WITH all the talk going on about which QB we want to win with or whether or not Chip Kelly (actually Howie Roseman) will draft a QB in 2015; what we haven’t really discussed is what we actually need. There’s been no real discussion on how to fill the holes on this team. Or even what those holes might be.
Let me get started by picking up where I left off:
GUARD: Last year I said the EAGLES needed to draft a young Guard. A real inside mauler. Just a big ol’, Popeye’s chicken eatin’ sumbitch. I know, I know. Our scheme is predicated on getting linemen in space, and running around in tutus and shit. That however is exactly why we do so much east west running. That’s cute in college, but in the pros, you need to be able to move the line of scrimmage. For that as you’ve seen this year, you need a mauler. So no more Tackles converted to Guard!
STRONG SAFTEY: We could also use a Strong Safety with some real speed. Even if employed in a Cover-Two, SS Nate Allen has been easy to run by for YEARS now. With a Safety being your last line of defense, he’s got to be able to run someone down. Since we won’t be able to pry UFA Rahim Moore away from Denver, I’m thinking the Draft is where I’d head for this spot too.
CORNERBACK: This is a weird one, because I think soon to be FA Bradley Fletcher is fine at CB, but I don’t think he’s pay raise worthy out there. Before yelling about drafting someone or adding another expensive FA, it makes sense to see what we have on the roster. But things are going too well (as far as wins and losses) right now to go sitting starters down just so we can say “let me see something”.
LINEBACKER: What every defense needs at its heart is a guy or two who will not be pushed around, and who will grab teammates by their short and curlies if they get caught being pushed around. If we do cut ILB DeMeco Ryans (as my friend Chris suggested could happen) to make cap space, a sneaky good addition could be current Bronco and soon UFA, Nate Irving. He’d be both the playmaker and the vocal leader you expect from a MLB.
Oops! Did I say MLB? This is assuming that DC Bill Davis gets canned after we get shelled in the playoffs. I love my EAGLES, but come on; we aren’t exactly holding our own vs playoff caliber teams this year. Part of that is the Defense. Actually a large part of it is the Defense. What do you think of Rex Ryan? I think it’d be nice to have another Ryan coaching our Defense. But not Rob.
EAGLEMANIACAL.com 
Do you really think they’ll can Bill Davis? I sure hope so! I’m shocked to read DeMeco Ryans may be cut but your cap space article explains why this may make sense. So much to consider. And you’re so right….we are nowhere near a deep in the playoffs caliber team. YET.
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Yet is indeed the operative word there.
I can’t say for sure that they’ll replace Davis, but we have a defense that requires our Offense to put up 27 points or better for the team to win. That HAS TO be seen as a weakness. Especially since last years problems are this years problems which makes us easy to game plan against since teams can set their watch to what we’ll do based on our limitations in THIS system.
One can only hope.
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Bill Davis will not get fired. If anything someone else is going to give him a coaching job. They love what Davis is doing right now. As a whole I think they need to address the offensive line. Peters isn’t getting any younger (although Lane will move over when it’s time) and Herremans is on his last leg, and Mathis is getting up there too. The guard position is a high priority. Riley Cooper has been a huge disappointment, Maclin could be getting a pay raise he really isn’t worth, and Huff is a real question mark. They will need to draft yet another receiver to fill Jackson’s shoes. Defensive line could be an issue. They will need to pay big money to Cox as he’s coming into his own which means they could likely need to let Thorton walk. Maybe the Duck they drafted last year who never saw the field steps up, but I doubt it. Kendricks is going to take over for Ryans and I don’t have a problem with that, but they will need to find someone to replace Ryans unless they are sold on the Acho/Mathews rotation. I doubt it though. Outside linebacker is a major concern. Has Graham shown enough to give a long term deal to? Cole has been decent this year, but frankly isn’t playing up to his contract. Smith plays Connor Barwin’s side, and can’t even sniff the field right now. They need a pass rush linebacker. Corner is another issue. Fletcher hasn’t been terrible, but he hasn’t been good either. We need an upgrade there. I would rather go free agency for it though. Cary Williams is the same problem. He hasn’t been terrible, but he really hasn’t been that good either and he make a lot of money. Then there’s a chance Boykin gets a shot by another team to play outside. He bolts if he gets the chance. I could see Andy Reid giving his old draft selection a call. Safety is a position we still haven’t fixed since Dawkins left and it seems Bill Davis thinks like our old DC that our safeties are interchangeable. I would love to see an upgrade, but I get the feeling Nate Allen gets yet another year to bite on the run fake. The Eagles have like eleven players on the current roster in the final year of deals and numerous guys making too much money. If Shady has truly lost it then we need a legit replacement for him. there’s far too many holes and issues for the Eagles to sell out and try to move up for Mariota. On top of that I think Foles is more than adequate at the position for now and he’s not costing the Eagles any money. The Matt Barkley experiment hasn’t worked out. they thought by now he would be either good enough to at least become the 2nd string or be good enough to net them a 2nd round pick. He hasn’t done either so maybe the time to get a new developmental QB is here. The Kinne/Barkley battle was closer than people realized.
