Just now, Mike030270 said:

They've been trying to replace the great team of Doug, Reich, and Flip and have failed miserably

Kind of funny because neither have been doing well since they left too

Also the Dline was great when Wilson was the coach

The DBs have always sucked lol

I don't know how much it impacted the rest of the line but they had to double Donald majority of the game

I could be wrong but I think Donald lined up across Issac. Peters ended up having to help most of the game

Did that screw up the line? I'd have to refer to JR on that

Well, Sanders and Scott averaged like 4.8 yards per carry and wentz was pretty clean all game so I'd say our OL managed just fine.  Donald had no impact. 

4 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

I don't think he overcompensated at WR.  If anything, he under compensated.

I think he may have "over-corrected" in the overall draft.  I think he literally just tried to do the exact opposite of what they usually do.  Not sure that's a well-calculated approach.  4-3 LB isn't necessarily a raw athlete position (Taylor).  WR, DE?  Sure, downhill explosion.

I think the most glaring problem with this team last year was team speed. Not just at WR (though that was the most obvious place) but overall. We lacked speed and explosiveness at all levels of the defense. We lacked speed at WR. We even lacked speed at RB.

Thats why Howie said that he went to Doug after the season and said he wanted to get guys that were fast and loved to play. The team needed to get faster overall, not just out wide on offense. Just think about the back 7 for instance. Zero speed in the secondary and the speed we did have at LB were converted safeties.

1 minute ago, ManuManu said:

Howie makes the picks. Howie makes the trades. Joe D set the board. Howie ran the draft. 

Howie didn't run the draft... that was Joe Douglas entire job all year long. The entire college scouting department and draft board was his.  That's running the draft. 

Metcalf may be the best WR in the NFL sooner rather than later.

1 minute ago, HazletonEagle said:

Howie didn't run the draft... that was Joe Douglas entire job all year long. The entire college scouting department and draft board was his.  That's running the draft. 

There’s more to running the draft than setting the draft board. 

3 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

Metcalf may be the best WR in the NFL sooner rather than later.

Hurts every time I see him catch one 

1 minute ago, ManuManu said:

There’s more to running the draft than setting the draft board. 

Yeah overseeing the college scoring department.  Joe Douglas again.

There more to running the draft than being the figurehead that gets to turn in a card with a name on it from someone else's board that you didn't make. 

5 minutes ago, Arsenal79 said:

When Reid left Lurie claimed Howie made the best picks so was putting him in charge.  I believe that was 2012.  From then until now the only time Howie was not in charge was when Chip banished him.

So if Howie makes the best picks as Lurie and you claim, then why was Joe Douglas running the draft?

He isn’t anymore. That’s kind of the point. After a few years of bad results, he left and the power was given to Howie.

14 minutes ago, TEW said:

More so, the cap situation just doesn’t make sense.

Yes, but even beyond that. If this dynamic was working you can find a way. It’s been a steady decline from 2017 onward so far. It’s time to at least replace the band if you want to keep playing the greatest hits 

Let's say that Joe ran the board.  Let's also say that JJAW was ahead of Campbell/Metcalf in isolation on that board, thanks to Joe and medicals. 

As the GM, Howie needs to say...guys, we just committed to 12 personnel with these 2 big TE's as our base offense.  We've got a possession WR in Alshon Jeffery.  It's not a fit, we can't draft JJAW, even if you do have him rated as the best WR or best player available.  

That's the GM's job to have that big picture awareness.  

43 minutes ago, HazletonEagle said:

this thread was hard to read. I think unnecessarily overly negative. 

 

I actually agree with you. This was a loss on paper to me as soon as the schedule came out and we showed signs of life. Dallas winning was a harder blow today than us losing. We needed atlanta to pull that one out. 

Just now, Allhaildawk said:

Hurts every time I see him catch one 

Seriously.  And watching Wilson shows how far Wentz has to go.  Is what it is.

Just now, HazletonEagle said:

Yeah overseeing the college scoring department.  Joe Douglas again.

There more to running the draft than being the figurehead that gets to turn in a card with a name on it from someone else's board that you didn't make. 

What role do you think Howie had in the draft then? Do you honestly believe he only was a figurehead? Do you not think he sat in on meetings all year long and watched tape of all the players on their board?

You’re being obtuse. Howie wasn’t just sitting there asking Joe who he should write down on the card. 

Just now, Miami said:

Seriously.  And watching Wilson shows how far Wentz has to go.  Is what it is.

At least Wilson evolved over time.  He was always an efficient passer, but he really changed in the last few years.  Leaves some hope for Wentz.

2 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

Let's say that Joe ran the board.  Let's also say that JJAW was ahead of Campbell/Metcalf in isolation on that board, thanks to Joe and medicals. 

As the GM, Howie needs to say...guys, we just committed to 12 personnel with these 2 big TE's as our base offense.  We've got a possession WR in Alshon Jeffery.  It's not a fit, we can't draft JJAW, even if you do have him rated as the best WR or best player available.  

That's the GM's job to have that big picture awareness.  

Yeah, and worse yet they reportedly waited until they were on the clock to have that tiebreaker conversation between Campbell and JJAW. It comes off as completely unprepared. 

2 minutes ago, TEW said:

He isn’t anymore. That’s kind of the point. After a few years of bad results, he left and the power was given to Howie.

