in a row. They’ve got a franchise QB in Matt Ryan. They’ve got talent around him. But they are 0-3 in the playoffs with a team built to win now.
Is Smith on the hot seat? Should he be? Must be a strange time to be a Falcons fan. You’re happy to have a consistent winner finally. You have good players like Ryan, Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez, Julio Jones, John Abraham, Curtis Lofton, Sean Weatherspoon, and Brent Grimes. That’s a lot to be happy about.
But 0-3 in the playoffs? Just as bad, the Falcons are in the NFC South. They have to deal with the Saints, an elite team. The Panthers on the rise. Tampa could easily bounce back with the right coach running that team. There is no guarantee the Falcons are a playoff team in 2012. Crazy.
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You guys buying into the Giants hype? Lots of people are throwing the “this is 2007 all over again” thing out there. I’m hesitant to buy in. This weekend will prove whether this is fool’s gold or the Giants are for real.
Wes Bunting is raving about Hightower, and says he has the ability to play in a 4-3. But he is supposedly up to around 270 lbs!! Would he be the biggest MLB in the league?
He’s currently his top rated LB, have you studied him thoroughly Tommy?
I’ve got to watch lots of tape on him. Tough guy to evaluate.
How about Burfict? He’s a guy I could see dropping well out of the first round, even though some rank him as the #2 or 3 LB taken.
I don’t know what NFL coach would feel confident about drafting a guy who literally got benched for undisciplined, unnecessary personal fouls given the suspensions the league is beginning to hand down.
Wes Bunting has him as his #63 prospect right know – he still has to evaluate other positions… He did say something interesting in his evaluation, stating that he could be better on the outside than in the middle. He didn’t say if that was in a 4-3 or 3-4…
I would pick him up if he fell to our 2nd 2nd rounder…
I was thinking the same thing the other day. If you use him as a pass rusher then you can definitly afford to have him be a little more of a loose cannon and just set him free. See Jason Babin and James Harrison.
I wanted O’Brien to retain Johnson if not solely for his ability to recruit the inner city Baltimore kids, but I wonder about his ability to coach a defense – if they go that route. The defense seemed to struggle once Bradley took over the team and the onus was on Johnson and the other assistants.
I said to my dad the other day I thought if O’Brien could somehow pluck a diamond-in-the-rough QB from the northeast, grab a talented TE; he could try to run an open offense similar to the Patriots. I’ll be very glad to no longer see 3 to 5 FB dives per game from this offense. I’ve been tired of the mediocre QB play since Kerry Collins.
But, as you say early in your post; it may get worse before it gets better. I fully expect O’Brien to get 3 to 4 years and if things do not turn around then I expect a bigger name once the dust settles. I read a few years back Bob Stoops had major interest, but I don’t know where he stands now nor whether he’s the type of fit for Penn State.
Ted Roof will run the defense. Johnson just has to keep churning out good DL. And he is a good recruiter. Does very well in DC and Baltimore.
Oh, thanks for that info, Tommy. Long week so far, I haven’t had time to read up on what was going on other than Johnson and Vanderlinden staying.
I don’t understand the Giants hype at all. People are talking about the Giants as if they have a top 5 defense. Am I missing something? Granted, they played a very competitive game against the Packers a few weeks ago, but frankly, I think that is as close the Giants can expect to be against the Packers. I just don’t see this being all that close of a game in the end. Of course, I thought the same thing about the Steelers-Broncos game, so I have been very wrong before.
As much as we are reminded to not look too much into the Eagles’ hot streak to end the season, I think we have to take the same approach with the Giants. Both the Jets and Cowboys can be considered teams that aren’t all that great, and actually had matchups that I think favored the Giants. While I believed that the Falcons could have won that playoff game, they weren’t playing at home, and I always believed that the team was good but a bit overrated.
The Giants aren’t a bad team at all, and if their defense can keep them close in games, they have the ability to hit a big play here or there to push them over. Should be an interesting game though, to say the least.
I don’t get it either. They finished 3-5 down the stretch, and only had a two game winning streak going into the playoffs.
They’ll be killed this weekend.
Also this one’s at Lambeau – I just don’t see any way the Giants win this one.
