Eagles Go Down Fighting In Respectable Effort
In Philadelphia, a strong effort from a team can make up for an undesirable result. Today, the Eagles, though widely outclassed in terms of talent by the Baltimore Ravens, fought hard through all four quarters in today’s 27-26 loss.
Down by 10 in the fourth quarter with the Ravens threatening to deliver a knockout punch, Jordan Hicks intercepted a pass from Joe Flacco and returned it 38 yards to start the rally. The Eagles’ offense converted the opportunity into three points. The defense pitched a strong three-and-out after the kickoff, giving Carson Wentz and the offense one last chance to tie the game.
Wentz, who struggled early in the game, did well on the team’s final possession, hooking with Zach Ertz on a key completion deep in Baltimore territory, and several plays later made a great move to run in for the touchdown. The Eagles did fail on the two-point conversion, but it was great to see Wentz succeed in guiding a come-from-behind effort on the road against one of the league’s tougher defenses.
Quick Thoughts
Offense
- Ryan Mathews led the offense with 128 yards on 20 carries, scoring a touchdown and a two-point conversion. It was incredible that Mathews and the Eagles’ running game was able to achieve such great success against the league’s top running defense, given the fact that passing attack was a non-factor for most of the day. The Ravens knew Mathews was coming, and was simply unable to stop him.
- Mathews was able to attain his success thanks in part to great play in the running game from the offensive line. The line got a boost from Brandon Brooks being able to suit up this week at right guard, and also got a solid effort from rookie Isaac Seumalo, who drew the start at right tackle and performed very well.
- Kenjon Barner left the game with an injury, creating opportunity for rookie Byron Marshall, who made his NFL debut after spending most of the season on the practice squad. Marshall made the most of his opportunity, picking up some key first downs with 22 yards on nine carries. He also threw some nice blocks in pass protection. He’ll be an interesting guy to watch over the final two games of the season.
- Despite making a handful of big plays in the previous two games, Paul Turner was made inactive today, in favor of the inept likes of Nelson Agholor and Bryce Treggs, who continue to underwhelm.
- Agholor just has no football IQ. On the jet sweep called for him on a fourth down in the second half, he’s got to be aware of where his feet are in relation to the sideline. His carelessness caused him to go out well short of the first down.
- Zach Ertz continues to be Mr. Garbage Time/December, saving his best efforts for when the Eagles have been eliminated from contention. Ertz hauled in six passes for 80 yards, including a beautiful reception late in the fourth quarter to set up the team’s final score.
Defense
- The Eagles managed three sacks in the game, coming from Fletcher Cox, Nigel Bradham, and one more split between Beau Allen and Brandon Graham.
- Bradham also forced a fumble on his sack, which the offense was able to cash in for a score.
- Someone needs to get with Jalen Mills and tell him drop the whole finger-wagging thing. He hasn’t played anywhere near well enough to be using any kind of taunt, and he just looks all the more foolish when he does it and then gets flagged for a penalty.
- Mills also was partially responsible for a Steve Smith burning the defense for a late touchdown with less than 20 seconds left in the first half.
- Jaylen Watkins was also guilty on the same play. Watkins has been killing the Eagles for weeks now, at this point I’d rather see them give opportunity to Chris Maragos.
Final Thoughts
Considering what the Eagles were up against, there isn’t really much I have to complain about from this game.
It was a good effort on the road from an overmatched young team. As long as the arrow continues to point up over the next two games, that’s all Eagles fans can hope for as another season winds down.
Follow Denny Basens on Twitter, @DennyBasens
I only saw some Red-Zone Highlights, and the last couple of minutes during the last Drive..
At least the Eagles are fighting and playing hard which is all you can ask… Pass Protection looked decent from what I saw with this makeshift OL and they had a lot of success with the Run Blocking..
Get 2 more Receivers on the outside, let Jordan Matthews get healthy to play the Slot with Ertz/Burton as Passing attack will be improved…
I would release Agholor after the Season and give DBG a full Off-Season and Summer Camp and see what he does nextSeason…
Malcolm Jenkins stunk today, responsible for 2 Raven TDs and Trey Burton is dropping passes every week and has become just as unreliable as the rest of receiving crew.
Lane Johnson returns next week. Wonder who goes to the bench. Seumalo, Wisniewski or Kelce ?
Wiz goes back to the bench as Seumalo has played very well considering he’s been switched all over the line over the past 3 games. Kelce’s not sitting and Seumalo is the future starting Guard or Center next year. I think He’s the future Center and said it when he was drafted.
Wiz has no future here. I think Kelce would be a good extra lineman/blocking full back for next season.
Who knows what’s kind of Football shape Lane Johnson is in .. I would be surprised if he plays much Next week at all.
I’ve factored his shape into the equation, however, it will take more than two weeks for him to get into real game day shape so I’d throw his ass back in there to make him earn that check and the respect of his team mates by making him suck it up and tough it out. He’ll be playing this week..I don’t know how many snaps, but he’s playing.
