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

Bradberry one was. I can’t say slay is bad. It isn’t great but he still played well enough the past two years. They needed him to win a SB cause I’m not sure Rodgers or ringo were good enough to be a consistent starters yet.   

Pickett is a backup Qb. you got 2 years out of him being a backup for moving down 22 spots from 98 to 120 and 2 7th rounders. The 7th rounders are probably not making this roster. Rather have gone McKee but that one doesn’t bother me as much. Frankly bigger argument is giving up a 3rd for Dotson. 

Also another bad use of assets by Howie

To further underscore my point…

Howie built a roster so good in 2017 that we beat Tom Brady in the SB with a backup QB, LT and LB. Then he built a Super Bowl-winning roster this year that had maybe only one average starter (Blankenship, not counting Burks starting for Dean) and was maybe the best overall roster of any team in the past 10 years. 

 

"Why doesn't anyone watch the NBA anymore?"

 

2 hours ago, jojodancer said:

Never was a Hurts hugger here. But always just was practical about it. Never looked it as a stats question with him and if they are good enough. The main question to me, was can you win with Jalen Hurts as your starting QB for the Philadelphia Eagles?

For me, Hurts clearly answered that question in the 2023 Superbowl. Never saw that performance as a fluke as some did. At age 24, on the largest stage, he showed not only can he go head to head with a future hall of famer in Patrick Mahomes, but significantly outplay him. That was enough for me. Could never ignore that fact in my assessment. And yet again he showed up and dominated him once again last week. No other QB in the NFL will ever to be able make this same claim. It's pretty historical and mind-boggling.

Now, as many of us stated here before Hurts can not be analyzed by stats alone. It's all about the intangibles here. The guy has always been a leader and a winner. And I will stick by that. Even after his next bad game! Can they lose with Hurts next year? Sure can! In the same way the Chiefs lost with Mahomes this year. Hurts will give us a chance every game and every year. Just like Phillies ace Zack Wheeler gives us a chance to win every start. Doesn't mean we will.

As we all know, it's a team game and saw that firsthand with Mahomes last week. Chiefs won those 2 straight Superbowls because of a great TEAM. Special teams, defense and coaching were top notched. It won them their last 2 Superbowls, not Patrick Mahomes. That was proven last week when he was running around like a chicken without a head, as his offensive line and supporting cast failed him. Chiefs are in trouble now with 2 aging future hall of famers slipping some here (Chris Jones and Travis Kelce) and not having the internal replacements in level of talent that the Eagles had in key positions with Jalen Carter and Cam Jurgens replacing Fletcher Cox and Jason Kelce.

I suspect the Eagles are now the Chiefs of 2020 on the timeline. That's where we are in this cycle. I am going to enjoy this 4 or 5 year window coming up. 

 

Not really to the points you are making with which I agree (Hurts is a winner and this team can go on a multi-year run), but while Kelce is baked (he may not think so, but he is), Jones had a better pressure rate in the SB than he did during the season.  He is likely not going to see any fall off next year, IMO.

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

Frankly were legit concerns with the organization and howie’s direction after 2020 season. the eagles were at a crossroads at Qb, roster and 2017 felt more like hitting lightning in a bottle with foles playing out of his mind cause the teams after that were really not SB title caliber teams.

like Howie has had his mistakes since 2021 offseason (huff and bradberry contract) but for the most part this roster is young and really has sustainability which i don’t think any of us felt from 2018-2021

Yeah. He was in a rough spot back then. Since then he’s been on a heater, reminiscent of Seattle hitting on all those Legion of Boom guys and Russell Wilson. 

4 minutes ago, NOTW said:

 

"Why doesn't anyone watch the NBA anymore?"

 

Watching the all star game and gotta say it's not bad.  Alot better than it has been with the new format.  They're actually playing somewhat hard and playing defense instead of it being a glorified lay up line and chucking up 100 3's.

2 hours ago, TEW said:

Fangio has mentioned Nolan Smith’s size as a concern on multiple occasions. I think he wants big guys who are also athletic.

