Iggles Blitz

by Tommy Lawlor

Joe Jets Off

Posted June 7th, 2019 | 2 Comments »

It took longer than it should have, but the NY Jets finally made a smart decision.

Douglas getting the job is not a surprise at all. He was considered the front runner from the time they let their previous GM go. Douglas has a strong reputation around the league and is friends with Jets coach Adam Gase. The move made a lot of sense.

If it was so obvious, why did the Jets wait all week to make the hire?

We can only speculate. But there was a surprise move on Friday that could have affected the Jets thinking.

Houston had previously tried to interview Douglas for their GM job. With Gaine now out of the picture, Houston might have gone hard after Douglas. Within a couple of hours of the Gaine announcement, Douglas got the Jets job. That might be a coincidence, but it sure doesn’t feel like it.

Good luck to Douglas. He’s in the AFC so it will be easy to pull for him. He faces the Patriots twice a year so that will also make it easy to pull for him.

The Eagles knew when they hired Douglas that he wasn’t going to be a long term piece of the front office. They felt it was worth it to have someone like him to help build up the scouting staff. Douglas got to learn a lot from Howie Roseman. He saw the Eagles aggressive approach to free agency, trading and dealing with contracts. You can’t learn that stuff from just anyone. Douglas also got to deal with the media, which is tough on some scouts who are suddenly thrown in front of microphones and cameras. Dealing with fan and media accountability is challenging for even the most intrepid souls.

Now the Eagles have to decide how they want to replace Douglas. The good news is that they will have some interesting options.

Douglas carried the title of Vice President of Player Personnel. We don’t know a lot for sure, but it seemed like his primary task was setting the draft board. That meant doing some scouting himself, but also being heavily involved with the scouting staff and putting together accurate grades on hundreds of prospects (after eliminating hundreds more from initial lists). Douglas also had a hand in other areas. He was involved in free agency and grading current players. His specialty was the draft, though.

The Eagles could promote Douglas buddy, Andy Weidl. He is currently the Director of Player Personnel. Weidl has been in scouting since 1998 and has worked for the Steelers, Saints and Ravens. That is a strong trio of organizations. Weidl, like Douglas, specializes in scouting college players. He would be a natural to take over for Douglas. One X-factor there is that Douglas could try to bring his friend to the Jets with him. We’ll have to wait and see on that.

Andrew Berry is currently the Vice President of Football Operations. He has a background in analytics and football, with most of his scouting experience on the pro side. Berry wouldn’t be a natural to handle Douglas’ duties, but if you think of this more as finding a number two for Roseman, Berry would very much fit that role. He would be a very interesting choice.

The Eagles could look outside the organization. They could look at Gaine, the man just let go by Houston. The Eagles have shown some interest in Gaine in the past. While things didn’t work out with the Texans, Gaine isn’t completely to blame. Many people feel Coach Bill O’Brien made most of the decisions for that organization. Gaine was somewhat of a sacrificial lamb.

Scot McCloughan is one of the best talent evaluators around. He’s currently working as a consultant for several teams. He would be a real interesting choice to replace Douglas.

Ryan Grigson worked for the Eagles from 2004-2012. He then became GM of the Colts. That started off really well, but went south in a hurry. Grigson is a solid evaluator, but obviously wasn’t a good decision-maker. Roseman is the Eagles decision-maker. The team is looking for someone to help in player evaluation so Grigson would make some sense.

The Eagles could look around to other teams. There might be someone they think is ready for a bigger opportunity. There is no rush on this decision. Heck, they don’t have to replace Douglas right now. They could go with the current staff for the next year and then hire someone next May (when teams normally adjust their scouting staffs).

It is important to understand that Douglas was an important part of the Eagles front office, but he wasn’t irreplaceable. The team isn’t looking for someone to come in and run the show. The Eagles have built a deep front office with a mixture of skill-sets and backgrounds. One person isn’t going to make or break the situation. The Jets were looking for someone to run their organization. The Eagles are looking for someone to help fill a role as part of a deep front office structure.

It will be fun to see what the Eagles do to replace Douglas. Jeffrey Lurie and Howie Roseman won’t feel obligated to make a safe hire. They will look at all the options and do what they feel is best for the organization. Lurie and Roseman are more interested in finding the best answer than sticking with conventional wisdom.

