Jason Kelce Update
Posted: September 17th, 2012 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 46 Comments »Starting C and bearded hero to small children Jason Kelce has a torn MCL and a partially torn ACL. The knee must be further examined to determine whether it can be played on or it if need surgery. In a fantasy world, Jason would miss about 6 weeks.
I’m skeptical about his return. Most OL could possibly play with a torn ACL. They aren’t out in space making sharp cuts. Unfortunately, that is part of Jason’s game. He’s special because of his ability to pull and get in front of Shady on outside runs and screen passes. He also is very good at reach blocks, which require very quick lateral movement. With a knee less than 100 percent, I’m not sure how effective Jason would be. And without his athleticism, you’ve got a light C and that’s about it.
The Eagles and Jason must also decide what is best in the long run. He is a very talented young player. You don’t want to risk further damage to the knee by rushing him back. The doctors need to put Jason under so they can do a thorough examination and see exactly how good/bad the knee is.
Jason could go on the new temporary IR. The Eagles could just keep him on the roster for now since there have to be inactive players each week anyway. Keeping him there for a week or two while you figure things out would be acceptable.
I certainly want Jason to do what is right for his future. I’d love to have him return to the field, but don’t risk a career for 8 to 10 games. Best of luck to the bearded wonder.
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If Jason does head to IR, what happens? Dallas Reynolds becomes the new starting C. The Eagles would need to add a backup for him. I know fans would love to get Jamaal Jackson in here, but that is highly unlikely. JamJax isn’t anyone’s idea of a workout warrior. Howard Mudd needs athletic guys. The fit just doesn’t work.
Steve Vallos and A.Q. Shipley are possibilities. Both practiced in the Mudd system and have spent time here. I haven’t studied the market to see who else might be of interest.
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Let’s talk about the backup OL who played on Sunday. I’ve watched part, but not all of the tape. Reynolds looked fine to me. He’s no Kelce in terms of athleticism, but Reynolds is bigger and stronger. The offense scored 7 points with Kelce on the field, 17 points with Reynolds out there. To be fair, Reynolds was only on the field for 2 plays on his first TD drive. (point totals fixed)
Reynolds can’t do the things Kelce can. Jason is able to do things most Centers have no shot to do. He’s exceptionally quick, fast, and agile. That means the offense will have to adjust with Reynolds in there. Reynolds also lacks experience. The one upgrade is that he can get more push or anchor better due to his size/strength.
King Dunlap got hurt at the 10 minute mark of the 3rd quarter. Demetress Bell came in to take his place. Bell was nervous at first, but settled down and looked solid. Before you get too excited, remember that the Ravens don’t have any dynamic edge rushers. Bell wasn’t really tested. While Bell did play better than expected, I’m not sure I’d choose him over King Dunlap.
From the sound of things, Dunlap will miss Sunday’s game. Bell starting for a week I can live with, but I need to see more from him before I start to buy in that he’s anywhere close to being the guy we expected. I need to see him shut down speed rushers for a game. Dunlap isn’t perfect, but he is a solid pass protector.
Reid said that Dunlap would start at LT when he comes back. Bell can change that with the way he plays, but he’s not staying as the starting LT unless he earns the job.
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Is there any doubt about Brandon Boykin? He looks like a natural out there. Can you believe we got him in the 4th round? Boykin is comfortable in the slot because he played there so much in 2011 at UGA. He also has the athleticism to play outside. I remember seeing him for the weigh-in at the Senior Bowl. Boykin might be 5-9, 183, but don’t call him small. Very muscular build. NFL body, athleticism, and skill set.
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Odd things of note from the game yesterday…
* Brandon Graham played 9 snaps. He hit Flacco twice and pressured him a third time. Get BG more snaps please.
* Damaris Johnson made a key catch on 3rd/7 to keep a FG drive going. He used a great move to get open on the play.
* Mardy Gilyard did a good job in KO coverage. He was held on one, but there was no call.
* It was good to see Colt Anderson back out there on STs. He didn’t make any plays, but I’m sure that will come with time. He didn’t practice this summer. Colt is probably a bit raw.
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A few of you have asked about long FGs. Here you go:
Since 2010 opposing kickers are 8-10 from 50+ yards against the Eagles.Success rate NFL-wide is about 60% from 50+ yards,
— Time’s Yours (@times_yours) September 17, 2012
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Listening to the Ravens whine about the game…sad to hear that. I’m no Ravens fan, but I have a lot of respect for Ozzie Newsome, Eric DeCosta, John Harbaugh, Ray Lewis, Ed Reed, and that whole organization. It is beneath them to complain so much. You got beat. Deal with it.