In terms of waiting for Fisher to decide on which team to coach, I’m sort of surprised that him taking his time has bothered you. Considering how often you laud Andy Reid’s ability to be methodical in his decisions and not rush a decision unnecessarily, I would have expected you to use a similar argument for Fisher. Personally, I don’t have a strong opinion about the situation. He made it clear last week that he was going to take a week to decide and that’s what he has done. I fully agree that the Rams are the better situation to go and if he is stalling in order to nickle and dime the team, I don’t fault him for that, especially with neither team putting much pressure on him by looking seriously at other candidates.
I’m not against people taking their time, but this feels like Fisher is playing the situation. We keep hearing that he’s torn and that he’s leaning this way vs that way. Don’t be naive. Jeff and/or his agent could be leaking that stuff.
If Jeff met with both teams and then told the press I’m going home to think for a week and don’t believe any reports you hear, that’d be one thing. This feels like Fisher or his agent is manipulating things. I’ve got no proof. Just speculation on my part and I could be dead wrong. I just don’t like the way the situation feels.
Don’t get me wrong, I fully understand your point of view. And you may be 100% right in assuming Fisher and his agent are trying to manipulate things. I guess my point of view is that if he has the opportunity to get some more out of a deal, why shouldn’t he? He isn’t preventing either team from going out and signing someone else, so if the team is going to act like it’s Fisher or bust, negotiating the best deal for himself doesn’t seem to me like something that is inappropriate. Of course, I understand why people would rather Fisher just pick a team and sign.
I’ve got no problem if Fisher guy is yanking some chains to get his best deal.
What if he is pushing the teams to give him more control instead of more money? Would that make it any better?
That’s why I can’t wait till FA and get an idea of the Eagles plans in the draft.
Well, I am not saying that I am buying into this Giants hype, but it wouldn’t necessarily shock me if they beat the Packers at Lambeau. They were awfully close of beating them earlier this year and after getting most of the banged up guys back their Defense seems to be stiffing up again.
Either the Broncos and/or the Giants will master the upset this weekend…
I really don’t see either happening. That being said, I love the argument that the Patriots are going to expose Tebow. I’m not a fan of Tebow what so ever, but the fact is, the Patriots defense is garbage. They might expose the BRONCOS because the Patriots offense could put up a ton of points, but that defense isn’t going to expose Tebow. On top of that, since when did loosing one game where your team is considered a 10 point underdog translate into a QB being exposed? I think Tebow is severely overhyped, but I highly doubt that a loss to the Patriots will even come close to ending the discussion about Tebow.
Don’t buy the Giants hype, Giants Safeties will be roasted by Rodgers. Those lollipops Eli has been throwing in to double coverage will turn into Ints vs GB with those ballhawks they have. Packers by 10+
+1
I think the weather will get Eli as well…
Giants will not win the shootout in the cold.
Isn’t that what they said in 2007? A super-cold Giants-Packers game at Lambeau, and it seemed like the weather bothered Favre a lot more than Eli. Still hoping the Giants get exposed, though, and then that some AFC team other than the Patriots wins the Superbowl.
I forget what the exact age is… but it’s somewhere in your low 30s that your veins start to shrink and as a result your bodies performance in cold weather declines… hence Eli(minated) having a better day than the ancient one.
I think one thing I am worried about is MM going to the Colts. We have no on roster replacement. Andy has been out of the assistant coaching loop for a while.. Does he have a successor in mind?
Usually we can look at the staff and say “Sure X is just going to step up and be the next C” However in recent years the staff has been picked clean.
I mean does Doug Pederson become the OC????
We could be looking at 2 new Coordinators next year. Not fun for Andy if he is in a win playoff games or get fired situation.
I hope the fact that MM is happy here and has kids in High School and stuff keeps him around. I really want to see this offense kill it like Pats or GB next year.
Giants are scary…can beat anyone on any given week, but 80% of the time fail to show up. I would love for Rodgers to destroy them….but I think the Giants will keep it close. Jennings coming back will be big for Rodgers. The Packers have one of the most underacheiving defenses out there right now. They have so much talent. They really need to show up this week and end this Giant run.
