Just now, LeanMeanGM said:

Gates when it at RG at first when Steen went down. 

Ah. Thanks.

1 hour ago, just relax said:

I agree. The most notable thing to me thus far is how much faster the defense is than last year. Much much faster.

Faster on the outside, quicker inside. Neither Dean or Trotter are speed merchants, but both have a quick first step to the ball. White and Baun are faster, but not sure they're as quick.

A lot of speed at CB, and CJGJ, Maddox, McCollum add speed to safety.

Hunt, Smith, Johnson at OLB.

1 hour ago, just relax said:

Toth’s versatility is that he’s poor at multiple positions. Unless Hennessy’s knee is bothering him I would expect him to be the backup. FWIW, Keegan worked some at center at the Senior Bowl and I believe Stoutland ran those workouts. Way too early for him to be the backup there. Give him a year.

McMahon is the tough choice, I don't think he'll make it through waivers. The prototype Eagles center, probably needs a year in the weight room but should red-shirt.

Remember, Dickinson was a college center, so Keegan at LG, Dickinson at center in the short-run, then maybe McMahon ready to step in the second half.

I like building young depth behind the starts, F Johnson (27), Kinnard (25), Steen (24), Keegan (24), McMahon (23).

I think the WR3 candidates barely played (Campbell and Wilson injury rest and a few Covey snaps) and Ross and Smith snaps go to whether they keep a sixth or have a PS (practice squad) role.  Basically the PS receivers and TE candidates played.  I think Jenkins goes PS for another year of development.

The Eagles like Nichols more than the fans.  Equal snaps with Davis-Price . I still think the #4 RB is a PS position and Nichols is competing with Davis-Price and Milton for that role.  Milton remains developmental.   I want to abbreviate Davis-Price and for some reason TDaP comes to mind.  

More competition at OLB. The DEs are interesting.  Sweat tends to play RDE and they seem to be playing Huff at LDE. Can’t really see the distinction between DE and OLB in the PS games other than perhaps the OLBs are lining up further wide at times.  For spots, VanSumeren (5th ILB) is competing with Booker with Mustipher, with the 10th or 11th DB, with third OLB (Johnson).  I think 7 DBs (Slay, Mitchell, Ringo, DeJean, Blankenship, CJGJ, Maddox) are set with Brown a set when ready (8). I think Bradberry remains trade bait at any time and I like McCollum.  Rodgers is quite likely 9 as he appears to have an inside track on starting although Ringo and Mitchell are on his heals.  If Ringo or Mitchell (who may well move more towards outside with DeJean playing Nickel) can challenge to start, Rodgers becomes expendable. 
 

 

13 hours ago, bpac55 said:

Hearing the Eagles broadcast team say he's had a really nice Eagles career was baffling. He's a serviceable backup and that's it. There's nothing nice about his game. He's not a mismatch, he doesn't posses any special skillset that any of the other RB have and he consistently shows he can't break a big play. He's the Greg Ward of RB. 

Ross Tucker said it, and in context, he's not wrong.  As a 5th round pick, he has been fine... or at least a 'meets expectations' type.  Compare him to other 5th round picks by this team prior to him:  John Hightower, Clayton Thorson, Shelton Gibson, Nate Gerry, Wendell Smallwood, Big V, Taylor Hart, Ed Reynolds and Earl Wolff. 

 

Seems he's right around the top of that list.  I'd likely put Big V at the top and then Smallwood and Gainwell would be maybe a coin flip.  I'd give a slight edge to Gainwell.   And if you look around the NFL at the hit rate on 5th round picks, that's about what you'd expect to get from a 5th rounder.  A "serviceable backup" is decent return.  Anything more than that, as I see it, is gravy.  Sure we'd all love to get that gravy, and maybe we have that with JT Jr. or Travis Keegan in this draft, but its rather rare.

 

An interesting read on the history of great 5th round picks... https://sportsnaut.com/list/best-5th-round-nfl-draft-picks-ever/. 

 

11 minutes ago, just relax said:

I hadn't paid much attention to McMahon on first blush but I went back and watched every snap of his and I'm glad I did. He was terrific. No mistakes. snaps were good. Run and pass blocking both solid. Nice block in particular on a screen pass where he was careful not to get too far downfield. Infinitely better performance than Toth last week and better than Gates this week. BTW that snap count graphic is way off. The Eagles ran 68 offensive plays. No way McMahon and Gates could combine for 111 snaps at center.

