Friday, February 10, 2017
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Snubbed!
How Brian Dawkins got snubbed >:(
Former Eagles safety Brian Dawkins, a 9-time Pro Bowler, 6-time All-Pro, and member of the NFL All-Decade team (2000s), changed the game of football. Not just for the Eagles. For every team.
Saturday, January 28, 2017
2017 Mock Draft...With A Twist!
Eagles' Offseason Plan for 2017
I've written before that mock drafts are worthless. And I immediately proceeded to publish a mock draft of my own—but with a twist!
Instead of the typical "Team X is going to pick Player Y," I instead listed a variety of players, at a variety of positions, that the Eagles might consider. Only then did I list the players I thought the Eagles would pick.
Naturally, when the Eagles traded up for Carson Wentz, my entire scenario was ripped to tatters. I was upset that the Eagles spent all those picks in order to trade up for one player; a very risky move. Coach Pederson's decision to sit the rookie QB all year met with my approval. But, as it turns out, I was wrong—and I'm quite happy about that!
Despite the fact that the Eagles didn't pick a single prospect that I had suggested, I'm doubling down on it this year. I believe that my approach has the advantage of providing a more robust view of the players and the strategy, without shoehorning a particular player into a particular draft slot.
So, here goes my second annual attempt at making an offseason plan for the Eagles:
Carson Wentz wants the Eagles to pick that player...
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Why the Eagles should NOT trade for Torrey Smith
I keep seeing pleas for the Eagles to trade for Torrey Smith, apparently based on the questionable reports from ProFootballTalk ('cause, y'know, PFT totally isn't the TMZ of the NFL world). The logic is something like this:
1) The Eagles need WRs who can catch the ball.
2) Torrey Smith is a WR. He has been known to catch the ball. Also, he is a deep threat who can stretch the field and open up opportunities underneath for players like Jordan Matthews.
3) Profit???
There's just one problem with this: Torrey Smith is not the top WR that some fans seem to believe. His only role would be as a deep threat to change defensive coverage against the Eagles; he's not much better at catching the ball than our current WRs. Yes, including Dorial Green-Beckham or Nelson Agholor (!), and I'll prove it.
In 2014, Smith had a higher drop rate (6.5%) than rookie Jordan Matthews (5.8%), according to Football Outsiders. In 2015, Smith had a higher drop rate (4.8%) than Matthews (3.9%). In each year of Matthews' career, including so far in the 2016 season, Smith has caught fewer balls, for fewer yards, than Matthews. And Smith has caught fewer TDs, to boot, except for when he caught a ridiculous 11 TDs in 2014.
And, according to Football Outsiders' DVOA and DYAR, Jordan Matthews and Nelson Agholor are BOTH better receivers than Torrey Smith thus far in 2016. Green-Beckham would be, too, if he caught more passes for the Eagles. Do you really want to trade a valuable draft pick for a guy who's worse by most measures than our current young receivers? Just so you can get a shiny new toy?
I wouldn't necessarily be against trading for Torrey Smith, but I would be against it if we traded premium resources for him as though he's a #1 WR--because he simply isn't one. I'm not normally a look-at-the-stats-and-forget-the-tape kind of guy, but the tape backs it up: Smith has never been a top WR. Never. And I have no reason to believe that'll change.
The only reason to trade for Torrey Smith is that he can be a decoy (who occasionally catches deep balls), which would open up space for guys like Jordan Matthews, Brent Celek, Zach Ertz (maybe) and running backs like Darren Sproles underneath.
Torrey Smith is a role player. He is not a sure-handed receiver. He is not the solution to our receiving woes. Period.
Friday, September 30, 2016
The Power of the Schwartz
All this talk about Carson Wentz and the Eagles' surprisingly good offense has obscured the job that the Eagles' coaching staff has done so far!
I think head coach Doug Pederson and offensive coordinator Frank Reich have created excellent, aggressive game plans so far. Unlike Chip Kelly, they've done a great job of maximizing the talent they have, and covering over the weaknesses of the roster (see: Huff, Josh; catching passes).
As for the defense: through three weeks, it's surrendered only 20 points! (The other 7 points scored against the Eagles came on a kickoff return for a TD by the Bears.)
Never underestimate the power of the Schwartz!
Heh, I just watched Spaceballs, and as soon as I heard that line, I thought of Jim Schwartz and the Eagles' defense! Schwartz coaches a defense without his top cornerback (Leodis McKelvin) and a 7th-round rookie (Jalen Mills) starting in his place--and they have yet to give up a passing TD, despite having played against Alshon Jeffrey and Antonio Brown!
Apparently, Yogurt was right--Eagles fans should never underestimate the power of our defensive coordinator! :)
Monday, September 26, 2016
Gimme some respect...
Even after putting an old-fashioned whupping on the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Eagles still aren't getting enough respect from national media--not even from former NFL players!
The most impressive 3-0 team is the Vikings or the Patriots?! Really, guys?
And all this time, I thought it was expected that Belichick would coach up his players and arrange game plans to maximize the strengths of the guys on the field. After all, it's not like they had no warning that Brady was about to serve a suspension...
And sure, the Vikings lost their 'QB of the future' in Teddy Bridgewater. But how much of a dropoff is it from Bridgewater to Bradford? Peterson is also out for a while, but Asiata and McKinnon have gotten meaningful playing time before, so it's not like the Vikings are having to roll out some unknown quantities to replace their injured stars. And everybody knew that the Minnesota defense would be hot fire this season, so it's not like they're totally coming from nowhere.
Sunday, September 11, 2016
Carson Wentz Just Proved Me Wrong
Photo credit: Hunter Martin, Philadelphia Eagles photographer
To start the rookie, or not to start the rookie?...
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