#dougmustgo
That’s right, fire Doug and let’s start the whole process over again, which will set us back another year..brilliant. Unless you can get Jim Harbaugh from Michigan..stop with the nonsense.
Gloomy you would have called for firing Jimmy Johnson, Pete Carroll, Dick Vermiel , Bill Bellichik and a ton of other coaches who started off with a poor record. He deserves a chance to implement his plan with the right talent…it takes 3 years to mark true progress.
You want the Eagles to be the east coast Browns firing coaches on the annual basis. Ridiculous. Just go watch the Browns as they like to fire coaches every year or two.
I agree…Pederson’s play calling was awful again…why call an end-around with Aghelor on 4th down instead of giving it to Matthews and going North -South when he had been running well all day? Any why throw a low pass over the middle on the 2 pt conversion where there a lots of bodies and arms to get in the way? Again, when your average yards/rush are greater than yards/passr? Pederson is just too much of a Reid clone and unable to call the right play by adapting to game conditions. I am tired of hearing all this first year HC nonsense…he has been in football way too long to be this poor at handling game time conditions…
You’re wrong. There as nothing wrong with the end around play call, the fact is Ertz’s seal block created a clear lane for Agholor to run through for the first down, Agholor missed the hole and went towards the sideline then up field and stepped out prior to getting to the line to gain.
Secondly, nothing is wrong for going for the win, Wentz threw the pass, it got tipped and deflected away from Matthews, but there was no where else to go with the ball as the other options were covered.
Doug didn’t call a perfect game but the emphasis on the run worked as it kept the Ravens offense sidelined and got the Eagles back in the game. There was a good balance between the run and the pass.
The defense gave up 27 points to a Raven offense that’s been anemic, but yeah, it’s Doug’s fault. Schwartz’s defense came up small ..again!
It was perfectly blocked and a potential TD…. did anyone see peters come over and tell Assholar to get his head out of his ass and follow the blocks???
Finally wentz does something clutch!!!
But then Doug pederson absolutely kills wentz by going for 2. Fuck outta here dumb dumb this ain’t college, you don’t do that with this weaponless team. So dumb. All the momentum going into ot and u make some brain dead , I don’t care if we win or lose, call. I hate him now.
He’s big time out of his league. Hopefully he catches up but idk if he can.
In other news lmfao at chip Kelly. Hahahaaaaaaa I can’t believe someone hires him. Still dying at the people that were begging for the eagles to get krappernick and how he was te perfect fit. Haaaa
Chip outta go back to college before he can only get a job at a place like fau
wrong Henski just because it didn’t work doesn’t mean it was a bad call– I said when the drive started if they score a TD go for 2– there is no way our defense would have stopped them in OT….
If ur playoff hopes are on the line , if a 1st round bye is on the line you don’t go for that with these bum weapons so don’t do it now.
with that wind you are basically relying on a coin toss– there is no debate, going for 2 —
I’ll take a coin toss over going for 2 with our personnel. A coin toss is 50-50 our shot at 2 there was way less than 50-50.
Wentz was shit all game. Our wr been shit all year. Baltimore d is strong , that play had no chance. And if this year is about developing wentz they should have gave him the 5th quarter.
If ur playoff hopes are on the line , if a 1st round bye is on the line you don’t go for that with these bum weapons so don’t do it now. Go for the win is dumb imo in a young team like this with shit weapons. Vikings fans loved it. I hated it knew they had 0% of getting the 2. We got nobody to make a play
I disagree with you mhenski. I think Doug had two things on his mind regarding the decision.
1. He was not trusting the defense..especially these corners to protect the end zone…see Dallas OT loss.
2. They have a game on Thursday. Why continue to risk injury, plus spend more time in that game. No..go for the win. What did they have to lose..playoffs, nope. The truth is to go for the win was the right decision.
Personally I appreciated the clock management at the end of the game and how we had time outs at the end of the game..unlike Andy Reid.
Fuck risking injury. Let the kids play if they get hurt so what. And the d made a few plays in the 4th quarter. Put the d out there. I ain’t scared of flacco especially in that wind.
