THE ZACH ERTZ TRADE

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/06/08
Posted in: breakdown, Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, Rants, Roster, Super Bowl, trade. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

TRADING TE Zach Ertz is stupid. Let me get that on the record right now. I don’t want anybody saying later this season, that I was ever unclear in my language about the move. Trading him, cutting him, doesn’t matter. Ertz being removed from this roster, this year is unwise. Some will argue that 12M$ is too much to spend on an aging player, with diminishing skills.

Okay. Let’s look at that.

His 12M$ cap hit is a large one. That said, the Front Office has already found a way to fit it under our 2021 salary cap. In fact, according to Over The Cap the Eagles are currently 6.4M$ under the cap. So affording Ertz has already been done. That means we can stop trying to make this about money. How about age?

Ertz turns 31 in November. While that is an advanced age for this position, it’s not ancient or even the most advanced age. Current TE’s Travis Kelce, Rob Gronkowski, Jimmy Graham, and Kyle Rudolph are all older than Ertz, (and most Eagles fans would be happy to add any of those).

People bring up age, because they want to either infer, or say outright, that older players will be less durable, miss more games, and thus be less reliable. Last season at age 30, Ertz missed 5 games, due to injury. It was the first time he ever played in fewer than 14 games in a season.

Before suggesting that the misses are tied to Ertz’s age, consider the following: Back-up TE Dallas Goedert, whom the Front Office (and fans) expect to replace Ertz, also missed 5 games with injury. Goedert is 26 years old. Injuries, not age, determines injuries. So quit letting yourself be told, that one means the other.

Well what about Ertz’s diminishing skills? What diminishing skills? Based off of what, the 2020 season?? You go and point out even one, just one, Eagles starter who didn’t take a step backwards in 2020.

Don’t say RB Miles Sanders. He ran for more yards, but his receiving production took a nose dive, and his yards from scrimmage were dramatically down in 2020. Yes, WR Travis Fulgham emerged, but A) He wasn’t a 2019 Eagles starter, and B) He faded badly, down 2020’s stretch. A pandemic of bad offense infected the whole roster. Including Goedert. Including Ertz.

Finally, what on Earth would we be replacing him with? Aside from Ertz and Goedert, the Eagles have five TE’s on the roster. Only one has ever caught a ball in an actual NFL game. One is converting from WR. Another one is converting from QB.

TE Caleb Wilson shows a little promise, and Jason Croom would be a decent #3, but the step down at TE would be huge, if Ertz goes in 2021.

Then again, Head Coach Nick Sirianni isn’t Doug Pederson. He may not like using 12 Personnel (1RB, 2TE), as much as the guy who won a Super Bowl with it, while playing 32 year old TE Brent Celek for a third of the offensive snaps. (Hey! Isn’t 32 older than 31?)

If Sirianni is looking to feature a Slot WR more, then he won’t be using two TE’s very much, and won’t need to have two good ones. That doesn’t help us with talented depth for red zone situations, or insurance vs injury, but you can’t have it all right?

Except right now, we still have Ertz, and his presence is a luxury. Moving him now would be stupid. Just stupid.

BREAKOUT EAGLES IN 2021

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/06/05
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Rants, Roster, stats, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Rookie WR DeVonta Smith

WHICH Eagles players are poised to have a breakout season? Before we can say that a player had one, first we need to define exactly what a breakout season looks like. Better still, we fans need to declare what our standard is, well ahead of time. Let’s start by setting the bar, high.

First, let’s rule out rookies. While rookie WR Devonta Smith could have a huge year, it would be unfair before Training Camp, to expect the Moon and stars from him. Especially with this team’s history of developing WR’s.

So now let’s start with QB Jalen Hurts. In 2020, during his four starts (just those four), he put up 148 attempts, 77 completions (52%), for 1061 yards, 6 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions. He also posted 46 rushes, 272 yards, 5.9 yards per carry, and 3 scores. These numbers led to his 1 – 3 record, and for good reason.

