1 hour ago, BigEFly said:

 

It's easier to blitz static formations too. We should see less blitzes in general, except on 3rd and long.

2 hours ago, RLC said:

It's easier to blitz static formations too. We should see less blitzes in general, except on 3rd and long.

Not at first they won’t.  Defenses had way too much success with it the second half of last season.  I realize teams are aware of the coaching change and Barkley being here, but I think early on DCs will come hard at Hurts…forcing him to prove that it’s not something they want to keep doing.  It’s up to Hurts and the offense to show they can throw that monkey off their backs

On 7/11/2024 at 9:13 AM, Iggles_Phan said:

Counterpoint:  There should be no "city connect" uniforms.

No argument with that.

50 minutes ago, McMVP said:

Not at first they won’t.  Defenses had way too much success with it the second half of last season.  I realize teams are aware of the coaching change and Barkley being here, but I think early on DCs will come hard at Hurts…forcing him to prove that it’s not something they want to keep doing.  It’s up to Hurts and the offense to show they can throw that monkey off their backs

100%. Especially when you consider the offense is going to start as a work in progress. I doubt they will be able to incorporate tons of motion into the offense and come out the gates perfected. It's going to be a gradual process and Defense will want to put as much pressure on the them to execute as possible. 

1 hour ago, McMVP said:

Not at first they won’t.  Defenses had way too much success with it the second half of last season.  I realize teams are aware of the coaching change and Barkley being here, but I think early on DCs will come hard at Hurts…forcing him to prove that it’s not something they want to keep doing.  It’s up to Hurts and the offense to show they can throw that monkey off their backs

Oh, they will TRY to blitz. 

But the challenge of blitzing when the opposing team is motion is that the DBs can't communicate fast enough and that's how big plays happen. 

39 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

100%. Especially when you consider the offense is going to start as a work in progress. I doubt they will be able to incorporate tons of motion into the offense and come out the gates perfected. It's going to be a gradual process and Defense will want to put as much pressure on the them to execute as possible. 

Exactly. I would love it if they hit the ground running and plowed through the whole season as an offense reborn, and indefensible, but that is not realistic.  
 

Hurts has had to learn a lot of different OCs over the years.  A ton, actually, for how young he still is.  I do not think it’s a coincidence that his best year was the only time he went into a second year with the same guy (Steichen).  And yes, Steichen might be this brilliant play caller… but I also believe there’s something to be said about consistency and familiarity.  It’s partly why our offensive line has been so successful over the years…it’s suffered only gradual change compared to most of the league. 
 

I am not expecting them to set the league on fire from week one… But I’m hoping to see a gradual improvement and they get better as the season goes on.  That used to be a trademark of Andy’s teams when he was here

28 minutes ago, RLC said:

Oh, they will TRY to blitz. 

But the challenge of blitzing when the opposing team is motion is that the DBs can't communicate fast enough and that's how big plays happen. 

We will not be the only team that’s using motion. We will just be a team that’s joining a party late that has already started. Defenses still blitz despite that.  I hear your logic, and I agree with it to a point. But I still believe there are defensive coordinators out there that believe the Eagles blitz problem may be a Hurts thing, and not a coaching/scheme thing.  It’s up to him to prove them wrong.

Hurts is going into another prove it year, even though he's already on his second contract.  The team is tied to him financially for a few years but this season will go a long way in determining what the organizational plan is for 2025 and beyond.  It's time for him to assert himself as an elite QB who can run, rather than an elite running QB who can also throw.  He's increased his passing TDs every season; we'll see if his high-water mark is 23 or if he can approach 30 TDs this season.  I'm hopeful for 30 TDs against 10 or fewer INT but I suspect we'll see 26/12.

-- Who will have more receiving yards, Brown or Smith?

-- Can Goedert stay healthy and involved enough to go over 850 yards?

-- Can Barkley stay healthy enough to go over 1,200 rushing yards and 4.7 yards per carry?

-- The Eagles as a team had 9 INT last season.  Can they double that to 18+ this season?

-- Can the OL starting 5 of Johnson, Steen, Jurgens, Dickerson, and Mailata stay healthy and intact most of the season?

-- Can Bryce Huff improve on the 10 sacks he had last season?

-- Can Nakobe Dean be a contributing starter for a full season?

Curious to see how long these training camp practices end up being.  Fangio publicly expressed a desire for longer practices.  You have two new coordinators.  On the other hand Eagles have had good fortune for the most part with injuries the last few years.  My guess is that the 90 minute practices extend out to be 2 hour practices.

13 hours ago, Alphagrand said:

Hurts is going into another prove it year, even though he's already on his second contract.  The team is tied to him financially for a few years but this season will go a long way in determining what the organizational plan is for 2025 and beyond.  It's time for him to assert himself as an elite QB who can run, rather than an elite running QB who can also throw.  He's increased his passing TDs every season; we'll see if his high-water mark is 23 or if he can approach 30 TDs this season.  I'm hopeful for 30 TDs against 10 or fewer INT but I suspect we'll see 26/12.

