EMB Blog: 2021 Offseason

[BigEFly]

5 hours ago, The guy in France said:

Teach this guy when to make a fair catch or a touchback. He loves space and the D won’t want to give it, take their chances. See if the staff has it in them

 

Players don’t get that sort of space.  In the NFL.  I will agree that he and Killins have wicked speed.  But they need to have superior hands. 

[BigEFly]

4 hours ago, DeathByEagle said:

Only 7 players had a kick return TD in 2020, 2019. Only 5 in 2018. Only 7 players averaged over 25 yards on returns(min 11 attempts) in 2020. 

Honestly kick returns are a think of the past. Take your free 25 yards. No risk of block in the back, holding pents. can you get that rare big run for 30-50 yards? Of course but you get a lot more neg yard plays out of kick returns.

Not to mention the risk of injury is much higher. No point in risking a player, esp Kerryon who has a history. 

I take the same view as Bill Belicheat. If they kick in the endzone, take your free 25 yards. On the other side, try to kick it in the 5 yard range to make them return it and let them risk getting the penalty and a poor starting field. 

I cannot remember which team it was last year that the Eagles played.  They consistently kicked balls within the ten yards and dared a run back. Kicker got good dying ball spin so a bounce in the end zone wasn’t guaranteed and they had superior kick coverage.  Even with that, I think Scott was only downed inside the twenty once and other returns went past although at least one was tackled around the 23.  Risky strategy.  Best is kick it through the end zone and let them have the 25. 

[Utebird]

4 minutes ago, BigEFly said:

Players don’t get that sort of space.  In the NFL.  I will agree that he and Killins have wicked speed.  But they need to have superior hands. 

Huntley had pretty good hands in college, he had 2 seasons of at least 40 catches and another with 39 so it's not like he's not used to catching the ball 

Plus he adds more on special teams than either Howard or kerryon would.

I'm not big on kerryon, I think he's damaged goods and while I like Howard I don't like him as a 4th back. Hes most effective when he's getting 15-20 carries a game, a few spot carries here and there for a guy that doesn't play teams seems like poor use of a roster spot.

 

[BigEFly]

44 minutes ago, Utebird said:

Yup I remember yelling at the tv more than a few times as ward would let the ball bounce and it would go 20-30 more yards 😡

Mahe wasn't flashy but he was smart and sure handed.

I do wonder if Fipp’s goal for Ward was Mahe.  

[Utebird]

1 minute ago, BigEFly said:

I do wonder if Fipp’s goal for Ward was Mahe.  

 I don't know much about Michael Clay but Im glad to see a new face there 

Fipp got a lot of praise early but seems he tapered off and the last couple seasons his teams were average at best.

I never liked ward at PR but if he was the most sure handed in practice then that's not good nor a good reflection on the ST coach.

[BigEFly]

2 hours ago, Utebird said:

Construction is always a mess through there, lots of cones and closed lanes and no construction workers for miles.

I'm convinced my taxes pay just for cones.

I'm in Kansas from Utah and when we go back to Utah we go through Colorado and Wyoming, and seems every time there are lane closures throughout.

Good luck, we usually Google map it for alternate routes and most routes are filled with construction 

It's sixes.

You’re still in Wichita, right?  I should be hitting Wichita late afternoon, early evening on the 4th of July.  Dinner with my brother in law and then maybe fireworks, hopefully down by the large Plains Native American statue.  Anything else going on then?  

[eagle45]

1 hour ago, RememberTheKoy said:

 

He was huge on 3rd down receptions for 1st downs in 2019.  He was big in 2020 on TDs on 3rd and 4th down.  But hey, keep being ignorant.  I see value of a great locker room guy who rarely ever drops a ball no matter the size of the moment whereas you see value of guys who can't catch but can make a flashy play. 

 

 

 

He’s terrible.  He’s going to set an nfl record for how horrible his efficiency is as a wr.

[ManuManu]

 

[Utebird]

Just now, BigEFly said:

You’re still in Wichita, right?  I should be hitting Wichita late afternoon, early evening on the 4th of July.  Dinner with my brother in law and then maybe fireworks, hopefully down by the large Plains Native American statue.  Anything else going on then?  

Probably not, the keeper of the plains is cool and it's a nice park there by the river, sometimes they have a fire show around the statue, I'm not sure how often, I've actually never seen it lit up with the fire 

There is some vet memorials in the park.

Wichita for whatever reason had a fair amount of their citizens in the Korean war so they have a Korean war memorial along with some world war 1 memorials and a couple others.

If you'd like you can rent a kayak up to 5 seater to ride down the river which is cool. The rental place is right there In the park, it's run by Wichita st. University 

Not sure how you feel about zoos but they have a wildlife reserve about 10-15 minutes out of downtown in Goddard calked Tanganyika wildlife park. You can hand feed giraffes and a rhino and lemurs and a few other animals, they have a kangaroo petting zoo, if you want to splurge they have events you can set up to get a personalized behind the scenes tour where you go into enclosures and feed sloths and other animals, though I've never done that part 

We have a season pass and my kids love it, if that's not your jam then old brick town in Wichita has some good eats and more of an adult scene😊

There's a cosmosphere in Hutchinson which is about 30 minutes from Wichita.

