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KELLY CAN’T BENCH SAM BRADFORD

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/09/30
Posted in: Coaching, Conspiracy Corner, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , . 9 Comments

chipsamich

CHIP Kelly can’t bench QB Sam Bradford, so you may as well get used to the idea of him as your starting QB for 2015. Remember when Kelly said “Peyton Manning switched teams because of an injury. Drew Brees switched teams because of an injury. So we went down that path.”. Does it feel like we got a Peyton Manning or a Drew Brees, to you?

The problem with that is that Bradford isn’t playing anything like those QBs. Even if you adjust for drops, he still looks to check the ball down, still stares down his receivers, and even former Eagles RB Brian Westbrook says he looks tentative out there. He simply lacks the swagger or heart of someone who should be a leader of men.

Circumstances however, make Bradford virtually unbenchable. If he’s benched and we don’t make the playoffs, fans won’t be the only ones to question whether or not Chip Kelly has too much say in personnel issues. Jeff Lurie handed Kelly a great deal of rope to either climb with or hang himself with. Meanwhile we’re 1-2 due primarily to problems on the side of the ball that Kelly himself specializes in.

Look, most fans (and not just Eagles fans) understand that Kelly brought Bradford here to attempt to package and trade him to some team (Tampa Bay or Tennessee) to move up in the 2015 Draft and then select QB Marcus Mariota. There’s more to that, but long story short the move blew up in Kelly’s face and we got stuck with an oft-injured, $13M lemon, on the last leg (no pun intended) of his rookie deal. We’re essentially renting a taxi at Lamborghini prices.

Could Kelly have sat $13M of Jeff Lurie’s money to let Mark Sanchez open as our Week One starter and lead us to 8-8 or 9-7? Of course not. Even if we went 10-6 with Sanchez, Eagles fans would wonder about “what Bradford could have done if given the chance”. In fact anything short of 12-4 with Sanchez would likely precipitate that question. And don’t even mention what people would say if we missed the playoffs behind Sanchez. So the money says to start Sam Bradford; and getting ahead of public perception says to start Sam Bradford.

So Kelly is stuck with starting Sam Bradford. And we’re stuck with watching it.

Trading away the starting QB (Nick Foles) that he was winning with, for a fragile checkdown artist was bad enough. But if Kelly kept him on the bench for 1/10th of the teams salary cap, it would be a major step towards showing that he can’t evaluate talent. That means Kelly has to keep Bradford on the field in hopes that he can salvage some value from the Foles/Bradford trade. That also means that Kelly has to keep lying about being happy with Bradford’s performance even though there is no way he can be.

What that means is that you can expect to see Bradford out there for the remainder of 2015. Kind of sucking and being underwhelming won’t be enough to sit him down. To see Sanchez start a game this year you’ll need one of three things to happen:

  • Scenario One: Bradford gets injured. Doesn’t have to be long-term, just one that lasts long enough for Sanchez to win a couple games and remotely justify Kelly “going with the hot hand”.
  • Scenario Two: Bradford melts down in consecutive games. I mean like throwing 3 picks in back to back games, or arguing with Kelly on the sideline, or going full-blown Jim Everett and the Phantom Sack. Something on that level.
  • Scenario Three: Week 12 or 13 is here but the NFC East is still a tight race, Bradford has been treading water and so Lurie flat out tells Kelly to play Sanchez. (This is almost entirely unlikely, but I’d be remiss not to mention it, because although remote, stranger things have happened.)

Barring those three situations you can pretty much count on a steady diet of passes under 8 yards, 20 passes per game thrown in the direction of WR Jordan Matthews, and WR Neslon Agholor being invisible for yet another week. And the whole time while you suffer and grit your teeth this year, keep in mind that nobody, not the fans, not Sanchez, not the WR’s, wants Bradford to ride pine as much as Chip Kelly does; but he can’t just bench Bradford. He pissed in the bed he made, and now he has to lie in it.

