EMB Blog: 2021 Offseason

[Ipiggles]

2 minutes ago, Casey @ Bat said:

I’m not gonna defend that video. Hadn’t seen it not an I sure what is happening.

I agree with top part of your post about other guys/talent level etc...

I just have a hard time believing a guy who was out on the field at 1:30am with Kelce and Wentz, who was attempting to play with a lacerated kidney last year, who’s been out there with his guys doesn’t "care”.

Some posters throw the garbage around like it’s nothing ... I have no problem bashing guys for bad play but we are to loose with guys who have no heart or don’t care IMO. Especially a guy who’s been so good for us. Has his contract stuff bothered him, probably. Has his body language been poor at times, yup. 

It’s easy to think that from our living room. Not making excuses for him but maybe the horse s___ season has affected his play too. 

On that play none of the line really blocked. No one. Not sure why. It was one of the last few plays of the game

[bbabraham]

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

Frankly I thought they should’ve benched Sudfeld and went with Greg ward

Only a Tater would play Ward at QB ahead of Hightower. Hightower is the team's best WR QB. Every number says otherwise but this is my hill and I will die on it.😠

 

 

😋

[NCiggles]

Just now, Iggles_Phan said:

How often does that happen with firings though?   

I know Ray Rhodes did.  I am fairly certain Reid did.  Kelly may have as well but he was fired I think the Tuesday after the game and not Monday.  

Just now, bbabraham said:

Only a Tater would play Ward at QB ahead of Hightower. Hightower is the team's best WR QB. Every number says otherwise but this is my hill and I will die on it.😠

 

 

😋

You're just a Hightower Hugger.  

[Wentz_Era]

17 minutes ago, greend said:

wrong guy. that's blindside

to think I made fun of you for being the senior citizen yesterday...you right 🤣

[Ipiggles]

 

[Ace Nova]

1 minute ago, Ipiggles said:

No, when the pick came, and Jefferson was on the board, 90% of the board wanted Jefferson with that pick, not one guy said hey we should draft Reagor with the 21st when Jefferson was avail. 

That's a bunch of malarkey.

I must have posted 1000+ times in the days prior to the draft and on draft day.  I was here the ENTIRE time. 

ONLY after Lamb was picked was there interest in Jefferson (other than maybe @Iggles_Phan) who had wanted him all along.

Even after Lamb was picked, people still wanted Aiyuk, Mims, Reagor, Higgins, etc before they wanted Jefferson.  Jefferson was (at best) 2nd or 3rd option on most lists at that point. 

[Iggles_Phan]

2 minutes ago, NCiggles said:

I know Ray Rhodes did.  I am fairly certain Reid did.  Kelly may have as well but he was fired I think the Tuesday after the game and not Monday.  

He was fired after the 15th game though.  Not the last game of the year.

[Casey @ Bat]

2 minutes ago, Ipiggles said:

On that play none of the line really blocked. No one. Not sure why. It was one of the last few plays of the game

That’s part of my point, can’t see what’s happening. But you just see that and it’s easy to make assumptions. 
 

 

BTW I’ve been out of likes since last night, never happened before. Am I out for the rest of the year? Lol.

[Ipiggles]

LOL

 

 

[Ipiggles]

3 minutes ago, Ace Nova said:

That's a bunch of malarkey.

I must have posted 1000+ times in the days prior to the draft and on draft day.  I was here the ENTIRE time. 

ONLY after Lamb was picked was there interest in Jefferson (other than maybe @Iggles_Phan) who had wanted him all along.

Even after Lamb was picked, people still wanted Aiyuk, Mims, Reagor, Higgins, etc before they wanted Jefferson.  Jefferson was (at best) 2nd or 3rd option on most lists at that point. 

No crap, what did I say Sherlock, WHEN THE PICK CAME UP and Jefferson was on the board, 90% wanted Jefferson. I cant remember anyone saying they should take Reagor. 

 

 

[bbabraham]

9 hours ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

I am jumping on PS2 bandwagon.

Smith and Chase are awesome.  But the NCAA is churning out really good WRs every year now.  A top-flight CB is harder to come by. 

I can certainly get on board with picking the best CB but with the unknown over who the DC will be and what their scheme is, it does put a question mark over it. I don't want to move to a very zone heavy D where an elite shutdown corner is a waste of resources, but it could happen.

[BigEFly]

2 hours ago, Iggles_Phan said:

We agree on a lot of this... Boston Scott is where we will differ.  He was not good last night.  He was what he normally is - a jag.  He never should have been the #2 RB going into the season, and if he's the #2 RB going into the season again next year.... just shoot me.   

 

But, you and I should definitely figure out the draft this year and fix this team.   

 

I will also agree that Slay and Hargrave are good players.  However, they were not good moves for this team, where this team was.  Hargrave was an expensive luxury at a position that already had a ton of capital invested, and frankly, this team has been able to find decent rotational DTs in the past.   That money would have been better spent elsewhere... like maybe a healthy, NFL caliber WR.  

