7 hours ago, TEW said:

So I really think we need to consider the coach preferences when evaluating why player A over player B was selected. You can’t pick players no matter how good you think they will be if the coaches don’t want them.

So I guess because Schwartz never could trust a young LB or Safety, that's why we never really drafted any.

24 minutes ago, Original Sin said:

There was the same conversation about Simmons last year , stud college play , where do you play him in the nfl , and he had a bad rookie year .

Putting Vance Joseph with Simmons was always a bad idea.

31 minutes ago, austinfan said:

It's really not hard.

Get the scouts, personnel people and the coaches on the same page, that is, make sure people communicate and are clear about what they're looking for and at, the Gocong pick is a perfect example, good scouting, value pick, but not for the Eagles - and the scouts should have evaluated his movement skills, does he have the ability to move to SLB like Emmons (which I think is where they got the idea, Emmons was a 3-4 OLB at Pittsburgh who they converted to SAM and had a fine career).

If Gannon wants tall DL and long CBs, then move the shorter guys down and the taller guys up the board - doesn't mean you take short guys off, what is a so-so fit in the late first round could be a steal if he falls to the 3rd round.

Coaching matters, almost every OL picked has worked out with Mudd and Stoutland at OC (except Watkins, but that was a scouting failure, didn't do their homework on his psyche), but how many DBs?

If the board is properly set, then Howie's job is easy, move up and down to maximize value working off the board. If the scouts and coaches can't get on the same page, then Howie is left to guess (my scouts rave about this guy but my HC will never start him).

It's really not hard...

 - Get 100 Senators representing diverse constituencies and whose primary agenda is stay in power on the same page and you can pass legislation.

 - Get 3 kids of different ages and different tastes to agree upon a restaurant and you can have an enjoyable family dinner.

 - Get several Middle Eastern countries to compromise on their core visions of Israel and Palestine and you can have peace.

2 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

It's really not hard...

 - Get 100 Senators representing diverse constituencies and whose primary agenda is stay in power on the same page and you can pass legislation.

 - Get 3 kids of different ages and different tastes to agree upon a restaurant and you can have an enjoyable family dinner.

 - Get several Middle Eastern countries to compromise on their core visions of Israel and Palestine and you can have peace.

AF says it isn’t hard yet there is ample evidence that most teams aren’t good at this. 

5 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

AF says it isn’t hard yet there is ample evidence that most teams aren’t good at this. 

Reminded me of one of my favorite sports movie lines....

 

 

 

The ITB podcast with Greg Cossell is a good listen, and in particular some bits about Devonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle. 

For those interested, The Ohio State and Alabama's pro days are being shown on the NFL Network today.

21 hours ago, bpac55 said:

I really like Ole Miss's Matt Corral too.  

I like him to but he wants to be a gunslingerway too much, he gets picked a lot but a rocket arm. I do like Wilson this year, manipulative, head is really in the game

Things like this make me want to pass on both Bama WRs.

3 minutes ago, RLC said:

Things like this make me want to pass on both Bama WRs.

The tape is what matters. Waddles speed is clearly elite, and Smith has more than enough evidence of his route running and catching ability. Anything they do now can only hurt them. but I get it, its just running routes, kinda annoying

3 minutes ago, RLC said:

Things like this make me want to pass on both Bama WRs.

Yeah, I just don't understand their decision here.  IMO, the competitor in them should want to show that they are better than Chase, a guy who didn't play last year and is from a rival school.  I don't know.

On the other hand, Najee Harris is coming off as a total team guy.  From waiting his turn to be the guy, beasting all year, the 9 hours of driving just to support his teammates and now as the running back, on a bum ankle, he's the one running routes.

Give me that guy any day of the week.

nothing to be gained for the WRs. all risk for no reward. they are both going early. business decision

9 hours ago, Nivraga said:

Jim Johnson wanted McCoy - he liked his sideline to sideline speed and coverage ability. Howard Mudd asked for Watkins. I heard Brian Baldinger say that he thought Eagles fans would love Watkins - that he brought the same play to the whistle nastiness that we got from John Runyan. 

Both had physical talent - McCoy was lacking in ... I don't know what to call it ... neck up football acumen?(NUFA). Watkins just wasn't into football - held it together long enough to get paid.

NUFA.  I like that.  Great acronym.  Belongs in the Blog dictionary. 

7 minutes ago, ToastJenkins said:

nothing to be gained for the WRs. all risk for no reward. they are both going early. business decision

I disagree.  Lots to be gained.  What if Waddle goes and runs a 4.29, jumps out of the stadium and puts up ridiculous numbers?

