free agents

BUILDING THE EAGLES ROSTER

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/04/02
Posted in: Conversations, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Roster, The 12. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

 

jeff lurie and doug pederson.jpg

WHILE I myself have been critical of General Manager Howie Roseman during the first round of Free Agency, I did remind people (and myself), that it’s still early. There is no need to panic. Also, I have concerns about a number of holes left throughout the entire team. Not just at receiver.

There are a few sportswriters crying about the Eagles not getting QB Carson Wentz any new WR’s. They shook their heads about Roseman saying that the team internally, sees our WR position differently than people do from the outside, and that we have plenty of talent at receiver. I agree with his assessment, having written in support of our current receiving corp, back in early February, as one of my first article in The 12.

2019 Eagles WRs - Good luck trying to sleep

Hey! Remember a year ago when everyone was sure that WR’s Alshon Jeffery, DeSean Jackson, and Nelson Agholor were going to torch the NFL? Remember a few months ago when the excuse was that Carson didn’t have Jeffery, Jackson, and Agholor? So wait. Now he’s getting Jeffery and Jackson back, and everyone is bummed about it? Are people really that upset about losing Agholor? Was he the difference maker? Is… Is that what this is?

Are people really upset that we didn’t get WR Stephon Diggs, who publicly threw his QB under a bus a few times? Are we really upset that we didn’t get WR Robby Anderson, a former Jet who’s not always proven to be coachable, and so had no serious suitors besides Carolina? Are we really upset that we didn’t spend 20 million on WR Amari Cooper, who has a well documented history of losing interest during games? In what way has Breshad Perriman proven himself the equal of either of our starters?

FYI: Trading for WR DeAndre Hopkins was do-able, but he wanted a new deal that the Eagles felt was outside of the team’s price range. Maybe something could have been worked out, but the Eagles want to get younger, and if we’re being honest, I’m not sure how Hopkins would have fit in the Audience Of One locker room, anyway.

AO1 carson_wentz .jpg

Make no mistake we have plenty of holes on Offense. Too many in fact, to obsess over any one position.

Depending on who you ask, LT is either solid for the next decade, or we have a bust waiting to be exposed and get our QB killed.

There is no insurance behind our starting RB.

If we don’t add some speed at WR, we’re one injury away from being where we were in Week 3 of 2018, and Week 3 of 2019.

Another veteran QB is an absolute must have. Preferably someone with a little mobility. Maybe signing FA’s Blaine Gabbert or Blake Bortles? A trade for Jacoby Brissette would also be a thing of beauty. (Though he would need his deal stretched out to five years.) Not to fuck over QB Nate Sudfeld, but you saw us last year. You can’t ever have too much talent at QB.

The Draft and the second round of Free Agency still lay ahead of us. Would it have been nice to have a few new, shiny pieces by now? Sure. Like I said, I’ve already said as much. But to whine and say silly shit like “Carson’s being hung out to dry.” That’s alarmist and stupid. Don’t be that fan. And ignore such rantings. 

EAGLES HOLES ARE FUCKIN’ UGLY

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/03/22
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Conversations, Defense, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

doug pederson water bottle presser 2020

WE have a hole at starting SS. We have a hole at starting MLB. We have a hole at starting OLB. We have a hole at starting CB. We signed a career back-up SS. We signed a career back-up Nickel LB. It’s still early in the offseason, but still, it would be great to not have so many exposed holes.

Look I get it. We can find quality free agents after the Draft. We did it before, with players like RB LeGarrette Blount, This makes Eagles brass feel good about being late shoppers. But I want to show you something. Look at the 2017 signing dates of the free agents we brought in that year:

2017 free agents

To quote the poet, Bubba Sparks: “How else can I say it? I don’t speak no other languages?”

That chart is as clear as you can make a thing. If you want an impact player, you generally have to get him before the draft. That’s just common NFL knowledge. It’s also basic economics. The law of supply and demand. The demand for impact players is high, and so the supply of them will quickly run out.