Slay is also a good player... but paying both draft capital and cap space for him makes zero sense on a team that sucks at drafting and everybody knew was going to be in a cap crunch for 2021.  Again, better to just spend ONE form of asset per position, either draft picks or money.  Sadly, Howie isn't good at drafting CBs... so that left only the money route.  Bradberry was likely to follow his coach to NY, rather than sign with a team he had no connection to, but did they even make the call?  There was no smoke about that move at all.  

 

Oh well... at least we know that Jeffery will bring Howie and Doug back to fix the problems they've created.  

I didn’t say that Boston Scott is a #2 RB, I said he is a solid rotation RB as skatback. The Darren Sproles role in a three man rotation.  What Westbrook was in the Buck, Duce rotation (no, I don’t think Scott develops into a Westbrook).  He is getting better at pass pro and he runs with a low center of gravity. Further, he can tackle Chase Young.  He’s the kind of player you want in that third RB role.  I think he is better than a JAG.  Not every player needs to be a HOF level.  

I tend to be an optimist.  There are players that played last night that have no place on an active roster, IMO.  Scott isn’t one of those.

And, hey, Ward actually returned some punts. I think the Eagles return game is based on analytics.   Don’t set up the return because blocking results in penalties.  Fair catch it if you have a good angle.  At certain points on the field, let it bounce.  NFL doesn’t like kickoffs and punts. Look at how many blocks in the back and holds get called on receiving teams.  I think until last night, the team was governed by stats.  

I think the Slay trade was good use of draft capital.  Especially when paired with Surtain next year.  Hargrave was expensive but he was dominating a pro bowl G last night. 

[austinfan]

It was a clusterf--- season, the OL injuries deep sixed it from the start, Schwartz's schemes are now easily shredded by any competent NFL QB, though having half of his secondary injured didn't help.

But be careful making judgements, no QB was going to succeed with Pryor at LT and Toth at RT, I mean that's a huge downgrade from Mailata at LT and Driscoll at RT, and we were supposed to start the season with Dillard at LT and Lane at RT - so you really can't plan on a season like this (Lane had off season surgery and was supposed to be 100%). Problem for a GM is you plan in April to June for the team that fall, then they start falling like dominoes.

They have a solid group of young athletes at WR, even JJAW showed why they drafted him, while he may never have the quickness to beat a starting CB, put him at H-back and let him work on nickel CBs, LBs and SSs - he has hands, size and a work ethic and will block. Watkins has quickness, Reagor gets open consistently, even Hightower has upside with that speed. Get someone in to coach them up. Goedert, Sanders, Scott, they're not starting from ground zero.

The OL will be much, much better next season, they found out who can play (Herbig, Driscoll, Mailata) and who can't (Pryor). Toth gets a mulligan since he needs a year in the weight room and work on pass blocking technique (Army still hasn't discovered the forward pass). Whatever they get from Brooks and Lane is a bonus. Add depth but don't reach.

Graham, Cox, Hargrove, Sweat is a start, Barnett?  Say goodbye Malik, could bring Curry back for cheap. Need more depth

Good group of young LBs, no all pros but some real promise, Edwards and Singleton can play the run, just have to raise their pass coverage in 2 down defense, the speed guys can compete for nickel back duties.

The secondary is the weakest area, if Surtain drops, jump on him, Eagles will get a stud at 6, with Sewell and 3 QBs almost certain to go ahead of them, Surtain, Chase or Smith will fall to them. Good secondaries tend to be a combination of a couple high picks and a lot of late round/UDFA types that are coached up.

They're going to clear out a lot of salary and veterans this offseason, rinse and repeat next offseason. As Miami shows, with good coaching bringing in a lot of young players can turn a franchise around quickly - a bad season not only gives you high picks but the opportunity to move on - DeSean, Jeffery, Ertz, Peters, Malik, maybe McLeod, Kelce this offseason, Graham:, Brooks:, Lane?  next offseason. Only Kelce and Graham were significant contributors this year. When you only win 4 games, you have the freedom to take chances with young players, not much to lose. They gave it their best shot to repeat, injuries sabotaged the effort, some were expected, some were bad luck. Doesn't matter, sunk costs now.

[Iggles_Phan]

2 minutes ago, Ipiggles said:

LOL

 

 

Once upon a time, I felt bad for Jaylon Smith.   That was a LONG time ago.

[TorontoEagle]

4 minutes ago, Ace Nova said:

That's a bunch of malarkey.

I must have posted 1000+ times in the days prior to the draft and on draft day.  I was here the ENTIRE time. 

ONLY after Lamb was picked was there interest in Jefferson (other than maybe @Iggles_Phan) who had wanted him all along.

Even after Lamb was picked, people still wanted Aiyuk, Mims, Reagor, Higgins, etc before they wanted Jefferson.  Jefferson was (at best) 2nd or 3rd option on most lists at that point. 

