EMB Blog: 2022 OTAs thru Pre-Season

[EagleJoe8]

3 minutes ago, DEagle7 said:

When do they have to get to 53 by?

Tuesday at 4:00 est. 

[EaglePhan1986]

6 minutes ago, FranklinFldEBUpper said:

I can't either, but who else remembers the way the national media went insane the year Tim Tebow was with us? On the night before final cuts, the Eagles released Matt Barkley. And all over ESPN and the like, the report was "Tim Tebow has made the Eagles! Hooray!" It was national news. It was nauseating, the way they jumped massively to a conclusion that was so obviously faulty. As if by cutting Barkley, it was certain that Tebow was making the team. Of course (and thank God!), Tebow was cut the next day, leaving the Eagles with only two quarterbacks.

I don't recall who they eventually signed to be the PS quarterback or whether he was subsequently activated to the 53.

For what it's worth, my plan would be to release Sinnett and then try to sign him to the PS. It's obvious that Strong isn't making it at all.

I think Barkley was traded to AZ for a 7th round pick.

But yes will never forget to Tebow hype. I was best man in a wedding that summer and my buddy’s gift to me was a silhouette of him Tebowing on a green shirt that said Go Eagles… 

[Casey @ Bat]

I’m not a big fan of not playing starters at all in preseason. Be nice to see some real action so they are somewhat prepared. 
 

on another note, Reed Blankenship has to make the team .

[The Blackfish]

1 hour ago, bpac55 said:

Well that was a totally uninspiring game. Outside of Cam Jurgens and Jordan Davis, I can't really tell you any young players that jumped off the page in and shined in any of their games or made me said yea, he's a player the Eagles have something with.

The most exciting thing was Devon Allen as a gunner?  Maybe Grant Caclaterra was a bright spot?  Had a bad penalty though. 

-Kenny Gainwell is overhyped.

-Deon Cain lost a roster spot tonight.

-Jason Huntley will make initial 53 until they claim another RB.

-Davion Taylor should be cut.

-Sinnett and Strong don't deserver roster spots.

-Blankenship should make the team over Tartt and Wallace.

-The low risk trades for Kary Vincent and Tay Gowan equated to trading for PS players. They are  not good players

-Covey, despite the rave reviews, didn't flash once in any game.  Not even enough for the PS IMO. 

-How did Dererk Barnett manage to not play a single preseason snap despite being healthy?

 

Bottom line.  This team has talent at the top and then a severe drop.  They are still lacking talented, young depth.  Sure they have depth at CB, but someone has to make the team.  I would have liked to see a young WR step up rather than just having to settle for a WR5.  RB room, yikes.  Safety, crickets.  DE too.  I'm hesitant to call the LB depth good just because anything looks better than what they had.  

 

 

As of right now, the only Safety’s that should make the 53 are Epps and Blankenship, and Blankenship still needs lots of work, but he’s been better than that rest of the slop. 

[Utebird]

1 hour ago, bpac55 said:

I'm being critical of preseason because of the Eagles approach to it.  Sirianni has come in here and gotten rid of OTA's and mini camps, holding the bare minimum the league requires.  He's made Training Camp a joke with practices less than 1-hour long followed by a day off.  They don't tackle.  The starters don't play more than 1 series.    

I get it, the Eagles want to stay healthy.  The truth of the matter is players are going to get injured and miss time during TC and the regular season.  

What you saw the last 2 games was a 100% reflection on the Eagles approach.  Horrible tackling and effort on defense and terrible backup QB play because practice is barely long enough to get them more than a handful of snaps.  

They can tout the joint team practices and how beneficial they are but clearly, other teams feel different.  We saw it last night with the Dolphins.  Their starters got significant playing time.  Hell, Tom Brady played more snaps this preseason than Hurts and may or may not have been off filming The Masked Singer.  

Sirianni has not discovered some magical new way of approaching practice.  Teams that practice and prepare more are going to play better than teams who don't.  

I haven't been too critical of Sirianni summer approach as I don't think it translated poorly to games but yesterday I think it obviously did.

The whole game majority of eagle players looked like they were going through a non contact walk through.

The few guys that looked like they actually cared or were trying were usually out of position or making mistakes 

Where as all game every guy on the dolphins was playing with their hair on fire, they were playing like their livelihood was on the line 

Meanwhile guys like Cain for the birds is giving up on slants, tay gowen had a play where he looked like someone dropped his Madden control and the directional button got stuck, as he was just spinning in a circle, maybe he saw a butterfly🤷‍♂️

Reid Sinnet who might have had a chance at a roster spot effectively destroyed that chance.

