42 minutes ago, VeeMak said:

It’s not exactly a 2 shell in a conventional sense. That’s the disguise. It’s a mix and match zone, and a true evolution of the Saban 7. If you do get a chance to watch the All 22, you will see the brilliance of Fangio’s mind. He has evolved the Saban 7 into his own Frankenstein and it’s like no other back end in the league.

One concession to Reed’s skillset was that he was put on the boundary side and Mukuba would play the field (and be the de facto dime back). I think ideally the safeties would be completely interchangeable so that coverage can be even more unpredictable. This goes for the inside linebackers (which has been done with Baun/Campbell) and edge (Hunt/Nolan) as well.

In any case, offenses started going after Reed with hi/lows with the aim of beating him vertically as all coverage eventually becomes man at a certain point and he isn’t the type of athlete to run with WRs.

Now I’d like to put Reed’s brain into Sydney’s body, but that boat has sailed. Yes, I like Taaffe on day 3 because I think he’s been trained up in this type of system and can be assignment sound. I don’t think Reed was the weak link last year, but even if he was - he also was an integral component of a dominating SB defense. Selecting Taaffe is my idea of replicating that success.

Now if we were going to go further on the interchangeably concept, Thieneman is obvious and personally I like Stokes and Clark on Day 2 but neither are likely going to be ready in September.

9 hours ago, eagle45 said:

Doesn’t Vic typically use a single high safety and a down safety? And, in 2025, wasn’t Blankenship usually the high safety with Mukuba/Epps down?

Not sure if you mean pre-snap looks or post snap drops/coverages, but either way, it wouldn't be accurate to say he ran single-high looks or coverages. He's known for cover-6/8 calls, which is a combo of c2 + c4, Him and Gannon probably ran two high coverages more than almost every DC in the league.

As for next season, I still think Coop's natural position is at safety and he'd excel in taking over for Reed if we could find a competent NCB to back fill him.

6 minutes ago, we_gotta_believe said:

Not sure if you mean pre-snap looks or post snap drops/coverages, but either way, it wouldn't be accurate to say he ran single-high looks or coverages. He's known for cover-6/8 calls, which is a combo of c2 + c4, Him and Gannon probably ran two high coverages more than almost every DC in the league.

As for next season, I still think Coop's natural position is at safety and he'd excel in taking over for Reed if we could find a competent NCB to back fill him.

I think Coop can play anywhere but schematically I believe nickel is the more important position here.

15 hours ago, Iggles25 said:

Solid draft right there. Although would have gone EDGE RD2 given the current FA situation.

Will give you all the Howies if you let me in on how to post these on the board.

PFSN is my drug of choice this time of year.

Print Screen

Copy

Paste

Venmo me $100

8 hours ago, eagle45 said:

Question for the all-22 and secondary crowd…because this really matters for the personnel decisions at safety. Doesn’t Vic typically use a single high safety and a down safety? And, in 2025, wasn’t Blankenship usually the high safety with Mukuba/Epps down?

Mukuba has some comfort functioning as a slot CB, which creates some matchup utility as a down safety, but his profile coming into the league strongly, strongly favors placement as the high safety.

Exactly where Mukuba will be next year impacts what kind of safety we might want to be looking at…

Vic typically shows both Ss about even. Common nomenclature is two high but that’s can be misleading depending on down and distance and length of the field. He plays a fair amount of Cover 6 but I wonder if part of that is to accommodate deficiencies in CB2. He also plays a fair amount of Cover 4. But with Jackson’s struggles last year, he had Q playing a lot of MEG (Man Everywhere he Goes) on the top WR. Based on the way he plays Cooper (a bunch of Match) and that he typically had Q and Slay playing MOD because of their speed. That impacts what the S role is and why Reed looked mediocre last year because his speed was evident and why when Mukuba went down, the slower Reed and Epps were somewhat exposed.

So, yes Reed stayed higher more times than not because that was how they adjusted to his lack of speed. Ideally for his (or Parker’s because he had a role too) secondary you want fast AND quick Ss with corner cover skills and S instincts and a nickel with similar qualities, (Sounds like Cooper because that is what you ideally want in the middle of the secondary). Mukuba demonstrated some of that. Would like more size but some of that gets sacrificed for quickness. Forget the old Weak (or Free) and Strong designations. I think Vic’s ideal situation is two interchangeable Ss. That’s why Carter practicing at S since he was traded for is so interesting to me.

