Safe to say Lane is back to being Lane. Good for him.

LOL @ Mailata handing out Uber rides.

At what point do they consider locking Howard in to a a 2-year contract extension?

23 minutes ago, Casey @ Bat said:

Lol. Not sure how Blog popped up, typed in Tate. A lot of members on here love Sweat, he’s ok. Just doesn’t do enough for me. Still hopeful.

He's fine.  Just not sure he has lived up to his new contract extension.  If he's just a pass rush specialist, then he's overpaid.  And if he is just a pass rush specialist, you'd think that he'd get home a little more often.

1 minute ago, D-Shiznit said:

Mailata was already the most dominant run blocking LT in the NFL, and now his pass pro has improved to a high level as well.

We got our Jason Peters for the next decade.

Stout is awesome and he’s only 59… a reason for optimism. Nick seems to have a good idea about what he’s doing at least offensively, that’s very encouraging long-term.

 

Just now, Iggles_Phan said:

He's fine.  Just not sure he has lived up to his new contract extension.  If he's just a pass rush specialist, then he's overpaid.  And if he is just a pass rush specialist, you'd think that he'd get home a little more often.

That was my original point. He’s basically just another guy and now he’s not getting paid like it. 

2 minutes ago, TorontoEagle said:

I think there's more positives on the team now than what we thought we had in week 1.

The o-line. Mailata/Dickerson look like a great tandem moving forward. Injury concerns of course, but talent wise, they'll be in the convo for best left side in the league. Kelce is a question with retirement, but I gotta say, one coach you should have full faith in is Stoutland. RG can be upgraded, and Lane seems to be healthy. We can look to upgrade Lane, but it's not as immediate a need as it appeared week 1. The depth of the o-line appears to be really good too. 

Smith looks like a legit WR, finally. Watkins looks like a good #3. Goedert looks like a stud, passing and blocking wise. 

The RBs are easy enough to upgrade, IMO, especially with the talent on our o-line. 

So everywhere except QB, we seem to be in an actual good position. You can certainly upgrade a few spots, and add depth, but overall, it seems to be trending the right way. 

Defensively, CB finally seems to be OK. Slay has one more year, but we have time to get a replacement. D-line needs an infusion of talent, as does the LB corps and safeties. But we have the draft capital to address these things. And the draft this year happens to be laden with defensive talent.

I kind of like that we bully teams to win. Running for 200 yards a game is a lot of fun, IMO. We aren't going anywhere this season, because our defense is so bad. And Gannon can't stop good QBs. After the Giants loss, I was ready to fold it in for better picks. But if the scenario becomes us facing Dallas in round 1 of the playoffs, and we somehow can knock them out....hell I think we'd all take that back in week 1 as a successful season, no? 

The OL is fascinating.  It's the best run blocking group in the NFL by a wide margin.  They have more warts in pass protection than anyone wants to admit...but it doesn't show up too often because our QB doesn't spend much time in the pocket anyway, between his style of play and the lack of passes.

Despite the outstanding run blocking, there still is not a ton of future clarity.  Mailata is obviously the cornerstone, but he really needs to tighten up his pass pro.  Dickerson is the other building block, but we actually don't even know for sure what position he'll play.  Seumalo is a nice starter, but he's getting up there and is no road grater in the ground game...which has (regrettably) become the identity of the offense and the OL.  It will be interesting to see how he plugs back in.  Lane is a stud, but his future is hazy.  Brooks is ancient history already.  And Kelce, still a stud...he's not part of the future. 

So as exciting and outstanding as the OL may be, it's very much in flux and potentially in need of even first round attention.  And that is the most exciting, promising unit on the entire team...potentially in need of a first round pick.  I realize that's a per usual negative take on things, but this team has a lot of work to do.

1 minute ago, Casey @ Bat said:

That was my original point. He’s basically just another guy and now he’s not getting paid like it. 

Howie special is to overvalue his own guys.

5 minutes ago, Waiting4Someday said:

Stout is awesome and he’s only 59… a reason for optimism. Nick seems to have a good idea about what he’s doing at least offensively, that’s very encouraging long-term.

 

Yup, Dickerson and Mailata have the Left side secured for the long-term. Lane is back to being Lane, Driscoll was playing well and improving giving us options at RG.