THE EAGLES NEXT MOVE

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/09/24
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Fans, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , . 8 Comments

 

 

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WHO told you DJax was leaving before anyone else? I did. (I actually thought he’d be traded). People said I was crazy, that we would never trade him. A couple months later the Eagles simply released him.

I told you the Offense was changing. People dismissed me. Four months later, Jaws said the Offense was changing and it came as a surprise to everyone except my regular readers.

I told you that we’d trade McCoy after 2014. People said I was nuts. Six months later the Eagles traded him.

I told you not to expect 2013 Nick Foles in 2014. People called me a hater. The season started and Foles regressed badly. Lots of fans lost their minds. My regulars merely waited for Mark Sanchez to play.

I said we should trade Foles while we still have him under contract. People said there was no way the Eagles would do that. Tell me again how we got Sam Bradford.

I said Maclin may go to Kansas City. People said that there was no way Chip would let that happen. The coach then proceeded to shove Maclin out the door. His landing spot? Kansas City.

I said Byron Maxwell wasn’t a good signing. People shouted me down. I wonder what those people think of him so far?

I said our Guards would be a problem in 2015. People said Guards weren’t that important, that Offensive Tackles were what mattered. Well we’ve run for 70 yards in two games.

I said the Offensive Line would suffer due to the decline in talent at the Guard position. People said I was over-reacting since we still have Jason Peters, Jason Kelce, and Lane Johnson. Today some of those same fans are throwing those same players under the bus. Oh, and the line HAS suffered. Eagles fans are in shock over this. Well… only the ones who aren’t regulars here.

I said signing Jared Wheeler and John Moffitt were total wastes of time. People said give them a chance they could turn out to be real steals this season. Wheeler didn’t make it to the second round of cuts and Moffitt didn’t even make it as a back-up.

Today I’m saying that Sam Bradford is not a viable NFL QB anymore. He won’t be benched yet, but he’s no longer a piece to build around. He’s just a guy now.

Despite my track record for telling you what’s coming, people are still trying to convince themselves that I’m just a lone crackpot. Well…some people NEVER learn. For my regulars and new followers (there’s a FOLLOW button if you scroll up), you’re gonna want to pay close attention this season.

ROBERT GRIFFIN THE EAGLE

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/09/01
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Fans, NFL, Offense, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , . 6 Comments

at FedExField on August 25, 2012 in Landover, Maryland.

WHEN the Redskins cut QB Robert Griffin III the Eagles should sign him immediately. Not only does that mean we can move on from the Tim Tebow fiasco, but maybe Matt Barkley and Mark Sanchez as well. (Although I would seek to package Sanchez with a draft pick and trade him to a QB needy team like Houston, or as an insurance policy to a win now team like Arizona.)

Griffin as an Eagle gives the front office leverage in keeping QB Sam Bradford’s asking price reasonable. Though Griffin is no longer the runner he once was, he still has more than enough wheels to give the team the two-point conversion weapon the head coach craves in Tebow, while not sacrificing having a legit QB on the field. After all we aren’t talking about replacing Bradford here. We’re talking about replacing Tebow, Barkley and maybe Sanchez. The signing would be a no-lose scenario.

The only drawback would be for fans to get used to rooting for a guy they’re used to rooting against and mocking. All the best Redskins memes on social media and on this site, would have to stop. Then again if it makes this team deeper and more dangerous, I’m more than willing to learn to mock Cuddin’ Kirk and his head coach Fatty Jay.

If they cut RGnumber, or even (oh I don’t know) ask for say a 4th or 5th rounder, I say jump at it. I mean seriously what are we losing in that gamble? Look at our draft picks after round 3 for the last 3 years. Even a trade of a 4 or a 5 would be like stealing the guy; and who among you wouldn’t like to see us fleece the Redskins?

DID YOU BUY A MYCHAL KENDRICKS JERSEY?

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/08/03
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), Players, Roster, trade. Tagged: , , , , , , . 4 Comments

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IF you bought a Mychal Kendricks jersey, you may want to either see if you have time to return it, or you may want to buy some of those vacuum storage bags and some potpourri to toss in them. Apparently rumors of Kendricks being traded are just rumors. Or so we’re being told.