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Here is a great picture of DeMeco Ryans picking off a pass.
Here is a great picture of Jason Kelce showing his shy, introverted ways.
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Jimmy Bama and I offered up our thoughts on the Eagles-Ravens game in our newest and greatest podcast ever. It’s like pudding for your ears.
_
Off Topic but I heard an interesting tid bit when heading into the stadium yesterday…
The last 3 Super Bowl Champions have been victorious in the Eagles home opener. We lost to the Saints in 2009, Pack in 2010, and Giants in 2011. Now we’re right where we want to be. It’s a full-proof theory, and we will certainly be winning the SB come February.
Great stuff as always Tommy
Great Theory MJ !!
And, to make it more interesting, the last time we won the home opener, we made it to the NFC Championship game…
Tommy have you studied Watkins yet? He really seem to struggle in pass pro, but seems great when run blocking
Danny is very up and down in pass pro. When he cleanly gets his hands on the DL, he wins. If the guy beats Danny with a quick move, Vick is in trouble. Danny is doing a good job as a run blocker.
looked that way to me too. also, kapadia brought up an interesting point re D Bell that’d i be interested to hear tommy on: was his improvement in the ravens game due to something finally clicking for him with the new system or did he tend to revert to his old system of vertical drops?
I agree with you Tommy. I have respect and admiration for the Ravens organization but they are diminishing that with all the complaints. Every NFL team deals gets both good and bad calls (replacement refs not withstanding) during the course of a game. In every game a team leaves plays/points on the field, if you’re blaming the refs after the game, that merely means you left too many plays on the field.
Where the Ravens were right was that the refs were horrible. It’s not just the many incorrect spots. Harbaugh telling them the correct placement. It’s the inconsistent enforcement. I saw holding on them worse than what was called on us. Throughout the first half, the Ravens had a ton of after-whistle crap that wasn’t called. Of course it got nasty. We also didn’t get a defenseless receiver call (I think it was Celek).
Negating that TD was a gift for us, but they got the same ticky tack earlier on Nnamdi. He and Smith were hand checking all day, why did they call it on a critical TD? The Vick incomplete was a total joke. How does anyone think that’s a fumble?
My point is that the refs were dreadful. If the Birds had lost, it would have been hard to believe we lost a fair fight.
Kapadia had a list of street guys for Center. Did not realize that Jason Brown had been cut from the Rams…..I think we give Vallos a call for the back-up slot…
I think so too.
And speaking of complainers, Tom Coughlin needs to quit whining about the last play against the Bucs. There are no free plays in the NFL! On top of that, Eli just barley got knocked onto his butt. Boo-whoo!! How many times have the Giants D-linemen gotten late and out of bounds hits on Vick?
Coughlin has no moral authority to criticize rough play!
Disagree. It was a cheap play by the Bucs, and I hate the Giants. How many times, ever, have you seen the defensive line dive at the legs of the offense in victory formation? Schiano is a neanderthal dick–reportedly told his linemen to drive through the o-line’s legs. I know I’m in the minority, but how would you feel if the Bucs did that to us and Herremans blew out a knee on it?
If the Giants were up by 9, then I’d agree. When you are only down one score, you play till the clock hits 0:00. Buddy Ryan had Randall throw a TD pass out of victory formation IIRC.
Offensive linemen dive at the legs of defenders all the time.
The way I see it, if the Bucs did manage to cause a fumble, recover the football, and possibly get the win, people would be praising him and the Bucs for making that happen. And honestly, they clearly surprised the Giants and there was potential for a turnover because of that. Saying Schiano can’t have his dlineman push the oline on a play because of some “unwritten rule” is foolish in my opinion. If there is no chance to win the game, that’s one thing, but with the game that close, I have no issue with what Schiano and the Bucs did.
Well said. There used to be an unwritten rule that when the QB signaled he was going to spike it to stop the clock everyone relaxed, until Marino decided to throw a touchdown.
The Ravens complaining isn’t something new to them. They complained a lot after the Patriots beat them in 2007, the year they went 16-0.
This may not be fashionable to say, because he’s a Future Hall of Famer, but Ray Lewis needs to retire soon. Great in the locker room, but he’s clearly lost a few steps.
Ray also made some bad reads. He was burned on Shady’s TD run. Unblocked even. Also burned by cutback runs.
I never thought I’d see an Eagles-Ravens game where we had the better mlb.
