2 minutes ago, DeathByEagle said:

Maybe our next OT is hiding in the Dline or TE depth somewhere. Worked out for the Steelers with Alejandro Villanueva. He slipped right out of our hands. Who knew a 290 pound WR/dline/oline from Army would turn out to be a pro bowl OT, lol. 

wrong thread. 

48 minutes ago, justrelax said:

Perhaps it's a function of age but I do not give up on players, especially linemen, as quickly as do many others. The differences between college and pro are nowhere as great as they are in line play. Seumalo was dismissed several times here though not by me. He's now a really good player. I believe Dillard will also be a very good player; obviously you don't. I believe Mailata may become a really good player but most don't.

And so it goes.

Mailata is such a strange case to me. I watched every snap he played in the preseason last year and he looked fine to me, and certainly was in the same ballpark as Vaitai from a pass blocking standpoint, and was miles better as a run blocker. He was also graded well by PFF, and only gave up one sack.

But a lot of beat writers act as though playing him would be a complete disaster, and before Dillard's injury a lot of them were theorizing he would be cut. Kempski and another beat writer were saying last night that if Peters got hurt, the team's season would be over because Mailata is so terrible.

It just seems so odd to me. He's bigger and faster than Vaitai, so his ceiling is obviously much higher. But I can't envision a scenario where he would be worse, at least based on what he has shown in the preseason.

11 minutes ago, DeathByEagle said:

Dilliard played well last year when he was in for Peters at LT. It was only at RT he struggled. He even knew he would when he was in his press conf before the game. Not sure why some are giving up already on him already. However these rookies will get tested and its exactly what they need as oline is the second most important position on the field. We need solid backups that can have a positive effect on the team when needed. Big V was a great backup and will be missed. 

It's the damndest thing, ain't it? People are so starved for football that they're now making player evaluations based on what they hear rather than what they see. When I *saw* Dillard play last year, I saw a talented rookie. I have no reason to back off from that. Everything just gets delayed a year. 

Agree that Vaitai will be missed, but the page just had to be turned there. Oh well. Just have to hope that guys like Pryor, Herbig, Mailata, and Driscoll can step up in some fashion.

5 minutes ago, jsb235 said:

But a lot of beat writers act as though playing him would be a complete disaster, and before Dillard's injury a lot of them were theorizing he would be cut. Kempski and another beat writer were saying last night that if Peters got hurt, the team's season would be over because Mailata is so terrible.

Mailata seems to be a strange case. The reports from camp his first year were pretty terrible (couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time, everyone was beating him, etcetera), yet when he was actually on the field in the preseason games, he played well. I remember it being somewhat similar last year too. There were definite reports about Ostman beating him repeatedly, and yet again, he did well in the games, on the right side this time. 

4 minutes ago, FranklinFldEBUpper said:

It's the damndest thing, ain't it? People are so starved for football that they're now making player evaluations based on what they hear rather than what they see. When I *saw* Dillard play last year, I saw a talented rookie. I have no reason to back off from that. Everything just gets delayed a year. 

Agree that Vaitai will be missed, but the page just had to be turned there. Oh well. Just have to hope that guys like Pryor, Herbig, Mailata, and Driscoll can step up in some fashion.

There’s a lot of smoke you have to ignore with Dillard. 

7 minutes ago, jsb235 said:

Mailata is such a strange case to me. I watched every snap he played in the preseason last year and he looked fine to me, and certainly was in the same ballpark as Vaitai from a pass blocking standpoint, and was miles better as a run blocker. He was also graded well by PFF, and only gave up one sack.

But a lot of beat writers act as though playing him would be a complete disaster, and before Dillard's injury a lot of them were theorizing he would be cut. Kempski and another beat writer were saying last night that if Peters got hurt, the team's season would be over because Mailata is so terrible.

It just seems so odd to me. He's bigger and faster than Vaitai, so his ceiling is obviously much higher. But I can't envision a scenario where he would be worse, at least based on what he has shown in the preseason.

