On a different note I watched the Unscripted episode. Not sure what producer thought spending an entire segment on Marcus Epps gym would be interesting. It isn't.  Funny though is the footage of BG's preseason tackle shows Derek Barnett shoving a guy about 3 seconds after the whistle

46 minutes ago, RLC said:

The contract is still bad, even if it's structured in a good way.

I still think it's Fletcher's last year in Philly.

I agree.  It really was time to move on, IMO.    And as much as I love BG... they should have moved on there as well.  Always beloved for SBLII, but their time has passed.

2 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

I agree.  It really was time to move on, IMO.    And as much as I love BG... they should have moved on there as well.  Always beloved for SBLII, but their time has passed.

 

Brandon Graham can still play and is a leader in the locker room.  Cox is washed and half asses it so he can go.  Unless Graham comes out this year and looks like a shell of his former self I'm fine with him coming back.  

9 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

I agree.  It really was time to move on, IMO.    And as much as I love BG... they should have moved on there as well.  Always beloved for SBLII, but their time has passed.

I feel differently about BG than Cox. BG is still a ++ run defender and is now the #1 leader on the team. He can play multiple positions and never complains. Cox complained about the scheme last year. BG will lineup wherever is best to help the team.

IMO, overpaying 1 or 2 veterans per team is good roster building. Overpaying guys past their prime who complain is not. Fletcher Cox is one of my favorite players, but if you're overpaid and not producing enough, you're not in a position to complain.

Just to get some random thoughts out of my head, here are some things I’m interested in heading into the opener.

* Has Hurts progressed enough? Can he win in the pocket enough?

* I think Sweat is in for a big year. Now that he can get out of that ridiculous 4i alignment and rush from outside the offensive tackle I think he could push for double digit sacks. 

* Both of these are contingent on Hurts being good enough to be a pass neutral team, but AJ Brown should have at least 1,100 yards and Goedert should flirt with 1,000. Devonta Smith might end up third in the pecking order, but that’s no slight to him. Brown is a top-10 type receiver, and Goedert was insanely efficient after Ertz was traded. 

* What is the plan with Reddick? He’s going to drop back some, like Sweat if we’re in a 3-4 alignment.  How much? Who are the four DL when we’re in nickel? Reddick and Sweat should be. Hargrave should be in over Cox. Who’s the fourth? Graham as an inside rusher? Milton Williams? Cox just because we’re being nice? It would be ideal to see Williams make the leap this year so we can pencil him in as a starter in 2023  

* How does CGJ change the dynamic at safety? He played quite a bit there in college, and a lot of his duties as a nickel overlap with safety duties. Is he too big of a weirdo to pay big money?

* Can Kyzir White break our streak of terrible LB signings? Low bar, but even average LB would be a win.

* Is Epps as good as we’re being led to believe? I was never a big fan, but I thought he was our best safety last year — yet another low bar to clear.

* Can Jordan Davis rush the passer? Unless he’s a dominant run stuffer in the Vita Vea mold, he needs to have a little pass rush to him to warrant the trade up. He obviously has the athleticism for it, and seems like a good worker. There’s no reason for him not to develop. 

* Coaching. Sirianni seems to make some weird choices on fourth down. Does it change with a year under his belt (or the front office pushing for more aggression)? Will he use a simile or metaphor that isn’t masculine enough to make the Blog explode with testosterone? How much will the offense be able to looked like "his offense” with Hurts at QB. Was Gannon overly vanilla and boring because of personnel or is his defensive philosophy just bad?

36 minutes ago, RLC said:

Teams should always open up cap space in year 1 at the expense of year 2. If they don't use it, that extra cap space carries over and it's fine. If they use it, it just has to be for a good reason (extending players at below market deals to save more money)

Extension candidates this year: Hargrave, Epps, CGJ, Bradberry, Edwards, Scott, Sanders. Obvious there are varying prices of those extension, but the option is on the table.

I’d cross of Bradberry and add White 

9 minutes ago, RLC said:

I feel differently about BG than Cox. BG is still a ++ run defender and is now the #1 leader on the team. He can play multiple positions and never complains. Cox complained about the scheme last year. BG will lineup wherever is best to help the team.

IMO, overpaying 1 or 2 veterans per team is good roster building. Overpaying guys past their prime who complain is not. Fletcher Cox is one of my favorite players, but if you're overpaid and not producing enough, you're not in a position to complain.

Yep. That made the contract even more confusing. His attitude and play didn’t warrant it.