This is my recollection of events as well. There was a few people pounding the table for JJ, chief amongst them @Iggles_Phan, but most were upset about Lamb, and happy enough with Reagor and what we thought was some speed added to our plodding offense. This BS about 90% wanting JJ is just hindsight. 

[Desertbirds]

2 hours ago, ManuManu said:

He was good against Arizona. 

For one half...

[Wentz_Era]

12 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Spent 2 weeks at the AFA.  Beautiful campus.  Got to fly gliders there back in the day.   Great 2 weeks.

 

The campus is aged a bit now, but they're currently remodeling the Chapel.  Overall the scenery is quite breath taking though.  Even from the outside looking in.  You've got the stadium nestled into the mountain side, the way the rest of the base is built into the hills.  Job wise it's a nightmare for me adjusting to though.  I can't complain that I'll wind down my career in this area though.  So much to do (once I get off nights).

[Ipiggles]

1 minute ago, TorontoEagle said:

This is my recollection of events as well. There was a few people pounding the table for JJ, chief amongst them @Iggles_Phan, but most were upset about Lamb, and happy enough with Reagor and what we thought was some speed added to our plodding offense. This BS about 90% wanting JJ is just hindsight. 

I dont think so. I was here, during the draft. When the 21st pick came up, and Jefferson was on the board, most wanted Jefferson with that pick. A few wanted other positions. Not one guy that I can recall wanted Reagor. 

[greend]

9 minutes ago, Wentz_Era said:

to think I made fun of you for being the senior citizen yesterday...you right 🤣

Well in fairness I'm close

[NCiggles]

Just now, Ace Nova said:

That's a bunch of malarkey.

I must have posted 1000+ times in the days prior to the draft and on draft day.  I was here the ENTIRE time. 

ONLY after Lamb was picked was there interest in Jefferson (other than maybe @Iggles_Phan) who had wanted him all along.

Even after Lamb was picked, people still wanted Aiyuk, Mims, Reagor, Higgins, etc before they wanted Jefferson.  Jefferson was (at best) 2nd or 3rd option on most lists at that point. 

I thought Reagor probably made more sense than Jefferson.  I wasn't disappointed with the pick.  I wanted them to pick who they had as the best WR on the board.  I was fine with them not trading up for Lamb.  I think people were mixed and to be fair a lot of pundits believed Jefferson was likely a better fit as a slot receiver and not a deep threat.   I also think the production of Jefferson v. Reagor really ignores the bigger issue which is how ineffectual this team has been on offense.  This team has failed to have any WR produce significant numbers in any of the time Doug has been coaching.  Maybe that has to do with talent and a QB that became over reliant on his only reliable receiver at TE early in his career.  Maybe that has as much to do with scheme and a focus too much on creating what they believe are mismatches against TE/RBs vs. scheming receivers open against expected coverages.  

[greend]

4 minutes ago, TorontoEagle said:

This is my recollection of events as well. There was a few people pounding the table for JJ, chief amongst them @Iggles_Phan, but most were upset about Lamb, and happy enough with Reagor and what we thought was some speed added to our plodding offense. This BS about 90% wanting JJ is just hindsight. 

This is how I remember it as well. I also realized that we were never going to try and get Lamb, not that he's baaaaaaaaaad.

[BigEFly]

2 hours ago, greend said:

Honestly, if Hurts is our starting quarterback next year I'm out for a season. It's hard enough to swallow that Doug and Howie will be back. 

I doubt that.  I think Carson was benched for his own protection. The OL was in shambles and he was getting hit and sacked too much.  Add in his yips and it was a wise move.  The whole Carson wants to be traded is a complete misread by the media.  Howie is undoubtedly talking restructuring his contract and this is an agent move for leverage.  Wentz will restructure, return as starting QB, Hurts gained experience and will be a quality back up.  Hopefully next year the OL woes will be behind us.  Ertz, on the other hand is gone.  He overplayed his hand in contract negotiations for an extension.

[Wentz_Era]

6 minutes ago, Ipiggles said:

No crap, what did I say Sherlock, WHEN THE PICK CAME UP and Jefferson was on the board, 90% wanted Jefferson. I cant remember anyone saying they should take Reagor. 

 

 

Let's not try to re-write history.  There was only a few in here who were completely about Jefferson...I was not one of them. 

[TorontoEagle]

1 minute ago, greend said:

This is how I remember it as well. I also realized that we were never going to try and get Lamb, not that he's baaaaaaaaaad.

Ooof, a dad joke this early in the morning? A for effort tho

[Ace Nova]

8 minutes ago, Ipiggles said:

No crap, what did I say Sherlock, WHEN THE PICK CAME UP and Jefferson was on the board, 90% wanted Jefferson. I cant remember anyone saying they should take Reagor. 

 

 

Reading comprehension:

Even after Lamb was picked, people still wanted Aiyuk, Mims, Reagor, Higgins, etc before they wanted Jefferson.  Jefferson was (at best) 2nd or 3rd option on most lists at that point.