Jalyx Hunt is the guy he really wanted — 6’4” 255, and hadn’t  been in a major college program’s training system. It wouldn’t surprise me if he got to 260+ pounds and I think he wants guys who are 250+.

Here’s the NFL scouting report on him after the combine:

 

I'm not disagreeing that coaches want size and speed. Hunt is naturally heavier than Smith and I don't think there's an issue with his weight. I don't believe Vic will be trying to get Hunt to put on weight.

4 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

Yeah. He was in a rough spot back then. Since then he’s been on a heater, reminiscent of Seattle hitting on all those Legion of Boom guys and Russell Wilson. 

Yup he’s improved drafting which has given us a chance to have sustainability on that side of the ball. And got us two legit WRs. Which is something most of us had been complaining about at the end of 2020.

i’m curious to see how he works this off-season. imo i think baun is back. I don’t think they can afford to let him leave with Dean’s injury and in general he’s still young and a great fit with fangio. But everyone else is up in and the air. I wouldn’t be shocked if becton, Williams and sweat are all gone. I’d love to get garret but don’t think that’s realistic. I think we see guys like Davis, Reed, cam jurgens get extensions and some second tier FAs. Maybe one splashy type signing or trade 

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

Yup he’s improved drafting which has given us a chance to have sustainability on that side of the ball. And got us two legit WRs. Which is something most of us had been complaining about at the end of 2020.

i’m curious to see how he works this off-season. imo i think baun is back. I don’t think they can afford to let him leave with Dean’s injury and in general he’s still young and a great fit with fangio. But everyone else is up in and the air. I wouldn’t be shocked if becton, Williams and sweat are all gone. I’d love to get garret but don’t think that’s realistic. I think we see guys like Davis, Reed, cam jurgens get extensions and some second tier FAs. Maybe one splashy type signing or trade 

I agree with most, I don’t think Davis gets extension tho unless it’s very team friendly.  Reed too. They have to leave a lot of room for Carter and some decent room for Smith

Aww he got prank called on draft day 

 

Just now, pgcd3 said:

I agree with most, I don’t think Davis gets extension tho unless it’s very team friendly.  Reed too. They have to leave a lot of room for Carter and some decent room for Smith

Tbh i don’t think Reed is going to break the bank. I’d have less issue letting him walk if Brown had shown more. I think Davis cause he has a 5th year option they can manipulate his contract more like they’ve done in the past with some guys. 

15 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

Yeah. He was in a rough spot back then. Since then he’s been on a heater, reminiscent of Seattle hitting on all those Legion of Boom guys and Russell Wilson. 

I stated many times, the NFL is cyclical. No GM can avoid that. Its the way it is. But with Howie, the lows are never that low, and never that long. And the highs, he can take the team to the mountain top.  When youre in the low point of the cycle, Howie is the guy you want bringing you out. He knows how to rebuild it quickly. 

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

Bradberry one was. I can’t say slay is bad. It isn’t great but he still played well enough the past two years. They needed him to win a SB cause I’m not sure Rodgers or ringo were good enough to be a consistent starters yet.   

Pickett is a backup Qb. you got 2 years out of him being a backup for moving down 22 spots from 98 to 120 and 2 7th rounders. The 7th rounders are probably not making this roster. Rather have gone McKee but that one doesn’t bother me as much. Frankly bigger argument is giving up a 3rd for Dotson. 

We then traded 120 for a 3rd next year which was then part of the Jahan Dotson trade.

So for a 3rd round + 4 x 7th round picks for Pickett, Dotson and 5th.

43 minutes ago, austinfan said:

Remember some CB named Asante? Average size, speed combo. Or Torry Holt at WR.

What makes this team special isn't that they're big and fast on a chart, but they play fast, because they're smart enough to understand what Fangio and Stoutland want them to do.

Milton is a great athlete, but he's also smaller with short arms. Dean is small with average speed but great instincts, his problem is durability.

