3 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

Howie is not inclined to let talent leave the building.

He let half the starters walk from the 2022 defense that was top 3 dvoa

19 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

Exactly. Baun and Graham were credited with the tackle.  But Davis was filling the entire gap.

It's good to see him doing that.   It isn't worthy of a top 16 pick, but its very valuable.

52 minutes ago, mayanh8 said:

You know you've gottem when Gainwell starts breaking off runs like Barry Sanders. 

Gainwell is underappreciated.  Damn good pass pro, good vision and nice burst. Lacks size but doesn’t play like it.  

2 minutes ago, BigEFly said:

Gainwell is underappreciated.  Damn good pass pro, good vision and nice burst. Lacks size but doesn’t play like it.  

I think he's overrated by some.  He's basically a jag.  He's better than Boston Scott, but not by much.  He'd be really good as a #3 RB, he's barely passable as a #2.  He generally gets what is blocked for him.  He almost never makes guys miss.   If Barkley misses time, this offense can't sustain itself with him as the lead runner.  It would need a major overhaul for those games.

53 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Makes sense to me for a case by case basis.   Washington was much more likely to run the ball more often/effectively than Dallas.  Dallas was going to have to pass the ball, making him more of a threat as a pass rusher.  He's just not big enough to hold up at the POA at this point, IMO.   And frankly, it seems the Eagles made hthe right call on both games.

At this point, I think he's a highly situational type player.  And that's perfectly fine.  He was a raw prospect coming in... and small.  I've got no issue with essentially a red shirt year for him.

(And truthfully, I think the Eagles might have anticipated some garbage time for him against Dallas, and didn't against the Washingteam.)

Small?  He’s 6’3” and 252 pounds.

4 minutes ago, BigEFly said:

Small?  He’s 6’3” and 252 pounds.

I stand corrected.  I thought he was closer to 235-240 and was working his way up to the 250 range.

8 minutes ago, we_gotta_believe said:

He let half the starters walk from the 2022 defense that was top 3 dvoa

He tried to keep CJGJ.  Edwards was going to Chicago regardless.  Epps and White weren't playing at a pro bowl level.

Hargrave was the only really talented guy to get big money elsewhere.  

7 minutes ago, BigEFly said:

Gainwell is underappreciated.  Damn good pass pro, good vision and nice burst. Lacks size but doesn’t play like it.  

Gainwell is OK.  He reminds me of Wendell Smallwood as a runner. He's a decent number 2 back.  I would like to see him utilized less in 2 minute drills given what Barkley adds.  Another option would be to run more 2 back sets with Barkley and Smallwood given the lack of depth at WR.  

4 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

He tried to keep CJGJ.  Edwards was going to Chicago regardless.  Epps and White weren't playing at a pro bowl level.

Hargrave was the only really talented guy to get big money elsewhere.  

Kept bradberry which ultimate turned out to not be great. But he also had a replacement for Edwards. It was dean who they drafted the year prior. Unfortunately Dean just wasn’t ready til now. Also has a replacement for one of the safety spots. Blankenship had played well when CJGJ missed time so they thought he could take over one of the safety spots. Think they wanted CJGJ back until it became unrealistic with how he and his agent were asking for. 

9 hours ago, TEW said:

So you can’t "replace” Barkley like for like, because there’s no one like him.

But you can get a guy in the first or second who should be able to handle 25 touches per game and be a high end starter.

You can get that in any round. I think the 49ers are a good example of a team that has virtually plug-and-played RBs the last decade with great success, but the team was noticeably better with a truly special RB, even though all the other RBs were highly productive. Guys like Mostert, Breida, and Mason weren't even drafted. Even 4th rd pick, Guerendo, looks like the real deal when they've needed to use him this season. 

When the day comes for us to move on from Barkley, it's highly unlikely we'll be able to replace him with a guy just like him. But finding a replacement starter isn't all that difficult. Sanders and Swift were both 2nd rd picks coming into the NFL and both had their most successful season(s) in our offense, but neither guy was nearly as impactful as Barkley has been. 

I don't think the Eagles have to draft a "premium" RB prospect to find depth for Barkley or to groom a future starter for when he's no longer here. I think you stick to the current philosophy (drafting RBs on day 2 or 3) and attempt to keep Barkley for as long as he produces. 

20 minutes ago, we_gotta_believe said:

Yeah Steen would be in the mix for sure, plus maybe another mid round pick to compete against. Don't get me wrong, I like what Becton brings to the run game, but if we have to prioritize who to extend, it really does need to be Baun.

