Clutch
Posted: January 3rd, 2016 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 413 Comments »The Eagles might have lost last week, but they came through in a big way today, beating the Giants 35-30.
Wait, what do you mean this was a meaningless game?
What do you mean it would have been better to lose?
The Eagles don’t even know how to blow a game for draft position!!!
The game was entertaining. Sam Bradford played really well. Zach Ertz was terrific. He has really developed into an offensive weapon. The defense was less than inspiring, although Marcus Smith did play his best game ever.
It really was tough to watch the game. My brain knew that it was best for the Eagles to lose. It would have helped them to get a better pick and it would have kept them from going to Seattle for a game. My heart just couldn’t cheer for guys in the blue uniforms to beat the Eagles. It was fun to watch Tom Coughlin get frustrated in his final game. It was fun to see Eli Manning ground the ball as pass rushers closed in on him. I can’t help but enjoy that stuff.
I’ll discuss the game with some analysis later on, but the focus will be on the offseason starting right away.
One question for everyone…what is the consensus on Pat Shurmur as a candidate?
He was bad in Cleveland. He wasn’t a strong OC in St. Louis. But Shurmur admitted he has changed a lot. He said after the game that he learned more in the last 3 years than in any other stretch in his coaching career. Shurmur was overly conservative in the past, but being exposed to Chip Kelly did change him. And the offense was good today. Granted, the Giants defense isn’t much of a challenge, but the offense was both efficient and explosive.
Shurmur will get an interview this week. I’m trying to figure out how I want that to go.
Bradford did say after the game that Shurmur would have his support. They were together in STL and this year. They work well together.
We’ll see.
_
Shurmer seems rather unexciting, and hard to take much out of one game. After the first run, not sure we got much out of Murray either. But… fans are so far removed from the discussions it’s really hard to say. Could he wow Lurie with a vision for a whole team? He certainly wouldn’t challenge in the front office area for control of personnel, for better or worse.
Andy Reid was the definition of unexciting, and turned out to be a fantastic hire. Chip Kelly was precisely the opposite.
Honestly I don’t care about making a sexy hire. I care about making a good one. Shurmur deserves an interview at least.
Andy Reid unexciting ??? What, clearly u haven’t seen him DAB LMAO
gotta talk to the players and see what they think. good thing is shurmer is a philly guy i think he’s more compelling that i would have though originally.
Audibles & MS2 msking plays
. Pls tell us more
Really though, I was hoping for a lot of players to play well, but we lose on some fluky, unlucky plays we could explain away 😉
Almost worked except the one huge, fluky play we had go our way (Thurmond pick six).
Re: Shurmur
T-Law:
As long as goes back to a 4-3 and primarily runs the offense from under center — including having a FB, or TE who can block like a FB, on the roster — I’m fine with it.
At this point, the NFL is so much about having a great QB, does it really matter who the next HC is if the Eagles don’t have a great QB?
plus i think if you’re keeping sammy b it really helps to keep shurmer.
Wow. Got the big win. That put the escape from mediocrity out another year.
My advice for the draftm ho with OL for the first 4 picks. Then LB. Then more OL.
I’d get another S if possible.
Yes. I was exaggerating. Basically, yhe players that last the longest are OL and QB. Then DE and OLB. S, DB, Wr all seem to be a shorter shelf life. We have a good tackle.. of you hold Bradford, can do worse, then you have a few options in a couple years.
I wouldnt over commit to the guy and on the other hand, he will probably just buy you a few wins, and be a distraction from fixing things.
This win officially makes it the most frustrating season in the last 12 years for me: they even managed to prevent me from the opportunity to watch them in London. FFS guys.
A big fat HELL NO for Shurmer. With Chip gone, it’s time to clean house of (most) of his staff and ALL of his ideas!
Shurmur = Billy Davis of offense.
Not today he wasnt.
i think he’s learned a lot.
It’s the Giants, they could make the Browns look lethal on offense.
Crappy defenses make us look good. The Saints game for one.
Yes because ALL of CK ideas were bad…..
/sarcasm. Seriously I understand the sentiment but we are better than that
I don’t know that Shurmur brings much to the table. Nothing new anyway. Gase and Jackson do. I thought it damning that Andy Reid did not hire Shurmur as OC when AR left for KC. He was available then.
3 years with kelly is good. and i think he can talk to other guys in the offseaosn and put together a plan that works. plus if there’s a defensive hc i think shurmer can play well.
sea killing arizona
“Reports coming out of philly that the guys had a relaxed,fun and productive week of practice. Pat shurmur a great guy and leader.Bigwintoday” — five
What was Sam Goodford’s stats in his last 8 starts?!
Someone posted stats for the last seven games… I think a 96.7 rating, 10 TD, 4 INT. If you want to go 8 games that gets to the Carolina game, which were ugly stats (though that was when he started to get better).
and that pick from Carolina was totally on Matthews
SEA to SB?
A week by week thing. They have to go into AZ or CAR to even have a shot. Probably both.
they are dusting ARZ right now, but playing at home.
Sea dusted them in Arizona last year too….Russel wilson had a huge game
Was that with Palmer?
no Palmer, Ryan Lindley i believe
Slight difference there.
Cardinals did ok moving the ball….Seattle did whatever they wanted on offense
It does look like the Cardinals have no answer for Lockette. But they may not be showing their hand much this game since I don’t think they are playing for much.
They are probably playing the best at this point. They will need to win three road games but they could do it. Arizona in Arizona might be hard. Have a suspicion they could beat Carolina.
It took awhile, but they got back to their normal level. Damn Seattle has been a juggernaut these last 3 or 4 years.
IMO, Cam should be MVP. Panthers could be really scary next year.
they’re really scary this year
I dont wanna see ANOTHER team that never won a SB win one before us
So…who we hiring tomorrow?
the fact that we could have a qb….
Just. Stay. Healthy. Get in the gym and put on some muscle.
Leg day needs to be every day for Sammy
Invest in a pair of scissors. Shorten your sleeves.
and cut those sleeves
QUESTION: If we hire shurmur as HC, and duce gets promoted to oc:
Will he still control the RB rotation?
I wouldn’t completely blame Duce on that rotation. Classic Chip deflecting blame/responsibility.
well aware
30-6 in first half of arz/sea game.
Goo Raiiiiderrsss Go Rams !!!!
Get Payton / Jackson / Gase as HC, a proper DC, keep Bradford, switch to 4-3 D, get rid of Cooper… Happy days!
Just get rid of Cooper.
mo sanu
I’d take him. Just no splashy FA signings please. We don’t need to win the offseason. Just a productive one.
tall, fast wr, good rezone AND cheap.
Sounds a lot like a Riley clone. Oh wait no it doesn’t.
Not a natural hands receiver , no thanks
That is probably the most likely offseason move of them all at this point. I’m guessing it’s more likely Davis is back than him.
Yeah it was apparent today that Bradford still hasn’t adjusted to his lack of speed.
What will we do without his blocking?
I’m on board with all of this. Just add use minimum 2 of top 3 picks on OL.
I have no interest in Shurmur as a head coach. I’d like to cut all ties with the Chip Kelly era except for Fipp and probably Staley.