After Huntley scored reagor was on the sideline yukking it up, multiple dolphins in that play were jogging, it was almost a mercy TD and the eagles sideline are high fiving...😒

Shout out to Blankenship and Calcaterra they got the memo that jobs were on the line, the other 70+ guys? not so much.

Hopefully when real games start it looks different 

We'll see.

[FranklinFldEBUpper]

9 minutes ago, EaglePhan1986 said:

I think Barkley was traded to AZ for a 7th round pick.

Yeah, I guess that sounds right. I think I kinda remember that.

[CouchKing]

1 hour ago, DEagle7 said:

Methinks you're being a bit dramatic considering it was a preseason game played almost entirely by 3rd/4th stringers. 

We have no shot against Detroit.

Eagles will go 0-17.

The sky is falling.

We’re doomed.

[Captain F]

25 minutes ago, Westbrook#36 said:

Did Strong play last night? I turned it off to watch rain delay coverage of NASCAR.

Bro.  You missed it. He completed his first ever pass for a critical first down into a tight window. And then he executed a all-pro level hand off, followed by the smoothest rpo you'll ever see as he glided to his right... 

[eglz1]

9 hours ago, Utebird said:

I watched the highlights, I regret doing so...

At least it shouldn't have taken long, there weren't many on the Eagles' side.

[RLC]

Projected 2022 Depth Chart – After Pre-season Game #3

Offense (24)
QB(2): Hurts, Minshew
RB(3): Sanders, Scott, Gainwell
TE(3): Goedert, Stoll, Calcaterra
WR(6): Brown, Smith, Watkins, Pascal, Reagor, Allen
OL(10) Mailata, Dickerson, Kelce, Seumalo, Johnson
Jurgens, Opeta, Dillard, Driscoll, Anderson

Defense (26)
DE(3): Sweat, Barnett, Graham
DT(5): Cox, Hargrave, Davis, Williams, Tuipulotu
Stack LB(5): White, Edwards, Dean, Bradley, Taylor
Rush LB(3): Reddick, P. Johnson, K. Johnson
S(5): Harris, Epps, Chachere, Blankenship, Scott
CB(5): Slay, Maddox, Bradberry, McPhearson, Jobe

Specialists (3)
K: Elliott
P: Siposs
LS: Lovato

---

Allen should make the team because of special teams. His speed translates as a gunner (see below)

 

- I would personally cut Davion Taylor. No other team is going to play him at LB, and we can use that space to poach a RB off another roster.
- Reagor makes the team because of his contract. I would trade him if I could. That frees up a spot for another RB.
- We can carry 2 QBs on the PS without a problem.
- If Tarron Jackson makes the team, I give up. He was bad this pre-season.

[Shalodeep]

1 hour ago, DeathByEagle said:

Not to forget our 2nd/3rd string playing against the Dolphins starters for the first quarter and a half. Tua still looked horrible even against our backups. 

I still believe this is a 8 win team roughly give or take a game but very difficult to even take yesterdays game into any factoring. Most of them after the 2nd string left were not going to make this team anyways. 

Tua was 6/7 121 yards and a touchdown....

[DEagle7]

 

[ManuManu]

8 minutes ago, RLC said:

Projected 2022 Depth Chart – After Pre-season Game #3

Offense (24)
QB(2): Hurts, Minshew
RB(3): Sanders, Scott, Gainwell
TE(3): Goedert, Stoll, Calcaterra
WR(6): Brown, Smith, Watkins, Pascal, Reagor, Allen
OL(10) Mailata, Dickerson, Kelce, Seumalo, Johnson
Jurgens, Opeta, Dillard, Driscoll, Anderson

Defense (26)
DE(3): Sweat, Barnett, Graham
DT(5): Cox, Hargrave, Davis, Williams, Tuipulotu
Stack LB(5): White, Edwards, Dean, Bradley, Taylor
Rush LB(3): Reddick, P. Johnson, K. Johnson
S(5): Harris, Epps, Chachere, Blankenship, Scott
CB(5): Slay, Maddox, Bradberry, McPhearson, Jobe

Specialists (3)
K: Elliott
P: Siposs
LS: Lovato

---

Allen should make the team because of special teams. His speed translates as a gunner (see below)

 

- I would personally cut Davion Taylor. No other team is going to play him at LB, and we can use that space to poach a RB off another roster.
- Reagor makes the team because of his contract. I would trade him if I could. That frees up a spot for another RB.
- We can carry 2 QBs on the PS without a problem.
- If Tarron Jackson makes the team, I give up. He was bad this pre-season.

