EMB Blog: 2023 Offseason - NO POLITICS

[Sack that QB]

1 minute ago, mattwill said:

Regarding Hargrave, it might be wiser to try and sign Daron Payne as a FA.  Similar quality player, and probably similar money, but significantly younger.

I'd love that, but I'm assuming he's going to be more expensive than Hargrave. But that would be a great move.

[HazletonEagle]

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

Listening to Benjamin Solak on the Philly special podcast, he said it perfectly about Gannon. his defense is built for the regular season. Cause you’re not gonna face  elite quarterbacks or really good quarterbacks every single week. So you can get away with playing that defense a majority of the season and winning a lot of games with it. When you get to the playoffs, you’re eventually gonna run into an elite/really good QBs . Patrick Mahomes is an elite Qb in the league, took what game took with Gannon was gonna give him. He is so good that he can consistently keep making the throws and its death by a 1000 papercuts. Gannon tried to make the chiefs methodical move the ball down the field. Was going to be bend bend bend bend but Mahomes and reid broke them in the red zone.

I agree with what Solak said on there. He said it better than what i typed out but he went into a 5 min discussion about it. He was a 100% right. When mahomes for his career against the eagles (both against Gannon) has his highest EPA per dropback, 10-10 im the red zone (which it’s 9-10 but only cause the chiefs wanted to kick a last second field goal so they actually accomplished their goal), completing 78% of his passes, only 12 incompletions in 57 throws, 1 turnover and only sacked 1 time in 2 games there’s a issue with your scheme working in big games against big time Qbs. Mahomes is great but those numbers i put out there are ridiculous and he wasn’t nearly as great vs. cincy twice this year, Buffalo and colts. So not like the eagles needed to be the best against them but they are the worst against him for his career. then factor in  you have most talent on defense that any eagles roster has had since 2017 and argument the early 2000s. Likely not having better talent on defense next year so chance it’s worse next time.

When you have a QB who can dink and dunk all day like that, you need the LBs with great range in coverage. It was a strength of White's when we brought him in as a free agent. Edwards is still a weak link. The D can get better with Dean and White starting together. But the DL needs to be more stout against the run as well in order for those LBs to survive.

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

1 minute ago, The Blackfish said:

Reid also got some good play from his linebackers, Bolton, Gay, even Chenal against the run.  They had some guys flying on defense and it looked like CGJ was the only one trying to make a play for the Eagles. 

We are not Chiefs fans so it doesn’t make a difference to us. The Chiefs didn’t play well on defense either. They were fortunate hurtd just fumbled the ball and they returned it for a td because otherwise they were just as bad as the Eagles. However, they have a ton of young players on that roster defensively. So them getting the experience this year is only going to help them going into next year. I actually would be surprised if the Chiefs defense is not better next year as compared to what it was this year because of that. 

[LeanMeanGM]

 

[Iggles_Phan]

Just now, LeanMeanGM said:

Gannon needed to have the Jim Schwartz attitude. We're going to be aggressive and either get you the ball back or make sure you get the ball with enough time to win it. 

Absolutely.  Sirianni got conservative when he needed to be most aggressive, even after being very aggressive early in the game going for it on 4th downs... kicking a FG on the first drive in the 2nd half, and then punting on the second drive.  

And Gannon needed to turn off the conservative mode and just let it all hang out... as Dan Fouts would say... and just let them score fast or get the ball back fast.  5 minutes is too easy to chew up against a soft zone with 2 high.  0 coverage and let the chips fall where they may.  Maybe give up the TD and let the O go back down the field and win it by going for 2 rather than playing for OT.

 

[LeanMeanGM]

He was in the bathroom for 3 of them. 

[Waiting4Someday]

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

Just saying Marcus Epps at his pro day ran a 4.55. So the same can be said about Epps can’t make mistakes and take bad angles either. 

Epps has been reliable if unremarkable.  Neither should be matched-up in man (Kelce TD), but the 2H scheme means they rarely have to... until you are forced to mix things up against good QBs. 