In Hurts four starts, his completion percentage fell each week (56.6, 54.5, 53.8, and 35.0%, respectively.) Teams quickly caught onto him bootlegging right, as if he were in an Option offense, and they made it harder and harder for him to use that, to set up passes. In 2021 he’s going to have to demonstrate an ability to take advantage of containment based strategies against him.

A breakout season from Hurts would look something like 493 attempts, 316 completions (64%), for 4,300 yards, 29 touchdowns and fewer than 15 interceptions. Adding 102 rushes for 595 yards (5.8) and say… 5 scores, would put him in the conversation for greatest season ever by an Eagles QB.

Again. Set that bar, high.

Now onto last year’s first round flop, WR Jalen Reagor. No, I won’t compare him to Vikings WR “Justin Jefferson”. This isn’t about comparing players. This is about individual accomplishment. This is about Reagor, how he spent the downs he played, and no one else. The focus, is on Reagor.

In 2020, our first round pick played in 9 games. He was targeted 54 times, made 31 catches for a catch rate of 57.4%, 396 yards (at 12.7 per), and caught one touchdown. (For those who want to know: His catch rate was 57.5% for QB Carson Wentz, and 57.1 % for Hurts. Wentz threw him his lone TD catch, in our win over Dallas.)

In the 9 games Reagor played, he averaged 3 catches for 44 yards per game. That hardly cuts it for a first rounder. With him playing in the Slot now, 15 yards per quarter shouldn’t be too much to ask. He’d average 60 yards per game, for 960 yards on the year. So let’s call it 960, and a score in at least half the games for breakout consideration. So 960 and 8. That’s the bar. Anything below that, isn’t even a conversation. That’s the kind of energy we need to keep.

I don’t think RB Miles Sanders counts here. He’s twice rushed for 800+ yards, so even 1,000 – 1,200 rushing yards will just seem like a great year, not a breakout. If TE Dallas Goedert sees 900 yards, or 12 scores, sure that would be breakout. But I don’t see him doing that.

On Defense, we’re hardly starting anyone who isn’t already an established veteran. Nobody can say that DE Brandon Graham, DT Fletcher Cox or CB Darius Slay are just now making their mark on the league, and LB Alex Singleton had his, last year.

Barring a situation where a starter’s hurt and a back-up comes from nowhere, no one on D is having a breakout year.

Summing up! On Offense, Hurts and Reagor are poised to have breakout seasons. On Defense, without a major injury, no one is on deck to do so. Sorry, but that’s the bottom line.

NO ROOM FOR TALK

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/05/30
Posted in: Conversations, Defense, Offense, Players, Rants, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

GOING 4 – 11 – 1 means STFU. Whether it’s players hyping the leadership of a 1 – 3 QB, or a second year WR, calling out my fellow fans. All the talk needs to stop. Last year the Eagles fell halfway short of even going .500. That means there’s a ton of stuff to fix, and nobody who was on the roster when we posted that record, has time to run their mouth.

I’m a devoted fan, but I’m not delusional. We still haven’t addressed our weakness at CB. We still don’t know if our top FS will be ready by Week One. What will our TE depth look like when TE Zach Ertz is moved? Who is our starting LT? If you project 1 – 3 over 17 weeks, it comes out to roughly 5 – 12. Is QB Jalen Hurts better than that finish? What system will he even be running?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m glad for the enthusiasm that players have had for mini-camp. Unfortunately, I don’t sense a “hardhat mentality” when these guys speak to the media. I’m seeing big smiles, lots of teeth, and eyes crinkled at the corners. I’m seeing comfortable guys, mostly confident in their roles. Calm as Hindu cows.

And it makes me sick.

With all the upheaval this offseason, no one should feel like a sacred cow. But there it is. Right on the player’s faces. The fact that you see that, says that the players aren’t really buying into the ideas that “Everyone has to compete” and that “Nothing is will be handed to you”. And why should they?

Show of hands if you think that RT Lane Johnson has to earn his spot. How about RG Brandon Brooks? C Jason Kelce? LG Issac Seumalo? Seems to me that 80% of the Offensive Line from 2017 will still be starting in 2021. And that’s with a new coaching staff in place!

