February 2012
11 posts
10 tags
Bowles Turned Down Raiders Coordinator Job →
Jonathan Tamari:
Bowles, the only new addition to the coaching staff, took the Eagles job over offers to become the defensive coordinator in Oakland, to remain the assistant head coach/secondary coach in Miami, or take the same position in Cincinnati.
Obviously, we’re taking new secondary coach Todd Bowles at his word here, but it’s surprising to say the least. Perhaps Bowles...
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Training Days With Luke Kuechly →
Sheil Kapadia:
Essentially, Kuechly runs through a mini-combine on a daily basis. And he’s not alone. While there are currently 30 prospects training at IMG Academy, there are 300-plus training around the country. The combine presents a series of predictable tests. It’s the job of agents, trainers, coaches and advisers to make sure there are no surprises, that the prospects know exactly...
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Extend LeSean McCoy's Contract Already
One of the most worrisome characteristics of Eagles front office in the last couple of years has been its seeming reluctance to hand out early contract extensions to their young players.
Now, there have been extenuating circumstances. For starters, the drafting has been poor overall, so there haven’t been many players since 2008 that have been worth extending. Additionally, the...
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Against the Grain →
Tommy Lawlor:
Should Andy Reid embrace Super Bowl talk? I don’t mean go all Rex Ryan and start talking about how we’re the best and definitely will win the SB. I’m talking more about openly using the phrase “Super Bowl” when discussing the season and goals…
Normally I don’t think this would be smart, but since Reid is going to be under big pressure this year…could this actually be...
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Michael Vick: Under Pressure
I don’t think anyone (with the possible exception of Andy Reid) was shocked when Juan Castillo didn’t work out on defense. But nearly everyone was surprised at just how far Michael Vick regressed from his star season in 2010.
The big problem Vick had was simply turnovers. After posting zero interceptions through his first eight games the previous season, Vick was picked off 14...
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Yes, Michael Vick can be ELIte →
Les Bowen:
That last part was the most important; it was what separated the Giants from, say, the 49ers. Eli was sacked 11 times in the playoffs - more than any other quarterback. He still completed 65 percent of his passes, threw for nine touchdowns and was intercepted exactly once. His QB rating was 103.3. He averaged 304.8 passing yards per game.
Good luck copying that...
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The Giants Won the Super Bowl
… with this touchdown.
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Dawkins Considering Retirement →
Paul Domowitch:
Brian Dawkins said yesterday that he hasn’t yet made a decision on whether he wants to play a 17th NFL season.
The 38-year-old, nine-time Pro Bowl safety, who has played the last three seasons in Denver after leaving the Eagles as a free agent in 2009, missed four of the Broncos’ last five games, including both of their playoff games, with a neck injury. He...
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Answering the DeSean Jackson Question
Sam Lynch’s post at Iggles Blitz provides a good framework for looking at the DeSean Jackson question. It’s important to note, as he does, that so much of your opinion is based on what you think about Jackson.
I’ve explored that topic a few times, most notably here. I’ll stick with the assessment I made then of DeSean’s abilities:
Perhaps Jackson is just a...
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Chalk It Up to Experience
It pains me to see that people are still arguing that Juan Castillo deserves to return as defensive coordinator in 2012. I don’t hold out hope of convincing these misguided souls, but I do want to rebuke one point that keeps coming up: the myth of a single year of experience.
I’ve already spoken at length about how the final few games were a mirage, and both Jeffrey Lurie and Andy...
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Castillo, One of Three Defensive 'Head Coaches' →
Chris McPherson, for the Eagles website:
Castillo said he was open to the idea of adding Spagnuolo to the defensive staff. Castillo points to Spagnuolo’s resume which includes a Super Bowl trophy from his time as defensive coordinator with the Giants.
“There’s nothing wrong with having three or four head coaches on the defensive staff,” Castillo said.
Well, that...
January 2012
40 posts
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Bowles, Castillo, and a Defensive Coaching Void
What do you call a defensive coordinator who isn’t in charge of his defense?
With the new hire of Todd Bowles as secondary coach, I suppose the answer is Juan Castillo.
Surely Andy Reid will tell the press today that he always planned to retain Castillo, but we don’t have to believe him. The Eagles were turned down by Steve Spagnuolo and others before they settled back in for...
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The Eagles Future at Fullback
Only five teams in the NFL gave fewer snaps to their fullbacks in 2011 than the Eagles. Owen Schmitt had almost no impact on the offense, registering only 173 snaps — almost half the snaps of fourth/fifth wide receiver Riley Cooper. That’s a sharp decline from 2010, when Schmitt took over for Leonard Weaver after the first game and played in 352 snaps.