When Howie puts his board together, I'm sure it's a lot shorter than the available players, b/c he's learned to eliminate the ones who lack the right intangibles, no matter how well they test. So when you target size/athleticism, you want to focus on the subpopulation with the right intangibles who fell for "good" reasons, injuries that don't seem to signal injury prone, small college, behind a really good player, in the wrong scheme for his skill set, etc.

You can't teach size and speed, but you can't teach "stupid and lazy" either.

Holy ran a 4.44 with a 2.62 20 yard split. So above average speed with excellent acceleration. 

This team plays fast because they ARE fast. It’s a team built on physical superiority. Yes of course they’re well coached, but no amount of coaching is going to make a jag into Lane Johnson.

Milton had arguably the greatest combine in history for a DT. What are you even talking about?

 

4 minutes ago, HazletonEagle said:

I stated many times, the NFL is cyclical. No GM can avoid that. Its the way it is. But with Howie, the lows are never that low, and never that long. And the highs, he can take the team to the mountain top.  When youre in the low point of the cycle, Howie is the guy you want bringing you out. He knows how to rebuild it quickly. 

Yeah that’s also why I’m good not signing the guys other than Baun. He had a costly miss with Huff and that’s ok because we won the Super Bowl!!!! Now it feels like trying to hold back spending this offseason is the right move for the future. 

49 minutes ago, ToastJenkins said:

The bradberry and slay contracts are also bad

Pickett trade was another wasted asset

You are letting the quest for the perfect cloud your perception of the very, very good.

The job of an NFL GM is not a science.  It is an art.

16 minutes ago, brkmsn said:

I'm not disagreeing that coaches want size and speed. Hunt is naturally heavier than Smith and I don't think there's an issue with his weight. I don't believe Vic will be trying to get Hunt to put on weight.

I absolutely believe Hunt is going to get bigger. His frame isn’t filled out yet. 5-10 pounds and he can easily keep his movement skills.

18 minutes ago, kiwieagle said:

We then traded 120 for a 3rd next year which was then part of the Jahan Dotson trade.

So for a 3rd round + 4 x 7th round picks for Pickett, Dotson and 5th.

They’re 3 separate trades. 

Pickett and pick 120 for 98th pick and 2 7ths isn’t the worst trade in the world. No offense that isn’t an awful trade. You essentially moved back 22 spots and gave up 2 7th rounders (not making this team) to get a backup Qb for 2 years that they liked in scouting prior. I don’t like Pickett but that is far from a bad trade. I’m fine with that trade and I’m not a Pickett fan

I think everyone was thrilled when we dealt 120 for a 2025 3rd from Miami. Imo that’s a win for us at that point. essentially would’ve gotten a 2025 3rd (Miami) and Kenny Pickett for trading 98 (late 3rd as Miami’s pick had a chance to be better in 2025) and 2 7th. I think most would’ve signed off for something like that. a decent back up quarterback and a future third round pick for 98 and 2 7th.

The Dotson trade is the worst of the 3 trades. because he wasnt utilized all that well and frankly probably wasn’t worth a 3rd. Imo the two trades prior to Dotson were fine. it’s really the Dotson trade that is not good as that 3rd is more valuable then Dotson 

 

4 minutes ago, mattwill said:

You are letting the quest for the perfect cloud your perception of the very, very good.

The job of an NFL GM is not a science.  It is an art.

How anyone can criticize Howie at this point is laughable.

He’s the greatest GM of history generation, and I don’t think it’s particularly close.

3 SB appearances in 7 years with 2 different head coaches;, 2 different QBs, and 3 different sets of coordinators.

It’s completely unprecedented in the salary cap era. The NFL better thank their lucky stars the salary cap exists, because with an owner like Laurie Howie would be building multi-generational dynasties.

2 hours ago, jamiller said:

Not really to the points you are making with which I agree (Hurts is a winner and this team can go on a multi-year run), but while Kelce is baked (he may not think so, but he is), Jones had a better pressure rate in the SB than he did during the season.  He is likely not going to see any fall off next year, IMO.

