I very rarely compliment Lurie...but Howie made some major mistakes honing his craft over the years.  And it's not just irritable Philly fans.  He made mistakes that could have gotten GMs fired.  

Getting a GM job in the first place with his non-traditional background.  Keeping the job through the AR to Chip Kelly transition.  Getting the GM job back after the Chip Kelly fiasco.  Keeping it after the drafts leading up to the 2020 implosion and the Wentz contract.  

That's Lurie.  

9 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

I would like the blog's best nerd historians to come up with a draft class for any team in NFL history, ignoring the rest of their careers, that did more in their rookie season.

 

Lions got pretty good production from their first 4 picks in 2023

Gibbs

LaPorta

Branch

Campbell

8 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

I would like the blog's best nerd historians to come up with a draft class for any team in NFL history, ignoring the rest of their careers, that did more in their rookie season.

 

I can't talk to rookie seasons only.  But the best draft class ever was the 1974 Steelers.

Swan, Lambert, Stallworth, and Webster.  Four HOFers in one class.  

We'll know in about 15 years is Howie's 2024 class compares.

6 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

I very rarely compliment Lurie...but Howie made some major mistakes honing his craft over the years.  And it's not just irritable Philly fans.  He made mistakes that could have gotten GMs fired.  

Getting a GM job in the first place with his non-traditional background.  Keeping the job through the AR to Chip Kelly transition.  Getting the GM job back after the Chip Kelly fiasco.  Keeping it after the drafts leading up to the 2020 implosion and the Wentz contract.  

That's Lurie.  

I think Lurie is aware of the role he played in the 2018-2020 era.  He had to sign off on the Wentz contract.  He was a catalyst behind the integration of analytics into the scouting process during that time.  He was in the room during the drafts.  It would have been easy to put the blame on the GM.  He is one the best team owners this city has seen.

 

5 hours ago, Esage said:

It definitely seemed late.

Almost like they didn't expect to be using green and had to scramble to find it. 

45 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

 

I'd swap out Shipley long TD run for his long kickoff return that set the tone for Barkley's 60 yard TD run to open the Washington game.   The TD he got came in garbage time and didn't really impact the game.  The kickoff return absolutely did.

Maybe not as high on list as these other plays, but the 4th down stop of Jamar Chase by Coop sticks out… as this was the same concept that KC abused us with in the previous SB. It’s good to have the horses…

Is it just me? Tell me what it looks like this woman is holding...  

Spoiler

 

For the "What does Nick even do?" crowd: 

 

16 hours ago, VaBeach_Eagle said:

I don't think I've watched a Lombardi presentation at a Super Bowl since LII, so I was a bit disappointed in how it went this time around. I was expecting a Hall of Fame player to take it down the gauntlet like Darrell Green did for LII.  

Did anyone else think that the spraying of confetti was a bit delayed, too? Or was that just me?

Yep - it certainly seemed late.  I wanted to film it with my phone (at the game) - because the burnt orange confetti and Hurts photo from the last Super Bowl weighed in my mind - I wanted to see that green confetti rain down all over - so yeah - it was either late or I was just a little too anxious. 

 

 

37 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

I would like the blog's best nerd historians to come up with a draft class for any team in NFL history, ignoring the rest of their careers, that did more in their rookie season.

 

In recent times... I think its the 2007 Giants.  Not a close comparison.

Post season stats:
Aaron Ross, DB - Started 3 of the games, 1 PD, 2 TFL, 
Steve Smith, WR - 0 Starts, 14 rec. 152 yards, 9 First downs
Jay Alford, DT - 0 Starts, 1 sack, 1 TFL, 2 QB hits
Zak DeOssie, LB/LS - Took over as long snapper at the midway point of the season.
Kevin Boss, TE - Started all 4 games of the postseason after injury to Jeremy Shockey.  4 rec. 90 yards.
Adam Koets, T - Played in 1 postseason game.  Did not start.
Michael Johnson, DB - 0 starts, 2 PD, 4 tackles
Ahmad Bradshaw, RB - 0 starts, 48 rushes, 208 yards, 1 TD, 4 rec 27 yards.

 

The trio of Smith, Boss and Bradshaw really helped them stay afloat after some injuries during the regular season, but I don't think any of them had that great an impact their rookie year.

