Diva WRs suck but are tolerated. They can dominate.

Diva QBs are Baker Mayfield

1 minute ago, SkippyX said:

Diva WRs suck but are tolerated. They can dominate.

Diva QBs are Baker Mayfield

Or Jeff George.

Incidentally, Bennett isn't remotely close to either one in talent level.

5 hours ago, BigEFly said:

You have to consider differences in size, speed and defensive alignments when declaring players.  Is Christy Mathewson or Grover Cleveland Alexander the GOAT pitcher(s) in baseball.  (My best friend in high school and through college was a baseball fanatic.  He had this game that considered stats for playing baseball games.  I drove home crazy because my "team” was anchored in the deep past with my starting lineup including those two.)  Brown’s running style was perfect for his era.  I remember him from my youth.  But there are players like Payton and Sanders that were that for their time.  Or Campbell, or Dickerson, or, dare I say it, Simpson. But what of players we never saw like JimmThorpe or Red Grange? Can you imagine the backfield of Nagurski and Grange.  Probably the first thunder and lightning duo.  But that’s why I dislike GOAT.  Greatest of His Time makes much better sense because what worked in one era with a different game and different rules wouldn’t work today.  Take the Four Horsemen.  Those guys were Covey sized.  Nagurski was a beast in the day when his 235 was as big as most linemen.  

You talk a lot about the joy of the game versus success being only winning championships. I agree.  But a Deacon Jones head slap doesn’t negate the bend and speed of a Myles Garrett.  Different era.  The play of Brian Dawkins or Ed Reed doesn’t negate the play of Jack Tatum.  Different game different rules, joy to watch.  Tom Brady benefitted from his era.  But he would be unknown if he played in Jim Thorpe’s era.  Doesn’t make their play any less spectacular but GOAT is an overused media creation that really is inaccurate and truly portrays a player who was phenomenal for his time.  

None of this takes away from any of their achievements and the joy of watching a player excel in the game.  But sometimes it’s that one play, that one game, sometimes it is the overall career.  Sometimes it’s just the chemistry of a team of underdogs rising to the occasion.  None of that takes away from Jim Brown’s on the field performance, which was a joy to watch.  

We have to include Simpson, like it or not. He was a great RB.

I lived in Buffalo for two years, the longest years of my life, when OJ was at his peak, including the year he went over 2000 yards. It was in the snow against the Jets.

Everyone in town knew he beat his wife.

Wonder if the Cards would be willing to trade LB Zaven Collins. Could deal them Barnett, the gutter'r always loved him and their contracts for a post June 1st trade are very similar. If they listen, I'd possibly sweeten it with a day 3 pick in 24 if necessary. 
Or, now I know this won't be a favored idea but it's just for fun, what about Milton Williams for Collins. Both taken in the same draft, Gutter'r went bonkers for Williams so I'd assume he still likes him. Collins took a big step forward last year, former top 20 pick... 

Who do you guys think gets more touches this year, Swift or Penny? And what does the ratio look like?

1 hour ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Or Jeff George.

Incidentally, Bennett isn't remotely close to either one in talent level.

Marino was a diva but his skill level and competitiveness were so high he was still able to be a great QB (well for 6 years or so, anyway)

7 hours ago, BigEFly said:

You have to consider differences in size, speed and defensive alignments when declaring players.  Is Christy Mathewson or Grover Cleveland Alexander the GOAT pitcher(s) in baseball.  (My best friend in high school and through college was a baseball fanatic.  He had this game that considered stats for playing baseball games.  I drove home crazy because my "team” was anchored in the deep past with my starting lineup including those two.)  Brown’s running style was perfect for his era.  I remember him from my youth.  But there are players like Payton and Sanders that were that for their time.  Or Campbell, or Dickerson, or, dare I say it, Simpson. But what of players we never saw like JimmThorpe or Red Grange? Can you imagine the backfield of Nagurski and Grange.  Probably the first thunder and lightning duo.  But that’s why I dislike GOAT.  Greatest of His Time makes much better sense because what worked in one era with a different game and different rules wouldn’t work today.  Take the Four Horsemen.  Those guys were Covey sized.  Nagurski was a beast in the day when his 235 was as big as most linemen.  

You talk a lot about the joy of the game versus success being only winning championships. I agree.  But a Deacon Jones head slap doesn’t negate the bend and speed of a Myles Garrett.  Different era.  The play of Brian Dawkins or Ed Reed doesn’t negate the play of Jack Tatum.  Different game different rules, joy to watch.  Tom Brady benefitted from his era.  But he would be unknown if he played in Jim Thorpe’s era.  Doesn’t make their play any less spectacular but GOAT is an overused media creation that really is inaccurate and truly portrays a player who was phenomenal for his time.  

