The officials are screwing the Eagles again by not calling penalties on the Ravens. Jerry must have told them he wants a higher pick. 

Hmmm.... Dallas managed to try a Hail Mary right before the half.   And CeeDee Lamb got 2 hands on the ball.  

Reagor would have caught that 

That Hail Mary had Fulgham high point all over it. Too bad that call is not in Philly's playbook.

3 minutes ago, RLC said:

That missed call on Lamb was atrocious. He might score if he doesn't get held.

That's true... but I am having a hard time being upset.

1 minute ago, Alphagrand said:

Reagor would have caught that 

Jefferson would've caught it for sure. 

5 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Hmmm.... Dallas managed to try a Hail Mary right before the half.   And CeeDee Lamb got 2 hands on the ball.  

Jerry told Lamb to drop it so the cowboys don't get ahead of the Eagles. The guy is messing with us :)

1 minute ago, manz2821 said:

Jerry told Lamb to drop it so the Eagles don't get ahead of the Eagles. The guy is messing with us 🙂

 

 

Who are you guys rooting for in the DAL-CIN game next week?

Just now, Alphagrand said:

Who are you guys rooting for in the DAL-CIN game next week?

Cincy. Without a doubt. Im hoping we lose out so Dallas will have one more win that us anyways. Maybe cincy wins another one after that and maybe we can make a comeback into the 3rd pole position for the draft :)

God i have been saying this for 2 months, thanks to carson Palmer for poining out the obvious.    

 

 

 

 

 

2 minutes ago, Alphagrand said:

Who are you guys rooting for in the DAL-CIN game next week?

CIN because we have a chance to move ahead of them in draft order if we lose out (which would mean DAL beating us).

13 minutes ago, Alphagrand said:

Reagor would have caught that 

Ceedee Lamb stinks

Maybe we can trade Wentz to the Ravens

18 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Hmmm.... Dallas managed to try a Hail Mary right before the half.   And CeeDee Lamb got 2 hands on the ball.  

bust

4 hours ago, ManuManu said:

I would be shocked if they go back to the Reid coaching tree so soon. 

We would have a starter on a rookie contract though!

I hear you on the Reid tree, but half the league is now the Reid tree and I could see the logic being lets help Wentz out of the offensive funk by bringing in the OC of the best offense in the league. It’s not all talent there. There is real scheme. 

12 minutes ago, Ipiggles said:

God i have been saying this for 2 months, thanks to carson Palmer for poining out the obvious.    

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, but what about those 2-3 plays per game (out of 60) where our receivers get open in less than 10 seconds?  

I kid of course.  Thank you for posting this.  Nice to hear from someone who went through the exact same thing.  

14 minutes ago, bbabraham said:

CIN because we have a chance to move ahead of them in draft order if we lose out (which would mean DAL beating us).

I'm not necessarily concerned with CIN.  I feel like it's a foregone conclusion that they'll snag Penei Sewell (if he's there) to protect Burrow.  

2 hours ago, e-a-g-l-e-s eagles! said:

Sheil’s article on the athletic 

The Eagles sent out a tweet Tuesday afternoon announcing they are going to start Jalen Hurts at quarterback in Week 14 against the Saints. That also means, of course, they are benching Carson Wentz just 18 months after signing him to a $128 million extension.

The move raises questions about the Eagles’ future at quarterback. We know Hurts will start Sunday, but we don’t know much beyond that. Has Wentz played his last game in an Eagles uniform? What are the chances that Hurts plays well? Who’s the likely starter in 2021?

Below is an attempt to answer the key questions surrounding the Eagles’ move.

1. Why are the Eagles making this move now?

The quarterback switch is about a few different things. Wentz has looked broken all season. He’s been uncomfortable in the pocket. He’s not seeing the field well. He’s been hesitant to pull the trigger when he’s had opportunities. And he leads the NFL with 19 turnovers. The Eagles’ coaching staff has had 13 weeks to try and figure out solutions to help Wentz, and they’ve come up empty. Wentz ranks 27th in QBR, and the passing game ranks 31st in DVOA. There was no benefit to just sending him out there every week to fail. The Eagles pulled Wentz in favor of Hurts in their Week 13 loss to the Packers, and now they will get a look at the player general manager Howie Roseman selected in the second round of April’s draft.

