Here is a great story of perseverance. If you can’t root for guys like Jermaine Johnson, then we just look at things differently:

https://www.profootballnetwork.com/jermaine-johnson-ii-florida-state-de-nfl-draft-scouting-report-2022/

Johnson might be in the mix for the Eagles in the early 20’s.

Decided to rewatch the win over Washington. I watched all of Hurts’ dropbacks to see if he was actually a one-read QB. That really wasn’t the case.

Maybe it was an anomaly — I haven’t rewatched any of his other games focusing on his progressions — but he routinely went to second and third progressions when the first read wasn’t there. He didn’t really take off and run right away (not that he didn’t bail a couple of times from workable pockets).

Other random observations…

* @Iggles_Phan You and I discussed the QB draw from the game. Early in the game, the Eagles went empty (it ended up a short pass to Quez). The middle of the field was wide open. I think Sirianni and Co. saw that and wanted to use it for a potential chunk play later. They called the draw at midfield, and I assume part of the reason was if it hit, the Eagles would have had a first down in field goal range. Unfortunately they guessed wrong, and the linebacker never vacated the middle, limiting it to a modest gain.

* The Sam is an interesting position for our defense. Against teams that run 12 or 21 personnel, it’s a key position. Against predominantly 11 personnel teams, we don’t use one. I think Avery has played fairly well in that role. He sets the edge, he’s physical, and he has explosive straight line speed. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Eagles signed him to a cheap multi-year deal, but maybe because the usage is so small they decide to roll with Patrick Johnson and save some money. Perhaps ideally, the Eagles could find a guy who is more of 3-4 OLB who can play Sam in base and then rush the passer with his hand in the dirt. 

* I found it strange that coming out of the 2-minute warning our DEs were Kerrigan and Jackson. That made no sense unless Sweat and Barnett asked out. They were potentially stuck on the field because it was a hurry up situation. Kerrigan and Jackson stayed on even after Washington huddled following a complete pass that went out of bounds. Predictably, Jackson and Kerrigan weren’t effective.

Daxton Hill, S from Michigan declared for the draft. He'd be a great pick in the 2nd rd, but I think he will rise into the 1st round after the combine.

Insane athlete, runs a 4.3 40 yarder. He fits the Malcolm Jenkins mold of safety, someone who can cover in the slot if needed.

2 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

* I found it strange that coming out of the 2-minute warning our DEs were Kerrigan and Jackson. That made no sense unless Sweat and Barnett asked out. They were potentially stuck on the field because it was a hurry up situation. Kerrigan and Jackson stayed on even after Washington huddled following a complete pass that went out of bounds. Predictably, Jackson and Kerrigan weren’t effective.

I was curious about that too. What were they doing in the game at such a crucial point, then getting caught out there in a hurry up situation. I was really surprised when they could have checked out of the game. The only thing I could think of was that the other two were gassed...who knows?

I don't hate Wentz, I don't know the guy so how can it be personal?

However, I'm happy he was traded, I'd rather have Hurts as my QB.

Wentz will put up good numbers, but he's also a bad play waiting to happen, he's 29, he's injury prone, and he's not going to get better. This is what he is. He's a better passer than Hurts, but he's no longer a threat to run. His performance is very similar to 2018-2019, except he's less effective as a runner. A good but not special QB with no upside. And some questions about leadership. A slightly more effective version of Cousins, strong armed immobile QB who lacks the high IQ to be elite, puts up better numbers than his actual performance. Around #10, but one good hit away from declining, and he's not good at getting "small" and avoiding hits.

Note that Reich had so little confidence in Wentz he decided to ride Taylor into the ground, not exactly a long-term strategy - if Reich felt Wentz could run an efficient passing game he wouldn't be relying so heavily on the run.

Passing yards, Indy's last 7 games:  168, 106, 285, 151, 49, 220, 140.

