EMB Blog: 2021 Training Camp / Preseason

[NCiggles]

5 minutes ago, EaglePhan1986 said:

Fulgham I think could be an above average #2 receiver. 

I think he struggled against physical press coverage.  Certainly having Smith will mean he will have more favorable matchups.  I really don't know what to expect from him.  I could see him being like Avant in the slot with maybe some more upside downfield.  

[EaglePhan1986]

Fulgham proved he can be an asset. I don’t get the hate towards him. Yes his numbers were inflamed for a few games but you don’t put up those numbers if you’re a total scrub. Did Freddy Mitchell or Reggie Brown ever have a stretch like that? JJAW sure as hell won’t. These are former high draft picks compared to a guy who was just supposed to be a practice body. 

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

24 minutes ago, TorontoEagle said:

Maybe Denver?

I think New England was reportedly high on him pre-draft (2020). But they wouldn't trade for him now for sure.

Houston, maybe, but due to extreme circumstances, and they drafted a QB in the 2nd I think this year so likely not. 

Lions traded for Goff who I dont think they really like, but I don't think they'd trade for Hurts now either.

Maybe you could talk Atlanta into it, but that's due to nothing more than Ryan's age, and I don't think they'd even consider it honestly.

And that's about it.

Ugh. 

I’m not even sure houston would either. They drafted mills the kid out of Stanford and they supposedly really like him. 

[Kz!]

48 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

Yes, he *might* suck and he might not.  But the fact that we can’t know for sure also doesn’t mean he’s owed this season as a starter.  
 

Most qbs at his level (both where he was drafted, where he was projected by most to be drafted, his level of passing refinement) never even get a commitment from their team to take the reins as the starter.  
 

So he’s not owed this.  He’s in this position because this *** show has no one else…and the GM is actively working to bring in someone else. Tried once to keep Wentz, tried once pre draft to trade for Watson, tried once to trade up in the draft for a better prospect, trying again to trade for Watson.  Pretty clear the Eagles don’t think much of his chances to hang on to the job.  

Do you have any links to those stories? First I'm hearing of all of them, besides speculation the Eagles might be interested in Watson.

[D-Shiznit]

Even if Hurts hits the highest possible end of his potential, he will never be as good as Watson - a top 5 QB who has barely even hit his prime.

[RememberTheKoy]

6 minutes ago, D-Shiznit said:

Even if Hurts hits the highest possible end of his potential, he will never be as good as Watson - a top 5 QB who has barely even hit his prime.

 

I don't see what Watson has accomplished that makes it an unattainable level of play for Hurts to hit if he pans out. 

[BigEFly]

1 hour ago, Iggles_Phan said:

The bolded is all that really matters.   He has a lot to prove in the NFL.   How he goes about that is where the rest of the post fits.  Doug was bad last year.  No doubt about it.  Doug might have been intentionally bad, honestly, to get out of here.  This was the season after he had his knees cut out from under him with the coaching staff, and I don't think they ever gelled.   Maybe that was Doug's fault, or maybe it lies as the fault of Lowie for forcing his hand with his coaching staff.   

 

My point is that Hurts' college success is irrelevant at this point.  The NFL isn't a place where past performance really lasts long as a measuring stick.  In 2017, Wentz was an MVP candidate, and frankly, was the odds on favorite to win it before the knee injury.  Now he's been discarded.  Hurts' performance at OU is irrelevant now to the performance he can have in the NFL.  And Johnson is an interesting name as a QB coach, but how does he transition to the NFL as a coach.  This is his first rodeo in the NFL.  We'll see how he translates, too.   Lots of variables, no real answers yet.   More data is needed.

I do think Doug is less of a developer of offense than Reich.  I think that may have hurt Wentz but I also think Wentz hurt Wentz.

I agree that college performance diminishes as a player develops into a professional.   We probably use about a third of our college education in our professions but it does shape us in learning to learn and develop. I think Hurts brings that and a lot of players that try to transition to the NFL don’t.  Now speeding reads also takes a degree of natural talent and that remains to be seen with Hurts.  Johnson has had success at every turn so far as a QB coach.  Press hasn’t and frankly, I would say he has been a failure.  I think he has a keen offensive mind that misleads folks about his ability to actually teach and remove flaws.  What I have heard from Nick and Johnson about teaching habits and changing habits suggest they get that important aspect of coaching/teaching.  One of the best teachers I ever had was my ninth grade history teacher.  He taught me how to take keyword notes.  Then my AP biology teacher (also my home room teacher, who went to college at 16) taught me how to improve that to use offsets to categorize. Both broke habits and instilled habits that helped me my entire life.  I credit my ability to write contracts with the grammar skills I built on from my fourth grade coach.

