18 minutes ago, mattwill said:

Setting aside the actual trade capital it would take, for me the biggest cost would be the opportunity cost of Walker being close to his second contract negotiation.  The AJ Brown trade is a case in point.  He cost a Round 1 pick in the trade, but he also cost the contract extension at significant Cap dollars,  Howie had no problem making that trade at that time because Cap dollars were readily available then.  Unfortunately, Cap dollars are much less available now so choosing between a player like AJ or Walker and a newly drafted player at the same position, the bias is toward the drafted player.

JMO

Agreed, not very realistic given all the other money allocated to offense, Jurgens' upcoming extension, and Carter's looming mega deal.

I do wonder, since Huff is coming off the books (either this year or, likely, next), they'll be cheap at edge and in the secondary. Making a huge move for an edge seems like something they'd give real thought to.

Can't think of a better fit if the Eagles were going to make a move than Walker. Georgia connection, can set the edge, is somehow useful as a dropper despite his size. I'd be fascinated to hear Fangio's opinion of Walker vs. Garrett for his defense.

(Doubt Jags would be interested for reasonable compensation)

23 minutes ago, vikas83 said:

My biggest question on the Chiefs going forward is...did the Eagles beating them down completely remove their mystique. They've basically been banking on luck and teams like Baltimore and Buffalo beating themselves. Those teams go into playoff games against the Chiefs and seem to just be waiting for disaster. Now that they not only lost, but got crushed, will Allen and Lamar finally break through?

Tbh I’ve said this in the past the biggest thing holding the Buffalo Bills from beating the Chiefs is that Sean McDermott’s defense has yet to play good in a game. They’ve given up 38, 27, 43 and 32 points in their 4 playoff matchups. Basically giving up 34.3 ppg. The Buffalo offense has averaged 28.3 ppg. Their offense could stand to be better and Allen could also be better at times but really their defense continues to keep letting them down. I’d argue McDermott was fortunate mark andrews dropped the two point conversion cause if he doesn’t and the ravens then find a way to win after it then there would’ve been talk about how they allowed the ravens to go 88 yards in under 2 mins to score that TD. this year when the Chiefs had not scored over 30 points all year, they managed to score 32 points against the bills defense.

7 minutes ago, Alphagrand said:

In a league with a hard salary cap ....... just draft and develop your own players.  You have them under cost control on a rookie deal for 4 years, plus 5th year option for first round picks.  

Saquon Barkley, AJ Brown, Zach Baun, Darius Slay all were key contributors that weren’t drafted by Eagles

3 minutes ago, pgcd3 said:

Saquon Barkley, AJ Brown, Zach Baun, Darius Slay all were key contributors that weren’t drafted by Eagles

Could add CJGJ and burks (playoffs)

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

Could add CJGJ and burks (playoffs)

Becton as well.

Howie does a great job blending picks with outsiders. 7 of 11 starters on offense are drafted players, 4 from the outside (Saquon, AJ, Becton and Dotson since I count WR3 and not TE2 as a starter). On defense, 8 of 11 starters were drafted/UDFA with Eagles, with Slay, Baun and CJGJ via FA (not counting Burks since Dean was the starter). That's a perfect ratio, IMO. 

More amazing -- every starter on offense other than Mailata was a 1st or 2nd round pick. 

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

Could add CJGJ and burks (playoffs)

Yep it's always a mix.  Obviously you want to draft as many great players as you can but it always needs to be complemented by other moves

Wembanyama out for rest of season with a blood clot in his right shoulder. Didn’t Bosh have to hang it up early due to blood clots? Hope that’s not the case here I really enjoy watching him play.

1 hour ago, Wentz_Era said:

Has he been rumored to be on the block?

I remember there were rumblings last year before the trade deadline  https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/jacksonville-jaguars/news/jaguars-predicted-sell-former-no-1-pick-nfl-trade-deadline-shocker/21385fbe41cf8e2a2b7dc079

This wasn't the only site talking about it either.  

So to answer your question.... I have no clue and probably not 

47 minutes ago, vikas83 said:

My biggest question on the Chiefs going forward is...did the Eagles beating them down completely remove their mystique. They've basically been banking on luck and teams like Baltimore and Buffalo beating themselves. Those teams go into playoff games against the Chiefs and seem to just be waiting for disaster. Now that they not only lost, but got crushed, will Allen and Lamar finally break through?