Let me add RB Miles Sanders and TE Dallas Goedert, to Hurts and the O-Line. Rookie WR Devonta Smith will start on the outside, and WR Jalen Reagor will start in the Slot. That’s 9 of 11, right there. The spots up for competition: LT and WR#2.

How about DE Brandon Graham, DT Fletcher Cox, DT Javon Hargrave, and DE Derek Barnett? How many of those guys ride pine without an injury? What about CB Darius Slay, OLB Eric Wilson, LB Alex Singleton, or S Anthony Harris?

That’s 8 of 11 guys that we know are Week One starters already. If S Rodney McLeod’s leg lets him, that’s 9 of 11. This drops the real competition for availability of spots to just MLB and CB. Feel free to point out where I’m wrong. Go ahead. I’ll wait…

Anybody? Nobody?

So yeah. That’s it. We have LT, WR #2, MLB, and CB. That’s all the real competition on this team for starting spots. There will be fierce competition for back-up roles. But the starters?! When 18 of 22 spots are a virtual lock, the sacred cows on this roster have no reason to do anything but smile and talk right now. No reason except 4 – 11 – 1.

COMPETITION: HURTS, FLACCO

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/05/25
Posted in: Coaching, Conspiracy Corner, Offense, Players, Preview, Rants, Roster, Uncategorized, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

THE Eagles coaching staff (with straight faces), keeps telling us fans that there will be a REAL competition between QB Jalen Hurts and QB Joe Flaaco, for the starting job. We’re being told that nobody is being handed anything. I have yet to meet the Eagles fan dumb enough to buy what this coaching staff is selling.

Can we be honest here? Flacco was brought in, so that when Hurts “wins” the job, dipshits can say things like “Hurts beat a former Super Bowl MVP to win the job. So of course Hurts has to be legit, right?” Prepare to hear that repeatedly, from the sort of fan who unironically, still wears a Kevin Kolb jersey.

Understand, while head coach Nick Sirianni has designed plays before, it was never his responsibility to define the philosophy of a system. As a HC, he now gets to decide that. He’s no longer designing plays within the framework of what his boss wants. Now he gets to decide what that framework looks like.

This is a QB Screen I designed years ago. Flacco could never make this play scary.

So who’s skillset do you think the Eagles offensive system will be built around? Flacco’s overall fading skills, and limited athleticism? Or will it be Hurts’ upside and dynamic mobility? When passing plays are drawn up, will they include a heavy percentage of RPO’s, Options, and Bootlegs? Or will they almost entirely consist of 3 and 5 step drops?

In four starts last year, Hurts ran for 272 yards. (BTW: That projects to 1,156 rushing yards, over 17 games.) Flacco? He ran for 292 yards. He didn’t do that in 2020. He did that over the last 7 seasons. Combined. Keeping in mind that Flacco can’t be dangerous running RPO’s, Options or boots, do you really think the new coach will handcuff himself to an anchor? Neither do I.

When Training Camp opens, both the system and the playbook, will be built to suit Hurts, not Flacco. So in what universe is this a real competition? Being that Flacco can’t excel in this system, Hurts will win the starting job in a walk.

Flacco: So you’re saying there’s a CHANCE?

Besides, if Hurts finds himself involved in real a competition with what’s left of Flacco, then basically the Eagles 2021 season would already be a yellow mustard and jizz sandwich. Seriously. It’s embarrassing that the Eagles are even trying to sell this “competition”.

THE NFC EAST ARMS RACE

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/05/19
Posted in: breakdown, Conversations, Defense, Draft, Fans, Four Things, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, NFL, Offense, Players, playoffs, Reviews, Rivals, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment
Hey giants fans! This TANK, is called the Eagle 7.

LAST year the NFC East was the laughingstock of the NFL. Aggressive moves have been made to ensure that history will not be repeating itself anytime soon. While every team in the division ranks #21 or lower in the NFL power rankings, the rosters in this division are telling a different story.