Thanks.  McMahon is a Kelce clone.  May even be more athletic.  Needs some strengthening as most OL do coming into the pros but I am really liking the McMahon and Keegan picks.  Any thoughts on Kinnard?  I really liked that signing.  

12 hours ago, HazletonEagle said:

He appears to be the new Derek Barnett. He will get fluky sacks. At least he doesnt get stupid penalties though. I suppose we have upgraded there.

He did get a 15 yard penalty for contact with the QB's head after the ball was released.  In the new NFL, you can't do that.  It wasn't as dumb as Barnett's penalties, but 15 yards is 15 yards.

So, that was somewhat painful to watch last night. Here are my takeaways:

- I don't think Pickett is picking up the offense. Yes, he was under pressure with our 2nd and 3rd string OL against the Pats 1st team defense, but even when he did have time, he didn't know where to go with the ball. He had Ross wide open deep, overthrew him, and then never pushed the ball again. I think he makes the team and is nominally the #2 QB - they aren't cutting him and taking a $4.6mm cap charge. If Hurts were to go down, I wouldn't be shocked if we went to McKee, but Pickett will be #2 on gameday when Hurts is healthy. Basically, Pickett is the new Koy.

- Davis-Price had a nice game, but I still think the 4th RB is going to be on the PS.

- Covey seems to be a lock now. Bummer Wilson was out. Ngata catches everything and really snatches the ball, but just zero separation. He'll be on the PS.

- Jenkins has passed Uzomah, who had a brutal day blocking. 

- I don't know why they love Toth so much, but feels like Stout is going to get his way and have him on the 53. 

- Patrick Johnson is making this team. Monster on special teams, and he looks improved as a pass rusher.

- Ojomo is going to make an impact.

- Ringo got lucky on the one drop, but played really well otherwise. Rodgers was good as well. Feeling optimistic about the CBs.

- Bradberry may make the team, but he really sucks. If they can't trade him, I would cut him and move on. 

- Dean looked really good - feels like we have actual LB depth

Here's where I am at today. Most controversial takes -- Hennessy cut, A. Smith to IR, S. Brown starts on PUP, and Jobe makes it for special teams. I think they can sneak Kinnard to PS.

1 minute ago, BigEFly said:

Thanks.  McMahon is a Kelce clone.  May even be more athletic.  Needs some strengthening as most OL do coming into the pros but I am really liking the McMahon and Keegan picks.  Any thoughts on Kinnard?  I really liked that signing.  

He can't run like Kelce, but then no one can. Or, at least they didn't ask him to do any pulling. last night. With that makeshift OL it wouldn't have worked anyway. 

As for Kinnard, he's really grown on me. Johnson is ahead of him I think, but not by a lot. If Steen has to go on the shelf for a while he should make the 53.

17 hours ago, bpac55 said:

This should be...interesting? I'm going to steal Brett Favre.

 

 

In that pic he looks a lot more like Tom Flores...

 

than John Madden.

 

2 hours ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

Michigan men finish. 

 

Two words to describe Keegan... and not surprisingly, another Michigan man:

Jon.

Runyan.

1 hour ago, just relax said:

Toth’s versatility is that he’s poor at multiple positions. Unless Hennessy’s knee is bothering him I would expect him to be the backup. FWIW, Keegan worked some at center at the Senior Bowl and I believe Stoutland ran those workouts. Way too early for him to be the backup there. Give him a year.

I expect him to work at all 3 inside positions eventually.  And, I think he'll end up a starter at one of them eventually, RG seemingly to be the likely spot right now.

32 minutes ago, just relax said:

I hadn't paid much attention to McMahon on first blush but I went back and watched every snap of his and I'm glad I did. He was terrific. No mistakes. snaps were good. Run and pass blocking both solid. Nice block in particular on a screen pass where he was careful not to get too far downfield. Infinitely better performance than Toth last week and better than Gates this week. BTW that snap count graphic is way off. The Eagles ran 68 offensive plays. No way McMahon and Gates could combine for 111 snaps at center.

I saw Gates at OG after Steen went down.

I would like to touch on the backup quarterback situation for a moment. I am absolutely delighted that Tanner McKee has looked as good as he has. As has been noted by one observer here, he looks like a future NFL starter. He's been THAT good. He's untested for sure, so there will be doubts until he proves himself, but things are looking good. He appears to have been a fantastic sixth round pick. No argument from me. I'm loving it.

