EMB Blog: 2022 Off-Season

[KDUB1510]

3 minutes ago, downundermike said:

Holy cow man, don’t crush all of their hopes and dreams of Hurts being the franchise yet.  Play the long game.  We still have 4 months till the season starts.

You know what they say... Third rookie season's a charm.

[LeanMeanGM]

1 hour ago, Iggles_Phan said:

'The blog' never speaks..  'The blog' doesn't say anything.   Posters share their thoughts and opinions and do it for entertainment purposes.  

It’s somewhat scary that people that don’t understand this are able to carry drivers licenses 

[LeanMeanGM]

Stroking for Strong 

[FranklinFldEBUpper]

I think the Eagles had a good draft...probably. The general thesis is that if you get three solid starters, you've had a good draft. Failing that, if you get five players who contribute (rather than three actual starters), that's pretty good too. 

And yet I'm coming away from this draft feeling a bit empty. Why? After all, they should get their requisite "three starters" in Davis, Brown (not an actual pick but effectively a pick), and Jurgens. And Dean could very easily become a good starter too. So that's good. Heck, it's more than good. And yet I feel weird about this. I think I know why.

For the better part of a year, I've been so excited about the prospects of this draft. Three first round picks in our sights. Tracking the Dolphins and Colts record each week as the season progressed. It was exciting. It was easy to imagine coming out of the first three rounds with five impact starters. That was exciting. And in my head, it had always been using every one of those picks on defense. A massive upgrade on that side of the ball is what I had been yearning for. After all, the Eagles have really lacked legit playmakers on that side of the ball for years. Sure, Cox is a good player. But he really didn't have that terrific a season and the idea that his years of being a top tier player seems to be on track. And yeah, Slay had a really good year, but he's well onto the downside of his career. Defense really looked like the way to go.

So I'd spent months imagining a draft with a lot of picks, with a significant emphasis on defense. And that's not what happened. We only picked three defensive players in total. We also picked a guy in the second round that on the surface seemed somewhat superfluous given that we took a center a year ago. And two of the five guys we picked have notable injury issues...Dean with whatever it is that caused him to slide, and Calcaterra with his rather disconcerting history of concussions. (Yeah, I remember Eric Lindros.)

I'm not naturally a complainer when it comes to the Eagles. Quite the contrary. I'm usually a staunch defender of their actions as I generally understand and support the thought processes behind the decisions they make. And I'm not complaining now. Like I said, I think the Eagles probably had a good draft. Not only that, but they deferred picks to the next two years that should positively impact those drafts too. But it's just somehow different from what I had imagined. 

[Diehardfan]

54 minutes ago, KDUB1510 said:

You're delusional if you think Hurts is on the same planet as a passer. No amount of offseason work, sustained coordinators or better weapons will make him be able to throw the ball and see the field the way Strong can. Eagles made Strong one of the highest paid UDFA's ever. They are very intrigued by this guy, as they should be. With Brown getting $25M, Goedert getting $15M & Devonta being a top 10 pick, there will be no switching to a run heavy style to protect Hurts. Either throw the ball 30+ times a game and be good at it or move out the way and let a real QB take over.

68 freaking yards....that's unreal. You are right Hurts isn't on the same planet. Could you imagine what he could do after a year or two of working on his mechanics with Smith, Davis, and Watkins?

If he gets to throw to the first team in practice they won't have to slow down for the long passes. Start running towards the end zone as fast as you can and the ball will be waiting when you get there.

[The guy in France]

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

 

Good taste in music too 👌🏿

[Wentz_Era]

4 hours ago, Iggles_Phan said:

He's already mine!   I might actually have to make a clone.  Sorry @Wentz_Era   I think this one is mine!   

@downundermike will agree nothing can touch this

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

1 hour ago, FranklinFldEBUpper said:

I think the Eagles had a good draft...probably. The general thesis is that if you get three solid starters, you've had a good draft. Failing that, if you get five players who contribute (rather than three actual starters), that's pretty good too. 

And yet I'm coming away from this draft feeling a bit empty. Why? After all, they should get their requisite "three starters" in Davis, Brown (not an actual pick but effectively a pick), and Jurgens. And Dean could very easily become a good starter too. So that's good. Heck, it's more than good. And yet I feel weird about this. I think I know why.