I’d keep Stoutland.
I don’t know. I have mixed feelings on that too. The offensive line has under performed. Jason Kelce also seems to have taken a significant step back. I don’t necessarily blame him for the guards though. Those guys just lack NFL talent.
One year isn’t an indictment on Stout. He’s had success before, especially in Foles 27-2 year.
I’d argue a good coaching job is making chicken salad out of chicken shit. Most NFL coaches could have gotten that 2013 starting 5 to perform well.
I’d keep Undlin.
fact is i’d keep a lot of staff other than dc.
I don’t know how likely that is. Undlin would be someone I’d want to keep as well, but new coach usually means an entirely new staff.
Many moons ago, the Eagles wanted to draft a reciever named Perry Tuttle. He got picked by the Bills ( I think) and the Birds had to settle for some guy named Mike Quick from NC State. The draft is half a guessing game, I’m happy they beat the Giants and if Coughlin quits, he lost his last game to my beloved Eagles.
Only thing to say about shurmur is that he could possibly combine some of chips ideas with west coast principles. Also Sammy could continue in a similar system next year
he did that this year
Don’t know how much say he had. In one game he slowed willingness to run from under center at least
a lot of Shumur’s fingerprints were all over the offense this year. A lot of short west-coast passing concepts
my thought was that he’d really dumbed down ck’s offense and made it more predictable, but sammy had his best game today when shurmur was calling plays. audibles might have helped w/ that.
audibles certainly help
Which hurt, less Air Raid influence.
The most intriguing thing for me, other than a coach, is to see what MS2 and others have to say about his playing time and whatnot.
I want a good 4-3 defense HC with Pat as OC, or Pat as HC and a shiny new 4-3 defensive coordinator. I like no huddle, I like tempo being at least available, and I like the WCO/spread hybrid. But I also love Pac-12 football and despise most of the Big 10.
Zach Ertz’s 450 yards the last four games are the most in NFL history by a tight end the last four games of a season. Gronk had 399 in 2011.
Yeah SAM and Zack obviously had a blossoming chemistry, but I didn’t know the numbers were THAT great
Maybe Collingsworth was right. ERTZ the best TE in the world!
Jason Peters on firing of Chip:
“I’m not worried about (it). Whether he is here or not, football will go on.” “I didn’t think they were going to do it that fast.”
So no one really supports Chip except maybe Kelce/Barwin.
i think peters probably had big role in getting chip fired.
certainly sounds like it
Eagles trying to re-sign defensive end Vinny Curry – eckel
“Jordan Matthews asked Bradford how big his house was because he plans on working him a ton all offseason”
Huh?
hoping that’s a misquote — from ESP
and is your house in Arizona? because him (Matthews), agholar and huff spending all summer working out together .. and whomever they grab in the draft also
so butterfingers is contagious oh no..keep them away from each other!!
Crap you are right… who can teach our recievers to catch ??!
I didn’t know they had that kind of relationship.
I’m all about continuity. I would be okay with Shurmur as head coach. Living in Cleveland he got the short end of the stick and most fans seemed to like him. QB coach is most important thing and by all accounts Bradford loves to play for Shurmur.
I’m not wild about bringing Shurmur back. But, I will say that this HC-QB connection is one of the stronger arguments in Shurmur’s favor.
I know people want a rah rah guy and he’s definitely not that bUT it might be the right fit.
I think PS is definitely a serious candidate. In Cleveland, he was hired by Holmgren – pretty good football guy. His QBs were Colt McCoy in his 2nd hear and Branden Weeden in his first – I don’t know how many guys would have success with that. His first year as OC in St Louis, he had Marc Bulger in his final season. Bradford has made comments supporting him – a big leg up on bringing SB back. Maybe most interesting to lots of people on this board – he followed Mangini (3-4 defense) in Cleveland and they switched to a 4-3. Keys for him, I think, will be the view of him inside the org over the last 3 years and who he’d bring in as DC.
Holmgren is about the worst football guy … great for himself! made himself rich!
how long did he coach, how many rings ?? thank you Reggie White!! when was that 1998, how many different clubs did he deliver marginal results?
.. google: jim brown mike Holmgren …
Jim Brown is one of the premier all time greats
Sam Bradford finishes 2015 with a 65.0% completion percentage. That’s a new Eagles franchise record, breaking the mark set by Mark Sanchez.
thats a sad commentary
Anytime you can break a Mark Sanchez record, you know you’ve had a good year.
Captain Checkdown does Captain Checkdown better than Mark Sanchez. Get a gaudy completion percentage with a decent YPA and then we’ll talk.
Damn was hoping for a Giants win.. Big offseason coming up.. Hope Eagles get more young n talented through FA n the Draft.. Picking in the teens now smh.. Ah welll
Hope they leave free,agency alone
Me the whole game
Man I hope the eagles are smart enough not to win today,
But I cant cheer for the Eagles to lose to the Giants!
Damn, pick 9 – 11 sounds way better than pick 13 – 17 though.
This feels like I’m cheating on my life.
I wonder if maybe our coach can play the whole game playing-to-win,
Then kinda lose it on purpose in the last minute or two.
You know kinda just accidentally on purpose fumble it
Or maybe just give the 3rd string qb a chance in the 4th quarter
I mean he needs play time too.
That last 15 minutes isn’t gonna show us much more of Bradford than we already know so its ok lets do it
Damn, but those Giants fans look happy when they score
I can stand to see the Giants happier than the Eagles.
I thought this was a rivalry!
Wow Demarco fumble
Its ok today though, don’t worry.
Man, I wonder what Jeffrie Lourie wants to see actually happen today inside his head?
Of course he wants the Eagles to win.
But thats not whats best for his team so does he really, really, really, want to see Eagles to win today?
I mean I lovee the Eagles, but I know as a fan I’m not going anywhere so I’d rather see whats actually best for the team today, which happens to be a loss
Pick 9 to 11 is way better than 13-17
But damn, I cant cheer for the Eagles to lose
Rooting for Broncos
I never thought I’d say this, but I would actually be interested in seeing what Shurmur can do… As our HC, he would also allow us to continue to tap into some of the good that Chip brought to Philly without feeling married to chips entire system to the point that he is more interested in proving he could reinvent the wheel, than to do whatever it takes to win games..
..
It would be fascinating to see what we would keep from the chip era, and what he disagreed with Chip on that he didmt have the power to change, but I’m also sure he learned a lot from Chip, hopefully chips mastery of halftime adjustments rubbed off on Pat..
..
The man has tons of pro experience under men like Holmgren, Andy, Chip… He has experience with the QB I want, and he has the respect of Bradford too
..
Shurmur has also been around the blocks in the NFL for over a decade, im sure he has a ton of contacts that would enable him to get a solid DC, and a quality coaching staff…
..
The main problem, not sure he could be sold to the Public, that already ISNT too happy with the re-emergence of Howie in a power position.. Does Howie and LURIE have the balls to sell one of the least sexy candidates to the philly public? Or am I reading this wrong and Shurmur has the respect of enough of the media in this town after all the years he served on the Eagles staff, that the media wouldnt hate it and help sell It to the public?
..
