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The 700 Level - Home of the Ginger Jesus.

nick87

Coach
Messages
12,250
My thoughts on the Eagles

General comment: Think it was a good draft thought maybe not one that the fans will like. They really did stick with their board and much to the fan bases chagrin, didnt go chasing LB and CB when the value wasnt there. Would i have liked to address those earlier? Sure. I think if i were in control of the draft given how it fell, i probably end up with 1. Smith 2. Samuel Jr 3. Meinerz in the first three.
The draft showed a measure of self evaluation about where the Eagles are, something i didnt think Roseman and Lurie were capable of. So that's a positive.

1. 10: Devonta Smith WR: Absolutely pumped about this. I went through a weird arc with Smith... loved him to begin and then in the middle of the cycle started to feel like he was too risky given the size... but i kept going back to his play, and he's so good. Not like this dude was playing in the Pac 12. He's in the SEC. This is the College football king. LSU, A&M, Auburn, Georgia, Florida and then in the play offs OSU, Clemson... this is where NFL corners are playing and he smoked them all. He'll start and be the best weapon on the roster day 1. A+

2. 37: Landon Dickerson IOL: Ultimate upside pick. The dude was arguably the most dominant OLer in the entire draft when healthy. He grades out right there with any in the draft... probably is he's hurt a lot. He's had an ACL on both knees, and both ankles with issues... that's not ideal at all. But Alamaba loved and respected this guy so much that they marched him out in the Natty to give him a snap. This guy would be above AVT as the top IOL if not for those injuries. But they exist and it's a big risk so i cant give it a A, though if he stays healthy this will be viewed as one of the steals of the draft. Think he'll start at G this year and be groomed long term as a C for Kelce B+

3. 73: Milton Williams DT: Not everyone was on board with this pick, even in the Eagles draft room
mw_laugh.gif
. I dont think DT is a huge need but again, but after thinking about it, we've got Fletcher Cox coming to the end of his career and this guy is a similar style of player in that he's a pure DT with athleticism and pass rush ability to disrupt as an interior. The upside is fairly tantilising. Really high ceiling, low floor draft pick. New DC Gannon was very excited for this pick though. He'll be a rotational piece this year. B-

4. 123: Zech McPhearson CB: Finally a corner! My goodness finally. Have to say this is not someone i was very familiar with. I reckon i had a good feel for about 130 players in this draft. He was not one of them. So i did some work today and im OK with it. It's not a slam dunk by any means, but the book on him is good ball skills and is instinctive, should fit the Gannon scheme but inconsistent route recognition and not a particularly strong tackler. C

5. 150: Kenneth Gainwell RB: Love this pick, thought it was great value and the player is extremely explosive and compliments Miles Sanders very well. Siriani loves to have a RB like Nyheim Hines who he can flex out wide, who can burn LB's, work underneith and create explosive plays. Gainwell is a really good fit for that sort of player. I think he'll be a really good change of pace back. A

6. 189: Marlon Tuipulotu DT: Look, this is a damn good two down run stuffing DT and the value here was really good. no way he should have been on the board still... but two DTs? Cant help but think sometimes, especially late in the draft... maybe just take a swing on a need position? The player itself is cinder block. You're not going to move him in the run game. He's going to have a long career in a limited role. C-

6. 191: Tarron Jackson DE: Another one i didnt know too much about. Not really grinding the Coastal Carolina tape. But in looking at this, he's got pretty good production and solid measurables. But the production isn't really against very good competition. His strengths are his motor and he's really good using his hands to get off blocks. He's a developmental guy. Can't help but think they'd have been better swinging on a higher pedigree player. D

6. 223: JaCoby Stevens LB: This is the type of pick i like late. Super good athlete, who was a 5* recruit coming out of high school. He slides because he's one of those guys who isnt quite fast enough for Safety, but it lacks the physicality for LB. The eagles announced him as a LB, so i think they're going to put some weight on him, and turn him into a really athletic LB. Will it work? Probably not, few 6th rounders work out, but it's a good value pick and the sort of player you like to take a swing on. B+