Think maybe Fisher is waiting to see if the Colts job becomes available – maybe at the end of this week?
That sounds like the best idea yet. Why would Fisher act like a douche now? He never seemed like that type.
I always wonder about filling coaching positions too fast… what if we had waited on Winston Moss or Trovagc last year instead of anointing Castillo so fast.
Look at the Jags… they may have made a big mistake by not waiting.
I thought Moss and Trovagc were 3-4 guys.
I work with a Colts fan who thinks this is exactly what’s happening. It does make sense.
You mean to tell me that Fisher would want to draft Andrew Luck, coach Dwight Freeney, work for a stable owner, and get some revenge?
Yea I think you may be on to something here…
Unrelated, but is it too soon to talk about Donovan McNabb returning to Philly as a backup in 2012? Given the # of teams who had desperate QB need late in the season, and McNabb not landing anywhere, I think it’s clear his years as a starter are over.
I can’t think of a better available backup QB for Philadelphia unless the Cards crazily cut Kevin Kolb and no one else wants him.
I’d say Kafka’s probably a better backup at this point.
Kafka has shown nothing when I have seen him play. I would like to have Dmac back to be the backup. He knows the system and is comfortable here.
“comfortable” I like Don, but I wouldn’t have ever said he was comfortable… and coming back as an understudy with his level of pride, I just don’t see it being positive in the media or the locker-room.
I think the last few years Dmac has been through and the prospect that his career might be winding down might have changed his pride alittle. He liked playing here. It WAS his career. I think he would enjoy having a chance to play for Reid again. He gave us a lot of good years. I on that note, would welcome him back with open arms. And with the prospect of Vicks playing style its also a plus for me if im Dmac because I know I could be the starting QB again if Vick gets hurt.
Maybe, I don’t know some of his comments tossing Ponder under the bus after he left Minny didn’t sit well with me. His comments and issues with Shanahan we’re great either. Somehow, I think he’s hanging it up and goin home to AZ to eat some chunky soup.
Well I dont think any of the QBs he replaced were really that good including Ponder. I dont think much of Ponder or any of the Washington QBs. And what has Shanahan done with Washington? McNabb has done a lot for the Philadelphia Eagles. That alone gives he one last chance to play as our backup if he wants it and the Eagles welcome him back.
Re: The Falcons
I live in ATL. It doesn’t seem that Smith’s on the hot seat (although lots of heat for those 4th-and-1 failures) — at least from the radio talking heads.
The heat seems more directed at Matt Ryan and the coordinators — both of whom are gone (OC Mike Mularkey to JAX and DC Dave Van Gorder to Auburn). They, not Smith, are getting the blame for not having their players ready.
The other point of focus seems to be the age of key players: RB Turner, WR White, TE Gonzalez, DE Abraham.
Anyway, Smith looks like he’s getting a pass until next year. But the new coordinators will be key.
And SPAGS is the guy that the fans and media want.
I would have liked to have had their record this year…
agreed . The heat is on the conservative playcalling after selling out in the draft for Jones. Is Ryan no good, or do the coaches have no faith in him. He was much better as a rookie using instincts, and the regression in talent is a big question. Finding out who is at fault is the hard part ,and at this point the coordinators are taking some heat. The other issue is the number of coach openings right now really makes considering removing a very successful regular season coach a sill prospect.
The other issue surrounding the falcons age is the free agents. They are going to have to make some choices, and with the talent in the division, they are likely headed down sooner than up.
Reid and MM prove that you have to be REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, and I mean VY crappy to not do well with good coaching.
I think Matt Ryan is not the issue in Atl. I watched several Atl games and see a QB that has everything he needs to succeed, maybe not a superstar but to be very good. They had some stupid “look how tricky smart” we are play calls this year when they have a bulldozer RB, 2 WR, HoF TE… I would think Reid and MM would put up Franchise numbers with those guys.
I agree about Ryan, he is fine… not great, but good enough. I just wasnt clear. When he was a rookie and a “system” QB, he had several opportunities to rise a big occasion, and did… and for that got the stupidest nickname ever. I think the playcalls have forgotten that he was a great QB on a run first team, and started trying to put too many pass attempts in the plan. Something has happened where the opponents have adjusted and no longer get beaten by surprise, and the coaching or playcalling is to blame.
