8 minutes ago, NCiggles said:

Maybe he's going boating later. 

I think he saw that Kenny has one on so he wanted one too.

42 minutes ago, DEagle7 said:

Do practice squad players get Superbowl rings?  I wonder how players feel about being poached during the playoffs. I'm sure the opportunity to play trumps everything for most guys. And Cine is still going to a good team. But still the timing must be awkward. 

Team by team basis I think but Eagles definitely do. I remember obscure players who were only on the roster a week or two in 2017 got rings. 

Im pretty sure even Meek Mill got one. 

1 hour ago, vikas83 said:

While hoping my home didn't burn down, I was thinking about Howie's moves in building the 2017 team vs. the 2022 team and his moves AFTER the Super Bowl.

2017: That team was heavily reliant on free agents -- on offense, both starting WRs, both backs and 3 of the 5 offensive lineman weren't drafted (became 2 of 5 in the Super Bowl after Peters went down). But the team on the field in Minneapolis had Alshon, Torrey, Blount/Ajayi, Wiz, Brooks and Foles (yeah we drafted him, but then brought him back as FA) all as FA signings (6 of 11 starters); only Vaitai, Kelce, Lane, Agholor and Ertz were homegrown. On defense, it was a little better, but 5 starters were still not homegrown (Jernigan, Bradham, Jenkins, McLeod, Darby). So half the starters weren't guys we drafted and developed. 

After the Super Bowl, Howie's first draft in 2018 was a homerun -- Goedert, Maddox, Sweat and Mailata. However, 2019 & 2020 were terrible. 2019 produces Sanders, but whiffed on everything else. 2020 gave us Hurts, but the rest of the class was a nightmare. A franchise QB covers up a lot, but getting 2 starters in those drafts, along with the aging of the 2017 core, led to the 2020 debacle. Lots of the FAs we had brought to the team in 2017 left (Blount, Foles, Smith, McLeod, Bradham, Jenkins, Darby) or fell off a cliff (Jernigan, Alshon, Ajayi) and we didn't restock. And the FA singings we tried were awful -- DJax, Mike Wallace, etc. Howie kept trying to patch it with vets and there was no infusion of youth.

2022: Only one starter on offense wasn't drafted and developed by the Eagles -- AJ. On defense, it was more outsiders -- Hargrave, Joseph, Reddick, White, Slay, CJGJ, Bradberry. So 7 on defense, and 8 total on the team. 

After the Super Bowl, we lost a ton on defense (both LBs and Safeties along with Hargrave). But Howie's drafting has been amazing -- Carter, Nolan, McKee and Ojomo from 2023 and Q, Coop and Hunt from 2024. Howie allowed guys to walk and focused on replacing them in the draft primarily while supplementing with FAs, but younger ones as opposed to older vets he brought in from 2018-2020. The 2018-2020 Eagles were one of the oldest teams in the league...now we are one of the youngest.

It feels like Howie has learned to put a lot more emphasis on the draft, and his draft record over the last 4 years might be the best in the league.

I’ve got too much rum punch in me to process all of this but I already know I agree.  2017 was followed by bad drafts and bad extensions.  2022 was followed by good drafts…and a willingness to make some unpopular decisions and let players walk.  "2017 Howie” would be overpaying Hargrave and Reddick right now.  

21 minutes ago, TEW said:

My understanding is academy grads have to serve 2 years before they can go pro… can you sign a contract now so a team retains your rights?

It is a bit vague.  Andre Carter graduated from West Point in 2023 and was able to sign a contract with the Vikings in April 2023. Brett Toth's Wiki page says the following "When Toth entered his commitment at West Point, there was a 5-year service commitment. However, the policy was changed to 24 months during his stay.^[7] There had been precedent (such as Joe Cardona of the 2015 NFL draft) for military school graduates to be allowed to defer their 24-month service policy,^[12] but in 2017, United States Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis rescinded the policy to allow military service academy student-athlete graduates to delay their assignments to explore professional sports opportunities. In June 2019, United States President Donald Trump requested that a policy be established to facilitate athletic pursuits and 2019 NFL draft selectee Austin Cutting was the first to sign a professional contract following the new policy.^[13] When Toth applied for his waiver in August 2019, he was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.^[13] Toth cites Alejandro Villanueva, Collin Mooney and Josh McNary as his role models.^[7] Toth had served a year as a second lieutenant before being granted a deferment."