For the better part of a year, I've been so excited about the prospects of this draft. Three first round picks in our sights. Tracking the Dolphins and Colts record each week as the season progressed. It was exciting. It was easy to imagine coming out of the first three rounds with five impact starters. That was exciting. And in my head, it had always been using every one of those picks on defense. A massive upgrade on that side of the ball is what I had been yearning for. After all, the Eagles have really lacked legit playmakers on that side of the ball for years. Sure, Cox is a good player. But he really didn't have that terrific a season and the idea that his years of being a top tier player seems to be on track. And yeah, Slay had a really good year, but he's well onto the downside of his career. Defense really looked like the way to go.

So I'd spent months imagining a draft with a lot of picks, with a significant emphasis on defense. And that's not what happened. We only picked three defensive players in total. We also picked a guy in the second round that on the surface seemed somewhat superfluous given that we took a center a year ago. And two of the five guys we picked have notable injury issues...Dean with whatever it is that caused him to slide, and Calcaterra with his rather disconcerting history of concussions. (Yeah, I remember Eric Lindros.)

I'm not naturally a complainer when it comes to the Eagles. Quite the contrary. I'm usually a staunch defender of their actions as I generally understand and support the thought processes behind the decisions they make. And I'm not complaining now. Like I said, I think the Eagles probably had a good draft. Not only that, but they deferred picks to the next two years that should positively impact those drafts too. But it's just somehow different from what I had imagined. 

I felt a couple months back anybody who believed that they were just gonna completely fix the defense in this draft and this off-season due to the picks and cap they was fooling themselves. It’s why i said i wouldn’t be shocked with the 5 picks in the first 3 rounds if they went offense with at least 2 of them. Basically used 3 picks on offense with them 

 It was never going to be a quick fix on defense. With how devoid of young talent we had on defense by the end of the 2021 season. We had maddox (who frankly fluctuates), sweat, Williams, McPhearson, Epps, tarron Johnson, Edwards and maybe davion Taylor. Some were/are unproven as starters and some unproven yet to be quality backups.  Slay, Cox, hargrave, Barnett and Graham are entering their last year or 2 years with the eagles. You add in Dean and Davis that gives you a nice start with sweat, Williams, maddox, reddick along with potential of Epps and Edwards who imo are Ok likely better backups. mcphearson, Johnson, Taylor and Edwards as potential solid backups with a some hope that maybe they can be starter with time but shouldn’t just be relied on.  

I think the issue the Eagles are going to have at the end of the 2022 season is you are still going to have to replace Graham and eventually slay over the next 2 years. Still think they need a big time pass rusher as i don’t think sweat, Williams, reddick and Davis are enough when Graham, Cox, hargrave and Barnett are gone. Additionally i think they need two starting corners as slay is older and likely going to decline over the next 2-3 years. And we don’t have one on the other end. I believe we don’t have a long term solution at safety in terms of starters. Wallace hasn’t shown much. Epps imo is a nice backup. The secondary is a mess long term imo  

The secondary becomes concerning because the Eagles really need Jalen hurts (or Carson strong or minshew) to be great or so enough promise next year to be the long-term answer at quarterback. Because if none of them do, you’re likely trading those picks next year to go get the quarterback that you want for the long term future. Which means you aren’t going to be able to fix some of these positions on the defense yet again outside of free agency. I’m betting they aren’t going to keep playing the waiting game at QB if those 3 don’t become the answer. 

