7 minutes ago, BigEFly said:

Where?  The defender has Hurts screened.  So where does he throw it?  Hurts was blanketed.  There is no outlet receiver.  Bad design. 

It's the same design of the most epic play in the history of the franchise!!

The other team defending it well.  They get paid too.

We should be talking about the three calls preceding that play.  Especially the third down play.  Looked like horrible execution.  Seamalo stumbled.  Did Hurts miss the shovel?  Reagor whiffed on his block.

23 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

Your devotion to Ward is comical...and I would argue that the right decision in that situation is to force the ball into traffic; the risk/benefit of forcing the ball into tight coverage on 4th and goal favors that decision.  It's a congested space; the odds of a runback are small and a 20 yard touchback risk is fine for the chance of 7 points.  But regardless, there's enough in play that that I'm not going to bash a WR for the decision to throw it away.  It's not as egregious as I think many have made it out to be.  That's not the reason it failed.

It is not devotion to Ward, for F sake. It is the design of the play. Look, Ward was a 50% QB in college so I am not defending him as a QB here.  Hurts was blanketed and there was no where else to go.  Ward wasn’t going to run it in.  Okay, Ward should have thrown it to the defender, who may not have seen it?  Sure.  Look at all the Eagles on hat side of the field if one of the five 49ers on that side of the field was involved in a turnover.  Do you really think that was a good call or play design on fourth down?  Forget who was throwing it.

8 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

Who was the second receiver in SB LII?

You throw the ball towards Hurts.  With the defender's back to the ball, if Hurts moves towards the pass and is impeded, you get a PI flag.  Not likely, but still a possibility.

I believe it was Smith who was also wide open in the EZ so Burton had a 2nd option to throw to if Foles was covered.

 

6 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

Gainwell looks pretty nice, but he looks like a classic change of pace passing down back. He tops out as a 1B, and that’s just fine considering his body type. 

He was away from the game for almost two years.  Combine prep isn't the same.  He may be able to add some bulk before his second season and take on a more prominent role. 

You look around the league, especially at SF and Baltimore, and the quality of the RB seems to be not as important as scheme and OL talent.

2 minutes ago, Green_Guinness said:

I believe it was Smith who was also wide open in the EZ so Burton had a 2nd option to throw to if Foles was covered.

 

That's fair.  We caught NE off guard.  SF defended the play well. 

We should have run the ball four times in that sequence.

1 hour ago, eagle45 said:

I don't think anything should have an impact on giving Sanders a second contract...IMO, it shouldn't be considered unless Sanders is willing to sign so far below market value that the NFLPA files a grievance.  

Nothing against Sanders.  Not hating the player, hating the position.  Churn and burn.  The one exception being a RB with a sterling health record who impacts the offense a la Westbrook/Faulk in the passing game.  

Agreed.

The type of punishment they take matter combined with their impact on the passing game means that type of player is likely to have better longevity combined with greater impact.

I also think the structure matters a lot. You're probably going to get 2-3 top tier years on a 2nd contract, assuming we're talking about more of a finesse/receiving back. So if you can structure it in such a way where you can cut bait after 3 years with little to no cap impact, then it might be worth it.

But even then, the opportunity cost is just so high. Replacing RBs is easy compared to any other position. Even if you let the best RB in the NFL walk, you can sign a mid level vet, draft a mid round rookie, get 80% of the production you would have had, increase your depth at the position, and save millions in cap space to use on QB/OT/DE.

It almost never makes sense IMO. Heck, even Marshall Faulk put up less than 1k rushing and 600 receiving in his 4th year on the second contract. And after that he was done but still had to be paid for 3 years.

3 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

He was away from the game for almost two years.  Combine prep isn't the same.  He may be able to add some bulk before his second season and take on a more prominent role. 

You look around the league, especially at SF and Baltimore, and the quality of the RB seems to be not as important as scheme and OL talent.

I prefer RBs in most cases keep their weight down to retain quickness, burst and agility. He may naturally add more mass, but he’s still gonna be slight comparatively, and lack power as a runner. 

As for the scheme and OL — I’m way ahead of you. I don’t think RBs matter all that much outside of special circumstances. 

26 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

Gainwell's progress should have an impact on whether they give Sanders a second contract.

 

After watching Mahomes and Jackson, I can't see Hurts in the same conversation.  Maybe he gets close to the Wilson and Prescott level.  Until he can show competence throwing the ball between the hashes, I'm looking at other options in 2022.  I'd hate to be one of those teams good enough to make playoffs most seasons, yet not good enough at QB to win a playoff game on the road.

Hurts’ ceiling is Dak. He’s physically not as gifted as Mahomes and Wilson from an arm strength standpoint and he’s not as athletic as Lamar. But if we get a Dak type of player out of him, that’s good because you can win with that and it’s worth moving forward with him. 

1 minute ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

That's fair.  We caught NE off guard.  SF defended the play well. 

We should have run the ball four times in that sequence.

