EMB Blog: 2020 Regular Season

[Alphagrand]

9 minutes ago, Br3 said:

Does Wentz get an opportunity to start again after being benched to see what he has learned or do we turn the page completely 

it honestly seems like the type of situation where Wentz will go out there and somehow do worse after this

Neither.  The plan right now should be to get Wentz ready to go for 2021.  A lot of you guys are forgetting that Carson Wentz, in practical terms, is Jeffrey Lurie's investment right now.

What happens to Wentz will not be Doug's decision; probably won't even be Howie's decision.  Lurie has the same NFL contacts that are saying Wentz is not the problem; the offense is the problem.

The organization just spent $128M on Wentz for the 2021-2024 seasons and drafted Jalen Hurts for the 2020-2023 seasons.  There will be a new coaching staff brought in to repair what has been mismanaged the past 2-3 seasons -- especially meaning Wentz. 

Lurie's biggest decision will be whether he trusts Howie Roseman to oversee that process, or handle it himself.

[Rhinoddd50]

2 hours ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Howie is already in Round 2.  And while he brought us a Super Bowl... everything that's happened since then has had the stench of arrogance and futility.

 

I was (and always will be) a huge fan of Andy Reid.   However, I knew in early 2012 the day he made the obviously doomed decision to hire Juan Castillo has his DC, that he had run out of ideas here in Philly and that he needed a change of scenery.   Andy needed to go because things had become stale and stagnant.

Fast forward to 2020.   I have long been more tolerant and supportive of Howie Roseman than most.   I recognized his "Cons” or flaws, but felt his "Pros” outweighed them, even if only slightly.    Howie at his best, aggressive and creative, helped the Eagles win the Super Bowl.  Yes there was some luck involved too, but that can be said for many past Super Bowl winners.  Regardless Howie will always deserve credit as being a significant part of the Eagles Super Bowl victory.

However something seems to have been very broken inside the NovaCare complex, especially in the last 2-3 seasons.   And I think like in 2012 with Andy Reid, it’s time to clean house in the FO and get a new GM.   No need to list every detailed example of single one of Howie’s failures, but in general…

- The "Captain Obvious” reason that the drafts he has presided over…especially inside the Top 120 picks…just have not been anywhere near good enough.   Not even close.

- The bizarre disconnect between many draft picks and free agent / trade acquisitions made by the FO, combined with the reality that they either were odd / poor fits in the existing schemes, or the coaching staff’s total reluctance to give them any playing time.    Multiple examples where it seems like the FO and the Coaching staff are not on the same page.

-  At one time Howie could arguably boast that he was one of the best GM’s in the NFL when it came to cap management.   Unfortunately, I am not sure that is true anymore, since that skillset has also seemed to diminish, with some seriously questionable contract decisions in the last 3 seasons.

- Right or wrong, Howie has often been reported over the last 15yrs as a common denominator when it came to allegations of personnel dysfunction and infighting that has taken place in the Eagles FO over the years.   Once again it seems like this may be happening to some degree, depending on how much trust one puts in the various stories.   I personally have no idea exactly how much blame Howie should or shouldn’t receive, but I think it's fair to say the evidence we do have suggests he is probably not easy to work with, or work for.   Obviously everyone involved in these NFL soap operas over the years have their own agenda.   But the problem for Howie is that it is not just one or two stories like this.   There have easily been ½ dozen stories like this over the years involving Howie being involved in some struggle for control, power, or survival.  I am tired of it.     I can’t recall any of the better run NFL franchises having so many repetitive reports over the years of FO dysfunction and infighting, either inside the FO itself, or between the FO vs the Coaching staff.

 

If Jeff Lurie doesn’t fire Howie at the conclusion of this season, and bring in a new FO, I am not sure it will really matter what is ultimately decided about the HC, Coaching staff, QB, or the rest of the roster.

[Desertbirds]

I did not want Pederson in the first place. I did not like his offense in KC and I worried that he would bring the same plodding and congested style to Philly. I was ready to eat crow after the 2017 run. Alas, that seems like an anomaly and my initial fears have been realized.