I would be open minded about hiring Shurm, but I just can’t help finding it so hard to believe that he could emerge as the next coach, if he gets the job, I would assume Howie and LURIE feel strongly about wanting to build around SAM…
Wonder if Shurmur would stay as OC if new HC offered to him
Why wouldn’t he? It’s not like anyone else is going to offer him a head coach job.
Probably, unless some other franchise is offering a HC job..
Maybe if it was McDermott
I think your “main problem” is no problem at all. Football isn’t a ratings game. If a boring, un-telegenic creep can win enough to be playing in January more seasons than not, the public appeal factor is irrelevant. Andy Reid wasn’t a creep, but he had contempt for the media, and gave the most meaningless responses to questions put to him about the team.
If the Eagles didn’t care about public perseption, LURIE wouldn’t be lying about Howe “not being the GM”.. If they DIDNT care about the public, HOWIE would be the GM today, instead of having to piggy back of chips bullshit semantics game and refuse to admit HOwie is the GM,, I would respect it more if they had the balls to make Roseman the GM instead of these bullshit semantics games .. But I would like to believe your Idea that they have the stones to do what’s best no matter public opinion
I really hope they give Shurmur the HC position. agree with most of your post. not to mention he knows the players. Doesn’t have to go into a total rebuild along with huge scheme changes. He’s been around and like he said, really learned alot in the last 3yrs. even if it’s short term contract. What do you have to lose, can do worse even with a top
hc prospect
No way on Shurmur. He’s got a passive personality and doesn’t project the image of a leader. If the new coach wants to keep him around as OC for continuity if we sign Bradford, that’s fine.
A coach’s public persona is a weak indicator of his abilities as a leader, motivator, communicator, or football thinker. You need look no further than Bellichick. Chip Kelly always said the right things to the public, but the play on the field suggested something was wrong in the locker room.
They seem very different to me. Belichick seems like someone who wants to murder the first reporter that asks him a question. Shurmur looks like he’s about to say “I can’t find one of my socks. Did anyone see an extra sock?”
Unlike that fireball Belichick.
I just want the right coach as long as Billy D is gone and we get a real DC in here. Hell I would even take a chance on an up and comer like Vrabel. I am still kind of bummed we didn’t try and get the Titans #1 for Chump Kelly before we axed him ( Jeremiah trotter celebration here). I def don’t want Doug P the Chiefs score like 14pts a game.
I believe Vrabel is a 3 4 guy.
zach ertz has really developed into a weapon, smh
Any frigging body in here who still thinks Russell Williams is overrated?!
Wilson?
Yes. Damn autocorrect.
No idea who that is. But Seahawks QB Russell Wilson is awesome.
He actually reminds me of Big Ben. Seems like he is just getting lucky running around making plays. But when he ends up doing that for his whole career I’ll be like. “Yeah he’s a good player”
Really grown to respect what Roethlisberger has done. Not a HOF yet but he is definitely better than ‘a good player.’
Been a franchise QB who has been durable, consistent, and year-in and year-out one of the best QBs in the league.
Wilson is very good too and seems like he gets too much criticism at times. Just too early in his career yet to compare him to someone like Big Ben.
wilson finally coming into his own.
Dude, Big Bad Ben is most certainly a HOF player.
No, because most people don’t rate him as one of the best. I’d say he’s generally fairly rated as a great QB but not a top 3 QB.
Arey ou drnk
Lol.
So by winning today we pick 13th, if we lost, it would have been 10th. I’m glad we won.
is that decided already?
According to twitter…
I would be ok with Shurmur at OC. As a head coach I think he is a very weak canidate .
I wanna know what everyone thinks about Rowe. I think he is already our best CB and will only get better.
I’m not sure about best, but he has certainly played extremely well for a rookie thrown to the wolves.
Who is playing better at CB for us?
You could argue Carroll was, but Rowe has been impressive.
In terms of Shurmur, the one thing I will say is that regardless of how you feel about his potential as a HC, today’s game specifically should have next to zero influence. Strange circumstances, emotions a significant part of the game, weak opponent, and frankly, not really Pat Shurmur’s offense/team that played, but a version of Chip Kelly’s. I think all those reasons are why it’s impossible to interpret anything about how Shurmur performed as a HC today.
So you are saying a Shurmur coached team wouldn’t necessarily run screen passes on half their offensive snaps?
To those that think we are going to keep Shurmur as OC…I don’t see that happening. New coach is going to bring his own guy, his own system. Shurmur will be head coach or will be with a different team
Unless we hire a defensive head coach
Or an offensive coach…
Which is the weaker position? OC under an offensive coach or OC under a defensive coach? (OC under an offensive coach). An OC under a defensive coach is the top offensive coach. An OC under an offensive coach isn’t even calling plays.
Shurmur had nothing apparent in common with Kelly and his system, yet Kelly wanted him. It wouldn’t surprise me if a new offensive coach would keep Shurmur around in the OC position as a glorified QB coach if they retain Bradford.
I agree
Has that ever happened in the nfl?
And here is an interesting point to consider with respect to Shurmur.
One of the things 3 years ago that got me excited about Chip was him hiring Shurmur to act as the NFL experience/West Coast voice in the room to balance things out. That’s smart. Create an effective blend. Figure out what works, what doesn’t, allow the system to evolve and keep opponents on their toes (see, Belichick, B.).
Yet, 3 years later that didn’t really happen. Was it because Chip was too set in his ways, Shurmur was not vocal enough in challenging Chip’s thinking? Probably some combination of the two.
Frankly, I think that works against Shurmur. If you thought things needed changing, what did you do to advocate for the change? Why wasn’t it effective?
I wonder what Bradford would look like if his receivers could catch
We saw it today.
Minus the deep ball to Matthews, I think so.
It’s still a huge step up from the stone hands from earlier in the season. Sam would be above average if we had WRs that aren’t afraid of attacking the ball.
Well I think he’s pretty good how do you feel?
I want him back
Bring in competition if he stays here.
yeah only 2 drops and neither was a really brutal one.
The Matthews drop was brutal. Don’t remember another one.
it wasn’t as bad as some other ones this year but yeah he should have caught it.
That was as bad as any I can remember.
He’d probably smile more often.
He has like 60 million other reasons to smile about.
Which would be weird with that deer-in-the-headlights gaze he has.
Chargers loss would put cowboys down from 3 to 4, Rams win means we pick 13/14
My apologies Raiders win would put us at 13, loss at 14 Rams are irrelevant
My fear is we keep shurmur he keeps billy d
no way and i don’t think he’d have a choice
So weird if Broncos win they’re first if they lose they’re sixth
Reminds me of the Spurs last year. They managed to lose to the Pelicans the last game of the year and as a result, had to play the Clippers. I think they went from 2nd to 5th or something? Lost in an epic 7 game series.
Murray actually ran hard today and kept on churning his legs/body forward after contact for the first time since the Dallas game. Even today, he still looked really slow & had almost no speed coming off a cut. Being stuck with him next year is a real drag.
Understand Murray was hampered by that hamstring injury early on and likely for much of the year along with real difficulties with Kelly. Still, he got paid a lot of money this year and for much of the 2nd half of the year he gave questionable effort and was an issue off the field too. Really wish the Eagles could cut/trade him.
he’s great in big moeny situations – can build on that.