This leaves us hoping for huge contributions from our rookies. Because we’ve been great at developing those, right? Look, we don’t have to sign a ton of expensive veterans, but a couple of pivotal ones? To fill important holes?

Put another way, at certain positions we’re just standing and watching everyone else buy up all the Charmin. Maybe GM Howie Roseman feels really good about those boxes of dot matrix paper he just bought, but a quick look at the situation, says that our holes are in for some rough times ahead.

dot matrix paper.jpg

For all the gas the Eagles talk about being a “win now” team, and wanting to “be competitive every year”, they certainly have all the ear-marks of being about to take a year off. This feels like an outright re-build.

“It’s fuckin’ ugly.”

WHAT’S THE PLAN HOWIE?!

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/03/21
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Draft, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, Offense, Players, Rants, Roster, trade. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Howie Roseman USAToday.jpg

That’s our kick-ass GM Howie Roseman. This guy, is a friggin’ GENIUS!

THIS so far, has been a nightmare. So far there doesn’t seem to be a plan. When we left the 2019 season we had obvious holes to fill, and things to strengthen. So get to it, right? Instead what happened, was our GM Howie Roseman, created more holes and has so far left them empty.

Some fans may have been placated by Howie trading for 30 year old CB Darius Slay. That said, I think many will acknowledge that a week earlier, no one was talking about Slay. Everyone (except me) seemed to want CB Byron Jones. As it stands now, Nobody’s First Choice, is thus far Howie’s crowning achievement of 2020.

Six weeks ago (going by talent on rosters), the NFC East was in the bag for the Eagles. Then our GM began just ripping shit up. Got rid of our only complete LB (OLB/MLB Nigel Bradham), a future Hall or Famer (LT Jason Peters), a perennial All-Pro (SS Malcolm Jenkins), the roster’s only down hill runner (RB Jordan Howard) and our leading receiver in Super Bowl 52 (RB Corey Clement).

card.corey.clement

Howie has left us thin at all of those positions now, and he hasn’t even brought in unproven players to fill those holes. What did we add to our roster you ask? Well shit, let’s take a look!

We got the aforementioned 30 year old CB, a NT (Javon Hargrave) for our 4-3 defense, in a Wide Nine system. We also got a… a… um…

Fuck! Just fuck, man! Fuck! The fuck is he doing, man?! I just want to… All he had to do was… I’m gonna go upstairs, put my head under my pillow, and blow my fuckin’ brains out!

Wait! Better idea.

head in oven.jpg

But it’s no time to panic.

It is after all, still early in the process, and with everything being pushed back a bit, due to a public health concern (WINK!), it theoretically gives the Eagles Front Office more time to weigh all the options. The problem with theoretically, is that other teams are making moves in real-time, which removes some of the options, off the board.

Raise your hand if you’d have liked a serious run at trading for WR DeAndre Hopkins.

How about QB Nick Foles for a 4th rounder (like Chicago paid)? Foles is re-doing his deal so that the Bears can afford him. So, you know. Yay. I’m happy for the Bears. Hey, if you can’t see my eye twitch, or hear the bitterness in my tone, then you might assume that I took that trade in stride.

Hey! CB A.J. Bouye for a 4th rounder (like Denver paid), would have  also been nice.

How about signing free agents like MLB Joe Schobert or LB Cory Littleton?! RB Lamar Miller is still out there (coming off an ACL injury) and waiting for a committee role.

Don’t even get me started about us not re-signing Bradham (still unsigned), Peters (still unsigned) Jenkins, Howard, or DE Vinny Curry (still unsigned). Rumor has it that the Jets are interested in Vinny.

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I understand the idea of getting younger. I understand the idea of leaning on the draft. What I don’t understand, is the inactivity. What I don’t understand, is what we’re waiting for. What I don’t understand, is the plan.

Howie Roseman USAToday.jpg

UGH! Look at this idiot’s face. What’s the plan?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY TEAM!?!?

