June 2012
1 post
17 tags
Post-Draft Position Breakdown: Cornerback
What the Eagles did: Cornerback was a mess last year. We’ve been over that. You can’t just throw three Pro Bowlers with different styles together and expect things to work out of the box. Thus, the inevitable happened: Asante Samuel was shipped out of town.
What the loss of Samuel means to this defense is tough to gauge. On one hand, he’s still a great cornerback. While his...
May 2012
30 posts
10 tags
On Mike Caldwell's Culpability →
Sorry, Les, but this just isn’t true:
From Caldwell’s perspective, obviously, you’re a position coach, you don’t pick the players. You didn’t tell anybody the Eagles would be just fine with fourth-round rookie Casey Matthews opening last season in the middle. Your job is to do the best you can with what they give you.
Of course the buck stops up the line with...
11 tags
Post-Draft Position Breakdown: Safety
What the Eagles did: Did you notice that safety was the only defensive position the Eagles left alone this offseason? They didn’t sign any free agents. They drafted no one to compete, not even a late round pick. The front office clearly trusts the young players already there. Whether that trust is warranted is a whole different matter.
At linebacker, which was probably the bigger...
7 tags
You Gotta Believe →
Everyone lapped up the “I’d take a bullet for Andy” quote, but to me, this one from Juan Castillo is more ridiculous. Per Jeff McLane:
Asked what he thought was the biggest thing he learned last season, Castillo answered in true form, “That when you work hard, and you believe in something, and you don’t change no matter, that good things do happen.”
Do...
9 tags
Willing to Walk Away? →
Jonathan Tamari pens an excellent mini-profile of Trent Cole:
“I might play into another contract,” Cole said. He added that he hopes to finish his career as an Eagle - “When they cut me, I’m, ‘OK. I’m ready to retire,’ ” - but then hedged when asked if he could ever play elsewhere.
“No,” he said, “unless the money’s...
7 tags
Asante Samuel, Secondary Coach →
Les Bowen:
Asomugha said he isn’t sure the corners will play strictly man, but he does think that if they play zone, it will be a type of zone most players are familiar with.
“There were more unique types of coverages that we were doing last year,” Asomugha said, struggling to put it diplomatically. Remember, he is the guy who told us toward the end of last season that one of...
7 tags
Stroke of Genius →
Don Banks:
Every coach’s intelligence level is tied to his team’s win-loss record to some degree, but the wisdom of moving Castillo from offensive line coach to defensive coordinator last year in Philadelphia was thought one of the all-time dumb moves — at least during the Eagles’ dismal 4-8 start to its “dream” season. Funny, but the risky manuever got a...
15 tags
Post-Draft Position Breakdown: Linebacker
What the Eagles did: I’m not sure I’ve seen a worse group of NFL linebackers than the ones the Eagles employed last year. The position was an incompetent game of musical chairs. If the defense has any hope of rebounding from that, they’ll have to get a major upgrade from their two newcomers.
DeMeco Ryans comes to the middle of the defense with lots of hype. He was a two-time...
9 tags
'Why Did I Do That?' →
Jonathan Tamari:
“Some if it was, ‘What was I thinking?’ ” Pederson said, describing Vick’s reaction to last year’s game tapes. Some turnovers were out of his hands. A few interceptions came from wild tips. But “for the most part it’s just ‘Why? … Why did I do that?’ And that’s the kind of thing that we missed a year ago in that offseason.”
Sometimes your greatest strength can be your...
7 tags
How Does LeSean McCoy's Contract Stack Up?
Exact McCoy details: 6-year, $45.615 million contract with $20.765 million guaranteed (first three years base salary plus $8.5 million signing bonus).
2012: $615,000
2013: $3.25 million
2014: $8 million
2015: $10.25 million
2016: $7.15 million
2017: $7.85 million
12 tags
A Changed Attitude in the Eagles Front Office
In the aftermath of the relatively quick and painless contract agreement with LeSean McCoy last week, the scuttlebutt has centered on the changes in the Eagles front office. All the key figures remain the same, but Joe Banner was nowhere to be found and words during and after the press conference suggested that Andy Reid had an increased role in the negotiations.
So what, exactly, has...
13 tags
Andy Reid Gets LeSean McCoy's Deal Done
Big sigh of relief, everybody. LeSean McCoy signed a long term contract extension with the Eagles yesterday: five years, $45 million, and $21 million guaranteed. Rather than be a free agent next season, McCoy is locked up through age 29 — even if some of the money toward the back is likely to be restructured at best.
It’s a day to celebrate the Eagles keeping yet another valuable...