2. What are fair expectations for Hurts?

To view Hurts as the Eagles’ likely quarterback of the future would be a mistake. The most likely scenario is that Hurts is not the long-term answer. That’s not me being harsh and counting a guy out before he even starts a game. That’s just what history tells us. From 2008 to 2017 (I’m using this range so that we get at least three full years of each player), 24 quarterbacks were taken on Day 2 of the draft. Among that group, six became starters: Russell Wilson, Derek Carr, Colin Kaepernick, Nick Foles, Andy Dalton and Jimmy Garoppolo. This is not complex math, but we can say that the chances based on that sample of finding a starter in the second or third round is roughly 25 percent.

If we include backups, we can add Chad Henne, Jacoby Brissett and Colt McCoy. So the chances of finding a starter or backup are roughly 41.2 percent. It’s still more likely a team ends up with a quarterback who turns into neither of those things. There are always exceptions, but those are the rough odds.

Maybe Hurts lights it up and shows real potential as a starter. Maybe he’s OK and looks like he’ll be fine as a backup. Maybe he’s a complete disaster. The one thing the Eagles cannot do is convince themselves that Hurts is the guy after a four-game sample. The goal here should just be information gathering. It’s possible they learn that the offensive system and surrounding talent aren’t the problem, and the issues were even more Wentz-related than suspected. It’s also possible they discover the offensive system and surrounding talent are the problem, and it doesn’t really matter who’s playing quarterback.

Given that Hurts had a shortened offseason and no preseason, I would expect that we’d see a heavy QB-inclusive run game and a simplified passing game in which he’s encouraged to take off if he doesn’t like what he sees.

3. Is there a chance Wentz comes back as the starter this season?

Sure. In 2008, then-Eagles coach Andy Reid benched Donovan McNabb for Kevin Kolb in the second half of a game in Baltimore. Kolb played poorly, Reid came back to McNabb, and the Eagles went to the NFC Championship Game. That scenario is not going to repeat because the Eagles aren’t going anywhere this season. But it’s possible that if Hurts struggles, the coaches convince themselves that Wentz has benefited from taking a step back, and he returns.

4. Given his contract, is Wentz tradable in the offseason?

Cutting Wentz is a non-starter, but trading him is possible and could make sense for the Eagles. As Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com explained, Wentz’s contract is not bad for interested teams that view him as a quality starter. The trading team would essentially be adding him on a four-year, $98.4 million deal with two years guaranteed. Per Fitzgerald, the cap figures would rank 11th and 13th among quarterbacks in 2021 and 2022, and the deal would be similar to the one Teddy Bridgewater signed with the Panthers last offseason.

5. What’s the case for trading Wentz?

There would be a few reasons to deal him. One would be that you’re convinced he is not going to be a top-tier quarterback again and that you could have better options. Even in 2018 and 2019, Wentz finished 12th and 11th, respectively, in QBR. Say that 2020 ends up being a terrible outlier, and he reverts to his past form. Is that really good enough to justify keeping him? You still have a quarterback with serious flaws. Wentz’s 58 fumbles since he entered the league in 2016 are 11 more than any other player. He’s consistently had accuracy issues. And he may have durability issues as well.

Another factor is where the Eagles are likely to be drafting. They have a 38.7 percent chance of landing a top-five draft pickand an 88.6 percent chance of landing a top-10 pick. When you’re drafting that high and don’t have a clear franchise quarterback on your roster, you have to consider picking one. There’s always going to be risk, but if the Eagles like the quarterbacks who are likely to be available to them in the first round, they have to consider moving on from Wentz. The bar doesn’t even have to be that high. They’d essentially be asking themselves: Do we feel good about this prospect’s chances of being a top-12 quarterback?