Remember the morning of 2014 December 29th? On that Monday morning, on WIP radio, our team’s current head coach told anyone listening “I want LeSean back”. Then, once given full carte blanche of personnel, that same head coach traded LeSean McCoy, then basically said that McCoy wasn’t a good fit for the Offense despite 2,900 yards rushing over two years.

Spin that anyway you like, (financial decision, character issue, system fit, change of mind, etc.) facts is that the coach already knew what McCoy cost, who he was, and how he fit BEFORE he said that he wanted him back. If the coach truly wanted McCoy back, when Owner Jeff Lurie gave the coach the juice to make it happen, all he had to do is do it. He didn’t because he really didn’t want McCoy back. When he said that he did…he was lying. And if you bought it shame on you, because I’d already told you what was going on.

Even after I told the world that DeSean Jackson was leaving, our head coach called him and made him think he was staying. WAIT! I have proof! HERE’S THE LINK! Oh well. If DJax read my articles, he’d have known about his future.

And who could forget our “QB for the next 1,000 years”? That statement didn’t even get a year old, before we traded Nick Foles for what’s left of Sam Bradford. (And this is coming from a guy who was never crazy about Foles!)

Now we’re being told that Kendricks isn’t going anywhere. And people actually buy it! There are fans who are 100% reassured by the statement the coach released. Which is HILARIOUS considering that Kendricks himself has no idea of what his Eagles future holds.

I’m not a betting man, (especially on sports), but if I had to bet the homestead on whether or not Kendricks is still here in September, the first thing I’d do is take a sharp look at how DeMeco Ryans looks coming back from his knee injury. If Ryans looks good, expect Kendricks to be dealt to make room for grooming players like Jordan Hicks and/or Jordan DeWalt-Ondijo.

If Ryans is less than he’s expected to be, the LB shuffle will have to be played by ear. I doubt that even a psychic could predict that one, so I won’t bullshit you and pretend I have the first clue as to how that scenario would play out. When I have answers, YOU get answers; but I’m not above saying “I don’t know”.

In any case, I hope you didn’t buy a Mychal Kendricks jersey yet. If you did and he’s traded, put yours in storage. He’s a good player and the jersey could be worth something if he ever wears a gold jacket. It’ll be worth more because it’ll be rare, since idiots will burn theirs when they decide Kendricks is traitor for being traded. Luckily my followers aren’t idiots, so I’m sure you were already making plans to store yours.

BOYKIN KELLY TRADE, OR WHAT?

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/08/02
Posted in: Defense, Front Office (F.O.), Players, Rants, Roster. Tagged: , , , . 2 Comments

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BRANDON Boykin was never going to be a starter for the Philadelphia Eagles. Even after a game in which Bradley Fletcher was doused in gasoline and left to burn out of control; Boykin (and our other CB’s) continued to ride pine and saw no opportunity to show an ability to step in and possibly save the team from spending a high draft pick. So the idea of Boykin being traded (for a conditional 5th round pick) was hardly a surprise.

Actually, while it didn’t come as a surprise, the move still stuns a bit. Especially on the eve of Training Camp. Boykin was one of the few players that seemed to get the fans here. He talked big, but he also played big. When he made mistakes on the field it was due to him gambling for that big play. He wanted it as bad as we did, and we SAW that in him. Even in limited play, his fire was as plain as day.

Over these last couple years it feels like we’re losing all of our high-spirited players. Most of the guys we’ve lost were big talkers, but also big performers. What’s funny is that fans from Philly often shake their heads at players and say stuff like “Why can’t he just shut up and play?” or more frequently “He needs to shut the fuck up and just play!” That cracks me up because here in Philly, we’re talkers. (Especially when we deliver results.) I think the Boykin trade is hitting fans the way it is, because to us Boykin felt like Philly. Remember when he tweeted this:

boykin2

This is the sort of thing he did that made us love a second string player.

In a weird way it seems like the more Philly-like you are, the less this coach wants you on his team. (All the Oregon and PAC-12 guys he adds to the team, does nothing to combat that image either.)