1 hour ago, just relax said:

Or it could be the design of the offense which, in fact, is what it is, and just as you define it. 
A while back you said, IIRC, that you preferred the QB under center and with a FB. We run some of that, with an offset FB, less now that Van Sumeran is injured. In that offense, the QB had better be a threat to run, a lot. Your basic triple option mixed in with straight power runs. We offset the FB basically for size reasons. You can’t expect a 240 pound guy to block 320 guys straight up. You have to give him angles, functionally trap blocks. Nor can you make this your bread and butter. You’re taking faster guy off the field for a slower guy who is no threat as a receiver. If you do that AND don’t run the QB you’ve made yourself even more one-dimensional.

What it boils down to is that our offense is very much a hybrid. Non-traditional if you prefer. The incessant whining about Hurts by certain folk completely misses the whole point and design of our offense. Does he have limitations? Obviously yes, but he has strengths that more than compensate for that. Our offense, when he plays well, is pretty much impossible to stop.

Not often enough. Too many stalled drives and stagnant quarters.

1 minute ago, VaBeach_Eagle said:

From NBCS Philly:

Can't promise anything, but when I can, I'll post them. 

23 minutes ago, VaBeach_Eagle said:

NFL.COM's payoff prediction through to the Super Bowl:

  Hide contents

 

I don't know that the Vikings lose to the Rams, which throws their entire NFC prediction out the window from the start because the Vikings could go into Detroit and beat the Lions, despite what happened this past Sunday and then, if the rest of their prediction comes true, the NFCCG is in Philly. 

I could see AFCCG being a surprise of Bills and Chargers

24 minutes ago, VaBeach_Eagle said:

NFL.COM's payoff prediction through to the Super Bowl:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

I don't know that the Vikings lose to the Rams, which throws their entire NFC prediction out the window from the start because the Vikings could go into Detroit and beat the Lions, despite what happened this past Sunday and then, if the rest of their prediction comes true, the NFCCG is in Philly. 

 

Match my predictions exactly except I have the Chiefs beating the Ravens in the AFC Championship Game, the Rams beating the Lions and Eagles beating the Lions to go onto win the Super Bowl. 

14 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

Team by team basis I think but Eagles definitely do. I remember obscure players who were only on the roster a week or two in 2017 got rings. 

Im pretty sure even Meek Mill got one. 

Meek deserved it man. He was the Flava Flav to our Chuck D that year

Just now, RememberTheKoy said:

the Rams beating the Lions and Eagles beating the Lions to go onto win the Super Bowl. 

Do you mean the Eagles beating the Rams?

Just now, VaBeach_Eagle said:

Do you mean the Eagles beating the Rams?

 

Yes

4 minutes ago, RememberTheKoy said:

Yes

I wouldn't mind that. Avenge the 2001 NFCCG. 

14 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

Team by team basis I think but Eagles definitely do. I remember obscure players who were only on the roster a week or two in 2017 got rings. 

Im pretty sure even Meek Mill got one. 

Lurie was giving rings to a lot of people. Gave a ring to a former secretary that Chip fired. Actually it's a pretty good 'feel good' story to revisit from time to time

 

10 minutes ago, DEagle7 said:

Meek deserved it man. He was the Flava Flav to our Chuck D that year

I wish they chose a different song lol

12 minutes ago, RememberTheKoy said:

 

Match my predictions exactly except I have the Chiefs beating the Ravens in the AFC Championship Game, the Rams beating the Lions and Eagles beating the Lions to go onto win the Super Bowl. 

Indeed ... exactly.

 

 

4 hours ago, LeanMeanGM said:

AP is the traditional one usually referenced when it comes to HoF and what not.

NFLPA All-Pro is like 3 years old. There is also another publication that names All-Pro but AP is still the king. 