Now Hurts isn't a great passer right now, but he's better than he's given credit for, he lost his most reliable target in Ertz, his 3 WRs are very inexperienced. He's an elite runner at QB, has great leadership skills and a lot of upside left. Doesn't mean he'll ever be a top ten passer, but he has a chance to be a top ten QB. We'll know in two years. And he's still only 23. He's cool under pressure and more coachable than Wentz.

Last three games, 281, 194, 212. Siri has gradually opened up the passing game as Hurts has become more comfortable in the pocket running a more conventional offense.

 

I rewatched some of the game as I didn't get to see it on tv Am I the only one that hates shotgun on third and one from the one?

1 hour ago, Uscg-green said:

I rewatched some of the game as I didn't get to see it on tv Am I the only one that hates shotgun on third and one from the one?

Lol I was yelling at the TV when I saw that.

6 hours ago, downundermike said:

Wouldn’t  transferring to Oklahoma be the same thing ??

NO

19 hours ago, LeanMeanGM said:

 

Wait, they made the docs appointments after they kicked him off the team? Otherwise those 2 statements don't go together

11 hours ago, e-a-g-l-e-s eagles! said:

 

While not completely the same, maybe Philly should do the same with the Sixers and Flyers.  I don't like one bit that they have their practice facilities in NJ.  Can you imagine how Philly fans would respond if the Eagles wanted to update NovaCare, which is in dire need compared to some of the new facilities being built, but they built it in NJ?  Eagles fans would throw a fit.  

12 hours ago, jsb235 said:

NFL Mock Draft Simulator | NFL Mock Draft Database

I think this one is pretty good, and it's the most user friendly IMO.

I prefer this one because they use a 'consensus' Big Board taken from 29 different Draft websites.

In theory that ought to minimise the effect of an outlier on any of those particular sites.

7 hours ago, ManuManu said:

Decided to rewatch the win over Washington. I watched all of Hurts’ dropbacks to see if he was actually a one-read QB. That really wasn’t the case.

Maybe it was an anomaly — I haven’t rewatched any of his other games focusing on his progressions — but he routinely went to second and third progressions when the first read wasn’t there. He didn’t really take off and run right away (not that he didn’t bail a couple of times from workable pockets).

Other random observations…

* @Iggles_Phan You and I discussed the QB draw from the game. Early in the game, the Eagles went empty (it ended up a short pass to Quez). The middle of the field was wide open. I think Sirianni and Co. saw that and wanted to use it for a potential chunk play later. They called the draw at midfield, and I assume part of the reason was if it hit, the Eagles would have had a first down in field goal range. Unfortunately they guessed wrong, and the linebacker never vacated the middle, limiting it to a modest gain.

* The Sam is an interesting position for our defense. Against teams that run 12 or 21 personnel, it’s a key position. Against predominantly 11 personnel teams, we don’t use one. I think Avery has played fairly well in that role. He sets the edge, he’s physical, and he has explosive straight line speed. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Eagles signed him to a cheap multi-year deal, but maybe because the usage is so small they decide to roll with Patrick Johnson and save some money. Perhaps ideally, the Eagles could find a guy who is more of 3-4 OLB who can play Sam in base and then rush the passer with his hand in the dirt. 

* I found it strange that coming out of the 2-minute warning our DEs were Kerrigan and Jackson. That made no sense unless Sweat and Barnett asked out. They were potentially stuck on the field because it was a hurry up situation. Kerrigan and Jackson stayed on even after Washington huddled following a complete pass that went out of bounds. Predictably, Jackson and Kerrigan weren’t effective.

He has actually worked on that since the beginning of the season when he was notably a one look and run guy. 

Oh and Kerrigan seems completely cooked to me

3 hours ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

You don’t like wings?  Wow. 

I can't stand eating stuff off the bone,  and the cartilage,  and the veins and arteries.  Most people don't think about it.  But when you know anatomy it can be different. 