Hurts has already proven it. The question is whether we'll keep him or trade him after the 2025 season based on our window. Because of all the option bonuses, Hurts' contract is tradable despite all the guaranteed money. 

This is really encouraging. I'm sure he still has a ways to go, but good to see this.

 

..

1 hour ago, RLC said:

Hurts has already proven it. The question is whether we'll keep him or trade him after the 2025 season based on our window. Because of all the option bonuses, Hurts' contract is tradable despite all the guaranteed money. 

He has a no trade clause, so he gets a say in it

14 hours ago, Alphagrand said:

Hurts is going into another prove it year, even though he's already on his second contract.  The team is tied to him financially for a few years but this season will go a long way in determining what the organizational plan is for 2025 and beyond.  It's time for him to assert himself as an elite QB who can run, rather than an elite running QB who can also throw.  He's increased his passing TDs every season; we'll see if his high-water mark is 23 or if he can approach 30 TDs this season.  I'm hopeful for 30 TDs against 10 or fewer INT but I suspect we'll see 26/12.

-- Who will have more receiving yards, Brown or Smith?

-- Can Goedert stay healthy and involved enough to go over 850 yards?

-- Can Barkley stay healthy enough to go over 1,200 rushing yards and 4.7 yards per carry?

-- The Eagles as a team had 9 INT last season.  Can they double that to 18+ this season?

-- Can the OL starting 5 of Johnson, Steen, Jurgens, Dickerson, and Mailata stay healthy and intact most of the season?

-- Can Bryce Huff improve on the 10 sacks he had last season?

-- Can Nakobe Dean be a contributing starter for a full season?

The TE position is thin behind Goedert.  He himself is well into his career and may at some point begin to regress.  Surprised that the team did not spend resources for development either by draft or trade. 

On offense, the OT is the key and impacts on passing and rushing performance.  If the OT plays well, the WR, RB and QB will all have good numbers.

 The team has a term: QB factory.  For that to be the case, a top QB coach would have to be in place to develop QB, like Stoutland on OT over multiple seasons.  Unfortunately, good QB coach often gets promoted to OC or pirated away by other teams.  

1 hour ago, RLC said:

Hurts has already proven it. The question is whether we'll keep him or trade him after the 2025 season based on our window. Because of all the option bonuses, Hurts' contract is tradable despite all the guaranteed money. 

HE ain't going nowhere b/c if the Eagles want to remain a playoff team, they'd have to replace him with a proven QB, who in today's market would probably cost more.

Hurts had one great year.  He has plenty to prove.  And if he doesn't button some things up this year, there will be a tidal wave of doubt and concern.

To be fair...and I probably sound like a broken record with this...every QB in the NFL not named Patrick Mahomes has a lot to prove too.  Mahomes is the only QB in the NFL who has proven to be dominant enough to win a SB while on a monster deal.  Until proven otherwise, everyone else...from Burrow, to Allen, to Hurts...isn't good enough.

The NFL has a severe lack of parity right now with a poor competitive balance.

1 hour ago, bpac55 said:

This is really encouraging. I'm sure he still has a ways to go, but good to see this.

 

..

That’s a rounded cut, though not a sharp cut.  Phases.  I am hopeful they see enough progress to take him off PUP real close to the start of camp so he can participate in much needed drills and installations.   Really like the dedication he showed at OTAs, trying to mirror, as part of his rehab, part of what the DBs were doing on the field and participating in those.  Kind of taking a page from Rodgers approach as he did DB drills during his year off.   McPhearson should be paying attention to that. 

13 hours ago, RememberTheKoy said:

Curious to see how long these training camp practices end up being.  Fangio publicly expressed a desire for longer practices.  You have two new coordinators.  On the other hand Eagles have had good fortune for the most part with injuries the last few years.  My guess is that the 90 minute practices extend out to be 2 hour practices.

It's a bit of a boomer move to blame the Eagles season on short practices.  The play design & play calling was bad. Practicing bad plays longer doesn't change them.  I suspect the Eagles will keep a similar schedule with a small increase as they seem to go to the extreme end of short practices last year.

18 hours ago, McMVP said:

Not at first they won’t.  Defenses had way too much success with it the second half of last season.  I realize teams are aware of the coaching change and Barkley being here, but I think early on DCs will come hard at Hurts…forcing him to prove that it’s not something they want to keep doing.  It’s up to Hurts and the offense to show they can throw that monkey off their backs

It where i wish they would use Ace more. With our Wr its not unreasonable to use some max protect

1 hour ago, eagle45 said:

Hurts had one great year.  He has plenty to prove.  And if he doesn't button some things up this year, there will be a tidal wave of doubt and concern.

To be fair...and I probably sound like a broken record with this...every QB in the NFL not named Patrick Mahomes has a lot to prove too.  Mahomes is the only QB in the NFL who has proven to be dominant enough to win a SB while on a monster deal.  Until proven otherwise, everyone else...from Burrow, to Allen, to Hurts...isn't good enough.