When was the last time we had a true stud edge rusher - the kind of dude you knew was going to get double digit sacks every year without issue? Was it really Reggie?

8 minutes ago, mikemack8 said:

When was the last time we had a true stud edge rusher - the kind of dude you knew was going to get double digit sacks every year without issue? Was it really Reggie?

I thought Trent Cole was in that realm, I certainly thought Javon Kearse was going to be (for a week).

Go get Greenard, Howie.

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

How many ran with the report of Carter being traded?

6 minutes ago, Waiting4Someday said:

I though Trent Cole was in that realm, I certainly thought Javon Kearse was going to be (for a week).

He hit double digits 4 times in 12 years with the highest being 12.5 sacks - I thought about him but I don't think he's there.

Best way to get Jalen's price down IS to start trade rumors FWIW

3 minutes ago, RLC said:

Best way to get Jalen's price down IS to start trade rumors FWIW

Just like the best way to get two 1st rounders again is having Maxx saying he’s all in on being a Raider now lol

My thanks to those posters who broke down elements of Fangio's secondary scheme. It was a treat to see some Xs and Os mixed in with the other stuff.

I thought coming into the draft Campbell had two bad shoulders. Had one surgery done before the season and this was the other one they waited on? Or is this completely different than what we were expecting?

These are the tough days. I know Howie will make moves and won't leave all these holes with the team clearly worse on paper but it's hard to be patient

7 hours ago, no1birdsfan said:

Has anyone been around long enough to remember when Spadaro blew a fuse and told a poster he would "deck his puss??!!”

Lol

Yup

2 minutes ago, pgcd3 said:

These are the tough days. I know Howie will make moves and won't leave all these holes with the team clearly worse on paper but it's hard to be patient

This and the last FA has required a scalpel rather than a hatchet. Big flashy moves are less likely to happen until an action out takes place.

6 minutes ago, pgcd3 said:

These are the tough days. I know Howie will make moves and won't leave all these holes with the team clearly worse on paper but it's hard to be patient

What holes? The only starting ones are TE and S.

1 minute ago, RLC said:

What holes? The only starting ones are TE and S.

yeah and I wouldn’t even consider S a hole because Blankenship wasn’t playing all that well anyway. The difference between him and what the Eagles have on the roster is pretty negligible IMO.

9 minutes ago, RLC said:

What holes? The only starting ones are TE and S.

Technically punter is a hole too. But DE is a big issue. We traded a 3rd for a DE last year because they underperformed so badly and he's gone along with Uche and Azeez.

Safety is definitely a hole. Sydney Brown can't play and Mukaba is coming off injury

1 hour ago, Mike030270 said:

How many ran with the report of Carter being traded?

Does t mean it didn’t happen though. I could see Howie making some calls to gain interest just in case they can’t get a deal done.

13 hours ago, judunno said:

Incorrect. Jackson was absolutely not better last year. Further the contract is loaded with incentives.

NextGen stats:

"Riq Woolen allowed just 0.5 yards per coverage snap in man coverage last season, the fewest among outside cornerbacks. Woolen also forced a 31.3% completion rate playing man in 2025, the lowest among players at his position."

Correct…if you watch him and not just parrot stats you’ll see he was pretty bad the past 2 seasons. Again there is a reason he was on the trade block, lost his job to Jobe and only got a 1 year deal.

Also, my understanding is the contract is $12m with up to 15 with incentives? No?

We will see how it goes, he is going to have a way better back 7 supporting cast, but there is a night and day difference between the Eagles and Seattle pass rush.

3 hours ago, EaglesAddict said:

All the rumblings about his shoulders around draft time last year and now still dealing with it this offseason feels like a cause for concern. That said, if the Eagles were that concerned about it I imagine they would have just kept Dean. On the other hand, there was a rumor/report saying Howie checked in on Patrick Queen and a possible trade. So...who knows. Either way, Campbell's health seems like it could be an ongoing issue.

Or just don’t line him up at edge at his size and build. Probably stay healthier longer.

3 hours ago, VeeMak said:

It’s not exactly a 2 shell in a conventional sense. That’s the disguise. It’s a mix and match zone, and a true evolution of the Saban 7. If you do get a chance to watch the All 22, you will see the brilliance of Fangio’s mind. He has evolved the Saban 7 into his own Frankenstein and it’s like no other back end in the league.

Having Cooper really helps. He basically sends out 10 and then moves Coop around like a chess piece. That’s why i don’t like the idea of moving him to S.