EAGLES TRADING FOR NICK FOLES.

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/03/05
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Conversations, Draft, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, playoffs, Roster, trade. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

QUARTERBACK Nick Foles is up for trade by the Jacksonville Jaguars. The two questions I keep hearing and reading are “Should we trade for Nick Foles?” and “Do you want the Eagles to trade for Nick Foles?” Funny thing is, many fans treat those like they mean the same thing, but really those two questions are a million miles apart.

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Should we? Yes. The Eagles need a back-up QB with Josh McCown unlikely to be back. If we bring in another QB, it should be someone who fits the system, and culture. Someone the roster can rally behind, if our starter gets hurt. Foles meets those qualifications better than anyone else we could put in that #2 slot. In fact, Foles meets those qualifications even better than QB Tom Brady could. And I dare you to argue with that.

Do I want it? Yes. I want anything that obviously helps us be stronger. In January, we watched McCown get hurt and still keep the Eagles in a playoff game. Given that McCown was able to do as much as he did, there is no way that you can convince me that

A) if QB Carson Wentz doesn’t get cheapshot, we still lose that game.

B) if Foles (being more familiar with the roster) stepped in instead of McCown, that we still lose that game.

2019 Josh McCown

Eat a dick Clowney.

NOTE: This is not to say that McCown lost that game for us. Far from it. The guy was a gamer for us, and was a hell of a teammate. It would do me proud to see him in midnight green in 2020.

That all having been said, Foles coming here is out of the question, right? We can’t afford him, right? Sit. Have some tea. It’s Blood Orange. Outside the box tea, for outside the box thinking.

The deal that he’s on in Jacksonville? He was never going to be a Jaguar past 2021. Media types were saying that while the ink was still drying on the contract. Only 50 of the 88 million was ever guaranteed, and after 2020 the Jags can either cut Foles and eat 12.5M in dead money, or pay Foles the remaining 53.875 million over two years.

Bottom line: After 2020 Foles is owed just 12.5M if he’s cut. Letting him keep his roster spot exposes the Jags to owing him more money. So he won’t be there under any circumstance in 2021.

Just over a year ago (2/21/2019) I wrote “WHY NOT KEEP NICK FOLES?”. In that article I proposed 50M over 5, with 3 years guaranteed. Putting my GM hat back on a year later, I’d up that ante. 50 over 5, with every red cent guaranteed, with retirement being the only caveat language. If he (or his wife Tori) wants a no-trade clause, add it.

Next to the CBA (whenever it gets done) that’s an easy lift for a ringer in the #2 slot. It guarantees Foles stays until he’s 36 – 37, and basically retires him as an Eagle. A quick call to his agent Justin Schulman, will determine if Foles is amenable to reworking his deal. If so, we need to make the trade.

Wentz Foles

What about Carson!? (Shrug) What about him? If he and Foles truly have a great relationship, he should welcome it. If he secretly doesn’t want Foles to steal his spotlight, then the next time he volunteers to go into a tent, there should be s’mores involved. “With your shield, or on it.”

But what do we trade them? Hold on. Let’s understand the terrain before we travel any further. Trading Foles is a salary cap purge for them. As I outlined in that article from last year, most teams already have their prospective QB of the future. Thus, trading for Foles is asking for a back-up with an eight figure per year, price tag. Throw in a decent QB Draft pool, and the trade partners get really slim for Jacksonville.

How about we dangle DE Derek Barnett? Unless he has a monster 2020, we’d be silly to pick up his fifth year option after 2020. With them possibly losing DE Yannick Ngakoue, this patches a hole for them, with youth that may have more upside in their system, than in ours.

In fact, since they lost CB A.J. Bouye, I’d sweeten the pot by offering Barnett and CB Sidney Jones. I think Jones has more upside than most fans here do, but I think his confidence will always be an on/off switch. Better to broom him before we have to make any sort of tough financial decisions regarding him.

FAP DUDE

Admit it. You LOVE the idea.