if we are being honest with ourselves, we love the AJ Brown trade because he’s a stud. Ditto with the smith trade last year. However when you look at the last 4 drafts they’ve used a 3 firsts, 2nd and two 3rds on aj brown, devonta smith, reagor and JJAW (traded 1st and 3rd for brown. Traded a 1st and 3rd/used a 1st on smith). That’s a ridiculous amount of assets used on one position. As awesome as it is to get and see smith and brown on the field together, if the eagles didn’t botch the JJAW and reagor picks, then you would've been able to use two 1st and two 3rds elsewhere to fix the defense. The price they paid for Smith and AJ Brown was good value. Not questioning the value in those trades. However when you factor in you had to make those traded and spend more capital because you threw away draft picks on reagor and Jjaw. If you took Jefferson instead of reagor and someone who was just competent instead of JJAW are the eagles making those two trades? Maybe but i think it’s less likely then it was cause of how bad JJAW is and reagor looking like a bust. It is a major discussion point about that those 4 picks used on aj brown and smith due to bad drafting could very well have had this defense much further along in their rebuild. Heck if you used the picks on defense instead of reagor and JJAW then made those two trades for brown and smith they’d still be better off in terms of where they are in the rebuild of the defense. We spent/traded 6 picks on WR in the first 3 rounds of the draft the last 4 years. Only other team i think has spent that type of capital on the WR position over that same time period is the dolphins who made the hill and waddle trades. 

[KDUB1510]

6 minutes ago, Diehardfan said:

68 freaking yards....that's unreal.

That's... Strong😁

 

7 minutes ago, Diehardfan said:

Could you imagine what he could do after a year or two of working on his mechanics with Smith, Davis, and Watkins?

Yep lol. I spent most of the offseason in the IWTETG Carson Strong thread imagining just that. I just dont understand how a guy with his size, skillset & production goes undrafted but im happy he did. If his knee is right, i have no doubt he will look good whenever he gets an opportunity. We have a route technician, a YAC monster, a legit deep threat & a beast TE + a top 5 Oline. Not to mention what Miles & Gainwell could provide him out the back field. We dont need our QB to run around. We need him to play point guard and get the ball to our playmakers. I felt no QB in this class could do that better than Carson Strong. I wouldnt have batted an eye if they took him at 51 so to get him as an UDFA is incredible. 

[austinfan]

18 minutes ago, FranklinFldEBUpper said:

I think the Eagles had a good draft...probably. The general thesis is that if you get three solid starters, you've had a good draft. Failing that, if you get five players who contribute (rather than three actual starters), that's pretty good too. 

And yet I'm coming away from this draft feeling a bit empty. Why? After all, they should get their requisite "three starters" in Davis, Brown (not an actual pick but effectively a pick), and Jurgens. And Dean could very easily become a good starter too. So that's good. Heck, it's more than good. And yet I feel weird about this. I think I know why.

For the better part of a year, I've been so excited about the prospects of this draft. Three first round picks in our sights. Tracking the Dolphins and Colts record each week as the season progressed. It was exciting. It was easy to imagine coming out of the first three rounds with five impact starters. That was exciting. And in my head, it had always been using every one of those picks on defense. A massive upgrade on that side of the ball is what I had been yearning for. After all, the Eagles have really lacked legit playmakers on that side of the ball for years. Sure, Cox is a good player. But he really didn't have that terrific a season and the idea that his years of being a top tier player seems to be on track. And yeah, Slay had a really good year, but he's well onto the downside of his career. Defense really looked like the way to go.

So I'd spent months imagining a draft with a lot of picks, with a significant emphasis on defense. And that's not what happened. We only picked three defensive players in total. We also picked a guy in the second round that on the surface seemed somewhat superfluous given that we took a center a year ago. And two of the five guys we picked have notable injury issues...Dean with whatever it is that caused him to slide, and Calcaterra with his rather disconcerting history of concussions. (Yeah, I remember Eric Lindros.)

I'm not naturally a complainer when it comes to the Eagles. Quite the contrary. I'm usually a staunch defender of their actions as I generally understand and support the thought processes behind the decisions they make. And I'm not complaining now. Like I said, I think the Eagles probably had a good draft. Not only that, but they deferred picks to the next two years that should positively impact those drafts too. But it's just somehow different from what I had imagined. 

It's different than what I imagined, but looking at the entire picture, including trading for Vincent, Gowan and Scott last year, picking up McCain, Chachere and Mayden, then the UDFA haul this year - Howie saw he didn't need the later round picks to build depth this year, so he used them to target players early in the draft (Davis, Brown).

Strong, Perry, Brooks, Covey, Sills, Elliss, Jobe, Goodrich, Blackwell and Blankenship could have been drafted in the 5th to 7th rounds and I doubt anyone would have been ready to storm the barricades. Compare to last year's UDFA class, where the Eagles were lucky to come out with Stoll and Asiwoka. Howie had to have seen how many "draftable" players were going to be available in free agency after the draft, and came out with both barrels loaded, giving guaranteed money left and right to land the players he told were worth nailing down by his scouts.