I remember coaches teaching and breaking habits and developing new ones.  Stout is that sort of coach. You can see it when he is miked up. JR pointed out how Seumalo is better from a center stance and Stout worked with that. From what I have read about Nick and Johnson, they coach like Stout.  I am more optimistic than you but I have high hopes for this staff.

[BigEFly]

1 hour ago, eaglesflyers#1 said:

Better chance of Hurts being a good QB or Fulgham being a good WR?

Hurts seems to have a better work ethic as a pro, which is interesting because at OD Fulgham’s coach raved about him constantly growing. 

[Ace Nova]

3 hours ago, Kz! said:

Do you have any links to those stories? First I'm hearing of all of them, besides speculation the Eagles might be interested in Watson.

Do you want to know how these rumors likely started?

A "source” spoke to a "source” that spoke to another "source” who could have asked if the Eagles would pursue Watson if he became available.  And the Eagles likely said, "We explore every opportunity.”  Like they say about every single free agent/trade available.  That’s where all this nonsense is likely coming from imo and unfortunately in the modern era where "clicks” = $ for most social media, etc it’s become a story. 

[Iggles_Phan]

1 minute ago, BigEFly said:

I remember coaches teaching and breaking habits and developing new ones.  Stout is that sort of coach. You can see it when he is miked up. JR pointed out how Seumalo is better from a center stance and Stout worked with that. From what I have read about Nick and Johnson, they coach like Stout.  I am more optimistic than you but I have high hopes for this staff.

I am not pessimistic about the coaching staff.   All I am saying is, until one is thrown into the NFL fire, no one really knows.   We don't really know much about Taylor outside of the Eagles.  His first coaching stint was at Tulsa, then he moved up the chain of command inside the Eagles organization, starting back in 2013 with Chip.  Johnson has a longer resume with more stops, but all of those were in the college ranks.  This is his first stop with an NFL team.  We'll see how he fairs.   I mean, Steve Spurrier was a great teacher at the collegiate level both before and after his stint in the NFL.  But, in the NFL, he tried to do the same things that he did in college, and failed miserably.   We'll see what these guys actually do in their new roles.  Most of them have never been in the shoes they are currently wearing.   There will be a break in period, certainly.   And then we'll see.  

Like I said, more data is needed.  But... circling back to where this began, McVay had a stronger track record than either Sirianni or Brian Johnson when he got his shot with the Rams.

[CaliEagle]

Just now, BigEFly said:

Hurts seems to have a better work ethic as a pro, which is interesting because at OD Fulgham’s coach raved about him constantly growing. 

I wouldn't just take Doug's word for it. He wanted to put Alshon back in and he could've been looking for a reason to justify it.  We really don't know one way or the other.

[ManuManu]

1 minute ago, CaliEagle said:

I wouldn't just take Doug's word for it. He wanted to put Alshon back in and he could've been looking for a reason to justify it.  We really don't know one way or the other.

Moorehead pretty much confirmed it when there was little reason for him to do so at this point. 

[CaliEagle]

2 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

Moorehead pretty much confirmed it when there was little reason for him to do so at this point. 

He was under Doug though, too. I don't think practice habits are enough to bench a guy who was the leading receiver in the NFL over 4 weeks for a vet on the decline who hadn't done anything for over a year or longer.  Most other rational coaches would've stuck with the hot hand.  And, I'm skeptical about it.  He gets hot for 4 weeks and suddenly he has bad practice habits.

[Guest]

 

[ManuManu]

1 minute ago, CaliEagle said:

He was under Doug though, too. I don't think practice habits are enough to bench a guy who was the leading receiver in the NFL over 4 weeks for a vet on the decline who hadn't done anything for over a year or longer.  Most other rational coaches would've stuck with the hot hand.  And, I'm skeptical about it.  He gets hot for 4 weeks and suddenly he has bad practice habits.