Having said all that, it is important to note that Roseman had done Doug absolutely no favors. Roseman's continued employment is simply not tenable.

[Iggles_Phan]

4 minutes ago, NCiggles said:

Excellent - I may be convinced but I am still concerned that if we put out an O-line with the same problems that the team has had this season you will harm the QB. 

Agreed... but the biggest issue with the OL is the musical chairs.  Dillard - Driscoll - Seumalo - Herbig - Mailata  (as of right now)... and you roll with those 5 and hope against hope that they can be healthy... or at least relatively healthy the whole year.   Just give them time to gel, which is as important and anything else along the OL.

[NCiggles]

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

Jonathan Ogden is an all time great LT in the NFL. I like Mailata but people go way overboard with how great he can be. Yes he might have that type of athleticism but that never means he reaches that type of performance consistently in the NFL. It is very hard to get a Jonathan Ogden performance at left tackle. The fact that we had Jason peters and before him tra Thomas was a pretty good run for the Eagles. Do I think he could be a very good player? Yes I do. however I feel Sewell can play at a higher level than mailata now and i still think he has massive room to get better. 

you asked the question how do I know in two years if sewell is going to be better than mailata. How do I know in two years that Sewell isn’t massively better and i passed on him hoping mailata reached where he did and was projected? I’m not passing up a potential Sewell just cause i have mailata. 

 I can also move mailata to right tackle or Sewell to right tackle. lane Johnson plays right tackle but Johnson’s body is deteriorating and I don’t know how much longer he has. And I don’t trust dillard. I’ve been on here I don’t think he’s nearly as good as people on this message board seem to think he is. There was a reason why he fell in that draft. Because he was an older prospect and there were red flags about how much he truly love the game surrounding him and he fell. Now maybe he turns into a good left tackle or tackle in general but I’m not passing up on the opportunity to have a left and right tackle of Sewell and mailata because dillard may or may not be good enough.

Plus if dillard, Sewell and mailata are all good i can make a trade and get some good draft capital back. This isn’t the sixers drafting 3 centers in an nba that no longer revolves around center. Offensive linemen are at a premium in the NFL especially tackle. So I don’t think they would have any problem if all three of those guys wound up being good

I mean I would like Sewell to be on the board but I have to believe that he's going to be the Bengals pick.  I would have no problem with the pick.  My view is that Mailata is somewhere between being Vaitai to being a stud OT for years.  I think that's great for a 7th round pick but it is unclear whether he is going to be the long term answer.  Dillard is a complete unknown.  Lane will need to be replaced probably sooner than later.  

[Alphagrand]

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

Hey he took the coaching staff 13 weeks to finally run a jet sweep with Jalen reagor. Things are turning around i can feel it. Lol

A 73-yard PR TD isn't even good enough for posters on here.  I read this morning he still looked slow, "rumbling" I believe was the word -- or that everyone on the field was slow because the field was soggy.

You can't even make this stuff up.

[NCiggles]

1 minute ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Agreed... but the biggest issue with the OL is the musical chairs.  Dillard - Driscoll - Seumalo - Herbig - Mailata  (as of right now)... and you roll with those 5 and hope against hope that they can be healthy... or at least relatively healthy the whole year.   Just give them time to gel, which is as important and anything else along the OL.

Or a rookie.  

[Iggles_Phan]

2 minutes ago, Rhinoddd50 said:

I was (and always will be) a huge fan of Andy Reid.   However, I knew in early 2012 the day he made the obviously doomed decision to hire Juan Castillo has his DC, that he had run out of ideas here in Philly and that he needed a change of scenery.   Andy needed to go because things had become stale and stagnant.

Fast forward to 2020.   I have long been more tolerant and supportive of Howie Roseman than most.   I recognized his "Cons” or flaws, but felt his "Pros” outweighed them, even if only slightly.    Howie at his best, aggressive and creative, helped the Eagles win the Super Bowl.  Yes there was some luck involved too, but that can be said for many past Super Bowl winners.  Regardless Howie will always deserve credit as being a significant part of the Eagles Super Bowl victory.