7. 234: Patrick Johnson LB/DE: Bit of a weird fit. Probably an ideal 3-4 OLB. But he's a pretty productive pass rusher, and a reasonable athlete. But dont think he'll make the roster, given the low risk, i'd have rather taken a swing at Dylan Moses or Ar'Darius Washington, both players i thought should have been drafted in round 4-5. Not a big a fan at all. F

Overall, i'd give the Eagles a B- grade. Really solid draft. Wont be on any winners lists, or losers lists. But i could very easily see Milton developing into a very disruptive interior DL and if Dickerson stays healthy, he'll be a yearly pro bowler... So this could very easily see this grade jump 2 years from now.
 

legend

Coach
Messages
15,150
We aren't in the NFC East but if we were I'd say we'd have as much chance of winning it as the Giants, Eagles or WFT. Dallas should win in a canter with their O.
 

nick87

Coach
Messages
12,250
Dallas are just as likely to go 11-6 and win the division as they are to go 6-11 and pick in the top 10
 

Valheru

Coach
Messages
17,508
Well that was a really positive start for the new era.

I haven't had a chance to see the extended highlights yet but looks like the performance on both sides of the ball was very good.

I think this will ultimately say more about Atlanta than us but I am hopeful we will stay in the division race for a good portion of the year. Hard to see cowboys not winning it though.
 

nick87

Coach
Messages
12,250
Yeah i was really happy with it. It's firmly in the "it's only one game and it's only Atlanta" but the offence looked fun and interesting, it looked like a modern NFL offence. The OL looks good if they can stay healthy, Mailata is looking improved again and might make a big leap this year. Landon Dickerson is waiting in the winds if we lose anyone on the interior, whilst Dillard sits waiting for a tackle injury, so we can sustain one or two injuries without falling in a heap,

Davonta Smith looks legit, Hurts seems to have improved as a decision maker and thrower too.

The defence looks shaky but the front 4 is pretty good and that keep us competitive on that side of the ball

Sirianni coached smartly and aggressively. He went for 2 when it made sense, he went for it on 4th down when it made sense. I think that bodes well for his general approach to analytics and decision making.

Much sterner test this week against the niners, but cautiously optimistic
 

Valheru

Coach
Messages
17,508
Nice to get another win with the defence hanging in there and special teams making a play. The offence is spluttering though and I have no real hope that we will get anywhere close to winning the division although we will probably finish 2nd.

The best part of our season thus far is the plight of Miami whose 2022 round 1 pick we own. Looks to be a certain top 10 and possible top 5 at this stage. Wentz has also played every game for Indy thus far which means we are on track to own their first rounder in 2022 as well. Indy are struggling but we want them to get a few wins to stay interested so they don't ice Wentz just to save their draft pick.

If all goes to plan we could be looking at something like owning picks 5, 10 and 13 come draft day. That would likely give us a chance to go all in on a QB if desired or trade back and stockpile even further for the 2023 draft.
 

nick87

Coach
Messages
12,250
5 games down, 7 more to go
If Wentz can get through 13 games, it's 3 first round picks for Howie to blow on people who cant play

Need the colts to start winning some games and sticking around the AFC S race
 

Valheru

Coach
Messages
17,508
Anyone else watching Miami closer than the eagles this year?

After back to back losses to the Jags and Falcons, this is looking like a legit top 5 pick for us now, possibly top 3.

Their remaining schedule

@ bills
Texans
Ravens
@ Jets
Panthers
Giants
jets
@ Saints
@ Titans
Patriots

They have a few winnable games but surely Bills, Ravens, Saints, Titans and patriots are losses.
 

shiznit

Coach
Messages
14,747
What was up with your defence today??

it’s like they made a decision that they weren’t going to be beat by the long ball and just played 2 high for the entire game.

Carr just ate up everything they gave underneath all day… 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

I was seriously scratching my head what your DC was up to…
 

Valheru

Coach
Messages
17,508
Maimi and the Colts
Carson is about to finish off his 7th game... 6 more to go

Good result today with the colts. We need them to stay interested in to December so they don't ice Wentz.

