2 hours ago, LeanMeanGM said:

RIP. Always loved seeing his highlights 

He was the GOAT.

1 hour ago, bpac55 said:

If you have a punter who can kick, you don't need a kicker.  Instead of 2 specialists, you have 1.  I'm not suggesting the Eagles do that, I was just looking at ways teams could get creative at saving roster spots.

The Covid season really changed the way teams use their practice squads and such.  Having a larger practice squad as well as 2 call ups per game day has almost, but not completely eliminated the stresses of the bottom of the roster juggling that goes on. There are plenty of weeks that the Eagles go in to Sunday with only 52 roster spots filled.  Frustrates me because I always think that gives them an opportunity to pluck a guy off another teams PS...but then they have to carry them on the roster so I also understand why they don't.

I was just wondering out loud, if any team would ever get creative enough with saving roster spots where they have an all-in-one kicker/punter and a LS that can be TE3.  If you have a LS that can be a position player as well, it gives you an extra roster spot.  You could use that for a guy you want to develop but not have exposed to waivers or on the PS ripe for the taking.  

This is just a scenario and not something I'm suggesting the Eagles do BUT, if they had a position player like Boston Scott who could be PR/KR, a LS that could play TE3 and their kicker was all-in-one, that's 3 roster spots that open up for more OL, DL, CB, WR or having high risk projects protected on the 53.

Kicking off is dramatically different from placekicking.  The odds of a team combining a punter and placekicker into a single position will never happen in the modern NFL. 

@Outlaw Ive  just now landed my Reed Blankenship auto

There had to be 1 other bidder, who drove my price up to 9.60 after tax and shipping.

 

 

11 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Kicking off is dramatically different from placekicking.  The odds of a team combining a punter and placekicker into a single position will never happen in the modern NFL. 

This is one thing I don't understand.  More than a handful of NCAA kickers handle both punting and placekicking.  Ty Zentner did it at KSU.  What changes from college to the NFL that makes it so difficult?  Is it the change in hashmarks?  

1 minute ago, bpac55 said:

This is one thing I don't understand.  More than a handful of NCAA kickers handle both punting and placekicking.  Ty Zentner did it at KSU.  What changes from college to the NFL that makes it so difficult?  Is it the change in hashmarks?  

Different hashes, the speed with which you need to get the ball up and the new angle needed to ensure you get the ball over the LOS.  And finally, how many kickers wash out in the NFL, and those are guys that only focus on the placekicking aspect.  What happens when they have to split their focus on both the punting and placekicking?  Do they get better at both, or do they fail at both?

9 hours ago, BigEFly said:

No doubt the lack of coordinated blocking early on hurt Covey.  But his instincts and quickness did not suggest much of a threat as the season went on.  

He clearly improved his returns as the season progressed. In the first 9 games, he had 18 returns for 117 yards (6.5 yards per return). In the final 8 regular season games, he had 15 returns for 191 yards (12.7 yards per return). In the postseason, he had 2 returns (both in the Super Bowl) for 35 yards (17.5 average). 

 

7 hours ago, Cochis_Calhoun said:

I already said that the Special Teams overall wasn't great last year, but the ability of Covey to run up a blind alley is still remarkable, he found the first defender lots of times, and he has nothing else to offer the team.

To keep a specialist returner who does nothing else, his returning should be exceptional and Covey's is the definition of ordinary, Reagor was a catastrophe back there, but that doesn't mean we should accept Covey just because he doesn't muff punts. If he was a 3rd WR or DB that returned it's a different conversation, but he's occupying a roster spot to do a specific job and he's nothing special at it.

Literally any other position, even a back up that was this meh, this board would be fine with people asking to upgrade, but for some reason Covey is now a sacred cow.

I was right there with you through game 9. Then it seemed at some point after that, things clicked for Covey and he was more decisive, moving forward and simply taking what was there. That's all Brian Mitchell ever did and he was one of the best. If being a return specialist is going to be a player's niche in the NFL, he should learn to do it effectively. As a punt returner, that's what I'm seeing from Covey. Some of you are saying, "well he only does punt returns ..." Actually, he returned a few kickoffs as well last season and wasn't the worst. He had 10 kick returns for a 20.6 yard average). All his kick returns came in the 1st 9 weeks. So if that was the point where things clicked for him, it's possible his kick return average would show significant improvement. Now, I'm pretty comfortable with Scott being the primary KR because it gives him a couple more touches per game and he has also shown nice improvement, but Covey, at the very least, could take over if needed.

