1 hour ago, Aerolithe_Lion said:

Dan Patrick, well known host of the Rich Eisen Show

77 reasons why that is the case.

1 hour ago, LeanMeanGM said:

I don’t know if it was talked about already but the Packers new proposal will ban all pushing of a ball carrier.

While the whole thing is lame and petty, I don’t mind banning the other plays that include pushing.

I actually like that proposal. It will hurt non-eagle teams more than it hurts the eagle because they rarely run up into a pile and push in the open field whereas other teams definitely do.

Further as I’ve stated before I think the Eagles will be just a successful with quarterback sneaks without pushing as they have been with pushing.

1 hour ago, just relax said:

Petty it is indeed. Let's outlaw blocking while we're at it; what is that but pushing?

You and I will have to agree to disagree on this one. There are lots of rules, especially oriented towards safety, that apply to a specific role or a specific player such as the runner. I have no problem with pushing when you’re not pushing the ball carrier. Pushing the ball carrier I think I can do without

19 minutes ago, Diehardfan said:

I see DC as a team who tried to build things the wrong way. They added aging vets and are going to take a step back like the Eagles did trying to build the "dream team".

This, I agree with. I think they'll be better this year but there's a limit because they will lack continuity. Almost half the team is on one-year contracts.

15 hours ago, just relax said:

The operative word here is "was”.

Totally disagree about Washington. They added two very good OTs, a quality #2 WR and Daniels is only in his second year. McLaren is no longer the only guy to throw to. They know what they have now, which is a big part of what a team is and how they play, and they beat us once already. Lest we forget, they were a one score away before their turnover last time round. Do I think we’re better? Yes, but not as much as you seem to think. I think they give us all we want and more.

I tend to agree their offense is better. The Rams signed Whitworth at age 36 and he played well for them and was a key part of a Super Bowl. Tunsil is only 30. He is an upgrade and likely will be solid addition for the future. This was their best move. Drafting Conerly was an upgrade for them as well. The other moves have been OK. I don't think Deebo is going to be more productive than he was in SF. So he's a middle of the road number 2 WR. I don't think it's an improvement for them to any significant degree. His targets and productivity may impact Ertz's. They re-signed Ertz. Ertz was a solid starter. I would not expect him to fall off this season but he's not any younger. He may get less targets now with Deebo. They also added Jaylin Lane who ran a 4.34 at the combine. He may be their second best receiver by the end of the year. He is on the smaller side and probably isn't a complement to McLaurin's skill set.

<iframe src="https://www.mockdraftable.com/embed/jaylin-lane?position=WR&page=GRAPH" width="480" height="651" frameborder="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>

Arguably, the upgrade along the o-line will help them but I don't know if it is as clear as we would think. Daniels ran for a ton of yards escaping the pocket. If he has more time and is making more throws to good but defendable receivers, I am not sure if the offense is going to be a lot better. They will score points and likely be a hard team to beat but their real issues were on defense.

They gave up 114 points to the Eagles in 3 games. They also gave up more than 200 yards rushing in each of those games. Their big signing was Javon Kinlaw but they also released Jonathan Allen. Allen has been a very good player for them and Kinlaw has never played up to his draft pick. They kept Bobby Wagner. The biggest improvement may be drafting Trey Amos but I don't think he's going to fix their issues. They were a bottom half of the league team in terms of points against. I don't see how those issues have changed for them when they are arguably worse along their front 7.

1 hour ago, vikas83 said:

Yup. Works for me. 2 month avatar bet.

I suspect you are on the wrong side of that over/under.

Washington will win the division this season. NFC East doesn't get repeat champs and little reason to believe that will change this season with how hard of a schedule the Eagles have with the starters they have lost and Washington improving upon an already good year.

1 hour ago, HazletonEagle said:

Oy...

This is the kind of argument where you go down a rabbit hole. It isn’t worth it. You have been arguably the Blog’s best poster for the past 90 days, but when the hair goes up on the back of your neck in one of these disagreements I find myself thinking back to the days, weeks, months when I had you on ignore. I really like and respect this current Joe The prior Joe … not so much,

9 minutes ago, mattwill said:

I suspect you are on the wrong side of that over/under.

You want some action on it as well?

15 hours ago, mattwill said:

Bill Walsh proved this in the 80’s. Jimmy Johnson in the 90’s.

For whatever reason, teams just can’t internalize it.

I think Howie’s approach of small trades up to secure a player rated significantly above the rest makes sense, but the big trades up for one player rarely work out well.

9 minutes ago, mattwill said:

This is the kind of argument where you go down a rabbit hole. It isn’t worth it. You have been arguably the Blog’s best poster for the past 90 days, but when the hair goes up on the back of your neck in one of these disagreements I find myself thinking back to the days, weeks, months when I had you on ignore. I really like and respect this current Joe The prior Joe … not so much,

There is no argument. I said a certain height/arm length doesnt play outside in the NFL. Those guys read that I said "cant" play in the NFL and listed a player who has done it. They read wrong. I didnt say cant. But they kinda helped prove my point about doesnt. Because even though he got stuck there this season out of necessity, and played really well, his team wants to move him back inside anyway. Argument over. No hair up. I said "oy" because both of them made the same mistake misreading the post.

