2 minutes ago, downundermike said:

The NFL will still be here making a pile of money long after this situation has passed.  You can spin it any way you want, people are watching and the NFL will be fine.

First, I'm not spinning anything. I'm just stating facts. Second, of course the NFL is still going to be "making a pile of money" and "people are watching." I don't think anyone is saying otherwise. 

The issue at hand is whether viewership is declining. The answer is yes, and it's going to have ramifications for the League. 

6 minutes ago, Asg 15 said:

Scott hasn't proved that he's on the same level as Sproles but at least Ward has proven he can catch.

So my vote is for Scott being overrated

While we are on the subject of both overrated and Darren Sproles, allow me to cast a vote for Sproles as one of the most overrated Eagles of all time.

10 minutes ago, Asg 15 said:

Ancient offense?

Like the ancient offense that the Patsies won 6 SBs with?

Good point.  But of course it did fit their QB.  That offense doesn't fit Wentz

1 minute ago, MediterraneanDiet said:

Good point.  But of course it did fit their QB.  That offense doesn't fit Wentz

And it featured a lot of underneath patterns to a quick slot receiver

2 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

While we are on the subject of both overrated and Darren Sproles, allow me to cast a vote for Sproles as one of the most overrated Eagles of all time.

By the time Sproles got here he was overrated. When he was a young player he wasn't.

I think AJ Feeley might have had a meaningful career in the NFL had he stayed under AR's wing as the starter during his formative years instead of being banished to Miami.

 

3 minutes ago, MediterraneanDiet said:

Good point.  But of course it did fit their QB.  That offense doesn't fit Wentz

Isn't the point you made originally?

The coaching staff doesn't seem to play to Wentz's strengths.

1 hour ago, ManuManu said:

I think elite players can be overrated. Brett Favre and Emmitt Smith are great examples. 

Emmitt Smith is a great example. On the one hand - I think the greatness of Emmitt Smith is directly tied to the greatness of the offensive line blocking for him. On the other hand the Cowboys had other RBs on the roster who couldn't come close to his production running behind the same offensive line. 

1 minute ago, Asg 15 said:

By the time Sproles got here he was overrated. When he was a young player he wasn't.

As an Eagle, he was nothing but a huge error in FO judgement.

He was truly sold as a Desean Jackson replacement when he first came here....in reality, he was a very good 3rd down back.

And then in his last 3 years, he was sold as a good 3rd down back...in reality, he was a waste of money who didn't belong in the NFL.

Sure, he was fantastic in NO.  But his entire time as an Eagle was characterized by the offense expecting more from him than he could provide.  And yet he's somehow remembered fondly.  

6 minutes ago, Giddyunc said:

First, I'm not spinning anything. I'm just stating facts. Second, of course the NFL is still going to be "making a pile of money" and "people are watching." I don't think anyone is saying otherwise. 

The issue at hand is whether viewership is declining. The answer is yes, and it's going to have ramifications for the League. 

They are also competing with the NBA and NHL playoffs, and then the shortened more exciting baseball race.  After the NBA and NHL conclude, which would already be done before the NFL starts in a normal year, NFL numbers will rise substantially.

1 minute ago, downundermike said:

They are also competing with the NBA and NHL playoffs, and then the shortened more exciting baseball race.  After the NBA and NHL conclude, which would already be done before the NFL starts in a normal year, NFL numbers will rise substantially.

That sounds like wishful thinking but I hope that you're right.

I wanna see Casey Toohill today. Schwartz isn't committed to Avery, and you just can't put Avery out there with no plan and expect him to win. Gotta cut your losses.

8 minutes ago, goeagles5039 said:

Kevin Kolb and elite should probably never be used in the same sentence.

And thankyou for making my point. :)

2 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

I think AJ Feeley might have had a meaningful career in the NFL had he stayed under AR's wing as the starter during his formative years instead of being banished to Miami.

 

2nd round pick is hard to pass up. And the following year new coach Nick Saban had no vested interest in Feeley.

51 minutes ago, Giddyunc said:

So this is just flat out wrong. Ratings are down. In fact, they're down significantly. And honestly, it's a lot worse than it looks. The drop in ratings already has incorporated the streamers. But I'd argue there's two more points that show how much the viewership has dropped. First, there's approximately one million people that would have been at the games Week 1. Those one million people were instead at home watching on TV. That's a built-in bump in ratings. Secondly, and I'd argue more significantly, the NFL has changed the way they calculate viewership this year. For the first time, they now add additional viewers based on those at bars, restaurants, gyms, and airports. How do they calculate how many people are watching at these places? Who knows. The fact of the matter is that no matter how much random Twitter ideologues state otherwise, the NFL has a viewership problem. 

As someone who works in media, the NFL is fine. In the U.S., the NFL is competing with basketball/hockey for the first time, as well as dealing with wall to wall election coverage. Despite this, they're still outperforming previous years for some windows. Losing stadium revenue is a big blow, but that's not related to viewership. Losing event problem affects every sport, music, theatre, etc. company.

Also, from a media perspective, not every viewer is worth the same. So someone who is paying for NFL Sunday Ticket is worth more than someone who is watching on Fox/CBS/NBC, even though in simple viewership metrics they're worth the same. So the push to streaming will not necessarily result in less total rights fees, because it's easier for streaming services to monetize users than traditional networks.  

Finally, it's not hard to calculate viewers in bars, restaurants, gyms, etc. That data has been available for years. Those viewers are worth less than viewers at home, because you normally can't hear the commercials. That's why companies pay a premium to have their logo shown during broadcast; to capture all audiences.

4 minutes ago, Asg 15 said:

Isn't the point you made originally?

The coaching staff doesn't seem to play to Wentz's strengths.