And then there’s the financial component. While the Eagles wouldn’t get much cap relief, they would potentially be saving $25.4 million in cash by not having to pay Wentz’s 2021 salary. The other big factor is that $15 million of Wentz’s 2022 base salary becomes guaranteed on the third day of the 2021 league year (March 19; the league year starts March 17). In other words, this is not a "let’s just see how he does in 2021 and go from there” type scenario. If you commit to Wentz in 2021, you are also committing to $15 million guaranteed in 2022. If you trade him, you have a chance to get out of that 2022 commitment.

6. Why would other teams be interested in trading for Wentz?

He’ll be just 28 at the start of next season, and the free-agent market for quarterbacks is not great. Assuming Dak Prescott goes back to Dallas, we’re talking about Cam Newton, Jameis Winston, Jacoby Brissett and Philip Rivers. It’s possible other options such as Matthew Stafford and Jimmy Garoppolo become available, but those players would require trade compensation just like Wentz would. As mentioned above, Wentz’s contract is not bad for a potential suitor that believes he can be a top 10 to top 15 quarterback.

In the past two weeks, broadcasters like Louis Riddick and Tony Romo have pointed out how the Eagles haven’t always put Wentz in the best situations. A few weeks ago, I wrote about how the 2020 offseason is shaping up to be a disaster. And really it goes back further than that. Roseman missed on second-round draft pick J.J. Arcega-Whiteside. He passed on Justin Jefferson in favor of Jalen Reagor. He chose not to trade for wide receivers such as DeAndre Hopkins and Stefon Diggs. He decided against pursuing someone like Robby Anderson in free agency. He drafted Hurts instead of addressing other weaknesses on the roster. And he handed out early extensions to aging offensive linemen. Every GM misses, but it’s been a bad run for Roseman since the Eagles won Super Bowl 52, and it’s impossible to look at a team like the Bills and not wonder how Wentz’s supporting cast could potentially look a lot different.

Then there’s the issue of coaching. Teams could watch the Eagles’ film and see how bad the screen game is. They could see wide receivers struggling to get off of press coverage. They could look at how often the Eagles run isolation routes in high-leverage situations and fail to scheme guys open. They could convince themselves that Wentz is fixable and projects as a classic change of scenery-type.

7. What would potential compensation look like?

This is a tricky question. Normally with trades, you can look at past deals and come up with an educated prediction. With Wentz, because of the unique circumstances, it’s not that straightforward. We can probably set the floor at the Foles deal last offseason. (How is it that we’re still coming back to Foles?) The Bears sent a fourth-round pick to the Jaguars for Foles.

In 2017, the 49ers traded a second-round pick to the Patriots for Garoppolo. On one hand, Garoppolo was on his rookie contract. On the other hand, he had started only two career games at that time.

In 2018, Washington sent a third-round pick and cornerback Kendall Fuller to the Chiefs for Alex Smith.

The compensation setup that probably makes the most sense is a deal that includes conditions based on Wentz’s performance. In this scenario, perhaps a suitor offers a second- or third-round pick. If Wentz plays a certain number of snaps or achieves a certain level of performance, perhaps the pick bumps up or the team throws in something else. Such a structure could be appealing for a team that wants to mitigate risk. It’s also possible a suitor would be interested in a deal that calls for the Eagles to pay some of Wentz’s remaining guarantees.

8. Which teams could potentially be interested?

This is where the last month of the season becomes interesting. If the Colts struggle down the stretch, would they think about reuniting Wentz with Frank Reich rather than signing Rivers, 39, for another year? Would Bill Belichick see Wentz as an attractive option if the Patriots move on from Newton? If Derek Carr stumbles and the Raiders miss the playoffs, would Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock get aggressive? Would Kyle Shanahan view Wentz as a significant upgrade over Garoppolo in San Francisco? What about the Broncos and John Elway? They appear to be in desperate need of a quarterback this offseason.

It could turn out that teams are scared off by Wentz’s season and want no part of him. But it could also turn out that some convince themselves that given his age and skill set, he’s an attractive option who’s been put in a bad situation and can still be salvaged.