So we offer something we can’t use, for something they can’t use. We do it before the Draft, so everyone knows what they need to replace as early as possible, and in the process give each other some cap relief, in the time-frames where we each need that space. Afterward, we rework Foles deal to be worth 50M not just 12.5.

0-card.nick.foles.SBMVP

Like I wasn’t going to include this.

As I said, these are two very different questions. BTW: If we don’t get Foles, it would be wise to make a push for Jacoby Brissett, and offer him that same 50 over 5 deal. 

FUCK ROOB. KEEP ALSHON.

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/02/24
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Conversations, Fans, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Rants, Roster, The 12. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

NBC’S Reuben Frank put out a steaming pile of bullshit, that called Alshon Jeffery a James Thrash clone. In it, he compares some “average season” stats, and delivers it with absolutely no context. When I see this from professional journalists, I want to just…

.Bernie bitchslap

On one hand, it assumes the reader is smart, because it attempts to persuade with statistics. On the other hand, it assumes we’re stupid, because it talks as if We The Fans haven’t watched both men play, and don’t get what’s going on here. (I’ll get into that in a minute.)

I’m guessing “Roob” either knows he’s full of shit, or he doesn’t do his homework:
1) Over the three seasons Thrash was here, he was QB Donovan McNabb‘s #1 targeted receiver.
2) Over the three seasons Jeffery has been here, he’s been QB Carson Wentz’s #2 targeted receiver.
3) As you can clearly see below, Jeffery has outproduced Thrash despite being fed the ball less:

Roob shut up

Here’s what’s going down. This is the Eagles using a beat writer to drive the opinions of pinheads, who’ll call into WIP, and parrot whatever they read that morning. The idea is to promote the perception that “the public” wants to cut Jeffery, so the Eagles then can do it with less backlash, even if they don’t already have a suitable replacement.

Kind of like the dumb shit they did with cutting LB Nigel Bradham. Even I was surprised by the level of public backlash on that one. I figured Eagles fans would scarcely notice it, but nope. Boy did you! So this is likely the Front Office telegraphing the move, and trying to manipulate the perception that we fans want this. Some do. Most don’t. 

alshon

I already said in THE 12, that we should keep Jeffery, letting he and DeSean Jackson help groom the kid we draft this year. Developing youth is the way to go here. Let me go on record now, and say that our options for moving Jeffery are likely worse than what we have already.

The flavor of the week is Minnesota’s WR Stephon Diggs. I find it hilarious that the idea is to replace Alshon’s attitude, with Diggs’ history of attitude issues, publicly criticizing his QB, and requesting to be traded. Here’s a link for those who didn’t know.

Some of you want to hamstring our salary cap, by paying Cowboys WR Amari Cooper 20 million or more per year. Amari has a terrible habit of losing interest during games, and whole chunks of the season. Remember our last game against them, where the Cowboys coaching staff benched him on he last play of the game (a CB Sidney Jones deflection in the end zone).

2019 Sidney Jones

But we need to swap Jeffery out for this guy, right? 

Someone also mentioned WR Breshad Perriman. In 5 seasons he’s played in just 51 games out of a possible 80, with just 10 career starts, while never starting more than 4 games in any year. While he’d be nice to have in camp, and maybe keep as a 4th, he’s by no means a 16 week starter.

Free agent WR Robby Anderson? Former Temple player. I could kind of see this one. But odds are, the Jets would overpay Anderson to keep him and provide consistency for their young franchise QB. 

There are other names: A.J. Green, Emmanuel Sanders, both older. Reclamation projects like Josh Gordon and Devin Funchess. Or scratch-off tickets like DeMarcus Robinson, Tajae Sharpe, or Laquon Treadwell. 

lottery loser

Instead of Jeffery? Really? These guys are who we hand to Wentz, and then expect more from him? That dog don’t even hunt. 

No. Don’t let these beat writers tell you different. Alshon Jeffery is no James Thrash, and will be harder to replace than you think. Much harder. Especially given that WR Nelson Agholor won’t be back. (Forgot about that, huh?) That would force Wentz into learning an entirely new WR corp.