Guess you hope that with an offseason and a lot less wear & tear that he rebounds next year to say 200 carries, 1,000 yards.
He isn’t a feature back but hopefully a bit more productive.
between him and mathews there’s enough talent. but obvs too much $$ at position. we’ll see what howie can do w/ him in offseason
Are you thinking restructure? Not sure I see any incentive for DeMarco to do that.
If he does we won’t send him to Cleveland. That should be enough incentive
I’d love to know WTH Chip was thinking when he signed Murray. Did he study Murray’s game film at all? I thought Chip was an analytics guy. Did he not think Murray’s exceptionally high workload from the previous year would not translate to some wear and tear? I could go on and on…I just thought that was such a stupid move. Matthews & Sproles plus a late draft pick or the 3rd guy on our depth chart would have been just fine. We could have used the extra $$$ on a G/OL depth or more help on defense. But nope. Chip has his own misguided plans…
1. played w/ sam in college – familiarity, 2. ran tempo spread in college from shotgun 3. ran decently from shot guy and outside tackles in dallas.
i think murray would play more downhill if lineman were better
Right, but when has it ever worked out that late 20s RB gets traded and goes on to play up to his contract/expectations? I love Shady, but I wouldn’t be surprised if someone in Buffalo gets fired over the awful contract they signed him to.
And running the tempo spread in college is VASTLY different from the pros. Murray could hit the corner faster in college bc the LBs on average were much slower and less instinctive than your average pro.
100% agree — also an opportunity to hurt cowboys. but i think that acquisition really hurts the optics of chip as gm.
It looked okay on paper. I mean, you get a ‘potentially’ great LB in Kiko Alonso and the $$ to sign an above avg starting RB in Ryan Matthews and the league’s leading rusher. The problem is Chip was short sighted in his valuation of the position. Very, very few RBs will look good behind a poor OL. The few who do tend to have exceptional burst and vision (Jamal Charles, Shady, Chris Johnson) or exceptional strength (Lynch, A. Peterson). Murray is not elite in any one area in my opinion and is not a good enough RB to transcend poor OL play.
Why Chip thought he could go out and buy the most high prized RBs on the market and just expect them to overcome an OL in flux is beyond me. It’s really baffling.
he’s a very flawed guy. they keep mathis line probably looks a lot better. gore was his mid-priced fa
i agree, there are some “special Rb’s” but my approach would be to keep that positional payroll small, as long as your O-line is creating holes, guys will find them
yup
If Chip were an analytics guy, he would not have brought on Bradford, resigned Coop, or given Huff PT. The analytics guys I’ve read are already over the “Myth of 370” or whatever that thinks RBs decline as a result of using them too much in a particular year.
Dave Spadaro:
‘If they resign Bradford, bring in a few pieces, and the right head coach there is no reason this team can’t make the playoffs and contend for the NFC East next year.’
Oh Dave. Keep beating that drum.
He’s half-right.
But then you and I could just recruit 51 random dudes and go compete for the NFC East, too.
He’s right about the NFC East but I don’t see this team being able to address all of their issues in a single offseason to become a 10/11 win team next year.
If he means a 9-7 team that wins a weak division again, then yeah but again they need almost everything to go right. I thought the Eagles would go 9-7 though before the start of the year and win the NFC East this year though since the Boys would have a Romo injury.
I agree. Mostly I just wanted to make a lame joke about the standard of the NFCE.
Having said that, everyone thought we were a couple of years away from competing when Kelly took over. D was a howling abyss, QBs were dreadful, Maclin was self-tackling and OL couldn’t stay healthy.
Finding a way to plug the holes on the OL would be the biggest problem for me. Gs aren’t good enough and JP probably can’t be relied on for 16 games.
Defense has been historically awful too since the bye also and got gashed again today.
Do wonder though if simply moving to a 4-3, getting a competent D coordinator, making them play 16 games instead of 17.5-18 games due to snaps, and a couple of tweaks including a competent nickel corner couldn’t get to say an average/below average defense (15-20).
we had good top today and defense was still historically bad. offense put up 28 and still would have lost.
Yeah. To me this team even if they resign Bradford can realistically address 3 maybe 4 issues but they have several issues.
To me it is the biggest question Roseman has to answer this offseason – do they pour huge dollars into Bradford, try to ‘retool’ instead with less roster turnover and flashy FAs, and win the NFC East as a 9 or 10 win team next year or do they legimiately try to rebuild, draft a QB, and start to work through some bad veteran contracts.
chip worked through most of them. they just need a dc that can coach that group. lots of talent on defense. think having benny back will be important
We almost have to move to a 4-3. 3-4 LBs need to be elite pass rushers and/or clean up guys. Kiko and Kendricks tackled at the level I would expect most strong safety’s to be at. i.e. they play small and are not instinctive. Getting Hicks back will be immensely helpful, but he’s not good enough to overcompensate for the other LBs poor play.
It wouldn’t surprise me to see Kiko cut outright this offseason.
Kendricks was terrible again today but they’re stuck with him. Still want to know why Kelly who never seemed to be a fan of Kendricks all of a sudden gave him that big contract extension very late last offseason.
that’s bc this FO is dumb. agree about kendricks, but i guess they needed the body, and assumed he’d progress instead of regress
Cutting Kiko would be too stupid for me to belive its a possibility
Why especially if they go to a 4-3 and a new scheme? Sure Roseman is going to get rid of some of ‘Kelly’s guys/acqusitions’ including some of the Oregon players.
in Buffalo under Mike Pettine, he played in a lot of different looks. Pettine really switched up his defensive fronts, switching to 3, 4,5 man fronts
Kiko played very well in Buffalo, granted his d-line was stacked with talent
kiko basically free w lots of upside. lots of other guys to get moved before him.
He was a defensive rookie of the year once; LBs still play in a 4-3; he’s on an incredibly cheap deal; he was injured this year and never really got everything back. If he looks horrendous next preseason then maybe you cut him in the final cuts but before then is utterly brain-dead.
He’s such a tool. I thought it was great when he lost his composure fighting with Reub on Quick Slants and made himself look like an ass clown.
i agree, i get that he has a job to do, but he is a complete suck ass…..i hate his face
He is paid by the team but the constant homerism does get a bit over the top.
I don’t think he is wrong.. We can ride the inital surge of change to a good season, especially in this division. Like the chip era, a truer measure will be can we build on yeàr one and take the next step like we did under Andy? Or will we start to decline and never be as good as next year, like what happened to chip?
..
Not hard to turn it around in one pffseason in the NFL, and our division is a cause for hope. I’ll be shocked if old, Broken down Romo ever plays anotjet entire season
Sam will take us to the promised land! He has a lot of potential, you see!
Don’t think he’ll take us there himself, but he shouldn’t stop us either. Much will depend on the contract and the new coach, of course. If we draft a Jake Locker, we’ll be waaaaay worse off.
That’s funny. Some things never change I guess.
Re: A Quick Jim Johnson Story . . . and Possible 4-3 DCs
One of Andy Reid’s first hires was his best: DC Jim Johnson (at the time a LB coach for Seattle).