I really, really disagree with the "adapt to Wentz" argument.  

When you have a generational talent who does one unusual thing well, you change your offensive plans and build around that, even if it is not ideal and defies convention (Vick, Adrian Peterson, etc).  Wentz is not that.

When you have a temporary solution who is flawed, you change your offensive plans to adapt to that.  Wentz is not that.

When you mortgage the future of the franchise for a franchise QB...his ability better align with the vision you have for your offense and the modern NFL prototype (accurate, precise pocket passing).  If you cannot coach the QB to evolve into this mold when he becomes a veteran and must change the offense to play to different strengths, then it is time to look for a new franchise QB.

I still believe Wentz can do this.  But I don't see this as a stubborn square peg and round hole.  Wentz NEEDS to do this.  Once we realize he can't and adopt an offense that needs to get the QB running around just to make plays that he can't from the pocket, then it's time to move on.

Tyron Smith out.

5 minutes ago, Nivraga said:

And thankyou for making my point. 🙂

2nd round pick is hard to pass up. And the following year new coach Nick Saban had no vested interest in Feeley.

It was the right trade for us, 100%.  Just for Feeley though, I think things could have gone differently for him.

3 minutes ago, RLC said:

As someone who works in media, the NFL is fine. In the U.S., the NFL is competing with basketball/hockey for the first time, as well as dealing with wall to wall election coverage. Despite this, they're still outperforming previous years for some windows. Losing stadium revenue is a big blow, but that's not related to viewership. Losing event problem affects every sport, music, theatre, etc. company.

Also, from a media perspective, not every viewer is worth the same. So someone who is paying for NFL Sunday Ticket is worth more than someone who is watching on Fox/CBS/NBC, even though in simple viewership metrics they're worth the same. So the push to streaming will not necessarily result in less total rights fees, because it's easier for streaming services to monetize users than traditional networks.  

Finally, it's not hard to calculator viewers in bars, restaurants, gyms, etc. That data has been available for years. Those viewers are worth less than viewers at home, because you normally can't hear the commercials. That's why companies pay a premium to have their logo shown during broadcast; to capture all audiences.

Stating that the "NFL is fine," which it very well might be, is fundamentally different than suggesting that viewership is up (which is what I was responding to).

14 minutes ago, Asg 15 said:

Isn't the point you made originally?

The coaching staff doesn't seem to play to Wentz's strengths.

Yes.

1 hour ago, EaglePhan1986 said:

Just thinking... 

Who does this fanbase overrate the most? Greg Ward or Boston Scott?
 

One’s a poor man’s Sproles while the other is here just because he’s one of two WRs on the team who can be trusted to run a 3 yard out route and actually catch it. 

Ward. Last season Wentz made him look better than he is. He was the only one catching the ball and so he became a favorite

Now that we actually have NFL receivers...

I'll do one more update if anyone else posts a score. As of right now this is what I have

 

                                        eagles.        rams

greend.                        21.                 32
downundermike         28.                 17
4for4eaglesnest.        27.                  17
br3.                                17.                28
eaglesphan1986.         27.                24
eagleseagles.               14.                27
myerstheman.              10.                 28
alphagrand.                   20.                 30
Godfather.                       0.                  2
bacarty.                           20.                30
asg15.                             10.                34
Mediterranean diet.       27.               24
devpool.                           17.               36
westbrook36.                   13.              30
in2football.                       27.             17
Hans Solo                         23.              20
trotterisgod.                      33.              24
mike020370.                      17.              26
acenova.                              31.             21
jwill.                                       27.            20
sack thaqb.                         28.             24
leanmeanGm.                        24.          21
greendog.                              27.           24
Franklinfldedupper.                26.         13
 

The politicization of sports pisses me off to no end and I wish it would hurt them in the wallet, but I don't think it is.

The NFL's biggest problem remains concussions and CTE.  A generation from now when football drops out of the top 10 most popular youth sports because of this, that lack of participation may potentially trickle up to spectators at the professional level.

That's a long-term problem though.

I have an opinion after hearing the inactives for today, with Barnett, Hargreaves, Johnson, sanders all playing today...,those Mfers coaching and in the front office all thought they could beat Washington without them and thought, let’s just give em an extra week to heal up and we will be fine against the Washington football team without them.  Their arrogance cost the eagles that game!

55 minutes ago, FranklinFldEBUpper said:

Have avoided this place since last week's loss. Pretty sure I know the mood and the general line of conversation. Didn't want to deal with that.

Assuming we're still doing picks, I'm going with Eagles 26 Rams 13

@In2football if you're the one doing this, please take note.

Hopefully we'll win today and I'll feel like participating again.

Wise decision it was  the Zombie Apocalypse in here for awhile

16 minutes ago, Giddyunc said:

First, I'm not spinning anything. I'm just stating facts. Second, of course the NFL is still going to be "making a pile of money" and "people are watching." I don't think anyone is saying otherwise. 

The issue at hand is whether viewership is declining. The answer is yes, and it's going to have ramifications for the League. 

In the grand scheme of things there will only be serious ramifications if there is a meaningful alternative.  Sports will always have a huge following in society; the NBA is in decline currently because the players run the league, players try to flock together to make a super-team, and their terrible commissioner has given away too much power to do anything to stop it.  MLB is declining because the game is too slow and their terrible commissioner not only refuses to make meaningful rule changes, but allowed a team to cheat to an even higher degree than the Patriots and it hurt the integrity of the sport -- which has never fully recovered from them allowing the players to openly cheat using steroids.

Young people not playing or not being allowed to play by their parents because of the safety risk will be the only long term hindrance to football.  Neither the AAF nor XFL were able to get off the ground; the NFL is still the best entertainment value in sports for the masses -- not to mention the gambling income stream.