The keeper of the plains park has an exploration center.

And then there is botanical garden called botanica that is in Wichita that is nice as well.

 

If you're looking for a BBQ place I really like B&C BBQ.

They have an all you can eat lunch, where they pull it straight from a bunch of smokers and have sides as well with a bunch of different meats. The all you can eat ends At 2:00.

Good luck I wish I could tell you more, I've only been here two years and the first year I was going through chemo and the second year was Covid so I haven't been out and about as much as I'd like.

[BigEFly]

2 hours ago, Utebird said:

Why do you hope Huntley doesn't make the team???

Hes a multi faceted player who can catch run and return kicks and has some good speed 

The top 3 are likely sanders scott gainwell,the 4th back isn't likely to get a lot of touches and to be active will need to play special teams. Do Howard and kerryon Johnson really want to be covering punts???

Neither really return kicks 

Where as Huntley can play teams return kicks run catch and would add more on the end of the roster than an aging vet sitting on the bench maybe getting 2 carries a game.

Gainwell is 5’9” and 200.  Scott is 5’6” and 203.  Johnson is 5’11” and 206.  Huntley is 5’9” and 193.   Howard is 6’ and 222. (At his point, Holyfield is a camp body and Killins is a slot receiver.)  So Huntley would have to beat out bigger backs.   With our worst OL, he didn’t show much.  He is the worst of those other backs at pass pro.  His KORs were awful.  With Sanders banged up, he and Holyfield barely saw the field.  As I see it, he is battling Howard and Johnson and they have size on him.  He’s not that much faster than Scott and probably Gainwell.  He doesn’t seem to have their ability to catch the ball.   Don’t get me wrong, I had him as a 6th round flyer candidate (I thought the Lions drafted him a round early).  But as a RB, he seems low man.  As to teams.  Absolutely, I want Johnson or Howard as the up man on KORs and on the coverage team playing as well as Corey Clements did. 

[HazletonEagle]

pretty cool

 

[Guest]

 

3 hours ago, HazletonEagle said:

Can't tell if serious. 

I didn’t figure it needed an explanation.  It’s because he’s not very good.

[HazletonEagle]

1 minute ago, downundermike said:

 

I didn’t figure it needed an explanation.  It’s because he’s not very good.

yeah...

[BigEFly]

1 hour ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Mahe was a better PR than Ward, because he fair caught so much.  Ward lets the ball bounce way too much.

Yes.  But if that can be corrected.......

[Utebird]

37 minutes ago, BigEFly said:

Gainwell is 5’9” and 200.  Scott is 5’6” and 203.  Johnson is 5’11” and 206.  Huntley is 5’9” and 193.   Howard is 6’ and 222. (At his point, Holyfield is a camp body and Killins is a slot receiver.)  So Huntley would have to beat out bigger backs.   With our worst OL, he didn’t show much.  He is the worst of those other backs at pass pro.  His KORs were awful.  With Sanders banged up, he and Holyfield barely saw the field.  As I see it, he is battling Howard and Johnson and they have size on him.  He’s not that much faster than Scott and probably Gainwell.  He doesn’t seem to have their ability to catch the ball.   Don’t get me wrong, I had him as a 6th round flyer candidate (I thought the Lions drafted him a round early).  But as a RB, he seems low man.  As to teams.  Absolutely, I want Johnson or Howard as the up man on KORs and on the coverage team playing as well as Corey Clements did. 

I agree that if Howard or Johnson show and ate willing to play cover teams then that increases their value.

Honestly I'd rather Howard over Johnson 

I just think johnson is cooked, his best asset at this point is he's a good pass blocker but does one really need him to do that as a 4th back?

Howard at least can pick up tough yards and is a bit of a different back than the others 

Huntley is tough to guage, he barely played, the eagles claimed him then gave him like  5 carries with a long if 10  1 catch on 2 targets and 2 Kick returns 

Not really a lot to go off so I think it's a bit early for me to write him off 

If he doesnt make it no loss, it's not like he was a high draft pick or has a record dead cap if cut so we'll see.

[Utebird]

15 minutes ago, downundermike said:

 

I didn’t figure it needed an explanation.  It’s because he’s not very good.

And kerryon Johnson or Howard are???

That's his competition that and Killian's who has been lining up at slot and holyfield 

 

Kerryon Johnson is a name he's ave 3.5/carry the last two seasons and in 3 seasons has a total of 8 rushing TDS and he's coming off multiple knee Injuries, he's a shell of his former self his best asset is a pass blocker, why keep a 4th RB to pass block a couple times a game???

As for Howard, he's always been a volume back, he gets stronger the more carries he gets and wears down defenses, he's not much of a threat out of the backfield as a receiver hes a solid blocker, what's the point of keeping him as the 4th back to get 1 or 2 carries a game???