Reid told the story of how JJ’s defenses always troubled the Packers when they played.
TRUTH? Only 1 time did JJ serve as a team’s DC against GB when Reid was a Packers assistant.
In 1997, the 0-10 Colts hosted the 8-2 GB Packers, who were headed to the second straight SB.
But JJ’s winless Colts throttled the Pack . . . holding them to 38 points — while the Colts scored a season-high 41 to secure their first win on a last-second FG.
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/199711160clt.htm
And even when JJ was an asst coach with AZ and Seattle, his teams never played the Packers while Reid was there.
Andy Reid knew how to sell a good story.
______________
Anyway, what about possible 4-3 DCs? (The HC candidates are well covered.)
Lurie et al. should want to know who each candidate wants as their DC up front. Not, “trust me, I’ll find one later.”
And having a wily, experienced DC can take a load of worry off the mind of a new, young HC — if that’s the direction Lurie chooses to go.
________________
So what experienced former 4-3 DCs are out there?
– Chuck Cecil, 51. Been an NFL defensive asst since 2001. Spent entire coaching career working for Jeff Fisher. Served as Titans’ DC from 2009-10. Currently, the Rams’ Secondary Coach. Played aggressive schemes — from the Buddy Ryan coaching tree.
– Ed Donatell, 58. NFL defensive coach for 25 years. Remembered best in Philadelphia for 4th-and-26. Been a DC for a total of 7 seasons the Packers, Falcons, and Washington. Currently the DB coach for the Bears.
– Perry Fewell, 53. Won a SB as the Giants’ DC in 2011. Also served as the Bills DC. Been in a 4-3 system since coming to the NFL with JAX in 1998 as their DB coach. Worked with Lovie Smith as Rams’ DB and Bears’ DC. Currently Washington’s DB coach.
– Jerry Gray, 53. Served as Bills DC from ’01-’05 and Titans’ DC from ’11-’13. Former Pro Bowl CB. Currently DB coach for the Vikings.
– Dave McGinnis, 64 years-old. Spent the last 11 years coaching LBs and serving as the Rams’ Asst HC. Hasn’t been a DC since 2000.
– Fred Pagac, 63. Currently the Broncos LB coach. Served as DC for the Vikings, running Leslie Frazier’s 4-3 Tampa-2 defense, from 2010-2011. (Returned to LB coach for MN in 2012.)
– Mike Pettine, 49. Spent 7 years with the Ravens, coaching LBs and D-line in a 4-3 and also the aggressive Rex Ryan 3-4 system. Moved to the NYJ as Rex Ryan’s DC in a 3-4. Browns HC, likely out.
– Bob Sanders, 62. Now AZ’s LB coach. Spent 3 seasons as the Packers DC (’06-’08). Been in the NFL as a D-asst for 15 years.
– Jim Schwartz, 49 years-old. Spent 2015 on paid-unemployment, courtesy of the Bills. Likely wants to be a HC again.
– Bill Sheridan, 56. Former Giants DC in ’09, Bucs DC from ’11-’12. Been an NFL LB coach for 8 seasons, currently with the Lions.
– Steve Spagnuolo, 56. Doubtful. Possible. But Doubtful. (His defenses, save ’07 when the Giants won the SB, have been generally unimpressive. Even in ’07, the Giants’ defense finished 17th in points.)
– Mike Trgovac, 56. Former DC for the Panthers under John Fox, including ’03 SB team. Came to the NFL in ’95 as Eagles DL coach. Been Packers DL coach since ’09. (Rumored to have declined Reid’s invite to become Eagles’ DC in 2011.)
browns defense was awful this year. none of those sound really great.
No argument.
JJ wouldn’t have sounded very good either, based on his 2 seasons as the Colts’ DC in ’96-’97.
But you just never know.
If its true they offered Curry a contract, its pretty safe to assume they’d be making the switch back.
From reading this, I assume that you think it’s a done deal they go 4-3?
I do.
If re-signing Curry’s a priority — as it apparently is — then I think the front office wants a HC committed to running some form of the 4-3.
browns firings made official
JP’s comments are so stinging.
“Peters on possibly moving from LT: “Who are they going to put in there that’s better than me? Nobody? Who are they going to draft…”
He’s right. Lane is not as good at LT as he is at RT. We played ourselves out of possibly grabbing one of the top 2 OTs.
“Asked who he would like to see as the next coach, Jason Peters said someone like Andy Reid, a father figure you want to play for.”
There’s no love for Chip. I know Peters is an Andy guy but still..
stated below he was big in getting chip fired
Yup.
Not sure I buy that. Said he had a great relationship with Chip and bout into his programme.
Obviously some things he was less keen on, but I doubt he was one of Chip’s more vocal detractors.
things can change quickly when the team starts losing
He said these things today.
yea i know
Then, I’m not sure if I understand your previous comment. The Eagles lost plenty this year. JP still said he got on well with Chip, and he doesn’t strike me as the sort of guy to sugarcoat things.
i buy into the belief that JP was pretty vocal to upper management about losing faith in Kelly. I’m saying i think Peters tolerated Kelly since the team had been 20-12 after the first two years, but after the atrocious start to this season, i think players got fed up with him and it showed in their effort on the field that they had tuned him out.
Players don’t mind a dictator type coach if the team is winning, but once it goes south, it gets messy pretty quickly
But that contradicts what he said today.
Is it possible? Sure, but I don’t see Peters feeling compelled to say he got on with Kelly and bought into what he was doing if that wasn’t true.
i feel as if he come off as a guy who didn’t care for Chip and is sort of relieved is gone
Not sure how you get that from him saying he had a great relationship with Kelly, but sure.
he said he had a great relationship with Kelly today?
Correct.
oh, i didn’t see that sorry lol
No bother. Seen three stories on Peters’ comments, only one of which bothered to mention the positive things he said about Kelly, so easy to miss.
I get not wanting to confuse a narrative and focussing on exerts from an interview, but even some of the better journalists can be incredibly lazy at times.
He got beat twice by a rookie LB last week at home. He should move to left guard
Peters was beat like a drum all season.
Desperately need to draft a LT, move Peters inside, and hopes he holds up but physically he just seems to be breaking down & OL with chronic back issues typically don’t hang over long at all.
I have no confidence that he can play a full season.
And really, he played so poorly at tackle there’s no reason to assume he’ll be the answer at guard.
What do you do with him then? Just draft a possible replacement for him, start that pick at LG or even the bench, and roll the dice with Peters for one last year?
have to
i think he ends up staying, but i would cut him if he doesn’t take a pay cut. He just wasn’t good this year, and i think the tempo excuse is BS. Peters started out a lot of games this year with false starts/holding and hands to the face calls. He is just beat up from playing the position. I love the guy, but i’m in favor of moving Lane over to LT now since he is your LT of the future and has been waiting to get moved over…..unless one of the big name prospects falls to them in the draft. IDK how Lane will react if they draft a guy to play LT instead of him, guy seems sensitive.
I’d slide Lane over, try to find a FA to slide inside and maybe find a RT/ more guards in the draft….i don’t expect this line to be fixed in one year, but i just want to start the process of re-tooling it sooner.
