Just now, ManuManu said:

The Niners supposedly are sniffing around the safety market, Blackmon and Simmons specifically. Mike Silver says Hufanga sent guaranteed to get his starting job back. 

I’d love to see the Eagles man Blackmon. I’m on record as saying Blankenship is fine, especially given the contract, but if Blackmon is cheap enough, his range and coverage skills would be awfully enticing. Mosher and Caplan said Monday that the Eagles were interested in him. 

The niners are just on a different level with defensive building compared to us right now, it's very discouraging and disappointing especially with the amount of money we had to spend this offseason. 

21 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

Right, that’s what I thought. It’s just the "so its very simple. If he becomes a starter, for one reason or another, it’s a 4” that makes no sense 

He probably should've added the qualifier of becoming the starter in the first half of the season, not just becoming the starter at any point or for only a single game. The latter would make no sense at all and could easily be manipulated to escalate the pick.

4 minutes ago, greendestiny27 said:

The niners are just on a different level with defensive building compared to us right now, it's very discouraging and disappointing especially with the amount of money we had to spend this offseason. 

That's a really good point. The Eagles are still at the top when it comes to money left to spend. They EASILY could have overpaid for a quality LB if they wanted to seriously upgrade the position. The truth is, Howie hasn't learned any lessons from last year and would rather gamble on cheap, 1-year deals on busts or ST players. 

 

6 minutes ago, we_gotta_believe said:

Assuming you mean "isnt" in place of "sent", that's a bit shocking. Wonder if he had some sort of setback from with his knee, because otherwise that makes no sense at all.

Yep, fat fingered it and autocorrect got me. I’m not sure it’s about the injury as much as freelancing. He’s kind of like Polomalu that way, but not as good. 

16 hours ago, Sack that QB said:

I don't think it's all that debatable and I say that as someone who doesn't think Fields is very good. Kenny Pickett threw 13 TD passes in his last 24 games in the NFL. Which is virtually impossible in a now offensive driven league. He got outplayed by Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph. Significantly outplayed. And those guys suck.

Kenny Pickett may have been the worst QB in the NFL in 2023. You can make a legitimate case that he was. I don't think people realize just how bad he was. And how bad he had to be for the Steelers to hand Russell Wilson a starting job and pursue Justin Fields to replace him.

I don't really think that's the point though. There is projection with both Fields and especially Pickett since he has only been in the league for two years. Fields has definitely been better to this point in their careers and you will get no argument there. The question is, who do you think will be better moving forward with a change of scenery. I watched Pickett a lot at Pitt and think in the right situation he can absolutely be a below average starter / high level back up. Yes he was outplayed by those other QB's but they were veteran guys where as Pickett was a first and second year QB who got some of the worst coaching in the league. Either way, the difference in cost is the fact that with Fields you get one year of a cheap young backup QB and with PIckett you get two years and a chance to help him turn his career around and possibly trade him for a profit in a year.

I choose to focus on best case scenarios BUT if we're being honest there's really only one player Eagles signed (Huff) where it would be considered a success if he equalled last year's performance. The real question is how much is expecting more optimism vs reasonable reality?

Just now, pgcd3 said:

I choose to focus on best case scenarios BUT if we're being honest there's really only one player Eagles signed (Huff) where it would be considered a success if he equalled last year's performance. The real question is how much is expecting more optimism vs reasonable reality?

It doesn't work that way though. Last year means nothing at this point. Also I would have to disagree as the Eagles paid Huff based on a projection to be better and more productive with a bigger role moving forward.

Do not want Simmons going to the Fing Niners. Seems his price probably isn't what he expected. Hoping Eagles can sign him for a year or two at a good price.

38 minutes ago, we_gotta_believe said:

And the people that do that for Hurts are also oversimplifying an incredibly complex position down to a single stat, especially when there's an entire other side of the ball that the QB has no impact on. 

It's not even about fairness, it's just a really, really dumb way to measure QB success. 

On a related note, I absolutely hate when broadcasters market an upcoming game as QB vs QB as if the two will ever be on the field at the same time, trying to stop each other.

5 minutes ago, brkmsn said:

On a related note, I absolutely hate when broadcasters market an upcoming game as QB vs QB as if the two will ever be on the field at the same time, trying to stop each other.

Exactly. It's so dumb.

32 minutes ago, T-1000 said:

It doesn't work that way though. Last year means nothing at this point. Also I would have to disagree as the Eagles paid Huff based on a projection to be better and more productive with a bigger role moving forward.

It doesn't work that way for the team valuing them but as a fan setting expectations it can work however you want.  And how reasonable is it to expect big leaps in performance from every signing?

