The Eagles got unlucky at CB.  Regression with the prime starters Slay/Bradberry was/is coming.  Look no further than the Vikings game in 2022 vs. 2023.  Slay also gets worse as the year goes on.  The Eagles knew that...it's why they weren't attached to Slay/Bradberry in the offseason.  Both sides evaluated all options and eventually, smartly agreed that they were better off together.

The draft didn't roll in the direction that favored drafting a top CB...so they got creative with the most upside they could find in Ringo/Ricks.

They knew they couldn't rely on Maddox to stay healthy...that's why they took their most experienced and trusted reserve CB and made him a nickel/slot in Mcphearson...that was a smart decision.  When Mcphearson got hurt, in my naivete, I didn't shed any tears because I thought it would force the coaches out of their backwards comfort zone into accelerating the development of more promising, higher upside players.  But that injury was the real problem  because it left them helpless to adjust to the inevitable Maddox injury.  

13 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

The Eagles got unlucky at CB.  Regression with the prime starters Slay/Bradberry was/is coming.  Look no further than the Vikings game in 2022 vs. 2023.  Slay also gets worse as the year goes on.  The Eagles knew that...it's why they weren't attached to Slay/Bradberry in the offseason.  Both sides evaluated all options and eventually, smartly agreed that they were better off together.

There's a reason that the magic number for Joe Banner was 30.

 

Howie rarely drafts CBs high, and when he does it’s not too pretty. 2017 was the last time they took a CB early and it didn’t work out too well for them with Sidney Jones in the 2nd and Rasul Douglas in the 3rd. 2015 was Eric Rowe in the 2nd. Then you have to go all the way to 2011 with Jaiquwan Jarrett and Curtis Marsh.

Howie’s MO has mostly been to bring in mid tier vets, with the exception of Slay, and I think he’s going to continue to do that.

2 hours ago, HazletonEagle said:

Yep.  I don't expect him to be an OL out there. 

I see his willingness.  I see him make good contact and show his guy down.  I don't expect a stone wall.

One of those reps was really good. Another one of them he bumps the guy on his release in to a pass route where he was wide open and looked frustrated the ball didn't come to him. It wasn't even a pass blocking rep so the person who posted that had questionable judgement anyway. 

Yeah. I clicked on the thread and figured I’d see some people defend Swift a bit or at least push back on the notion that he was bad. Nothing. I thought maybe I wasn’t seeing it right despite watching it like 10 times. 

I wouldn’t call Swift a plus there, but I wouldn’t call him a negative either. He was fine. 

2 hours ago, RLC said:

Swift tries. That's half the battle.

Also, most teams won't blitz as much as Minnesota all season. 

This is true.  Flores goes a bit crazy with it

It’s funny that teams are defending the Eagles this season completely different to 2021. In 2021 teams took away the run and dared Hurts to beat them from the pocket. This year they’re taking away the pass and letting the Eagles run.

Shows the growth of Hurts as a QB 

1 hour ago, eagle45 said:

Let’s grade the 2022 class after 2 games at the mini bye…I always say the year 2 class is the biggest impact on whether or not the team improves or regresses.

1. Davis.  Loved the pick, hated his rookie year.  He looked bad.  With apologies to Carter, I actually think he might have been the best DT on the team through 2 weeks.  I can’t put him over Sweat for defensive MVP, but he’s second on the list.  He’s been a revelation.

1. AJ Brown.  Not a second year player, but part of the class.  Also not a great start to the season.

2.  Jurgens.  I haven’t isolated to critique him much…but the running game has been exceptional and all of the pass protection struggles feel like they are coming from the tackles.  It seems he has been good.

3. Dean.  The durability criticism has come to haunt him.  Hasn’t helped us so far.

6. Johnson.  Nothing.

6. Calcaterra.  Nothing.

UDFA: Blankenship.  Pretty darn good in week 1.  I think he’ll have an OK season as a starter here.  Probably a bit of a downgrade from what we had last year, but the trust in him allowed them to draft talent elsewhere in 2023.