He still thinks he’s the best. Hope he realizes he’s on the downside of his career. Lane is on the upswing. Seems less like a “Team guy” after this year
They need two tackles. They weren’t able to find one decent guard in the scrap heap last year, so how are they supposed to come up with another tackle now? Lane Johnson to LT, Dennis Kelly at RT so JP can play guard? That’s an improvement?
JP’s quote is right on the money: “Who are they going to put in there that’s better than me? Nobody? Who are they going to draft…”
Two things about Bradford’s performance today to keep it in perspective:
1) Giants have the worst passing D in the entire NFL, giving up 298 ypg (Bradford had 320 today)
2) In another meaningless game, Kellen Moore had 435 yards today versus the Skins.
And?
Evidently Sam completing 80% of his passes against a bad defense is not good enough.
Too late, this board is already into Sam, hook, line and sinker. Half the posts are factoids about how well he has played the last six games and hyperactive extrapolations about how good he’ll be when the Eagles get a good OL and receivers who can catch next year.
Someone just posted about how he could be put in the same category as Russell Wilson. Yeah, the Russell Wilson that just put up a streak of play that has been unequaled in the history of the NFL.
Such is fandom!
Tease:
– Bradford looking so composed and hitting guys in strides on a lot of short routes and a bevy of screens
– Murray running hard and actually looking like he cared for a change
– Ertz suddenly getting separation and even YAC today.
– Matthews looking like he did last year when Sanchez was looking for him constantly with this first read
– Marcus Smith showing something
Still would have seen the loss, the weaker schedule next year, and moved up 4 spots in the draft. Yet another meaningless W that really hurts them a bit.
ot meaningless ned to carry win into offseason, hopefully guys get on their job
14th pick in the draft
Could be worse sucks losing 5 spots doe
Now to hope the Chargers can claim 3
How come all reports are saying 13 is locked up?
Interesting… Don’t think that’s the case thought Raiders had weaker strength of schedule but if everyone is saying it I’m probably wrong
Did Alonso make a single tackle within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage today? Crazy how bad the interior of this defense has been in the 2nd half of the season including today. Thought Jennings might go for 200 yards today with how he was piling up the yards though the 3rd quarter.
he had a tfl today i think
Must have been a jedi mind trick and i missed that. seemed like every one of his 7 takcles was down field and from behind.
On a blitz where he crashed the “A” gap
Browns job is definitely the worst, ah they never get their top choice and then fire the guy after two seasons cuz they never liked him to begin with and rinse wash repeat
They wanted Kelly badly three years ago…. this might be their chance…
If so, I don’t think Jimmy Haslem will have much competition.
The Titans sound like they’re about to sue the NFL over their ownership structure. If a sale’s required, having an easily disposable, inexpensive HC — like Malarky — is the way to go.
SF is a possibility, I guess. But why would they want another prima donna after Harbaugh?
I wouldn’t be surprised if Kelly is not hired. He might be a hard sell to a fan base right now.
To the fan base? Coaches are hired and fired every year. It’s not called a merry-go-round for nothing.
Yes. They pay for the tickets and fill the stadiums.
Yup.
http://www.musiccitymiracles.com/2016/1/3/10704332/report-titans-leaning-towards-keeping-mike-mularkey-and-ruston-webster
There are reports that they may make Sashi Brown their head of football ops. Sashi Brown is their lead counsel, essentially their lawyer. Now Howie’s background was as a cap guy and he went to law school but he was groomed in personnel before he became the head guy. Brown has no background in player evaluation at all. I see zero chance Kelly goes there if this guy can overrule him.
But . . . but . . . but . . .
Chip Kelly only wants to be a football coach.
Agree with you 100 percent.
Don’t take it personally. I am sure he meant “…essentially a lawyer…” in the most flattering way possible.
看看！
Cowboys will pick at 4 with Chargers loss, Chargers will pick third
Cowboys will be picking a QB at 4
Excellent. Miss rate on qb is high, decent chance they will have a busted pick.
Mid tier QBs are valuable nowadays, we probably can’t get Goff or Lynch but even if we could there is no guarantee they would ever be better than Bradford. If we can keep him for 4 years 70-75M with manageable guarantees in this market you’d have to do it.
I may not have been paying close attention and have missed it, but has anyone seriously discussed Gary Gibbs as potential DC yet? He’s been the LBs coach at KC for quite awhile now and has been doing outstanding work there. Many of the coaches on KC’s defensive staff are old so he may not want to leave at this stage in his career. Just a thought.
I put a list together of experienced 4-3 DCs in the comments.
Inadvertantly left off Gibbs — who’s 63 years-old.
He was the Saints DC from 2006-08. Defense grew progressively worse.
Replaced by Gregg Williams in ’09 . . . and Saints won SB.
____________
Dennis Allen, Saints interim DC this year, is also someone who may be available.
what happened to gregg williams?
Still at St. Louis isn’t he?
Yes.
Thanks for the feedback.
Isn’t it quite puzzling how some coaches can do extremely well in some stints but horrible in others? It can make it quite hard to project how well a coach will do in a different environment. With that said, Kansas City has done an absolutely remarkable job coaching their defense. Funny how Andy is relying on the same strengths he did back in Philly – well, except Alex Smith is no Donovan McNabb.
A3000:
Agree. Great point.
And it’s not just about the players.
In 2012, before AR arrived in KC, the Chiefs defense — under Romeo Crennel — ranked 25th in points allowed and 20th in yards allowed.
Crennel goes to Houston and now the Texans play great defense.
Crazy league.
“More than half the plays were either called on changed at line of scrimmage by today. By both Bradford and Shurmur.” eskin
“Chiefs OC Doug Pederson expected to be a leading candidate for Philadelphia HC job, per sources. Pederson coached in Philly from 2009-12.” schefty
Already debunked
Thank god
Even Didinger laughed out loud at this when a fan suggested it yesterday at the end of his show.
Schefter is a high volume, very low hits reporter. Give what he says very low credence especially in regards to the Eagles.
interesting i thought he was one of the best, or is that just fa/trades?
No, he is one of the best, but to be constantly fed correct info by agents occasionally he has to allow himself to be used by them to push their clients.
got it
Jay Glazer is probably the #1 for information. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him get one wrong.
probably the most obvious agent trying to drum up interest for a client “source” of all time
mo wilkerson broken leg
Unfortunate, dude was about to get paid ,wonder how this will affect him
Sam Bradford is the first QB in Eagles history with three straight games of 320 yards and 65 percent accuracy.
Bradford had 5 games this year with 320 yards and 65% accuracy. Only Warner, Brees, Favre, Brady, Gannon and P. Manning have ever had more.
…. and thats with all the drops too. Lets look at who these guys had catching.
Warner had: Fitz, Holt,Bruce,Faulk
Brady had: Moss,Gronk, Welker
Manning- Harrison, Wayne, Clarke
Favre-Jennings, Driver, Sharpe, Freeman
Well, when you put it that way….
