I believe we will have the best O-line in the NFL this year

[brkmsn]

30 minutes ago, Iggle_nj said:

I forgot Brooks was injured in a playoff game. I agree with op that the o-line can be top 10 as long as there is some continuity. And regardless of my incorrect timeline, Brooks and Johnson will be well rested.

FYI, Brooks was injured in the 2018 playoff game (vs the saints). He returned in time to start and play all of 2019. He did not miss any games in 2019.

[Bwestbrook36]

17 hours ago, brkmsn said:

FYI, Brooks was injured in the 2018 playoff game (vs the saints). He returned in time to start and play all of 2019. He did not miss any games in 2019.

Except the playoff game. Which is the reason you play the regular season. So he still managed to get hurt and miss games. Same reason people soured on Wentz couldn't finish a season for whatever reason. Ever hear the expression it's not how you start it's how you finish? 

[Captain F]

Agreed. We only need a few things to happen....

Lane gets back on teh sauce

Brooks gains Wolverine recovery skillset

Dillard's vachina falls off and he grows a set

Mailata breaks thru the 3 year project wall

Kelce soaks in the hottub time machine and wakes up in 2017. 

[Iggle_nj]

6 hours ago, Bwestbrook36 said:

Except the playoff game. Which is the reason you play the regular season. So he still managed to get hurt and miss games. Same reason people soured on Wentz couldn't finish a season for whatever reason. Ever hear the expression it's not how you start it's how you finish? 

 

On 5/31/2021 at 8:27 PM, brkmsn said:

FYI, Brooks was injured in the 2018 playoff game (vs the ). He returned in time to start and play all of 2019. He did not miss any games in 2019.

I cant remember anything anymore. The last few seasons since the Super Bowl win really feel like a blur. 

The 1st time I watched an Eagles game was 1969. I've either attended or watched every game on TV since 1973. Games that were blacked out that I couldn't attend were listened to on the radio. So things all start to run together after a while.

Regardless, Brooks missed all of 2020 so he will be well rested.  Johnson missed a majority of the 2020 season so he will be well rested.

I mis-stated facts about Brooks and the 2019 season in my 1st post.

Is my "quip" understood now or do we need to continue?

 

[hoosierdaddy]

Lane, Brooks & Kelce, when healthy, are each top 5 in the league at their respective positions. Issue is, two of them can't stay healthy.

[toolg]

The flipside of all the injuries last season, reshuffling the lineup every week, is now the Eagles have a bunch of guys with game experience. If they can keep a steady lineup, they're definitely Top 10, likely a Top 5 unit.  

[ManchesterEagle]

7 hours ago, toolg said:

The flipside of all the injuries last season, reshuffling the lineup every week, is now the Eagles have a bunch of guys with game experience. If they can keep a steady lineup, they're definitely Top 10, likely a Top 5 unit.  

Yeah agreed. The starting 5 are really good. Then we have Dillard and Dickerson. We also have Herbig and Driscoll who played well as rookies and should develop. The line is deep and even with a couple of injuries should be a real strength on this team.

[EazyEaglez]

On 5/27/2021 at 3:37 AM, JP HOF said:

with Dickerson and Dillard as backups, damn.

 

PS Last time I was here, I started a nice thread, and the same thing happened that happens every time I post here.  Downundermike trolled my thread, I got into it with him, and then I got suspended for a long time.  That's surely what's in store for this thread too because that's what happens in the messed up land of Eagles message boards.

Three of the five players in this photo spent time injured. On top of that both of the backups you referenced both were injured last year too. They’re all a year older now and Brooks has had some significant injuries as an Eagle. If they can stay healthy they have a shot to be good, but they’re just as likely to spend time on the sidelines with injuries. 

[Bwestbrook36]

12 minutes ago, EazyEaglez said:

If they can stay healthy

I really hate this cliche.... That is part of being great... Actually being able to play. You can't say well if he wasn't hurt all the damn time he would be great!   Nope, part of being great or an all time player is being available. 

The injury thing always gets separated from being great discussions.  There is no "ifs" about it just like well " if" he completed more passes he would have a better passing percentage... No sheet but, he doesn't so that is what makes his accuracy suck. 

[Random Reglar]

On 5/27/2021 at 6:27 PM, brkmsn said:

Lane has had 1 injury that simply didn't heal properly on its own the first time. He's fully recovered now and we're acting like he's always getting hurt. Brooks has been 100% healthy since the end of last season.

The injuries last year were a curse (on our team's success), but also a blessing as Mailata was given the opportunity to really grow and develop into a legit NFL player in only his 3rd year of American football. Herbig, who gets a lot less fanfare, also played extremely well for us and was very consistent during the last half of the season filling in for Brooks. Driscoll was looking pretty solid filling in for Lane until injuries derailed his season. 