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Additional scouting news from recent weeks.

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Car$on Wentz

Posted June 7th, 2019 | 7 Comments »

Carson Wentz is a rich man.

Okay, he was already rich, but now he’s pretty much set for life.

This is good news. Maybe great news.

QB is the most important position in sports. The right guy can define your franchise. Tom Brady with the Patriots. Peyton Manning with the Colts. Ron Jaworski with the Eagles. Randall Cunningham with the Eagles. Donovan McNabb with the Eagles. Kevin Kolb with the…sorry, I must have dozed off while typing.

I know Nick Foles was the man who actually won the Super Bowl, but Wentz has been the key to the Eagles since he was drafted in April of 2016.

Wentz led the team to a 3-1 start as a rookie. Lane Johnson got suspended and the team struggled to a 2-8 record without him. Johnson returned and the Eagles went 2-0. The next year Wentz played at an MVP level and had the Eagles off to an 11-2 start before tearing his ACL. The team was good enough to continue winning with him on the sidelines.

Last year Wentz was coming off a torn ACL and playing with a banged up offense. He posted solid numbers, but scoring was down and the team was just 5-6 with him as the starter. For the second straight year, Wentz finished the season injured and on the sideline.

There is a risk in paying Wentz. He has had consecutive injuries, and serious ones at that. He could turn out to be one of those guys who struggles to play 16 games on a regular basis. You’re always going to be nervous about his durability.

You won’t be worried about his ability, though. At his best, Wentz is one of the top QBs in the league. He can run the base offense and move the ball up and down the field. Wentz is special because of his ability to make plays on his own.

That ability to move around and elude defenders and then to fire the ball downfield means the Eagles are a threat to score on every play. Defenses can have the perfect call and still get burned. That is a coach’s dream. They can scheme all day long, but coaches love having a player who can create when things break down.

You can argue that Wentz won’t play at his 2017 level on a regular basis, but I think he can. Last year was odd. The run game struggled. The OL was banged up for part of the year. The receiving corps wasn’t completely healthy. Wentz couldn’t overcome that while dealing with his own injuries.

2019 will be a huge year for Wentz and the Eagles. He is healthy. His blockers are healthy. His receivers are healthy. His primary RB is healthy. Wentz has more weapons than ever and he’s now got 40 NFL starts under his belt. Experience is critical for QBs. You can bet Wentz learned a thing or two last year.

Wentz is a very driven person. He will do whatever it takes to succeed. Wentz is coming off a disappointing season and also had to deal with some criticism. Rather than running from this as many pro athletes would, Wentz has embraced the challenge. He has admitted he needs to be better on and off the field. He’s changed some of his workout to try to help his durability.

This is a guy you want to pay big money to. Some players get the money and let up. Wentz is more driven than ever.

One of the keys to this is the Eagles commitment to Wentz. He was the guy they coveted in 2016 and traded up to draft. They made him the face of the franchise and Wentz has fully bought into the role. This is a true partnership. The owner, GM, head coach and QB are all on the same page. That’s how you build something special.

The Eagles have handed a boatload of money to a talented QB who is driven to succeed. While that sounds really good, the financial angle will be an ongoing issue. The Eagles won’t be able to keep every player they want. They will have some limitations in pursuit of free agents in the future. Still, you’d rather have a franchise QB than financial freedom. Cap space doesn’t win games. Star QBs are invaluable.

You could question the timing of the deal. The Eagles could have waited, but I’m not sure what that would have accomplished. Dak Prescott and Jared Goff are also waiting for new deals. Instead of Wentz wanting more than them, he got the first deal of the trio.

If Wentz has a great season, he might have cost even more. If he gets hurt, you’re still going to have to pay him. Despite Donovan McNabb’s odd comments, the Eagles are committed to Wentz. They were not going to move on from him any time soon. The Eagles might be rolling the dice on Wentz’s durability, but they fully believe in his ability and his character.

The Wentz era began in 2016. We don’t know when it will end, but we know it will be going on for several more years. That’s great news for the Eagles and Eagles fans.

*****

Interesting perspective from a neutral observer.

That is a lot of talent.

Can’t wait to see what this group can do.

*****

Former NFL agent.

And Joe knows a thing or two about deals as well.

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