I want me team to win not lose. That play had no shot
‘they made plays’…well after the stupid interception the ravens went into preserve the lead mode– that D can’t stop east bumfuck state with the game on the line.
wentz rolled into the endzone put his team on his back- give him an opportunity to win it right there–
idk about wentz rolling they benefited from 2 huge penalties and a turnover from the D. wentz was having a brutal day throwing. hasnt had much success getting into the endzone in any capacity all year… and now u gonna say here is 1 shot and 1 shot only at the endzone, lmfao it was a cant win situation you were never getting that 2pter. the game was meaningless but i want this team to win and they need to learn to win, all year they are losing in 1 score games… they needed to learn offense and defense not gamble and say who cares if we win or lose… this is 1 gross offense they were never getting that 2
hmm…. ok so a gross offense with one shot from the 2 to win or a gross offense getting the ball on their own 25 and having to drive the field to score in OT– dunno– I’ll take it on the 2.
not me. ill take the shit offense with 3 tries at a first down to continue a drive over 1 play for this offense or punt, then hold the ravens and try again
if i know my odds are less than 50% to hit on the 2 pt conv im not doing it. its selfish and irresponsible
the odds were less than 50% they get the 2, so are you playing to win or playing to lose?
first let me say that as the result of the play turned out you are right– its the fans perogative to judge a decision after the result plays out– by that note fraudman is batting 1000 on predictions, draft picks and free agent signings– argue both sides and then let the results play out and take the side that worked out. But I just read this and really going for 2 at that time was a gut call by a coach and I like my coach to have guts:
The Eagles’ decision, like the Titans’, can be justified with analytics even if it wasn’t data-based. As ESPN senior analytics specialist Brian Burke wrote in an email exchange Sunday night, “good and bad teams are nearly indistinguishable on any single play.” That’s another way of saying the Eagles — who are 5-9 after losing their fifth consecutive game — had a better chance to top the Ravens on one good two-point play than over the course of overtime.
In addition to analytics, all three coaches have no doubt been swayed in part by the 2015 rule change to make extra points more difficult. Since the start of last season, place-kickers are missing 6 percent of their attempts. That lessens the risk disparity between going for one point and two points.
But there is an interesting psychological connection between all three of the 2016 instances that might help explain what’s really going on here.
In each case, the decision has come after big second-half comebacks. The Raiders were down 14 points to the Saints in Week 1. The Titans trailed the Chiefs 17-7 in the fourth quarter on Sunday, and the Eagles had a similar 10-point deficit at 27-17 to the Ravens in the fourth quarter. Jack Del Rio, Mularkey and Pederson are among eight head coaches who had substantial NFL playing careers, making them most likely to be attuned to the emotion of a game and react to ethereal feelings of momentum.
yea i dont shape my opinion after the fact. im in a group text with a bunch of firends and what im saying now is what i said then and they all said nah you go for it… its a losers mentality.
so basically theres a 94% to extend the game and at most a 40% to win right then and there and people are happy with that call.
nah u setting people up to fail and lose. i want winners. bill bellicheck aint making that call to go for it in that same situation and i dont want my coach to either
doug doesnt make that call weeks 1-8 this years so he shouldnt now. ur basically saying ah who cares..
Ok, the coach doesn’t adjust to game situations? He does the same thing in week 14.
Belichick did an on sides kick last year that was ill timed and totally switched the momentum… its how the game is played.
onside kick is based on film, they thought they could expose someone or something. going for 2 doesnt do that. guy simply wanted a walk off win and thought this offense had a 2 year play. FLOP
Oh the cheating genius ‘saw something’ …. Got it. I absolutely get it. Right…he saw something… Interesting his eyes must have deceived him because in the end it was a FLOP as well…Doug was going for a walk off win, cheat was trying to drive the final nail in the coffin…I can pick cliches as well.
Fact is when a risky, ballsy, gutsy call or decision works it’s all those adjectives and a great call. When it doesn’t it’s stupid, greedy, dumb and a terrible call.
Disagree. I think regardless of outcome 90+% are saying Doug made the right call. I said it wasn’t regardless of outcome. Elliot parks tweet this morning sums it up best ‘changing up personnel and getting a look at your young players makes sense at this point in this season. Changing the way you coach / call the game doesn’t. And yes teams kick onsides kicks in random situation based on film (like Andy did against Dallas ). Going for a walk off win isn’t going based on film. That call was just lazy & irresponsible & that loss is square on his shoulders. Maybe if wentz was dialed in and balling find but he was playing like shit was missing all day. Imo it’s the wrong call in professional football with this team in that situation.
And although u may hate belicheck he is the greatest of all time.
Lazy? Ok you win…it in fact was a terrible call they lost the game . Coaches lose games, players win them
Ravens also have one of the Best FG Kickers in the NFL in Justin Tucker who can make them from 55 Yards in… Eagles have a backup long-snapper so executing a FG is a 50/50 thing for them right now ..
On the Road,as an Underdog with nothing to play for but pride, you go for the Win.. Playing for a Tie and then OT does not make sense for the Eagles at 5-8 and a short week and a backup long-snapper.. you’re 2.5 Yards from a W.. You go for it!!!
pman, I have not agreed with you much lately, but here you nailed it..perfectly stated.
BTW, I watched Eastern Washington play Saturday. That kid you put in your Eagles mock draft (Cooper Kupp) plays well. He runs great routes to get separation and catches everything thrown his way like former Eagle receiver Greg”Trash” Garrity.
Kupp reminds me of Jordy Nelson…if available in the 3rd round take a shot.
