Here’s what opinions I’ve developed from a mostly informationless preseason.  In order of importance.  

1. Bechton is the starting RG.  Seriously.  That’s just about the only real thing we’ve learned.  So we know who the starting RG is.  We don’t know if he earned it or really looked good, although the track record here suggests we should trust the process.  This also sets Steen’s career onto the likely path of an anonymous backup and fairly disappointing pick.

2. Hurts has good buzz.  Of course, that buzz will be amplified 10 fold in either direction with better, more reliable information simply based on the first series in Brazil.  It’s all talk right now.

3.  Nolan Smith has bad buzz.  He’s playing later in games than anyone wants to see a first round pick on a team that wouldn’t risk injury to the janitor in preseason…and not particularly standing out in the process.  It’s early, he has time, and I love his measurables at a position that I think demands them…but not loving the direction here.  

4.  The Eagles didn’t like their WR3 situation (which is one thing we all actually could see in the games).  Now their WR3 situation is exactly as good as you think Dotson is or isn’t based on his somewhat controversial and debatable level of play in Washington. 
 

7 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

Here’s what opinions I’ve developed from a mostly informationless preseason.  In order of importance.  

1. Bechton is the starting RG.  Seriously.  That’s just about the only real thing we’ve learned.  So we know who the starting RG is.  We don’t know if he earned it or really looked good, although the track record here suggests we should trust the process.  This also sets Steen’s career onto the likely path of an anonymous backup and fairly disappointing pick.

2. Hurts has good buzz.  Of course, that buzz will be amplified 10 fold in either direction with better, more reliable information simply based on the first series in Brazil.  It’s all talk right now.

3.  Nolan Smith has bad buzz.  He’s playing later in games than anyone wants to see a first round pick on a team that wouldn’t risk injury to the janitor in preseason…and not particularly standing out in the process.  It’s early, he has time, and I love his measurables at a position that I think demands them…but not loving the direction here.  

4.  The Eagles didn’t like their WR3 situation (which is one thing we all actually could see in the games).  Now their WR3 situation is exactly as good as you think Dotson is or isn’t based on his somewhat controversial and debatable level of play in Washington. 
 

Somewhat ironic that three out of your four points center around former first rounders - Becton, Dotson and Smith - who have underperformed so far. I would argue that this team's success may depend to some extent on the coaches getting the most out of these three players. 

2 minutes ago, jsb235 said:

Somewhat ironic that three out of your four points center around former first rounders - Becton, Dotson and Smith - who have underperformed so far. I would argue that this team's success may depend to some extent on the coaches getting the most out of these three players. 

Also interesting that 2 of the 3 have underperformed for other teams and are coming here with reduced expectations in less ambitious roles.  LT to RG and Starting outside wr to WR3 in the slot with two outside studs taking defensive attention.

Im not a huge Dotson fan, but I’d think Becton and Dotson should be over-talented for their new roles…and since we aren’t the team that drafted them, the frustration of underperforming relative to draft status isn’t ours to bear.

 

3 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

Also interesting that 2 of the 3 have underperformed for other teams and are coming here with reduced expectations in less ambitious roles.  LT to RG and Starting outside wr to WR3 in the slot with two outside studs taking defensive attention.

Im not a huge Dotson fan, but I’d think Becton and Dotson should be over-talented for their new roles…and since we aren’t the team that drafted them, the frustration of underperforming relative to draft status isn’t ours to bear.

 

A similar situation exists for Derek Barnett. He was unplayable here, but went to Houston and immediately had a positive impact. 

Hopefully we can see a similar path for Smith, but without needing to change teams. 

I still think the Eagles paid up for Dotson as an insurance policy above all else…the offense becomes very lopsided with a huge hole If Brown or Smith aren’t available.  It’ll be nice to have a WR3 who can catch a pass and move the chains…but I think they were actually comfortable with the Campbells and Quez’s of the world for that.  

Bechton needs to play well.  Failure isn’t really an option here.  Can’t mess with OL play.  The OL has some elevated injury risks across the board…and you might have heard….a new center.  So coming out of the gates with a RG liability isn’t an option.

Smith…the pass rush seems to be the concern du jour for the defense.  Honestly, every single component of the defense should be a concern.  Did we watch last year?  But they DO have multiple interesting bullets in the pass rush chamber (they always do).  They just don’t really have a great track record of drafting the right ones.  If you look at all eagles sacks from the last 20 years, I bet the percentage from drafted edge rushers is pretty low.  