The only question mark is Center, whether we need to draft one or move Isaac there. Stout will figure that out.

Yep, Gainwell looks pretty open on the play he threw into double coverage.

 

26 minutes ago, mattwill said:

Since we have a short interlude between games, I have a question that the assembled posters here may be able to answer.  Specifically, some screen names changed when the transition from the EMB to eaglesmessgeboard.com  took place.  Take a look at the table below and let me know what additions/corrections I need to make to the left column's current screen names.

New EMB Name	Old EMB Name
	143
	-Triumph-
aptosbird	aptosbird
	Arsenal79
austinfan	austinfan
bbabraham	bbabraham
BDawk_ASamuel	BDawk_ASamuel
BigEFly	BigEFly
	biglou22
	bkwhoa
	blindside
bwestbrook36	bwestbrook36
Casey @ Bat	Casey @ Bat
	Chase the Fan
Connecticut Eagle	Connecticut Eagle
	Couch Potato
	dawkins20
	DE
Desertbirds	desertbirds
	djbigf
	Double
	dukebowden
	E v 2.0
eagle45	eagle45
	EagleAye
	eagleeyejk
	eaglelen
	eagles_crazy
	Eaglesfan83
	Eternal
	Fansincebirth
	ferrisbueller84
	Flying Dutchman
FranklinFldEBUpper	FranklinFldEBUpper
	ghor50
greend	greend
	greendestiny9
HazletonEagle	HazletonEagle
	HughDawg
Iggles_Phan	Iggles_Phan
	IggleWalt
	InfiniteSeriesN
justrelax	justrelax
jwill2420	jwill2420
	Kolbfan4
LeanMeanGM	leanmeangreenmachine
	Lockdown Lito
ManuManu	ManuManu
mattwill	mattwill
McMVP	McMVP
	Mike P
Mike030270	Mike030270
Mike31mt	Mike31mt
NcIggles	NcIggles
	Nocturnal
	novascotianeaglesfan
Parrot Head	Parrot Head
	pricebe
	PrinceKelby
	purplefiggy
	rcavezza
RLC	RealCrippler
	rhinoddd50
	s1hujas
schuy7	schuy7
	Solomon
	superbowlsoon
TEW	The Eagles win!
	The_Sounds_of_Philadelphia
	thebeastfromtheeast
ToastJenkins	ToastJenkins
TorontoEagle	TorontoEagle
	TQ
	UK Eagle
Utebird	Utebird
Veejer	Veejer
	v-rod
	WaitingForSomeday
	Westyis2Underrated
	wiseguy
Westbtook#36	Westbtook#36

Did E v 2.0 ever make it to this board?

19 minutes ago, D-Shiznit said:

Mailata was already the most dominant run blocking LT in the NFL, and now his pass pro has improved to a high level as well.

We got our Jason Peters for the next decade

any QB should want to come and play behind this line and run game

Let's make it 8, 9, and then 10 in a row!

17 minutes ago, bpac55 said:

At what point do they consider locking Howard in to a a 2-year contract extension?

They grudgingly put him on the 53 after maxing out the practice squad elevations. I’m not holding my breath.  Boston Scott might be out after this season (I doubt he’s tendered), so I could see a draftee in the Howard-mold this off-season (J.Ford, B.Robinson, Baylor RB, etc.).

Jordan chugged along last night, but he still looks a bit dinged.

1 hour ago, austinfan said:

RB ran 25 for 131 (5.2 ypc) and Hurts added another 77 yards on 8 carries.

SEVEN points.  Last I checked, teams win or lose games based on how many points they score, not for how many yards they gain.  

17 minutes ago, D-Shiznit said:

Yup, Dickerson and Mailata have the Left side secured for the long-term. Lane is back to being Lane, Driscoll was playing well and improving giving us options at RG.

The only question mark is Center, whether we need to draft one or move Isaac there. Stout will figure that out.

Jason Kelce is so frigging good. There’s no way we can replace him - he just does things that no other centers do. I don’t understand the poison pill embedded in his contract - but if it can be negotiated away reasonably… merry football Christmas.

1 minute ago, Waiting4Someday said:

Jason Kelce is so frigging good. There’s no way we can replace him - he just does things that no other centers do. I don’t understand the poison pill embedded in his contract - but if it can be negotiated away reasonably… merry football Christmas.