And I suspect he's already prepared to move in August, as the glut of players this year will mean cuts that might be upgrades or futures worth a gamble as teams struggle to get down to 53. The competition in camp should be fierce, and with his penchant to scour the waiver wire, may continue all season.

[Diehardfan]

5 minutes ago, KDUB1510 said:

That's... Strong😁

 

Yep lol. I spent most of the offseason in the IWTETG Carson Strong thread imagining just that. I just dont understand how a guy with his size, skillset & production goes undrafted but im happy he did. If his knee is right, i have no doubt he will look good whenever he gets an opportunity. We have a route technician, a YAC monster, a legit deep threat & a beast TE + a top 5 Oline. Not to mention what Miles & Gainwell could provide him out the back field. We dont need our QB to run around. We need him to play point guard and get the ball to our playmakers. I felt no QB in this class could do that better than Carson Strong. I wouldnt have batted an eye if they took him at 51 so to get him as an UDFA is incredible. 

Yep. I was on the Strong bus since the fall as well. It's surreal. Another added bonus is we are going to piss off the Hurts lovers with our constant talk about him

 

[Sack that QB]

https://www.nfl.com/news/2022-nfl-draft-final-quick-snap-grades-for-all-32-teams
 

https://www.si.com/nfl/2022/04/30/2022-nfl-draft-team-grades
 

people loving the Eagles draft

[Wentz_Era]

4 hours ago, Iggles_Phan said:

BTW... that's a throw that Hurts can't make.  Yes, he can throw it 20 yards down field.  But the trajectory?  The timing?  Never seen that from him.

it's in between the hashes, Hurts can't even see there.

[Wentz_Era]

4 hours ago, HazletonEagle said:

Carson Strong throwing to the wide open streaking Quez Watkins all year last year would have been deadly. Quez would have been a 1000 yard WR.

Carson Strong throwing accurately, on time, to AJ Brown on a quick slant will lead to AJ Brown running through arm tackles of smaller DBs all over the field. (Hurts very well may limit his effectiveness. hes not usually wide open but hit him on the move hes nearly impossible to drag down from a trail position.)

Carson Strong delivering accurately and on time to DeVante Smith with all the space he creates, and his cat like quickness is going to allow him to juke defenders out of their jocks and run to the end zone.

 

These weapons in the WR corps can be maximized with a QB like strong. It could become a truly elite passing offense as soon as he is ready. 

Settle down, I like Strong but he's a back foot thrower because of the injuries.  His arm/brain/everything but legs are better than Hurts but he needs to see an NFL field before I proclaim he's that much better.

[KDUB1510]

13 minutes ago, Diehardfan said:

Yep. I was on the Strong bus since the fall as well. It's surreal. Another added bonus is we are going to piss off the Hurts lovers with our constant talk about him

 

They should be very nervous. Hurts will definitely start but i expect him to get exposed when we come out with a pass heavy attack. That's not his game. As i mentioned before, Strong averaged 43 attempts per game last year. Nevada's run game was non existent. Carson is used to having to throw the ball 35+ times and was efficient while doing so. He's easily the most talented passer on the roster right now and i expect that to be evident throughout OTA's, training camp & pre-season. We'll start Hurts and if/when the passing game struggles through the first 8 weeks, i believe we'll see Strong. 

[Iggles25]

51 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

Stroking for Strong 

Hard on for Car-son 🤣

Aka Murder Arm

[Outlaw]

It’s Sunday.  Has Strong been named the starter yet?

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

I want Abram Smith. 

[Wentz_Era]

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

West is the most shocking on this list to me.  Followed by Ross...what a fall from grace he had.

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

1 hour ago, Alphagrand said:

I think it was a pretty easy sales job for Howie and Nick to bring Strong in as UDFA.  It’s pretty unlikely either Hurts or Minshew will be on the Eagles roster for 2023.  Strong can come in, learn the offense, he will get plenty of game action and throws in the preseason — since Hurts doesn’t play preseason games for some reason.  Work hard, rehab the knee, get his mechanics back on point.  I don’t see trading Minshew this season because I can’t see having to count on an UDFA to win games if/when Hurts gets injured and misses time.