None of this takes away from any of their achievements and the joy of watching a player excel in the game.  But sometimes it’s that one play, that one game, sometimes it is the overall career.  Sometimes it’s just the chemistry of a team of underdogs rising to the occasion.  None of that takes away from Jim Brown’s on the field performance, which was a joy to watch.  

Thanks for that clarification.  Your comment makes more sense now. 

4 hours ago, SkippyX said:

Diva WRs suck but are tolerated. They can dominate.

Diva QBs are Baker Mayfield

Aaron Rodgers is certainly a diva. It’s why he fell in the draft. Brett Favre was a diva too. 

2 hours ago, schuy7 said:

Who do you guys think gets more touches this year, Swift or Penny? And what does the ratio look like?

If they’re both healthy, I think it’s more likely Penny is the primary and Swift takes over the other little things. So I could see RP getting 200+ carries if it’s all going smooth, and he’s the one we ultimately re-sign

3 hours ago, just relax said:

We have to include Simpson, like it or not. He was a great RB.

I lived in Buffalo for two years, the longest years of my life, when OJ was at his peak, including the year he went over 2000 yards. It was in the snow against the Jets.

Everyone in town knew he beat his wife.

The Belle Starr? Did you go? Those were wild times. Maybe not North Dallas 40 but a Buffalo version led by Juice and Co.

Getting back to the Britain Covey/punting discussion from a couple of days ago...and the only reason I'm posting this now is because I don't want to have wasted about forty-five minutes of research. So here goes.

I have to disagree with the notion that "because the Eagles defense was good last year, you'd expect your punt returner to have a bigger than average return average since the other team will have been backed up more often." Frankly I don't buy that. Last year, including the playoffs but excluding the Super Bowl (because you know why) the average line of scrimmage for all Eagles opponents punts was the 33.1 yard line. Based on a crude but probably reasonably good estimation of the Eagles having the 6th best defense (they were 8th in points and 4th in yards, so the average is 6th). Okay, fine.

In 2021, the Eagles defense ranked 13.5th yet the average punt line of scrimmage of opponents was the 33.1. Actually 33.06 compared to 33.12 for 2022. So really, the average line of scrimmage wasn't any different between a good defense and an average one.

In 2020, it was 34.1 yard line with a 19.5th defense.

In 2019, it was 33.8 yard line with 12.5th defense.

In 2018, it was 32.0 yard line with 18th defense.

In 2017, it was 35.6 yard line with 4th defense.

In 2016, it was 32.5 yard line with 12th defense.

In 2015, it was 33.5 yard line with 29th defense.

In 2014, it was 31.4 yard line 27th defense.

So there, you can see that there were years with bad defense (2014) where Eagles opponents were actually punting from further back than they were last year.

So basically, little correlation. Maybe some but very minimal. No reason to assume that opponents were backed up more and therefore Covey should have had a better return average.

There was another point that was made about Covey last year that I want to touch on. And that was first half of the year vs. second half of the year. His numbers definitely improved. There's a good reason why. And that is that opponents were absolutely killing it early in the year in terms of hangtime. Over the the first 7 games, the average HT was 4.74 seconds compared to the rest of the year at 4.39 seconds. The first 8 games the average HT was 4.65 compared to 4.42 for the rest of the year. The first 9 games the average HT was 4.62 compared to 4.43 for the rest of the year. The first 10 games was 4.62 compared to 4.26 for the rest of the year. When Covey had punts to field with normal hang time (and normal is generally around 4.4 seconds), he did well. When the had to field punts that were hit into the stratosphere (metaphor) he didn't get much. But then again, why should we expect him to when he's being assaulted the instant he catches the ball? I think he did well to get five or whatever yards he was getting through the first half of the season.

Okay, one other final point, and it's something that struck me when I did the numbers regarding the line of scrimmage of opponent punts. When you go back to the beginning of the century, the average LOS of punts in Eagles games was generally around the 36 or 37 yard line. It dipped to about the 34 or 35 yard line about a dozen years ago. And then around 2014, it went down to around the 33 or 34 yard line. Now, I've been noticing (it's been pretty obvious actually so this is no great revelation) that punting numbers have been skyrocketing the past few years. Punters are routinely getting two or three more yards per punt than they used to. And I wondered why. And I think I figured it out. Basically it's because of the extra bit of field they have to work with. They're now punting from the 33 or 34 yard line, on average, compared to the 36 or 37 yard line from back when Sean Landeta was punting. And the reason for this HAS TO BE because teams are WAY more aggressive on fourth down than they used to be. Back then teams were punting on fourth and two from the other team's 40 yard line. Or fourth and one at their own 48 yard line. But nowadays, teams are routinely going for it on fourth down. They're not punting and forcing their punters to hit the ball short. THAT'S the reason punting numbers have gone up.

