1 minute ago, austinfan said:

Only if he follows him around, which then distorts your defense, and allows the OC to utilize rub routes, etc.

McLeod is a serviceable safety, but he doesn't impact games. More like Mikell than Dawkins.

He doesn’t impact games?? He may not be a pro bowler but he’s two notches up from whoever was backing him up. 

10 hours ago, ManuManu said:

The Blog is not the fans. We’re just a subset. Think WIP. 

I think borderline football fans call in to WIP.

3 minutes ago, Bacarty2 said:

Based on my eyes. Those numbers are hard to classify because of the systems they run and the games theyre in. 

You could go play in a Torts' type system and probably be top 10 in GAA and Save %. Save reasoning why Marty Broduer may be the most over rated player in any sport of all time 

He is not top 7 at the moment.  That is his potential, which is my point.  He is getting too much credit this early on in his career.  Our defense was pretty decent last year, especially with Niskanen still there.  So you can't make excuses about the system.  He has the ability to steal games and make the jaw dropping play.  His speed and agility from post to post is impressive.  He just lets in the soft ones too often at this stage of his career.  If he cleans that up, he can be top 5-7.

4 minutes ago, EaglePhan1986 said:

He doesn’t impact games?? He may not be a pro bowler but he’s two notches up from whoever was backing him up. 

I think Rodney is one of the most overrated Eagles.  No, he doesn't impact games.  JAGs came in when he got hurt and you really couldn't tell who was back there.  

2 minutes ago, Khani1 said:

He is not top 7 at the moment.  That is his potential, which is my point.  He is getting too much credit this early on in his career.  Our defense was pretty decent last year, especially with Niskanen still there.  So you can't make excuses about the system.  He has the ability to steal games and make the jaw dropping play.  His speed and agility from post to post is impressive.  He just lets in the soft ones too often at this stage of his career.  If he cleans that up, he can be top 5-7.

Hart is young, but in the bubble he was the second best goaltender after Price.

I wouldn't judge any NHL team on the first ten games this year, basically January is pre-season (1 week TC with no exhibition games).

3 minutes ago, austinfan said:

I wouldn't judge any NHL team on the first ten games this year, basically January is pre-season (1 week TC with no exhibition games).

Fair enough.  His greatness is the key to Flyers making multiple runs in the next 3-4 years.  I hope he reaches his potential.

8 minutes ago, bpac55 said:

I think Rodney is one of the most overrated Eagles.  No, he doesn't impact games.  JAGs came in when he got hurt and you really couldn't tell who was back there.  

Disagree entirely 

Given how young our coaches are, with no on-staff coach with HC experience, it's the perfect year to "blow it up".

22 minutes ago, bpac55 said:

I think Rodney is one of the most overrated Eagles.  No, he doesn't impact games.  JAGs came in when he got hurt and you really couldn't tell who was back there.  

That’s ridiculous.  Whenever McLeod goes out of the lineup the secondary becomes Swiss cheese.  He was the team’s biggest loss in 2018 and even this year it was like a light switch went off back there when he went out 

13 minutes ago, Bacarty2 said:

Thats where we disagree. Our defense stinks.

Last year we were 7th in the league in goals against per game.  I don't consider that stinking.

Just now, Alphagrand said:

That’s ridiculous.  Whenever McLeod goes out of the lineup the secondary becomes Swiss cheese.  He was the team’s biggest loss in 2018 and even this year it was like a light switch went off back there when he went out 

Did we watch the sme team?  Hardly the teams biggest loss.  I seem to recall Rodney trailing WR with his arms waving more than him making any sort of big play. 

2 minutes ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

Of course.  All I am saying, is lack of team speed is the least of their worries.  Defense and the practice of trying to be too cute with passing and not taking the easy play.  That's been an issue of Giroux's for 10 years and its been a constant with the team for the past 5 years.  That's why we need to move on from him.  

Voracek might be even worse when it comes to passing when the shot is clearly there to take.  The reason this team is finally good is because the young guys finally took the next step and luckily many of them panned out.  A few years ago when G and Jake were asked to carry the team, they were not good enough.  I like them on this team now as 2nd/3rd line depth guys.  G is still good at faceoffs, PP and shootouts.  He should still accumulate some points too.  If he takes a major step back this year, let him walk since this is his contract year.

4 minutes ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

No....defense does stink.  You can't just go by the GAA.  A lot of that can be fixed by good goaltending, which is what I think we got last year.  I just think Hart is not this Great goalie that people make him out to be.  Not yet.  But a major issue of the defense is handling the puck in our own end or back checking.  They get pinned in a lot and just watch the other team have a passing drill all too often.  And don't get me started on the turnovers.  That's systematic....but the defense plays a large roll in it.  

Last year our top 4 was good.  

Provy/Nisk

Meyers/Sanheim

2 minutes ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

He should not be the Captain.  If he stays, he stays.  But a guy who has disappeared in the playoffs as much as he has and refuses to make the simple/smart play as much as he does, should not be the Captain of a young team.  I don't care how long he's been there.  