Covey is no sacred cow. It's just a bit ignorant to only judge him on the 1st half of last season and completely ignore the 2nd half. What you want to see from rookies or young players is improvement. Did he show improvement? I believe that is undeniable. The numbers back it up. What about the "eye test?" Let's give it a try:

I don't care if we bring in competition. We should. We always should. But after seeing Reagor not work out as the PR, Watkins not work out, after seeing Greg Ward stagnate with a 5.7 yard average for his career, I just don't understand what gripes people have with Covey at this point. I wish he was bigger. I wish he was faster. I wish he was stronger --- but I'll happily take the player that is averaging around 12 yards per return, not turning the ball over, and showing genuine improvement. A successful career on special teams can lead to more opportunities on offense (for an offensive player) down the road. 2022 was step 1. 

 

7 hours ago, just relax said:

Doesn't it strike you as significant that in the two years Gainwell has been here he has clearly taken away targets and receptions from Scott? 

79 targets vs. 22. 56 receptions vs.18. 422 yards in receptions vs. 98.

In the playoffs it's the same story: 14 targets vs. 2. 12 receptions vs. 2. 104 yards in receptions vs. 10.

 

Well one would expect that Gainwell would chip into Scott’s catches because it wasn’t like Boobie would. For the years that Gainwell has been an Eagle, Scott had been Sanders primary backup until the last third of last year.   They pushed Gainwell a little too fast early on.  Look, Scott is a one year rental at this point and aging for a RB (probably less so than a starter.). Gainwell is a late round choice on a rookie contract with two seasons left.  I would argue that both Gainwell and Scott have been underutilized in the passing game with Shane calling plays.  I think the dropsies last preseason by Gainwell may have spooked them but I also think Shane was a bit shy of RB routes, or Hurts reluctant to check down to a RB versus running it.  

But my response was to your assertion that Gainwell is a better receiver than Scott.  In truth he may become better but they are both damn good receivers with the ability to break a long run.  Scott has the edge in hands at this point.  His reception rate and lack of drops is pretty damn good.   Added to that are Swift and Penny, who also seem to be pretty good receivers.  I think the lack of throws to the RBs were as much a product of Shane as of Jalen trusting his legs.  I fully expect with Johnson calling the plays and Sanders inconsistency in the passing game having moved on that we are going to see more use of the RBs in the passing game this year.  

2 hours ago, HazletonEagle said:

@Outlaw Ive  just now landed my Reed Blankenship auto

There had to be 1 other bidder, who drove my price up to 9.60 after tax and shipping.

 

 

My latest addition 

 

Just landed this Eli Ricks as well. 2/2 of the cards I had in my sights for the day

23 minutes ago, HazletonEagle said:

Just landed this Eli Ricks as well. 2/2 of the cards I had in my sights for the day

Excited to see both Ricks and Garner come TC.   Wish there was a mini camp prior to get a better idea of how they move against the veterans but I'm not going to argue with the way the Eagles conduct their practices anymore.  I really think the Eagles have some serious talent in the DB room if they can tap in to their potential.

3 hours ago, bpac55 said:

This is one thing I don't understand.  More than a handful of NCAA kickers handle both punting and placekicking.  Ty Zentner did it at KSU.  What changes from college to the NFL that makes it so difficult?  Is it the change in hashmarks?  

Punting is significantly different in the NFL than it is in NCAA. In college, basically everyone on the kicking team can run down the field so punters don't need to worry much about hang time. In the NFL, ineligible receivers can't release down the field and are forced to stay in to block. This means less players running down the field and more open lanes, making punters have to consider hang time to give the players enough time to cover.

3 hours ago, bpac55 said:

This is one thing I don't understand.  More than a handful of NCAA kickers handle both punting and placekicking.  Ty Zentner did it at KSU.  What changes from college to the NFL that makes it so difficult?  Is it the change in hashmarks?  

Yeah, a bunch of guys in college do both. But do any of them REALLY do them at the level required of a professional? Show me someone who can make 85% of their field goal attempts from an average of about forty yards (going 17 of 20 from the thirty five is meaningless) with the leg strength to consistently hit from 55 yards while also averaging about 45 yards per punt with a 4.5 second hangtime. While ALSO getting his place kicks up at the proper trajectory and ALSO getting his punts off in about 1.2 seconds. If a guy can do ALL of that, then yeah, he could make it in the NFL doing both. But he's a unicorn.

