3 hours ago, Freshmilk said:

I think his main demand will be an assurance they don't join NATO/European Union and become a western military base on the border with Russia.  As I'm sure you know, the Monroe Doctrine spells out what the US won't tolerate in the entire western hemisphere. 

I read somewhere that some of these Russian Oligarchs have international bank accounts that could be frozen.  Freezing the assets of Russian banks is something that's already underway.

Putin is rich, and rich people stand up and take notice when their money gets frozen -- just like poor people (see convoy "protest" occupation in Canada)

I've warmed up to Linderbaum in round 1. I've never been a Seumalo guy despite his metrics being good. Something about him. And I think having an heir apparent at center is an amazing luxury. The Eagles need to keep this OL dominant, it will give them a leg up. I'd much rather have him than a freaking LB in round 1, honestly.

13 minutes ago, Sack that QB said:

I've warmed up to Linderbaum in round 1. I've never been a Seumalo guy despite his metrics being good. Something about him. And I think having an heir apparent at center is an amazing luxury. The Eagles need to keep this OL dominant, it will give them a leg up. I'd much rather have him than a freaking LB in round 1, honestly.

And I've moved in the other direction. Oh, well.

1 minute ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

I'm never warm to the idea of a C in the first.  You don't need to have an "heir apparent" to a HOFer at C.  It's not a necessity.  It's a luxury.  We need necessities.  

Well I mean there's 3 first round picks if they don't use them to trade for a QB. I assume at least one will be an edge rusher. LB certainly isn't a necessity. Can probably get a CB with one of the others. I doubt they'll take another WR in round 1. Not sure based on this class would be more of a necessity than a stud center prospect. Possibly best in years to ensure this OL is dominant for years to come.

7 minutes ago, justrelax said:

And I've moved in the other direction. Oh, well.

If the Eagles believe Jack Driscoll can be a starter it would likely move OL down the list a bit.  Johnson-Dickerson-Kelce-Seumalo-Mailata as a starting OL with either Dickerson or Seumalo capable of taking over for Kelce, and Driscoll coming into the starting 5 is pretty good succession planning.

Every year, there's a "Howie pick" I think the Eagles are gonna take no matter what and I refuse to believe they won't until I see it for myself. This year it's Drake London. I hope the Eagles don't even get the chance.

6 minutes ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

I mean.  A stud Center is never a necessity in the first round.  I mean.  

Doesn't mean it can't end up being a great pick.

6 hours ago, UK Eagle said:

Ian Rappaport is reporting that Russell Wilson won't be traded unless there is someone better out there for the Seahawks.  Why is very unlikely.

Jalen Hurts... 

5 minutes ago, Sack that QB said:

Well I mean there's 3 first round picks if they don't use them to trade for a QB. I assume at least one will be an edge rusher. LB certainly isn't a necessity. Can probably get a CB with one of the others. I doubt they'll take another WR in round 1. Not sure based on this class would be more of a necessity than a stud center prospect. Possibly best in years to ensure this OL is dominant for years to come.

A few thoughts on Linderbaum and why I've moved away from taking him.

First off, football has fully embraced the so-called 4i defense, college and pro. I've posted a bit on this before so I'll try to be brief here. The 4i uses three down linemen and two stand-up outside LBs. It looks very much like a standard 3-4 defense but it has some wrinkles. The NT lines up dead on the C. The two other DL line up on the inside shoulders of the OTs. There are a number of things that come from this. The C, being covered, cannot help either OG. He's got his hands full with the biggest DL on the opposition. And stacked directly behind the NT is the MLB, The Gs can help him but not the other way around. If we look back on the Bucs playoff game, it's worth noting that our OZ plays, usually our strength, got nothing, nada, zip. Why? Because the key to our OZ has been Kelce's ability to pull, which he couldn't do in that game. Our backs were constantly tracked down at the LOS by a fast LB - David most often - and the reason for that was that Kelce wasn't there to block him. He had to deal with Vea and David, stacked behind Vea. And because he was squared up on Vea, he couldn't climb to the second level to block the MLB, who had a free run to the outside.

Now, to those two DL on the inside shoulders of the tackles. Essentially, by this alignment and stacking the LB behind the NT, the defense is able to nullify all five OL with four guys, giving them an extra defender. Put another way, the 4i is the defense's answer to zone blocking. The stand-up LBs are well-positioned to set the edge on either side.

There are answers to this. There's a natural double-team block on either DT with the G and OT with the G releasing and climbing to the second level. What makes this problematic is the size of the NT. A really powerful guy, like Vea or Jordan Davis from Georgia,
can shed the block of a smaller C and fill that hole even if the G can climb to the MLB. This is why I've "moved on" from Linderbaum. He's not as good as Kelce and if Kelce can be nullified with this defense, what happens to a lesser C?