Their next 5 are titans, jets, jags, bills and bucs. They should beat jets and jags, if they can get one of the other 3 then they should be in playoff contention still for the all important 13th game.
 

nick87

Coach
Messages
12,250
Yeah exactly, we dont need that colts pick to be top 5 of 10 or anything
We'll get that ourselves and a second from Miami

We need it to be a first, so the colts winning this game and staying in it is good... also as you laid out, a chance to stack a couple of wins. If the can beat the Titans next week, stack the jets and jags, that'll ensure they should be in the hunt long enough to make sure that's a first if Wentz stays healthy.

And we'll need it too, gotta package a ton of these picks to try and get a god damn QB. Unfortunately Jalen Hurts ain't it, and this rookie QB class looks very f**ked
 

nick87

Coach
Messages
12,250
What was up with your defence today??

it’s like they made a decision that they weren’t going to be beat by the long ball and just played 2 high for the entire game.

Carr just ate up everything they gave underneath all day… 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

I was seriously scratching my head what your DC was up to…
They've been doing that all year
playing vanilla soft zone and getting diced up... it's just what this defence is at this point, it's bend but dont break except they break all the time because the only way they dont break is when the front 4 dominates and forces negative plays.

Holding, sacks, TFL etc. They want pressure to force the ball out in front of them and the sticks, rally up and tackle and get off the field

The problems with that are:
a) they're a good DL but not so good that you can reliable play that way series to series, few DL's are.
b) holding is not being called the way it was when the Eagle DL help them win a SB, they'll ignore holding now unless it's pretty egregious
c) the secondary isn't good enough to hold up when the pressure doesnt come, so explosives are always available to the offence and;
d) even when pressure does come, the ball does get out early, so you get everything you want, the LB's and DB's are late to the ball and miss tackles because they're not particularly talented or physical, so those quick balls often turn from 2-3 yards into 6-10 yards

Frankly, what im telling you is it's a bad defence and it should feel bad.
 
Last edited:

Haffa

Guest
Messages
15,881
It’s worse when you can’t even pretend to scheme correctly for the shit players at your disposal.
 

shiznit

Coach
Messages
14,747
They've been doing that all year
playing vanilla soft zone and getting diced up... it's just what this defence is at this point, it's bend but dont break except they break all the time because the only way they dont break is when the front 4 dominates and forces negative plays.

Holding, sacks, TFL etc. They want pressure to force the ball out in front of them and the sticks, rally up and tackle and get off the field

The problems with that are:
a) they're a good DL but not so good that you can reliable play that way series to series, few DL's are.
b) holding is not being called the way it was when the Eagle DL help them win a SB, they'll ignore holding now unless it's pretty egregious
c) the secondary isn't good enough to hold up when the pressure doesnt come, so explosives are always available to the offence and;
d) even when pressure does come, the ball does get out early, so you get everything you want, the LB's and DB's are late to the ball and miss tackles because they're not particularly talented or physical, so those quick balls often turn from 2-3 yards into 6-10 yards

Frankly, what im telling you is it's a bad defence and it should feel bad.
The thing that I couldn’t understand was that by running those almost prevent type soft zone schemes they basically put the pressure on their own LB’s… which before the game all the analysts were saying were one of the eagles biggest weakness’s.

Our O-Line is absolutely terrible so i thought at some point surely the eagles would send pressure or even show some stuff deep to make Carr at least try and take Slay on.

Instead they got hit with that first 42yd shot to Zay Jones and just shut up shop and were happy to be torn apart underneath for the rest of the game.

I have a soft spot for the Eagles as my brother has been a big fan going back to the Vet days with Westbrook, McNabb & Andy Reid.

but even when they haven’t been great in the past they often looked like they were trying Zig and when everyone else was trying to Zag… ie Chip Kelly… and to some extent I can see that they are trying to get an idea about what Hurts is on offense… but i can’t for the life of me figure out what they are trying to achieve on defence.
 

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