Moreover, Schmitt’s...
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Castillo Stays, Todd Bowles in at DBs Coach →
Jeff McLane has the scoop:
The Eagles are set to hire former Miami interim head coach Todd Bowles to be their defensive backs coach in charge of cornerbacks and Juan Castillo will remain defensive coorindator an NFL source told The Inquirer on Monday.
Well, if they weren’t going to fire Juan Castillo, and they weren’t going to hire Steve Spagnuolo to oversee the defense… I...
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Andy Reid Ups the Agressiveness →
Jim Armstrong at Football Outsiders analyzed “Aggressiveness Index” for coaches going for it on fourth down last season. Andy Reid ranked 12th, with an above-average .983 AI score.
What’s most interesting, however, is that over the last 12 years of data Armstrong compiled (including 2011), Andy Reid scored dead last among all 88 qualifying coaches. Over that span, Reid went for...
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Jim Washburn, the Draft, and Size at DE
Linebacker is by far my preferred first round draft choice for the Eagles. Given the severe dearth of talent at that position, it’s not even a particularly close decision in my mind.
That said, teams shouldn’t reach too far for need. You should attempt to select the best player available, lest you end up with another Danny Watkins. With that in mind, I could easily see the Eagles...
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Howie Roseman Reevaluating the Draft Process
One of the headlines coming out of Howie Roseman’s comments yesterday (here and here) was that the Eagles GM is open to changing his draft strategy, given the results so far. His exact words were:
“I think those are things that you have to look at and kind of evaluate and see if maybe you’re putting too much weight on one area and not another. Those are the things that you...
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Senior Bowl Nuggets →
If I’m going to bash him for his poor articles, the least I can do is commend Jeff McLane for giving us fun anecdotes from the Senior Bowl:
A few funny/odd moments from the Senior Bowl today. When @LesBowen and I were going to have our q&a with Howie, Drew Rosenhaus spotted us and said to Howie, “Don’t let them double team ya, Howie.” Um, OK. So, Drew, will DeSean...
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The Mess of Pro Bowl Cornerbacks
It’s quite a feat to turn a strength into a weakness. That’s what Juan Castillo and Johnnie Lynn managed to do to the Eagles’ elite trio of cornerbacks.
Coming into the season, the three Pro Bowlers were supposed to be an asset that covered up the Eagles inexperience at safety and linebacker. Instead, we were frequently left to wonder if the coaches had any plan to use them...
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The Inadequacy of Opponent Adjustments →
Semi-annual blogger Derek Sarley:
VOA is a measure of how well a team has played and DVOA corrects for opponents, so you can throw out any concerns about strength of schedule and say things like “DVOA proves the Eagles have the league’s twelfth-best defense, even if you claim they didn’t play very many teams that were any good.”
Except you can’t. DVOA says...
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Washburn and Spagnuolo →
Peter King:
Someone Who Knows told me a major roadblock to Steve Spagnuolo taking the defensive coordinator job in Philadelphia was the presence of very strong personality Jim Washburn on the defensive line.
This doesn’t surprise me. The Wide Nine was always a red herring in talks about whether a new coordinator would be compatible with Washburn. The bigger issue is that a new...
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'Yes, But in Some Cases No.' →
Jeff McLane:
Is there any correlation between size and regular-season success? Yes, but in some cases no.
Let me summarize this article for you:
What if the problem on defense is because the Eagles draft small players? Could it be? Maybe, if I repeat the question enough. They are undoubtedly small, though. Well, unless you compare the Eagles to similar defenses. But I’ll call them...
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'We Can Just Let Him Walk' →
Jason Wilde, for ESPN Milwaukee:
“You look at it now, even though they’re saying that stuff, before the season and throughout the whole offseason, everybody had that attitude that they could just replace me, that I was just another player. ‘We can just let him walk,’” Jenkins said in a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon. “Certain players spoke out publicly about guys they hoped they’d...
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Steve Spagnuolo and a Franchise on the Decline
Just a few weeks ago, Jeffrey Lurie stood behind the podium and argued that retaining Andy Reid representedthe best chance for the Eagles to win a Super Bowl next season. But as Steve Spagnuolo, the odds-on favorite to replace Juan Castillo, chose New Orleans instead, that wisdom comes into doubt.
Regardless of playoff results, Lurie was right when he said that the true class of the NFC is...
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Trot & T.O. →
Les Bowen at his best:
Trot was a leader in the locker room, and the unquestioned leader of the forces trying to get Owens restored to the active roster. He didn’t defend the things T.O. had done, but he seemed to think McNabb ought to just ignore the persistent undermining of his authority and leadership, because, hey, T.O. was a dominant player — probably THE most dominant player...