Sam definitely grew on me this year. I was in favor of benching him (not permanently but just for the game) in that first Dallas game, but he’s made so much strides since then. Just imagine if he had JMac to throw to as well…
I still don’t think we should pay him north of $19 mill per year as his track record for winning and staying healthy is to be desired.
me too
For me it comes down to guaranteed money I think Sam could be a top 10 QB. Injury is my only concern but that goes for any QB
Especially for a QB playing behind our current OL.
I am glad we took the chance on Sam as it’s clearly obvious he was an upgrade over Foles/Sanchez. Other than drafting Bridgewater/Carr (the jury is still out on them), the Eagles had no better options at QB. Just wish we could have locked him up to a team friendly long term deal. Oh well, at least I’m fairly confident with him.
I do love his attitude and work ethic. For all the flak he gets for being soft, I thought he demonstrated a lot of poise in the pocket this year. I’d just love to see him take more shots downfield (but a lot of that may have been on our WRs). But like many have mentioned, he demonstrated he can play at a very high level down the stretch. We just need to surround him with some better pieces (if we have any $$$ left to spend).
To expand for Sams haters:
St Louis
He was throwing to:
Donnie Avery
Amendola
Lance Kendricks
Greg Salas
Brian Quick
Philly
Sproles
Matthews
Ertz
Cooper
So, he had better receivers in St Louis than he has had here?
I don’t think so but that might be a big reason why he struggled there. Chemistry matter too as u can see later in the season he def has something going with Ertz and probably Matthews too.
Im really Really down on Huff at WR. If the defenders don’t take themselves out he is no where to be found. Did he even play on O today?
Watching the Chiefs game . . .
KC repeatedly ran some of the same passing plays out of the same formations as the Eagles (except with Smith under center far more).
No question — as Jaws has said — the Eagles ran some good WC passing concepts.
Not a lot of 3 yard crossing routes today. Much more vertical to go with the swing passes.
I’d be curious to see how many TDs the other QBs had during their streaks.
And how many probowl O lineman did they have blocking as well 🙂
TDs could reflect on the strength of the entire team.
My thoughts, at least.
I wonder how many dropped touchdowns guys like harrison, wayne, Moss, Holt, Fitz had during that streak.
But I get your point 🙂
Guys drafted 13th:
2015: Andrus Peat
2014: Aaron Donald
2013: Sheldon Richardson
2012: Michael Floyd
2011: Nick Fairley
2010: Brandon Graham
Howie will be traded out of that spot anyway. At least the draft will be exciting again.
Good grief that’s a lot of great DTs. Wasn’t Cox a 12th? I believe we drafted Broderick Bunkley in that range too. And the Raven took N’Gata right before us.
Cox was 12th
Bunk was ok here against the run for a long time but never really earned that spot imo
I wondered if Coughlin would get fined like Tomlin for being on the field during the INT runback, but then remembered, it’s New York so probably not. And Tomlin was only standing on the white. Coughlin was on the grass. But, again, no worries.
Think Coughlin was shouting; “Get off my lawn.”
As I mentioned below, CLE just named their lead counsel(their top lawyer) their executive director of football ops. Howie started off in law too but he was trained in personnel before becoming the top guy even if you don’t think he was trained adequately enough. No chance in hell Chip goes there.
Why, Chip has always showed immense respect for nonfootball guys;-)
you hear anything about Doug Marrone being high on the browns list?
can’t see that didnt he opt out of bills b/c their fo was crazy?
just saw someone say Peter King reported he would be the first guy the Bowns interview
Marrone left Buffalo, in part, because he wanted more control over personnel.
I think he’ll ask for the camel’s-nose-in-the-tent control . . . to expand from there.
He’s a good coach — as Rex Ryan proved this season.
yup. i think teams w/ crazy front offices should probably give up control. looks like it’s something that most coaches looking to influence now.
Just another year for the Jets where Rex Ryan keeps them from reaching the play offs
report was just refuted by Haslam…..although who knows with that guy
And Buffalo was considering hiring Bill Polian as a football czar which would have lessened his power.
Yes, he’s interviewing with them early next week.
AFC playoff byes:
2015: DEN/NE
2014: NE/DEN
2013: DEN/NE
2012: NE/DEN
in other words
Manning/Brady (osweiler)
Brady/Manning
Manning/Brady
Brady/Manning
“The Browns have now fired their head coach five times since the last time any team in the AFC North made a coaching change.”
Crazy. I would be ok with Pettine getting a look at DC
Adam Gase will interview in Philly & Miami in a few days. Also told once Pettine is let go, Gase will interview in Cleveland per sources
I cannot see him putting Miami or Philly on hold because he wants to hear what Cleveland has to say.
I think blowing the whole thing up would be a mistake. First of all, I’m not sure they have a front office capable of putting together a team better than they have now. Second, I think Bradford showed he has significant upside. He’s still in his prime. His upside, even if not Brady, Peyton, Brees, Rodgers level, certainly seems to be Palmer, Flacco, Ryan, Wilson level. If PS stays, I think Sam stays. They build on what they accomplished today, with Ertz, Matthews. Agholor even looked quicker to me. And, if PS stays as coach, I think there is a good chance they can keep the good coaches on the staff like Fipp.
So here is a suggestion for coaching staff for next year:
HC Shurmur; OC Bill Lazor; DC Pagano, ST Fipp.
As a longshot that might be better: Get J. Harbaugh from the Ravens, keep PS as OC, and get Pagano as DC (since he has connections with Pagano).
He can make throws that maybe only
Rodgers
Newton
Stafford
Flacco
can make. I just don’t see a better option right now other than getting OL help
He made some beautiful throws today. I agree that in a more traditional offense, he is the best option out there.
Good I hate the Packers….Did anyone notice that wasn’t the punter though?
The comment section here seems to have turned into verbatim twitter recaps. I read something on twitter and then read it here again a few minutes later.
Was it guys just relaying info/rumors?
You don’t have Twitter?
Nope
your not alone….i had it for like 3 days and didn’t care for it
I can’t live without it. You just have to be selective on who you follow
BTW, I don’t mind Twitter info here, just prefer people insert the links instead of copy/paste text
Same here. Tried it for a month. Not a fan.
https://twitter.com/pdomo/status/683821390009643008
No. I don’t mind the recaps.
Someone better remind Aaron Rodgers that if he goes down with an injury, the Pack are one and done. Discount double check, dummy.
Paul Domowitch reporting Eagles will pursue Payton if Saints let him go. I hope they don’t give up a draft pick for him.
James Jones has a hood hanging out of the back of his jersey? I sure hope it is break away. Kids are not allowed to have hoods hanging out when they play soccer.
It’s baffling to me how that is even allowed given how strict the NFL’s dress code seems to be. I don’t remember ever wearing a hoody playing football or even baseball growing up.
Looks like the short list is Payton, Gase, and maybe Hue Jackson.
Source?
So Sean Payton has kinda sucked the last few years…with a HOF qb. Does that concern anyone else?
I’d want to know his role in the hiring/firing of Rob Ryan.
Me too. Also, how good of a coach is he without a HOFer running the show, since we won’t have one of those.
Though Payton is the guy who brought in Brees and facilitated his development into a hall of famer. Picking coaches is such a crapshoot — even moreso than drafting players. But I’d take my chances with proven success, especially given the field.