Thnx EHL, I do like that WR Cooper Kupp from Eastern Washington. A Comparison to the Packers Jordy Nelson is a good one.. He has deceptive speed and great body control with leaping ability..
One of the redskins reason for being back on the road to success again is Scott MCloughan. Seems like he has overcome his problem with the bottle, and always was a sharp football guy who came up through the hard work way.
Panthers laid one on the Redskins tonight.. They beat them in the Trenches all night long..
Thank god Washington lost
Bastards need to pay for what happen to Darren Sproles.
And we do not them making the playoffs!! Less wear and tear on JaccPott
So this offseason philly will be getting rid of
Ryan Matthew
Jason peters
Connor barwin
Which will save them about 15million in space.
They also got rid of Sam Bradford which saved money and re did deals to save more.
Eagles sign djax/cooks and draft Corey Davis in first round. Maybe take oline?
Kenjon barner and Smallwood will be the feature backs and I think are good enough behind an improved oline that’s healthier.
Don’t be so fast on Jason Peters not being an Eagle in 2017. I think he’ll be back. We need the depth and he’s still playing at a high enough level and was relatively healthy this year.
peters will renegotiate his contract because his cap hit is too high to cut him.
A bad scene .Agholor gets traded to Mr B. and company ,he gets coached up, to the max, and we watch in awe of how the Pats do it so often , and we tsk, tsk away. Please, please Howie ,anywhere but the Pats who could make a monster out of Mr .Agholor..
what has agholar done to make you think he can be a monster- he looks lost most of the time?
Phillies acquired RHP Clay Buchholz from the Red Sox for INF Josh Tobias.
The deal is now official. The Phillies will cover all of Buchholz’s $13.5 million salary for 2017 as part of the deal. The 32-year-old Buchholz lost his rotation spot for a stretch this past season and finished with a 4.78 ERA and 93/55 K/BB ratio over 139 1/3 innings, but the Phillies are banking on some improvement with the move to the National League. Health has been an issue for him at times, but a rebound isn’t out of the question here.
Dec 20 – 11:38 A
Great deal, Phil’s looking for one year solid contributors down on their luck looking for a rebound contract year…like Hellickson
Plus if Bucholz actually rebounds and Pitches well, he could then become nice “Trade Bait” at the Trade Deadline if the Phil’s wanted to add more Prospects (same thing could happen with Hellickson) but it would be nice for the Phils Young Pitchers to have 2 Veteran Starters at the Top of the Rotation to help set the pace…
Hellickson, Eickoff, Bucholz, Nola & Velasquez could be a Nice Starting Staff to Start the Season if all remain healthy
All of a sudden the Phil’s have depth at the SP spot…. Paul I don’t think the Phil’s are sellers at the deadline…. HACs usual optimism but really they have to be a bit lucky and a couple young guys really hit their stride….
So it appears yet another hiccup in the process… The first pick in the process is on his way out of town, chirping and will get nothing in return….in Noel’s career he was part of about 20 wins…. That’s a lot of trust
Lmfao u such a hater
Joel embiid is a superstar. It was worth it. Noel wasn’t part of the process. He was the first order of business the first trade tho. We traded that bum jru holiday for him. A loser for a loser.
The process was tank. And tanking got us embiid saric Simmons and oakafor just. One of which is a superstar. So we got what we need. Simmons gonna be ready soon and we getting a legit stud again this year. The future is bright.
Looks like they are tanking yet again. As I’ve said I understand the process… It’s a reflection on the weakness of the league…. But drafting 3 centers during the process stupid
Losing on purpose deserves at least a little bit of hate…
Players the Eagles should look to trade even if it’s for nothing more than a 4th or 5th Rd picks
Conor Barwin- better suited for 3-4 – perfect fits Packers or Texans also saves 7mill
Jason peters- has played better this yr but will be 35 and the Eagles can save 9mill if traded – good landing spot Denver
Kendricks- just not on the field enough but still young where he could 8mprove won’t save much but since you don’t want to play him might as well get something for him good landing spot saints
Kelce – Issac is the guy that was drafted to take his spot undersized bad snaps Eagles can save 3mill perfect landing spot chiefs back with his old coach and brother
Ryan Matthew’s- injury prone fumbles but good when healthy saves the Eagles 4mill perfect landing spot Packers or Vikings
Agholor- still young but to many mental mistakes and dropped passes perfect landing spot 49ers
Vinny curry – just not productive good landing spot rams
No one would trade for those players based on exactly what you say… Why would another team pay those salaries….gloomy back with the trades
So gloomy as Gm of an oppossing team you’d trade for:
Kendricks, 2017-$4.8 salary, cap hit 6/6, 2018 $5.8 salary cap $7,6, 2019 $6.8 $8.6 cap
curry-working backwards- 19-$9.2 sal 11.2 CH, 18, $9 sal $11 CH, 17- $7 sal 9 cap hit with a whopping $15 M dead
see your trades make no sense from the other teams perspective. to say that peters is the only bad contract is more nonsense– when you look at the two i just posted peters is a relative bargain
Only one that’s a bad contract is Peter’s and Elway doesn’t care as long as the player is good…
Hey gloomy, there’s a story on philly.com about Doug Pederson wanting Jason Peters back next year.