By most accounts Jackson has had a good camp, and I thought he was disruptive in last week’s game. I think he’s close to a lock. 

Allen will be 28 this season, and I’m not sure he has enough WR talent to stash on the 53. IMO, he would need to be a starting gunner to make it. 

I hope we’re able to find a safety we like at cut downs a la Marcus Epps. If the Niners cut Jordan Mason, he’d be a nice fit in our RB room. The same with Keontay Ingram of Arizona. At the very least, I hope to see a running back on the PS who is better than Huntley or Brooks. Brooks just doesn’t have the burst to be an NFL contributor. 

[RLC]

5 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

By most accounts Jackson has had a good camp, and I thought he was disruptive in last week’s game. I think he’s close to a lock. 

Allen will be 28 this season, and I’m not sure he has enough WR talent to stash on the 53. IMO, he would need to be a starting gunner to make it. 

Jackson might have been good in camp, but he's in bad in all 3 games. I do agree with you that I think he makes it because they link him.

If not Allen, who are the 2 gunners on this team? Chachere played gunner too, but he's also on the roster bubble.

[bpac55]

One thing to consider when it comes to the teams depth is that all falls on Howie and his draft picks.  Yes, the last 2 years have brought more positives than negatives but you can't continue to miss or straight up ignore the mid-rounds of the draft.  You always hear, that's where teams are built.  Just because guys make the roster and add depth however, doesn't mean they are good.

Over the last 5 drafts they could have had 25 players drafted between the 3rd and 7th rounds but with trades and whatnot, they came away with 24.

I have 12 out of 24 players here as locks with Taylor, Tuipuotu, Wallace and the Johnsons on the edge. 

Out of those you have 3 starters, including Maddox.  Gainwell and Watkins are solid contributors.  The rest are still TBD.  Dean, McPhearson and Calcaterra all could have roles.  The rest are depth players, which you want.

What I don't like is that in 3 out of the last 5 drafts, the Eagles have gone 98, 81 and 76 consecutive picks without having a pick.  Anytime you let essentially 2 rounds pass between picks, there's going to be a drop in talent available.  

 

2022- no picks in the 4th, 5th, 7th. Dean (3rd),  Calcaterra (6th), Johnson (6th),  Calcaterra, 98 players were taken or equivalent of 3 players per team.

2021- Solid but still TBD.  Williams (3rd), McPhearson (4th), Gainwell (5th), Tuipulotu (6th), Jackson (6th), Stevens (6th), Johnson (7th)

2020- Taylor (3rd), Wallace (4th), Driscoll (4th), Hightower (5th), Bradley (6th), Watkins (6th), Prince (6th), Toohill (7th)

2019- no picks in 3rd, 6th or 7th.   Shareef Miller (4th), Clayton Thorson (5th).  No 6th or 7th WHAT A HORRIBLE DRAFT.  81 players between JJAW and Miller.

2018- no picks in 3rd or 5th. Maddox (4th), Sweat (4th), Pryor (6th), Mailata (7th).   76 players between Goedert and Maddox. 

[bpac55]

27 minutes ago, RLC said:

Projected 2022 Depth Chart – After Pre-season Game #3

Offense (24)
QB(2): Hurts, Minshew
RB(3): Sanders, Scott, Gainwell
TE(3): Goedert, Stoll, Calcaterra
WR(6): Brown, Smith, Watkins, Pascal, Reagor, Allen
OL(10) Mailata, Dickerson, Kelce, Seumalo, Johnson
Jurgens, Opeta, Dillard, Driscoll, Anderson

Defense (26)
DE(3): Sweat, Barnett, Graham
DT(5): Cox, Hargrave, Davis, Williams, Tuipulotu
Stack LB(5): White, Edwards, Dean, Bradley, Taylor
Rush LB(3): Reddick, P. Johnson, K. Johnson
S(5): Harris, Epps, Chachere, Blankenship, Scott
CB(5): Slay, Maddox, Bradberry, McPhearson, Jobe

Specialists (3)
K: Elliott
P: Siposs
LS: Lovato

---

Allen should make the team because of special teams. His speed translates as a gunner (see below)

 

- I would personally cut Davion Taylor. No other team is going to play him at LB, and we can use that space to poach a RB off another roster.
- Reagor makes the team because of his contract. I would trade him if I could. That frees up a spot for another RB.
- We can carry 2 QBs on the PS without a problem.
- If Tarron Jackson makes the team, I give up. He was bad this pre-season.