Nope. To me, having a more powerful C is the simplest answer to the 4i, a guy who can handle the NT by himself. There's been talk of moving Dickerson over when Kelce retires and I see a lot of merit in it, much as I am loathe to break up the potent left side we have with him and Mailata.

None of this is to say that teams will play 4i all the time. They won't because it does not lend itself to pass defense or pass rush but, as a run defense, it's terrific. Anyway, I'm not in favor of drafting Linderbaum. Give me Green instead.

I'll post the screen shot of the 4i alignment below, as I have before. Feel free to mock me or point out the errors in my thinking. I'm sure there are many.

 

4 hours ago, RLC said:

Kyler Murray is in the right. 

Carrying a bad franchise on his back. 

No.  Kyler Murray is not 'in the right', nor is he 'in the wrong'.   This is a negotiation tactic to put pressure on the organization to pay him what he feels he is worth.  The team is within their rights to wait to negotiate an extension until it suits them.  He is equally within his rights to make a public statement claiming he wants to do it now, but at his price.   Neither one is wrong, neither is right.   But, he's clearly drawing a line in the sand.  And they have the right to franchise him if they so choose if he's unwilling to agree to an extension at their price and they won't move off of it.

4 hours ago, BigEFly said:

Gee, Adam, really?  I would have thought the tea leaves on this one were pretty easy to read.  His move was a negotiation.  Much was learned from Rodgers’ little tantrum last year.  Wilson has been pushing that for a couple of years, to improve his protection.  That’s what his whole deletion of media is probably driving and two years left, quite possibly a negotiation like Rodgers did last year.  

Yup.

40 minutes ago, Saltpeter said:

Every year, there's a "Howie pick" I think the Eagles are gonna take no matter what and I refuse to believe they won't until I see it for myself. The year it's Drake London. I hope the Eagles don't even get the chance.

It's interesting the majority of draft sites seem to have London and Garrett Wilson as interchangeable 1 and 2 right now.  I wouldn't rate Wilson any higher than 4 and I wouldn't draft London at all.  There isn't anything I dislike about Wilson but I also don't think he stands out at all.  

Hopefully if those rankings hold then WRs will go off the board fast.  Personally, I like Jameson Williams, Burks and Olave better than the top 2.

13 minutes ago, Alphagrand said:

It's interesting the majority of draft sites seem to have London and Garrett Wilson as interchangeable 1 and 2 right now.  I wouldn't rate Wilson any higher than 4 and I wouldn't draft London at all.  There isn't anything I dislike about Wilson but I also don't think he stands out at all.  

Hopefully if those rankings hold then WRs will go off the board fast.  Personally, I like Jameson Williams, Burks and Olave better than the top 2.

The WR class has a ton of depth. There's an argument to be made that the guy who ultimately ends up as wr1 from it could be drafted as late as the third round (Pickens, Ross, Shakir, Watson.)

If they don't trade any of the first three picks, doing anything other than drafting three impact players on defense, regardless of position, seems like a bad idea to me.

 

The Packers are basically the last NFL team to not play in Europe, and with the 17 game season introduced, they are no longer losing one of their home games in the traditional sense. This was always going to be their year in Europe, it was a case of which game it was going to be.

 

53 minutes ago, jsb235 said:

The WR class has a ton of depth. There's an argument to be made that the guy who ultimately ends up as wr1 from it could be drafted as late as the third round (Pickens, Ross, Shakir, Watson.)

If they don't trade any of the first three picks, doing anything other than drafting three impact players on defense, regardless of position, seems like a bad idea to me.

 

Whenever I do a mock on the Draft Network site, Wandale Robinson is always there in the 3rd and you know what ? I always take him, playmaker

2 hours ago, Sack that QB said:

I've warmed up to Linderbaum in round 1. I've never been a Seumalo guy despite his metrics being good. Something about him. And I think having an heir apparent at center is an amazing luxury. The Eagles need to keep this OL dominant, it will give them a leg up. I'd much rather have him than a freaking LB in round 1, honestly.

We can possibly take an o-lineman for three straight years if we choose. 
1 this year to take over RG. 1 next year to take over Center or RG. 1 the following year to eventually take over for Lane. 

17 minutes ago, greendestiny27 said:

We can possibly take an o-lineman for three straight years if we choose. 
1 this year to take over RG. 1 next year to take over Center or RG. 1 the following year to eventually take over for Lane. 

I think it's a separate discussion whether to use a first round pick on OL with Stoutland developing the picks, however.