But here's the point I want to make about Kenny Pickett. And for the record, I am NOT comparing Kenny Pickett to Nate Sudfeld, so please don't give me the "Oh my GOD! Of COURSE he SHOULD look better than Nate Freaking Sudfeld!!!" That's not where I'm going with this. What I want to talk about is "perspective". How fans view things through the lens they've already decided to look through.

Pickett was 11 of 13 for 67 yards last night. At least one and possibly both of his incompletions were well thrown balls which could have been caught if not for the way the receiver(s) ran their routes. He looked somewhat uncomfortable in the pocket when pressured, which was almost every snap. The Patriots had a higher class of talent on the field at the time. It was accurate dink and dunk checkdown football. Not especially inspiring but not necessarily fear inducing either.

Okay, let's talk about a game where a quarterback put up very similar numbers. 19 of 23 for 134 yards. And ZERO points, I should add. (I used to sarcastically ask Sudfeld enthusiasts which scoring drive were they most impressed with.) That was what Nate Sudfeld did in relief of Nick Foles in the '17 finale against the Cowboys that meant nothing. The Eagles played backups and were awful. But Sudfeld completed nearly every pass he threw and our fan base erupted with joy.

Let's not re-write history here. At that time, Nick Foles's playoff and Super Bowl run had not yet begun. He was not yet the hero that he quickly became. At that time, there were a TON of Eagles fans who were clamoring for Sudfeld to start in the playoffs. It was all over talk radio. It was prevalent here. If you talked to random fans out and about, they frequently asserted that it would be a mistake to start Foles in the playoffs because he looked so awful against the Raiders and in the opening quarter of that Cowboys game. We were doomed, people thought. Because Sudfeld had looked SO GOOD!!!!! By putting up numbers that are almost a carbon copy of what Pickett put up last night. Very similar.

If Pickett's dink and dunk high percentage game last night so awful, why was Sudfeld's dink and dunk high percentage game against the Cowboys so good that people were calling for him to start in the playoffs? Was it because you hated Pickett already for some reason? Was it because you still hate Howie Roseman and view any trade acquisition he makes as a disaster?

Again, don't give me crap about "Dammit, if I trade a third round pick for a veteran, he damn well better look better than a guy we picked up off the streets!" That isn't the argument. I'm talking about keeping things in perspective. Viewing things without a preconceived notion.

Oh...and let's talk about veteran backups for a moment. A little while ago it was argued that the only good veteran backup we've had of late has been Foles. And I suggested that Minshew was a good backup. But what about Joe Flacco? He didn't look especially good (he wasn't bad as I recall) three years ago and fans were hating on him too, saying he's washed up. Yet that same so-called washed up quarterback led the Browns to the playoffs last year, proving that he was in fact still a viable backup, and was signed to a healthy contract with the Colts.

Maybe Flacco didn't look especially good for the Eagles because he was, y'know, playing with backups. Just like Pickett.

On offense, I am less concerned with the back up quarterback position than I am some other positions. I think Pickett and McKee are fine backups. And if we had to go to them, I feel confident that they could just keep us a float. They’re not gonna go Nick Foles and win us Super Bowl. But if hurts misses a couple weeks, I think they’re more than capable of being competent enough to keep us in games and give us a chance to win.

to me the bigger concern I have is their third wide receiver. I mentioned this in 2022 and in 2023, yet we sit here today with a bunch of guys I don’t trust to either hold up nor do I think ready to be in that role. I’ve said this before if you have a solid to good third wide receiver, it makes the eagles nearly impossible to cover with brown, smith, goedert and Barkley all on the field. Plus, if Aj or Smith gets hurt you’re not gonna completely fall off a cliff to just having one good wide receiver. I understand they signed Saquon Barkley so that does help in terms of if one of them goes down you still have a big weapon, but you need more than two wide receivers that you can trust out there. Was hoping Campbell could be that but he hasn’t really played. His history of staying healthy concerns me. John Ross was never the solution. I think Wilson is not ready yet to be in that role. So would like to go out and get a more reliable and trustworthy 3rd wr. Otherwise you’re gonna be in the same spot you were in last year and when AJ got hurt at giants then you really were playing with 1 good wide receiver the next week in Tampa (not that it matter at that point)

 

2 hours ago, Waiting4Someday said:

Has Campbell played at all? I guess I’m just waiting for a trade, as I’ve seen very little at WR3.

He hasn't.  He only returned to practice last week. 

I'm thinking we see him and dejean in the final preseason game.