Though, not sure if having a 2nd open WR was by design or we just fooled NE that bad, but Smith was wide open for an easy catch.  If Burton had 2 footballs on him he could have hit them both for TDs.

Yup.  Keep it simple.  They got too cute on the GL.

 

I can’t think of any positives from today. I guess Watkins? This is looking like a team drafting top 10, and unfortunately doing so in a draft where QBs don’t look that great.

12 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

Who was the second receiver in SB LII?

You throw the ball towards Hurts.  With the defender's back to the ball, if Hurts moves towards the pass and is impeded, you get a PI flag.  Not likely, but still a possibility.

Okay. Don’t agree but see your position. I believe on Philly Special there is an outlet receiver in the middle of the field.  I think it is Torrey Smith on a crossing route. The crossing route on the play today was headed th opposite direction and the receiver we we’ll past the middle of the field when Ward has a chance to set.  I am sticking with bad design and bad call.

Little Mahomes what ya doing? 

Can someone explain if it made sense to go for 2 on the TD? I’m not following the logic/analytics on that call.

 

6 minutes ago, eaglesflyers#1 said:

I can’t think of any positives from today. I guess Watkins? This is looking like a team drafting top 10, and unfortunately doing so in a draft where QBs don’t look that great.

A week ago, they looked like division champs.  Today, they looked like a team in the top 10 of the draft.  If they stay decently healthy and Hurts learns to throw from the pocket and downfield, they'll compete for the division.

If the OL falls apart again and Hurts shows the NFL that all he can do is run right and telegraph it, then 10 top pick it is.

15 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

It's the same design of the most epic play in the history of the franchise!!

The other team defending it well.  They get paid too.

We should be talking about the three calls preceding that play.  Especially the third down play.  Looked like horrible execution.  Seamalo stumbled.  Did Hurts miss the shovel?  Reagor whiffed on his block.

I agree on discussing all the plays in that series. Difference between the call today and the Philly Special is Torrey Smith is cutting towards the direction of Foles.  Today, I think it was Reagor is not only cutting the other direction, by the time Ward sets to throw he is two thirds of the way towards the other corner.  

But the other calls and play were bad.  Second down the 49ers got an excellent play because the hole was there. But the third down play was just bad. 

Silver lining, that still wasn’t the worst trick play I’ve seen the Eagles run on the one yard line 

19 minutes ago, Green_Guinness said:

I believe it was Smith who was also wide open in the EZ so Burton had a 2nd option to throw to if Foles was covered.

 

Thanks 

16 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

That's fair.  We caught NE off guard.  SF defended the play well. 

We should have run the ball four times in that sequence.

I would have liked to see an option with a mesh for the TE trailing so that the receiver was an option threat. 

11 minutes ago, eaglesflyers#1 said:

I can’t think of any positives from today. I guess Watkins? This is looking like a team drafting top 10, and unfortunately doing so in a draft where QBs don’t look that great.

There’s a possible scenario Eagles trade back with one of their firsts, gain equal capital in 2023 and give Hurts another year.

1 minute ago, LeanMeanGM said:

Silver lining, that still wasn’t the worst trick play I’ve seen the Eagles run on the one yard line 

6 minutes ago, eaglesflyers#1 said:

I can’t think of any positives from today. I guess Watkins? This is looking like a team drafting top 10, and unfortunately doing so in a draft where QBs don’t look that great.

We held them to 17 points with crap at LB and S.  They only had 300 yards of offense and their running backs totaled less that 100 yards on the ground.

Key decision for our new DC:

From the fan perspective, none of us can really know what is best for Milton Williams.  Does he fit better and have more disruptive upside as a penetrating DT or LDE?  Or should he see action at both?

Extrinsic to Williams are the demands of the team.  They have excellent DT depth right now.  LDE now needs some sturdy help behind Kerrigan (I just have a gut feeling they aren't going to break up the Sweat/Barnett platoon at RDE).  

I wonder how many snaps, and where we will see Williams next week.

1 minute ago, LeanMeanGM said:

There’s a possible scenario Eagles trade back with one of their firsts, gain equal capital in 2023 and give Hurts another year.

So we can just archive these discussions and mail them in next season?

1 minute ago, eagle45 said:

Key decision for our new DC:

From the fan perspective, none of us can really know what is best for Milton Williams.  Does he fit better and have more disruptive upside as a penetrating DT or LDE?  Or should he see action at both?

Extrinsic to Williams are the demands of the team.  They have excellent DT depth right now.  LDE now needs some sturdy help behind Kerrigan (I just have a guy they aren't going to break up the Sweat/Barnett platoon at RDE).  

I wonder how many snaps, and where we will see Williams next week.

I would not be surprised at all if Williams is the starting RDE.

12 minutes ago, eaglesflyers#1 said:

Can someone explain if it made sense to go for 2 on the TD? I’m not following the logic/analytics on that call.

Worst case you don’t convert and are down 1 score and a 2 pt to tie.  Best case you tie with a TD and win with an XP. Seems like a very analytical call.