I believe we really do have one of the best O-lines in the NFL and we are in much better shape this year to deal with injuries there than ever before. It will be interesting to see what the Eagles do with Dillard. As a rookie he played okay at LT, but was a disaster when moved to RT. You typically hope your depth will be composed of swing tackles so one injury won't cause two positions to change. But Mailata, so far, is the more versatile player. Assuming Mailata is the starting LT,  the Eagles still might work him some at RT if they are afraid Dillard loses too much in the switch. Then again, as long as Driscoll continues to develop it may not matter as much. I can't wait to see what the team's plan is with Dickerson. We have a lot of versatility in Dickerson, Seumalol, and Driscoll. Clearly the O-line is the strength of this team.

If Mailata and Driscoll both start, shouldn't it make the most sense for Mailata to play Right Tackle and Driscoll to play Left Tackle?  Maybe that's not how the Eagles do things, but it's fairly normal for the LT to be the lighter, quicker one and the RT to be the bigger, more powerful one.  And that's Driscoll on the Left and Mailata on the right.

I like Mailata as a versatile blocker.  Tight End.  Former professional rugby player.  I would like to see if Mailata is potentially dominant as a Tight End or in the backfield.   I think there's a pretty good chance that he would be.  6'8 345 pound ex pro rugby,  could be.   I would be interested in to see how well he does lined up anywhere, doing anything.   You might discover something.    You could discover that if you split him wide and throw him the ball high, he'll catch it, and defensive backs won't be able to tackle him.  Maybe.    I'd want to see all that he can do,  it's possible that there is rare and special there.     I'm not really interested as much in what Dillard can do, but it seems to me like he's a quick Left Tackle, who was a first round draft choice as a Left Tackle.  Dillard was the top pass protecting Left Tackle in his last year of college.  He can do  that.  Mailata seems like a versatile weapon.  Possibly he could be used on defense as well.  6'8 345,  line up over the Center and push him back, block passes.  Or not, but it's plausible. 

When the Eagles are in the red zone, or in short yardage, I'd want Mailata in there,  whether it's as and end or back, or as an oliner.  I'd also think that Dickerson might be used in these situations as well.   Might be a good way for him to get his feet wet.   I'd guess that Dickerson would be initially better at run blocking, so maybe you use him as an additional run blocker.    The Eagles seem to be a bit light on the blocking - outside of the oline - and adding Mailata and Dickerson could turn run blocking to a strength.   I'd also add Tyree Jackson to the red zone group. 

 

[CouchKing]

Playoffs? 

 

[brkmsn]

1 hour ago, Random Reglar said:

If Mailata and Driscoll both start, shouldn't it make the most sense for Mailata to play Right Tackle and Driscoll to play Left Tackle?  Maybe that's not how the Eagles do things, but it's fairly normal for the LT to be the lighter, quicker one and the RT to be the bigger, more powerful one.  And that's Driscoll on the Left and Mailata on the right.

I like Mailata as a versatile blocker.  Tight End.  Former professional rugby player.  I would like to see if Mailata is potentially dominant as a Tight End or in the backfield.   I think there's a pretty good chance that he would be.  6'8 345 pound ex pro rugby,  could be.   I would be interested in to see how well he does lined up anywhere, doing anything.   You might discover something.    You could discover that if you split him wide and throw him the ball high, he'll catch it, and defensive backs won't be able to tackle him.  Maybe.    I'd want to see all that he can do,  it's possible that there is rare and special there.     I'm not really interested as much in what Dillard can do, but it seems to me like he's a quick Left Tackle, who was a first round draft choice as a Left Tackle.  Dillard was the top pass protecting Left Tackle in his last year of college.  He can do  that.  Mailata seems like a versatile weapon.  Possibly he could be used on defense as well.  6'8 345,  line up over the Center and push him back, block passes.  Or not, but it's plausible. 

When the Eagles are in the red zone, or in short yardage, I'd want Mailata in there,  whether it's as and end or back, or as an oliner.  I'd also think that Dickerson might be used in these situations as well.   Might be a good way for him to get his feet wet.   I'd guess that Dickerson would be initially better at run blocking, so maybe you use him as an additional run blocker.    The Eagles seem to be a bit light on the blocking - outside of the oline - and adding Mailata and Dickerson could turn run blocking to a strength.   I'd also add Tyree Jackson to the red zone group. 

 

FYI, not only is Mailata the "larger" guy, he's also the "quicker" guy. 

 

As far as using him in other ways, there's only so much you can do in the NFL. Last season was only his 3rd year ever in American football. Most guys growing up have experience playing both offense and defense in High School. Some of them get moved from one to the other during their college careers. Mailata has absolutely zero experience with other positions. It takes more than just size and athletic ability to be effective in the NFL. You could take him away from a little bit of his practice time at O-line and teach him a couple gimmick plays, but you can't just start teaching him to be a TE, a FB, and a DT unless you want a guy that won't really be good at anything. 