Yeah, I figured it was something like that. 

4 hours ago, DrPhilly said:

When you watch the film breakdowns of the Eagles DL play throughout the year you see Carter freeing up the other guys time and again.  Fangio knows that Carter will be double teamed on 90% of the plays and schemes Carter's movement in order to create a mismatch with space for the other guys.  No one benefits from that more than Williams.  I'm not saying he isn't a good player but I do think Williams' effectiveness is getting a big lift from the play of Carter.  Williams will be an overpriced player and Howie doesn't overpay.

In my mind, Howie signs Baun/Becton and then uses the draft to find a Sweat replacement and will either go mid round for a DT or will look to add a decent DT via FA.

Fangio did like Williams even before he came here. He wanted to trade for him when he was the dolphins DC. I wonder how much sway Vic will have in keeping him around knowing how much he likes Milt

Just saw the Hargrave news. We should let Milton walk, sign Hargrave and focus on extending Baun.

Thinking about the big 4 free agents and talking through it, I think I’ve changed my prediction a bit.

I think the guy we will definitely keep is Becton. This is a no brainer — he’s a unicorn level talent, a pro bowl level performer right now, and he has the potential to solve the Lane Johnson retirement problem.

Next most likely is Williams. The money will probably too much, but he seems to be a starter and we’ve always prioritized interior DL.

Baun is next. At the end of the day, is Howie going to give a 1 year wonder a NFL record contract for the position? I’m going to say probably not, especially because there are a lot of LBs in this draft class who fit the versatile, athletic mold that Fangio wants.

And then lastly, Sweat. I would have had him #2 six weeks ago, but the emergence of Smith and Hunt changes the dynamic. We can go young at EDGE and save a lot of money.

Overall, I think we only keep Becton. The draft will be heavy on the front 7, as the youngest and best defense in the NFL gets even younger and more athletic.

21 minutes ago, RLC said:

Just saw the Hargrave news. We should let Milton walk, sign Hargrave and focus on extending Baun.

Sign him late enough though so he doesn’t cancel out a Comp Pick.

Edit: since he is a released player, I don’t think he counts in the Comp Pick calculations.  So he can be signed at any time.

2 minutes ago, TEW said:

Thinking about the big 4 free agents and talking through it, I think I’ve changed my prediction a bit.

I think the guy we will definitely keep is Becton. This is a no brainer — he’s a unicorn level talent, a pro bowl level performer right now, and he has the potential to solve the Lane Johnson retirement problem.

Next most likely is Williams. The money will probably too much, but he seems to be a starter and we’ve always prioritized interior DL.

Baun is next. At the end of the day, is Howie going to give a 1 year wonder a NFL record contract for the position? I’m going to say probably not, especially because there are a lot of LBs in this draft class who fit the versatile, athletic mold that Fangio wants.

And then lastly, Sweat. I would have had him #2 six weeks ago, but the emergence of Smith and Hunt changes the dynamic. We can go young at EDGE and save a lot of money.

I agree that Becton is the highest priority, but I have him 1A and Baun as 1B.  Then it drops off to Williams and Sweat as 3 and 4 or 4 and 3.  Sweat’s loss can be somewhat mitigated by Graham coming back for one more year, and Williams’ loss mitigated by signing Hargrave for a year.  Hargrave next to Carter is interesting to contemplate.

After thinking about this more, I think the priority is

Baun >>>Becton>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Milton

Baun makes everyone on the defense better. You don't let those guys get away.

Despite Howie's cap gymnastics, I just don't see how you can pay all 5 OL big money. Only thing with Becton is the team might feel safer with him as a RT option in the long run.

Re-signing Milton doesn't make sense. The Carter contract is coming, the decision on Davis is coming. By re-signing Baun, you'll have to reallocate spending on defense by position and not so insanely over-index on DL.

In thinking about the Sweat situation, if we resign Graham, draft Shamar Stewart, and see a resurgence of Bryce Huff to go with Nolan Smith and Jalyn Hunt continuing to grow, we will be in good shape.

Although the latest Mock on ESPN has us picking Nic Scourton, and I would be very happy with that.