Jason Peters came out last week and said he wants to return to the eagles to pursue a ring with Wentz. JP isn’t going anywhere. Please stop with the trade scenarios that doesn’t have a snowballs chance in hell.
They for sure not tanking anymore
Peters will probably sign a 3 year deal with 9 mil in G money reducing his yearly cap hit and ensuring he is not cut for 2 seasons.
Barwin will be moved or cut.
Kelce is a toss up. If you are moving him Isaac needs to play the last 2 games at C if healthy enough.
Kendricks needs to go to save the beans for another player.
Ryan Matthews- I would try an find a team friendly deal if not….C Ya
Agholor- Trade for another teams project in salary flip.
Vinny Curry- Will be your starting DE opposite BG next year.
Eagle I agree that’s an option for Peter’s but I almost rather get rid of his salary and use it for Stephen Gilmore
Do u understand that peters would be like a $6 hit if you cut him??
NO bigs have 48 pts in the paint and a bunch of offensive rebounds… So much for our bigs!
Damn our rookie future superstar couldn’t stop the current best big and a top 5 player in the league (probably league MVP if he could ever stay healthy ). He must be a bust if he can’t shut down the brow.
No i’m not saying that– I’m really just saying that the sixers have embarked on a losing path for many years- the reasons why are well documented and valid. however at some point just acquiring players isn’t enough- you are hard on the eagles who themselves have embarked on a process but at least they are TRYING to win– you criticize the coach constantly who may have a different perspective of the PROCESS the eagles are undertaking…
I hope the sixers thing works out in the next few years– taking injured players with an upside let them continue to lose but really what its lead to is a bunch of uncertainty.
i dont rip the coach constantly. matter of fact the only time i ripped doug was when he didnt speak to lane days after the news broke about his suspension & when he didnt know how many channels were on the qb headset ( a former qb and OC HAS to know that)
i didnt rip him for going for 2 i just think it was the wrong call. doug himself said he wouldnt have gone for it if they were 8-5, so…
Loved the call to go for 2. Pederson shouldn’t have been so defensive at the PC (he tends to do that). Just state “We felt it was the thing to do” and leave it at that.
I really think the team will respond (long term) to the agressiveness Pederson is showing. He is telling them “I trust you” and its a message that will play well in the locker room.
He’s not a 6mill hit they save 9mill and it’s only a 2mill hit
he just made the pro bowl– they will renegotiate– He’s a million dead cap in 2018-
As far as the farfetched trades– teams don’t typically trade for high priced players.
Congratulations to Jason Peters, Fletcher Cox and 1st alternate NFC DE Brandon Graham for making the Pro Bowl.
Congrats to those Players Announced as Pro-Bowl Winners
But the Selection Criteria is so biased and slanted to the favor of previous Pro-Bowl recipients that once you make it, its hard not to repeat …
Look around some of this Years repeated Pro-Bowlers
Bengals WR – AJ Green has only Played in 10 Games in 2016
Ravens Guard – Marshall Yanda has Missed 3 Games in 2016
Panthers LB – Luke Kuechly has only played in 10 Games in 2016
Redskins TE – Jordan Reed has missed 3 Games in 2016
No doubt that these are all Good Players, but the #1 Criteria should be for a Player to Play the Entire Season..The Announcements should also be made after the Season is completed and not after 14 Games are Played
At LT was the Cowboys Tryon Smith, Redskins Trent WIlliams (only played 10 Games ?) and Eagles Jason Peters were all Announced as Pro-Bowlers..
But No Mention of Young Up and Coming LT’s like the Falcons Jake Matthews & Donavon Smith of TB Bucs ….
I understand Young Players having to earn their way… But many of these Selections are not made objectively and are based on Reputation.
What a revelation. I think I now understand!!!
OK this is a little off topic. I am not a big video game guy. Haven’t been since they discontinued the Atari 2600. But anyway, we do have a PS3 and my son is 9 so I have started letting him play a bit (sports and lego SW only)
Anyway…I have Madden 2011. (Its based on the 2010 season right?) And I started playing against him 2 weeks back. We’ve played 3 games…I am always the Eagles.
And I get it.
I NOW understand why so many deluded people LOVE Vick and Desean.
They’re unstoppable.
Whenever its a dicey situation I go “shotgun” “4 verticals” spot pre-snap Desean and rip it.
70 yrds.
Every. Single. Time.
Double covered, triple covered…who cares. Vick launches it 3/4 of the field and Desean always catches it.. I think I had him at 4 catches for 255 yrds and 4 tds the other day.