100% agree.  Couturier should get the C.

Just now, 4for4EaglesNest said:

Overall our defense was and is not good.  We'll have to agree to disagree.  Provorov is good, not great.  Gustaffason is a good offensive D man, but avg on defense.  The rest are just guys IMO.  We need a top blue liner to improve the overall blue line.  Push everyone down a slot where they belong.  

The loss of Niskanen is huge.  It makes us have to play guys like Gustaffason.  That top 4 was good last year.

1 minute ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

was not

Do you even follow hockey?

2 minutes ago, Khani1 said:

Do you even follow hockey?

Just now, greend said:

It was a joke.  I think he understood.  But this is a classic lol.

Been re-watching some games from this past season - just offense at the moment - and I wanted to chime in on the RPO comments that several posters have made. Without doing an exact charting, which would still involve some guesswork, I have come to the conclusion that Wentz is terrible at RPOs and many of his INTs come on them. As far as I can tell, he hates to make two reads on a play. On the first, whether to give it to the RB or keep, he seems to be reading the DL or LB on the LOS rather than the S or LB or CB the RPO is designed to attack. When he pulls the ball and looks to the receiver, he seems unable to make the quick read and release the ball on time. Why? Because the coverage is his second read. So, he holds it and the RPO is out the window. Since the play is designed to be a 2-second or less read and release, the rest of the offense is basically running for show rather than effect. Then, since he has not gone through a regular set of reads (because it is an RPO), he has to pick up a secondary or tertiary receiver who may or may not be running a tight pattern. Put another way, mentally he's running an RPO the same way he would run a regular read-option. Posters have complained here, quite rightly, about the lack of mesh concept patterns. Since RPOs are almost a direct antithesis of the mesh concepts, we hardly ran them. By antithesis I mean that the mesh concept involves crossing routes and legal picks, patterns that involve receivers working in close proximity to each other before spreading out whereas the RPO involves a receiver running to an open area where only one guy is in coverage and that's the guy the RPO is designed to attack. Since Wentz is a tick behind on his reads, his ball always comes out late and DBs have that extra time to close on the receiver or jump the route.

In 2017 we hardly ran any RPOs. Doug put them in late, when Foles came in. Even then, it took some time for Foles to get a full grip on them. And, since Doug won a SB with the RPO, he fell in love with it, to Wentz's detriment. Remember when he had the three-depths pattern - short, medium, and long on the same side? That's a great concept for Wentz because he has the big arm to make the throw into a tight window and the read is simple, since all three receivers are in his line of sight.

We can criticize Wentz for poor play, justifiably, but I think we can and should also criticize Doug for play design. I have reached the conclusion that the fault lies more with Doug than with Wentz. In our common parlance, he was not coaching to the strengths of his players. I believe a lot of those plays that Wentz killed were called RPOs, and he hated them.

I hope this makes some sense.

Just now, 4for4EaglesNest said:

Oh.  Just wait until that whiner comes in here and tells us what he thinks about hockey.  

HE has two screens going where hockey is on one and Barnett highlights are on another.

3 minutes ago, justrelax said:

Been re-watching some games from this past season - just offense at the moment - and I wanted to chime in on the RPO comments that several posters have made. Without doing an exact charting, which would still involve some guesswork, I have come to the conclusion that Wentz is terrible at RPOs and many of his INTs come on them. As far as I can tell, he hates to make two reads on a play. On the first, whether to give it to the RB or keep, he seems to be reading the DL or LB on the LOS rather than the S or LB or CB the RPO is designed to attack. When he pulls the ball and looks to the receiver, he seems unable to make the quick read and release the ball on time. Why? Because the coverage is his second read. So, he holds it and the RPO is out the window. Since the play is designed to be a 2-second or less read and release, the rest of the offense is basically running for show rather than effect. Then, since he has not gone through a regular set of reads (because it is an RPO), he has to pick up a secondary or tertiary receiver who may or may not be running a tight pattern. Put another way, mentally he's running an RPO the same way he would run a regular read-option. Posters have complained here, quite rightly, about the lack of mesh concept patterns. Since RPOs are almost a direct antithesis of the mesh concepts, we hardly ran them. By antithesis I mean that the mesh concept involves crossing routes and legal picks, patterns that involve receivers working in close proximity to each other before spreading out whereas the RPO involves a receiver running to an open area where only one guy is in coverage and that's the guy the RPO is designed to attack. Since Wentz is a tick behind on his reads, his ball always comes out late and DBs have that extra time to close on the receiver or jump the route.

In 2017 we hardly ran any RPOs. Doug put them in late, when Foles came in. Even then, it took some time for Foles to get a full grip on them. And, since Doug won a SB with the RPO, he fell in love with it, to Wentz's detriment. Remember when he had the three-depths pattern - short, medium, and long on the same side? That's a great concept for Wentz because he has the big arm to make the throw into a tight window and the read is simple, since all three receivers are in his line of sight.