2 hours ago, eagle45 said:

Nolan Smith has bad buzz.  He’s playing later in games than anyone wants to see a first round pick on a team that wouldn’t risk injury to the janitor in preseason…and not particularly standing out in the process.  It’s early, he has time, and I love his measurables at a position that I think demands them…but not loving the direction here.

He's not been good.  We have the slow BG start to fall back and pin our hopes on but at this point Smith has moved into the "real risk for bust" category.

2 hours ago, eagle45 said:

I still think the Eagles paid up for Dotson as an insurance policy above all else…the offense becomes very lopsided with a huge hole If Brown or Smith aren’t available.  It’ll be nice to have a WR3 who can catch a pass and move the chains…but I think they were actually comfortable with the Campbells and Quez’s of the world for that.  

I agree there is the insurance part of it but there were many times over the last two years when we needed the 3WR to step up during games and it didn't happen.  We are going to need production out of him in key spots even with a healthy Brown/Smith and it needs to be much more productive than Quez ever provided.

2 hours ago, eagle45 said:

Here’s what opinions I’ve developed from a mostly informationless preseason.  In order of importance.  

1. Bechton is the starting RG.  Seriously.  That’s just about the only real thing we’ve learned.  So we know who the starting RG is.  We don’t know if he earned it or really looked good, although the track record here suggests we should trust the process.  This also sets Steen’s career onto the likely path of an anonymous backup and fairly disappointing pick.

2. Hurts has good buzz.  Of course, that buzz will be amplified 10 fold in either direction with better, more reliable information simply based on the first series in Brazil.  It’s all talk right now.

3.  Nolan Smith has bad buzz.  He’s playing later in games than anyone wants to see a first round pick on a team that wouldn’t risk injury to the janitor in preseason…and not particularly standing out in the process.  It’s early, he has time, and I love his measurables at a position that I think demands them…but not loving the direction here.  

4.  The Eagles didn’t like their WR3 situation (which is one thing we all actually could see in the games).  Now their WR3 situation is exactly as good as you think Dotson is or isn’t based on his somewhat controversial and debatable level of play in Washington. 
 

3 - Nolan Smith led the Eagles with 2 sacks in the preseason and had a PFF of 71.  I think he's on the right track.

4 - I don't know what WR3 is.  It's not really a real thing.  I think Dotson is the backup for Smith.  He's similar to D Smith.  Good route runner, good hands,  fast but not blazing.   I don't think the Eagles are intending to have the same type of receiver on the field twice all that much.  I think D Smith is a Z and Dotson is a Z,  and Dotson will learn what D Smith does to give him a rest.   I think Parris Campbell, who was apparently doing quite well earlier in camp, but got hurt for a couple of weeks, missing a couple of preseason games,  did well in the final game,  he had the highest PFF of WRs or TEs in the preseason, 71, had the longest yards per target of 17, and he's the "fast" slot receiver.  Covey is the "quick" slot receiver.     If the Eagles didn't want a super fast wr,  they wouldn't have brought in both Campbell and Ross, Ross seemingly out of retirement.   Campbell has the highest PFF. 

Bad blocking by TEs caused at least 2 bad plays.   1 was the sack fumble by McKee to start the 2nd half. 2 was a 4th and 1 where Lew Nichols was caught behind the line of scrimmage.  Both plays were made by the guy the TE was blocking.    There's been a trend to make WRs into TEs, and they can't block who they're asked to block, even if they block as WRs pretty well.  Someone like Armani Rogers could be a big WR who can block inside more than he is a TE who can block inline.  

Griffin Hebert did well though,  made a big play, ended up with a PFF of 66, the highest PFF for a TE this preseason.  very good combine numbers,  short for a te = 6'1,  seems built more like a linebacker,  running back,  fullback.   The 239 pounds and 4.58 40 and 27 bench and 39.5 vert says that he can do run blocking.  His draft profile says he doesn't do much of that.

32 minutes ago, DrPhilly said:

I agree there is the insurance part of it but there were many times over the last two years when we needed the 3WR to step up during games and it didn't happen.  We are going to need production out of him in key spots even with a healthy Brown/Smith and it needs to be much more productive than Quez ever provided.

Dotson is the backup Z receiver.  Campbell is more weapony.   Dotson and D Smith are good precise route runners.    The good running Dotson and D Smith do is often to get themselves open.  Campbells good running is yards after catch running. 