46 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

 

 

Obviously, that statement was about that current iteration of the discussion.  I wasn't recusing myself from all future discussions of the cap or Howie's can kicking.    And I limited myself to only the current situation... Cox's contract.  I didn't deep dive into all the past mismanagement of contracts and bad deals.

Not because I got in trouble during the racist tourney, but showing my hate goes both ways…., like @olsilverhair. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

 

 

44 minutes ago, RLC said:

Teams should always open up cap space in year 1 at the expense of year 2. If they don't use it, that extra cap space carries over and it's fine. If they use it, it just has to be for a good reason (extending players at below market deals to save more money)

Extension candidates this year: Hargrave, Epps, CGJ, Bradberry, Edwards, Scott, Sanders. Obvious there are varying prices of those extension, but the option is on the table.

The option was on the table anyway.  The extension, by definition, wouldn't kick in for this year's cap, but wouldn't start until the end of the current deal.   Granted, they could do a renegotiation with the extension and change the amount due this year... but in so doing, would also be able to structure that such that this year's number stays at or below the current number.

And honestly, I have no interest in giving Hargrave a big money extension.  I have no interest in extending Epps until he proves he deserves it.  He's done nothing to deserve it yet.  CGJ?  Sure.  Bradberry?  We'll see.   Edwards?  Meh.  I'd like to think that adding Dean makes Edwards a luxury.     Scott - no.  Sanders - no.  

35 minutes ago, pgcd3 said:

On a different note I watched the Unscripted episode. Not sure what producer thought spending an entire segment on Marcus Epps gym would be interesting. It isn't.  Funny though is the footage of BG's preseason tackle shows Derek Barnett shoving a guy about 3 seconds after the whistle

24 minutes ago, RLC said:

I feel differently about BG than Cox. BG is still a ++ run defender and is now the #1 leader on the team. He can play multiple positions and never complains. Cox complained about the scheme last year. BG will lineup wherever is best to help the team.

IMO, overpaying 1 or 2 veterans per team is good roster building. Overpaying guys past their prime who complain is not. Fletcher Cox is one of my favorite players, but if you're overpaid and not producing enough, you're not in a position to complain.

I agree 100% about what Graham brings.  However, his deal is overpriced.  If they had brought him back at about half of his current deal, that would have been the ideal level.  But, that hit at the end... again $10M in 2024, or $18M in 2023... just too much for him.   He's a great guy to have around.  He's an energy guy.  He's a glue guy.  But, he's overpriced.  And that's been Howie's greatest undoing with these deals on the aging players.  He locks himself in to them for way too much money long after their ability no longer warrants that price.   Sure, he got a bargain for a couple years, then he gets a lemon for a couple more than that.   Personally, I'd rather just pay the going rate when the player is actually worth it, and not dramatically over pay when they are not... and worse yet force you to keep them around longer than you would other wise prefer.

23 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

Just to get some random thoughts out of my head, here are some things I’m interested in heading into the opener.

* Has Hurts progressed enough? Can he win in the pocket enough?

* I think Sweat is in for a big year. Now that he can get out of that ridiculous 4i alignment and rush from outside the offensive tackle I think he could push for double digit sacks. 

* Both of these are contingent on Hurts being good enough to be a pass neutral team, but AJ Brown should have at least 1,100 yards and Goedert should flirt with 1,000. Devonta Smith might end up third in the pecking order, but that’s no slight to him. Brown is a top-10 type receiver, and Goedert was insanely efficient after Ertz was traded. 

* What is the plan with Reddick? He’s going to drop back some, like Sweat if we’re in a 3-4 alignment.  How much? Who are the four DL when we’re in nickel? Reddick and Sweat should be. Hargrave should be in over Cox. Who’s the fourth? Graham as an inside rusher? Milton Williams? Cox just because we’re being nice? It would be ideal to see Williams make the leap this year so we can pencil him in as a starter in 2023  

* How does CGJ change the dynamic at safety? He played quite a bit there in college, and a lot of his duties as a nickel overlap with safety duties. Is he too big of a weirdo to pay big money?

* Can Kyzir White break our streak of terrible LB signings? Low bar, but even average LB would be a win.

* Is Epps as good as we’re being led to believe? I was never a big fan, but I thought he was our best safety last year — yet another low bar to clear.

* Can Jordan Davis rush the passer? Unless he’s a dominant run stuffer in the Vita Vea mold, he needs to have a little pass rush to him to warrant the trade up. He obviously has the athleticism for it, and seems like a good worker. There’s no reason for him not to develop. 