Frankly I’m going to miss Boykin, and I think he’s going to shine as a Steeler. How much I miss him will depend on how well the young CB’s on our roster play. The way I see it we just made a mistake. We gave away a 25 year old starting caliber CB, for a 5th round pick. The sad thing is, this move was hardly a surprise.

EAGLES TRAINING CAMP 2015

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/07/27
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Offense, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , . 3 Comments

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MY Pre-Draft prediction, for who I think will win the NFC East, surprised some people. And so far at this point I see no reason to back down from what I said. All the early indicators are still pointing in the same direction. That of course, was the offseason, and the offseason is no time to takes sides, since no one is doing shit anyway. I try to keep it as unbiased as possible during the offseason since information is scarce and even fans of rival teams visit this website.

So that prediction was just me calling it like I see it; but I’m sure you know that just because you see something coming doesn’t mean that you like it. Frankly, I don’t like what I see coming and I’m hoping that I’m wrong. I’ve already said that if I’m wrong, I’m willing to admit it publicly, and even on my own site.

However now that Training Camp is coming up there is PLENTY of reason to take sides. There are guys you hope make it and guys you hope get cut. There are battles you look forward to, and a chance to see players show that they’ve grown.

There’s also my favorite part of TC: Positional study. I of course look at each position, but every year there are between one and three positions that I study maniacally. This year those positions will be Guard, Center, and Outside Linebacker.

Guard for obvious reasons, since the loses of Evan Mathis and Todd Herremans means two new starters. I can’t say at this point that I’m pulling for any player in particular to win a starting role since I’m on record as saying that I don’t think much of any of the Guards on our roster.

Center is a less obvious one. The typical fan assumption is that starter Jason Kelce will step up and help the new Guards until they get settled in as starters. I on the other hand am very concerned about not just the interior Offensive Line’s run blocking, but also their ability to establish and hold an area for our QB’s to step up into while in pass protection.

Outside Linebacker, is more just me seeing if Brandon Graham can give us anything new in coverage underneath now that he’s the starter. Also, whether and how often they bring in Marcus Smith (remember him?), are also of huge interest to me.

So the time for being a primarily unbiased information source is about to be on hold until next offseason. The time for actively rooting for my team and against my own prediction, approaches. I for one, can’t wait.

OPEN COMPETITION FOR EAGLES QB

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/07/24
Posted in: Coaching, Conversations, Draft, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , . 4 Comments

opencomp

SAM Bradford and Mark Sanchez are supposed to be in “Open Competition for starting QB” once Training Camp starts. If that happens then it could mean things are moving on their regular schedule. It could mean that Bradford’s knee was ready. It could mean that Sanchez is looking to demonstrate more mastery of the Offense than any other QB in camp should be able to.

While some see the competition as a good thing, what it really means is, we’re still on the same treadmill we’ve been on since we traded Donovan McNabb to the Redskins in April 2010. This year’s competition means we’re heading into year six, still looking for a long-term solution at QB.

Over the last five seasons we fans have pinned our QB hopes on Kevin Kolb, Michael Vick, Nick Foles, and Sanchez. Now (maybe) Bradford will be the sixth name. Between all the re-treads and long-shots, us Eagles fans have been waiting quite a while for someone to pull that sword out of the stone. And while we’ve seen flashes of brilliance (Vick’s ridiculous 2010 season; Foles ridiculous 2013 season) they’ve not been matched by periods of consistency.

I put most of that blame on the coaches and front office.

Those who’ve been reading me since before I had this website, know that I’ve been saying for years that the team needs to draft a young guy and develop him; or at least commit to someone on the roster. They paid lip service to Foles in March of last year; but by July they were already telegraphing that they’d screw him first chance they got. (And they did.)

They need to draft and stick with a guy over his initial bumps and bruises. Even if it means back-to-back sub .500 seasons. It’s time to stop with the half-measures and actually build something again. We’ve already seen it work before. Why should fans suffer just because our HC’s scheme (to sucker someone to trade for Bradford), blew up in his face?

