22 hours ago, greendestiny27 said:

Third round. Howie used a 2nd rounder on a guy who tore his torn achilles a month before the draft. Wilson looks like a complete stud LB in his first go at it in this league. Could've used that, may have been the finishing touch at a position this D desperately needs and have needed for years now, but nope, linebackers don't matter in Howie world.

Pretty sure it was a broken leg, not an Achilles tear

2 minutes ago, McMVP said:

Pretty sure it was a broken leg, not an Achilles tear

Sydney Jones was an Achilles tear. 

Watching the Becton Situation unfold reminds me of Leonard Davis 

Davis was a top pick of the Cardinals in early 2000s and really struggled in Arizona, he played played RG then RT and finished last 3 years at LT then was a FA and cardinals didnt really want him so he signed with Dallas was moved to RG permanently and made 3 straight pro bowls.

Becton and Davis have similar size and power and If Becton  can make the transition from OT to OG I think he could have a Leonard Davis like resurgence.  

Didn't think this was necessary as it was clear that Howie would try this.

8 minutes ago, Utebird said:

Watching the Becton Situation unfold reminds me of Leonard Davis 

Davis was a top pick of the Cardinals in early 2000s and really struggled in Arizona, he played played RG then RT and finished last 3 years at LT then was a FA and cardinals didnt really want him so he signed with Dallas was moved to RG permanently and made 3 straight pro bowls.

Becton and Davis have similar size and power and If Becton  can make the transition from OT to OG I think he could have a Leonard Davis like resurgence.  

That’s an excellent comparison.

32 minutes ago, HazletonEagle said:

Sydney Jones was an Achilles tear. 

My bad…didn’t read clearly enough.  I though we were talking about DeJean

20 minutes ago, just relax said:

That’s an excellent comparison.

I think it may take him a while to get going. He's playing high. 

26 minutes ago, RLC said:

Didn't think this was necessary as it was clear that Howie would try this.

Searching for a "Depth WR" just comes off as very low bar. Of course you're not getting anyone top tier or even close to that, but if you trade for someone on the same level as John Ross or Campbell, or just slightly better, that would be incredibly underwhelming. 

36 minutes ago, RLC said:

Didn't think this was necessary as it was clear that Howie would try this.

Oh Jake Rabababi is claiming to have sources now.  

The new kickoff sucks. It's just as boring as the old kickoffs. If they insist on changes just scrap kickoffs altogether and turn them into punts. You can even factor in the Eagles proposal of one play to gain 20 yards or something to replace onsides kicks. 

There you go. Easy. 

10 minutes ago, RLC said:

I think it may take him a while to get going. He's playing high. 

I thought on the first play he that he maybe needed to disengage sooner but it looks like he timed it with the throw.   The last snap where he gives up ground doesn't seem like a bad rep.  He doesn't get his hands engaged with him but he's not getting beat by the DT.  I am guessing if he's playing lower he has better leverage.  It looks to me that he moves his feet pretty well.  

3 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

The new kickoff sucks. It's just as boring as the old kickoffs. If they insist on changes just scrap kickoffs altogether and turn them into punts. You can even factor in the Eagles proposal of one play to gain 20 yards or something to replace onsides kicks. 

There you go. Easy. 

The reason it's so boring is that no one can move until the ball is touched.  It totally changes the opening dynamic of the game. I think they should go to the old school kick offs but the players all have to wear those giant inflatable sumo wrestler costumes.  

8 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

The new kickoff sucks. It's just as boring as the old kickoffs. If they insist on changes just scrap kickoffs altogether and turn them into punts. You can even factor in the Eagles proposal of one play to gain 20 yards or something to replace onsides kicks. 

There you go. Easy. 

It is definitely going to take some getting used to, but it is likely here to stay.  I do think that it will look a little bit different come week 1.  I think most special teams coaches are saving their real plans for the real season.
 

27 minutes ago, RLC said:

I think it may take him a while to get going. He's playing high. 

The play that is most concerning is the one where he fails to pass off the stunt. Toth's play is also pretty bad. Can't block 1v1 and did a poor job of getting a block on the screen. 

7 minutes ago, greendestiny27 said:

Searching for a "Depth WR" just comes off as very low bar. Of course you're not getting anyone top tier or even close to that, but if you trade for someone on the same level as John Ross or Campbell, or just slightly better, that would be incredibly underwhelming. 