Better than Bo Jackson in Tecmo Bowl. My kid gets so upset. (though I caught him yesterday playing a “season” (I don’t know how this works). He’s 3-0 and does the same thing.
So I guess I get it now. Vick and Desean are unstoppable on Madden…..so they must be the same in real life!
Kids like Kooltwit were 100-0 with 6 superbowl victories with those guys while playing in the basement and so defended them till the end of the Earth in leal life.
Anyway – I may have hated those guys in real life…but man…they are Madden superstars!
Saints 2nd Year LB Stephane Anthony has been sent to IR after being benched earlier in the Season for poor play…. HC Sean Payton stated that Anthony has not gotten the basic reading keys & basic elements to play as a NFL LB this Year so he is shutting him down for the 2016 Season
Guarantee Howie gets rid of some of these contracts in the off-season….Bank on it
I’m moving,trading, releasing any Player over 30 Years age if I’m Roseman.. Some players you can possIbly bring bring back for less $$$ (Celek/Sproles/Peters all come to mind)
The Eagles are a 5-6 Win Team.. This is no time to get sentimental about keeping “good guys” if they are no longer Productive or whose Salaries are out of line with their Production..
Celek $5 Million for 10 Cathches? , Kendricks $5 Million for 2 Tackles a Game?
Vinny Curry $7-$8 Million for 2 Sacks?
Backup QB Chase Daniels for $7-8 Million as a Backup?
hmmm so you guys are thinking that Howie will take a cap hit of: Sproles $4, Curry $9 + a bunch the next couple of years, Kendricks $6 + a couple more years, Barwin $8.3…. I don’t think you can cut them or trade them– NO ONE would take on that salary!
sorry, I misread spotrac– barwin is gone its only $600k dead, sproles is showing as 0 dead… kendricks and curry tho are big hits — as is Kelce–
I also believe Curry, Kendricks and Kelce are all here next year. The “dead” cap hits are too high.
I also think they’ll bring Sproles back for another year. SIgn him to 1 year $3 million or something. If not he’ll go to the Pats and catch 80 passes out of the backfield like Dion Lewis a couple years back.
Those of you who have CUT Kelce and Peters need to watch the all 22 on BGN. They can be dominate, yes even Kelce– no he is not your typical bowling ball center but he does an AWFUL lot– as I’ve said before on here about him… I bet the guys that grade tape think more highly of him than most of the posters on here do and I guarantee when D coordinators plan for the eagles they go over kelce’s assignments very thoroughly.
Another Highly Touted CB Kyle Fuller has been IR by the Bears after 2 very Disappointing Seasons after a promising Rookie Season.. Bears Coach fuller is not better than any of the 7 CB’s on the Roster/Practice Squad though Fuller was the 14th Pick of the 2014
Both Anthony & Fuller were touted as “Can’t miss NFL Prospects” by Poster GMCliff as well as others on here… The bigger point is that you never really know and it’s impossible to predict a Player’s Work Ethic, Desire, Good Health & Overall Coachability & Maturity
In this above 2 cases we have 2 very experienced and successful HC’s in the NFL moving on from Recent 1st Round Draft Picks who have underperformed..
Will the Eaglesmove away from Nelson Agholor & Marcus Smith this off-season or it’s them as they are still young and relatively cheap still on their Rookie Deals in which their Bonus $$$ has mostly been paid out already
Billy Davis Killed Vinny Curry. Remember when he came out of college he was a sleek smooth looking burst off the edge. They made him bulk up to play in the 3-4 and now looks like a DT. Hopefully this off season they drop his weight back down into the 250s and he gets back to his prior form.
They will be moving on from guys like Celek (unless he signs something small) but many of the others will be back because of the cap hits.
.I found this quote on phillydotcom rather interesting- “Eagles players were asked over the last week to select one teammate for the Pro Bowl. Here are the results: Jason Peters 11, Brandon Graham 10, Rodney McLeod 9, Fletcher Cox 7, Jordan Hicks 5, Darren Sproles 5, Malcolm Jenkins 4, Nigel Bradham 1, Trey Burton 1, Chris Maragos 1, Caleb Sturgis 1, Carson Wentz 1.”
On the D line we know we have talent and hopefully they bring back Logan. Graham has played the best, regardless of what 1 or 2 might think. Bottom line… we need a CB and a WR and have needed these things for far too long.
I like logan an awful lot but I think he is going to command a pretty nice chunk of change and I don’t know if you can tie so much $ up on DT’s???
get me a corner first, a MLB second (move hicks to Weak) then a WR maybe but still address depth on the OL–
There are a Lot of Big Name DT’s who are Free-Agents this Year which will Drive up the Cost of the Position..
