What do the Bears and the Broncos have in common?

Philadelphia is the only current playoff team they’ve managed to beat

@mattwill

I still don't trust Hurts in running an offense in which we need to pass to win, therefore

Eagles 20

Chargers 23

More of a wish then a bonus:

Hurts stubs his pinky finger and can't return allowing for us to see another QB and what they can do. No serious injury but something to give us a few games under a new arm to find out the "what if" question happened

27 minutes ago, DeathByEagle said:

@mattwill

I still don't trust Hurts in running an offense in which we need to pass to win, therefore

Eagles 20

Chargers 23

More of a wish then a bonus:

Hurts stubs his pinky finger and can't return allowing for us to see another QB and what they can do. No serious injury but something to give us a few games under a new arm to find out the "what if" question happened

Hurts operates at his best when he's a threat running the ball and the team is running the ball, meaning the O-line is playing well. Hasn't been the case this year.

2 hours ago, bpac55 said:

I don't envy Howie. There are going to be talented WR available, and it's a sneaky need for the Eagles. Smith won't be there, but I look at Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate as the OSU version of Ja'Maar Chase and Justin Jefferson. If Tate is available when the Eagles pick, he's damn tempting.

I get it but it can wait a year. OL and corner have to be priority

And we STILL need a friggen TE. Have for years

59 minutes ago, 315Eagles said:

Hurts operates at his best when he's a threat running the ball and the team is running the ball, meaning the O-line is playing well. Hasn't been the case this year.

Yet our oline avgs the 2nd best time allowed in the pocket for a QB in the NFL this year on passing plays.

Not thier fault Hurts either is indecisive and hold on to the ball too long or has a clean pocket and still for some reason rolls out into pressure

Oline in the passing game is not the problem. As for running game. this team unfortunately needs to be able to show they can pass first to run successful. Defensive teams are stacking the line and gambling their past defense to stop run. It's just Jalen hasn't taken advantage of it

Quick question - is there any way the Eagles can get Slay's rights from the Bills at this point without them just releasing Slay? I didn't know if there was some sort of loophole - I sort of remember ways to do it years ago but I could be wrong,

1 hour ago, 315Eagles said:

Hurts operates at his best when he's a threat running the ball and the team is running the ball, meaning the O-line is playing well. Hasn't been the case this year.

Yep - this in all likelihood is the single biggest reason the offense has been struggling, imo - more so than anything related to Patullo, Hurts or Saquon. The irony is this is among the least of all the reasons typically debated by media and fans.

12 minutes ago, ToastJenkins said:

I get it but it can wait a year. OL and corner have to be priority

And we STILL need a friggen TE. Have for years

I'd agree with those are the high priority to draft.

2 minutes ago, RememberTheKoy said:

Yep. 

There is little doubt we win that game had TO been 100%.  I was at the game and there were at least 2-3 plays where he would have broken for a TD (when he was caught from behind, tackled early or forced out of bounds, which rarely, if ever happened, during the regular season that year).

12 hours ago, devpool said:

I hate the NFL so much these days. It'll be lame and irrelevant in 10 years at this rate

People have been saying this for decades, but in reality it'll be more popular than ever in 10 years.

I haven't made a game score predication all year since I didn't want to "jinx them" but at this point, it's time to change that - nothing to lose - so here goes...

Eagles: 31

Chargers: 17

@mattwill

This team tends to surprise us the most when the majority of media and fans are down on them - and I think this is the game they do it.  Go Birds!! 

19 minutes ago, ToastJenkins said:

I get it but it can wait a year. OL and corner have to be priority

And we STILL need a friggen TE. Have for years

Need a DE pretty bad too.

9 minutes ago, Ace Nova said:

Quick question - is there any way the Eagles can get Slay's rights from the Bills at this point without them just releasing Slay? I didn't know if there was some sort of loophole - I sort of remember ways to do it years ago but I could be wrong,

No. BUF put Jamarcus Ingram on waivers to clear a roster spot for Slay, and Ingram was claimed off waivers by the Texans. You think the Bills would just say "oh well” and let Slay sign elsewhere, to be nice? Add on that the Eagles travel to BUF in Week 17 and the Bills are currently the #7 seed in the AFC, being "nice” is something they can’t afford to do.

"After claiming Slay off waivers, and releasing cornerback Ja'Marcus Ingram in a corresponding move, the Bills learned that the 34-year-old had no intention of reporting to the team. As a result, Buffalo placed Slay on the reserve/did not report list on Friday afternoon.

By tabbing Slay with the designation, the Bills retain his rights, making him ineligible to join another team. It also opens up the active roster spot initially dedicated to Slay.”

1 minute ago, we_gotta_believe said:

People have been saying this for decades, but in reality it'll be more popular than ever in 10 years.

Could be - the safer and less violent the game becomes (seems to be headed in that direction) the more popular it becomes with casual fans and internationally.   They just need to find a way to do it so that it preserves the integrity of the game and by making the officiating balanced for every game, every team. 