Even the few long plays the Jones had at the end of the year were run after the catch , not necessarily great downfield blasts. This would have been fine for just opening things up a bit, but the fact is with this team, they fail to produce in post season games, but there was talent to win some this year
The way Tommy described the Falcons situation reminds me a lot of Buddy’s late 80s/early 90’s Eagles. The only thing is that the Eagles had two dominant teams to compete against in the division between the Giants and Skins and the Cowboys (after 91) were the young up-and-comer.
Yeah, the Eagles had had success before but between 82-87 they didn’t have one winning season so the turnaround when Buddy got them to win 10 or more 3 years in a row must have felt similar.
After going 0-3 in the playoffs Buddy was fired but I seem to remember that there wasn’t really a fan revolt against Ryan. He was fired because he couldn’t get along with Norman Braman. But that may just be my selective memory.
I’ve been thinking a lot about what to do with DeSean and his contract. He’s one of my favorite Eagles but like Asante, I think he needs to go. He messes up and has to many cons vs the pros.
Tell me what you guys think…
This is an off topic post about DeSean Jackson…I do NOT think we should re-sign him…
PROS: – He forces most teams to play their safeties back deep…When that happens we need to play small ball and throw short to medium passes….
– DeSean gives us a deep threat. He’s just too fast…
CONS: – One dimensional. He cannot go over the middle at all..He’s afraid to go over the middle. Mike Wallace isn’t afraid to go over the middle…No one on the Packers is afraid…That’s why the Packers WR corps is really good. They can go over the middle…
– Character issues. Is he a cancer like T.O.? No, but everyone with a brain could tell that DeSean just wasn’t himself this year..He’s too busy worrying about his contract that it really affected his play. Things like him flipping the ball to Perry Fewells face and running alongside the goal line against the Giants last year is just plain out un-necessary. Another thing is that I can honestly see him getting a contract this offseason and in a couple of years, complain about it again..
– What happens if he tears an ACL or he loses a step or two? DeSean is all about speed. He has no bulk to him what so ever..Think about Steve Smith..He’s shorter than DeSean but has that bulk to him. I’ve seen him go for jump balls and come out on top with the ball..Steve Smith was a very fast receiver in his prime. He’s still fast but at his age, he’s definitely lost some of it…My question with is DeSean is that what if he tears his ACL or age just catches him? If he loses his speed, he is worthless…You will have a very small and undersized receiver that cannot go over the middle, no aggression when going up for a ball, and that doesn’t have scary speed…
– He’s not good against press. (Size speaks for itself)
– He drops the ball way too many times for a receiver looking for a big contract.
– There are at least 5 games a season when he just doesn’t show up…DeSean will either give you 4 catches for 150 yards or 2 catches for 25 yards…
– He doesn’t do anything on short passes…I remember during the 2010 season, against the Cowboys, DeSean caught a pass on our 10 and ran it 90 yards for a TD…That’s my only memory I can think on the top of my head of a big time play he made when it was a short pass..Where are more plays of that? Maybe its the coaches not picking plays for him to catch and run.
– PUNT RETURNS….He only had one decent return this year..I think it was vs. the Cardinals…He’s either a disaster (Bears game, back pedaling on the return, coughed it up, good times) or an angel (Miracle at the Meadowlands)…Either way, if he hadn’t returned that punt back at the Meadowlands, I don’t think anyone would remember a recent good punt return…He has all that speed but yet Reno Mahe probably could have done a better job than DJax last season…Heck Chad Hall did a better job returning punts than DeSean did all year..Chad Hall was a beast on PR against the Redskins…
Another thing I just realized is that Victor Cruz is really good with YAC. DeSean is definitely faster than Cruz but yet Cruz is just better than DJax when it comes to YAC…
DeSean can easily be replaced…Just draft another receiver that is super fast and tell him to go long…That is what DeSean does…
Just think of it though…There are triple the cons than there are pros when it comes to DeSean…Why give him a big time contract?
