53 minutes ago, BigEFly said:

Lemon missed time in the OTAs with a hammy. Missing time after 3 1/2 practices is a concern as timing routes with the slot receiver is a key part of this offense.

Yeah, I never want to be the guy who overreacts to TC bumps and bruises, but for a rookie WR that they are counting on, he can't afford to miss time.

EJ and Fran saying one of their biggest negative moments of the day was Stowers getting absolutely no separation from Ebiketie, a player he should have no trouble separating from given he's an Edge rusher. Said he's gotten no separation in camp so far and has trouble getting in and out of his breaks. This lines up with what he looked like playing in college. Good vertical speed, but herky jerky and moves sluggishly.

4 minutes ago, Parrot Head said:

Yeah, I never want to be the guy who overreacts to TC bumps and bruises, but for a rookie WR that they are counting on, he can't afford to miss time.

3 minutes ago, Sack that QB said:

EJ and Fran saying one of their biggest negative moments of the day was Stowers getting absolutely no separation from Ebiketie, a player he should have no trouble separating from given he's an Edge rusher. Said he's gotten no separation in camp so far and has trouble getting in and out of his breaks. This lines up with what he looked like playing in college. Good vertical speed, but herky jerky and moves sluggishly.

You want your first rounder to contribute right away but Brown is capable of WR3, and Cooper is capable of WR4. So I'm not too worried if he is slow to acclimate due to injury.

As for Stowers, Id be more concerned about struggles to separate if he was trying to be a WR and moved like JJAW. Lots of TEs in the league who are relatively unathletic and win despite not being big separators. Part of it will be learning to use his size. And he was always likely to be a project considering he was a college QB. Hes going to need to learn how to run routes too.

17 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

'

I am guessing they want to limit contact if he's at all limited.

9 minutes ago, Sack that QB said:

EJ and Fran saying one of their biggest negative moments of the day was Stowers getting absolutely no separation from Ebiketie, a player he should have no trouble separating from given he's an Edge rusher. Said he's gotten no separation in camp so far and has trouble getting in and out of his breaks. This lines up with what he looked like playing in college. Good vertical speed, but herky jerky and moves sluggishly.

That sounds alot like he's thinking about running the right routes rather than going at full speed.

18 minutes ago, HazletonEagle said:

You want your first rounder to contribute right away but Brown is capable of WR3, and Cooper is capable of WR4. So I'm not too worried if he is slow to acclimate due to injury.

As for Stowers, Id be more concerned about struggles to separate if he was trying to be a WR and moved like JJAW. Lots of TEs in the league who are relatively unathletic and win despite not being big separators. Part of it will be learning to use his size. And he was always likely to be a project considering he was a college QB. Hes going to need to learn how to run routes too.

I think E Moore will have to make the roster with Lemen being a no show for the last 3 months and we will need to keep 6 WRs.

19 minutes ago, NCiggles said:

'

I am guessing they want to limit contact if he's at all limited.

I bet the hamstring is still not healed. It can take 3-6 months.

6 hours ago, eagle45 said:

We both love those types, but they just aren't on the Eagles radar.

From a speed (and certainly not size) standpoint, across multiple coaches and OC's, they usually have a Hollywood Brown on the roster. Torrey Smith, Mike Wallace, Desean Jackson 2.0, Quez Watkins, and now Hollywood Brown (John Ross was another who never actually stuck on the roster). (2023-2026 sort of bypassed this because AJ/Devonta represented all the diversity of personnel and looks they felt the need to put out there). But that list of WRs is a very clean lineage with an unmistakable common denominator in investment and utilization. They were all bargain bin acquisitions who almost never got targeted and occasionally got on the field for the perceived value of softening the defense due to their vertical threat. It's interesting that they consistently want that token fast guy on the roster but exclusively under-invest in guys for that role...guys that, frankly, arent any good.

We'll hardly ever hear Hollywood Brown's name this year, but that's exactly how he'll be utilized.

Yeah, it really strikes me as odd that the team seems to focus on bench speed and not starting speed.

I am a bit more optimistic than you, though. The Eagles have clearly turned a corner in Howie 2.0 regarding how they value physical traits and upside in the draft.

I’m thinking we are due to invest in a size/speed athlete at WR. The problem is since we just used a first round pick on Lemon, I’m not sure if we’d come back and use another top 50 sort of asset in the next two years.

Screamin A Smith: wrong

7 minutes ago, TEW said:

Yeah, it really strikes me as odd that the team seems to focus on bench speed and not starting speed.

I am a bit more optimistic than you, though. The Eagles have clearly turned a corner in Howie 2.0 regarding how they value physical traits and upside in the draft.