[Random Reglar]

1 hour ago, brkmsn said:

FYI, not only is Mailata the "larger" guy, he's also the "quicker" guy. 

 

As far as using him in other ways, there's only so much you can do in the NFL. Last season was only his 3rd year ever in American football. Most guys growing up have experience playing both offense and defense in High School. Some of them get moved from one to the other during their college careers. Mailata has absolutely zero experience with other positions. It takes more than just size and athletic ability to be effective in the NFL. You could take him away from a little bit of his practice time at O-line and teach him a couple gimmick plays, but you can't just start teaching him to be a TE, a FB, and a DT unless you want a guy that won't really be good at anything. 

You're going to be asking Mailata to do things, not as much play a position, like a normal player would do.   As a TE,  Mailata would be mostly blocking, and would be absolutely dominant at that, but his rugby background allows him to catch a pass.  He's 6'8 345 pounds.  He would be used in the red zone.   It should be simple enough to determine what exactly happens when you pitch the ball to Mailata who then runs outside.   If it's actually quite easy to tackle him, well, lesson learned.   But there is a good chance that he would be very difficult to tackle, to bring to the ground.  In which case you put him in, get him the ball and have him run.   He won't learn how to do all the things, run all the route tree, but he can learn to do specific things. 

 

Mailata measured just shy of 6-foot-8 and weighed 346 pounds.His arms measured a massive 35.5 inches. He was timed at 5.12 seconds in the 40-yard dash, which would have been good for seventh among tackle participants at the NFL Combine in February. He also excelled in the short shuttle with a time (4.67 seconds) that would have been among the top 10 at his position. Mailata put up 22 reps on the bench press.

 

Dillard

Zybek PD3X AKA "Official"
40 Yard Dash (ET): 4.96
40 Yard Dash (HH): 5.00
20 Yard (ET): 2.86
20 Yard (HH): 2.75
10 Yard (ET): 1.69
10 Yard (HH): 1.72     
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 24
Vertical Jump: 29
Broad Jump: 09'10"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.40
3-Cone Drill: 7.44

[CouchKing]

So, we run into Brady and the Bucs on the way to the SuperBowl?

[Ace Nova]

On 5/27/2021 at 5:56 PM, downundermike said:

Hey @Bwestbrook36 look who's back.

You were suspended because the mods told you to tone it down, and your next post was inflammatory.  

As for the topic, Lane and Brooks are coming off multiple seasons of major injuries, Kelce is old, and the left side will be a huge question until they prove they are not.

Top 10, maybe, best in the NFL, not a chance.

 

Edited to add : Mods please move to R&R.  Not because it is a bad or duplicate topic, just don't want JP HOF to think I have lost my overwhelming influence over you guys.

No disrespect intended but are you an Eagles fan?  When was the last time you posted something positive about the team? 

[Bwestbrook36]

10 hours ago, Ace Nova said:

No disrespect intended but are you an Eagles fan?  When was the last time you posted something positive about the team? 

Are we really gonna call people out for not being fans for  negative posts? If that's the case then about 95% of this board are not fans

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Bwestbrook36 said:

Are we really gonna call people out for not being fans for  negative posts? If that's the case then about 95% of this board are not fans

And he supposedly had me on ignore for race baiting

[Talonblood]

I believe in Santa Claus, so.

[PoconoDon]

I don't see "best in the NFL" level of performance for the 2021-2022 season. As others have stated, the injury history here coupled with age is why.

[Ace Nova]

9 hours ago, downundermike said:

And he supposedly had me on ignore for race baiting

Nah, you've been off ignore for a while now. 

[EazyEaglez]

Just read the othe day the Eagles are low key trying to trade Brooks. Not even sure what this group is going to look like just yet.

[EaglesfanfromND]

Don't think they are going to be even close to the best oline in NFL. I'm just hoping for serviceable and much better then last season. Health has been a huge issue. 

[Aerolithe_Lion]

On 5/27/2021 at 8:30 PM, D-Shiznit said:

I'm not sure how much of a hot take this is, if at all, but I think Dickerson will start over Isaac. There's optimism that Dickerson will be ready to go by TC. I think the kid beats Isaac out.

think they’ll use him as a Herremans type? For some reason I was under the impression he’d exclusively be a center

[Aerolithe_Lion]

On 5/28/2021 at 9:43 PM, RUEagle said:

I’d bet the house that this group of 30+ year olds can’t make it 17 games.  Just reality of the situation. 

So if Kelce and Johnson make all pro, we have the best line in football but Brooks misses 2 games with lower leg cramping… then technically you won that bet?

[RUEagle]

3 hours ago, Aerolithe_Lion said:

So if Kelce and Johnson make all pro, we have the best line in football but Brooks misses 2 games with lower leg cramping… then technically you won that bet?

Idk I wrote that weeks ago.  I forget what context I was saying it in.