[LeanMeanGM]

 

[HazletonEagle]

33 minutes ago, vikas83 said:

What's weird is, I was terrified about all the free agents and guys we'd lose. But actually listing it out, it's more manageable than I thought. CJGJ and Hargrave are the 2 guys to really work to bring back, and BG if it can be done. Everything else can be replaced other than Bradberry -- going to have to get lucky there. If Kelce comes back, the offense slides Jurgens in at RG and a new a couple new RB to go with Kenny (one draft, one cheap vet). On defense, you have Davis take over for Cox, Dean for White, and Blankenship for Epps.

yep. Im a keep bradberry and G-J guy. Replace the DT in the draft. But either way, yes we have in house replacements for some, and others will be cheap to retain in the 2nd or 3rd round of free agency.

The team will be very close to what it was this year. We should be very competitive again next year. Offense may be even better with another year of improvement from hurts, and potentially a more dominating rushing attack if we bring in a guy who can really pound the rock. 

[Mike31mt]

The Chiefs also gave us 2 (I think) first downs from jumping offsides.  They also missed a FG that Butker probably makes 9/10 times.  They kicked a FG and left the window open for us to tie the game....

Just none of their mistakes were as egregious as ours and took points off the board; Quez dropping the deep bomb, Hurts fumble for TD.    Excluding the Bradberry penalty, the Chiefs didnt make any mistakes worse than those two.

 

[Alphagrand]

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

Just saying Marcus Epps at his pro day ran a 4.55. So the same can be said about Epps can’t make mistakes and take bad angles either. 

I'm sure Epps makes good plays that go under the radar -- the broadcast crew pointed out the play in the Super Bowl where Epps stayed on his assignment against the Chiefs' OL on their trick-play attempt near the end zone -- but IMO he makes a lot of really bad plays as well.  Getting torched by Aaron Jones on a post route to the end zone against GB was awful -- can't let a RB burn you that badly on a pass route.  His missed tackle on McCaffery at the line of scrimmage that resulted in a 27-yard TD gallop.  He did a poor job against Kelce on the Chiefs first TD.  It's a lot more than just those three plays for me; he generally doesn't strike me as a good tackler nor a good cover safety.

Don't want him back.  Not even a little, but I'm almost positive he will be back because the organization seems to love him.  

[HazletonEagle]

32 minutes ago, Alphagrand said:

Gardner-Johnson and Hargrave are the two I would put my money into as well.  Bradberry is good and the Eagles have been starved for good CBs, but the trenches are where you win/lose games more often.  I just hope they don't throw good money at Edwards or Epps -- those two guys can be replaced by just about anybody.

trenches are where you win, and where the eagles spend premium draft capital. They pay big money to the CBs. Bradberry is more likely to be signed. DT is more likely to be drafted in round 1.

[LeanMeanGM]

We are going to be facing an uphill battle early next season. Super Bowl hangover, new assistant coaches and likely a mostly new defensive personnel. 

[uncphillyfan]

Who was the official that threw the flag?

[Sack that QB]

I was looking for free agent lists and if there was any more evidence that Walter Football is a joke.

https://walterfootball.com/freeagents2023DT.php

Look at his DT rankings. Cox 2nd? Hargrave 5th? He said Payne had a bad 2022 with 11.5 sacks?

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

11 minutes ago, Waiting4Someday said:

Epps has been reliable if unremarkable.  Neither should be matched-up in man (Kelce TD), but the 2H scheme means they rarely have to... until you are forced to mix things up against good QBs. 

Epps is a solid starter. I don’t think he’s irreplaceable. Also Epps wasn’t a full time starter until year 4 in the league (2022). In 2020 and 2021 he started 8 games today. he barely played as a rookie. Blankenship as a rookie had to start cause of CJGJ but he wasn’t a complete disaster. I don’t think Blankenship is going to be CJGJ or jenkins or anything like that but i think he can very much become a solid starter like Marcus Epps. frankly he has more experience in his young career then Epps did at the same point in time. 

if i sign CJGJ I’m not signing Epps too. It’s too costly to pay 2 safety positions. Epps might not be extreme amount but it’s still more than you are wanting to allocate to that position considering what CJGJ is gonna get. This is not like when the Eagles had McLeod and Jenkins. They were able to do that because Carson Wentz was on a rookie contract. So you have the luxury of being able to pay a little bit more at that position. hurts is about to get $50 million. You can’t have your safety is combining to make close to $20 million. It just doesn’t work. Better off having either Reed or drafting a safety high to replace Epps. 