* Coaching. Sirianni seems to make some weird choices on fourth down. Does it change with a year under his belt (or the front office pushing for more aggression)? Will he use a simile or metaphor that isn’t masculine enough to make the Blog explode with testosterone? How much will the offense be able to looked like "his offense” with Hurts at QB. Was Gannon overly vanilla and boring because of personnel or is his defensive philosophy just bad?

There are a lot of storylines going through out this year.

2 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

I agree 100% about what Graham brings.  However, his deal is overpriced.  If they had brought him back at about half of his current deal, that would have been the ideal level.  But, that hit at the end... again $10M in 2024, or $18M in 2023... just too much for him.   He's a great guy to have around.  He's an energy guy.  He's a glue guy.  But, he's overpriced.  And that's been Howie's greatest undoing with these deals on the aging players.  He locks himself in to them for way too much money long after their ability no longer warrants that price.   Sure, he got a bargain for a couple years, then he gets a lemon for a couple more than that.   Personally, I'd rather just pay the going rate when the player is actually worth it, and not dramatically over pay when they are not... and worse yet force you to keep them around longer than you would other wise prefer.

There are a lot of storylines going through out this year.

What you are describing are the Bengals and Bucs before they got Burrow and Brady...which were teams drafting in the top 15 for multiple years. That approach only works if you have a Top 8 QB, because 1) players don't want to sign with you and 2) you don't get enough value contracts by signing guys to big long-term deals. 

41 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

Yeah, it’s not the first time he turned a middling roster into a good one (although this time it was his own doing). I think he’s walking a tight rope though. We don’t have our franchise QB, and we have a lot of FAs to be on defense, meaning he needs to keep his heater going.

I suspect either Edwards or White get an extension this year with Dean slated to take over for the other next year. Hargrave is a tough one because he will have to be paid into his 30s. I think I’d let him play out the season and let him test FA unless he’s willing to take a team-friendly deal. Cox should be a goner. Bradberry is similar to Hargrave in age/contract. At safety, I think one or both of Epps/CGJ get extended.

In this scenario, we would be entering FA minus are two starting 3-4 ends, a starting CB (with no immediate Slay heir apparent as well) and no franchise QB. That’s not to mention Graham/Barnett will need to he re-signed/replaced.

That’s a lot of work, but not impossible. 

It's weird that both sides of the ball are in very different shape.

Offense is clearly all about the QB.  But after that you've got your WR1/WR2/TE1/LT/LG/C/RT all locked up.  RB should be a relatively easy position to address. 

Defense is another matter.  I agree that we should let Hargrave test the market.  Edwards should be an easy extension.  White depends on what we see from Dean.  CGJ should be the priority extension, IMO.  Economics suggest that DE and CB get addressed through the draft.  Finally, Howie is always happy with one-year bandaids on D.

2 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

It's weird that both sides of the ball are in very different shape.

Offense is clearly all about the QB.  But after that you've got your WR1/WR2/TE1/LT/LG/C/RT all locked up.  RB should be a relatively easy position to address. 

Defense is another matter.  I agree that we should let Hargrave test the market.  Edwards should be an easy extension.  White depends on what we see from Dean.  CGJ should be the priority extension, IMO.  Economics suggest that DE and CB get addressed through the draft.  Finally, Howie is always happy with one-year bandaids on D.

I think that's more a function of his drafting on defense being historically bad over the last 10 years.  

29 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

Just to get some random thoughts out of my head, here are some things I’m interested in heading into the opener.

* Has Hurts progressed enough? Can he win in the pocket enough?

* I think Sweat is in for a big year. Now that he can get out of that ridiculous 4i alignment and rush from outside the offensive tackle I think he could push for double digit sacks. 

* Both of these are contingent on Hurts being good enough to be a pass neutral team, but AJ Brown should have at least 1,100 yards and Goedert should flirt with 1,000. Devonta Smith might end up third in the pecking order, but that’s no slight to him. Brown is a top-10 type receiver, and Goedert was insanely efficient after Ertz was traded. 

* What is the plan with Reddick? He’s going to drop back some, like Sweat if we’re in a 3-4 alignment.  How much? Who are the four DL when we’re in nickel? Reddick and Sweat should be. Hargrave should be in over Cox. Who’s the fourth? Graham as an inside rusher? Milton Williams? Cox just because we’re being nice? It would be ideal to see Williams make the leap this year so we can pencil him in as a starter in 2023  

* How does CGJ change the dynamic at safety? He played quite a bit there in college, and a lot of his duties as a nickel overlap with safety duties. Is he too big of a weirdo to pay big money?