9 tags
No Injuries Excuse for the 2011 Eagles →
Danny Tuccitto for Football Outsiders:
Despite having 48.2 fewer AGL than they did in 2010, ranking 25 spots higher in team health, the Eagles lost two more games, and missed the playoffs. It’s true that Michael Vick had an assortment of injuries in 2011, but it turned out that he only contributed 0.2 AGL more last season than he did in 2010 (mostly because of differences in game...
12 tags
On LeSean McCoy's Workload →
Jimmy Kempski has a post up that shows LeSean McCoy’s total snap count in 2011 — 894, which is the most of any running back, 50 more than Ray Rice and 100 more than Maurice Jones-Drew.
The data is interesting, but ultimately incomplete. After all, just because he was on the field more than other backs doesn’t mean he took a pounding on every one of those snaps. In fact, if you...
11 tags
Post-Draft Position Breakdown: Defensive Tackle
What the Eagles did: Around the end of January, I started to get the feeling that, other than linebacker, defensive line made the most sense for the Eagles in the first round. Then, as Derek Landri lingered in free agency longer than we expected and the team held a private workout with Fletcher Cox (in tandem with the Dontari Poe parade), the hints were getting stronger and stronger.
Still,...
5 tags
Roll-A-Bout →
Derrick Gunn:
According to a league source, Peters ruptured his Achilles tendon again after the Roll-A-Bout he was using malfunctioned. Peters was maneuvering in his kitchen when the device broke, and he fell on his face and re-injured the Achilles.
The five-time Pro Bowler needed a second surgery, and his recovery was set back three weeks. He is going to sue the manufacturer of the...
15 tags
Post-Draft Position Breakdown: Defensive End
What the Eagles did: Back in February, I ran the numbers on the pass rush from the Eagles defensive line. The results were telling:
While production was way up across the entire group (thanks Wash), there was a clear separation. Trent Cole and Jason Babin were spectacular, and with any luck we can get similar production from that duo going forward. They are Pro Bowl-caliber players going...
8 tags
'I Don't Know What I Did' →
Jeff McLane:
Juan Castillo screamed the play dead, strutted to the line of scrimmage, and unleashed a profanity-filled tirade on the Eagles’ first-round draft pick.
Fletcher Cox, welcome to the NFL.
“I don’t know what I did,” Cox said later. “But I said, ‘Yes, sir,’ gave him no lip back, and I just kept going.”
Must…....
15 tags
Post-Draft Position Breakdown: Offensive Line
What the Eagles did: In Howard Mudd we trust.
That sentence basically sums up where the Eagles stand in relation to their offensive line right now, in the post-Jason Peters 2012 continuity. (I like to think that somewhere out there is an alternate timeline where Julian Vandervelde, not Peters, tore his Achillies. Asante Samuel fetched a first round draft pick, too.)
Peters had one of the...
7 tags
How Drew Rosenhaus Wooed LeSean McCoy →
Tim McManus:
Two of the candidates rented out a hotel conference room to hold their presentations. A third, by the name of Drew Rosenhaus, made no such reservations but showed up anyway with his top aides in tow, ready to take over.
The hotel manager intervened and noted that the room had only been reserved for the last two men, to which Rosenhaus responded by slapping a pair of American...
6 tags
10 Common Sense Thoughts on Concussions →
Mike Tanier:
I sincerely believe that in 20 years, we will be watching and enjoying football, and that concussions and post-concussion symptoms will be manageable medical problems that we have learned to avoid in many cases and treat responsibly in the others. American football used to have problems with severe spinal injuries and on-field deaths, first at the turn of the 20th century and...
10 tags
Post-Draft Position Breakdown: Tight End
What the Eagles did: Basically, nothing.
Some people are obsessed with the rise of the two tight end formation (cough Domo cough). I’m not, but it’s become a mini-trend around the league, and the Eagles are no exception. In 2011, the Eagles backup tight end was on the field more than twice as much as their fullback.
So, logically, one might expect that the team would pursue some...
11 tags
DeSean Jackson and the Red Zone Offense →
Tommy Lawlor:
I’d love to see DeSean Jackson make a RZ impact, but I’m doubtful. He’s just not at his best moving in traffic and confined spaces. He can be a good decoy.
I know DeSean is at his best running past defenders 30 yards downfield, but the Eagles inability to get him open in the red zone continues to shock me. This is not a player with just straight-line speed; we’ve all...
16 tags
Post-Draft Position Breakdown: Wide Receiver
What the Eagles did: The Eagles love to load up on wide receivers in the offseason, mainly (I assume) to take up all the tiring practice repetitions running up and down the field, working on routes with the quarterbacks. Right now they have 14 wideouts on the roster, most of whom we probably don’t need to worry about learning their names.
There are really only six receivers who, barring...
16 tags
Post-Draft Position Breakdown: Running Back
What the Eagles did: The Eagles now have five running backs and three fullbacks on the roster, yet 23-year-old LeSean McCoy is the veteran of the group. The other seven have exactly 42 regular season snaps between them — and all of them from second-year running back Dion Lewis.