Agreed. Jones is still pretty good. But maybe less of a game wrecker and has been playing through some dings this year. Reminds me of Fletcher in build and has a lot of wear and tear on him with all the games and playoff appearances. He's an old 31 next year like Fletcher was. Can see his 31 and 32 year old seasons gradually descending into just a good player, but probably more injured throughout these years. But yeah Kelce is cooked. Ironically, he was still pretty good just last year. Father time always catches up. They just don't have any replacements on their roster as of yet. And really, how do you really replace 2 future hall of famers? But somehow Howie did so here. Quite amazing. 

43 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

To further underscore my point…

Howie built a roster so good in 2017 that we beat Tom Brady in the SB with a backup QB, LT and LB. Then he built a Super Bowl-winning roster this year that had maybe only one average starter (Blankenship, not counting Burks starting for Dean) and was maybe the best overall roster of any team in the past 10 years. 

Very different ingredients though.  2017 roster Howie built by bartering bubblegum and juggling while standing on his head.  It was fantastic and creative, but for such a talented roster, it was really, really light on players he drafted.  FA, trades, etc.

2024 came from absolutely annihilating 3 consecutive drafts.

They won this superbowl in April, not February.

 

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

They’re two separate trades. Why are we combining them as one.
 

Pickett and pick 120 for 98th pick and 2 7ths isn’t the worst trade in the world. No offense that isn’t an awful trade. You essentially moved back 22 spots and gave up 2 crap 7th rounders to get a backup Qb for 2 years that they liked in scouting prior. I don’t like Pickett but that is far from a bad trade. 

The Dotson trade is by far worse. because he wasnt utilized all that well and frankly probably wasn’t worth a 3rd.  

 

Dotson had a TD against GB and then made a huge catch in the super bowl. Kenny Pickett took a knee when the game was in the bag. I'll go with the former being more valuable than the latter.

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

They’re 3 separate trades. Why are we combining them as one.

Pickett and pick 120 for 98th pick and 2 7ths isn’t the worst trade in the world. No offense that isn’t an awful trade. You essentially moved back 22 spots and gave up 2 crap 7th rounders to get a backup Qb for 2 years that they liked in scouting prior. I don’t like Pickett but that is far from a bad trade.

I think everyone was thrilled we then dealt 120 for a 2025 3rd. so you essentially would’ve gotten a 2025 3rd and Kenny Pickett for trading 98 (late 3rd). I think everybody would’ve signed off for something like that. a quality back up quarterback and a future third round pick.

The Dotson trade is by far worse. because he wasnt utilized all that well and frankly probably wasn’t worth a 3rd. Imo the tow trades prior to Dotson was fine  it’s really the Dotson trade that is not good   

Is the problem with Dotson the trade or the utilization?  Maria Muldauer said it best, 

It ain't the meat it's the motion
That makes your momma wanna rock
It ain't the meat it's the motion
It's the movement it isn't the stalk

7 minutes ago, we_gotta_believe said:

Dotson had a TD against GB and then made a huge catch in the super bowl. Kenny Pickett took a knee when the game was in the bag. I'll go with the former being more valuable than the latter.

In fairness, the backup quarterback is never gonna be as valuable as a 3rd WR in the postseason run unless Jalen hurts got hurt for an extended period of time or middle of a playoff game. Like Foles with wentz.  He was basically an insurance policy in case something happened to hurts.  Which is why I was fine with them moving back 22 spots and giving up 2 7ths. Like when you make that trade, you’re hoping you never have to use Kenny Pickett. 

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

The Dotson trade is by far worse. because he wasnt utilized all that well and frankly probably wasn’t worth a 3rd.  

At the time of the trade, I don't think the Eagles were committed to running 57% of the time for the season. I liked how Dotson was unselfish about his usage and did what he was asked to do with a great attitude. 

He manned a key role on the offense all year and we ended up with a Lombardi. As for the trade itself, we did get a 5th in that one while giving up a 3rd and two 7ths. I still believe he'll get the ball  a little more this next season.