* Can Kyzir White break our streak of terrible LB signings? Low bar, but even average LB would be a win.

* Is Epps as good as we’re being led to believe? I was never a big fan, but I thought he was our best safety last year — yet another low bar to clear.

* Can Jordan Davis rush the passer? Unless he’s a dominant run stuffer in the Vita Vea mold, he needs to have a little pass rush to him to warrant the trade up. He obviously has the athleticism for it, and seems like a good worker. There’s no reason for him not to develop. 

* Coaching. Sirianni seems to make some weird choices on fourth down. Does it change with a year under his belt (or the front office pushing for more aggression)? Will he use a simile or metaphor that isn’t masculine enough to make the Blog explode with testosterone? How much will the offense be able to looked like "his offense” with Hurts at QB. Was Gannon overly vanilla and boring because of personnel or is his defensive philosophy just bad?

You left out how will the construction progress on I-95 will improve traffic flow to the game.

1 minute ago, RLC said:

What you are describing are the Bengals and Bucs before they got Burrow and Brady...which were teams drafting in the top 15 for multiple years. That approach only works if you have a Top 8 QB, because 1) players don't want to sign with you and 2) you don't get enough value contracts by signing guys to big long-term deals. 

I disagree.  When discussing how to resign your own players... that's a totally different thing.  They know the team, the culture, etc.  You don't need to go bonkers overpaying them.  The Eagles were supposedly trying to keep the championship window open when these big money contracts for aging players were negotiated though.  So, I'm going to call BS on the idea that the players didn't want to stay here.  It was more a matter of needing to kick the can forward, and Howie overpaid them in future years so that they'd do the extensions.  And he overplayed that strategy.  

Just now, Connecticut Eagle said:

You left out how will the construction progress on I-95 will improve traffic flow to the game.

Interesting word choice.  

The answer is simple:  It won't.   The real question is how bad will it be.

2 minutes ago, Connecticut Eagle said:

.Economics suggest that DE and CB get addressed through the draft. 
 

Finally, Howie is always happy with one-year bandaids on D.

Yet, we might be pushing a lot of our draft assets to the middle of the table for a QB, making it harder to do. We’re in a tenuous position. 

And you’re right about the bandaids. Hopefully this year is like 2017, but it’s hard to win those types of bets when you have to do that at 2 or 3 positions. Looking at 2022, White, Bradberry and CGJ look like high probability bets. 

Just now, Iggles_Phan said:

I disagree.  When discussing how to resign your own players... that's a totally different thing.  They know the team, the culture, etc.  You don't need to go bonkers overpaying them.  The Eagles were supposedly trying to keep the championship window open when these big money contracts for aging players were negotiated though.  So, I'm going to call BS on the idea that the players didn't want to stay here.  It was more a matter of needing to kick the can forward, and Howie overpaid them in future years so that they'd do the extensions.  And he overplayed that strategy.  

How many teams have been consistently good with the approach that you outlined that didn't have an elite, top of the line franchise QB?

Just now, RLC said:

How many teams have been consistently good with the approach that you outlined that didn't have an elite, top of the line franchise QB?

I have zero interest in discussing the hypothetical.  I am discussing what Howie did, while this team had a guy that they believed was an elite, top of the line franchise QB.  Let's not rewrite history.  The Eagles were that when Howie did what he did.  Or, at least, the Eagles thought that they were that.  

RIP College Gameday.  I think I'm making the move over to Big Noon Kickoff.

To change the topic slightly...

 

 

what games are folks excited about watching today?

Just now, ManuManu said:

Yet, we might be pushing a lot of our draft assets to the middle of the table for a QB, making it harder to do. We’re in a tenuous position. 

And you’re right about the bandaids. Hopefully this year is like 2017, but it’s hard to win those types of bets when you have to do that at 2 or 3 positions. Looking at 2022, White, Bradberry and CGJ look like high probability bets. 

Not all are bandaids, though.  Bradberry and CGJ weren't available during 'normal' free agency.  As opposed to White, these were opportunistic acquisitions.  Which is why extending CGJ would be a smart move.  Epps shouldn't be pricey to keep as well.  Some stability at Safety in the post Jenkins/McLeod era.

1 minute ago, bpac55 said:

RIP College Gameday.  I think I'm making the move over to Big Noon Kickoff.

College Gameday used to be great.   But, I'd struggle to watch Big Noon Kickoff with Urban Meyer on it.  I have no interest in what he has to say.