Here is a Current List of Former/Current Pro-Bowlers at the DT Position who will be Free-Agents this Off-Season and all under the Age of 30
Dontari Poe of the Chiefs (Age 26) 23 Tackles – 2 Sacks – 10 QB hits
Nick Fairly of the Saints (Age 28) 38 Tackles – 6 Sacks – 18 QB Hits
Kawaan Short of the Panthers (Age 27) 48 Tackles – 5 Sacks – 11 QB Hits
Jonathon Hankins of the Giants (Age 24) 41 Tackles – 4 Sacks – 10 QB Hits
Brandon Williams of the Ravens (Age 27) 46 Tackles – 1 Sack – 2 QB Hits
Terrel McClain of the Cowboys – (Age 28) 40 Tackles – 3 Sacks – 6 QB Hits
Tyson Alaula of the Jaguars – (Age 29) 34 Tackles – 3 Sacks – 5 QB Hits
Bennie Logan of the Eagles (Age 26) 22 Tackles – 3 Sacks – 6 QB Hits
The Top 4-5 DT’s will get 3-4 Year Deals in that $40-$50 Million Range and maybe even More with the Increase in the Salary Cap…
Free-Agent CB’s upcoming in 2017
The Big Names
Stephen Gilmore – Bills (Age 26) – 44 Tackles – 5 Int’s
Trumaine Johnson – Rams (Age 26) – 50 Tackles – 1 Int
Captain Munnerlyn – Vikings (Age 28) – 51 Tackles – 1 Forced Fumble
Logan Ryan – Patriots (Age 25) – 81 Tackles – 1 Forced Fumble – 1 Int
Some Under the Radar Players Worth a Look
Corey White – Bills (Age 26) 26 Tackles – 1 Int
Sterling Moore – Saints (Age 26) 46 Tackles – 2 Int’s
Marcus Cooper – Cardinals (Age 26) – 66 Tackles – 4 Int’s
AJ Bouye – Texans (Age 25) 51 Tackles – 1 Int
When looking at Spotrac or any other Salary Cap Site
It’s the Dead Cap $$ that you have to Focus on and not the Total Cap Hit, which includes their Salary, but if they are Released then there is no Salary
and it’s only the Dead $$$ that a Team has to Eat…
Example For 2017, Jason Peters is Due $9,950,000 Million Salary + $1 Million Signing Bonus + 250 K Workout Bonus for a Total of $11,200,000 in Total Compensation in 2017
If the Eagles Released Him, They will have to eat $2,000,000 in Dead $$$
Connor Barwin is Due $8,350,000 in Total Compensation but only $600,000 in Dead $$$$ as most of his Bonus $$$ has already been paid out in his first 3 Years of his Contract as most Players Deals
The Eagles just re-did Brent Celek’s Deal last Year to help get under the this Year but now will pay the Price for 2017 as Celek is Due $5 Million in 2017 with a Dead $$$$ hit of $4 Million which means he will be on the Roster in 2017
Ryan Matthews is Due $5 Million Total in 2017 with only $1 Million in Dead $$$ so he will be Released
Nelson Agholor is Due $2.5 Million Total in 2017 Compensation but has a Dead Cap Hit $$$ of $4.8 Million, due to his Bonus $$$ for being a 1st Rounder that was already paid but spread out over the term of his Deal meaning that he will remain with the Eagles for 2017
thats a response to gloomy and his trades–
Yes I just wanted to throw out a couple examples for whomever checks out the Spotrac/Salary-Cap Sites which are useful and nice resource on checking on Teams/Players Contract’s ..
Trades for Aging Players with large Contracts does not happen too often..
Maybe a Player on his Final Season or on a Prove it Deal has a chance
but not a Player like Peters,Kelce, Kendricks, Curry, Cox, Jenkins who all have multiple Years left on their Deals at pretty good Salaries
Most Free-Agent & Contract Extensions are set at 4-5 Years and even though the Bonus $$$ is typically Paid up Front or over the first 2-3 Years of their Deal, the Bonus $$$$ gets Prorated over the Term of the Deal…
Eagles have many Players who just signed New Deals over the last 2 Off-Seasons, so these Players will not be getting Released for there’s too much of a Cap Hit to do so..
Michael Kendricks is about the Worst Deal they have on the Books
He’s Due $6.6 Million in Compensation for 2017 and has a $4.8 Dead $$$ Hit
figure so you can’t Release Him and to find a Willing Trade Partner is easier said than done for most likely no other Team is going to want to absorbed his remaining Contract when he’s been an under-achieving Player the last couple of Seasons.. Kendricks Dead $$$ cap Hit decreases to $3.2 Million in 2018 and then $1.6 Million in 2019.. Eagles are going to be Stuck with him for the next 2 Seasons unless they re-work his deal for a more Cap friendly Deal and then Trade Him…
I’ve been thinking with kendricks– if he is so far out of favor with his coaches that he only plays a few snaps might it be better to eat his salary, cut him and open a roster spot for a late round pick or an UFA or something???? get a young guy you see something in and work with him?
pass on signing any of these shit corners. gotta keep rolling with band aids and find someone worth a damn in the draft. hopefully mills can improve but i have some concerns about him
I’m leery with high dollar skill guys- few work out–think maxwell and Nnambi. I don’t follow college ball (like many experts on here) but have heard that there are like 5 stud CB’s in the draft- I’m thinking grab one early- to me that is a bigger weakness than any on the team– even WR
heard the same hac, corner and rbs are deep this year – thats the rumor. backs galore for sure.
i want a corner round 1 and mccaffery too, i dont see him dropping to round 2 necessarily so we may have to make a move for him if hes wanted.