Let me just reiterate: that is a staggering level of inexperience. As of this moment, the Eagles still have...
14 tags
Bye McNabb and Kolb, Hello Defense →
Sheil Kapadia has the breakdown of the complete haul the Eagles received for our revered blog namesakes:
McNabb and Kolb = Nate Allen, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Casey Matthews, Vinny Curry, Brandon Boykin, and DeMeco Ryans
Remains to be seen how all of these players will turn out but on the surface: not too shabby.
17 tags
Post-Draft Position Breakdown: Quarterback
What the Eagles did: I’ve already written about the Nick Foles pick at some length here, although only from the perspective that I think he was overdrafted based on his talent. Foles is an odd selection because he seems so far outside the type of player Andy Reid usually goes for. Huge, with a cannon arm but limited athleticism doesn’t exactly echo through the years of Donovan...
10 tags
Arguing for, um, Jerry Jones →
Jimmy Kempski:
They’re a team with no shortage of star power (or at least perceived star power) at the top: Ware, Romo, Witten, Austin, Ratliff, Smith, Lee and if you want to throw in Bryant and Carr too, then OK, I suppose I’ll allow it.
Beyond the stars, there’s mediocrity up and down the starting lineup and typically no depth to speak of whatsoever. This has not been a winning formula,...
8 tags
Get Well Soon, Colt →
Jonathan Tamari:
“To be at the highest of highs, with your family all around, to being at the lowest of lows when I’m walking off the field,” Anderson said. “I’m a pretty emotional guy, and I didn’t feel anything [in the knee]. It wasn’t hurt. It was just weak, and I was just crying because I knew my season was over. I wasn’t crying because I hurt.”
Anderson had torn his anterior cruciate...
12 tags
Quarterback Draft Inflation: From Kafka to Foles
I have a theory about the Eagles third round selection of quarterback Nick Foles. Despite the relatively early pick, it has nothing to do with replacing Michael Vick or even Mike Kafka. It’s about the NFL draft and the dramatic quarterback inflation that has occurred in the last two years.
Let’s take a quick journey back to 2010. Sam Bradford went first to the Rams and Denver...
10 tags
Vinny Curry, Best Player Available →
Chris McPherson:
Roseman hinted that the team has previously made some reaches in order to fill a need. Roseman was certainly tested in his third draft as the Eagles’ general manager. No situation better highlighted Roseman’s mission than what was presented to them with the 59th overall pick when the Eagles selected Marshall defensive end Vinny Curry.
“He was the best...
April 2012
30 posts
14 tags
Grade the Eagles Draft Picks →
Philly.com lets you rate each Eagles draft pick, from A to F. Here are the results so far, with A & B grades constituting “positive” ratings:
Fletcher Cox: 98.6% positive Mychal Kendricks: 95.3% positive Vinny Curry: 94.3% positive Nick Foles: 38.6% positive Brandon Boykin: 93.9% positive Dennis Kelly: 46.5% positive Marvin McNutt: 74.6% positive Brandon Washington: 70.7%...
22 tags
Notes on the Rest of the 2012 Eagles Draft
The NFL draft is now in the books, and by almost all accounts the Eagles did little to complain about. Here are my miscellaneous thoughts on what happened on days two and three:
Watch the Vinny Curry interviews, then watch them again and again. His Eagles fandom is clearly as raw as yours and mine, and it’s awesome to see the excitement one of us would undoubtedly have, had we the...
16 tags
What We Learned from the Fletcher Cox Selection
I can’t remember the last time the Eagles picked somebody in the first round that both draftniks and fans loved. Look at Bleeding Green Nation’s fan poll on the pick: Cox’s approval rating sits at 94 percent. A year ago, Danny Watkins eked out majority approval by a margin of just 21 votes out of about 1,600.
The fact that Cox is popular doesn’t, on it’s own,...
7 tags
Eagles Jump Up In 1st Round, Snatch Fletcher Cox
“A Frightening-Looking Man”
“Just Bug-Eye”
“Just seeing him run amazed me.”
16 tags
My 2012 Eagles Draft Predictions
Last year at this time I made eight predictions about what the Eagles would do in the draft. Some of them were more conservative than others, and I missed on one of my biggest guesses — saying that the team wouldn’t draft at their assigned first round spot. Still, I managed to get six of eight correct, and predicted the general thrust of the draft rather well (linebacker and...
8 tags
Cornerbacks Worth More than Asante, Since 2008
Antonio Cromartie, 2011 2nd round pick Josh Wilson, 2011 5th Chris Houston, 2010 6th, 2011 7th Sheldon Brown, 2010 4th Lito Sheppard, 2010 4th Bryant McFadden, 2010 6th Ellis Hobbs, 2009 5th, 5th DeAngelo Hall, 2008 2nd, 2009 5th Pacman Jones, 2008 4th
According to the team stenographer. Some rounds approximate.