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Is the Wide Nine to Blame for Poor Run Defense?
Since I’m worried that these may be some of the Eagles final days with Jim Washburn as defensive line coach, now is as good a time as any to analyze his impact on the defensive line. A few days ago I showed how Washburn formed an elite pass rush.
Today, let’s look at the run defense.
During the season the Wide Nine technique was often scapegoated for poor run defense. While no one...
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The Never-Ending Coaching Search
It was a year ago this week that Andy Reid fired Sean McDermott and kicked off a league-wide search that culminated in the underwhelming and, frankly, absurd promotion of Juan Castillo to defensive coordinator. One year later, the Eagles are supposedly conducting another search, but signs increasingly point to this one being bungled as well.
While Reid seems reluctant to demote or fire...
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An Eagles Pass Rush Worth Keeping
With the bottle still spinning in the Eagles presumed search for a new defensive coordinator, the fate of defensive line coach Jim Washburn is up in the air. Will Steve Spagnuolo, the free agent front runner, see working with Washburn, or are the tactical and personality differences too great to overcome?
All I know is, it would be an absolute shame if Spagnuolo or any other new coordinator...
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Spagnuolo to Eagles Not a Sure Thing →
Les Bowen lays out all the reasons not to assume Steve Spagnuolo is already on his way to Philly. Spags taking his time to “see what develops” isn’t proof either way, but I do think there’s a sizable chance that one of the other contenders without a defensive coordinator could offer him a more attractive opportunity, and perhaps more money. Whatever negotiations are going...
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Best Case Scenario →
Spags to Philly, Juan to Minnesota. I don’t have any faith that this will actually happen, but Andy Reid managed to find a nice landing spot for Sean McDermott, too.
(via Jason Hutt)
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League Source Weighs in on Losing Grigson →
Les Bowen:
A league source who has dealt with Grigson called his departure “a big loss to the Eagles.” He said Grigson was a “low-ego guy” who was “very bright” and could recite a scouting report on a player off the top of his head.
Tom Heckert really liked Ryan Grigson.
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This Indecision's Bugging Me →
Philly.com has the results up from their annual “Stay or Go” online voting feature, and there are some interesting findings. The highlights:
DeSean Jackson lost a lot of support since last year’s version, but not nearly as much as fellow starter Asante Samuel. Jackson dropped from 90 to 73 percent approval, while Samuel tanked from 87 to only 39 percent. Asante was the only...
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To the Haters
Public discourse today suffers from a startling number of self-proclaimed victims. Everybody has a viewpoint, and whatever view that is, each person thinks it’s an endangered minority opinion.
Let’s take the unsurprising example of Eagles coverage. If you have a positive outlook in the team, you probably feel hemmed in by the negativity demonstrated on the radio and in newsprint....
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No, Seriously, Howie's Doing a Great Job →
Chris McPherson, for the Eagles website:
The Eagles’ prolific run in free agency last offseason overshadowed the fact that the foundation for the team’s long-term success has been built in the past two NFL drafts.
Through aggressive maneuvering and clever moves, the Eagles have acquired eight starters in the past two drafts. None of the 2011 playoff teams in the NFC and only...
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Eagles Director of Player Personnel to the Colts →
Jonathan Tamari:
Grigson would take the GM job a team facing huge decisions, with the number one pick in April’s draft and a choice to make on franchise quarterback Peyton Manning.
Grigson, 39, was promoted to director of player personnel in 2010 after spending four years as the team’s director of college scouting. He helped scout top college players and NFL free agents. He...
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Maclin vs. Jackson: Who's More Valuable?
After the high-flying success of the 2010 Eagles passing attack, this past season represented a large drop off in passing production. Michael Vick regressed from his MVP-caliber season, and his young wide receivers did as well.
Even with fewer sacks, Vick’s net yards per attempt (which includes sacks) went down in 2011, as did his touchdown percentage. Meanwhile, his interception rate...
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Coaches as Experts →
Tommy Lawlor, in a well-argued column critiquing Juan Castillo:
I’ve been re-reading parts of Bill Walsh’s brilliant book Finding The Winning Edge. He talks about the need for a coach to be an expert. He must be so thoroughly trained that he knows everything that’s going on and can coach/teach the players appropriately. I don’t doubt that Juan understands the role of all 11 players and can...
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A Second Level Look at the Eagles Defense
10th in points allowed, 8th in yards allowed.