 

Historically, the answer is the 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers draft, which still stands as the gold standard for perfection in a draft...
Post-season stats:
Round 1 - Lynn Swann (HOF) - 5 receptions, 77 yards, 1 TD, 3 rushes, 17 yards.
Round 2 - Jack Lambert (HOF) - 3 Games started. 3 tackles. 
Round 4 - John Stallworth (HOF) - 5 receptions, 40 yards.
Round 5 - Mike Webster (HOF) - Didn't start any of the games, but played (likely on ST)

***Lambert was Defensive Rookie of the Year.  ***

 

That group did a lot more moving forward than they did in the post-season as rookies.

 

 

 

In other words, I think this was the greatest single season by a rookie class in NFL history... at least to my knowledge.   Its crazy how good they were!   We can only hope they progress like the 1974 Steelers did!!!

6 minutes ago, Waiting4Someday said:

Maybe not as high on list as these other plays, but the 4th down stop of Jamar Chase by Coop sticks out… as this was the same concept that KC abused us with in the previous SB. It’s good to have the horses…

100%. I think that was the first time when it hit me that this defense truly could be elite. Until then, I had hopes that they'd be top 10 or so, a bit better than average but nothing special. But watching that game against that Bengals passing attack, I was starting to realize that what I was seeing was something different. There were other games against the rams and ravens that I was holding out for, to see if it was just a fluke, but that Bengals game was the beginning of my excitement building for what could be a difference making unit this season.

 

19 minutes ago, Waiting4Someday said:

Maybe not as high on list as these other plays, but the 4th down stop of Jamar Chase by Coop sticks out… as this was the same concept that KC abused us with in the previous SB. It’s good to have the horses…

No doubt.  That was the first thought I had watching that play unfold.   You knew what the Bengals were setting up... and then Coop just destroyed that play.  

34 minutes ago, we_gotta_believe said:

Lions got pretty good production from their first 4 picks in 2023

Gibbs

LaPorta

Branch

Campbell

True... but no ring.  

Almost $50M to cut a player. Wow

15 hours ago, LeanMeanGM said:

That was another one. It didn’t come to mind but you mentioning it brought it right back. I meant the hit when Cooks stalled and got blindsided by Jenkins and knocked out of the game. 

I remember reading through a gameday thread on ES and found this exchange hilarious

R-word Fan #1 - What is Cooks doing?????

R-word Fan #2 - Sleeping.

58 minutes ago, NOTW said:

I'm rooting for him to lose!  

 

Keep using the Fanatics link...

 

Spoiler

 

I propose a trade within fan bases...

RTK for @Joe Ball straight up.

 

59 minutes ago, BDawk_ASamuel said:

21 players were drafted by Howie since 2022. Every single one of them except three have played some sort of role in helping the team.  Dylan McMahon, Trevor Keegan, and Kyron Johnson being the only three who haven’t. 

Speaking of McMahon, did anyone keep tabs of how he did in LA? I see he started one game. I thought he showed a ton of promise in the preseason. 

5 hours ago, ToastJenkins said:

On the Rewatch it was clear as day they had a plan to let the DTs go up field and fold the DEs back under. Its was constant and worked to perfection. They knew he would step up vs internal pressure and the DEs knew right where he would be. Artwork

on the O it was still all about saquon. I maybgo back and count how many blitzers he stone walled. Had to be double digits

Yeah Barkley’s pass pro was perfect, and their entire game plan was to sell out against the run.

55 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

I very rarely compliment Lurie...but Howie made some major mistakes honing his craft over the years.  And it's not just irritable Philly fans.  He made mistakes that could have gotten GMs fired.  

Getting a GM job in the first place with his non-traditional background.  Keeping the job through the AR to Chip Kelly transition.  Getting the GM job back after the Chip Kelly fiasco.  Keeping it after the drafts leading up to the 2020 implosion and the Wentz contract.  

That's Lurie.  

Howie’s mistakes were always way overblown when looked at in context of the rest of the league. 
 

He did get exponentially better after his "banishment” though.

17 minutes ago, Mike030270 said:

Almost $50M to cut a player. Wow

Jets staying on brand.