However something seems to have been very broken inside the NovaCare complex, especially in the last 2-3 seasons.   And I think like in 2012 with Andy Reid, it’s time to clean house in the FO and get a new GM.   No need to list every detailed example of single one of Howie’s failures, but in general…

- The "Captain Obvious” reason that the drafts he has presided over…especially inside the Top 120 picks…just have not been anywhere near good enough.   Not even close.

- The bizarre disconnect between many draft picks and free agent / trade acquisitions made by the FO, combined with the reality that they either were odd / poor fits in the existing schemes, or the coaching staff’s total reluctance to give them any playing time.    Multiple examples where it seems like the FO and the Coaching staff are not on the same page.

-  At one time Howie could arguably boast that he was one of the best GM’s in the NFL when it came to cap management.   Unfortunately, I am not sure that is true anymore, since that skillset has also seemed to diminish, with some seriously questionable contract decisions in the last 3 seasons.

- Right or wrong, Howie has often been reported over the last 15yrs as a common denominator when it came to allegations of personnel dysfunction and infighting that has taken place in the Eagles FO over the years.   Once again it seems like this may be happening to some degree, depending on how much trust one puts in the various stories.   I personally have no idea exactly how much blame Howie should or shouldn’t receive, but I think it's fair to say he is probably not easy to work with or work for.   Obviously everyone involved in these NFL soap operas over the years have their own agenda.   But the problem for Howie is that it is not just one or two stories like this.   There have easily been ½ dozen stories like this over the years involving Howie being involved in some struggle for control, power, or survival.  I am tired of it.     I can’t recall any of the better run NFL franchises having so many repetitive reports over the years of FO dysfunction and infighting, either inside the FO itself, or between the FO vs the Coaching staff.

 

If Jeff Lurie doesn’t fire Howie at the conclusion of this season, and bring in a new FO, I am not sure it will really matter what is ultimately decided about the HC, Coaching staff, QB, or the rest of the roster.

Nice post.  Good to see you are still around.

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

2 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

I also don't recall a screen pass to Ward yesterday 

I have to go back and watch again. I want to say they had one watching it the second time on game pass. But I was also annoyed at how bad our offensive line was blocking throughout that. And it wasn’t just peters. Peters was bad but I think seumalo played arguably his worse game of the season. Still massively better than peters. 

[metal]

25 minutes ago, Mike030270 said:

I thought he said Taylor is out for an extended period of time?

That's the gist that I got out of it, yeah.

[Iggles_Phan]

1 minute ago, NCiggles said:

Or a rookie.  

Of course.  But, starting with who we have, I think that OL would be better than the dreck we've thrown out there most game this year.  

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

4 minutes ago, Alphagrand said:

A 73-yard PR TD isn't even good enough for posters on here.  I read this morning he still looked slow, "rumbling" I believe was the word -- or that everyone on the field was slow because the field was soggy.

You can't even make this stuff up.

My only issue with reagor yesterday was in the first quarter( it might’ve been the second quarter) he gave up on a route. And that was something that was talked about during the draft process that some scouts didn’t like. And they claimed he did it at TCU because his quarterback play wasn’t good. That’s a problem to me. 

His explosiveness is fine and will be fine. He’s an athlete. I don’t worry about that with him. I do want to see him get better at route running. I thought against the Seahawks he was inconsistent with his routes. But I think that something that is fixable and something I knew coming out of the draft that they were going to have to work on him with. He was not a polished route runner. It was good to take time especially with no off-season activities for that to get refined 

[Iggles_Phan]

3 minutes ago, Alphagrand said:

A 73-yard PR TD isn't even good enough for posters on here.  I read this morning he still looked slow, "rumbling" I believe was the word -- or that everyone on the field was slow because the field was soggy.

You can't even make this stuff up.

No one complained about the PR.   But, he is supposed to be a 4.2 speed guy... (or was rumored to be coming out in the draft), he's not showing that on the field.   That's not a criticism, that's an observation.