Dickerson in the 2nd, Seumalo in the 3rd, Driscoll in the 5th, Kelce in the 6th, and Mailata in the 7th would make me lean towards "No"

2 hours ago, justrelax said:

A few thoughts on Linderbaum and why I've moved away from taking him.

First off, football has fully embraced the so-called 4i defense, college and pro. I've posted a bit on this before so I'll try to be brief here. The 4i uses three down linemen and two stand-up outside LBs. It looks very much like a standard 3-4 defense but it has some wrinkles. The NT lines up dead on the C. The two other DL line up on the inside shoulders of the OTs. There are a number of things that come from this. The C, being covered, cannot help either OG. He's got his hands full with the biggest DL on the opposition. And stacked directly behind the NT is the MLB, The Gs can help him but not the other way around. If we look back on the Bucs playoff game, it's worth noting that our OZ plays, usually our strength, got nothing, nada, zip. Why? Because the key to our OZ has been Kelce's ability to pull, which he couldn't do in that game. Our backs were constantly tracked down at the LOS by a fast LB - David most often - and the reason for that was that Kelce wasn't there to block him. He had to deal with Vea and David, stacked behind Vea. And because he was squared up on Vea, he couldn't climb to the second level to block the MLB, who had a free run to the outside.

Now, to those two DL on the inside shoulders of the tackles. Essentially, by this alignment and stacking the LB behind the NT, the defense is able to nullify all five OL with four guys, giving them an extra defender. Put another way, the 4i is the defense's answer to zone blocking. The stand-up LBs are well-positioned to set the edge on either side.

There are answers to this. There's a natural double-team block on either DT with the G and OT with the G releasing and climbing to the second level. What makes this problematic is the size of the NT. A really powerful guy, like Vea or Jordan Davis from Georgia,
can shed the block of a smaller C and fill that hole even if the G can climb to the MLB. This is why I've "moved on" from Linderbaum. He's not as good as Kelce and if Kelce can be nullified with this defense, what happens to a lesser C?

Nope. To me, having a more powerful C is the simplest answer to the 4i, a guy who can handle the NT by himself. There's been talk of moving Dickerson over when Kelce retires and I see a lot of merit in it, much as I am loathe to break up the potent left side we have with him and Mailata.

None of this is to say that teams will play 4i all the time. They won't because it does not lend itself to pass defense or pass rush but, as a run defense, it's terrific. Anyway, I'm not in favor of drafting Linderbaum. Give me Green instead.

I'll post the screen shot of the 4i alignment below, as I have before. Feel free to mock me or point out the errors in my thinking. I'm sure there are many.

 

Makes sense to me, while seumalo isn't as big as Dickerson he is bigger than Kelce.

Kelce said one day seumalo could be a pro bowl center 

How do you think seumalo would fare against a 4i?

6 hours ago, Alphagrand said:

Gimme a F'n break!!

First, Corral gets carted off the field with a sprained ankle, now this.

His camp is portraying this as a high ankle sprain with a 6-8 week recovery time.  Guess what?  Since his injury on January 1 today is the start of Week 9!  Huge red flag for QBs who don't want to do anything but their own Pro Day in a controlled, self-scripted environment

DO NOT WANT!!  Please Giants, Commanders ... take him!

 

In fairness, a 6-9 week recovery time doesn't mean 100% recovery in that time frame.  He could still have functional deficits and muscle loss that will take time to build back.  It's all about throwing in a controlled environment.  A big part of the combine is medical, I imagine the teams will know if there's a larger health issue. 

Corral is the only QB I would draft rd 1 , definitely a fan of his .

Kaleb Eleby has impressed me too , he is a day two pick for me .

24 minutes ago, NCiggles said:

In fairness, a 6-9 week recovery time doesn't mean 100% recovery in that time frame.  He could still have functional deficits and muscle loss that will take time to build back.  It's all about throwing in a controlled environment.  A big part of the combine is medical, I imagine the teams will know if there's a larger health issue. 

I'll be watching the list for the Eagles 30 official visits and hoping Corral isn't on it.  Nothing about him says NFL QB, IMO.

14 minutes ago, Alphagrand said:

I'll be watching the list for the Eagles 30 official visits and hoping Corral isn't on it.  Nothing about him says NFL QB, IMO.

He reminds me of Johnny Manziel.  

1 hour ago, Original Sin said:

Corral is the only QB I would draft rd 1 , definitely a fan of his .

Kaleb Eleby has impressed me too , he is a day two pick for me .

I thought you liked Malik Willis more? 

1 minute ago, NCiggles said:

I thought you liked Malik Willis more? 

No , I prefer Corral