 

Overall, that looks like a good class.  

Better than good.  If all classes were that good, this team would make the playoffs and compete every single year with no rebuild phase needed

3 minutes ago, Sack that QB said:

It’s funny that teams are defending the Eagles this season completely different to 2021. In 2021 teams took away the run and dared Hurts to beat them from the pocket. This year they’re taking away the pass and letting the Eagles run.

Shows the growth of Hurts as a QB 

Couldn’t agree more 

10 minutes ago, McMVP said:

Couldn’t agree more 

 

15 minutes ago, Sack that QB said:

It’s funny that teams are defending the Eagles this season completely different to 2021. In 2021 teams took away the run and dared Hurts to beat them from the pocket. This year they’re taking away the pass and letting the Eagles run.

Shows the growth of Hurts as a QB 

It is worth acknowledging that those are the fronts Mahomes, the now maligned Allen, and Burrow are typically dealing with on a weekly basis.  Stacking the box against the Eagles OL and running game is just something that isn’t done against those teams.  Hurts burnt them for it last year and now he’s getting those alignments.  He’s got to prove he can still throw through that…and the way to do that is picking them apart underneath.

59 minutes ago, D-Shiznit said:

 

First play Davis should have put his shoulder into his  guts and landed on him. 

That Josh Sweat extension is looking pretty damn good right now. Guy isn't even in the top 20 for edge rushers in salary but looking disruptive.  It's wild that the DL looks this good with Reddick still hobbled a bit. 

2 hours ago, eagle45 said:

The Eagles tend to draft better when they go against need and chase a guy they really want.  It usually doesn’t end well for us when Howie force picks a position of need.

The Eagles will head into the offseason with major holes at CB, S, and LB.  CB is typically a premium draft position, whereas S and LB are not.  I wouldn’t waste a 1 or a 2 on LB/S when they aren’t close to the BPA.  I’d sooner trade for proven vets who can step in immediately (which is what we need anyway).  CB is a different story…if the right guy is there, then they can draft that position high.  

Why will we have major holes at CB and S?

Slay, Bradberry and Maddox are locked up through next season, plus we have some solid prospects behind them in Ringo and Ricks.

At safety Blackenship is one obvious starter and Sydney Brown should by every indication be the other starter. I mean sure we will need a depth piece or two, but I don’t see a major hole there.

16 minutes ago, DaEagles4Life said:

First play Davis should have put his shoulder into his  guts and landed on him. 

That's roughing these days.

4 minutes ago, TEW said:

Why will we have major holes at CB and S?

Slay, Bradberry and Maddox are locked up through next season, plus we have some solid prospects behind them in Ringo and Ricks.

At safety Blackenship is one obvious starter and Sydney Brown should by every indication be the other starter. I mean sure we will need a depth piece or two, but I don’t see a major hole there.

It’s entirely possible that Maddox has already played his last down as an Eagle.  Next year, Slay and Bradberry will be a combined 74.

That might be a rough cb group.

4 minutes ago, TEW said:

Why will we have major holes at CB and S?

Slay, Bradberry and Maddox are locked up through next season, plus we have some solid prospects behind them in Ringo and Ricks.

At safety Blackenship is one obvious starter and Sydney Brown should by every indication be the other starter. I mean sure we will need a depth piece or two, but I don’t see a major hole there.

I'm not counting on any of those 3 for next season.  Slay will be 33, Bradberry 31, and Maddox will end up injured... again.

They may have to go into the season with those three, but I wouldn't feel great about it.  

As for Ringo and Ricks... before we anoint them as 'the answer' it might be nice to see them do something in the NFL first.   There's a reason that one went late in the draft, and the other went undrafted.   They are far from a sure thing.  They are young, and they might have some upside.

2 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

It’s entirely possible that Maddox has already played his last down as an Eagle.  Next year, Slay and Bradberry will be a combined 74.

That might be a rough cb group.

. 64.