7 hours ago, ManuManu said:

* I found it strange that coming out of the 2-minute warning our DEs were Kerrigan and Jackson. That made no sense unless Sweat and Barnett asked out. They were potentially stuck on the field because it was a hurry up situation. Kerrigan and Jackson stayed on even after Washington huddled following a complete pass that went out of bounds. Predictably, Jackson and Kerrigan weren’t effective.

Off Covid, they tried to limit Barnett's snaps. Eagles couldn't get a stop. I did think the Eagles should have called timeout, but I digress.

Also, Kerrigan is washed. More Avery/Johnson snaps at EDGE over him.

Article on coaching/GM hiring cycle

Thought this was a good read, and there's a tidbit relating to Howie:

Sportsology did a deep dive on the 57 general manager openings in the NFL since 2010. The numbers paint a picture of owners’ lack of creativity: 75 percent of the hires were former NFL scouts, and 70 percent of all hires came from a team that had made a Super Bowl during their tenure. This means that if you are a senior scout with a past Super Bowl participant, you are likely to be firmly in the mix. The numbers get more interesting from there. The data showed that teams with GMs from scouting backgrounds won less than those with GMs who had a salary cap and football operations background, a group that includes New Orleans’s Mickey Loomis, Buffalo’s Brandon Beane, and Philadelphia’s Howie Roseman. There are small sample sizes when you’re dealing with over a decade of hires in a 32-team league, but it’s important to point out that the data shows no real difference in winning percentage between GMs who came from a Super Bowl team and those who did not.

 

Just now, TorontoEagle said:

Article on coaching/GM hiring cycle

Thought this was a good read, and there's a tidbit relating to Howie:

Sportsology did a deep dive on the 57 general manager openings in the NFL since 2010. The numbers paint a picture of owners’ lack of creativity: 75 percent of the hires were former NFL scouts, and 70 percent of all hires came from a team that had made a Super Bowl during their tenure. This means that if you are a senior scout with a past Super Bowl participant, you are likely to be firmly in the mix. The numbers get more interesting from there. The data showed that teams with GMs from scouting backgrounds won less than those with GMs who had a salary cap and football operations background, a group that includes New Orleans’s Mickey Loomis, Buffalo’s Brandon Beane, and Philadelphia’s Howie Roseman. There are small sample sizes when you’re dealing with over a decade of hires in a 32-team league, but it’s important to point out that the data shows no real difference in winning percentage between GMs who came from a Super Bowl team and those who did not.

 

Makes sense.  "Football guys" tend to not be very smart. And it's really not hard to scout players. Someone with no training can do just as well as a GM just by watching YouTube clips. We prove it on the EMB  every single year.  The only advantage they have over us is information from people in the know about players character history. 

6 hours ago, austinfan said:

I don't hate Wentz, I don't know the guy so how can it be personal?

However, I'm happy he was traded, I'd rather have Hurts as my QB.

Wentz will put up good numbers, but he's also a bad play waiting to happen, he's 29, he's injury prone, and he's not going to get better. This is what he is. He's a better passer than Hurts, but he's no longer a threat to run. His performance is very similar to 2018-2019, except he's less effective as a runner. A good but not special QB with no upside. And some questions about leadership. A slightly more effective version of Cousins, strong armed immobile QB who lacks the high IQ to be elite, puts up better numbers than his actual performance. Around #10, but one good hit away from declining, and he's not good at getting "small" and avoiding hits.

Note that Reich had so little confidence in Wentz he decided to ride Taylor into the ground, not exactly a long-term strategy - if Reich felt Wentz could run an efficient passing game he wouldn't be relying so heavily on the run.

Passing yards, Indy's last 7 games:  168, 106, 285, 151, 49, 220, 140.