Amen. If Kelce wants to come back, Howie will figure it out. Kelce just has to want too.

31 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

He got walked back into Hurts' lap often by Allen and just wrapped his arms around him in a bear hug on multiple occasions.  Opeta wasn't good last night.  He was good enough.  There's a significant difference.  He's a backup and rightly so.  There's a notable drop off when he comes in the game.  He's not a starting caliber OG, which is fine.   As you say, he's a deep depth player.  But, let's not prop him up to more than he is.  He's not Jamon Brown, certainly, but he's not a guy you want to have as your #6 OL, or even #7.  He's a #9 or #10, at best.  

And that is where he resides in the depth chart.

1-5 = Johnson - Seumalo - Kelce - Brooks - Mailata

6-9 = Dillard - Driscoll - Herbig - Dickerson - ??

10-13 = Toth - Opeta - ?? - Anderson - Clark

4 hours ago, HazletonEagle said:

I am in agreement with the sentiment that Hurts can be our guy next year if he finishes the season with performances just like we saw last night.

I dont think he will.

But if he does, Im ok with him starting as our starter next year.

And even more improved defense, and maybe another WR with that level of QB play will make us a solid team.

I agree mostly with this. You figure he should continue to improve as a passer as far as making his reads faster and delivering on time with accuracy. And make no mistake about it, he is the reason for our successful ground attack. The threat of him running holds a backer or end or box safety that allows for the line to double team and get to the next level quicker. 
 

My biggest concern is his arm strength. He’s got a rag arm and doesn’t scare a defense on him unloading a deep shot. I’m not saying an offense should be built around and focus on multiple home run shots a game. But at some point you need to be able to chuck it deep or zip one outside the numbers on a rope, and he doesn’t appear to have that. 

1 minute ago, mattwill said:

And that is where he resides in the depth chart.

1-5 = Johnson - Seumalo - Kelce - Brooks - Mailata

6-9 = Dillard - Driscoll - Herbig - Dickerson - ??

10-13 = Toth - Opeta - ?? - Anderson - Clark

I’d take Dickerson over Seumalo now, I think.

Woah

32 minutes ago, downundermike said:

Yep, Gainwell looks pretty open on the play he threw into double coverage.

 

That was probably his worst read/decision of the game. Other than this play, a terrible throw on Smith running a deep post, and the fumble, he played pretty good. 

1 minute ago, Waiting4Someday said:

I’d take Dickerson over Seumalo now, I think.

I agree, but even if you interchange those two, that doesn't change the location of Opeta in the depth chart.  He is still at #10 or above.

Maybe I'm a bit giddy over a division win, a bad win at that, but I'm starting to believe in this team.  

I believe Jalen has improved.  I believe he's growing as a passer.  He's making a few throws that are head turning.  There's room for improvement, for sure, but he's making that improvement.   He's leading the best running attack in the league, the best running attack that the league has seen in quite some time.  

Our defense is meh, but we seem to be able to limit the damage.

If we make the playoffs, we could make a little run.  There are NFC teams light years ahead of us, but I would not be surprised if this team could win a playoff game or two.

4 minutes ago, EricAllenPick6 said:

Maybe I'm a bit giddy over a division win, a bad win at that, but I'm starting to believe in this team.  

I believe Jalen has improved.  I believe he's growing as a passer.  He's making a few throws that are head turning.  There's room for improvement, for sure, but he's making that improvement.   He's leading the best running attack in the league, the best running attack that the league has seen in quite some time.  

Our defense is meh, but we seem to be able to limit the damage.

If we make the playoffs, we could make a little run.  There are NFC teams light years ahead of us, but I would not be surprised if this team could win a playoff game or two.

Redskins went into the game without their best corner, the other starter was injured, and I believe Landon Collins missed time with an injury.

These 1 week blips are not improvement.  He needs to show it multiple weeks in a row.

One thing I did notice, he took several plays that worked for Minshew and put them in the game plan for Hurts.

4 minutes ago, mattwill said:

I agree, but even if you interchange those two, that doesn't change the location of Opeta in the depth chart.  He is still at #10 or above.

Agreed - he actually did better than I thought. While others have said he looks strong, I think he is a bit light in the pants. Might be that in the run game he can get to better angles - while he just doesn’t have the technique in pass pro to stonewall bigger DTs.