Change the team philosophy and draft bigger receivers…I want a Dez Bryant (minus the attitude and work ethic), or a Hakeem Nicks (minus the drops he had vs the Redskins), or just a WR that can do it all and has size to him…
DeSean is not irreplaceable. I want the Eagles to go out and get a bigger #1 receiver in FA or draft, have Maclin as #1, Avant as #3, Draft another crafty speed WR, and Riley Cooper..Franchise DJax and ship him outta here.
I am not at all opposed to the “tag and trade” I think for his skill set a 2nd rounder would be reasonable.
I just don’t think hes worth having. He’ll give the occasional deep 50+ yrd reception but it dropped one vs. the Patriots, correct? He has so many negative attributes than positive ones. His speed on go routes is his only attribute to be honest.
Djax reminds me of a trick play… boom or bust all the time.
Also he has a bit of Pinkston smell about him but with more talent.
I think I would gladly take a Vincent Jackson or Colston to replace him.
Heck Jerome Simpson… then the media could all stop pretending Maclin is not the #1
I don’t understand how people say he is one-dimensional. Is he a bit smallish? Yes he is. But just because he isn’t some big bodied WR doesn’t mean he is one dimensional. The guy has run deep routes, short routes, and routes across the middle this year and every other year he has been in the league.
Even if he doesn’t go across the middle much, the dude isn’t calling his own plays, so how is that his fault? He runs the routes that are called for him to run.
And how do you label someone that has scored touchdowns from recieving, rushing, and returning as 1-dimensional? To me, that’s a triple threat.
He is what he is. A small quick reciver with playmaking skills and return ability. He isn’t a big, grind it out possession guy. We all knew this before he was drafted. It wasn’t a problem the past 3 years, and now all of a sudden it is.
I see no reason not to bring him back if it can be worked out. We already know what we have with him, and he’s been pretty good overall. Drafting another speedy WR doesn’t guarantee that he will be a success, and there is no guarantee that any drafted player will be a success. Most of the good FA offerings aren’t getting any younger and will probably require higher contracts than what Jackson would have gotten, and the rest aren’t really upgrades.
I think too many of us take the current WR situation too lightly. For years this team struggled to find impact players at the position, and now that there are some, some of us are ready to ship one out of town. I say, if him and the FO can work something out, then get it done, keep the core intact, and draft a bigger WR from round 2-down with some potential to challenge Avant for some playing time.
Sorry I was a little short in the last comment. And I like your comments.
My comments were not meant to portray him as 1-dimensional just streaky. He seems to disappear for long stretches. Is it his fault? Maybe not… more than likely it is equal parts MM,Vick, Def that dictate how he plays.
I don’t want him running crossing routes and getting killed. That job is for Avant and Celek.
All I ask is that he is a warrior and __Stop_Dropping_Passes__ . No pouting just play. And despite what the media will have you believe I think he has done that for the most part except for one or two games this year.
I have no issue re-signing DJax. Pay him 10 mill a year… because as a fan I don’t care as it is not my business to worry about the CAP.
True that. I’m not the one giving him the contract, so I’m not going to sit here and argue about how much he is worth. In the end, he will be worth whatever the Eagles (or another team) gives him.
And you are right, he is a bit boom or bust. He always has been. Unfortunately, there are fans that act like this wasn’t something that was known since day one, and while they were singing his praises in the three previous years, he has one slightly down season and all of a sudden he’s garbage, or just fast and overrated. Its amazing how quickly people turn.
If he and the team can work out a deal, then great. He and Maclin can continue to grow in this offense and the coaches can start developing the big WR that everyone is looking for. There a few in this draft that won’t require a 1st round pick that seem to have good potential. At worst, the offense will be left with Jackson and Maclin as the starters, which last I checked wasn’t that bad. The O should be centered around Mccoy anyway.
I think your assessment of him is spot on. He has his warts, but is a good player for this team.
For the record I don’t think DJax had a down season numbers wise. It seems like Sheil Kap did a review and his numbers were right in line with his career. We just played a lot of small ball this year because that is what we had to do. DJax played decoy a lot as well… sucks being that fast.
Every year fans are clamoring for something… always with the big WR or big RB.
I have given up on hoping we look like the rest of the league… Andy doesn’t follow league trends very much.
So in the end just give me the championship.
