54 minutes ago, Saltpeter said:

I don’t know how anyone could watch both play and think Williams is a much better athlete.

Through a perspective clouded by preconceived notions. Milton was a 3rd rd pick and Ojomo was a 7th rd pick. Look no further than those who defended the Pickett trade when it was announced. That's all it takes most of the time.

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

Saw this. Thought the rankings were interesting 

 

I already don't like it for the fact they use calendar year of the Super Bowl rather than when the season began as is standard.

46 minutes ago, Texas Eagle said:

Hurts is the undisputed best NFC QB right now, right?

No

1 hour ago, mattwill said:

I still have Peters as #1.  Lane #2 and Jason #3.

If your doing a mt rushmore whose your 4th.

Brooks, Tra Thomas,Bednarik???even though I view him more as a LB than a OC.

Stan Walters, shaun andrews, mathis, Runyan?

 

Teams now know Jalen can beat you and carve you up. And blitzing is not a good strategy. Chiefs were obviously not convinced, thus stacking the box. I think the Eagles formula on offense at this point is for the opposing defense to pick its poison very early and adjust accordingly. No longer is this about Saquon and the offense relentlessly pounding the rock regardless and imposing your will on the other team. They need to preserve him and keep the snap count down from here. Sure they may do some pounding when salting or protecting a lead. But not as one sided as it was this year. Its gonna be fun watching this offense develop this idea going forward.

29 minutes ago, NOTW said:

There was that martial arts practicing a move 1,000 times quote, however that went.

I think it's a Bruce Lee quote? Fear not the man who practices 1,000 kicks once, fear the man who practices one kick 1,000 times.

5 minutes ago, Utebird said:

If your doing a mt rushmore whose your 4th.

Brooks, Tra Thomas,Bednarik???even though I view him more as a LB than a OC.

Stan Walters, shaun andrews, mathis, Runyan?

 

Bob Brown is in the Hall of Fame.  Played half his career here.  Requested and was traded in 1969.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BrowBo03.htm

27 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Undisputed?   No.  Some have already anointed Daniels, so Hurts isn't even the undisputed best QB in the NFC East.  Ignoring age, there's an argument to be made for Matthew Stafford and even Jared Goff.  Others will still be high on Jordan Love.

 

Very few opinion driven things are ever 'undisputed'.  

To me, it's Stafford above everyone else. Daniels might get there in a year or two, but right now he's still in the same conversation as Hurts, Love, Goff, and Mayfield. Plenty of arguments to be had about who's better among that bunch, so you could say one is slightly above the rest in that tier and I wouldn't disagree too much. But I just can't put any of them above Stafford, when healthy. 

32 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

Someone that knows LB play better than me can probably answer this, but I found it a little weird how every LB seemed to thrive this year. 

Baun was a role player/ST's guy and plays phenomenal.

Dean was a struggling rookie a lot of people were writing off but he picked his game up huge over the year.

Burks was a backup who was bad in last years SB. He steps in for Dean and the defense doesn't miss a beat. 

 

So is this scheme friendly for LB's? Is it Carter and the D-line making their life easier? Is it the coaches? Maybe its a little bit of all 3?

Curious what the answer is. Because if it's scheme related it makes me wonder how much Howie would value a player like Baun. 

I think it's just Baun being that good and misused previously. Burks and Dean showed progress, but some of that is probably benefitting from the pieces around them and tutelage from King/Fangio. If anything, schematically speaking, I'd say Fangio places a lot of stress and asks a lot from the LB position, which is why it doesn't work with sheety ones.

Just now, we_gotta_believe said:

I think it's just Baun being that good and misused previously. Burks and Dean showed progress, but some of that is probably benefitting from the pieces around them and tutilage from King/Fangio. If anything, I'd say schematically speaking, Fangio places a lot of stress and asks a lot from the LB position, which is why it doesn't work with sheety ones.

Yea, that was my initial thought as well, that it SHOULD be a hard position in a Fangio defense. Just odd how almost everyone thrived.

Besides Devin White. 

 

As cool as that is, it's also why I'm not worried about losing Kellen Moore.

1 hour ago, Texas Eagle said:

Hurts is the undisputed best NFC QB right now, right?