Those numbers are seductive. Maybe this Eagles defense wasn’t as bad as we thought. Maybe, counter to conventional wisdom, Juan Castillo doesn’t have to be fired. Maybe he’s already figured things out.
If you feel those sentiments catching up to you, it’s time for an intervention. Total points allowed, total yards allowed...
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Mirror Image in Houston →
Sheil Kapadia, with a great counter-example to the Eagles lockout/offseason change excuse:
It’s hard to look at the Texans’ defense and not think of the Eagles. Both teams brought on new defensive coordinators in the offseason. The Eagles went with Juan Castillo, who had never done it before. The Texans went with Wade Phillips, who had been a head coach or defensive coordinator for...
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Roseman Rejected 2nd Round Pick for Samuel →
Jeff McLane wrote a massive 2,000 word blog post that highlights all the poor moves Howie Roseman has made over the last two years, while still maintaining Roseman should get more time to prove himself. It’s a convoluted bit of logic, but buried deep within is this scoop:
And tick off Asante Samuel the Eagles did. They should have just traded Samuel when they had the chance during...
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Fool's Gold →
Over at Bleeding Green Nation, d-jackfan10 wrote a post that goes into more detail about the subpar (to say the least) offenses the Eagles faced over the final month. The stats are there, and they’re not pretty.
Look at those quarterbacks. Feel free to disagree, but I don’t think it’s a stretch to say none of the final four QBs the Eagles defense faced are any better than Vince...
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A Smart-Aleck's Take →
Les Bowen, for the Daily News:
I understood what Lurie meant, without buying it completely. Somehow, in 10 seasons covering the Eagles, I have become a frequent Andy foil at his news conferences, a guy especially likely to get a nonresponsive or smart-alecky answer. (In a related development, I also am a guy especially likely to ask a smart-alecky question.) On TV or on a webcam, or whatever,...
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Touchbacks Skyrocket to 43.5 Percent →
Paul Carr, for the ESPN Stats & Info blog:
Expressed as a percentage, 53.4 percent of kickoffs were returned this season, a huge drop from 80.1 percent in 2010.
In a related note, touchbacks skyrocketed to 43.5 percent this season, more than two and a half times last year’s rate of 16.4 percent.
I was pretty close. My analysis of the new rule, based on last year’s kickoffs,...
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Parsing Jeffrey Lurie's Words
When evaluating what Jeffrey Lurie said yesterday, it’s important to examine what he didn’t say. While he didn’t announce any changes to the front office structure, it’s worth noting that he didn’t take the easy outs either.
Lurie could have made a simple argument about bad luck, acknowledged some vague mistakes, and how it’s important to stay the course...
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'Dismal, Unfathomable, Terrible' →
Jeff Lurie showed his anger and frustration at the press conference Tuesday afternoon, calling it the “most disappointing season since I’ve owned the team.” Despite “unacceptable” performance, he’s sticking with Andy Reid and Howie Roseman for next season.
Lurie wouldn’t go that far to endorse Juan Castillo. In fact, he distanced himself from that...
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A Serious Answer →
Les Bowen, for the Daily News:
Reid refused to give a serious answer Sunday when asked why he thought the Eagles didn’t make the playoffs.
More specifically, Reid responded to Les’s question with “Well, we were 8-8, and the other teams weren’t. So they had better records, so they made it.”
No love lost there.
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The Mirage of Late-Season Success
The central question of the moment is simple: what to make of the Eagles final month? They won four games in a row, allowed only 11.5 points per game — seemingly the make up of a long-anticipated turnaround.
Was it really?
You can make that case if you’re so inclined, citing defensive statistics like yards allowed, changed tactics, and the words of almost every player in the...
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Something From Nothing →
Phil Sheridan, for the Inquirer:
Or how about this admittedly extreme long shot: What if Reid were to initiate talks of a buyout in order to pursue another job, such as the expected vacancy in San Diego? Impossible? Remember, Reid’s agent is Bob LaMonte, the man who engineered Jon Gruden’s move from Oakland to Tampa Bay. Setting Reid up as football czar for a franchise that might...
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Video: From the Eagles Locker Room
Pieced together some of the best quotes and strangest responses from the Eagles locker room after yesterday’s 34-10 victory over the Redskins. Enjoy responsibly.
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Shady Dealings →
Jeff McLane, for the Inquirer:
McCoy said that Samuel, who signed a six-year, $60 million deal with the Eagles four years ago, has been a confidant over business matters.
“He said, ‘Just play ball. You’ll get it one day,’ ” McCoy said. “It’s one of those things where I feel I’m so far back in that line. It’s really hard to talk about...