The NFL has a severe lack of parity right now with a poor competitive balance.

If your premise is that every non-Mahomes QB has something to prove, then sure. The only other active QBs with rings with potential HOF chances are Stafford, Rodgers and Wilson. Even then, only Stafford probably feels good where his game is at.

31 minutes ago, RLC said:

If your premise is that every non-Mahomes QB has something to prove, then sure. The only other active QBs with rings with potential HOF chances are Stafford, Rodgers and Wilson. Even then, only Stafford probably feels good where his game is at.

Stafford, Rodgers, and Wilson have to prove that the league hasn’t passed them by.  And they likely never will.

But yes…there was a time when Brees, Brady, Manning, Wilson, Rodgers were all in the league and playing at a high level.  

There is one qb in the entire league with nothing to prove right now.

2 hours ago, eagle45 said:

Hurts had one great year.  He has plenty to prove.  And if he doesn't button some things up this year, there will be a tidal wave of doubt and concern.

Sounds like every year I've been alive.

2 hours ago, eagle45 said:

To be fair...and I probably sound like a broken record with this...every QB in the NFL not named Patrick Mahomes has a lot to prove too.  Mahomes is the only QB in the NFL who has proven to be dominant enough to win a SB while on a monster deal.  Until proven otherwise, everyone else...from Burrow, to Allen, to Hurts...isn't good enough.

The NFL has a severe lack of parity right now with a poor competitive balance.

I whole-heartedly disagree with your final statement. Things are so close that your most unproven QB was likely one possession away from beating your most proven QB on the biggest stage just 2 years ago. A controversial late game call was needed for Mahomes to seal the deal. 

 

IMO, I feel like sometimes Eagles players are less-appreciated by Eagles fans because the NFL has a lot of talented players at each position. If the Eagle isn't the clear #1 at his position, than it's portrayed as a negative.

Interesting the Hurts discussion is ongoing, because I was going to throw a lull period poll out there.

Hypothetically, if Hurts in 2024 doesn't get back to his 2022 form and plays much closer to the way he does in 2023, what do you think would be closest to the reality for Jalen Hurts going forward:

1) He's unquestionably still the QB and no other QB is in their plans.

2) He will be the QB for 2025, but Howie will start preparing and laying the groundwork to pursue other QBs.

3) He won't be the QB in 2025, they'll move on immediately.

Eagles CB Darius Slay addresses playing future

The Eagles made a number of cornerback additions this offseason, highlighted by the selections of Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean in the first two rounds of the draft. The team still has James Bradberry and Darius Slay in the mix, although those veterans are no doubt closer to the end of their careers than the beginning.

In the latter’s case, two years remain on his deal. Slay’s Philadelphia future came into question last offseason when the team appeared to be prepared to release him. An extension was worked out, though, and the 33-year-old is now set to continue as a starting perimeter corner on an Eagles defense which struggled down the stretch in 2023. Slay is aware, however, that his time in the NFL is nearing an end, Adam La Rose of Pro Football Rumors reports.

"Ahh s—. Not too many,” he said when asked about about more years he intends to play (via Dave Zangaro of NBC Sports Philadelphia). "I’m not going to just keep playing. I’m going to let these young guys eat. That’s what I’m here for, to make sure these guys get there. And when my time is up, It’s up. I’m ready to be a full-time daddy and stuff.”

Slay has been a full-time starter throughout his four-year Eagles tenure. That could remain the case in 2024 with Bradberry facing the possibility of transitioning to safety in the waning stages of his career. Mitchell, DeJean and free agent addition Isaiah Rodgers are among the contenders for notable defensive playing time this season. Given their collective lack of experience at the pro level, Slay is a natural fit in a mentorship role.

10 minutes ago, Sack that QB said:

Interesting the Hurts discussion is ongoing, because I was going to throw a lull period poll out there.

Hypothetically, if Hurts in 2024 doesn't get back to his 2022 form and plays much closer to the way he does in 2023, what do you think would be closest to the reality for Jalen Hurts going forward:

1) He's unquestionably still the QB and no other QB is in their plans.

2) He will be the QB for 2025, but Howie will start preparing and laying the groundwork to pursue other QBs.

3) He won't be the QB in 2025, they'll move on immediately.

Hurts is the 2025 QB no matter what. 

After the 2017 revelation, Wentz followed that up with a good (but not spectacular) 2018, a meh 2019, and a really bad 2020.  Then they moved on.  

While I'd rate 2023 Hurts as measurably worse than 2019 Wentz, Hurts lacks the injury problems Wentz had and is not as far removed as Wentz was from the big year.  It's also pretty unlikely he'll crater the way Wentz did in 2020, especially with the surrounding talent.

BUT...if 2024 is no bueno, Howie will be in a dark corner somewhere scheming how to make a change at some point in the near future.  It just won't be 2025.

Hurts' contract means he's here for 2 more years. Then he's tradable.
He's not cuttable for 3 years.

As long as he doesn't fall off a cliff, we'll be fine.