Now Hurts isn't a great passer right now, but he's better than he's given credit for, he lost his most reliable target in Ertz, his 3 WRs are very inexperienced. He's an elite runner at QB, has great leadership skills and a lot of upside left. Doesn't mean he'll ever be a top ten passer, but he has a chance to be a top ten QB. We'll know in two years. And he's still only 23. He's cool under pressure and more coachable than Wentz.

Last three games, 281, 194, 212. Siri has gradually opened up the passing game as Hurts has become more comfortable in the pocket running a more conventional offense.

 

here is where I am at- 

Foles > at actual QB play than Hurts.   And we all know what issues Foles has.  

Unless Hurts takes huge leaps in his read & react department - starts throwing the ball on time more than throwing it late.  I dont see him being the long term answer. No Foles wouldn't be either. But man, give this team to Foles, with the same emphasis on running the ball, and limit the reliance on throwing? 

 

 

3 minutes ago, Ipiggles said:

here is where I am at- 

Foles > at actual QB play than Hurts.   And we all know what issues Foles has.  

Unless Hurts takes huge leaps in his read & react department - starts throwing the ball on time more than throwing it late.  I dont see him being the long term answer. No Foles wouldn't be either. But man, give this team to Foles, with the same emphasis on running the ball, and limit the reliance on throwing? 

 

 

Stop. Foles can't return here, and I don't think he wants to. Maybe for a one day, retirement kind of thing. But, it's over, Johnny. 

4 minutes ago, TorontoEagle said:

Stop. Foles can't return here, and I don't think he wants to. Maybe for a one day, retirement kind of thing. But, it's over, Johnny. 

That wasn't my point. My whole point. Hurts is not good enough and wont be the long term answer, Foles was better. And we know he wasn't the long term answer

 

1 minute ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

Foles ship has sailed.  People need to give up on that.  He was third string for a good portion of this year.  It doesn't seem like he's been fighting to play in Chicago.  Yes, once he gets on the field he has glimpses...no doubt.  But I question his desire to be great long term.  He wanted to retire at one point.  Got hot with us during that SB stretch run and has done nothing relevant since.  Great dude.  Will forever be loved in Philly.  I never wanted him traded away from Philly the first time he was with the Eagles.  I loved him then.  But he's never lead an offense for an entire season.  In Philly or anywhere.  

see my post above. 

10 hours ago, QuinnWR4 said:

I’m not saying he’s a bad guy off the field, you’re just assuming that. I watched that ESPN piece and even shed a tear. I told you, up until the benching in GB, I was a fan and supporter of his. All through that crappy season I held out hope for him and defended him. He’s response to the benching is when that changed for me. I literally only hate him based on football.
 

And I swear to god, telling me to cut a guy a break who gets paid millions of dollars to play a high pressure game because the Philly media can be tough isn’t going to fly. 
 

And it’s not to much for me. He quit on this franchise, no matter how much you want to sugar coat it. If you still want to be a fan of his, that’s fine, nothing wrong with it. But it doesn’t work for me. 

The benching IMO, was the final straw for Wentz.  The Eagles invested 5 draft picks and then $130 million to be their QB.  The Eagles then went out and drafted a QB in the 2nd round rather than a player that would have helped the Eagles be a better team.  Could have been Jeremy Chinn, JK Dobbins, Van Jefferson,  AJ Dillon, Antonio Gibson or a handful of other players who would have made the team better and helped Carson Wentz.  Instead they took a QB with the excuse you need a good backup QB when the same team has shown they can find backup QBs via FA and later in the draft.

Carson had a terrible 2020, no one argues that.  He also had a different O-Line for every game he played or close to it.  Think about that versus the O-Line Hurts has had.  While there have been injuries this year, they have been a top 3 if not the top O-Line in the NFL.  On top of that you had DP's train wreck of an offense.  

When he was benched, the smart move would have been to bench him and then bring him back in the next game.  Nope, the Eagles benched him and just handed the team to Hurts.  Yea, I'd be pissed too.  