Nah. Keep Jeffery and let him help train the pup we draft. 

Eagles wings

#3 KEEP DESEAN AND ALSHON

Posted by The BEAST on 2020/02/12
Posted in: Conversations, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, Offense, Players, Roster, The 12. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

THE 12 2020.3

YES. The Eagles need to revamp the Wide Receiver position, but WR Greg Ward and WR J.J. Arcega-Whiteside, are not solid enough to rebuild off of. This is why we need to keep WR DeSean Jackson and WR Alshon Jeffery.

card.alshon.jeffery

Both are already under contract for the 2020 season, and already part of a structure that affords us (at least) 42M in salary cap space. Whether or not Jackson can still fly, remains to be seen. Even if he can’t however, he is still a credible NFL receiver. Jeffery on the other hand, even nicked up last year, showed that he can still produce strong games even as the focal point of a defensive secondary.

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Combining Jackson, Jeffery and Ward could be dangerous, whether or not the Eagles draft a stud WR in 2020. If we do draft a top-tier player, the rookie has Jackson and Jeffery learn from, as opposed to Ward and Arcega-Whiteside to learn from. 

card.greg.ward

There are those who would say that we should go out and add Dallas free agent WR Amari Cooper, in Jeffery’s place. That would be stupid. Coop no doubt has all kinds of talent, but in Dallas just like in Oakland, he has games where he just…disappears.

As a guy who also roots for the Raiders, I cannot begin to tell you how maddening this trait was in him. Especially with a QB like Derek Carr. So to bring Cooper HERE? For TWICE Jeffrey’s base salary? No. No. NO! There’s no need, for such… Such madness. 

A talented, already affordable, veteran, who already knows our system? These are great aspects to have in a single WR. However, WE, have that in two. Each dangerous in his own fashion. So we should keep them. Both of them, and use them a starting point for the rebuild.

A rebuild which has to begin sooner, rather than later.

2019 SEASON REVIEW: SECOND QUARTER

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/11/02
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Four Things, free agents, Offense, Players, Reviews, Roster, Special Teams, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

SEASON Reviews are usually done at the end of the season. (Duh, right?) A few are done at the halfway mark, and/or at the end. Starting in 2017, Eaglemaniacal.com began treating the season like a game, and breaking it into four quarters. Since football is a hard sport, we’ll take a hard look at where our team stands at the moment (in relation to where it started), and where it needs to go next.

STATUS: 4 – 4, 1 – 1 division, 2 – 4 conference, 2nd in the NFC East

[pic]

OPPONENTS:

W: New York Jets (1 – 6)

L: Minnesota Vikings (6 – 2)

L: Dallas Cowboys (4 – 3)

W: Buffalo Bills (5 – 2)

Combined: 16 – 13

OVERVIEW:

The Mission for this quarter was to suck less against the pass. Despite the prison shower scene that was the Vikings game, the Eagles moved from 32nd in the NFL, allowing 328 passing yards per game; to 20th, allowing 256. Not great, but still a marked improvement.

Injuries continue to be a major factor, as not only are they numerous, but every one of them seems severe. This has led to serious issues with communication and continuity.

GRADES: (These are not seasonal grades. They are grades for just these last FOUR games.)

QB: (A) Carson Wentz.

2019 Wentz is a gunslingerThere is a lot of blame to go around regarding this teams struggles, but NONE of it belongs to Wentz. Over the last 4 games he has improved his completion percentage and yards per pass. This is despite only having one WR to throw to. (This isn’t to undercut the TE position, but WR’s open up a defense, and Wentz is dealing with a stunted field every week.) In only one of the last four games has he reached 200 yards passing, but over the last three he’s run for 70. He hasn’t been remotely flashy, but he’s been more than most could hope for given his lack of tools.