We can criticize Wentz for poor play, justifiably, but I think we can and should also criticize Doug for play design. I have reached the conclusion that the fault lies more with Doug than with Wentz. In our common parlance, he was not coaching to the strengths of his players. I believe a lot of those plays Wentz that Wentz killed were called RPOs, and he hated them.

I hope this makes some sense.

Thanks for taking the time to watch and report.  Great post!

Are we just not getting an introductory press conference for the new HC? 

 

Still no word on one and the guy was hired a week ago. 

Hockey sucks. Keep it to football and 6ers in here. 

6ers suck

12 minutes ago, justrelax said:

Been re-watching some games from this past season - just offense at the moment - and I wanted to chime in on the RPO comments that several posters have made. Without doing an exact charting, which would still involve some guesswork, I have come to the conclusion that Wentz is terrible at RPOs and many of his INTs come on them. As far as I can tell, he hates to make two reads on a play. On the first, whether to give it to the RB or keep, he seems to be reading the DL or LB on the LOS rather than the S or LB or CB the RPO is designed to attack. When he pulls the ball and looks to the receiver, he seems unable to make the quick read and release the ball on time. Why? Because the coverage is his second read. So, he holds it and the RPO is out the window. Since the play is designed to be a 2-second or less read and release, the rest of the offense is basically running for show rather than effect. Then, since he has not gone through a regular set of reads (because it is an RPO), he has to pick up a secondary or tertiary receiver who may or may not be running a tight pattern. Put another way, mentally he's running an RPO the same way he would run a regular read-option. Posters have complained here, quite rightly, about the lack of mesh concept patterns. Since RPOs are almost a direct antithesis of the mesh concepts, we hardly ran them. By antithesis I mean that the mesh concept involves crossing routes and legal picks, patterns that involve receivers working in close proximity to each other before spreading out whereas the RPO involves a receiver running to an open area where only one guy is in coverage and that's the guy the RPO is designed to attack. Since Wentz is a tick behind on his reads, his ball always comes out late and DBs have that extra time to close on the receiver or jump the route.

In 2017 we hardly ran any RPOs. Doug put them in late, when Foles came in. Even then, it took some time for Foles to get a full grip on them. And, since Doug won a SB with the RPO, he fell in love with it, to Wentz's detriment. Remember when he had the three-depths pattern - short, medium, and long on the same side? That's a great concept for Wentz because he has the big arm to make the throw into a tight window and the read is simple, since all three receivers are in his line of sight.

We can criticize Wentz for poor play, justifiably, but I think we can and should also criticize Doug for play design. I have reached the conclusion that the fault lies more with Doug than with Wentz. In our common parlance, he was not coaching to the strengths of his players. I believe a lot of those plays that Wentz killed were called RPOs, and he hated them.

I hope this makes some sense.

Excellent. I would also suggest some mesh concept would really help Hurts too.  I really thought that was what they tapped into interviewing Harrell last year, but no.  Then all the rumors about Riley.  It may well be they were tapping his knowledge and use of the mesh.  Wonder if any of our new coaches utilize that.  BTW, I think the NFL has figured out the RPO unless you have a QB with wheels.  Wentz doesn’t have that set of wheels.  Wentz also isn’t great at play action.  No one would ever confuse his long reaches with the ball for Ken Anderson’s sleight of hand.  No Mahommes could rival Anderson with his hiding the ball.  A large failure for Doug was his mixing WCO routes with RPO.  

I think both Schwartz and Doug got a free pass for a couple years coming off the SB win.

But the list of DBs who failed here but are starting elsewhere is a black mark on Schwartz and his schemes. One or two I can see, but a half dozen?  Poyer, Ware, Douglas, Jones, Sullivan, Darby.

And it was obvious that Doug had no clue how to coach Wentz, which is probably the reason for the bad blood, Wentz was being asked to do things that didn't fit his skill set or his entire training (he was in a pro system in college, then under a pocket QB in Reich) - and it's understandable that he didn't want to become a Foles clone. Which also makes it hard to judge the WRs the last couple years.

Sirianni will come in with a clean slate, he's coached guys like Rivers and Luck and Brissett, not the one read college QBs suited for the RPO. So I think he'll have no problem with a reset with Wentz. Hurts will be more interesting, coming off the bench, a RPO package makes sense in his 2nd season, but my suspicion is they'll gauge how well he picks up on traditional QB concepts and reads and make a long-term decision after next year. But Wentz will be the starter, you don't give up on a guy with that kind of upside, irregardless of the contract. Given Sirianni's history, I see more quick developing plays and a lot of coordination with Stoutland on meshing pass protection with play design. And a lot of stress on RBs and blitz pickup, which was dreadful last season (JR, does RPO concepts mess with RBs identifying blitzers?).

Same with the WRs, while they'll bring in new blood, I think they'll also put a heavy stress on fundamentals of route running, catching with your hands, blocking, etc. Most players coming out of college aren't well coached, or there wouldn't be so many middle round and UDFA guys who emerge after a couple years with good pro coaching. A guy like Fulgham needs hard coaching, either he responds or he'll be history in a year.