Tommy, i couldnt get an idea of this watching the game live, but maybe you can get an idea watching the tape…
how much of an effect did the no-huddle offense have on the defense? specifically, the DL. was that a factor in the backups not getting as many snaps (graham)
Highlight of the game and a indication of DeSean mind frame. When he took that blow from Reed after the 49yd catch, I was watching to see if he was going to get up. If you look closely he rolls over on his front side and lays there for a minute. Just when you think he’s not getting up…he starts doing push ups! Love it! His own way of saying “is that the best you got”
I’m trying to upload an image I thought we might enjoy. Bear with me if the technical stuff doesn’t work out, please!
Great pic. Celek is one of my favorite Eagles.
He’s the answer to “What if Jeremy Shockey wasn’t a total d-nizzle?”
I like that.
the pic they used for his fantasy week card in madden 13 ultimate team
With Kelce out, we no longer lead the league in beard.
Wow!
So my understanding of the temp IR rule is you can use it only once and it can be used throughout season. How do you decide on when to use it? Isn’t it better to put Kelce on IR saving a roster spot now and waiting to use the temp IR move in case we need somebody to return for playoffs/end of year. What if we would be in great position to make playoffs in say week 6, 7, 8 and Ryans or Kendricks or Herremans or a CB or WR go down with say a high ankle sprain. I guess it ends up being a numbers and shell game but I can’t really think this out completely if it’s better to save it since it’s so early.
Tommy,
It’s great that Kendricks can be a 3-down guy, as illustrated by his 70 snaps out of 70 this week, but shouldn’t the coaching staff be worried about him come November/December? He’s still a rookie and his body is used to a 12/13 game season. I’m all for keeping the guy on the field while he’s continually producing, but at some point it could become detrimental to him.
What’s your opinion?
Shouldnt be a problem. Rookies every year are able to play 19 games
Boykin surprised me, I thought he was a good pick as a nickel back, which is probably why he lasted until the 4th rd, most scouts had the same opinion. But he showed tremendous athleticism and vertical, it’s not just jumping that high, it’s having the feel and coordination to get to the ball at its highest point – he could easily play off coverage with big WRs (he’d struggle to press them for obvious reasons). I think with film study he could be similar to Asante, but without Asante’s flaws, he’s fast enough (reportedly 4.4) to stay with receivers deep and he’s not afraid to tackle. In 38 starts, he had 9 Ints and 27 PD, so he’s a pretty good ballhawk, but he also had 19 stuffs, which is absurd for a college CB. But it would take serious dedication, Asante worked extremely hard to become the star that he was given his average physical skills.
Watkins was overdrafted, he’s slowly turning into a solid RG, but you can find those guys in the 2nd and 3rd round. I thought he’d be a better pass blocker given his LT experience, but he’s not that nifty of an athlete. Still reminds me a lot of Snee, and I think by the end of the year he’ll improve substantially.
I’m shocked theres even a chance he could return this year, that injury looked brutal watching it on replay.
If we use the temp IR thing, could we keep Kelce sidelined till say week 12 or 14 and re-evaluate him then? I mean even having him available for depth late in the season could be critical, once we’re past Dallas Reynalds we’re really scraping the bottom of the barrel at that position.
I agree with you Tommy, hearing the Ravens bitch and moan now is kind of sad, especially because they weren’t exactly squeeky clean that game themselves. I expected a team like them to lose with more class.
“What Marlon Favorite could only hope to achieve”
Marlon just needs steroids…lots and lots and lots of steroids. And maybe hurricane level winds.
Tommy — Chas Henry was dangerously disappointing vs. the Ravens. His punts were consistently short, and arguably his weak punt near the close of the first half gave the Ravens the field position to kick a long field goal. How long can we afford that level of undependability before we bring in a punter of the McBriar ilk?
He didn’t seem all that bad to me…
His pooch punt was too short, and brought down boos, but looking at the two games in total, I think he is still well above average.
That’s what I thought as well.
His average for the two games is fine, but the dispersion around that average isn’t good. Great performance in one game doesn’t make poor results in another acceptable. Consistency is critical.
This meandering defense by the Falcons looks a little scary. If Manning can’t figure out where to go with the ball, how is Vick going to handle it?
On the other hand, Jackson and Maclin probably won’t complain about 9 in the box.
Problem with Manning is that he is the AR of QBs, he will overanalyse everything. Also teams have to play the Eagles a surtain way because of Jackson and McCoy. The Eagles lead the NFL in yards for a reason, when we aint turning the ball over, we have the most explosive and most dangerous offense in the NFL.
A Patrick surtain way?
I noticed Graham more than Tapp or Hunt and he only had a fraction of the snaps.