The last college guy who could do both WELL was Chris Gardocki, and that was more than thirty years ago.

Araiza cleared by SDSU. Sign him Howie!

5 hours ago, HazletonEagle said:

@Outlaw Ive  just now landed my Reed Blankenship auto

There had to be 1 other bidder, who drove my price up to 9.60 after tax and shipping.

 

 

Nice! My Blankenship is a Sage as well, different photo though. 

1 hour ago, HazletonEagle said:

Just landed this Eli Ricks as well. 2/2 of the cards I had in my sights for the day

I tend not to pick up UDFA’s until they make the roster. So I’ll wait until the roster is set to go back for Ricks, Haselwood, etc. That’s a nice Ricks though!

Should be getting these soon…

 

5 hours ago, Iggles_Phan said:

He was the GOAT.

Nah, Jim Brown was the Greatest of His Time.  

I had a dream the other day, I think Wednesday.  Anyway it seemed so real at the time that it made it all so incredible and then when I woke up I was remembering it and I believed it for a few seconds until reality set in that it just wasn't possible.  But it was such a beautiful dream.  There was a play where Jalen was running to his left and he got hit as he was winding back and the ball came out but it came out to someone who was just to the left of him who caught it and immediately threw it down the left sideline but in the field and DeVonta made this unbelievable twisting in the air on his back one hand catch.  The play was unbelievable and I was waiting for the replay like "what the hell happened there?".  And the replay showed that Koy Detmer was that player to the left of Hurts that caught the ball and immediately threw it down the field for a first down to DeVonta Smith who made an iconic one handed catch.   Then McNabb in his uniform and 5 and everything started to walk into the game but was called back to the sideline as he was walking out.  And suddenly I remembered/realized that the NFL allowed old retired players to come and play games with their old teams.  But then I woke up right then and there to my alarm, after just buying into the nonsensical theory to make me believe what I just watched in my dream was real.  I truly believed what I had watched in my dream I actually watched and it was real and it had happened only to come to my sense within a few seconds and realize that isn't at all realistic.  

That's a hell of a way to start your morning.  The most insane level of surprise, happiness, intrigue only to quickly be disappointed that it was all a dream.  I said it before at the end of last season and I say it now, they should bring him back to be a holder.  He was the best there ever was.  Probably that there will ever be.  No on ever worked at that craft like him, and it is a craft.  It's an artform and he is the best ever at it.  An artist in the same way that Jesus was a carpenter.  Just another level and it was special.  He made David Akers.  Akers wasn't anything without him.  Everyone knew it, especially Andy.  That's why he hated Akers so much.  In 2006 they cut a player just to sign Koy out of retirement for the playoffs to hold.  And he held in rainy high pressure weather for a tie and then a field goal win in I believe overtime or right before the end of regulation.  If they put him in at halftime in the Panthers NFC Championship Game then the Eagles are going to the Super Bowl that year.   If he didn't get his elbow dislocated in the game of his life on MNF against playoff Garcia & TO 49ers then McNabb would have never seen the field again and Koy would have taken the Eagles to win the Super Bowl.  He would have beat Tampa.  He would have beat the Raiders.  

With how bad the QB landscape is in the NFC the Eagles have a real good chance to go on a good run here where they should own the conference.  It looks all the better if Bryce Young busts and doesn't rise to battle him.  It all rides on the health of Jalen Hurts *Knocks on wood*.  I think he is just going to continue to get better next year with his continued growth as well as continued chemistry with Devonta, AJ, Goedert and this offensive line.  I think they added some good supporting cast type offensive weapons.  I think there is a very good chance we end up having the best offense in the league.  Just gotta hope this new DC do better than Gannon with this defense that is half filled with Super Bowl experienced but older veterans and a bunch of young hungry defensive players, most from maybe the greatest college defense in history.  

1 hour ago, RememberTheKoy said:

I had a dream the other day, I think Wednesday.  Anyway it seemed so real at the time that it made it all so incredible and then when I woke up I was remembering it and I believed it for a few seconds until reality set in that it just wasn't possible.  But it was such a beautiful dream.  There was a play where Jalen was running to his left and he got hit as he was winding back and the ball came out but it came out to someone who was just to the left of him who caught it and immediately threw it down the left sideline but in the field and DeVonta made this unbelievable twisting in the air on his back one hand catch.  The play was unbelievable and I was waiting for the replay like "what the hell happened there?".  And the replay showed that Koy Detmer was that player to the left of Hurts that caught the ball and immediately threw it down the field for a first down to DeVonta Smith who made an iconic one handed catch.   Then McNabb in his uniform and 5 and everything started to walk into the game but was called back to the sideline as he was walking out.  And suddenly I remembered/realized that the NFL allowed old retired players to come and play games with their old teams.  But then I woke up right then and there to my alarm, after just buying into the nonsensical theory to make me believe what I just watched in my dream was real.  I truly believed what I had watched in my dream I actually watched and it was real and it had happened only to come to my sense within a few seconds and realize that isn't at all realistic.  