33 minutes ago, FranklinFldEBUpper said:

I would like to touch on the backup quarterback situation for a moment. I am absolutely delighted that Tanner McKee has looked as good as he has. As has been noted by one observer here, he looks like a future NFL starter. He's been THAT good. He's untested for sure, so there will be doubts until he proves himself, but things are looking good. He appears to have been a fantastic sixth round pick. No argument from me. I'm loving it.

But here's the point I want to make about Kenny Pickett. And for the record, I am NOT comparing Kenny Pickett to Nate Sudfeld, so please don't give me the "Oh my GOD! Of COURSE he SHOULD look better than Nate Freaking Sudfeld!!!" That's not where I'm going with this. What I want to talk about is "perspective". How fans view things through the lens they've already decided to look through.

Pickett was 11 of 13 for 67 yards last night. At least one and possibly both of his incompletions were well thrown balls which could have been caught if not for the way the receiver(s) ran their routes. He looked somewhat uncomfortable in the pocket when pressured, which was almost every snap. The Patriots had a higher class of talent on the field at the time. It was accurate dink and dunk checkdown football. Not especially inspiring but not necessarily fear inducing either.

Okay, let's talk about a game where a quarterback put up very similar numbers. 19 of 23 for 134 yards. And ZERO points, I should add. (I used to sarcastically ask Sudfeld enthusiasts which scoring drive were they most impressed with.) That was what Nate Sudfeld did in relief of Nick Foles in the '17 finale against the Cowboys that meant nothing. The Eagles played backups and were awful. But Sudfeld completed nearly every pass he threw and our fan base erupted with joy.

Let's not re-write history here. At that time, Nick Foles's playoff and Super Bowl run had not yet begun. He was not yet the hero that he quickly became. At that time, there were a TON of Eagles fans who were clamoring for Sudfeld to start in the playoffs. It was all over talk radio. It was prevalent here. If you talked to random fans out and about, they frequently asserted that it would be a mistake to start Foles in the playoffs because he looked so awful against the Raiders and in the opening quarter of that Cowboys game. We were doomed, people thought. Because Sudfeld had looked SO GOOD!!!!! By putting up numbers that are almost a carbon copy of what Pickett put up last night. Very similar.

If Pickett's dink and dunk high percentage game last night so awful, why was Sudfeld's dink and dunk high percentage game against the Cowboys so good that people were calling for him to start in the playoffs? Was it because you hated Pickett already for some reason? Was it because you still hate Howie Roseman and view any trade acquisition he makes as a disaster?

Again, don't give me crap about "Dammit, if I trade a third round pick for a veteran, he damn well better look better than a guy we picked up off the streets!" That isn't the argument. I'm talking about keeping things in perspective. Viewing things without a preconceived notion.

Oh...and let's talk about veteran backups for a moment. A little while ago it was argued that the only good veteran backup we've had of late has been Foles. And I suggested that Minshew was a good backup. But what about Joe Flacco? He didn't look especially good (he wasn't bad as I recall) three years ago and fans were hating on him too, saying he's washed up. Yet that same so-called washed up quarterback led the Browns to the playoffs last year, proving that he was in fact still a viable backup, and was signed to a healthy contract with the Colts.

Maybe Flacco didn't look especially good for the Eagles because he was, y'know, playing with backups. Just like Pickett.

That's why they need to play McKee in the first half, to gauge how much is simply playing a weaker defense in the second half.

The backup WRs left a lot to be desired, as did the OL with F Johnson and Steen out of the game. Though McKee is better throwing into tight windows.

1 hour ago, Sack that QB said:

Dean has played much better in games than he's done in practice. What will matter more to coaches?

The new PFF numbers are out.

Dean, after 2 games,  is the top LB.

LB PFFs after 1 preseason game

Vansumeren - 91.6
Nakobe Dean - 90.4
Trotter - 63.6
Devin White - 59.9
Zach Baun - 38.4

LB PFFs after 2 preseason games

Nakobe Dean - 91.6
Vansumeren - 90.5
Devin White - 68.4
Zach Baun - 59.3
Brandon Smith - 54.9
Trotter - 40.5

 

2 hours ago, pangbun said:

Eagles' Nick Sirianni: Kenny Pickett is our No. 2 QB

Philadelphia Eagles third-string quarterback Tanner McKee impressed once again in a preseason outing. On the face of it, Thursday's performance from McKee in a 14-13 win over New England should put pressure on Kenny Pickett for the backup job.