I’m thinking we are due to invest in a size/speed athlete at WR. The problem is since we just used a first round pick on Lemon, I’m not sure if we’d come back and use another top 50 sort of asset in the next two years.

I don't think they will shy away from a WR if he's the best player available unless Lemon looks great.

So after today, it looks like Hurts is safe with his job for at least another day. As he better watch out for that Tanner Brady who's coming hard to take his spot, as I've been reading here for last 3 years. Look out! I get a good laugh when I see that Dalton is outplaying him thus far. An almost 40 year old afterthought ...ooof!!

Offense will be fine. Even with out Lemon being an immediate contributor. It's addition by subtraction with the toxic diva not weighing things down. Devanta as your clear number 1 & just spreading the ball around to Wicks, Hollywood & Moore with a non retarded OC should be adequate. The fact that the opposing defense does not know the play we are running before the snap is already a win. But really, the offense will come down to Barkley and Tank dominating in the running game and the O-line staying healthy.

Also, to make sure that Sirianni is very far away from that play call sheet. And yes this offense is already better than last year. Yes, I'm sold on Mannion already. He's not Patullo!! If SF and the Shanahan scheme made a bunch of jags look solid in an NFL playoff game against a good defense, then I think that scheme can be a great fit here with even more talent. As the players keep raving about Mannion and the scheme. Of course there will be hiccups early on. But should be peaking by playoff time. Even a middle of the pack offense will be a huge upgrade, with this championship caliber defense. Not really counting much on Stowers or Lemon for this 1st year with any of my calculations. All gravy, if they give you anything.

11 minutes ago, BigEFly said:

I liked Morton in the draft. Thats funny but you also gotta love that confidence.

Kempski focused on Rocco Underwood again today and it doesn’t sound good

1 hour ago, TEW said:

Yeah, it really strikes me as odd that the team seems to focus on bench speed and not starting speed.

I am a bit more optimistic than you, though. The Eagles have clearly turned a corner in Howie 2.0 regarding how they value physical traits and upside in the draft.

I’m thinking we are due to invest in a size/speed athlete at WR. The problem is since we just used a first round pick on Lemon, I’m not sure if we’d come back and use another top 50 sort of asset in the next two years.

I feel like they've gone in that athlete direction everywhere except WR (and with excellent results).

That Howie 2.0 pivot really started with athletes on defense (and look what it resulted in). But it's not fair to Barkley and the OL (as well as the newly drafted Stowers) to say that it hasn't been prioritized on offense too.

To be fair, athleticism in WRs is especially tricky. A good WR who is extremely athletic just isn't getting drafted in our typical range. So we sort of have to pick between good WRs who aren't that athletic or great athletes who, for various reasons, failed to be good NCAA WRs.

43 minutes ago, weko said:

I think E Moore will have to make the roster with Lemen being a no show for the last 3 months and we will need to keep 6 WRs.

He's missed only one part of training camp. They may keep 6 WRs. I also think it's likely Elijah Moore would make it through to the practice squad. He was on the practice squad last season in Denver. They only kept 5 WRs last season. It seems Smith, Lemon and Wicks are pretty certain at this point. Brown is going to take another slot. I don't know if they keep Moore over Cooper. I think they would take a chance that Moore makes it through to the PS rather than just keep him on the roster.

2 hours ago, Sack that QB said:

EJ and Fran saying one of their biggest negative moments of the day was Stowers getting absolutely no separation from Ebiketie, a player he should have no trouble separating from given he's an Edge rusher. Said he's gotten no separation in camp so far and has trouble getting in and out of his breaks. This lines up with what he looked like playing in college. Good vertical speed, but herky jerky and moves sluggishly.

I will watch as the season plays out…last year the Eagles passing game faced mostly zone defenses and really struggled. That may change without Brown being in the lineup, but Devonta is still pretty much uncoverable against man D. The Eagles will probably see a lot of zone early on until they can show the ability to consistently beat it.

Separation is a non-factor against zones, so the bigger question for me is whether Stowers can be a reliable pass catching target by recognizing and sitting in the appropriate gaps.

9 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

I feel like they've gone in that athlete direction everywhere except WR (and with excellent results).

To be fair, athleticism in WRs is especially tricky. A good WR who is extremely athletic just isn't getting drafted in our typical range. So we sort of have to pick between good WRs who aren't that athletic or great athletes who, for various reasons, failed to be good NCAA WRs.

Exactly the issue I see, and why I am sort of hoping we look in the 2027 draft. There seems to be about half a dozen top tier athletes at WR who could be available in the 20-50 overall range.

1 hour ago, NCiggles said:

I don't think they will shy away from a WR if he's the best player available unless Lemon looks great.

I hope so, but I fear that with Smith, Lemon, Stowers, and the needs to get younger on the OL we’ll look elsewhere.