I always thought Mailata would be nice gimmick player at TE/6th oline or FB in goaline packages. Watching his rugby highlights the dude was fast, big, strong and good hands. We have seen a few make that switch from TE to OT like Lane Johnson, Peters so its possible. But could be a nice option to try him at FB/TE as a rec or running option in that short yardage/goaline. Get some use out of his athletic ability. 

17 minutes ago, DeathByEagle said:

I always thought Mailata would be nice gimmick player at TE/6th oline or FB in goaline packages. Watching his rugby highlights the dude was fast, big, strong and good hands. We have seen a few make that switch from TE to OT like Lane Johnson, Peters so its possible. But could be a nice option to try him at FB/TE as a rec or running option in that short yardage/goaline. Get some use out of his athletic ability. 

The whole gimmick player thing is so overrated, no offense. Anyone can be a gimmick player.
 

I’d rather have a TE playing TE and a RB playing RB. 

2 hours ago, HazletonEagle said:

yeah somebody was being silly last night.

I just laid a proper blog post in there a minute ago. 

it was moved to EMB Blog: 2020 Training Camp: Classic

 

 

The thing that too many fans seem to be missing is Dillard being a 1st round pick was expected to make a contribution quickly. Now it seems he won't make a contribution until his 3rd year.

Mailata, a 7th found pick wasn't expected to contribute right away. Now going into HIS 3rd year it's likely he will be on the field at some point.  I Dillard better than Mailata? I damn well hope so. But it looks like both are going to make a contribution in their 3rd year. Acceptable for a 7th rnd pick. Not so much for a 1st.

7 minutes ago, EaglePhan1986 said:

The whole gimmick player thing is so overrated, no offense. Anyone can be a gimmick player.
 

I’d rather have a TE playing TE and a RB playing RB. 

Walter Payton agreed.  He was the only guy I ever remember sulking after winning the Super Bowl by 36 points 

"That was MY touchdown!!”

Just now, Asg 15 said:

The thing that too many fans seem to be missing is Dillard being a 1st round pick was expected to make a contribution quickly. Now it seems he won't make a contribution until his 3rd year.

Mailata, a 7th found pick wasn't expected to contribute right away. Now going into HIS 3rd year it's likely he will be on the field at some point.  I Dillard better than Mailata? I damn well hope so. But it looks like both are going to make a contribution in their 3rd year. Acceptable for a 7th rnd pick. Not so much for a 1st.

Injury be damned, eh?

2 minutes ago, justrelax said:

Injury be damned, eh?

 

When is our next Doug presser.   The report that Dillard tore his bicep and is lost for the season came from a reporter. Nothing from Doug or the team.  The day before, Avery was carted off with what turns out is a bone bruise but was speculated by the media as an ACL. (Bone bruise is nothing to laugh at. That and then bone death killed Bo Jackson’s career).  Now it took several days for the team to admit Perkins was done and put on IR, so I am not expecting anything immediately but as far as I know no one, including Dillard, that is with the team has said anything.  

1 hour ago, BigEFly said:

So BB wants his DBs to legally get away with holding and when they get caught interfering only lose fifteen yards.   There are things I like in the college rules like OT but the NFL rules that make it more difficult than college are fine.  These are the cream of the crop getting paid for better performance. 
 

Football on Sunday and football on Saturday are a little bit different, and Bill Belichick would like to change that.

Belichick, the Patriots coach who always has a keen understanding of the rulebook, said this week that he’d like the NFL to adopt the college pass interference rule, which caps penalties at 15 yards. And then Belichick proposed an interesting idea: He said college football and professional football should have the exact same rules.

"I think probably the one thing that is worth looking at is just the college pass interference rules,” Belichick told Rich Eisen. "I know why it’s what it is, and I also know why it’s different in college, and you could argue both sides of it. But it’s a big penalty, and sometimes those are just tough calls. So I think that’s worth looking at.

"I would say just in general, I would be in favor of the NCAA and the NFL trying to consolidate the rulebook to where we can have as many rules be the same as possible so that the fans, as well as the players who come from college, can make a clean transition into the same set of rules instead of different ones.

"So targeting’s targeting, holding’s holding, interference is interference, and so forth. As much as we could do that, I would be in favor of that just for the overall quality of the game. But I think the pass interference rule is not necessarily one I would change, but I would take a look at it, and I think it would be good if it was the same as the college rule — either they change it to ours or we change it to theirs, just from the standpoint of consistency.”