I’m not saying get rid of him just for the sake of getting rid of somebody..
I’m not saying he’s bad..I just think we’d be better off giving a big contract to a big complete player.
When T.O. came to the Eagles, AR had a whole section of designed plays for T.O. on his chart.
That’s because T.O. was a complete player..He could go deep, jump up for the ball, rack up YAC, etc.
DeSean hasn’t done anything in PR in the past 2 years…EXCEPT for 1 PR for TD against the Giants.
He’s actually had more neg yards + fumbles than 10 yard returns in 2 years. He hasn’t had any home runs lately…Maybe 1 vs 49ers, a 40 yard pass vs Dolphins and one vs Redskins? That’s his specialty…Home runs…If he’s not producing home runs he better do something else…Guess what? He doesn’t…
Having a true #1 receiver would make our team so much better.
Throughout DeSeans career he has always been inconsistent..Like I said he’ll give you 100+ yards a game or 25..Why give him a huge contract when he doesn’t show up half the time?
How isn’t he dimensional? He only goes deep. He almost never gets any punt return yardage..When’s the last time he got a 20 yard gain on a punt return? When did he do anything on a punt return period? What, literally a year ago vs. the Giants? Rushing? I haven’t recalled him getting a huge play off a reverse, etc.
He runs deep routes only..And the occasional curl route along the sideline for about 10 yards…Half the time he drops those…
How can you say he runs short routes…Let me give you a hint on why the coaches tell him to run short routes in the middle…Because he can’t, he’s scared to run across the middle…
You said its not his fault he doesn’t call the plays, saying how he can’t control that he doesn’t get routes to go over the middle, etc…Don’t you think if the coaches knew he was effective over the middle, they would then create routes for him to go over the middle?
When do you see DeSean get slant routes? I see Maclin get them from time to time…Never do I see DeSean..
How many big plays did DeSean deliver this past year? If teams defend the deep ball, DeSean is then useless..
I love the guy..One of the most explosive players ever, but he wants a huge contract…Why give it to a guy who is limited in what routes you can use him in? Not to mention his character concerns…
DeSean
Maclin
Avant
Celek
Cooper
Those are our receivers…
Let’s start with Celek..He’s an all around TE..Great player
Maclin is an all around player..I think he’s not very comfortable over the middle..I think that drop vs. the Falcons on 4 and 4 when he dropped it from Kafka was because he was afraid of getting hit, to be honest.
Cooper..I mean he doesn’t have great speed but is effective deep..He’s got some great catches when having to go up for the ball..Ed Reed in preseason and last game vs. Cowboys this year. But I haven’t really seen him over the middle but I’m assuming he’s not afraid to.
Avant…Lacks great speed as well but is good vs. press and has great hands and runs good routes. He’s certainly not afraid to go over the middle…
DeSean…Home run hitter…Elite speed…Scared to go over the middle..Inconsistent WR when it comes to production..
Why not replace Jackson with a someone in FA…Even Stevie Johnson is a more overall WR than Jackson..He doesn’t have the best hands but neither does Jackson…Jackson dropped a easy TD vs Pats and another TD vs. the Pats because he was afraid of a little contact…He’s 6’2 210 plus..He might be 220, not sure. He beats on Revis and isn’t limited in what routes you choose with him.
Why not a Vincent Jackson or Marques Colston?
If he had 1 of the 3 players I mentioned, or a top WR prospect that has size, than it would benefit the team…
Maclin can go deep…The two top WR in the draft have good enough speed to go deep….
Then we can draft a crafty WR who can be a back up slot WR and run a 4.4
Look at NYG, NO, & GB…They have a balanced pass catching corps.
NYG: Cruz, Nicks, Manningham, Ballard
GB: Jennings, Nelson, Driver, Finley
NO: Graham, Colston, Devery, Meachem, Moore
None of those players are short, small, super fast WR’s…
They all have balanced players..
Having DeSean will not win us a championship. Having dual threat receivers that are versatile win championships…
We have no size at WR…No size at all.