Texans- John Metchie or Noah Brown. Would prefer Metchie as he's 4 years younger, but Noah Brown at 28 is a solid, non-star WR who they could possibly keep around.

Steelers- Calvin Austin or Van Jefferson. Van Jefferson is a "young" 28 since he was older coming in to the league. Would be a solid possession WR3. Austin would be much more dynamic. 

Packers- Dontayvion Wicks, Bo Melton. Basically any of their WR depth. 

Lions- Tre'Quan Smith.

Rams- Tutu Atwell. Same size as Covey, but electric. Maybe the Eagles think Covey can be similar player, 30ish catches as WR3. Doubtful the Rams would move him, but they have volume WR in Cooper and Puka.

Jets- Allen Lazard. I know a big part of him going to the Jets was Rodgers, but the Jets have rebuilt their WR room and he's probably WR4 at this point. 

Dolphins- Willie Snead, Braxton Berrios, River Cracraft. Snead is probably past his prime but maybe worth a flier on a 7th. Berrios is Covey. Cracraft just throwing a blind  dart. 

Chargers- Josh Palmer. They drafted McConkey and Brendan Rice, signed DJ Chark and invested a 1st rounder in Quentin Johnston. Have a ton of rookie WRs in camp too. 

Browns- David Bell, Amari Cooper. Another team that's loaded up on WR. Cooper might not be happy there, not sure he'd want to be WR3 but hey worth a shot? I think David Bell would be a solid WR3 and still really young at 23 despite 3 seasons. 

15 minutes ago, NCiggles said:

The reason it's so boring is that no one can move until the ball is touched.  It totally changes the opening dynamic of the game. I think they should go to the old school kick offs but the players all have to wear those giant inflatable sumo wrestler costumes.  

getting closer

6 minutes ago, greendestiny27 said:

Searching for a "Depth WR" just comes off as very low bar. Of course you're not getting anyone top tier or even close to that, but if you trade for someone on the same level as John Ross or Campbell, or just slightly better, that would be incredibly underwhelming. 

Got to imagine this time of year there are lots of calls going around with GMs. Dallas just did a deal to move a bottom half 90 CB for a bottom half 90 CB.  Saints just released Marquez Calloway to sign Shaq Davis, just released by the Eagles.  Quarterman has already signed with his third team. Lots of churning going on this time of year around the league so Howie talking is no surprise and I am sure WR is amongst the many positions he discusses. You can bet there are players that may be moved or cut that the front office staff are monitoring.  I would bet there are tryouts going on frequently as well.  

31 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

The new kickoff sucks. It's just as boring as the old kickoffs. If they insist on changes just scrap kickoffs altogether and turn them into punts. You can even factor in the Eagles proposal of one play to gain 20 yards or something to replace onsides kicks. 

There you go. Easy. 

It is a little surprising that fundamentally changing the dynamic of the game would lead to an uninteresting result.   

 

We should forget about kickoffs and the opening coin flip.  Just play Steal the Bacon with the ball at the 50 yard line.   One guy starts at each goal line for each team.   At the opening whistle, they both take off to midfield.  One grabs the ball and tries to take it forward as far as possible and has to be tackled by the other one.   Wherever he advances the ball, is where on the field the opposing team starts with their possession.   If they get in-between the 25 yard line and the goal line, the ball is moved out to the 25 yard line as would be a 'touchback' of old.   But, if the team gets all the way into the end zone, then the player's team who secured the ball would retain possession and start at the 50 yard line with the ball (like an onside kick).  There would no longer be a 'kickoff return' TD as such, but it would be exciting.    For added fun, maybe make it a 3 person team, with 1 starting at the goal line, 1 at the 10 and the 3rd at the 20.   Then you can have offensive and defensive specialists on the field at the same time.  BUT... only the one from the 20 yard line can grab the ball first, and the others have to remain on their half of the field. - No blocking beyond the 50.  

 

Is it crazy?  Yup.  Would it create new specialists in the game?  Yup.   Will it ever happen?  Absolutely not.  

For kickoffs after a score... the team that scores has their player start at the 20 and they HAVE to pick up the ball first. 