Without question… They shattered it

1 hour ago, just relax said:

My two cents on hiring Patullo:

The Eagles offense changed during the bye, going from pass first to run first, to put it most simply. That was not Moore’s offense, based on his past record. Rather, it was an offense that the players wanted and spoke up about. In that regard it was more Stoutland’s and the OL’s offense than Moore’s. I have no sense of Patullo as a play caller but he has to know the scheme as well as anyone and better than any outside hire. I hated Moore’s play calling to start the season so I don’t think Patullo’s can be any worse. So long as we play to our strengths I think we’ll be fine.

There were 2 ideas Moore brought that I thought were good.  He made good use of motion.  He also had them pass from under center formations.  Patullo had a role in developing the passing options from the RPO game.  I would like them to get more creative on the offensive side of the ball.  I am not sure that Patullo does that for them.  

Victor Wembanyama out for the season with shoulder injury and or blood clot.  Spurs tanking for another dynasty?  

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

Tbh I’ve said this in the past the biggest thing holding the Buffalo Bills from beating the Chiefs is that Sean McDermott’s defense has yet to play good in a game. They’ve given up 38, 27, 43 and 32 points in their 4 playoff matchups. Basically giving up 34.3 ppg. The Buffalo offense has averaged 28.3 ppg. Their offense could stand to be better and Allen could also be better at times but really their defense continues to keep letting them down. I’d argue McDermott was fortunate mark andrews dropped the two point conversion cause if he doesn’t and the ravens then find a way to win after it then there would’ve been talk about how they allowed the ravens to go 88 yards in under 2 mins to score that TD. this year when the Chiefs had not scored over 30 points all year, they managed to score 32 points against the bills defense.

I do think part of that is just a lack of any elite talent on any level.  Ultimately, they have not had a real difference maker at any position on the defense.  

2 hours ago, mattwill said:

It is not wrong to have an opinion.  Nor is it wrong to jump to conclusions.  It is what it is.  Our collective opinions are often called Negadelphian.  I simply expressed my opinion that many posters were rushing to judgment.  It is also my opinion that it is often just as much fun to sit back and enjoy the ride … wherever that ride takes you.

It is also my opinion that a schoolteacher should know when a long winded argument is simply a house of semantics built on a foundation of sand.

I think the difference is that verdict signifies, in this context, an opinion that is unlikely to change.  The use of the word derives from it's legal meaning.  A verdict is rendered after the facts are into evidence.  An opinion about a player on draft day or a coaching hire, is likely subject to change based on new facts. So you can't render a verdict about a new hire or drafted player because the opportunity that their performance may change your opinion is understood.  

1 hour ago, vikas83 said:

I feel like Howie will try and do it now and get a better price...

Howie also makes good use of injury insurance to hedge the financial/Cap risk of an injury causing a player to miss games or seasons.

2 minutes ago, NCiggles said:

I think the difference is that verdict signifies, in this context, an opinion that is unlikely to change.  The use of the word derives from it's legal meaning.  A verdict is rendered after the facts are into evidence.  An opinion about a player on draft day or a coaching hire, is likely subject to change based on new facts. So you can't render a verdict about a new hire or drafted player because the opportunity that their performance may change your opinion is understood.  

Your answer makes me chuckle.  For Negadelphians does that understanding actually happen?

1 hour ago, vikas83 said:

I stopped making predictions in the blog after the bye, and the superstition worked (you're welcome). Before kickoff I told the people I was with (dad, bro, niece, buddy and his 2 kids) that I thought we were going to blow the Chiefs out. There was no way to look at the 2 teams and conclude that Philly didn't have a massive talent advantage -- there were only a handful of Chiefs players that would start for the Eagles. Being generous, let's say 4 on offense (Mahomes, Humphrey, Trey Smith and Kelce); I'm not sure this version of Kelce starts over Goedert, and Smith vs. Becton is close. On defense...I guess some would take Chris Jones over Jalen Carter, but I wouldn't. Karlaftis over Sweat? That's pretty much it.