6 tags
The Eagles Depth Chart, Colorized →
Jimmy Kempski has a great visual breakdown of the Eagles depth chart going into the draft. Read the full post for analysis, but here are the two handy charts:
6 tags
Glass Diamonds and Diamonds in the Rough →
Les Bowen:
Every year as the NFL draft approaches, I think about 2003, and I scratch my head.
Great piece by Les on how the draft doesn’t always turn out how you expect. Must-read expectations-setter before Thursday.
13 tags
Bungling the Asante Trade From Start to Finish
Depending on which report you believe, the Eagles could have traded Asante Samuel before last season for either a second round pick or two third rounders. Now the Eagles look like they will have to get lucky just to pull out a fourth round pick in this inevitable deal.
What happened?
I don’t agree with some of the reporters who have suggested that the price drop is due to Samuel’s...
6 tags
So Long, Weapon X →
Brian Dawkins announced his retirement this morning:
The Lord has blessed me to play in the NFL for 16 years. I would like to thank the Eagles & the Broncos 4 believing In me. I would like 2 thank all my teammates & Coaches that I have been blessed 2 go to battle with. Along with u, the fans 4 helping make my career 1 that i have enjoyed tremendously. In other words. I am announcing my...
10 tags
Admitting Mistakes, Moving Forward
Howie Roseman talked with reporters on Thursday, and reiterated his pledge that the Eagles will draft the best player available, rather than the best player at a position of need. Here’s what Roseman said a month ago on the same topic, as reported by Paul Domowitch:
“At some point, you get entrenched into what your team needs,” he said. “And because we’re so determined to win a...
10 tags
Sale in Aisle 22 →
Mike Klis, the Denver Post:
The Broncos have expressed interest in acquiring Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Asante Samuel, according to two NFL sources. However, the Broncos no longer believe they can strike a deal, even though trade talks advanced to the stage where the team presented two proposals — one for a late-round draft pick and the other involving a player.
5th or 6th round pick...
7 tags
Sign Those Letters of Intent →
Jason La Canfora:
The Philadelphia Eagles began sending letters to borderline draftable players about a year ago, laying the foundation for signing them after the draft.
The letters detailed Philly’s interest in a player, and their intention to contact said player after the draft if he is not selected. The Indianapolis Colts, with rookie general manager Ryan Grigson having just left...
11 tags
Guessing the Eagles Draft Plans: A, B, and C
Andrew Luck
Robert Griffin III
Matt Kalil
Trent Richardson
Justin Blackmon
Morris Claiborne
Ryan Tannehill
Looking at mock drafts from around the web, the above seven players have emerged as consensus locks for the top eight picks. Collectively, draft experts would be surprised to see any of them drop beyond the Dolphins, who seem poised to select Tannehill.
If you take these mocks to...
6 tags
Walkthrough Lick > Wonderlic →
Mike Tanier, with his new standardized football test:
Good standardized tests set very specific parameters about what they are designed to measure. Bad standardized tests are designed to “measure general mental ability, widely accepted as being one of the single best predictors of job success.” General mental ability? What the hell is that? Why, it’s what the Wonderlic measures,...
12 tags
Brandon Graham, Bust? →
Dave Spadaro:
Graham is back at square one, in a sense. The Eagles are counting on him to deliver the promise that made him a first-round draft pick. Is he that special player who the Eagles coveted so much that they traded up in the first round to acquire? Or is he just not the right fit in the league?
Or is Graham somewhere between the two extremes?
“Day by day,” he...
12 tags
On the Eagles Trading Up in the First Round
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Except when it comes to the NFL draft, in which case the smoke may be planted ten miles away to distract everyone from the actual blaze.
If you ask me, that’s what’s going on with all these rumors about the Eagles moving high up in the draft. First there was the report saying the team was in the hunt to move up to the fourth overall...
12 tags
Eagles' Fletcher Cox Workout Comes to Light →
Jordan Raanan, for BGN:
The Birds appear to have had a private workout some time in the past few weeks with Cox in Starkville. They sent defensive line coach Jim Washburn to run the former Mississippi State standout through some drills and get a better idea of what makes him tick.
“I talked to coach Wash,” said Cox, the current overwhelming favorite for the Eagles in the...
9 tags
Rule the Eagles Out for the Fourth Overall Pick →
Mary Kay Cabot, for the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
At least three or four teams in the top 20 have expressed interest in trading up, and the Browns are expected to have some enticing options on draft day.
Rams coach Jeff Fisher, who has the No. 6 pick, has already identified the Browns as a potential trade partner, and the Eagles at No. 15 are believed to be interested in trading up, sources...