Might not even be the best QB in his own division…

17 minutes ago, jojodancer said:

Teams now know Jalen can beat you and carve you up. And blitzing is not a good strategy. Chiefs were obviously not convinced, thus stacking the box. I think the Eagles formula on offense at this point is for the opposing defense to pick its poison very early and adjust accordingly. No longer is this about Saquon and the offense relentlessly pounding the rock regardless and imposing your will on the other team. They need to preserve him and keep the snap count down from here. Sure they may do some pounding when salting or protecting a lead. But not as one sided as it was this year. Its gonna be fun watching this offense develop this idea going forward.

Cam Skattebo would be awesome to watch in this offense spelling Barkley. I'm an ASU homer and have watched all of his games, but he's a hell of a runner and can be used in the passing game as well. I was all in on running Barkley into the ground and getting as much out of him as possible this past season because it's what was needed during the regular season to win 14 games. And it paid off with a Super Bowl. Moving forward, I'm okay with monitoring his snaps more to get some longevity. 

31 minutes ago, bpac55 said:

Even BVS is a question mark though. He was ST ace/FB. He didn't play a single down at LB. He's a complete unknown coming off an injury. I love the idea of having a LB/FB on the roster. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised to see him move primarily to FB. Plus, he's a RFA. 

Oren Burks in the playoffs had 25 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 FF and a sack. There's a real possibility that Burks and Baun both get contract offers they never dreamt of and the Eagles are left with Trotter Jr. 

LB is a huge need.

To be honest Burks doing that after being a middling journeyman if anything is a potential knock on the value of his and Baun's contract, because it starts to look like a system product rather than an individual performance thing, Dean, Baun and Burks all played way above their career level to date (in Baun's case light years above). Baun will get paid big dollars, I think Burks is likely to get a small bump on this year's money but not huge IMO. 

It's the first year in a loooong old while that we had a 2nd string inside linebacker worth a toot on a tin whistle. I'd be fine with bringing them all back. 

The last thing we need to do as fans is talk ourselves out of Zack Baun. He had a turnover in all 4 playoff games and dominated all year. He’s not freaking TJ Edwards.

 

 

4 minutes ago, RLC said:

 

As cool as that is, it's also why I'm not worried about losing Kellen Moore.

If the TEs lined up on the correct side... would the play have even worked?   It looked like a perfectly designed play... and they should add it to the playback now.  It was perfect.

3 minutes ago, RLC said:

 

As cool as that is, it's also why I'm not worried about losing Kellen Moore.

I agree. Moore came here as a passing game guru. After the 2-2 start, the Eagles players, particularly the OL lobbied hard to run more and they did. 

Who is the run game coordinator and OL coach? 

Just now, just relax said:

I agree. Moore came here as a passing game guru. After the 2-2 start, the Eagles players, particularly the OL lobbied hard to run more and they did. 

Who is the run game coordinator and OL coach? 

Some random dude.

25 minutes ago, we_gotta_believe said:

To me, it's Stafford above everyone else. Daniels might get there in a year or two, but right now he's still in the same conversation as Hurts, Love, Goff, and Mayfield. Plenty of arguments to be had about who's better among that bunch, so you could say one is slightly above the rest in that tier and I wouldn't disagree too much. But I just can't put any of them above Stafford, when healthy. 

After these 2 past Superbowl performances by Jalen he now surpasses Stafford. On top of that he's aging and a sculpture back there. Have to account for complete game of being able to run and pass. And protecting the football. Hurts is at a new level here. Also, his leadership took a big step this year. All the intangibles are off the charts with Hurts at this point. Hurts is number 1 currently. His warts have been reduced significantly this year. And to put Hurts anywhere near Mayfield, Love and Goff is ignoring what your eyes saw at the end of the year here. All of them threw a bunch of Carson Wentz hero ball type passes from what I saw. 

2 minutes ago, Cochis_Calhoun said:

To be honest Burks doing that after being a middling journeyman if anything is a potential knock on the value of his and Baun's contract, because it starts to look like a system product rather than an individual performance thing, Dean, Baun and Burks all played way above their career level to date (in Baun's case light years above). Baun will get paid big dollars, I think Burks is likely to get a small bump on this year's money but not huge IMO. 

It's the first year in a loooong old while that we had a 2nd string inside linebacker worth a toot on a tin whistle. I'd be fine with bringing them all back. 

It's interesting going back and looking at Baun's draft rankings.

"Like I said, his versatility to be a guy who can play outside as a pass rusher. He can be inside in your base. Pass rush situations, third down situations, he can be on the outside. He gives you that. He’s got a great attitude, great approach. He hustles. He’s a team guy, a great attitude. Players love him."