If Hurts is unable to keep the starting job after 2022 as most suspect, the Eagles will draft a QB in the 2023 draft and Strong would be the logical #2.  If the new starter isn’t ready to go Week 1 then Strong will have a chance to play with a year in the offense under his belt.

Only thing i put out there is that if hurts gets injured or just isn’t good enough as the season progresses then i much rather see what happens  with strong then minshew. I don’t think minshew is back in 2023 and he’s not the long term starter either imo.  i rather see at that point if strong is capable of improving week to week and what he can do. Cause (again only if Hurts gets hurt for a prolonged period of time or realize he just isn’t the guy)  if he shows enough promise then you don’t necessarily have to go all in and get a QB next year. If he doesn’t then you have the answer on what needs to be done on all fronts. 

2 minutes ago, Outlaw said:

It’s Sunday.  Has Strong been named the starter yet?

I want Abram Smith. 

I believe smith signed with the saints. 

[eagle45]

Umm...so, I would have been ecstatic if the Eagles drafted Strong in round 2.  

So there's that.

My excitement is tempered by the fact that the Eagles and everyone else somehow didn't feel the need to draft him through 7 rounds.  So unless he sparks some instant unexpected flash of spectacular-ness, he's never going to get a shot at anything.

But I really love the guy as a prospect.  I absolutely would like to see us unload Minshew so there can be a greater emphasis on developing Strong.

[Outlaw]

2 minutes ago, e-a-g-l-e-s eagles! said:

Only thing i put out there is that if hurts gets injured or just isn’t good enough as the season progresses then i much rather see what happens  with strong then minshew. I don’t think minshew is back in 2023 and he’s not the long term starter either imo.  i rather see at that point if strong is capable of improving week to week and what he can do. Cause (again only if Hurts gets hurt for a prolonged period of time or realize he just isn’t the guy)  if he shows enough promise then you don’t necessarily have to go all in and get a QB next year. If he doesn’t then you have the answer on what needs to be done on all fronts. 

I believe smith signed with the saints. 

Good signing by them, especially with Kamara’s status up in the air. 

2 minutes ago, Wentz_Era said:

West is the most shocking on this list to me.  Followed by Ross...what a fall from grace he had.

He’s reportedly a Jordan Davis tackle away from death. 

[eagle45]

I love everything the Eagles did this weekend except the AJ Brown trade, which, ironically, is probably the most popular thing they did.  I think that's the only thing, 5 years from now with hindsight, that will be a regrettable move from this draft.

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

1 minute ago, eagle45 said:

I love everything the Eagles did this weekend except the AJ Brown trade, which, ironically, is probably the most ironic thing they did.  I think that's the only thing, 5 years from now with hindsight, that will be a regrettable move from this draft.

I don’t mind the brown trade on the value they gave up for him. I think he can be a top 10 WR and you are getting him ages 24-28. The issue that I have is over the last 4 drafts, the Eagles have traded/ used 6 picks in the first 3 rounds (3 firsts, 2nd and 2 3rds) to get smith, brown, reagor and JJAW. The brown and smith trades were done to correct the mistakes of reagor and JJAW. I’m glad they fixed those mistakes but it was at the cost of fixing maybe 2 or 3 other positions due to poor drafting. 

[eagle45]

It's not a huge issue with the way the game is played anymore, but it's noteworthy that the Eagles will have to draft a RB next year.

[Wentz_Era]

3 minutes ago, e-a-g-l-e-s eagles! said:

I don’t mind the brown trade on the value they gave up for him. I think he can be a top 10 WR and you are getting him ages 24-28. The issue that I have is over the last 4 drafts, the Eagles have traded/ used 6 picks in the first 3 rounds (3 firsts, 2nd and 2 3rds) to get smith, brown, reagor and JJAW. The brown and smith trades were done to correct the mistakes of reagor and JJAW. I’m glad they fixed those mistakes but it was at the cost of fixing maybe 2 or 3 other positions due to poor drafting. 

The issue is we don't have a QB...at least one the FO will let Siri start.