The national media basically spent 2 weeks saying "Mahomes and Reid will find a way." There was no logic to it. In SB 52, we were the more talented team, but Brady balled out and kept it close. Mahomes couldn't do that and it was a rout.

With my family health problems in a better place I thought about taking predictions in the Playoffs, but like you I looked at their record since I stopped taking predictions and decided not to tamper with what was working so well.

3 minutes ago, mattwill said:

Your answer makes me chuckle.  For Negadelphians does that understanding actually happen?

Hurts might be the closest example of a negative opinion turning positive.  No one was excited by the Zach Baun signing until people saw him play.  

7 minutes ago, mattwill said:

Howie also makes good use of injury insurance to hedge the financial/Cap risk of an injury causing a player to miss games or seasons.

I am curious if we had insurance on Bradberry for this year.

Just now, NCiggles said:

Hurts might be the closest example of a negative opinion turning positive.  No one was excited by the Zach Baun signing until people saw him play.  

There 10000000000000% were multiple "Super Bowlzzzzzzz" posts in reaction to the Baun signing.

15 minutes ago, NCiggles said:

I do think part of that is just a lack of any elite talent on any level.  Ultimately, they have not had a real difference maker at any position on the defense.  

That’s part of it. Part of it is they just get outcoached by Reid. Like the chiefs hadn’t scored over 30 all year. Think about who they played this year that was just awful and they didn’t: panthers, raiders 2x, New Orleans, Cincinnati. Yet the bills managed to give up 32. And frankly lucky mahomes just fumbled a ball away (bills didn’t do anything but recover it) just outside of the red zone otherwise it might have been closer to 40 

The biggest problem the Eagles have is that they are too good.

The Eagles simply assembled too much talent to not have a net reduction in talent over the next season.

If you include Dean’s injury and assume they’ll sign Baun, they’ll have 4 new defensive starters next year.  

1 hour ago, vikas83 said:

My biggest question on the Chiefs going forward is...did the Eagles beating them down completely remove their mystique. They've basically been banking on luck and teams like Baltimore and Buffalo beating themselves. Those teams go into playoff games against the Chiefs and seem to just be waiting for disaster. Now that they not only lost, but got crushed, will Allen and Lamar finally break through?

Luck is when preparation meets opportunity. The Chiefs are one of the best prepared teams in the NFL. So they are able to make the most of their opportunities. The Eagles took those opportunities away from them.

 

I’m conflicted about the Phillies.  On one hand, I’m grateful that they are one of the small, small handful of franchises in all of MLB that is truly committed to winning with a competitive payroll (3rd highest in MLB?).

On the other, I’m frustrated they did nothing at the deadline, did nothing in the offseason (let’s not pretend it was anything more than nothing).  Their foundation of stars are still really good…but it’s almost unquestionable that all of their best bats besides Bohm and Stott are in the downslope.  And Bohm and Stott…they are NOT going to be the franchise cornerstones to make up for prime Harper, Turner, JT, etc.  And given their ages, it’s only reasonable to brace for  Wheeler and Nola falling back.  While they may be younger, are Ranger and Sanchez ever going to be better than last year?

 

I admire the effort and the players…but baring that 1% luck that they all get perfectly and sustainably hot through the entire playoffs, I just think this group already hit its ceiling.  I don’t think it’s happening without a reset.

3 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

I’m conflicted about the Phillies.  On one hand, I’m grateful that they are one of the small, small handful of franchises in all of MLB that is truly committed to winning with a competitive payroll (3rd highest in MLB?).

On the other, I’m frustrated they did nothing at the deadline, did nothing in the offseason (let’s not pretend it was anything more than nothing).  Their foundation of stars are still really good…but it’s almost unquestionable that all of their best bats besides Bohm and Stott are in the downslope.  And Bohm and Stott…they are NOT going to be the franchise cornerstones to make up for prime Harper, Turner, JT, etc.  And given their ages, it’s only reasonable to brace for  Wheeler and Nola falling back.  While they may be younger, are Ranger and Sanchez ever going to be better than last year?

 

I admire the effort and the players…but baring that 1% luck that they all get perfectly and sustainably hot through the entire playoffs, I just think this group already hit its ceiling.  I don’t think it’s happening without a reset.

Honestly, with what the Dodgers are doing, I'm really not excited at all for baseball season. They just seem inevitable.