OVERALL

Baun is a project as an off-ball NFL linebacker, but he's a versatile prospect who will add value as a third-down pass-rusher in addition to his upside at the position. He's an impressive athlete with a high football IQ and great motor, which typically adds up to an NFL starter. The key will be whether his defensive coordinator has a plan for using and developing him.

       

GRADE: 88

PRO COMPARISON: Joe Schobert/Haason Reddick

Prospect Grade

6.50

Boom-or-bust potential

 

Baun came to UW as a dual-threat quarterback who won the state's Offensive Player of the Year award as a senior at Brown Deer High School (1,936 passing yards, 20 passing touchdowns; 1,837 rushing yards, 39 rushing touchdowns). His best fit was on defense, though, with the Badgers so he contributed there as a reserve linebacker his redshirt freshman season (15 tackles, 3.5 for loss in 12 games). Baun's progress was set back by a foot injury suffered in 2017 preseason camp but he made up for lost time by starting all 13 games in 2018 (63 tackles, 7.5 for loss, 2.5 sacks, one interception). Baun became a superstar in college football as a senior, finishing among the nation's leaders with 19.5 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks among his 76 total tackles to earn second-team Associated Press All-American and first-team All-Big Ten honors. He also intercepted a pass, broke up two others, and caused two fumbles.

Draft Projection

Rounds 1-2

NFL Comparison

Kyle Van Noy

Overview

Ascending prospect whose explosive production on the field has begun to mirror his explosive athletic traits. Baun's twitchy get-off and deep bend at the edge is nightmare fuel for Big Ten tackles and he's still at the early stages of pass rush development. He is aggressive to flow downhill in run support, has sideline-to-sideline range and is fluid dropping into coverage. He's strong but a little light as an edge-setter so teams will need to figure out how best to align him. Baun is a scheme-diverse linebacker with high-impact potential whose best days are ahead of him.

Strengths

Twitchy and explosive. Ill-tempered striking on display against Ohio State. Lateral slide quickness to close running lanes from backside. Rush zombie with good secondary rush motor. Quick hands to punch and play around blocks. Speed and athleticism to cover RBs and match up with TEs in space. Smooth drops and fluid hips amplify zone cover radius. Good tackle range with speed to go get them. Flexible and strong to maintain balance through contact. Proper sink and extension to set a solid edge. Agility and suddenness to expand his reach as open-field tackler. Dangerous burst and bend whips tardy tackles around the edge. Quick trigger to create disruption in backfield. Good rip-and-run to flatten and attack the pocket.

Weaknesses

Lacks desired size of a full-time, NFL edge rusher. Long-arm tackles pester him at point of attack. Needs to harness energy as open-field tackler. Occasionally telegraphs rush plan with pre-snap setup of feet. Antsy demeanor causes delays coming off the ball at times. Rush momentum can carry him beyond the arc. Mechanical in his rush counters. Currently wins with athletic ability over skill level as pass rusher. Some panic when face-guarding down the field.

9 minutes ago, RLC said:

 

As cool as that is, it's also why I'm not worried about losing Kellen Moore.

I love aj brown. He’s not just a great player but off the field he’s pretty genuine and has helped a lot of people with depression by making his story public  

52 minutes ago, bpac55 said:

Even BVS is a question mark though. He was ST ace/FB. He didn't play a single down at LB. He's a complete unknown coming off an injury. I love the idea of having a LB/FB on the roster. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised to see him move primarily to FB. Plus, he's a RFA. 

Oren Burks in the playoffs had 25 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 FF and a sack. There's a real possibility that Burks and Baun both get contract offers they never dreamt of and the Eagles are left with Trotter Jr. 

LB is a huge need.

This is a pretty good off ball LB class for us. Aside from Jihaad Campbell — who I think would be dynamite in Fangio’s system — there are a bunch of good prospects who should be available in the 3rd through 5th rounds. Guys with a nice blend of size and movement skills to drop into coverage.

3 minutes ago, just relax said:

I agree. Moore came here as a passing game guru. After the 2-2 start, the Eagles players, particularly the OL lobbied hard to run more and they did. 

Who is the run game coordinator and OL coach? 

1 hour ago, TEW said:

If I’m taking a DE in the first round, they need to project as a double digit sack type of player. You can do that with speed or power, but he’s got to be a good pass rusher.

I’m just not excited by guys like Landon Jackson or Mike Green, and I don’t think Shemar Stewart makes it to our pick.

Mike green has so much potential