[Mike030270]

2 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

We are going to be facing an uphill battle early next season. Super Bowl hangover, new assistant coaches and likely a mostly new defensive personnel. 

Have they promoted Johnson yet?

[Sack that QB]

2 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

We are going to be facing an uphill battle early next season. Super Bowl hangover, new assistant coaches and likely a mostly new defensive personnel. 

Truly great teams overcome it. We'll see what the Eagles are made of next season. Good news is Hurts looks to be elite, but besides that, they have a great leadership core in that locker room.

Also, gotta hope Howie has it all figured out after rebounding the last couple seasons. Find ways to replenish what is lost this offseason. Continue to build.

[Alphagrand]

2 minutes ago, HazletonEagle said:

trenches are where you win, and where the eagles spend premium draft capital. They pay big money to the CBs. Bradberry is more likely to be signed. DT is more likely to be drafted in round 1.

They've tried both at each position group.  Bradberry (and even Nelson) worked out a lot better than Rasul or Sidney Jones, but they could draft a CB.  Hargrave was a big UFA signing when he came here.  I'm fine if Hargrave is too expensive, but they need a replacement who can provide close to equal ability.

[Mike030270]

1 minute ago, Alphagrand said:

They've tried both at each position group.  Bradberry (and even Nelson) worked out a lot better than Rasul or Sidney Jones, but they could draft a CB.  Hargrave was a big UFA signing when he came here.  I'm fine if Hargrave is too expensive, but they need a replacement who can provide close to equal ability.

Jones was a gamble that didn't pay off. They were calling him one of the best CBs in the draft before the injury

[Alphagrand]

6 minutes ago, uncphillyfan said:

Who was the official that threw the flag?

 

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

6 minutes ago, Alphagrand said:

I'm sure Epps makes good plays that go under the radar -- the broadcast crew pointed out the play in the Super Bowl where Epps stayed on his assignment against the Chiefs' OL on their trick-play attempt near the end zone -- but IMO he makes a lot of really bad plays as well.  Getting torched by Aaron Jones on a post route to the end zone against GB was awful -- can't let a RB burn you that badly on a pass route.  His missed tackle on McCaffery at the line of scrimmage that resulted in a 27-yard TD gallop.  He did a poor job against Kelce on the Chiefs first TD.  It's a lot more than just those three plays for me; he generally doesn't strike me as a good tackler nor a good cover safety.

Don't want him back.  Not even a little, but I'm almost positive he will be back because the organization seems to love him.  

I agree with what you wrote above. But the last part I don’t necessarily agree. If Chauncey Gardner Johnson gets paid like we think then how much money are you willing to allocate to the safety position? imo Epps is just gonna get paid like a NFL starter. Which means you’re probably gonna be paying a lot at safety with Jalen hurts getting a new contract. I don’t see the Eagles allocating two players making money at safety. If hurts was on a rookie deal for a couple more years then I’d say i see it. I think they’ll go with CJGJ, Reed Blankenship, and then draft a kid to be the starter or mid rounds to compete with Blankenship. 

[LeanMeanGM]

4 minutes ago, Mike030270 said:

Have they promoted Johnson yet?

They can't. Because of the Rooney Rule they have to interview one external minority candidate, even though they want to promote a minority candidate, because reasons. 

[HazletonEagle]

2 minutes ago, Alphagrand said:

They've tried both at each position group.  Bradberry (and even Nelson) worked out a lot better than Rasul or Sidney Jones, but they could draft a CB.  Hargrave was a big UFA signing when he came here.  I'm fine if Hargrave is too expensive, but they need a replacement who can provide close to equal ability.

they also signed Maxwell who was a big ticket guy at the time. And they signed Samuel. They always throw boatloads of money at CB.

Rookie CBs tend to struggle.

Not, Davis, but rookie DTs can often be effective.

 

I think matwill had a great idea to look elsewhere at DT even if thats where you spend the money. He mentioned Payne. Id even be fine with someone else who is more stout against the run. This defense relies on the front 4 stopping the run, and Hargrave didnt do that well enough. 

[Sack that QB]

I get the "ONLY 32 JOBS!" narrative and all. But Shane Steichen is a fool for working for this clown. I'm sure Chris Ballard is thrilled with that leverage play there by the moron owner.