The future is very, very bright with this team.
Screw FA. Draft. And another draft.
This team will be SB contenders from 2018 – 2025.
Assholor sighting
Having dependable bookend tackles makes it all go…
All the momentum in the world…………………..
and then Agholor drops the easiest slant in the universe and they have to punt,
I hate Nelson Agholor.
Assholor needs to not play anymore. Just when I thought he couldn’t be any worse he drops one of the easiest balls to catch ever
Its not Agholors fault. Its Pedersons fault for playing him.
I don’t want to say the game was over….but I honestly believe the game was over.
Over.
Just catch that simpleton ball and its another first down and the “grind them to dust” continues.
But no.
The momentum changed and now the Giants are marching.
I can hear Dennins Green……
I hate Nelson Agholor.
Assholor is who we thought he was….denny green…his head is so far up his posterior ..not sure if he or freddy mitchell is my least favorite ever
So you invest a high pick and lots of money in a guy and then sit him?
Doug. Run the ball and go tight ends…ertz playing?
Redemption
That third down play by beckham was a td savier
I hate our defensive scheme its horrible
Normally I like aggressiveness….but they should have taken 3 there.
Still say the game turned on the Agholor drop.
Wow. Coach still gets brainlock on the last possession before giving the giants a time out and a chance to spoil a win….and shwartz refuses to bring more than 4 and sits back.in two deep vs beckham. Gives me agida. But ill take the win. So much better with lane back ..noticeably very few penalties..
Only watched the first half this new job is killing me. Nice win but I have 2 concerns
1. Why is Smallwood and barber not getting opportunities? The way I see it you can’t commit to Matthews and sproles any longer with this team and with stud backs everywhere this draft why are we not seeing what we have? Smallwood has been nice , why not give him a feature roll last 2 weeks?
2. I liked wentz’s mobility last night. It was nice to finally see that on display. However I can’t help but be concerned with him at this point. He has regressed throughout the season and I get a lot of that is on his shit weapons but he has to be better next year. He routinely holds the ball to long. I suppose it doesn’t help when assholor is on the field and can’t catch a perfectly thrown slant on a timing pattern that hits him dead in stride but he has to keep making those throws regardless of talent…
mhenski, Smallwood is out on IR with a knee injury.
Thanks for that info. Meant Barner not barber tooo..
Yeah, I am not that concerned about Wentz after last nights game. I am more excited as he was Houdini much of the night. I am going to be optimistic about next year with him as he will get a full offseason as the starter and he will hopefully have a healthy O-line and maybe Johnson won’t cheat next year. His mechanics suffer because of the o-line this year and he is still a rookie. Overall I see much more positive than negative. If he continues to make the same mistakes next year, then I will be concerned. I could be totally off, but I think that this kid has the work ethic to correct mistakes and I dream about if he had any WR that could actually make plays. Someone that could keep their feet in bounds like Mathews can’t. Someone that can catch and someone who can get open.
I am more concerned with the game planning and the play calling as Pederson calls a very predictable game that makes it easy to defend. He doesn’t adjust very well to the game either. I am much more concerned with him than Wentz.
My observations from the Eagles game.
First of all I am happy that the Eagles won, it’s been five weeks too long. Lane Johnson looked good last night, especially considering that he just returned from a 10 week suspension of non-football activity. The difference in the O line play is night and day with Johnson in the line up.
Carson Wentz played well. My only criticism is that he has to understand the speed of these pro defenders as they can close space quickly. There was nothing wrong with that pass he threw, but Treggs or any WR needs to be aware and savvy enough to come back to the ball. Wentz displayed his athleticism and pocket awareness on that play…ducking under the oncoming linemen, then spinning away from another defender creating space and time and still keeping his eyes downfield finding the open receiver was a great play…a good veteran receiver makes his way back to the QB in that situation and go get the ball. Loved the 40 yard strike to Agholor..perfect dime….and unbelievably Agholor caught the ball for the TD after he just dropped an easy pass thrown on the numbers by Wentz.
Can’t wait til Wentz gets some real weapons around him, he’s going to be awesome.
Defense played well, the corners still need to play better though.
I did not have a problem with Pederson going for the TD on that 4th and goal..I like the aggressiveness, it’ll pay off in the long run when more talent is on the offense.
At that stage of the game I do have an issue. It would have made it an an 8 point game. Sometimes you just need to take the points.