That's a hell of a way to start your morning.  The most insane level of surprise, happiness, intrigue only to quickly be disappointed that it was all a dream.  I said it before at the end of last season and I say it now, they should bring him back to be a holder.  He was the best there ever was.  Probably that there will ever be.  No on ever worked at that craft like him, and it is a craft.  It's an artform and he is the best ever at it.  An artist in the same way that Jesus was a carpenter.  Just another level and it was special.  He made David Akers.  Akers wasn't anything without him.  Everyone knew it, especially Andy.  That's why he hated Akers so much.  In 2006 they cut a player just to sign Koy out of retirement for the playoffs to hold.  And he held in rainy high pressure weather for a tie and then a field goal win in I believe overtime or right before the end of regulation.  If they put him in at halftime in the Panthers NFC Championship Game then the Eagles are going to the Super Bowl that year.   If he didn't get his elbow dislocated in the game of his life on MNF against playoff Garcia & TO 49ers then McNabb would have never seen the field again and Koy would have taken the Eagles to win the Super Bowl.  He would have beat Tampa.  He would have beat the Raiders.  

You should try and get that story published 

Butler should’ve never been allowed to leave

 

11 hours ago, BigEFly said:

Nah, Jim Brown was the Greatest of His Time.  

I said what I said, and I stand by it.  You are welcome to your opinion, but please don't impose it on others.

7 hours ago, WentzFan11 said:

Butler should’ve never been allowed to leave

Blame Brett Brown and Ben Simmons for that.  Brown couldn't handle strong personalities like Butler, and Butler couldn't stand Simmons.  

 

Jimmy was right.  Brett was wrong.   And that offseason is where the Process fell apart.   Keep Butler, move on from Simmons and complete a sign and trade with Harris...  And you have all the pieces you need to win a championship.   Instead, we kept Captain Milquetoast and Brown as the HC.  Honestly, Doc Rivers with Embiid and Butler might have gotten it done.  Sadly, we'll never know.

7 hours ago, WentzFan11 said:

Butler should’ve never been allowed to leave

Yes.  A baller.  Did unload Ben finally and think Harris has one more year on his awful contract.

23 hours ago, Cochis_Calhoun said:

I already said that the Special Teams overall wasn't great last year, but the ability of Covey to run up a blind alley is still remarkable, he found the first defender lots of times, and he has nothing else to offer the team.

To keep a specialist returner who does nothing else, his returning should be exceptional and Covey's is the definition of ordinary, Reagor was a catastrophe back there, but that doesn't mean we should accept Covey just because he doesn't muff punts. If he was a 3rd WR or DB that returned it's a different conversation, but he's occupying a roster spot to do a specific job and he's nothing special at it.

Literally any other position, even a back up that was this meh, this board would be fine with people asking to upgrade, but for some reason Covey is now a sacred cow.

Not a sacred cow at all. What you are seeing is reactionary posting in action.  You essentially gave him a score of 1 on a scale of 10.  Your reaction to the pushback you have gotten indicates that you feel the comments are giving him a score of 9 on a scale of 10.  That is a textbook definition of polarization.  In reality, the commenters who have responded to you are giving Covey a score between 5 and 6.  So don’t have a cow … Covey is anything but sacred.

1 hour ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Blame Brett Brown and Ben Simmons for that.  Brown couldn't handle strong personalities like Butler, and Butler couldn't stand Simmons.  

 

Jimmy was right.  Brett was wrong.   And that offseason is where the Process fell apart.   Keep Butler, move on from Simmons and complete a sign and trade with Harris...  And you have all the pieces you need to win a championship.   Instead, we kept Captain Milquetoast and Brown as the HC.  Honestly, Doc Rivers with Embiid and Butler might have gotten it done.  Sadly, we'll never know.

Please delete this.  Ugh, what they should have done kills me.  I stand by my opinion that Jimmy Butler had a chance to be an all-time Philly great.  He owned this city in his short time here.