However, coach Nick Sirianni reiterated after the game that Pickett remains the backup behind Jalen Hurts, Kevin Patra of NFL.com reports.

"You saw where they went in today. Kenny is No. 2 and Tanner is our No. 3, and I am really happy they're both on the roster," Sirianni said via the game's official transcript.

With Hurts and the offensive starters sitting, Pickett again got the preseason start. The former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback went 11 of 13 for 67 yards -- 5.2 YPA -- while taking four sacks. Philly scored three points on five first-half drives with Pickett under center.

McKee entered in the third quarter and led two drives that ended on turnover on downs. The QB then gave way to Will Grier for two drives before returning midway through the fourth quarter to lead the go-ahead scoring drive, which included a nice two-point pass for the win. He finished 15-of-19 for 140 yards -- 7.4 YPA -- with no sacks.

"I thought they both did some good things today," Sirianni said. "I think, you know, Kenny was what, 11 of 13? Ball only hit the ground twice. He had some pressure on him. Tanner played well. I think he was 15 of 19 today, but made some good throws. I thought Will did some good things. I'm happy they're all on the roster right now. I really am. That's good room and they're all helping Jalen, helping each other, and I love that. So really is a good room. Like I said, the things that kind of stalled some of the drives in the first half today was some of the pressures we got. And we didn't run it great in that area either for some different reasons that we'll obviously look at and why. So no, I thought they both played a solid game tonight. Just some of the pressure that was on Kenny happened in that first half."

Nick is not a talent evaluator either. 

49 minutes ago, e-a-g-l-e-s eagles! said:

On offense, I am less concerned with the back up quarterback position than I am some other positions. I think Pickett and McKee are fine backups. And if we had to go to them, I feel confident that they could just keep us a float. They’re not gonna go Nick Foles and win us Super Bowl. But if hurts misses a couple weeks, I think they’re more than capable of being competent enough to keep us in games and give us a chance to win.

to me the bigger concern I have is their third wide receiver. I mentioned this in 2022 and in 2023, yet we sit here today with a bunch of guys I don’t trust to either hold up nor do I think ready to be in that role. I’ve said this before if you have a solid to good third wide receiver, it makes the eagles nearly impossible to cover with brown, smith, goedert and Barkley all on the field. Plus, if Aj or Smith gets hurt you’re not gonna completely fall off a cliff to just having one good wide receiver. I understand they signed Saquon Barkley so that does help in terms of if one of them goes down you still have a big weapon, but you need more than two wide receivers that you can trust out there. Was hoping Campbell could be that but he hasn’t really played. His history of staying healthy concerns me. John Ross was never the solution. I think Wilson is not ready yet to be in that role. So would like to go out and get a more reliable and trustworthy 3rd wr. Otherwise you’re gonna be in the same spot you were in last year and when AJ got hurt at giants then you really were playing with 1 good wide receiver the next week in Tampa (not that it matter at that point)

 

Or, I dunno, pass it to the RB.  

Our #2QB looks like a #2.   I'll never understand why players from a higher draft position or from a trade get more leeway for playing time.  Whatever assets given up to get that player have already been spent.  If they are doing it to keep his trade value high, other GMs watch the games too.  Teams always claim the best player plays (as they should), but the NFL is not a meritocracy. 

1 hour ago, austinfan said:

McMahon is the tough choice, I don't think he'll make it through waivers. The prototype Eagles center, probably needs a year in the weight room but should red-shirt.

Remember, Dickinson was a college center, so Keegan at LG, Dickinson at center in the short-run, then maybe McMahon ready to step in the second half.

I like building young depth behind the starts, F Johnson (27), Kinnard (25), Steen (24), Keegan (24), McMahon (23).

Yeah, I’m sure McMahon will wind up with a "mysterious injury” following the last preseason game. Let Stout coach him up and lock him in the weight room. 

3 minutes ago, Mortimer said:

Our #2QB looks like a #2.   I'll never understand why players from a higher draft position or from a trade get more leeway for playing time.  Whatever assets given up to get that player have already been spent.  If they are doing it to keep his trade value high, other GMs watch the games too.  Teams always claim the best player plays (as they should), but the NFL is not a meritocracy. 

Sunk cost fallacy

Reportedly, Pickett and McKee are neck to neck in practice.

Pickett has two years of NFL game film, a couple Qs of pre-season play with scrubs is not going to make this decision for them.