He was screwing up in games too. His route running was so off it was interfering with other receivers. He also was awful against press coverage. Teams figured him out a bit, and he seemed to tank. 

[Ace Nova]

5 minutes ago, CaliEagle said:

He was under Doug though, too. I don't think practice habits are enough to bench a guy who was the leading receiver in the NFL over 4 weeks for a vet on the decline who hadn't done anything for over a year or longer.  Most other rational coaches would've stuck with the hot hand.

Nah.  Other than his initial 4-5 games, Fulgham’s play regressed on the field.  Several drops, bad routes etc.  I distinctly remember a pass hitting him on the numbers, on the sideline, right through his juggling hands.   And this was a guy who was catching everything in practice and during his first few games. 

[WentzFan11]

Rather have Howie

[CaliEagle]

Just now, Ace Nova said:

Nah.  Other than his initial 4-5 games, Fulgham’s play regressed on the field.  Several drops, etc.  I distinctly remember a pass hitting him on the numbers, on the sideline, right through his juggling hands.   And this was a guy who was catching everything in practice and during his first few games. 

His regression happened after Alshon was put back in and I'm sure Alshon got a lot of the reps.

[EaglePhan1986]

5 minutes ago, downundermike said:

 

He was a real hooker, I’m gonna slap him in public 

[CaliEagle]

7 minutes ago, downundermike said:

 

He won't be the first Hooker on Jerry's Party Bus.

[Ace Nova]

3 minutes ago, CaliEagle said:

His regression happened after Alshon was put back in and I'm sure Alshon got a lot of the reps.

Well, good news for Fulgham is that he has another chance at proving himself this year.   I’m still high on the guy.  A lot of young talent at WR this year though so he’ll likely need to be "lights out” during camp and the preseason to make the cut, imo. 

[ManuManu]

I guess Cobb really is getting traded to GB. 

[BigEFly]

48 minutes ago, NCiggles said:

Well it's not common to push for a confidentiality clause on the plaintiff's side and it is almost always wanted by the defense side. There are times when we want things confidential.   I am often dealing with large carriers but they insure all kinds of employers. If you get some small town employer that has an employee (like an office manager) that is going to tell everyone about the settlement making it a mutual clause is helpful.  

I mean there are cases where you get in and you realize someone is lying and that someone may be your client. I don't think confidentiality really helps those people.  Claims get indexed by carriers and the claims are all on on file with the state agency that is judicial body.  My other clients are not served by fraud as it drives up the cost and impacts legitimate claims.  I will say I see more employer fraud related to employee misclassification in order to reduce premiums than anything else.  I mean about every 4th case with a roofing company or painter they try to allege the employee was an independent contractor.  That's the kind of premium fraud that is rampant although I think they are trying to crack down on it.  

You are spot on about premium fraud and worker’s compensation.  It’s something states worry about a lot.  Worker’s compensation struggles to be profitable as a line and states really regulate premiums, including that carriers are charging enough.  That impacts everything from solvency to second injury funds, assigned risk pools, etc.  

 

 

[BigEFly]

17 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

I am not pessimistic about the coaching staff.   All I am saying is, until one is thrown into the NFL fire, no one really knows.   We don't really know much about Taylor outside of the Eagles.  His first coaching stint was at Tulsa, then he moved up the chain of command inside the Eagles organization, starting back in 2013 with Chip.  Johnson has a longer resume with more stops, but all of those were in the college ranks.  This is his first stop with an NFL team.  We'll see how he fairs.   I mean, Steve Spurrier was a great teacher at the collegiate level both before and after his stint in the NFL.  But, in the NFL, he tried to do the same things that he did in college, and failed miserably.   We'll see what these guys actually do in their new roles.  Most of them have never been in the shoes they are currently wearing.   There will be a break in period, certainly.   And then we'll see.  

Like I said, more data is needed.  But... circling back to where this began, McVay had a stronger track record than either Sirianni or Brian Johnson when he got his shot with the Rams.

Fair enough. 

[Texas Eagle]

2 minutes ago, Ace Nova said:

Well, good news for Fulgham is that he has another chance at proving himself this year.   I’m still high on the guy.  A lot of young talent at WR this year though so he’ll likely need to be "lights out” during camp and the preseason to make the cut, imo. 

Don’t need to be lights out to beat out anyone aside from Smith on that squad