I'm with you.  Taylor needs to be gone.

Jackson makes the team because they have NOTHING as far as depth at DE.  If Jackson is here, they have 3 DE.

[austinfan]

It wasn't fun to watch, but it didn't mean much either.

We were playing more 3rd stringers than 2nd stringers in the 1st half against the Dolphin starters, Williams and Davis played a series then Wilson and Tuip took over, and by the 2nd Q Wren was in there. There's a reason players are on the PS, they're a year or two from being NFL backups, much less starters.

They were giving players a chance to play themselves out of consideration, and many did - Tom at center? Who was that masked man? If they wanted to be competitive, at least start Anderson at center.  Reagor, Cain and Hightower at WR. These aren't backups, these are the cut list.

QB: Sinnett cut himself, while he was under pressure, the pass blocking wasn't that bad, he just couldn't find anyone open and missed some easy throws

RB:  I'd keep Brooks over Huntley, who still tries to bounce everything outside - NFL speed makes that a bad habit. Brooks lacks speed but is an actual RB.

WR:  The top four are set, just a question do you eat Reagor's cap hit and move on?  Allen might make it on STs, the rest, well, might as well go with 5 and stash Cain and Hightower on the Ps.

TE:  Calcaterra beat out Togiai, but I'm not sure he beats out a healthy Jackson later this season. He's a big WR in a H-back body, but he can't block his grandmother. To be fair, they had him blocking in-line, which he simply can't do - didn't get to see if he can hit a LB on the second level. But he's got speed and quickness and runs good routes.

OL:  Awosika has been around long enough to be replaced, Sills is headed to the PS and Clark to the waiver wire. Tom is headed to oblivion. Dillard didn't look great, but unless you get offered a 2nd, keep him for this season b/c LT is too important to go thin.

DL:  Davis doesn't dominate in games like practice, and I don't think you'll see that until November and 10 games under his belt, NFL learning curve is steep. But coming off the bench he'll have time to learn. Tuip has easily beat out Wilson and Wren, who are PS bound but not sure they have a future.

LB:  Both Johnson's have flashed, Taylor regressed, Dean didn't live up to the hype. Stevens and Elliss are gone, I can see them replaced on the PS by pickups. Taylor may live another season if he shows enough for STs.

CB:  Jobe won a job by default, Gowan didn't show enough, and Vincent didn't show anything. McCain and Goodrich are afterthoughts.

DB:  Chachere has STs and last year's game film in his favor. Blankenship probably beat out Wallace who should be way ahead in his third camp. Tartt just ain't got it no more.

Typical, when you get down to player 50-60 on any roster, it's mostly suspects. Some with upside, some hanging on b/c they're just good enough to fill in for a game or two.

[ManuManu]

13 minutes ago, RLC said:

Jackson might have been good in camp, but he's in bad in all 3 games. I do agree with you that I think he makes it because they link him.

If not Allen, who are the 2 gunners on this team? Chachere played gunner too, but he's also on the roster bubble.

McPhearson and Scott played gunner last year as well. 

[LeanMeanGM]

2 hours ago, DeathByEagle said:

I can;t remember the last time the Eagles only carried 2 QBs on the 53 roster. I think they will carry 3 like usual, just not sure who the 3rd will be and even if that 3rd is currenlty on the team right now. 

2017

[bpac55]

7 minutes ago, RLC said:

Jackson might have been good in camp, but he's in bad in all 3 games. I do agree with you that I think he makes it because they link him.

If not Allen, who are the 2 gunners on this team? Chachere played gunner too, but he's also on the roster bubble.

I think I'm giving up on our so called beat reporters and their TC updates.  Do any of them have knowledge of football or are they just good at watching and typing on their phones?

-Jackson had great reviews from practice but when the lights came on, he was bad.  Out of position all of the time.  Great hustle but if you're out of position what good is that?

-Covey was supposed to have looked great.  Did he make any plays in the 3 games that made you think, yea he belongs on the 53?

-Both Johnsons.  Reports were they were flying off the edge all camp.  Neither of them stood out eve with Patrick Johnson getting a sack last night.

-Tuipulotu/Wilson.  I'm guilty of buying the hype.  Talks of both of them taking the next step.  Is the next step 5 snaps a game to give everyone else a breather or to actually accumulate stats and contribute?