RB: (B) The Eagles coaching staff learned in the first quarter, that rookie Miles Sanders is a better potato than a steak. Thus they began featuring Jordan Howard instead. Smart move. Feeding him early has proven good for our win column. Howard just had the team’s first game with 20 or more carries, since week 10 of last season. Sanders is coming into his own as a receiver, which will now allow for formations that put both backs on the field at the same time, and make audibles nearly terrifying for a defense. Boston Scott was added to the roster Week 6, after Corey Clement went on IR. Scott came in showing some wiggle, but has seemed less and less effective with each passing week. Darren Sproles has missed three of the last four games, but will be back to kick-off our second half of the season, this week. This position has been very productive with the ball, and needs to see it more

TE: (A) This position has improved in yardage, yards per catch, and touchdowns. Zach Ertz’s Bing Crosby, used to be a fine solo act, but Dallas Goedert’s Danny Kaye has proven to be a perfect complement. Though Ertz caught fewer balls in Q2, the position is seeing steady usage, with 28 catches in Q1, and 26 in Q2. Both players have seen their average yards per catch improve from Q1 to Q2. Ertz went from 10.6 to 13.0, and Goedert went from 8.0 to 10.7. This one-two punch has managed to help keep the passing game afloat, despite working in more crowded space than they should be.

WR: (D) If not for Alshon Jeffrey, this grade would be a bloody‘F’ served cold, with a side of spittle flecked profanity. No regular words. Just profanity strung end to end for roughly a paragraph.

Alshon eagle.jpg

Jeffery has in these last four games, caught 22 balls for 230 yards (10.4ypc) and 1 TD. Those numbers seem meager until you realize, he’s done that while teams could key on him as our only outside threat. Put in perspective, during that same span, the other three active players at this position have combined for 11 catches for 93 yards (8.4ypc), and zero scores. Oh yeah, and all of those numbers belong to Nelson Agholor. Mack Hollins and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside have so far been a waste of the coaching staff’s time. Even when given an opportunity, they seem afraid of it. Seriously, is there some reason why Greg Ward isn’t on the active roster?

OT: (B) Lane Johnson finally gave up a “sack” to Cowboys DE DeMarcus Lawrence, when Lawrence knocked a ball out of Wentz’s hand. It took ten games for Lawrence to get that “sack” and he still has yet to actually tackle our QB. Ten games equals five years. THAT is who Lane Johnson is. When Jason Peters is out there, he’s still Jason Peters. There’s a reason that announcers hardly ever breathe his name, without using the words “Hall of Fame” somewhere in the same sentence. The trouble is, he can’t stay healthy anymore. The edge simply askes to much of him now.

Which brings us to the real story of this section, rookie Andre Dillard. Dillard gave up a sack in his first start, but has otherwise looked far better than a rookie half a season into his pro career has any real right to. It’s clear that Dillard has learned as much as the bench can teach him. At this point the only way to improve him is to let him play. That’s no knock on Peters. In fact, a move inside might add a couple of years to his career. That might even let him someday retire, without ever suffering a serious decline in his game.

OG: (C) Gotta take some issue with this position. Isaac Seumalo and Brandon Brooks have been very good at opening holes in the run game, and aces at blocking for the QB Sneak. They have not been anywhere near as good when dealing with pass rushers in the “A” gaps. Wentz is frequently in more trouble from right ahead of him, than from the edges. Would it kill them to re-direct rushers outside, and give Wentz clear passing windows, or let him pick-up cheap rushing yardage? The lack of time n the pocket, is (to my thinking) also part of why our deep passing game has been a problem.

C: (D) Jason Kelce’s game has sort of gone into the tank since he became a new dad. It happens. It’s unavoidable. All his routines change. His sleep is affected. Possibly having arguments that spring from nowhere, when everything was great five minutes ago…

As a result, snaps are getting sprayed around, line adjustments to interior pressure are either being misread, miscalled or not called at all. And then there’s the getting run over. Fact is, he was also talking about retirement last year. His head is just not where it was three years ago. That’s a fact. (Which would explain the Eagles serious push at the position this offseason.)