I feel stupid for never really putting that together in my head.

 

18 minutes ago, Aerolithe_Lion said:

If they’re both healthy, I think it’s more likely Penny is the primary and Swift takes over the other little things. So I could see RP getting 200+ carries if it’s all going smooth, and he’s the one we ultimately re-sign

Heading in to 2024, Penny will be 28, Swift 25.  I think the Eagles try to lock up Swift before the season and if Penny is staying healthy, maybe they give him an extra year.  

6 hours ago, schuy7 said:

Who do you guys think gets more touches this year, Swift or Penny? And what does the ratio look like?

Id go mostly Swift between the 20s, and Penny in the red zone.

6 hours ago, schuy7 said:

Who do you guys think gets more touches this year, Swift or Penny? And what does the ratio look like?

Swift and it’s not close. I don’t think Penny is even a lock to make the team 

30 minutes ago, HazletonEagle said:

Id go mostly Swift between the 20s, and Penny in the red zone.

I suspect it depends on how Penny performs coming off his injury.  If he is fully recovered, I think he gets the nod over Swift.  But I also suspect Gainwell is featured more than most expect.  I am curious how Scott plays into the mix and the fact Howie specifically mentioned Sermon, can’t be overlooked despite the fact I think he lacks what it takes. Fact they have a RB room with six on the 90 is interesting.  Does Brooks get much at all in reps, even with the threes?  I wouldn’t be surprised if he surpasses Sermon.  He really showed a knack for reads in college and neither has much burst. Shall be fun to watch in TC.  Frankly, who gets reps in PS may be a real hint on hierarchy. 

25 minutes ago, EaglePhan1986 said:

Swift and it’s not close. I don’t think Penny is even a lock to make the team 

Pretty much. I would say that Swift is almost certainly viewed as their lead back whereas Penny figures to be a rotation piece if he's healthy. I sort of agree about the "not a lock to make the team" thing but only in the strictest interpretation of what that means. I would suggest that Penny is about as likely to make the team as Jack Driscoll or Jack Stoll or Terrell Edmunds or maybe even Kelee Ringo. Those guys would probably have to ish the bed in training camp to not make it and can't quite be considered 100% guarantees, but we all pretty much know they're gonna make it.

8 hours ago, just relax said:

We have to include Simpson, like it or not. He was a great RB.

I lived in Buffalo for two years, the longest years of my life, when OJ was at his peak, including the year he went over 2000 yards. It was in the snow against the Jets.

Everyone in town knew he beat his wife.

OJ just barely gets the nod over Marcus Allen as best RB to have sex with Nicole Brown Simpson (that we know of)

7 hours ago, EaglePhan1986 said:

Swift and it’s not close. I don’t think Penny is even a lock to make the team 

Is there any scenario where Swift is the top dog, Penny looks to be in top form and Sermon looks too good to cut leading to Penny being used as a trade chip at the end of TC?  

Swift and Gainwell are locks.  Scott could be considered a near lock.  They liked Sermon enough to keep him around on the active roster all of last year.  Just something to think about.

Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals or a USFL game?

 

7 hours ago, FranklinFldEBUpper said:

Pretty much. I would say that Swift is almost certainly viewed as their lead back whereas Penny figures to be a rotation piece if he's healthy. I sort of agree about the "not a lock to make the team" thing but only in the strictest interpretation of what that means. I would suggest that Penny is about as likely to make the team as Jack Driscoll or Jack Stoll or Terrell Edmunds or maybe even Kelee Ringo. Those guys would probably have to ish the bed in training camp to not make it and can't quite be considered 100% guarantees, but we all pretty much know they're gonna make it.

I think Penny’s chances of getting cut, as of now, are higher than those guys. My wild card to be a contributor this year is Sermon. Just a hunch. Could be wrong. 

18 hours ago, aptosbird said:

No white helmets ever...anyone who lived through those years knows better

They aren’t good looking that’s for sure. 

 

I mean, its a bit stupid filming when riding a bike

25 minutes ago, rrfierce said:

 

I mean, its a bit stupid filming when riding a bike

Probably Gannon

Roger Goodell streaming live(prerecorded but in front of live audience) on new heights right now and he’s doing a full on standup bit. It’s pretty funny

”Teams that do not meet the 92% QB sneak standard will not be penalized for being cowards this year” haha