As far as gunners, if Josh Jobe is a lock, is he a gunner? 

Bigger question is who is KR/PR?  Does Reagor do both?  Do they keep Huntley on the roster just to return kicks? Is Greg Ward a surprise roster spot? Last year, the Eagles returned 37 kicks.  At around 2 touchers per game, is that worth keeping a guy who only does that?  Will be interesting to see how they handle it. 

[Utebird]

32 minutes ago, DEagle7 said:

 

I think he was always destined for the PS.

Siriani saying they wanted to get minshew and sunnet the most reps because they needed it is part coach speak and part idiotic.

So two backup qbs nerd tons of work but the rest of the starters need 6 snaps total in preseason???

Maybe eagles are worried if they put too much of strong on film a team will poach him and are just trying to get him to the PS since they gave him that big signing bonus. Maybe he just really sucks, I can't imagine he's worse than Sinnet, nor after giving sinnett so many snaps would I think, this is a guy we should keep around...

Strong basically got a 5th round signing bonus and if cut wouldn't be the first ever 5th rounder to be cut as a rookie.

 

 

 

[RLC]

15 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

McPhearson and Scott played gunner last year as well. 

True. I put McPhearson on the team, but other than 2021 draft capital, does he deserve it?

[ManuManu]

1 minute ago, RLC said:

True. I put McPhearson on the team, but other than 2021 draft capital, does he deserve it?

I thought he looked OK in limited action last year. At least he wasn’t picked on. 

Sounds like he’s been up and down in camp, with a lot of his downs in 1 on 1 without safety help. 

I don’t think you could make an argument about putting any of the other backup corners over him at this point. He’s the locked in CB4.

[Guest justrelax]

2 hours ago, UK Eagle said:

That game was laughably bad. I know there is talk about depth on this roster, well, it wasn't present last night.  Some very easy cuts coming from the Eagles

Most of those cuts were decided before the game. The second stringers played a quarter or so. Then it was cannon fodder for the rest of the game.

https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2022/8/28/23325529/eagles-dolphins-snap-count-analysis-philadelphia-miami-roster-observations-nfl-preseason-game

[Utebird]

32 minutes ago, bpac55 said:

One thing to consider when it comes to the teams depth is that all falls on Howie and his draft picks.  Yes, the last 2 years have brought more positives than negatives but you can't continue to miss or straight up ignore the mid-rounds of the draft.  You always hear, that's where teams are built.  Just because guys make the roster and add depth however, doesn't mean they are good.

Over the last 5 drafts they could have had 25 players drafted between the 3rd and 7th rounds but with trades and whatnot, they came away with 24.

I have 12 out of 24 players here as locks with Taylor, Tuipuotu, Wallace and the Johnsons on the edge. 

Out of those you have 3 starters, including Maddox.  Gainwell and Watkins are solid contributors.  The rest are still TBD.  Dean, McPhearson and Calcaterra all could have roles.  The rest are depth players, which you want.

What I don't like is that in 3 out of the last 5 drafts, the Eagles have gone 98, 81 and 76 consecutive picks without having a pick.  Anytime you let essentially 2 rounds pass between picks, there's going to be a drop in talent available.  

 

2022- no picks in the 4th, 5th, 7th. Dean (3rd),  Calcaterra (6th), Johnson (6th),  Calcaterra, 98 players were taken or equivalent of 3 players per team.

2021- Solid but still TBD.  Williams (3rd), McPhearson (4th), Gainwell (5th), Tuipulotu (6th), Jackson (6th), Stevens (6th), Johnson (7th)

2020- Taylor (3rd), Wallace (4th), Driscoll (4th), Hightower (5th), Bradley (6th), Watkins (6th), Prince (6th), Toohill (7th)

2019- no picks in 3rd, 6th or 7th.   Shareef Miller (4th), Clayton Thorson (5th).  No 6th or 7th WHAT A HORRIBLE DRAFT.  81 players between JJAW and Miller.

2018- no picks in 3rd or 5th. Maddox (4th), Sweat (4th), Pryor (6th), Mailata (7th).   76 players between Goedert and Maddox. 

That 2019 draft was one that Lurie was heavily involved in, JJAW was his pick and he said he wanted the team to draft a late round and to develop for future trade.

Thorson was cut after preseason..😒

Hopefully that dumpster fire draft was enough to keep Lurie from being a meddlesome owner.

Write checks fund movies, stay in your lane Lurie 

.