Hawkeye Posted July 6, 2020 Share Posted July 6, 2020 July means we are heading into the peak of meaningless list season. Let's start with PFF which has the Eagles 10th in the league, behind the Cowboys, among others, who are 3rd. https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-offensive-line-rankings-all-32-units-entering-the-2020-nfl-season 10. PHILADELPHIA EAGLES The Eagles annually boast one of the best offensive lines in the league, and they finished No. 1 at the conclusion of the 2019 regular season. It will be difficult to repeat that feat without star left tackle Jason Peters and PFF All-Pro guard Brandon Brooks. The Eagles anticipated the Peters move by drafting Andre Dillard in the first round in 2019, and he’s locked in as the starter after grading out at 59.7 on 337 snaps as a rookie. For perspective, Peters allowed just 25 pressures on 602 pass-blocking attempts, while Dillard allowed 25 on 183 attempts — so it could be an adjustment for Philadelphia. The good news is Dillard’s track record at Washington State, where his pass-blocking grade on true pass sets is the fifth-best we’ve seen from any college player moving to the NFL. At right tackle, Lane Johnson finished with an 88.8 overall grade last season, good for fourth in the league. He’s one of the NFL's best run-blocking tackles, and his 87.6 overall grade ranks fourth at the position since 2017. Center Jason Kelce is the class of the position, leading the way with a 92.8 grade over the past three years. Kelce does his best work in the run game, where his athleticism allows him to execute a wide array of blocks. Plus, he is also one of the better pass protectors in the league. At left guard, Isaac Seumalo took a step forward in his development last season, posting a career-high 70.6 overall grade. He did allow 42 pressures, the fourth-most among guards — but that was on 763 pass-blocking snaps, the second-most in the league including the playoffs. Replacing Brooks at right guard will be a big task, as he’s among the top two or three guards in the league. 2018 sixth-round pick Matt Pryor will be in the mix in addition to rookie fourth-rounder Jack Driscoll. Pryor graded out at 60.9 on 143 snaps as a rookie, while Driscoll was one of our favorite developmental tackle options in the draft — though he’s a much better pass protector than run blocker. The Eagles should be strong again up front, but with Peters and Brooks out of the equation, it will be difficult to achieve another top-five ranking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-Shiznit Posted July 6, 2020 Share Posted July 6, 2020 To be honest, this line will be as good as Andre Dillard, and that scares the crap out of me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hawkeye Posted July 6, 2020 Author Share Posted July 6, 2020 5 minutes ago, D-Shiznit said: To be honest, this line will be as good as Andre Dillard, and that scares the crap out of me. They also have a huge gap at RG. Brooks was the best lineman on the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cochis_Calhoun Posted July 6, 2020 Share Posted July 6, 2020 The absolute collapse of our offense when Brooks went down in the play off game against the Saints in 18, worries me way more than Dillard and does make me wonder why we haven't addressed the position more seriously than development projects since. We had to replace Peters at some point, they need to let Dillard take his lumps, the numbers they quote about pressures allowed look bad for him but I thought he was reasonably solid on his natural Left Side and a disaster at RT, and we're not asking him to play RT. Peters is a HOF level Left Tackle, it's entirely possible to win in the NFL with a tackle who isn't near as good as Jason Peters, 28-30 other teams in the league have managed it every year for the last decade. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EazyEaglez Posted July 6, 2020 Share Posted July 6, 2020 Question marks at left tackle and right guard plus shaky play from the left guard. The center is a year older and the right tackle is good, but coming off injury. Frankly being ranked tenth seems high. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dawkins4prez Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 10th is fair and its also OK. Dominant O-Lines haven't really won that many SB's over the last 20 years. Eagles 2017 might have been the only one actually. Chiefs last year were above average at best. It takes 2 star players and 3 replacement level guys to have a top 10 line, we have that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
time2rock Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 Well, if Peters was still manning LT and Brooks RG, I'd argue against being 10. But with both gone leaving huge shoes to fill (literally and figuratively) and Dillard a complete unknown thus far, 10 seems about right. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UK_EaglesFan89 Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 Can't argue given our current concerns. LT is a major concern for now and RG is too. Perhaps both Dillard and Pryor / whoever takes over at RG really perform and our OL is then a top 5 OL but right now it's an unknown. You could almost argue #10 is generous given those concerns. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brkmsn Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 On 7/6/2020 at 3:20 PM, EazyEaglez said: Question marks at left tackle and right guard plus shaky play from the left guard. The center is a year older and the right tackle is good, but coming off injury. Frankly being ranked tenth seems high. The center is a year older? Good thing that didn't happen to any other teams' players. The RT is coming off a high ankle sprain that has long since healed. But alas ... I did some research and he's a year older as well. Crap! We have one of, if not the best O-line coaches in the NFL. I'm confident we'll finish among the top 10 O-lines with the guys we have. Keep in mind that Dillard's "grade" reflects the debacle RT experiment. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EazyEaglez Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 2 hours ago, brkmsn said: The center is a year older? Good thing that didn't happen to any other teams' players. The RT is coming off a high ankle sprain that has long since healed. But alas ... I did some research and he's a year older as well. Crap! We have one of, if not the best O-line coaches in the NFL. I'm confident we'll finish among the top 10 O-lines with the guys we have. Keep in mind that Dillard's "grade" reflects the debacle RT experiment. Maybe they will be top ten, but truth is you have no idea how well Dillard and whoever plays right guard will play. Seumalo has been with this outstanding coach for a while now and frankly he’s replaceable. Not sure why me thinking they’re not a top ten group upsets you at this moment, but we really won’t know what they are until they play games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
315Eagles Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 On 7/6/2020 at 6:20 PM, EazyEaglez said: Question marks at left tackle and right guard plus shaky play from the left guard. The center is a year older and the right tackle is good, but coming off injury. Frankly being ranked tenth seems high. Probably right around 10-15. If Dillard plays good and Pryor or whoever fills in at RG then they'll be top 10 easily. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
315Eagles Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 2 hours ago, brkmsn said: The center is a year older? Good thing that didn't happen to any other teams' players. The RT is coming off a high ankle sprain that has long since healed. But alas ... I did some research and he's a year older as well. Crap! We have one of, if not the best O-line coaches in the NFL. I'm confident we'll finish among the top 10 O-lines with the guys we have. Keep in mind that Dillard's "grade" reflects the debacle RT experiment. I'm just worried about chemistry. With the virus and lack of practices, OTAs, etc., I'm concerned it might take till week 8 or so for the line to gain chemistry. Especially for the guys expected to step in, Dillard and Pryor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
New Zealand Eagle Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 Call me crazy but i think Driscoll wins the RG spot. I have an completely unfounded opinion that he will purely by watching some stuff on Youtube lol, but he looks technically stout and he'd be snug in there next to Kelce and Lane where they could coach him up. Pryor just looks to play really high and have no knee bend, got thrown off a few blocks last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UK_EaglesFan89 Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 2 hours ago, New Zealand Eagle said: Call me crazy but i think Driscoll wins the RG spot. I have an completely unfounded opinion that he will purely by watching some stuff on Youtube lol, but he looks technically stout and he'd be snug in there next to Kelce and Lane where they could coach him up. I certainly wouldn't call that crazy bud. Driscoll comes in as a talented player, Stoutland is a great coach and so if anyone can get Driscoll ready it's Stoutland. The lack of an off season does hurt him there though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP HOF Posted July 10, 2020 Share Posted July 10, 2020 10th is an outrage. PFF is often stupid and here's another example. Even if they have to try 3 different right guards, they will get it right, no worse than 4th, any way you cut it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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