For the last 5 years (and this spans 2 head coaches by the way), it’s been “open competition” at the QB spot every year. It’s yielded some winning seasons and even a couple playoff appearances (2010, 2013), but both were one-and-done affairs with no return the following year.

The last time we committed long-term to a QB was in 1999 with McNabb. We tanked the first year, but he got to learn how to be a QB, not just how to play the QB position. (That by the way is the real problem faced by Colin Kaepernic and BobG3, and formerly Jake Locker.) McNabb was coached on the little things, and the focus was on him developing, not on him producing immediate wins. As a result the wins did come, and McNabb went on to become arguably (definitely statistically) the all-time greatest QB in Eagles franchise history. This ain’t rocket science folks. Why not go back and do the last thing that worked for us long-term?

In the meantime, we (as a fan base) are about to get excited for a thing that’s not been working since we started doing it. This latest competition features two re-treads, battling it out to see whether or not we’re about to (frankly) overpay one of them, for having a single good year.

Welp! Let’s get our popcorn and get ready for “Open Competition at QB: Part VI: Franchise vs Sanchize”. This time, it’s personnel.

IS YOUNGER REALLY BETTER?

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/07/20
Posted in: Conversations, Draft, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , . 1 Comment

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CONVENTIONAL sports wisdom says that it’s better to have a young roster, because it gives you a longer period of time in which to build a competitive and possibly dominant team, before (like all things) it peaks and declines. In sports this period is referred to as “The Window”.

Over the decades that theory has largely been sound, since wiser teams have been able to amass young talent, develop it, and ride it to generally positive results. However, in the NFL since the onset of modern free agency and now exacerbated by the current CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement), holding onto the young talent you amass beyond a few years, has gotten harder to do than it used to be.

Even if you can stockpile draft picks by trading down (like the Eagles and Patriots are famous for doing), developing and holding onto a number of mid-range to very good young players, is extremely difficult. In an era where teams commonly overpay to lure talent in free agency, you’re basically kissing part of your nucleus goodbye, once a few rookie contracts expire. You’re almost penalized years down the line, for having had good Drafts. San Francisco and Seattle are prime examples of that. So you need to be young, but not beholden to youth.

Aside from contract issues, youth has a way of being…well…young. By that I mean inexperienced. Not just in general, but particularly in big moments where emotion can overpower a player and make his mind his own worst enemy. Having youth on your team is great for any roster, but a predominantly young roster can lead to a lack of credible leadership.

A young roster with no history of playoff success or regular season success, is a recipe for disaster. It propagates the notion that you can lose a lot one year, and due to nothing more than youth, the key culprits get to return the following year. (The Eagles defense fell apart in 2013, returned 9 or 10 of 11 starters and then fell apart again in 2014. For example.)

So you see, too much youth can be a disadvantage. Everyone is dirt cheap at first but if they achieve success you soon can lose key players. They’ll stay cheap if they suck, but then by that point you’ll be drafting more young players into a losing culture.

A young roster in today’s “win or be fired” NFL? No thanks. Due to the way business is handled in the NFL today, the old model and the conventional thinking that went along with it, now need to be re-examined.

IS THERE PROFIT IN JOHN MOFFITT?

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/06/29
Posted in: Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , . 4 Comments

john moffitt

YOU’LL have to pardon me if I don’t jump up and do the ‘Chicken Dance’ over the signing of Guard John Moffitt. It’s not like we added an All-Pro or Pro Bowl level performer.  The guy is a reclamation project, pure and simple.

After retiring for two years to handle a multi-faceted drug problem (performance enhancing drugs, marijuana, cocaine, and ecstasy), Moffitt is back hoping to show that he can be a contributor in this league.

This despite the injuries that also plagued him. That list includes a blown out knee, elbow surgery, and shoulder damage. Oh yeah, there’s also sleep apnea and “floaters” crossing his vision from all the head trauma he absorbed from over almost  20 years (man and boy) in football. We’ll see what he’s got left, but as a player he wasn’t all that great before he retired. Somehow I’m doubting that two years of sitting on his couch did his game much good.