Just now, eagle45 said:

It’s entirely possible that Maddox has already played his last down as an Eagle.  Next year, Slay and Bradberry will be a combined 74.

That might be a rough cb group.

I think you mean 64…  

The way I see it is CB is not a position with a major hole, but rather an opportunistic position where if the right guy is available you can bring in a succession plan.

Just now, Iggles_Phan said:

. 64.

I’m actively running on the treadmill and hypoxic cut me some slack 

2 minutes ago, TEW said:

I think you mean 64…  

The way I see it is CB is not a position with a major hole, but rather an opportunistic position where if the right guy is available you can bring in a succession plan.

I hope they have a plan.  

1 minute ago, Iggles_Phan said:

I'm not counting on any of those 3 for next season.  Slay will be 33, Bradberry 31, and Maddox will end up injured... again.

They may have to go into the season with those three, but I wouldn't feel great about it.  

As for Ringo and Ricks... before we anoint them as 'the answer' it might be nice to see them do something in the NFL first.   There's a reason that one went late in the draft, and the other went undrafted.   They are far from a sure thing.  They are young, and they might have some upside.

I’m not anointing anyone. I said they were solid prospects. Between the starters and the prospects we have 5 CB roster spots locked up with players who fit a role on the team.

If another great prospect falls to us, sure, draft him. But we also need to actually play the young guys to let them develop. 

 

1 minute ago, TEW said:

I’m not anointing anyone. I said they were solid prospects. Between the starters and the prospects we have 5 CB roster spots locked up with players who fit a role on the team.

If another great prospect falls to us, sure, draft him. But we also need to actually play the young guys to let them develop. 

Meh.  When drafted Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown were solid prospects.  At this point, it would be safer to call Ringo and Ricks 'long shots'.  We all know about the hit rates in the draft... and we shouldn't see Ringo or Ricks as the exception to that just because they are Eagles.  That's not to say they can't become that... but the odds are not in their favor.

So what happened with evans? He just asked to be let go and they let him go.

Speaking of the draft and reflecting on the last two games…

If teams continue to use the strategy of sending blitzes on zero coverage or dropping 8 into coverage, I think we need to consider that our slot receiver will become an absolutely vital player for this offense.

On paper, we would probably like a deep threat there, but if this continues I think we need a slot WR who is more of a RAC guy… someone who can make a defender miss or break a tackle for extra yards after receiving a quick pass.

To that end I am really looking forward to watching Malachi Corley, WR, Western Kentucky, play against Ohio State today at 4pm.

He’s one of the most unique prospects at WR to come along in some time. He’s absolutely electric with the ball in his hands, able to make defenders miss with suddenness but also has power to break tackles. The biggest question with Corley is the competition he’s played against, so the Ohio State game will be huge for his draft stock.

Much watch game IMO for people obsessed with the draft.

Another player I want to watch for this role is Texas A&M WR Ainias Smith. He’s got some Deebo Samuel in him, able to play both WR and RB. Would be a really interesting addition to this roster.

Both should also be good return specialists at both PR and KR.

9 minutes ago, Iggles_Phan said:

Meh.  When drafted Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown were solid prospects.  At this point, it would be safer to call Ringo and Ricks 'long shots'.  We all know about the hit rates in the draft... and we shouldn't see Ringo or Ricks as the exception to that just because they are Eagles.  That's not to say they can't become that... but the odds are not in their favor.

I mean, even late first round picks bust at a greater than 50% rate. The odds aren’t in any player’s favor. Even a first round pick.

I consider Ringo a boom or bust player more so than a long shot. He has elite tools, but is incredibly raw. He’ll either end up being an excellent starter or never develop. The problem is he needs to play in order to develop, so we’ll have to live through some growing pains. 
 

Ricks flashed enough that I would consider him a solid prospect. Prospects are just that — players who need to develop. The issue is, again, they have to actually play in order to develop. The fact that we kept Ricks on the 53 tells me the eagles are reasonably high on him.