Instead of being projected to go to the Eagles at 12 where 2020 was :

Contract: $16.67 million for four years (fully guaranteed)
Signing bonus: $9.685 million

He could bump himself up to 6-7 range:

Contract: $23.6 million for four years (fully guaranteed)
Signing bonus: $14.73 million

Could make himself $5 million.

12 minutes ago, ToastJenkins said:

nothing to be gained for the WRs. all risk for no reward. they are both going early. business decision

They could both go in the top 5 with excellent workouts!

Waddle off an ankle injury I sort of get. Smith had a finger injury. If he doesn't want to catch balls, that's fair. He can still do every other running workout with a splint and it won't affect his timing.

59 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

It's really not hard...

 - Get 100 Senators representing diverse constituencies and whose primary agenda is stay in power on the same page and you can pass legislation.

 - Get 3 kids of different ages and different tastes to agree upon a restaurant and you can have an enjoyable family dinner.

 - Get several Middle Eastern countries to compromise on their core visions of Israel and Palestine and you can have peace.

You can't fire Senators or kids. Though some parents would like to.

All it takes to turn Middle Eastern countries around is Iranian saber rattling.

When hiring a coach for a rebuild, pick one who proposes a staff that's focused on player development and is more likely to work with your personnel department. Gannon spent two years as a scout (why more teams don't have quality control and other "intern types" do this - great training for a future assistant coach/coordinator), which means he understands their job.

I think coaches who have a lot of hands on development experience probably work better with scouts, Stoutland seems to give good advice on whom to draft. When you try to coach players up, instead of simply teaching them assignments, you probably get a good feel for the personality and athleticism of successful projects. Scouts don't have that experience, so it should be helpful if someone can explain why they're looking for certain qualities in players.

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Original Sin said:

one of the most underrated DBs in the draft 
 

PFF Draft

 

Jamar Johnson across 406 coverage snaps at Indiana

 

Targets: 44

 

TDs allowed: 0

 

INTs: 7

at least cite PFF Draft on Twitter if you are going to copy and paste their stuff. they tweeted this yesterday

7 minutes ago, bpac55 said:

I disagree.  Lots to be gained.  What if Waddle goes and runs a 4.29, jumps out of the stadium and puts up ridiculous numbers?

Instead of being projected to go to the Eagles at 12 where 2020 was :

Contract: $16.67 million for four years (fully guaranteed)
Signing bonus: $9.685 million

He could bump himself up to 6-7 range:

Contract: $23.6 million for four years (fully guaranteed)
Signing bonus: $14.73 million

Could make himself $5 million.

Yeah but he has a "nagging ankle injury". Either he is happy with the speed he showed on tape, he is actually not at 100%, or he has not been conditioning well in his year hiatus. 

10 minutes ago, ToastJenkins said:

at least cite PFF Draft on Twitter if you are going to copy and paste their stuff. they tweeted this yesterday

Why did the PFF confuse you, dope 

19 hours ago, bpac55 said:

Well it's been 2 years and now he has what 2 sacks and how now changed positions.  I'm not holding my breath in the slightest for him to contribute.  I don't even think he makes the team.

I think as long as Howie is the GM he probably makes the team.  I agree with your assessment otherwise.  

39 minutes ago, RLC said:

Things like this make me want to pass on both Bama WRs.

Meh - They are both very good receivers and should be drafted in round 1.  

44 minutes ago, RLC said:

Things like this make me want to pass on both Bama WRs.

Waddle gutted it out with his ankle in the championship game and...I’m assuming...isn’t running because he never had time to train for it during his recovery.

Thats different from eating a bunch of pizzas and then gaining water weight to reach 170 and turning down workouts while healthy because you got slower.  Also different from sitting out a year and not working out.   

23 minutes ago, austinfan said:

You can't fire Senators or kids. Though some parents would like to.

Cant fire Howie either.  Analogy is perfect.

10 minutes ago, NCiggles said:

Meh - They are both very good receivers and should be drafted in round 1.  

They are both very good WR but have legit question marks when it comes to investing possible top 10 picks on them.

Smith- it's been beaten to death but how much do you weigh and what kind of speed, strength do you have?  I think the 40 is overblown but I also think sometimes it does matter.  if you are 170 lbs. soaking wet then I want to know you are a sub 4.4 guy.  I know he ran past guys all day at Bama but I want to see the numbers that coincide with that.

Waddle- While more muscular, he isn't THAT much bigger than Smith so I want his measurables and I also want to see how the ankle is.  How does he look in the 3-cone drills cutting on the ankle?

They both will still get drafted high but I think it's 100% fair to say it's a mistake not to work out.