The signing perplexes me more for another reason though. Chip Kelly says that culture is the most important thing. He says that “culture wins football”, and that “culture beats scheme every time”. So how does the signing of Moffitt benefit the culture here? For instance, what message does it send to Lane Johnson, who was already stung once by a PED suspension last year?

Moffitt has by pretty much any and every account, been sort of fuck-up his whole NFL career. The idea that Moffitt has something meaningful to contribute to this team’s culture, when LeSean McCoy or DeSean Jackson or Evan Mathis apparently did not, is worth a raised eyebrow I think.

The truth is, the Eagles neglected the Guard position, then let go of a player (Mathis) they could ill-afford to lose (just to make a point). Apparently Guards have not shown well during OTA’s and the Front Office has attempted to patch a leaky roof by signing first a college back-up (Jared Wheeler), and now a ho-hum player with a history of what he called “dumb mistakes”.

Put bluntly, I don’t like this signing. I mean be honest, if the Redskins, giants or Cowboys added these guys you’d hound your rival fans about it. I have no idea why we don’t trade for a real Guard if we can’t agree to terms with someone like Gabe Carimi, Nate Garner or even Davin Joseph.

In any case, for the sake of anyone dropping back to pass in an Eagles uniform this year, I hope Kelly is right and I’m wrong about Moffitt. However, if you’ve been reading me consistently over the last year and a half, you know that my track record is more than simply impressive, and the odds that I’m wrong about this, are staggeringly low.

EAGLES WORRIED ABOUT THEIR GUARDS

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/06/29
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Roster. Tagged: , . 4 Comments

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THREE weeks ago I took heat from some fans when I said that Guard would be a problem for the Eagles this year. At the time Evan Mathis was still an Eagle, but I said he wouldn’t be for long, and I was right. No miracle there, since the Eagles had been doing everything to make that a reality. Also I’d already said that last year. (Said that about Todd Herremanns too.)

Fast forward three weeks and now it’s clear that “the roster currently has a major problem at offensive guard.”  Oh really?? You don’t f****n’ say.

Look, the point of this article isn’t to say I told you so. Well, it’s not the whole point. The primary point of this article is to brace my fellow fans. Honestly, at this point regardless of anything the Eagles do between now and Week One, the Guard position will still be a problem in 2015. Let me break it down to a point beyond debate.

We’re stuck with bad options: There are better players out there than the guy we’re signing today (John Moffitt), but each of them comes with a drawback that would preclude a wise team from investing long-term in them. Unlike Moffitt who has to prove that he’s back, the remaining players may be reluctant to play just one year in a scheme they don’t know.

All of our depth is bad: Were signing Moffitt today with the hopes that we’re getting a steal. That however only pans out if he starts. That means we have to start him to get any value out of him. Starting him means that we have to sit either Matt Tobin or Allen Barbre. So Tobin will sit.

Hey! Here’s a great question. If you’re willing to bench your starter for a guy who just spent 2 years on his couch, what does that say about your starter? Here’s another question. If you have to sign a guy off his couch instead of elevating someone else on your roster, what does that say about your depth?

GAME TIME! QB Sam Bradford needs a pocket to step up into, right? This is where it gets contentious between me and some fans. Some fans assume that the line will just come together since they’re all professionals. Those fans are pinheads.

The offensive line needs to communicate well to be able to function well. These guys hardly know each other, and their first significant live action won’t come until Week Three of the preseason. Oh, and by the way, the defensive players they’ll be facing are also professionals; and our division is returning mostly intact units manned by players who DO know each other.

We’re already at a disadvantage here both from a time and talent perspective. There is simply no way to catch up in 2015. When the Draft ended without a Guard being selected, the position’s 2015 fate was just about sealed. Now we’re getting signings like Jared Wheeler and John Moffitt served up to us. The pinheads can pretend to like it if they wish, and they can polish that turd to a high gloss if they like, but the truth is unless we trade for some SERIOUS help, Guard is dead weight for our team this year.