Meanwhile Huntley isn't damaged goods can run can catch, 2 seasons with 40 receptions and another with 39 and  was a dangerous KR in college.

If Huntley isn't very good then same goes for Howard and johnson

[Utebird]

26 minutes ago, HazletonEagle said:

yeah...

Explain to me how Howard or Johnson are better???

[UK Eagle]

I thought the Falcons "had an offer of a first rounder" already.  Are they using the Howie Roseman/Wentz trade playbook?

[ManuManu]

 

[Utebird]

11 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

 

Just Wow.

Love or hate Tebow the dude can sell some jerseys.

Not sure if Urban intended to sign Tebow to take pressure off Lawrence but so far so good.

Jag fans are so hyper focused on Tebow that Lawrence could wear a soiled diaper on the field and it would barely register with the fans or local media.

Lawrence can just fly under the radar and focus on football.

[Iggles_Phan]

59 minutes ago, BigEFly said:

Yes.  But if that can be corrected.......

If that can be corrected, he turns into Reno Mahe, as his ceiling, that's not good enough either.  

Reagor should have been given much more of a chance than he was, especially since Ward also showed an inability to recognize when to catch the ball.  Yes, Reagor had a few drops in his extremely limited opportunities.  But, he also showed explosiveness.    Reagor would need to work on his ball security in catching the ball before I'd be very comfortable with him back there, but at least he forces the opponent to think about directional kicking or keeping the ball away from him a little.  

 

[Iggles_Phan]

33 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

 

They still love him in Florida.

[RememberTheKoy]

3 hours ago, ManuManu said:

It’s sad that our WRs have been so bad that you see a player like Ward as valuable. 

It’s like Stockholm syndrome or something. 

No S. He’s a bad PR though. You know it. I know it. And he didn’t play anywhere else on ST. 

 

He didn't play anywhere else on ST because he was the PR.  I don't know why you think he is incapable of playing elsewhere on ST other than you have this irrational hate for him.  

1 hour ago, eagle45 said:

He’s terrible.  He’s going to set an nfl record for how horrible his efficiency is as a wr.

 

Hightower is terrible.  JJAW is terrible.  Greg Ward is not terrible.  He is an extremely reliable role player who can be counted on.  

[Utebird]

9 minutes ago, RememberTheKoy said:

 

He didn't play anywhere else on ST because he was the PR.  I don't know why you think he is incapable of playing elsewhere on ST other than you have this irrational hate for him.  

 

Hightower is terrible.  JJAW is terrible.  Greg Ward is not terrible.  He is an extremely reliable role player who can be counted on.  

I whole heartedly agree JJAW is terrible.

[BigEFly]

44 minutes ago, Utebird said:

Probably not, the keeper of the plains is cool and it's a nice park there by the river, sometimes they have a fire show around the statue, I'm not sure how often, I've actually never seen it lit up with the fire 

There is some vet memorials in the park.

Wichita for whatever reason had a fair amount of their citizens in the Korean war so they have a Korean war memorial along with some world war 1 memorials and a couple others.

If you'd like you can rent a kayak up to 5 seater to ride down the river which is cool. The rental place is right there In the park, it's run by Wichita st. University 

Not sure how you feel about zoos but they have a wildlife reserve about 10-15 minutes out of downtown in Goddard calked Tanganyika wildlife park. You can hand feed giraffes and a rhino and lemurs and a few other animals, they have a kangaroo petting zoo, if you want to splurge they have events you can set up to get a personalized behind the scenes tour where you go into enclosures and feed sloths and other animals, though I've never done that part 

We have a season pass and my kids love it, if that's not your jam then old brick town in Wichita has some good eats and more of an adult scene😊

There's a cosmosphere in Hutchinson which is about 30 minutes from Wichita.

The keeper of the plains park has an exploration center.

And then there is botanical garden called botanica that is in Wichita that is nice as well.

 

If you're looking for a BBQ place I really like B&C BBQ.

They have an all you can eat lunch, where they pull it straight from a bunch of smokers and have sides as well with a bunch of different meats. The all you can eat ends At 2:00.

Good luck I wish I could tell you more, I've only been here two years and the first year I was going through chemo and the second year was Covid so I haven't been out and about as much as I'd like.

I have seen the fire show at the Keeper of the Plains.  I usually stay at the Hyatt.  I have been to the exploration center and the botanical gardens and usually grab a bite or beers in old brick town.  Enjoyed the aviation museum last time I was there. I have been to Wichita a lot.  We usually stayed there or Salinas when traveling to my folks home town in SD because that’s basically the halfway point from Houston.   When my folks got older, I would take off and come down to Houston and drive them up on occasion.  Then the brother in law moved to Wichita. 

Will look up B&C.  Wife isn’t a huge BBQ fan yet driving out of Wichita we go through KC and St. Louis.  I really want to talk her into lunch in KC and ribs in St. Louis.