He left for a promotion to full personnel control, which he didn’t have under Howie, and a massive SIX YEAR $18M contract which is unheard of for a GM.  That’s why he’s not here.  He didn’t get fired.

1 minute ago, eagle45 said:

At least Wilson evolved over time.  He was always an efficient passer, but he really changed in the last few years.  Leaves some hope for Wentz.

I’m not sure Wilson evolved that much in recent years. He’s been elite for awhile. Pete just held him back. 

9 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

I actually really agree with their devaluing of the position.  Now, they took it overboard by starting a bunch of roster cuts.  In a 4-3 (We really shouldn't even call it a 4-3 at this point, it's a 4-2)...the DL stops the run, the DL generates the pass rush, the 5 DBs are responsible for the main weapons in coverage.  LBs need to tackle well and cover well.  It's not an unimportant job, but it's kind of a go for "good enough" position in this defense.  

They well short of even that modest goal, but I wouldn't go ahead and draft a LB in the first or even 2nd round, especially considering the other problems we have.

 

It’s one thing to devalue the position, it’s another to take it to a completely another level where you don’t have any linebackers on this team that I would consider average starters in the NFL. the linebacker unit might be the worst in the NFL. That’s not D valuing it anymore that is a hindrance to your team success because you have guys out there that have no business being on the field as starters

4 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

Let's say that Joe ran the board.  Let's also say that JJAW was ahead of Campbell/Metcalf in isolation on that board, thanks to Joe and medicals. 

As the GM, Howie needs to say...guys, we just committed to 12 personnel with these 2 big TE's as our base offense.  We've got a possession WR in Alshon Jeffery.  It's not a fit, we can't draft JJAW, even if you do have him rated as the best WR or best player available.  

That's the GM's job to have that big picture awareness.  

Wrong.  It’s Howie’s job to take the credit when things go well, and shift the blame to the personnel guy du joir when they don’t go well.

20 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

I maintain that I would do everything to support Wentz and coach him up for success through 2021.  Ditto Doug.  Even with Howie, his learning curve has been so tragically painful.  I have zero confidence that he's "figured it out," but since his most recent draft was more in line with my philosophy, I'm not totally sure I want to go back to square 1.

But underneath those 3, there's not a whole lot of changes that I'd hesitate to make.

1.  Schwartz has done a good job here over the years.  Good overall.  But his work with the secondary has been consistently bad.  The QB pressure is never there.  I would not be opposed to looking in a new direction in the offseason.

2.  I'm not sure 2021 is the time for half-measures with the salary cap.  It would be a hell of a painful band-aid...you might even need to start now...but I would strongly consider cleansing this team of every single overpaid contract.  That means considering trades for guys like Cox, Ertz, Brooks.  Releases for guys like Desean, Malik, Jeffery, Barnett, Graham.  The dirty work to clear that kind of cap would have to start this season before the trade deadline, not in the offseason.  Collectively, you might get a few picks and you might be able to set yourself up for a FA splash in 2022 as the team reloads. 

3.  If this season really goes south, you might have to approach Wentz in the offseason and leverage him into a restructuring.  Gives him some good PR whilst he is in the crosshairs; he gets to say he took less so the team can better build around him.  

4.  Draft should be WR, interior OL, DE in that order.  If you draft a LT with a top 15 pick, you are writing off the Dillard investment.  They just don't have the luxury of doing that.  You've got to roll the dice with him in 2021 and add a threat opposite Reagor to help Wentz.  The picks after that should be stacking up on the interior OL, which figure to need a lot of help in numbers.  DE is a huge pending problem, but it's best to invest in getting Wentz back on the right track.  Maybe 2022 FA is when they can break the bank on a DE.

3 minutes ago, Arsenal79 said:

He left for a promotion to full personnel control, which he didn’t have under Howie, and a massive SIX YEAR $18M contract which is unheard of for a GM.  That’s why he’s not here.  He didn’t get fired.

So what? Chip Fing Kelly got a second job in the NFL. It means nothing. 

The key here is that Douglas wasn’t replaced. That tells you almost everything you need to know about how Lurie viewed the decision making process.

1 minute ago, Arsenal79 said:

Wrong.  It’s Howie’s job to take the credit when things go well, and shift the blame to the personnel guy du joir when they don’t go well.

I have no problem with anyone saying Joe Douglas wasn’t great here. My issue is absolving Howie when he obviously had a hand in it. It’s both of their faults. 

Just now, TEW said:

So what? Chip Fing Kelly got a second job in the NFL. It means nothing. 

The key here is that Douglas wasn’t replaced. That tells you almost everything you need to know about how Lurie viewed the decision making process.

Andy Weidl sets the board now. Just like Joe did.

1 minute ago, ManuManu said:

I have no problem with anyone saying Joe Douglas wasn’t great here. My issue is absolving Howie when he obviously had a hand in it. It’s both of their faults. 

Andy Weidl sets the board now. Just like Joe did.

So weidl next in blame game 

I’m actually curious to see what the Eagles do at the trade deadline. Cause I can’t see this team by week eight being better than 3-5 or 2-6. There’s some veterans on this team that they could unload to some franchises who are going to be in contention. I think you have to strongly consider trading some of those guys to get draft capital. Yes I understand we have not been great at drafting but you still need those picks because you need to get younger, cheaper talent and hope that you hit on some of them. 

I was thrilled when Douglas got poached.  The Howie/Douglas combo wasn't working, so anything to change the formula.  But Howie stands alone on some of these contracts and trades.