There was also the Carson/Howie relationship.  We have no idea how it was but from the sounds of it, was a huge part in Carson wanting out.  As the GM who traded picks to draft Wentz and then give him a huge contract, you would hope that guy goes above an beyond to make sure he's happy here....not be a thorn in his side and make moves that everyone questions what he's thinking.  

The Eagles as a franchise quit on Carson more than he quit on them when it comes down to it.  They failed to build a team around him and said here you go, good luck with JJAW, Reagor and Ward. 

The popular argument is that Jonathan Taylor is making Wentz look good and Wentz is just riding his coattails to success.  Same could be said for Jalen Hurts.  This running game is keeping the Eagles going.  Without the running game and more specifically the commitment to it and the O-Line, the Eagles aren't in the playoffs. Yes, Hurts running ability has helped the team.

Taylor has 317 carries 1734 yards  18 TD

Eagles RB combined have 366 carries for 1,746 yards and 14 TDs

I'm sure Carson Wentz could have handled things better last year but at the same time there's a lot we don't know about the relationship between Wentz and the team.  Wanting to get away from a team that doesn't want you isn't quitting, it's doing what's best for you.  I'd bet my bottom dollar that Wentz would have loved to stay in Philly to win with his best friends had the FO treated him better.

 

2 minutes ago, Ipiggles said:

That wasn't my point. My whole point. Hurts is not good enough and wont be the long term answer, Foles was better. And we know he wasn't the long term answer

 

see my post above. 

That doesn't make any sense. 

4 minutes ago, TorontoEagle said:

That doesn't make any sense. 

Yes it does. We know Foles isn't/wasn't the long term answer, and yet at every point in Foles career, even as a "Rookie" he was better than Hurts. But people keep wishcasting Hurts is the long term answer. 

News flash = He isn't, he isn't even Foles.  It's called putting into perspective. 

 

7 hours ago, D-Shiznit said:

Daxton Hill, S from Michigan declared for the draft. He'd be a great pick in the 2nd rd, but I think he will rise into the 1st round after the combine.

Insane athlete, runs a 4.3 40 yarder. He fits the Malcolm Jenkins mold of safety, someone who can cover in the slot if needed.

I don’t see him lasting to rd 2 , he is my favorite S of the class ,

2 minutes ago, Ipiggles said:

Yes it does. We know Foles isn't/wasn't the long term answer, and yet at every point in Foles career, even as a "Rookie" he was better than Hurts. But people keep wishcasting Hurts is the long term answer. 

News flash = He isn't, he isn't even Foles.  It's called putting into perspective. 

 

Foles never lasted a full season, EVER. If you can't rely on him to even start 16 (now 17) games, and you admit he's not the long term answer as well, why the hell would you bring him in here now? 

Of course we're wishcasting (whatever that is) Hurts to be the long term answer. It would really go a long way to rebuilding the rest of the roster. What fan wouldn't hope that their young QB isn't the long term answer? Most of us acknowledge he's got a long way to go, and may never get there. But he has improved, albeit incrementally, and with the offense geared to his talent (running), we're in the playoffs. He's bought himself another year, partly due to lack of available options (and no, Foles isn't a better option), partly due to him still being on his rookie contract, and partly due to the improvement he has shown. 

Again, the Foles dream is dead. He's a hero for 52, and has the statue to show for it. Outside of a sign and retire, Foles will never play another down for the Eagles. 

5 minutes ago, TorontoEagle said:

Foles never lasted a full season, EVER. If you can't rely on him to even start 16 (now 17) games, and you admit he's not the long term answer as well, why the hell would you bring him in here now? 

again- thats not what I said. I am not advocating bringing him here. I was comparing him to Hurts. It was an"imagine how good Foles would be in this offense Hurts is currently running" he would be better than Hurts. 

We know Foles is streaky, we know his limitations, and we now know Hurts limitations. My whole point is stop trying to sell me on Hurts, he isn't even Foles, and we knew Foles wasn't the long term answer.