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

6 minutes ago, NCiggles said:

I mean I would like Sewell to be on the board but I have to believe that he's going to be the Bengals pick.  I would have no problem with the pick.  My view is that Mailata is somewhere between being Vaitai to being a stud OT for years.  I think that's great for a 7th round pick but it is unclear whether he is going to be the long term answer.  Dillard is a complete unknown.  Lane will need to be replaced probably sooner than later.  

Oh don’t get me wrong I don’t disagree. I don’t think he’s gonna be on the board when the Eagles pick. The Eagles would have to lose out and the Bengals would have to win another game and I don’t think that’s happening. He just asked me why I would think he’d be better than mailata in two years

[Mike030270]

10 minutes ago, Desertbirds said:

I did not want Pederson in the first place. I did not like his offense in KC and I worried that he would bring the same plodding and congested style to Philly. I was ready to eat crow after the 2017 run. Alas, that seems like an anomaly and my initial fears have been realized.

Having said all that, it is important to note that Roseman had done Doug absolutely no favors. Roseman's continued employment is simply not tenable.

I think I wanted the guy that was the Hawks DC lol that didn't turn out well

8 minutes ago, Alphagrand said:

A 73-yard PR TD isn't even good enough for posters on here.  I read this morning he still looked slow, "rumbling" I believe was the word -- or that everyone on the field was slow because the field was soggy.

You can't even make this stuff up.

I said he still looked slow. He did to me on the return. Don't think I said anything about a "rumbling" though

He's supposed to have a 4.22 speed? If you watch Hill run can actually see him fly by people. I didn't see that on the return

[twistr]

51 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Slay has to be moved.  Saves $6M, but again, gets you out of the dead years.  At a cost to the new team of only $12.5M, he's a bargain.  There will be a market... and again, no risk beyond 2021 for the acquiring team... 

I'm not saying I disagree with this, but is this strictly from a cap perspective or did I miss something other than the Seattle game? I will admit, my willingness to watch the games this year has been well less than normal, so I haven't gone out of my way to watch when we haven't been on local here. I do watch the gamecast a decent amount, but I didn't get the NFL Ticket this year. Work has also been busier than normal, so I haven't been able to keep up here as much as normal either. Down year all the way around.

[Rhinoddd50]

1 hour ago, Nivraga said:

obtuse

Ever since The Shawshank Redemption I can't ever hear this word again without thinking about the Warden Norton scene.    

[Ace Nova]

2 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

No one complained about the PR.   But, he is supposed to be a 4.2 speed guy... (or was rumored to be coming out in the draft), he's not showing that on the field.   That's not a criticism, that's an observation.

Closer to 4.3 speed but I understand your point.  I recorded the game and I've watched the punt return several times.  When he hit the sideline, his straight speed burst for about 15-20 yards was absolutely, without question an elite speed burst.  He slowed down when he neared the 20 or so in order to dodge tackles but the speed was there when he had daylight. 

[Asg 15]

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

Jonathan Ogden is an all time great LT in the NFL. I like Mailata but people go way overboard with how great he can be. Yes he might have that type of athleticism but that never means he reaches that type of performance consistently in the NFL. It is very hard to get a Jonathan Ogden performance at left tackle. The fact that we had Jason peters and before him tra Thomas was a pretty good run for the Eagles. Do I think he could be a very good player? Yes I do. however I feel Sewell can play at a higher level than mailata now and i still think he has massive room to get better. 

you asked the question how do I know in two years if sewell is going to be better than mailata. How do I know in two years that Sewell isn’t massively better and i passed on him hoping mailata reached where he did and was projected? I’m not passing up a potential Sewell just cause i have mailata. 

 I can also move mailata to right tackle or Sewell to right tackle. lane Johnson plays right tackle but Johnson’s body is deteriorating and I don’t know how much longer he has. And I don’t trust dillard. I’ve been on here I don’t think he’s nearly as good as people on this message board seem to think he is. There was a reason why he fell in that draft. Because he was an older prospect and there were red flags about how much he truly love the game surrounding him and he fell. Now maybe he turns into a good left tackle or tackle in general but I’m not passing up on the opportunity to have a left and right tackle of Sewell and mailata because dillard may or may not be good enough.