DeSeans 5’10, Maclins 6’0, Avants 6’0
Think about if we had a big #1 WR like Vincent Jackson…You know how much that would help Mike Vick? QBs like big targets…Vick could throw it up to V Jackson when hes under pressure and Jackson has a good chance to make the play..Can DeSean do that? Can he just go into the middle of the field and pull a David Tyree? Or ball down the sideline that he’s gonna have to jump up and take?
NOOO…
Celek has been on fire since the second half of the season…I think partial reason is because of his size…He’s big at 6’4 255…I think a small QB throwing to small receivers is a HUGE deal..Maybe having a small WR corps wouldn’t be a problem with a Peyton Manning under center.
Like I said earlier, Victor Cruz is definitely not faster than DeSean…Yet Cruz can do so much more than DeSean..He can go in the middle, get yardage after the catch, and get jump balls…Why is it DeSean is a step faster than Cruz (AT LEAST) but yet Cruz is better and getting yards after the catch? Some of it are the routes. When you go over the middle you have a higher chance of getting YAC..Slant routes, you catch it in stride, and boom, etc.
Did anyone see Cruz get double teamed vs the Cowboys (2nd game) and Cruz still came up with it? He’s 6’0..Not that big at all…
All I’m saying is that it was nice to have a super fast WR for 4 years but like Asante, I think he needs to go..
I see what you are saying. I still stand by my statement. If he only runs go routes, that’s because those are the plays that are being called for him. DeSean didn’t just become a little guy all of a sudden, he has always been that way. Would you really want someone his size going across the middle into traffic? I know I wouldn’t. What’s the point? There are other guys for that. He is what he is, and has been that way since day 1. He may not run the other routes all that much, but he has done them. I’m not arguing the frequency, I’m arguing that HE has done it. And you can’t tell me that he hasn’t.
You bring up Victor Cruz. Good player. Breakout season for him. Still need to see him do it again. But he was an undrafted player that came from out of nowhere for the Giants. Who’s to say that the Eagles can’t keep DeSean and find a breakout player in the middle to later rounds of the draft?
Vincent Jackson would be great, but how much money will a guy like that command? They still have other young players coming up on contract years. I’m thinking that the FA pool of WRs will be really lite by the time things get going, with a lot of those guys resigning with their previous teams. And I can’t see the team overpaying for others that may not be a an upgrade over what they have.
We don’t have any idea what DeSean’s contract demands are. All we have is speculation. When it all comes down to it, if the he and the team can’t come to an agreement, then yes he will be gone. But if they can, then that’s fine too. WR was far from the biggest problem on this team. I’m thinking that the two sides will come together and get something done. But, that’s just me guessing because I have no clue what goes on during their negotiations.
If the guy can be kept, then keep him and add depth. If not, then obviously upgrade the position. But in no way do I think that he has to go in order to make this team better.
Every WR has run over the middle before..But tell me, how many times do you remember DeSean running over the middle and catching the ball?
He has always been small…No doubt about it. But we had him on a 4 yr deal that was like 500k a year. But now that his contract is over, he’s gonna want big time money…You say its all speculated when it comes down to what he wants? Let me tell you something..Drew Rosenhaus is his agent, that dude is greedy. DeSean wants big money, if he didn’t want a HUGE contract a deal would have been last summer…
My question is that now that his rookie deal is up, why not move on from him and get a TRUE #1 WR? Someone that can run every route effectively and that is a threat in the short passing game, middle of the field and the deep threat?
Why give a big time contract to a player that is limited at what he can do on the field?
Like I said earlier, Mike Vick is small..It would help him out to have a bigger #1 receiver.
Do you remember how great T.O. was for us?
Why not get a player that is similar to a T.O.?
Tag DeSean and look to deal him.
In FA, if we get a good starting LB, then we can focus on a WR.
We could trade with the Rams…
Rams would get: DeSean, 15th OVR pick, and 1 of our 2nd round picks.
We would get: 2nd OVR pick (Blackmon)
So basically we’d be giving away DeSean (Someone that we should try and deal and get compensation for) and a second round pick…Who do we get? Justin Blackmon.
It’d be a win-win situation for both teams.
Sam needs a WR. They play in a dome, DeSean would be faster. They have a good TE, a good slot receiver in Amendola and Brandon Lloyd as their number 2….They would also get our 15th pick and 1 of our 2nd round picks to help build their team. They could get a offensive linemen and help on defense…Huge win-win.