Howie actually was looking pretty smart last year, with only having limited funds and grabbing Cunningham & Morrow, that is until about late November. Both were in the high 60's to 80's on PFF to that point.  But EVERYTHING fell apart after Bills game. Including the coaching. They were depleted, exhausted and injured from that point on. Linebacker wasn't what failed this team. The whole secondary underperformed from Bradberry to Blankenship to Maddox and even Byard. The defensive line all hit a wall, as well, as they were overplayed with too many snaps. Think Howie will field a decent LB crew again this season with more depth, speed and experience. Dean getting injured also was a factor. No doubt, needs to be upgraded and so far we have some decent depth starting to show itself. I'm sure we will add plenty more from here with trades, draft and late signings for 1 year vets. Not gonna have all-pros at every position and will have to hit on just a couple pickups. 

1 hour ago, EaglePhan1986 said:

Crazy how that’s really all the Bears could get for Fields?! Thought he’d be worth at least a 3 and another pick. 

My theory on QBs is if you don’t think you can get a first round pick for your QB then you probably need to find a new one.

The Bears are making the right choice. 

Cousins going to ATL screwed the market value for Fields, as well as NE only asking a 6th for Mac Jones.  Two ‘meh’ QBs who were overdrafted and failed as first round picks, now are recycled and not viewed as starting-caliber anywhere.

Had Cousins stayed with the Vikings, however, the Bears could have created an inflated market by pitting the Falcons and Steelers against each other.  With Cousins leaving Minnesota (and the Vikings not interested in Fields because they played against him twice every year and knew what he was), the Steelers could dictate the purchase price.

What really illustrates how lousy Fields was, is how the Bears didn’t simply keep him and let Caleb Williams learn the NFL game for one year (like Mahomes did) and tell Fields to "ball out” as an audition for his next contract somewhere else.

5 minutes ago, Alphagrand said:

Cousins going to ATL screwed the market value for Fields, as well as NE only asking a 6th for Mac Jones.  Two ‘meh’ QBs who were overdrafted and failed as first round picks, now are recycled and not viewed as starting-caliber anywhere.

Had Cousins stayed with the Vikings, however, the Bears could have created an inflated market by pitting the Falcons and Steelers against each other.  With Cousins leaving Minnesota (and the Vikings not interested in Fields because they played against him twice every year and knew what he was), the Steelers could dictate the purchase price.

What really illustrates how lousy Fields was, is how the Bears didn’t simply keep him and let Caleb Williams learn the NFL game for one year (like Mahomes did) and tell Fields to "ball out” as an audition for his next contract somewhere else.

Caleb is better than Fields so sitting him for a year would have been the dumbest of the options. 

Fields sucks especially since he is on a one year deal since no team is picking up that option. His value was limited because of that. 

18 minutes ago, pgcd3 said:

I choose to focus on best case scenarios BUT if we're being honest there's really only one player Eagles signed (Huff) where it would be considered a success if he equalled last year's performance. The real question is how much is expecting more optimism vs reasonable reality?

 

15 minutes ago, T-1000 said:

It doesn't work that way though. Last year means nothing at this point. Also I would have to disagree as the Eagles paid Huff based on a projection to be better and more productive with a bigger role moving forward.

We are stuck projecting optimism.  If every player on the team plays the way they did in the second half of last year, the Eagles will finish in last place and miss the playoffs.

Things rarely go as planned, but there is a rational argument for improvement from Barkley, Huff, CJGJ next year…and from our own in Carter and Ringo.  Hurts 

Beyond that, I don’t think there will be a ton of marginal improvement at any positions compared to 2023.

3 minutes ago, DaEagles4Life said:

Caleb is better than Fields so sitting him for a year would have been the dumbest of the options. 

Fields sucks especially since he is on a one year deal since no team is picking up that option. His value was limited because of that. 

I think starting Caleb Williams in Week 1 would be a pretty dumb option itself.  The guy has huge bust potential and looks like a "chicken salad” QB to me — allow the scripted play to break down, scramble around for a bit, and try to make chicken salad out of the chicken crap of a play he’s created for himself.  Great arm, terrible footwork, and rather glaring character issues.  He might be a more talented Manziel or Zach Wilson from what I see.  I wouldn’t touch him at #1, but I suspect the Bears will.

1 hour ago, ManuManu said:

The Niners supposedly are sniffing around the safety market, Blackmon and Simmons specifically. Mike Silver says Hufanga sent guaranteed to get his starting job back. 

I’d love to see the Eagles man Blackmon. I’m on record as saying Blankenship is fine, especially given the contract, but if Blackmon is cheap enough, his range and coverage skills would be awfully enticing. Mosher and Caplan said Monday that the Eagles were interested in him. 