DE: (C) In Q1 this position produced 30 tackles and 1 sack. In Q2 it produced 45 tackles and 10.5 sacks. Brandon Graham has led that charge with 19 tackles and 5 sacks, with at least 1 sack in three of Q2’s games. Derek Barnett added at least half a sack in three of the four games. Vinny Curry has piled up 10 tackles in Q2 as opposed to the 2 he had in Q1. This position is doing it’s best to pick up slack from a decimated interior line. The knocks on them are speed chasing down QB’s who escape the pocket and playing the edge too flat, instead of playing contain first. In truth, problem two may be causing problem one.

DT: (C) Fletcher Cox has been trying to play the role of two men. 17 tackles and 2.5 sacks in the last four games, while trying to be a teacher and emotional motivator. Hassan Ridgeway stepped up to fill the void left by Malik Jackson and Tim Jernigan, neither of whom played in Q2. Ridgeway added 6 tackles and 2 sacks in three games, before himself having to be put on IR.

OLB: (D) This grade is only this high because I’m listing Nate Gerry as Outside instead of Middle. He had one game as the starter in the middle, the other three games were on the outside. In two of the three games on the outside, Gerry has managed a splash play. (An interception for a TD in one game, and a sack in another.) Nigel Bradham was already having a lesser Q2, but then he missed the last two games with an injury. Kamu Grugier-Hill is a pretty good Special Teamer, but he can’t make an impact as a starter. When Bradham comes back, it should be he and Gerry who get the starting nod.

2019 Nate Gerry

MLB: (F) We cut the guy who started two of the last four games. Then we had Gerry start vs Dallas, and that went as well as picking a bar fight with Connor McGregor. Last game saw rookie T.J. Edwards record either 5 tackles or 3 tackles, depending on which NFL stat page you visit. Right after the game on Sunday, the box score had it at 1 tackle. In any case, it was an odd number, and he didn’t make any standout moments happen. Here’s hoping his game picks up.

S: (D) We sacrifice the ability to defend the pass, in order to more or less, lock down the run. As a result, this position is rarely even in a position to make a play on the ball, for us. Malcolm Jenkins has essentially become a Nickel LB with where he’s deployed, and his stats in Q2 (23 tackles, 2 passes defensed) back that up. Rod McLeod playing back deep, knocks down far more passes than Jenkins, right? McLeod has all of one pass defensed in Q2. It was his interception vs a Jets rookie who was greener than his helmet. Andrew Sendejo also had an interception in Q2. The talent is here. The biggest issue with this position, is how they are deployed.

CB: (D) Of 5 active roster players at this position, NONE of them has started more than three games in Q2. Injuries have decimated this position for the last two years. A lack of continuity, coupled with a bullshit system, have led to breakdowns in the Secondary that almost border on tragedy.

LS: (A) Nothing to complain (or rave) about.

P: (A) Cameron Johnston may be the best part of our Defense. 15 punts, 5 returns for all of 30 yards, in the last 4 games. These are all improvements over his Q1 numbers (14 punts, 6 returned for 47 yards).

2019 Eagles D.jpg

K: (A) Jake Elliott isn’t called on much, but when he is, he hits his kicks. 9/9 kicking Field Goals and 19/20 on extra points, with his miss being in a swirling Buffalo wind that even they had trouble kicking into.

PR/KR: (B) With the injury to Darren Sproles, Boston Scott has filled in and done a decent job with punts. Miles Sanders needs to get better at knowing when to take the easy 25.

KC: (C ) 20 kickoffs, 4 returns for 96 yards (24.0ypr). Not bad numbers, but nothing exciting.

SINCE LAST QUARTER:

Pass defense improved. Sack production has returned to the Defensive Line. We discovered our run game. Those are all actual improvements from Q1 to Q2.

MISSION FOR THIS QUARTER:

Cultivate a second WR. We need to lighten Alshon’s load and create more room inside for the run.