36 minutes ago, DrPhilly said:

He's not been good.  We have the slow BG start to fall back and pin our hopes on but at this point Smith has moved into the "real risk for bust" category.

good pff this preseason, 71.9,  led with 2 sacks.    I don't think there is any reason to push the "sky is falling" agenda when the data says he's doing well.

3 hours ago, eagle45 said:

I still think the Eagles paid up for Dotson as an insurance policy above all else…the offense becomes very lopsided with a huge hole If Brown or Smith aren’t available.  It’ll be nice to have a WR3 who can catch a pass and move the chains…but I think they were actually comfortable with the Campbells and Quez’s of the world for that.  

Bechton needs to play well.  Failure isn’t really an option here.  Can’t mess with OL play.  The OL has some elevated injury risks across the board…and you might have heard….a new center.  So coming out of the gates with a RG liability isn’t an option.

Smith…the pass rush seems to be the concern du jour for the defense.  Honestly, every single component of the defense should be a concern.  Did we watch last year?  But they DO have multiple interesting bullets in the pass rush chamber (they always do).  They just don’t really have a great track record of drafting the right ones.  If you look at all eagles sacks from the last 20 years, I bet the percentage from drafted edge rushers is pretty low.  

The secondary was bad last year.  The DL was above average,  the LBs were about average and the secondary was bad.  Jobe and Ricks has PFFs in the 40s.  Bradberry had a PFF in the 50s.  Maddox was between the 2.  Basically, the biggest problem was a handful of DBs with PFFs in the 40s and 50s.  The secondary seems to be fixed now.  

I don't think pass rush should be a concern,  or Smith.  

Agree about WR/Dotson.  

I would have preferred that Steen not be hurt and took the job of RG,  which would allow Becton to back up all but Center and also be used situationally.    

2 hours ago, Random Reglar said:

good pff this preseason, 71.9,  led with 2 sacks.    I don't think there is any reason to push the "sky is falling" agenda when the data says he's doing well.

I didn't say "sky falling", I said "risk".  Also, 1 of those sacks was soft.  I'm more concerned with the lack of pressure I saw when I watched.  Granted, I didn't see all of this plays so maybe I missed some good one.

I'm more pissed about the Eagles opening in Brazil instead of the Linc.  It takes some of the luster off of opening week in my opinion.  Plus...it's against the Packers, a very good team.  Always want the Eagles to win but....something about this game is screaming loss to me.

47 minutes ago, NYEagle said:

I'm more pissed about the Eagles opening in Brazil instead of the Linc.  It takes some of the luster off of opening week in my opinion.  Plus...it's against the Packers, a very good team.  Always want the Eagles to win but....something about this game is screaming loss to me.

I've watched enough frustrating Eagles losses in my lifetime to know that the Eagles will lose week 1 to the Packers.

Will get PTSD if they put up a Greg Lewis graphic during the broadcast.

1 hour ago, DrPhilly said:

I didn't say "sky falling", I said "risk".  Also, 1 of those sacks was soft.  I'm more concerned with the lack of pressure I saw when I watched.  Granted, I didn't see all of this plays so maybe I missed some good one.

pff says 71.9 for the 3 preseason games.  sounds good to me. 

58 minutes ago, NYEagle said:

I'm more pissed about the Eagles opening in Brazil instead of the Linc.  It takes some of the luster off of opening week in my opinion.  Plus...it's against the Packers, a very good team.  Always want the Eagles to win but....something about this game is screaming loss to me.

I am not that convinced that the Packers are a good team. Think detroit will roll that division again

1 minute ago, ToastJenkins said:

I am not that convinced that the Packers are a good team. Think detroit will roll that division again

So forget the South....but in the West and North, I think Detroit and SF both take steps back....and with increased competition in the North with Green Bay and Chicago, and West with Rams and Seattle.....as long as the Eagles DO NOT pull a repeat of last year at the end, they should have a very good shot at the #1 seed.

I’m much more worried about Jordan Davis than Nolan Smith. Carter is going to get his. Milton Williams will make plays and be solid. If Davis can develop somewhat of a pass rush presence then the edge rushers will get theirs too. 

1 hour ago, DrPhilly said:

I didn't say "sky falling", I said "risk".  Also, 1 of those sacks was soft.  I'm more concerned with the lack of pressure I saw when I watched.  Granted, I didn't see all of this plays so maybe I missed some good one.