Plus if dillard, Sewell and mailata are all good i can make a trade and get some good draft capital back. This isn’t the sixers drafting 3 centers in an nba that no longer revolves around center. Offensive linemen are at a premium in the NFL especially tackle. So I don’t think they would have any problem if all three of those guys wound up being good

For the Eagles to draft a LT in the 1st they'd have to admit they made a mistake with Dillard

There's no way this FO will admit this.

Now if Lurie cleans house and we get a new FO all bets are off.

[Iggles_Phan]

1 minute ago, twistr said:

I'm not saying I disagree with this, but is this strictly from a cap perspective or did I miss something other than the Seattle game? I will admit, my willingness to watch the games this year has been well less than normal, so I haven't gone out of my way to watch when we haven't been on local here. I do watch the gamecast a decent amount, but I didn't get the NFL Ticket this year. Work has also been busier than normal, so I haven't been able to keep up here as much as normal either. Down year all the way around.

Cap.   He has value, actually frees up space, and won't be worth having around in 2023 and beyond when this team might be ready to compete.

[Iggles_Phan]

2 minutes ago, Ace Nova said:

Closer to 4.3 speed but I understand your point.  I recorded the game and I've watched the punt return several times.  When he hit the sideline, his straight speed burst for about 15-20 yards was absolutely, without question an elite speed burst.  He slowed down when he neared the 20 or so in order to dodge tackles but the speed was there when he had daylight. 

I wasn't watching it that closely, and didn't rewatch.... maybe I was just focusing on the end where he was dipsy-do-ing the punter.

[AzBirdGang]

20 hours ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Are you sure?  I mean, what has Alshon done since he's come back that would make you think... "yeah, playing him helps the team play better" ?

I feel Howie knows he is on the hotseat. The Alshon contract is one of the worst in the NFL.

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

3 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

No one complained about the PR.   But, he is supposed to be a 4.2 speed guy... (or was rumored to be coming out in the draft), he's not showing that on the field.   That's not a criticism, that's an observation.

I think part of the problem of why you’re not seeing his explosiveness is twofold.

One I don’t think the offense as a whole is good enough and our quarterback play at times has not been good enough to exploit that part of his game.

two, I also think he’s not running very consistent routes. His route running one play can look fantastic and then the next play it could look very lazy and sloppy. coming out of the draft this was something that was talked about. he wasn’t a polished route runner coming out of TCU offense.  To me if you wanted the plug and play start from day one guy then they should’ve went Justin Jefferson. He could come in at worse in the slot and be productive. I thought he was a more polished player at the time he came out then reagor was. If you wanted potential to get what you had in DeSean Jackson then you would go Reagor but he wasn’t close to being a Uber productive day 1 starter and needed more time then the guys who went before him and jefferson. 

[bpac55]

10 minutes ago, Alphagrand said:

A 73-yard PR TD isn't even good enough for posters on here.  I read this morning he still looked slow, "rumbling" I believe was the word -- or that everyone on the field was slow because the field was soggy.

You can't even make this stuff up.

I said he looked like he was lumbering which he did.  It's merely stating an observation of a guy who is touted for his speed.  If you watch that PR, you can't tell me he looked fast.  I wasn't complaining about it, I gave him credit for making some plays.  Clearly, he was faster than everyone on the field during the PR as no one caught him or could get an angle.  He just didn't look fast in doing so.  

[Mike31mt]

29 minutes ago, Br3 said:

Does Wentz get an opportunity to start again after being benched to see what he has learned or do we turn the page completely 

it honestly seems like the type of situation where Wentz will go out there and somehow do worse after this

What youre going to get from Wentz until either the coaches or Howie is gone is what you got last night.  Hes going to throw safe passes and when under pressure, just go down.  

Why on earth would he put himself at risk, either by running or attempting to make a big pass play?  For the good of the team?  Lol

This is what we wanted. We wanted to see Wentz avoid hero ball and run the offense. If he comes back in, I expect the same--he'll run our garbage offense and thats it