Among the key differences between college rules and NFL rules are that college receivers only have to get one foot inbounds, a college ball carrier is down when his knee touches the ground even if he hasn’t been touched by an opponent, wider hashmarks on the college field and a completely different approach to overtime. Many more minor rules and penalty enforcements are also different.

He looks for loopholes and cheats when there are none

1 hour ago, justrelax said:

Perhaps it's a function of age but I do not give up on players, especially linemen, as quickly as do many others. The differences between college and pro are nowhere as great as they are in line play. Seumalo was dismissed several times here though not by me. He's now a really good player. I believe Dillard will also be a very good player; obviously you don't. I believe Mailata may become a really good player but most don't.

And so it goes.

Even with his back problems over the years?

1 hour ago, NCiggles said:

The really terrible play that is well documented by multiple reporters would be an outlier if it wasn't for the other information.  We have some pretty bad games he had as a rookie. The rumors that he was on the trading block this past offseason.  By most reporters accounts, he has struggled in camp in addition to the bad play.  It's not like he has been dominant in camp.  He has had at least one other instance where reporters have pointed out him getting beat on consecutive plays by Josh Sweat.  I think there are other reports of him not playing well. While ultimately the coaches are in a better position than reporters to judge his ability, nothing seems promising at this point.   LT is arguably the second most important position on the offense.  It is wise to invest resources into the position.  It's a no-brainer when it's not clear that the team has a solid starting LT on their roster for 2021.  

Mostly Kempski, who nurtures grudges and looks to denigrate wherever possible. He knows nothing of line play, absolutely nothing. He gets his rocks off with snide remarks.

26 minutes ago, wholesale_Melvin said:

it was moved to EMB Blog: 2020 Training Camp: Classic

 

 

1 minute ago, Mike030270 said:

He looks for loopholes and cheats when there are none

Even with his back problems over the years?

Yes.

This would be like Jalen Reagor losing snaps to Deontay Burnett.

34 minutes ago, EaglePhan1986 said:

The whole gimmick player thing is so overrated, no offense. Anyone can be a gimmick player.
 

I’d rather have a TE playing TE and a RB playing RB. 

Have you ever watched him play Rugby? He is a TE, lol. He would have a good amount of success I think in that redzone based off his play in Rugby. 

Just now, DeathByEagle said:

Have you ever watched him play Rugby? He is a TE, lol. He would have a good amount of success I think in that redzone based off his play in Rugby. 

At no point playing rugby did he run a route tree or have to catch a forward pass from a QB... 

And come on the athletes playing at that level of Rugby are not at the same caliber of NFL athletes. 

1 minute ago, RLC said:

This would be like Jalen Reagor losing snaps to Deontay Burnett.

Not really. What it says is his transition to outside WR is going a little slowly. He also was out with Covid at the beginning of camp.

While I think it underscores some of the concerns with Jefferson, I think the comparison is off. 

1 minute ago, EaglePhan1986 said:

At no point playing rugby did he run a route tree or have to catch a forward pass from a QB... 

And come on the athletes playing at that level of Rugby are not at the same caliber of NFL athletes. 

I know in todays NFL, the Rugby players are tougher lol. They dont cry about every little thing. "we can't play preseason, Im not paid enough"

1 minute ago, ManuManu said:

Not really. What it says is his transition to outside WR is going a little slowly. He also was out with Covid at the beginning of camp.

While I think it underscores some of the concerns with Jefferson, I think the comparison is off. 

Classic non-story by a "reporter" looking for something to say but has nothing.

Just now, DeathByEagle said:

I know in todays NFL, the Rugby players are tougher lol. They dont cry about every little thing. "we can't play preseason, Im not paid enough"

I’m talking about strength speed size etc. 

Mailata is here to play O-Line. If he’s not good enough to be a serviceable backup he won’t be around much longer. 

1 minute ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

Well we put up with you, so....

I’m soft and too emotional or a dumb philly fan? 
 

nevermind... you’re going to say "both”. Old people are predictable