3 minutes ago, Alphagrand said:

No. BUF put Jamarcus Ingram on waivers to clear a roster spot for Slay, and Ingram was claimed off waivers by the Texans. You think the Bills would just say "oh well” and let Slay sign elsewhere, to be nice? Add on that the Eagles travel to BUF in Week 17 and the Bills are currently the #7 seed in the AFC, being "nice” is something they can’t afford to do.

"After claiming Slay off waivers, and releasing cornerback Ja'Marcus Ingram in a corresponding move, the Bills learned that the 34-year-old had no intention of reporting to the team. As a result, Buffalo placed Slay on the reserve/did not report list on Friday afternoon.

By tabbing Slay with the designation, the Bills retain his rights, making him ineligible to join another team. It also opens up the active roster spot initially dedicated to Slay.”

Yeah unfortunately that makes sense to a point but the Eagles aren't even in their conference and other than that week 17 game - won't potentially play them until the Super Bowl.

Is Howie allowed to reach out to the Bills to discuss it or would that be considered tampering/illegal?

18 minutes ago, DeathByEagle said:

Yet our oline avgs the 2nd best time allowed in the pocket for a QB in the NFL this year on passing plays.

Not thier fault Hurts either is indecisive and hold on to the ball too long or has a clean pocket and still for some reason rolls out into pressure

Oline in the passing game is not the problem. As for running game. this team unfortunately needs to be able to show they can pass first to run successful. Defensive teams are stacking the line and gambling their past defense to stop run. It's just Jalen hasn't taken advantage of it

Yeah I agree. If the O-line is actually doing well in pass protection and giving him time to throw then he needs to use his legs more if he isnt going to pass it.

17 minutes ago, Ace Nova said:

Yep - this in all likelihood is the single biggest reason the offense has been struggling, imo - more so than anything related to Patullo, Hurts or Saquon. The irony is this is among the least of all the reasons typically debated by media and fans.

Exactly. If they cant run the ball they won't repeat.

12 hours ago, devpool said:

I feel the same way. It's like theyre trying to convince themselves that everything is fine

Fans were doing that for awhile this season

1 minute ago, 315Eagles said:

Exactly. If they cant run the ball they won't repeat.

The interior line needs to get healthy, imo. In my opinion, that means:

• Resting Jurgens until he is truly 100% and back to form. Never over the past 3-4 years have the Eagles had difficulty executing the QB sneak push - this season, the only time they were consistent with it was when Toth was starting over Jurgens. That should be a huge red flag and despite the fact that Jurgens wants to play through it - it's for his sake and the team's sake they rest him until he's truly 100%.

• Almost the same thing could be said about Dickerson. Everyone knows Dickerson is a warrior and plays through pain until he really can't go anymore. But I'd rather have a 100% healthy Dickerson come playoff time vs a guy who is in pain and struggling to stay on the field. Rest the guy until he is 100%, please.

• If there is any chance of getting Becton back, they do it, without question.

• Design and call plays that require less push from the O-Line during running plays - meaning more outside RB tosses, more outside runs etc - the worst thing they can do (and have been doing) is continuously calling runs up the middle. Makes absolutely no sense when the interior offensive line is deteriorated.

• Start using TE in space outside, or the RB running outside screens, in space, for check downs vs RB or TE up the middle during blitzes, pressures, etc (Think of what they used to to with Ertz) - also could go to quick/short curl routes for the WR's in those situations, with certain audible calls, etc - the idea is to take less pressure off the interior line and allow for more open space to make plays when the interior line doesn't get push/collapses, etc The last thing they should be doing is audibling into interior runs when they see blitz packages - and that goes for QB sneaks as well.

• Spread out the field early and often. Throw 30+ yard go routes on early downs. Even if they are unsuccessful, it forces the defense to be honest - less likely to stack the box and pressure the interior line, etc

• Design and call plays for Hurts to roll out of the pocket - this is literally the reason the Chiefs have been so successful over the past 6-7 years despite weak offensive lines at times. Should be a no-brainer, given that Hurts is more mobile and harder to bring down than Mahomes.

  My 2 cents.

1 minute ago, NOTW said:

When I say rest Dickerson until he gets to 100% - they might need to isolate him in temporary housing, with no access to power tools and under strict supervision.

57 minutes ago, DeathByEagle said:

Yet our oline avgs the 2nd best time allowed in the pocket for a QB in the NFL this year on passing plays.

I wouldn't read too much into that. Many times, there is pressure inside and Hurts scrambles within "the pocket" to create more time but it hasn't worked out often because typically there are defenders within feet/inches of his face - this prevents him from seeing the field and blocks his throwing lanes. You can have all the time in the world to throw the ball but if you don't have throwing lanes, it's pointless.

What they could do to maximize the effectiveness of pass blocking is design and call QB roll out plays - the way the Chiefs allow Mahomes to roll out, giving him substantial time and room to see the field and creating massive throwing lanes in the process.

51 minutes ago, Ace Nova said:

Is Howie allowed to reach out to the Bills to discuss it or would that be considered tampering/illegal?

By asking that question you know deep down you’ve answered that question. That’s the "reserve” part of reserve/did not report list.

Falcons, Packers, and Cardinals fan today