Think about our weapons if we did that.
Blackmon
Maclin
Avant
Cooper
Celek
McCoy
Harbor
Add a mid round pick for a crafty back up slot guy/returner and we would be set.
Every team needs a speed weapon, but not for your #1 receiving threat..
Think about the Saints.
Colston – Big guy
Graham – Big guy
Sproles – Fast guy who is a mismatch and a weapon for them
A trio of good RB’s.
Devery – Deep threat (But isn’t necessarily small)
Mecheam – Good speed but isn’t necessarily small either.
I’m not saying we must get Blackmon or that we will..But somehow we should look to deal DeSean and pick up a true #1 receiver.
Also you should look at it like this…DeSean ISN’T a true #1 receiver…He is NOT a complete WR so why pay him a big contract? If he was more like Wes Welker to the point he could go over the middle and catch short passes and get good YAC or move the chains like Wes, I would have no problem in keeping DeSean and giving him contract..
BUT…Does he do that for us?
Interesting points. Can’t say I disagree — though I like the HR threat.
What I’d like to know is why the Eagles didn’t sign Victor Cruz as an undrafted rookie FA from UMass.
I believe the Birds added Kevin Jurovich of San Jose State, Blue Cooper from Tennessee-Chattanooga, and Pat Simonds of Colgate.
Again, just wondering . . . who evaluated them and who made the call on those guys?
Yeah but I think Victor is in his 2 or 3rd year? I think 2-3 years ago, we were stacked at WR. We traded Brandon Gibson and Jordon Norwood 2 years ago because we were full up on WR’s so I guess that’s why we didn’t get him. Along with the fact only 1 team can get him and a bunch of other factors.
But I think if DeSean stays, I’ll be OK with it..As long as its a fair contract that’s not huge..Especially in guaranteed money…When you have a 1 dimensional player that constantly doesn’t show up to games, you should NOT give him a lot of guaranteed money..I think he should get an incentive based contract. So that his production will determine how much guaranteed money he will get..Maybe with a good solid contract that can support him financially for the rest of his life (assuming he doesn’t blow it all) then maybe he can focus 100% on football and be star on PR and effective in other routes…
All I’m saying is that if we re-sign him, he better start producing again…
It’s weird how he had 900+ yards this year (I think) but it feels like he had at least 10 games where he didn’t show up.
Cruz was an undrafted rookie FA in 2010 — last year.
He’s made incredible progress, obviously.
I’m just curious who made the call in 2010 on the college WRs.
Yeah, while I despise the Giants (& Cowboys/Skins) I give credit where credit is due and Cruz looks like he’s going to be a special player. Manningham is likely not going to get re-signed after this season so it’ll be Nicks and Cruz next year..Should be a great match up. DRC and Nnamdi vs. those two. If they find a good slot receiver this offseason, then they will be a very dangerous team.
Definitely be a good matchup, no doubt.
Tommy,
Did you see this recent tweet by Buntin? As per the below post:
After #Alabama tape study…will grade MLB Dont’a Hightower over #BostonCollege LB Luke Kuelchy and OLB Courtney Upshaw #NFLDRAFT
This was Tommy’s first salvo in an astroturf campaign to drop Kuelchy to us. Keep promoting the other LBs!
I don’t really care about Jeff Fischer, Matty Ice is not an elite quarterback, he’s above Mark Sanchez but below Eli Manning and the Giants are about to get spanked.
Matty Ice = Joe Flacco….good 75% of the time.
I will never forget the beating he took at the hands of Cole/Babin in that game. When Babin forced Ryan into a split…..
Too bad we lost…lol
Stinkin Todd standing in the wrong place… you take out that hit to Vick’s helmet and that game is in the bag.
They concussed out QB first.
I aint buying the Giants hype, but hey I thought Pittsburgh would TCOB in Denver until Tebow completed his first big pass, and then the one after that, and after that. I don’t like the Steelers anyway.
I hope the Gmen and shEli play like its 2005 and the Pack defense and the MVP QB are the story of the game. Tragic loss for their OC, I hope they rally and whip NY.
Too early in the day for the next article? Dammit.