I haven't caught up on many pages, sorry if posted. But really good insight here, especially on the politics of the competition committee basically being coerced by the league to push for rule changes they want to see. He also explains that the Packers proposal was too vague because it said "immediate" pushing of a player. How do you define immediate? How many seconds after the snap?

Banning all player pushing opens up a can of worms. RBs and WRs get pushed over the line for 1st downs and touchdowns a lot too. And what about defense, can they push a player to keep them from crossing the goal line? It's stupid.

All this because ONE team in the NFL is dominant at a play. The Eagles will still convert a high percentage of QB sneaks because the line is so good.

People on social media were melting down over the Ravens statement on his release. It's wild that people still haven't learned that teams are not going to mention the accusations of a player in this regard if accusations have not been proven. It does not benefit a team to do so, and the purpose of statements is not to virtue signal to the public.

30 minutes ago, RememberTheKoy said:

Washington will win the division this season. NFC East doesn't get repeat champs and little reason to believe that will change this season with how hard of a schedule the Eagles have with the starters they have lost and Washington improving upon an already good year.

From Sharp Football Analysis. https://www.sharpfootballanalysis.com/analysis/nfl-strength-of-schedule/

Washington's schedule gets much more difficult as well. They were 8-4 in one-score games. They won five games in a row on the last play. They won another with a Hail Mary.

Vegas has our O/(U) at 11.5 wins. Washington is at 9.5.

8 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

From Sharp Football Analysis. https://www.sharpfootballanalysis.com/analysis/nfl-strength-of-schedule/

Washington's schedule gets much more difficult as well. They were 8-4 in one-score games. They won five games in a row on the last play. They won another with a Hail Mary.

Vegas has our O/(U) at 11.5 wins. Washington is at 9.5.

That's what I meant yesterday by the NFC West having the easiest schedule, so whoever emerges from that division is likely the Eagles' foremost competition this season. I don't see SEA or ARI winning that division, so it defaults to the Rams or 49ers. San Fran has the easier 3 flex opponents which could make the difference if they play well within the division.

I don't think the 49ers will need to actually BE that good this season to look like they're much better.

Roseman prides himself on being one step ahead of the curve and seeing where the trend is going. With defenses getting smaller and faster the past 5+ years, he knows there will most likely be a shift back to running the ball. It's why they signed Barkley last year and I think it's where the fullback comments are coming from. And it's why you've seen draft picks like Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter, and Ty Robinson the past three-four years. Everything is cyclical and they capitalized massively with the Barkley signing.

On paper I think the Bucs and Rams will be the biggest competition for the top seed.

The Eagles schedule looks pretty brutal.

The Commanders schedule is very similar to ours, except they host the Seahawks (Eagles host Rams) and they visit Atlanta and Miami (Bucs and Bills at the Eagles).

5 minutes ago, Mike31mt said:

On paper I think the Bucs and Rams will be the biggest competition for the top seed.

The Eagles schedule looks pretty brutal.

It doesn't help that they play Tampa every time in Tampa and it's usually in September when it's 110 degrees on the field.

Yeah that Bucs game better be November this time. Enough of the damn September matchups.

1 hour ago, NOTW said:

Banning all player pushing opens up a can of worms. RBs and WRs get pushed over the line for 1st downs and touchdowns a lot too. And what about defense, can they push a player to keep them from crossing the goal line? It's stupid.

I don’t see what can of worms it opens. Like I said before, it actually fixes a major advantage the offense has over the defense. Offense gets the benefit of forward progress AND pushing. Defense gets nothing. So it’s not fair that WR and RBs get pushed for a 1st or a TD downfield. If you are going to allow pushing to benefit the offense then pushing the ball carrier back should also apply and the spot should be when the play is dead, not up to the furtherest point the offense got.

Defense is obviously going to be allowed to push to stop forward progress. The ban is going to be for offenses who are trying to advance the ball via the push.

50 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

From Sharp Football Analysis. https://www.sharpfootballanalysis.com/analysis/nfl-strength-of-schedule/

Washington's schedule gets much more difficult as well. They were 8-4 in one-score games. They won five games in a row on the last play. They won another with a Hail Mary.

Vegas has our O/(U) at 11.5 wins. Washington is at 9.5.

I think Washington is not setting themselves up for long term success loading up on long term talent but I do think they are setting up to contend in the now to capitalize on Daniels. They won some close games but Daniels is great and that roster is better this season. Plus they have a ton of confidence now rolling into this season.

We only won 2 more games last season. I think the difference in the schedule will be enough to swing it to the Redskins. Getting to play Miami, Atlanta and Seattle instead of Buffalo, Bucs and Rams is big. Plus we saw it in 2018 and even 2023, teams aew going to be bringing their all against us as the defending champs. We are probably going to see another slow start for the offense as it yet again is under a new OC.

I think the rule would prohibit pushing the ball carrier. Defenders would be allowed to push each other while tackling.

The vagueness came from downfield mauls where OL would push the collection of ball carrier and tacklers. That was never called as pushing prior to 2006, so they just took the rule off the books. They didn't anticipate it leading to an almost unstoppable QB sneak.

If it is just limited to the ball carrier, I could envision a short-yardage play where the offense orchestrates blockers pushing each other into a confined space to move the defenders back from the LOS.

Commies fate lands on whether Daniels has the sophomore slump or not