Three things to remember here. One, it takes only one team. Two, most coaches have huge egos. If a coach thought highly of Wentz during the pre-draft process in 2016 or during his strong 2017 season, the coach could easily convince himself that he can fix Wentz. Remember, we live in a world where teams were convinced of Sam Bradford’s potential because of what they saw during a pro day five or six years earlier. And three, the timing is key. The Eagles would want to trade Wentz before his 2022 salary guarantee kicks in. This is not likely to be a situation where they could wait and see how the draft plays out or wait to see if another team’s starter suffers an injury in August. A trade would most likely have to happen during the first 48 hours of the league year in March.

9. What’s the case for the Eagles to keep Wentz?

There is no case for the Eagles running it back with Roseman, Pederson and Wentz. That simply cannot happen. Last offseason, owner Jeffrey Lurie and Roseman forced Pederson to make changes to his coaching staff and bring in new ideas. That has turned out to be a disaster. Making minor tweaks and hoping for the best would be a major mistake. Given Lurie’s long-held beliefthat offensive efficiency, and specifically passing efficiency, is the key to sustained success, it’s hard to imagine he’s going to settle on patience this offseason.

One option would be change the pieces around Wentz. But the roster that Roseman has built is not only old, expensive and bad, it also fails to allow for flexibility. The Eagles are in bad cap shape going into 2021. Put simply: There’s no clear avenue for them to significantly upgrade the talent around Wentz.

The more likely option that could result in the Eagles keeping Wentz would be a coaching change. It’d be no surprise to see Lurie part ways with Pederson and convince himself that a new coach can fix Wentz. Lurie has prioritized offense and the quarterback position with his past three hires: Andy Reid, Chip Kelly and Pederson. He is likely to do so again if he decides it’s time to move on. Given all that the Eagles have invested in Wentz, they might want to hang on to him until they’ve explored every possible option to get him right. The best outcome for the franchise is still for him to bounce back, play well and be the starter.

One thing to remember: Wentz’s floor this season is something we had not seen. In 2018 and 2019, he wasn’t great, but he was at least slightly above average. Getting the 2017 version of Wentz back is unlikely, but getting the 2018 or 2019 version is within the range of reasonable expected outcomes.

Maybe Hurts shows something down the stretch, and the Eagles go into 2021 with a new coach and Wentz and Hurts as their options at quarterback. This could be particularly intriguing if they don’t love the quarterbacks in the draft. Even if they get a top-10 pick, they could trade back, try to acquire additional picks in future years, buy time with Wentz and Hurts and revisit their quarterback situation in 2022.

10. So how will this all play out?

There are obviously a lot of variables to consider, but I think the most likely scenario is that the Eagles make a coaching change and see if the next coach can get more out of Wentz. I just go back to the past offseason. The Eagles had opportunities to make major changes to their offensive personnel, and they didn’t do so. Instead, Lurie and Roseman convinced Pederson to make changes to his staff. That tells us the owner thought coaching was more of an issue than personnel. Assuming Roseman remains the GM (I covered all of Lurie’s options here), it seems likely that Lurie will continue to view coaching as an issue. Obviously, if the Eagles get trade offers that are better than what I’ve projected above, that route could suddenly become really appealing. But the organization has a lot invested in Wentz. My sense is the Eagles will convince themselves they can find someone who can get him back on track in 2021

Please don’t post full articles. 

Aikman just skewering Xavier Woods tonight 

10 minutes ago, hputenis said:

I'm not necessarily concerned with CIN.  I feel like it's a foregone conclusion that they'll snag Penei Sewell (if he's there) to protect Burrow.  

Same. A Dallas win vs. Cinci means they won't get Sewell. That's the most important thing. 

7 minutes ago, RLC said:

Same. A Dallas win vs. Cinci means they won't get Sewell. That's the most important thing. 

Good point.  The last thing we need is Sewell to replace Tyron Smith for a seamless transition.  The thought of it makes me sick.  

Bad news guys apparently the flyers aren’t playing hockey next year according to espn 

 

So let's assume the top three picks are

Jets - Lawrence

Jaguars - Fields

Bengals - Sewell

That number 4 pick would be really nice. Choice of Surtain, Rousseau, Chase, Parsons, or perhaps even better trade down two or three spots for a team looking to get Wilson and still get one of the aforementioned guys.

Somehow it would be really fitting if Doug ran the ball 15 times against this DAL defense