EMB Blog: 2022 Off-Season

[austinfan]

23 minutes ago, Utebird said:

We'll see how much he's Improved, and if sirrianni and co. trust him enough to let him pass or they go back to a run first offense because with hurts it's their best chance at winning.

Last year they didn't start with a passing offense, they started with a college option offense b/c Sirianni didn't know what he had and played to what he perceived as Hurts' strengths.

Then when that didn't work, primarily b/c college option offenses don't work in the NFL (elements can be incorporated into NFL offenses, but that's a different matter) he went to a more conservative, run oriented offense with some RPO elements that used Hurts primarily as a decoy in the run game to keep DEs honest. However, Hurts was actually a better passer out of the pocket down the stretch than in the college offense they ran in the first half.

Now with a full offseason, Sirianni with a better idea of Hurts' strengths and weaknesses (and how to work on them), a healthier and more set OL (Mialata and Dickerson should improve in pass protection, they were up and down last year, and Seumalo is an upgrade at RG), and hopefully another weapon or two in the draft besides Pascal, they can run a more consistent offense.

It'll still be built around the run for the simple reason that Eagles have a top run blocking OL. Sirianni will probably use the run to set up both play action and put Hurts in better passing situations (2nd and 6, 3rd and less than 5). It'll be primarily a ball control, dink and dunk system, but with options to change calls if safeties cheat up to hit big plays. One area they can really improve is the screen game with an athletic OL, that helps to spread the field horizontally.

Hurts doesn't have to be Mahomes or Allen, firing darts 50 yards downfield, he has to be smart and efficient, use his legs a few times a game to make key 1st downs and keep defenses honest, improve his accuracy, make quicker decisions from the pocket. Nothing that requires a drastic improvement, just incremental improvements in a number of areas.

They were 12th in points, 14 in yards last year.

FO:  11th in DVOA, 10th in weighted DVOA. 14th passing, 3rd rushing. [FO adjusts for strength of opponents]

So incremental improvements across the board, get into the top 10 passing, and stay near the top rushing and end up in the top 8 overall on offense.

This doesn't require adding a superstar, just upgrade across the board, RB, WR, TE, OL depth. And getting Hurts to take his game up a notch.

[Peppersmacks]

18 minutes ago, jojodancer said:

What is your excuse (lol) for Wentz taking a 11-5 Wildcard team in 2020 and turning it a to a 9-8 non playoff team that may have gotten Reich fired? Only the lowly desperate Commander Redskins would touch that guy!

Why are you completely incapable of understanding that just because Wentz sucks doesn't mean that Hurts doesn't as well.  

[Mike030270]

1 minute ago, pallidrone said:

Could it just be possible that the team that led the league in penalties in the first half of the season, as well as allowed the highest QB percentage on defense, decided to go to a power run game to better control the clock and help limit penalties? Especially since this young coaching staff was playing a very rough first 8 games of the season?

Nah....it is only on Hurts.

I think Nick mentioned they changed the gameplay to better suit Hurts style (running)

[BigEFly]

51 minutes ago, Original Sin said:

You don’t need to be 6 ft to play the slot , lots of shorter guys have success there , Moore  comes to mind and he’s 5 ft 9

 

Marcus Jones isn’t just short, he is too light. 174 as a defender to guard Gronk or Fournette in the nickel?!  Heck, Sydney Jones biggest issue, besides frailty, was he was a small 180 and couldn’t add muscle.  180 on Jones was equivalent to 174 on Jones (see what I did there?). 

[jojodancer]

11 minutes ago, Bacarty2 said:

ahhh yes, the offenses 5th and 6th option are why we stopped passing the ball. 

Replace those with Metcalf and or Jefferson then we could see what the kid could do. No options at WR. Yeah Greg Ward. LMAO. Had a rookie playing as well. Running the ball should have happened alot earlier than it did & in a more balanced way. Yes. He went extreme cuz it worked so well and a lack of talent to throw to. Would have helped if Miles Sanders relearned how to catch out of backfield as well. Can double Goeddert & Smith and it's game over. 

[Outlaw]

33 minutes ago, Utebird said:

Yup, he has 1st round arm talent.

Other things will drop him but 2nd round is good value for a QB with his arm talent.

3rd round would be a steal in my opinion.

 

Strong will go early third like 65-75.

29 minutes ago, D-Shiznit said:

Been doing some review of the 2023 QB class: Stroud and Van Dyke to me should be clear targets.

Pass on old man Levis and HARD PASS on Bryce "smaller than Kyler Murray" Young.

Anybody know anything about this Grayson McCall kid from Coastal Carolina?

No interest in Young either. Stroud possibly, but doubt we can get up high enough as I expect us to be in the teens again, depends on where Saints fall in terms of trade capital. I'm also not fully sold on him as a top 3-5 pick.

Realistic targets I'm watching heavily in 2022: Jurkovec, McKee, Richardson, VanDyke.