I don't understand why it's important to rate the sacks as if Reggie White never had an easy sack or Lawrence Taylor never went unblocked. Everybody gets some that way and how many times have we seen an unblocked rusher get side-stepped by a QB and completely miss the sack? It was nice to see Smith finish on the one where he went unblocked. A "soft" sack is a play where the QB fumbles the snap and dives on the ball giving himself up to the first defender to race over and get a hand on him. The rest are all good, earned sacks. 

 

Honestly, it's crazy that people want to do everything they can to minimize every positive thing that Smith did during the preseason.

"one of the sacks was soft..."

"he's playing against backups..."

"it's only preseason..."

"I didn't notice him..."

"he's still getting snaps in the final preseason game..."

"The RB chipped him into the QB..."

Smith played in the preseason and played well. He's an edge rusher, not an ILB. He's not going to be involved in every play. I have no idea what the critics were expecting to see from him. A couple sacks and a couple pressures and 6 tackles on 67 snaps is not something to be "concerned" about.

11 minutes ago, brkmsn said:

I don't understand why it's important to rate the sacks as if Reggie White never had an easy sack or Lawrence Taylor never went unblocked. Everybody gets some that way and how many times have we seen an unblocked rusher get side-stepped by a QB and completely miss the sack? It was nice to see Smith finish on the one where he went unblocked. A "soft" sack is a play where the QB fumbles the snap and dives on the ball giving himself up to the first defender to race over and get a hand on him. The rest are all good, earned sacks.

You seem to miss the point entirely.  Getting an easy sack is to be expected BUT so is getting a consistent level of pressure.  Read my post again.  Someone pointed to "hey, he had 2 sacks" and I suggested that 1 sack was easy and that the lack of any consistent pressure was what I found to be an issue.

Again, it is still early and I'm not ready to reach any judgement on him but I'm close to putting him in the "real risk" department and even that wouldn't be reaching a final grade.  Let's see where he is after 5 or 6 regular season games and take a new look at that point.

36 minutes ago, EaglePhan1986 said:

I’m much more worried about Jordan Davis than Nolan Smith

He's going to be excellent against the run and was last year for 10 games.  Whether he ever develops into a pass rusher remains to be seen.

5 minutes ago, brkmsn said:

I don't understand why it's important to rate the sacks as if Reggie White never had an easy sack or Lawrence Taylor never went unblocked. Everybody gets some that way and how many times have we seen an unblocked rusher get side-stepped by a QB and completely miss the sack? It was nice to see Smith finish on the one where he went unblocked. A "soft" sack is a play where the QB fumbles the snap and dives on the ball giving himself up to the first defender to race over and get a hand on him. The rest are all good, earned sacks. 

 

Honestly, it's crazy that people want to do everything they can to minimize every positive thing that Smith did during the preseason.

"one of the sacks was soft..."

"he's playing against backups..."

"it's only preseason..."

"I didn't notice him..."

"he's still getting snaps in the final preseason game..."

"The RB chipped him into the QB..."

Smith played in the preseason and played well. He's an edge rusher, not an ILB. He's not going to be involved in every play. I have no idea what the critics were expecting to see from him. A couple sacks and a couple pressures and 6 tackles on 67 snaps is not something to be "concerned" about.

Are you able to win your rep on talent or luck? Easier sacks indicate luck, while more difficult sacks indicate talent. Obviously every player is going to experience luck if they play long enough, but not every player has the talent.

If you are only getting sacks based on luck, those opportunities are far and few between in the NFL, and should not be relied on to produce consistent results.

41 minutes ago, EaglePhan1986 said:

I’m much more worried about Jordan Davis than Nolan Smith. Carter is going to get his. Milton Williams will make plays and be solid. If Davis can develop somewhat of a pass rush presence then the edge rushers will get theirs too. 

I know they play different positions even though they are both DT so it's not a 100% 1 for 1 comparison, but Thomas Booker has flashed more than Jordan Davis during TC. Give me the hungry overachiever instead of the content underachiever every day of the week. 

I hope the UGA guys that I'm down on can prove me wrong. Nakobe Dean seems to have turned a corner, and now I'm excited to see if it translates to the regular season when the games matter. 

I'm just not sure what to think of Jordan Davis and Nolan Smith. I don't know if I even have expectations for them. Jordan Davis being in shape to take on some of the snap counts Fletcher Cox played is a pretty low bar but sadly, just being in better shape to handle the workload is a plus for him this year. If he produces at the same time, that's a bonus. 

Nolan Smith is either going to shut us all up or we're going to be scratching our heads wondering why he's not playing.