Really looking forward to Keegan playing some G at some point in the future.  Great technique.  While Michigan is a top school, a year of Stout and NFL level strength and conditioning training.  Hopefully he can play RG too.  

3 minutes ago, NCiggles said:

Gainwell is OK.  He reminds me of Wendell Smallwood as a runner. He's a decent number 2 back.  I would like to see him utilized less in 2 minute drills given what Barkley adds.  Another option would be to run more 2 back sets with Barkley and Smallwood given the lack of depth at WR.  

Agreed and I'd put them both (Gainwell and Smallwood) a far cry behind a guy that was truly a 'great' #2RB in Correll Buckhalter.   That's the level I hope for from a #2 RB - Buckhalter or higher. 

2 minutes ago, BigEFly said:

Really looking forward to Keegan playing some G at some point in the future.  Great technique.  While Michigan is a top school, a year of Stout and NFL level strength and conditioning training.  Hopefully he can play RG too.  

Keegan was actually one of the guys that I was most excited about in this draft.  But, I think having a year at Stoutland U can only help him moving forward.  I can foresee him as the top interior backup OL for next year, maybe even the backup C.  

Since week 5...

2 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

Since week 5...

They bye week came at the right time, it seems.

21 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

It's good to see him doing that.   It isn't worthy of a top 16 pick, but its very valuable.

  His draft status is no longer important.  It's his current value to the team.  Right now, he is an important piece.  Not top dollar important, but pretty good dollar important. 

 

55 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Yup.  No reason for the silly reverse flea flicker at that point.  Just a bad play call that was horribly executed.  

Really wish Smitty would've seen the backside end driving upfield and kept it and cut inside of him instead of pitching it back to Hurts. He's still relatively young, but usually you want to see headsy plays like that from your vets.

14 minutes ago, we_gotta_believe said:

He let half the starters walk from the 2022 defense that was top 3 dvoa

My take is they should have pushed harder to keep CJGJ and Edwards but they were never going to keep Hargrave.  I don't think Edwards was worth the money he got in Chicago.  

Just now, NCiggles said:

My take is they should have pushed harder to keep CJGJ and Edwards but they were never going to keep Hargrave.  I don't think Edwards was worth the money he got in Chicago.  

Agreed, would've been prohibitive to keep everyone, especially Hargrave, but letting them all walk was a disaster. 

27 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

It's good to see him doing that.   It isn't worthy of a top 16 pick, but its very valuable.

Wholeheartedly disagree.  Jordan Davis does a lot of stuff that doesn't show up on a stat sheet.  Instead, it shows up as guys like Baun and Nakobe Dean being able to get free because Jordan Davis occupies so much space.  That's valueable.

25 minutes ago, BigEFly said:

Gainwell is underappreciated.  Damn good pass pro, good vision and nice burst. Lacks size but doesn’t play like it.  

He has a few good runs, he's got a nice burst, but probably highly replaceable.  @Iggles_Phan said Correll Buckhalter, and I think that's a fantastic comparison.  Gainewell is a good change of pace guy.

17 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

Hargrave was the only really talented guy to get big money elsewhere.  

Hargrave was MASSIVELY overpaid by a team that was desperate to win a championship.  Hargrave had a career year on a team that had a lot of talent. 

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

Kept bradberry which ultimate turned out to not be great. But he also had a replacement for Edwards. It was dean who they drafted the year prior. Unfortunately Dean just wasn’t ready til now. Also has a replacement for one of the safety spots. Blankenship had played well when CJGJ missed time so they thought he could take over one of the safety spots. Think they wanted CJGJ back until it became unrealistic with how he and his agent were asking for. 

The whole defense was a mess last season, in large part, because of the coaching.  Dean was injured early on in the year.  I don't think he looked unready but he didn't look good because the defense never played well.  

Just now, we_gotta_believe said:

Agreed, would've been prohibitive to keep everyone, especially Hargrave, but letting them all walk was a disaster. 

Hiring Desai and Matt Patricia was more of the problem.  

42 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

We are second in the league in second half points scored.

Just like in Remember the Titans, our offense is  "...like Novacaine. Just give it time, it always works.”

The split back veer would be awesome to see at the pro level. Not as a regular offensive approach but as a change of pace in certain situations. With the right defensive front it’s fairly straight forward how to defend it, but yes like they say, give it time, one of those plays would hit big especially if it caught the defense off guard.