[austinfan]

As far as Hurts rushing:

first 8:  averaged 9 rushes a game

next 4:  averaged 12 rushes a game

last 3:  averaged 5.7 rushes a game, completed 66.7% in those three games

[jojodancer]

8 minutes ago, Peppersmacks said:

Why are you completely incapable of understanding that just because Wentz sucks doesn't mean that Hurts doesn't as well.  

It took 6 years to figure out if Wentz sucked. Hurts has started for 1 year and took a team to the playoffs. And got injured in NOV to hamper his running abilities which are key here. Don't say that he sucks yet. Based on what he has to work with. Way too early. 

[Utebird]

11 minutes ago, BigEFly said:

Hurts doesn’t have a noodle arm. Hurts has a combination of poor mechanics and a slow trigger.  The prior can be fixed much easier than the latter.  Ever heard of Nolan Ryan?  Growing up in Houston, I got to watch him pitch and learned so much about how much the legs go into the velocity.  Hurts foot placement is erratic and he is am arm thrower.  If he learns to use he legs more, even when scrambling, I think both his velocity and accuracy will improve.  Part of that goes to his release point and trigger.  Now McNabb never figured that out on his short game, hence all the dead worms. (He was blessed with two receivers in Lewis and Westbrook that could catch balls at their shoestrings.)  Hurts biggest issue throwing long is that trigger and an inconsistent release point.  Bit harder to fix and some never do.  He actually might have some stiffness from the weight work he does.    One thing about Hurts is his willingness to try and fix things. But willingness doesn’t fix his read issues. 

Fair enough, how about I amend my statement and say hurts doesnt nor ever will have a elite throwing arm strength.

Sure he can improve his mechanics and footwork and release point and what not but if that's all it took then why can't I throw a 95 mph fast ball?

And as you said even if he miraculously transformed into having adequate arm strength that doesn't address all his other limitations as a passer.

[Guest]

12 minutes ago, jojodancer said:

Replace those with Metcalf and or Jefferson then we could see what the kid could do.

Wentz had a lot less to work with at WR.

[jojodancer]

1 minute ago, Bacarty2 said:

So you want Austin Ekeler, Devonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, DK Metcalf and Justin Jefferson all on the eagles to determine if Hurts is good. 

welp, you're going on ignore. have a good one bud

Dude, he had a rookie starting and feeling his way, Jalen Reagor, JJAW & Greg Ward. Besides Devante, none of these are NFL receivers. Ertz left in OCT  and had one professional TE to throw to. Give me one of those good receivers, not all of 'em. Extreme are we? Ha.

[Utebird]

50 minutes ago, austinfan said:

Last year they didn't start with a passing offense, they started with a college option offense b/c Sirianni didn't know what he had and played to what he perceived as Hurts' strengths.

Then when that didn't work, primarily b/c college option offenses don't work in the NFL (elements can be incorporated into NFL offenses, but that's a different matter) he went to a more conservative, run oriented offense with some RPO elements that used Hurts primarily as a decoy in the run game to keep DEs honest. However, Hurts was actually a better passer out of the pocket down the stretch than in the college offense they ran in the first half.

Now with a full offseason, Sirianni with a better idea of Hurts' strengths and weaknesses (and how to work on them), a healthier and more set OL (Mialata and Dickerson should improve in pass protection, they were up and down last year, and Seumalo is an upgrade at RG), and hopefully another weapon or two in the draft besides Pascal, they can run a more consistent offense.

It'll still be built around the run for the simple reason that Eagles have a top run blocking OL. Sirianni will probably use the run to set up both play action and put Hurts in better passing situations (2nd and 6, 3rd and less than 5). It'll be primarily a ball control, dink and dunk system, but with options to change calls if safeties cheat up to hit big plays. One area they can really improve is the screen game with an athletic OL, that helps to spread the field horizontally.

Hurts doesn't have to be Mahomes or Allen, firing darts 50 yards downfield, he has to be smart and efficient, use his legs a few times a game to make key 1st downs and keep defenses honest, improve his accuracy, make quicker decisions from the pocket. Nothing that requires a drastic improvement, just incremental improvements in a number of areas.

They were 12th in points, 14 in yards last year.

FO:  11th in DVOA, 10th in weighted DVOA. 14th passing, 3rd rushing. [FO adjusts for strength of opponents]

So incremental improvements across the board, get into the top 10 passing, and stay near the top rushing and end up in the top 8 overall on offense.

This doesn't require adding a superstar, just upgrade across the board, RB, WR, TE, OL depth. And getting Hurts to take his game up a notch.

You lost me at , hurts was actually better from the pocket down the stretch...

Better than what, can't imagine he could have been much worse.

Did you watch the Tampa playoff game???

If that's better then no thanks.

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, jojodancer said:

Hurts has started for 1 year and took a team to the playoffs.

The team took him to the playoffs, by beating the bottom feeders of the NFL and taking the ball out of his hands as a passer as much as possible.

The writing is on the wall, the Eagles made a trade to have capital to get a QB next year, after spending a bunch of time with and researching heavily this QB class.  They are looking for his replacement.

[Diehardfan]

17 minutes ago, Bacarty2 said:

Gross. 

