Always liked him. 

10 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

Why is that?  

Does Doug just enjoy seeing WRs catch 4 yard passes on 3rd and long?  How do you know that it's not a product of Ward.  If he had any ability to separate, don't you think he might have a better depth of target?

For the record, I was not a Jason Avant fan.  Overrated in his time here, although still a much better fit in that offense, in that era (and vastly more talented), than Ward is here.

A WR catches the ball where it is routed to be caught.  The Eagles tend to run their slants shallow.   I am not saying we couldn’t do better than Ward.  8.7 per reception is shallow but I don’t think that is talent based. I believe that is based more on progression.  Slot is not a first target selection for the Eagles except possibly on third down. BTW, Ward is tied for second in third down conversions. Not bad for a JAG.  Where in the West Coast offense did we see a slot focus?  Third down.  Greg Lewis, Jason Avant, say what you will, all they did was catch third down passes and move the chains.  That’s what a slot does in our offense and Ward, Lewis and Avant excel in that area.

You and I will probably never agree on WRs.  To me hands and route running, including feints, change of pace etc. matter more than speed.  I like having a WR whose speed must be defensed but I don’t think all starting WRs must have exceptional speed if they have other traits that get them open.   

45 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

Someone refresh my memory... did we score on the drive that Sanders dropped that easy TD?

No. Failed sneak 

1 hour ago, schuy7 said:

Howie turning a blind eye to the backup RBs (amongst many other things) is hurting us. All because Boston Scott made a couple plays in space last year. Crappy evaluation of our own RBs, IMO.

Scott earned his spot, so I didn’t have an issue with them keeping him this season. He was pretty damn good last year. My issue comes with them still giving Clement an opportunity when he probably should have been cut last year. The only reason he’s still here is because of what he did in the Super Bowl. He offers nothing. Smallwood was a better RB than him. 

2 minutes ago, BigEFly said:

A WR catches the ball where it is routed to be caught.  The Eagles tend to run their slants shallow.   I am not saying we couldn’t do better than Ward.  8.7 per reception is shallow but I don’t think that is talent based. I believe that is based more on progression.  Slot is not a first target selection for the Eagles except possibly on third down. BTW, Ward is tied for second in third down conversions. Not bad for a JAG.  Where in the West Coast offense did we see a slot focus?  Third down.  Greg Lewis, Jason Avant, say what you will, all they did was catch third down passes and move the chains.  That’s what a slot does in our offense and Ward, Lewis and Avant excel in that area.

You and I will probably never agree on WRs.  To me hands and route running, including feints, change of pace etc. matter more than speed.  I like having a WR whose speed must be defensed but I don’t think all starting WRs must have exceptional speed if they have other traits that get them open.   

I look for easy separation and hands. Ward isn’t much of a separator for a slot. His hands are good though. 

1 hour ago, eaglesflyers#1 said:

Couldn’t catch the game as I’m camping. How bad did Miles look? Walk off on own power?

He had a 74 yard run and then was on the field for a failed 2pt conversion. At the end of the 2pt he kinda reached for his hamstring but he never went down or looked that hurt 

1 minute ago, BigEFly said:

You and I will probably never agree on WRs.  To me hands and route running, including feints, change of pace etc. matter more than speed.  I like having a WR whose speed must be defensed but I don’t think all starting WRs must have exceptional speed if they have other traits that get them open.   

Separation and hands are what matter most. 

Hands are tricky...they can be developed.  They can be lost.  So that's a bit of a moving target when drafting/scouting.

Route running, change of direction, agility, and raw speed all matter.  I don't think it's fair to say any one matters more than the others.  They all contribute to getting open and separating.  And of these, some can be taught and developed, and some cannot.

Why draft a player with a fixed limitation on certain traits when you could emphasize a player with a guaranteed asset that will help?

 

10 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

I bet a significant chunk of Ward’s YAC average is boosted by that busted coverage vs Dallas. And please don’t compare Ward to players like Hopkins, Edelman and Thomas. It’s a lot harder to get YAC when you’re the focal point of a defense (or in Edelman’s case a top 2 option). Plus, Thomas and Hopkins are doing it against double coverage and can play well on the outside. 

I am not comparing Ward to them.  I was strictly looking at YAC, which you said that Ward never gets. Statistically, he is about average for YAC. Let’s admit we will never agree on him but I think he has proven himself at this point for what the Eagles use a slot WR for.

Game ball has to go to JJAW today. A 70+ yard TD plus a crucial 2 point conversion. That’s what we drafted him for.

Reno Mahe somehow led the NFL in punt return avg one year, IIRC.  That was often used to show that he was good at it.  

 

3 minutes ago, BigEFly said:

I am not comparing Ward to them.  I was strictly looking at YAC, which you said that Ward never gets. Statistically, he is about average for YAC. Let’s admit we will never agree on him but I think he has proven himself at this point for what the Eagles use a slot WR for.

I think he’s proven himself for how the Eagles use him — an inefficient chain mover whose limited skill set makes things harder on offense. 

Man, I can’t wait to see Reagor play again. Watching all these good rookie WRs is annoying. 

Helluva Game 7 NLCS between Braves-Dodgers right now!

Out of curiosity, does Doug get credit for going to Hurts to spark the offense or is it just annoying to you?

6 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

Game ball has to go to JJAW today. A 70+ yard TD plus a crucial 2 point conversion. That’s what we drafted him for.

That happened and my wife said "look babe, he got one!”

at that point my scotch intake doubled. 

Just now, ManuManu said:

Out of curiosity, does Doug get credit for going to Hurts to spark the offense or is it just annoying to you?

Reeked of desperation in my opinion

Just now, ManuManu said:

Out of curiosity, does Doug get credit for going to Hurts to spark the offense or is it just annoying to you?

Both.

Just now, Allhaildawk said:

That happened and my wife said "look babe, he got one!”

at that point my scotch intake doubled. 

He’s a bust, but I give him credit for not letting that affect his effort on blocks and hustling. 

Just now, Iggles25 said:

Reeked of desperation in my opinion

It was desperation, and it worked.  It was a spark for us and completely confused their defense, putting them on their heels.

I'm not saying it's a sustainable or clever way to actually run an NFL offense, but it made a defense that was settling in for a lazy 4th quarter of prevent start to spin their heads in confusion.

Am I the only one that saw Taylor like a heat seeking missile to catch Lamar at the end of the game?  As far as I am concerned they should be playing him, Singleton and TJ, when he comes off IR and Bradley in packages.  Move Gerry and Riley back to STs, where they excel.  My theory is if you keep Taylor clean, even if he initially missteps, his speed and laser tackling will fix anything like that. 

If Chip Kelly had just had both Riley Cooper and JJAW to block in the same offense, there's no telling what he could have accomplished.

1 minute ago, eagle45 said:

It was desperation, and it worked.  It was a spark for us and completely confused their defense, putting them on their heels.

I'm not saying it's a sustainable or clever way to actually run an NFL offense, but it made a defense that was settling in for a lazy 4th quarter of prevent start to spin their heads in confusion.

At this point I also think keeping Wentz upright is a worthy reason to work him in. Wentz doesn’t survive 16 games of this nonsense OL. Big Ben wouldn’t 

3 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

Out of curiosity, does Doug get credit for going to Hurts to spark the offense or is it just annoying to you?

It’s annoying and it’s bush league amateur crap, but I mean the handful of times that they use him it works more times than not. He sprung the Sanders run today, but him and Wentz playing catch behind the line of scrimmage was a disaster waiting to happen.