In the last decade his Saints have finished in the top 3 for offense probably at least 5 times. In maybe 1 of the last 10 seasons the offense has finished outside the top 10. Again, it definitely helps to have Drew Brees.
The year they won the SB, they did so with a subpar defense. He’s cycled through a lot of D-Coordinators and that most certainly is an issue.
I’d love to read more about Payton, but one of the issues for the Saints the last couple years is that they managed the cap terribly. I’m sure that has had a role in how they have been able to acquire and retain talent. That’s not to say I give Payton an automatic pass, but that is certainly part of the issues in NO. On the other hand, Payton has been the coach since 2006. Like Andy Reid, he may just need a change for him to return to being a top HC.
All those are uncertainties so clearly due diligence is still required, but he is definitely a guy I would want the Eagles to interview and get some quality answer from.
Their cap has been the death of them. Not sure how much power Payton had with contracts, draft picks and free agency. They made Chips free agency moves look like genius decisions…signed Jarious Bird as huge free agent signing and let go of Jenkins and traded Sproles for a 4th.
And that was in an effort to keep Graham who they wound up trading away in the end.
And they are still in deep cap doo-doo for next year. I think they have $157 million committed right now, with the projected cap at $153 or so (though estimates recently have always been low, so $157 cap would not surprise me). They really can’t keep Brees on his current contract. Byrd jumps to an $11 million cap hit next year, and cutting him will actually be a hit to the cap (perhaps could designate a post-June-1 cut and spread out the hit). Jahri Evans is an $8.2 hit, and they save little by cutting him as well. They can’t cut Cam Jordan. Brees has a $30 million cap number so that is basically the main place they can solve things.
i think they are better off moving on from Brees
You know who manages the cap REALLY well? Howie.
So picking 13 and only lost 3 spots by winning. I can live with that
picking at 17 with the Giants picking at 9 would have been tough to take though
I’m with you on that. Unfortunately, today also resulted in next season playing the Seahawks in Seattle instead of the Rams in London.
It will be a rebuilding year. So a loss in Seattle gives us a better draft pick.
To me, I didn’t really care about that part of winning/losing. Seahawks are the better team for sure, but we also would have to go to London which isn’t ideal for the team itself. On top of that, while the Seahawks are better now, you never know one season to the next. FOr all we know, they could suffer some key injuries before we play them and then that game is easier… To many uncertainties for me to be worried about who the opponent is. The draft pick was clear.
Yea, I agree. I was just making conversation. I’ll add it’s worth beating the Giants, and Coughlin in his last game, if it only costs 3 spots in the draft.
Rams will be traveling to London from what city?
both teams traveling ..
..Lurie probably wanted to go to London for the adventure of it all ..
If Payton becomes available, as was discussed earlier in here, I expect the Giants to go after him hard. Assuming, of course, Coughlin retires tomorrow which appears likely.
There are reports that he may not want to retire and will force the Giants’ brass to have to fire him.
Good. I’d rather not compete with them for choice of coach.
For those gnashing their teeth about the Eagles winning, look on the bright side: we only gave up the 45th pick to STL, instead of the 42nd.
im not sure how to feel about this .. but i literally laffed out loud..this is the best comment of the day
another really really good one:
ICDogg • 33 minutes ago
“We’ve been outtanked”
That was my only goal with the comment. No subtext.
Drating 13 instead of goants 10 is cool i am fine with
Adam Schefter
@AdamSchefter
20s20 seconds ago
49ers announced they have fired Jim Tomsula.
132 retweets
38 likes
Never had a shot
Where’s SF picking in the draft?
5th, I think.
i saw 7th
Maybe after winning today.
They are 7th
Watching teams like Panthers and Seahawks with their swag and confidence… must be nice lol. When was the last time Eagles had that?
pre-season
Ok… regular season? Maybe McNabb and his air guitar?
last season? we were 9-3. dline was the “nobodies” people thought superbowl
Remember after we killed Dallas on Thanksgiving we were talking home field throughout the playoffs?
Then Sanchez remembered who he was
how quickly that fell apart and never got put back together again
The franchise panicked after that…
Last time we had it and earned it? 2004
12 years goes fast..
Eric Kendricks: the Good son 🙁
Does wonders when your DB and LBs can tackle
Here’s why the Eagles will be contenders next year. Bradford will be here, either with a contract of via the Franchise rage. The new coach will bring out the best in him and Sam will fulfill his Heisman-winning potential. Sam will be helped by a stronger O-line developed by the draft and/or free agency. The run game will improve as Matthews-Murray-Sproles will be better utilized, and the passing game will be stronger as Ertz-Matthews-Agholor develop into a trio of excellent young receivers.
The new coach will change the D to a 4-3, and the pass rushing of Cox-Curry-Graham will be incredible. The linebackers will anchored by Hicks and Alonso, both of who will have full recoveries from their injuries. The safeties are set, and the young cbs will come into their own, especially Rowe.
That’s the plan. What could (cough, cough) possibly go wrong?
I’m going to let you finish but let me say something real quick
“Put the pipe down!” 🙂
Why? I figure by this time next year no one will remember the foolish things I post.
True
That’s the secret to my sense of success.
What’s the name of this movie?
Draft day part duex
P_P_K’s Excellent Adventure.
Keanu Reeves can be Howie Roseman…
Thought he was Bradford. Death can be Roseman.
I’m thinking its gotta be that dude who plays Taub on the show HOUSE. :)-
Or we could get Seth Rogen as the new head coach and change the title to “PineEagle Express.”
Haha! I’m likin’ it! Working Danny McBride in would be an absolute requirement under that scenario!
Can we get JJ Watt, Richard Sherman, Calvin Johnson and a unicorn via free agency, too?
No, but Urlacher is a lock.
Nothing could go wrong (so long as the new coach is Payton)!
The similarities between Payton’s great teams and the Eagles are pretty unreal. We all know about the Bradford/brees comps. Matthews out of the slot is kinda like Colston. Sproles is like…sproles. There’s otherwise a platoon of decent RBs. Ertz isn’t quite graham, though maybe he is after Graham’s season in Seattle. And our defense is probably middle of the pack at worst.
I’m really hoping agholor improves (though he did make that sweet cut today). But I feel like we could really use a burner on the opposite side to pull away the safeties and make one big play a game.
Next year, when Sean and Sam are hoisting the Lombardi trophy, all these guys on Iggles Blitz will be in awe of how you and I could have foreseen the victory!
Definitely rose colored crystal ball there, but a lot of what you say could/is somewhat likely to happen. You cannot underestimate the negative effects of a poisonous locker room dynamic.
Now, the other side is how long it takes to adjust to new schemes. I’m cautiously optimistic, pending Sam resigning and of course the HC hire…
Apparently the 49ers are in play for Sean Payton. You’d think Payton would have better options but he reportedly wants to live closer to his daughter and with McCoy looking likely to be kept by SDG, SF is the next best option.
sf has no players though
i was going to say Payton may like the niners because that is where he was born, but then i saw he pretty much was raised all over the map even spent some time in Newtown Square, PA
That front office is something else. I could see Peyton butting heads there.
New thread up.
I’m glad that The Year of the Dropped Pass is finally over. Stoked for next season.