Over Hyper OSU QB who has SUPERIOR talent and plays against high school kids throwing up amazing stats. 

Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields, Cardelle Jones all really like your post

Every general manager and every coach in the league picks Wentz over Hurts. 

Most games Hurts would be a better manager, but a do or die playoff game I'd take Wentz because there is chance he could be on that given week. All Hurts would give you would be what we saw against Tampa. Screw them both though.

[LeanMeanGM]

2 minutes ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

Looks like Eagles Twitter has made its way to the Blog.  

"Jalen Hurts gonna be a problem, for real for real. It's Hurts SZN baby! Pro-Bowl bound! Here king you dropped this 👑"

 

[jojodancer]

8 minutes ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

Have you watched him…like ….throw the ball?  Or read the field?   Have you seen him zip a rope on a 20 yard out?  Have you seen how he stands up on deep balls?   
 

Don’t answer. I already know.  

I think good coaching and film work will make him a better player. Arm is adequate. Have you never seen a rookie starter improve on those parts of their game? Has a lot of assets as well. Like his intangibles. He will work hard on his game. We know that! Not a complete QB right now. No doubt. And team still won 9 games with that dreck WR group.

[The Blackfish]

32 minutes ago, Texas Eagle said:

That's the intriguing part. It's pure speculation but given the lack of experience, he has a top candidate for a Burrow type rise.

 Tanner McKee 4 star recruit was recruited by every major school, he only has 10 starts at Stanford, the kid did a 2 year Morman mission before starting for them in 2021.  He’s 6’6” 230lbs and will probably get drafted at closer to 235-240 lbs, he’s athletic and has a good arm. 
 As Mills has already proven, playing in an NFL system in college which Stanford is, puts his learning curve way ahead of QB’s from a heavy RPO, Air Raid, no huddle BS offense most college QB’s play in today (Corral, and Willis).  
 TBF, Mahomes was in Kingsbury’s stupid offense and after Reid benched him for most of his rookie season to rid him of his bad habits, he’s turned out to be a great QB. 
 

30 minutes ago, Bacarty2 said:

Gross. 

Over Hyper OSU QB who has SUPERIOR talent and plays against high school kids throwing up amazing stats. 

Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields, Cardelle Jones all really like your post

 Haskins might be the best clean pocket QB to be drafted in the last 10 years, but the NFL isn’t the Big 10, unfortunately.  
 Fields is a much better QB, just like Howell is way more experienced and and a better passer than Trubisky.  Of course it doesn’t mean either will be good in the NFL, but Howell hasn’t played and Fields would of been better off playing for Kotite than Nagy last season.  
 

[Guest justrelax]

1 hour ago, Original Sin said:

You don’t need to be 6 ft to play the slot , lots of shorter guys have success there , Moore  comes to mind and he’s 5 ft 9

 

Right. Quickness is critical, height much less so. Every receiver they cover has a two-way go.

[greend]

1 hour ago, jojodancer said:

Those are all true statements. Coaching was terrible early on. Guy played hurt after injury and had Jalen Reagor as a starter. No one wins with that guy starting. Turrible. Easy to defend that offense with that guy. He cost them the Giants game, all by himself. And who made those nice throws? 😉

 

[Mike030270]

34 minutes ago, jojodancer said:

Replace those with Metcalf and or Jefferson then we could see what the kid could do. No options at WR. Yeah Greg Ward. LMAO. Had a rookie playing as well. Running the ball should have happened alot earlier than it did & in a more balanced way. Yes. He went extreme cuz it worked so well and a lack of talent to throw to. Would have helped if Miles Sanders relearned how to catch out of backfield as well. Can double Goeddert & Smith and it's game over. 

So what's the excuse for all of the times Watkins and Smith were wide open?

21 minutes ago, downundermike said:

Wentz had a lot less to work with at WR.

4000yds with no receiver over 500yds

[RLC]

A lot of people in the blog have said that all job interviews are merit-based and to just "hire the best person"

[TorontoEagle]

22 minutes ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

Looks like Eagles Twitter has made its way to the Blog.  

I was gonna say it seems our EIC is really slacking today....nice of you to show up

[LeanMeanGM]

1 minute ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

@downundermike @LeanMeanGM @Swoop @greend @e-a-g-l-e-s eagles! 

Who am I forgetting?

 

My name should be #1 since I've been given the title of #1 hater and won the Hater of the Year award.

[Mike030270]

2 minutes ago, RLC said:

A lot of people in the blog have said that all job interviews are merit-based and to just "hire the best person"

PC

[greend]

39 minutes ago, jojodancer said:

Replace those with Metcalf and or Jefferson then we could see what the kid could do. No options at WR. Yeah Greg Ward. LMAO. Had a rookie playing as well. Running the ball should have happened alot earlier than it did & in a more balanced way. Yes. He went extreme cuz it worked so well and a lack of talent to throw to. Would have helped if Miles Sanders relearned how to catch out of backfield as well. Can double Goeddert & Smith and it's game over. 

Just curious but who's clone are you? @HazletonEagle