7 minutes ago, jsb235 said:

The play that is most concerning is the one where he fails to pass off the stunt. Toth's play is also pretty bad. Can't block 1v1 and did a poor job of getting a block on the screen. 

That's a tough one to pick up. The stunting rusher is the far-side DE, who lined up on the inside shoulder of the LT three gaps away. It's a stunt Becton never saw as a tackle so I'm delighted he got to experience it. The stunt also takes time to develop and Pickett had ample time to throw. He was never threatened. 

Toth's job was to eat snaps. In that regard he was, well, adequate.

1 minute ago, just relax said:

That's a tough one to pick up. The stunting rusher is the far-side DE, who lined up on the inside shoulder of the LT three gaps away. It's a stunt Becton never saw as a tackle so I'm delighted he got to experience it. The stunt also takes time to develop and Pickett had ample time to throw. He was never threatened. 

Toth's job was to eat snaps. In that regard he was, well, adequate.

Yup.   The learning curve to moving inside has many nuances that a lot of folks don't recognize.

19 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

The new kickoff sucks. It's just as boring as the old kickoffs. If they insist on changes just scrap kickoffs altogether and turn them into punts. You can even factor in the Eagles proposal of one play to gain 20 yards or something to replace onsides kicks. 

There you go. Easy. 

It's a nonsense change to try and solve an issue that's caused by the one thing that the NFL can't take out which is opposing players running headlong into each other. The new kickoff will likely reduce the overall count of return concussions but keep the percentage of returns that cause concussions static like the last change, because you can't remove the risk unless you remove the play.

They'll try and stop this play where injuries are a consequence of simple honest football, but won't ever have the balls to call cowardly plays like Minkah Fitzpatrick throwing himself back first into Nick Chubb's leg destroying his knee out for what they are.

 

10 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

It is a little surprising that fundamentally changing the dynamic of the game would lead to an uninteresting result.   

 

We should forget about kickoffs and the opening coin flip.  Just play Steal the Bacon with the ball at the 50 yard line.   One guy starts at each goal line for each team.   At the opening whistle, they both take off to midfield.  One grabs the ball and tries to take it forward as far as possible and has to be tackled by the other one.   Wherever he advances the ball, is where on the field the opposing team starts with their possession.   If they get in-between the 25 yard line and the goal line, the ball is moved out to the 25 yard line as would be a 'touchback' of old.   But, if the team gets all the way into the end zone, then the player's team who secured the ball would retain possession and start at the 50 yard line with the ball (like an onside kick).  There would no longer be a 'kickoff return' TD as such, but it would be exciting.    For added fun, maybe make it a 3 person team, with 1 starting at the goal line, 1 at the 10 and the 3rd at the 20.   Then you can have offensive and defensive specialists on the field at the same time.  BUT... only the one from the 20 yard line can grab the ball first, and the others have to remain on their half of the field. - No blocking beyond the 50.  

 

Is it crazy?  Yup.  Would it create new specialists in the game?  Yup.   Will it ever happen?  Absolutely not.  

For kickoffs after a score... the team that scores has their player start at the 20 and they HAVE to pick up the ball first. 

It won't ever happen because it's a play based solely on what the new kick off rules are explicitly designed to avoid, which is NFL players running headlong into each other after a long run up, guaranteed within a week you'd have at least one instance of two guys lay absolutely spark out in the middle of the field with catastrophic concussion after arriving at the ball at the same time.

30 minutes ago, McMVP said:

It is definitely going to take some getting used to, but it is likely here to stay.  I do think that it will look a little bit different come week 1.  I think most special teams coaches are saving their real plans for the real season.
 

I don't know, I think teams will mostly just end up kicking the ball through the back of the endzone and put the ball at the 30.It's only a 5 yard difference from last year and even if they followed the rules as intended the ball would just end up around the 25/30 yard line anyway. 

10 minutes ago, just relax said:

Toth's job was to eat snaps. In that regard he was, well, adequate.

It seems like they are depending on him to be the backup center, though, and I don't see a guy who is ready to play in the regular season. And it's not like they don't have other options. 

11 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Yup.   The learning curve to moving inside has many nuances that a lot of folks don't recognize.

From my perspective, playing a guy more than 8 snaps in a preseason game is a pretty good way to reduce the learning curve and help him get up to speed, especially with only one real practice this week.