I think Howie has his reservation prices, and won't budge, but if the price comes down, he'll jump on it.

Reason you need to stay disciplined, is you can always talk yourself into an overpay, then another, then . . . you're soon in cap hell.

Trust the evaluations you made before free agency and stick to your guns. Same with the draft, stick to your board and don't let a false sense of urgency make you reach.

Players will come free after the draft as teams add young players they think make overpriced veterans expendable. Again in TC.

17 minutes ago, pgcd3 said:

It doesn't work that way for the team valuing them but as a fan setting expectations it can work however you want.  And how reasonable is it to expect big leaps in performance from every signing?

The Eagles have been historically good at signing free agents from other teams in their mid 20's and watching them flourish and become better in their prime years. They have done it with their own free agents as well. Just off the top of my head look at what they got out of Jenkins, McLeod, Brandon Brooks, Vincent, Runyan, etc

Separate from that though, there are factors in your evaluation that need to be taken into account. Your point is valid from a black and white perspective. However, life is full of nuance.

Saquon missed three games and played in one of the worst offenses in the league with one of the worst offensive lines in the league. If he's healthy odds are greatly in his favor that he will be better in 2024.

CJGJ missed almost the entire season, so he will obviously be much better in 2024 if he is simply on the field.

Devin White is a total wild card but last year was BY FAR the worst of his career. Even if he doesn't return to the form of his first two seasons he's still a 100+ tackle, 5+ sack LB which is an upgrade for this team.

So yeah, your point makes sense on the surface but when you dig just a little deeper it's an overly negative and in some cases worst case scenario view point.

Speaking of the Vikings, it will be fascinating to see what they do at the draft in terms of the QB position.  Surely they signed Sam Darnold as a bridge QB to start for one year and try to draft QB — either trade up from #11 or hope McCarthy is still on the board.  
 

I think there is Williams, Maye, Daniels who should go 1-3, then there’s McCarthy, then a big, big drop off.  Penix and Nix shouldn’t be considered first round QBs, IMO

12 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

 

We are stuck projecting optimism.  If every player on the team plays the way they did in the second half of last year, the Eagles will finish in last place and miss the playoffs.

Things rarely go as planned, but there is a rational argument for improvement from Barkley, Huff, CJGJ next year…and from our own in Carter and Ringo.  Hurts 

Beyond that, I don’t think there will be a ton of marginal improvement at any positions compared to 2023.

The point is if you look at the factors surrounding the 2023 seasons of Barkley and CJGJ in particular the odds are extremely high that they will be better in 2024 for the Eagles. Whether or not Huff is better remains to be seen but the Eagles paid him like a free agent in their mid 20's that they expect to take another step. Devin White can't be much worse than he was last season.

54 minutes ago, Sack that QB said:

Do not want Simmons going to the Fing Niners. Seems his price probably isn't what he expected. Hoping Eagles can sign him for a year or two at a good price.

I think aside from roster cuts and maybe some special teamers we are done until the draft.

2 minutes ago, Swoop said:

I think aside from roster cuts and maybe some special teamers we are done until the draft.

Howie will always look for some bargains along the way but you are probably correct. I would bring back Cunningham for sure but they might be able to do that right before or after the draft. I also wish they would have brought in someone better at WR besides Parker but oh well.

2 hours ago, LeanMeanGM said:

Not really sure what he means by this. 51% in a single game? Because he could become the starter week 10 after Russ flops and not hit that threshold 

Yeah, sounds like the season snap count, and Albert is being overly simplistic.  Personally, I think just knowing its as simple as one metric and a simple percentage of snaps to already be super simple.  Nothing as complicated as the Wentz conditions.

1 hour ago, we_gotta_believe said:

And the people that do that for Hurts are also oversimplifying an incredibly complex position down to a single stat, especially when there's an entire other side of the ball that the QB has no impact on. 

It's not even about fairness, it's just a really, really dumb way to measure QB success. 

Its dumb in baseball for pitchers to get credits for wins.... and dumber in football for it to go to QBs. 

Doc Halladay threw 9 innings of 1 run baseball in the elimination game in the 2011 MLB playoffs.  He got the "L" because Adam Wainwright threw 9 shut out innings.  The entire Phillies offense deserved the "L" for that game.   Team sports, its stupid to give the W or L to any individual.  

 

It could be stated as Team record with such and such starting the game, which (IMO) would be a much better way of framing the discussion.

10 minutes ago, Swoop said:

I think aside from roster cuts and maybe some special teamers we are done until the draft.

I think he's still cooking. Defense is still miles away from being respectable. A lot of work to do and the draft won't cover it all.