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The mess at LB is entirely system manufactured. Davis wants 4 guys who excel at all three phases of defense, but he wants to do it with re-treads and older players. If guys had classic 2-way roles they could focus on being THEM (which got them drafted) as opposed to being a cog in a system they had no input in conceiving.
Corner is an area that I think many fans are jumping the gun on. This season it is teh most complained about position across all 32 teams. ALL 32. That of course is because of the rule changes to get more big passing plays to grab the short attention span of fans who are at the game, but looking down at their phones for half of it. It’ll be interesting to see if teams do a lot of FA CB shuffling, knowing that next years results will be about the same unless the rules committee realizes how many mistakes they’ve been making.
If Cedric Thornton walks, I agree that Taylor Hart will be GIVEN (not earn) the shot to fill his shoes.
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Draft:
Trae Waynes or IFO
Kurtis Drummond
AJ Johnson
Shaq Mason
Sign Tramon Williams, Revis, or go cheaper and get Parrish Cox
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Holy crap, you have your Draft Wish List ready to go in December! Now I feel like I’M not keeping up.
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Malcolm Brown Rb Texas
Donovan Smith OT Penn State
Tim Scott CB/Safety UNC
That would round out my draft list so far.
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I’m nowhere near there right now.
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been working on it since the end of the last draft when we got horrible players in watkins reynolds hart
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And Smith.
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i like smith. he just needs to hit the weight room with some special shakes. hes an OLB not a ILB like theyve been trying to make him. just like graham was/is/will always be a 3-4 OLB not a 4-3 DE, like so many morons think he is and wants to be.
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I’m just waiting to see him record a single stat.
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I have to state I find it somewhat troubling a guy from college seems to be having great troubles drafting players. Chip’s first draft yielded four players in the roster. Is second draft gave us a questionable first pick, several reaches, and really two solid contributors. I don’t call Huff a solid contributor yet, cause he’s as likely to turn it over as he is to make a play. I expected more out of Chip as a college talent evaluator.
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I didn’t.
Like I said a couple years ago, there are too many aspects of the college to pro leap that he just didn’t get since he’d never even been an NFL position or even quality control coach.
Like Steve Spurrier, Kelly displays an clear preference for players from his team and conference. The result is a lot like inbreeding. Yo get a host of VERY strong characteristics on one hand, but it comes with some debilitating trade-offs.
Under Kellyor instance:
We have a very smart team; but it’s also very finesse minded.
We have a very coachable roster; but there are more than a few guys here who wouldn’t be on other NFL roster.
All these young guys are friendly and well-tempered; but there isn’t a single “hitman” on the roster.
The gene pool here is too shallow.
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The truth is you could have made a lot of those same statements about some of Reid’s drafts. I think some of it is we have to be patient. A lot of those Ducks aren’t starting so it’s not like he’s putting them over, but they are familiar to the system. Ironically Chip Kelly and Roseman have done a really good job selecting NFL talent. They have made some great choices in free agency. Again I expected more from Chip, but I do understand that it’s too early to condem his choices.
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A lot of these statement WERE made about Reid draft picks (Todd Pinkston, Jerome McDougle, Quinton Caver, Danny Watkins,etc.)
Here’s the deal: Good teams are generally built through the Draft. Good Drafts include rookies who shine enough to supplant veterans. Rookies who consistently ride pine are called busts. A group of rookies consistently riding pine is called a bad Draft.
Kelly and Roseman to this point have not Drafted well. No one awards points, wins or Super Bowl rings based on a grading curve.
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