Alright. So yeah, Washington is Washington. Their power moves were to sign a pair of slot receivers (Curtis Samuels and Adam Humphries), and Dr. Jekyll (Ryan Fitzpatrick) to play QB. Adding G Ereck Flowers was a sneaky good move, but hardly a transcendent one. Adding an OT and then subtracting another, was definitely not a step forward. While Washington is the early favorite to win the East, they seem to be back in self-sabotage mode.

As for the other three teams:

Dallas fans made it clear to the owner, that they were done quietly waiting for their team’s defense to improve.

In response, the Cowboys cleaned house in terms of both coaches and players. They then leaned heavy on defense in the Draft. While they may not have added free agents who are household names, they’ve sent a message from the top-down, that they are serious about getting results.

The giants took a risk adding CB Adoree Jackson, but if he can stay healthy, they have probably the best CB duo in the division. Signing Kelvin Benjamin to play TE, was a magnificent piece of outside the box thinking. Benjamin had trouble getting reliable separation from DB’s. However, if he can (very likely) gain separation on LB’s, then a Safety will have to be cheated away from a WR to help cover him. Benjamin may all at once, make the giants more explosive and help them challenge for the best TE duo in the division.

The Eagles made no fewer than FOUR non-Draft related moves. All of which look low-key at a glance. However, upon further inspection… For new DC Jonathan Gannon, signing former Vikings OLB Eric Wilson and S Anthony Harris, gives him two guys who can help quickly install his system, because they’ve played together while under Gannon. Slick move. Signing RB Kerryon Johnson was a stroke of pure genius, which I discussed in my last article (The Eagles RB’s). Then of course, there’s the addition of OLB Ryan Kerrigan.

One of my brothers speculated that Kerrigan could be Chris Long 2.0 for the Eagles. Maybe, but I doubt it. I think his real value, will be in getting young players to realize, they will have to out-produce Kerrigan, to take his spot in the rotation. He either forces them to step up, or it tells the Eagles that next year’s Draft, will be heavily spent re-arming the Defensive Line.

Getting QB Jalen Hurts a WR (Devonta Smith) that he already has chemistry with, was also a boss level move.

Nobody in the NFC East was okay with how 2020 ended. Well… I guess Washington seems to be. Honestly, watching their fans practically give each other handjobs over a 7 – 9 season, just to be bounced in the first round of the playoffs… Their “bragging” has been really hard to watch.

As for the rest of the division, none of us is looking for a repeat of 2020. The NFL had better not get caught sleeping.

THE EAGLES RUNNING BACKS

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/05/16
Posted in: Conversations, NFC East, Offense, Players, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

WHEN the Detroit Lions released RB Kerryon Johnson, Eagles fans on social media started asking if we should sign him. I immediately bellowed “NO! That guy gets injured too much! Why should we stick our necks our for blah blah blah, yadda, blah blah blah…”

And I was wrong.

I was ignorant, loud, and wrong. I didn’t know quite as much about Johnson as I thought I did, and initially I didn’t do any further research. I was sloppy. I was lazy. I didn’t give my full effort, which is not who I am. I’m sorry, and I’m ashamed. No excuses.

The national sports media has given the Eagles up for dead. I watched a segment on ‘Undisputed’ where the NFC East was discussed, and only three teams were talked about. Rich Eisen held a similar discussion on the NFL network. Again, apparently just three teams play in the NFC East.

Desperate to read about the Eagles, sheer boredom is what got me looking further into the Eagles roster. Starting with Johnson.

I loved his interview. Especially the part where he discussed his reputation as being one of the league’s best RB’s at pass protection. (Which I didn’t know.) His prowess for pass pro, is extremely important. It makes him a genuine three-down back. It also means whether situationally or due to injury, when Johnson is on the field, the Eagles can use their entire playbook.

There are a couple of things he’ll want to work on here. Things like hitting the hole with more immediacy, and holding the ball tight to his body. That of course ,is why the coaching staff gets paid. While Johnson isn’t a genuine home run hitter, he can gash a defense for serious yards, runs with some pop, and can finish runs falling forward.

Some ask if his presence means that RB Boston Scott is out. Others say that he’s a threat to RB Jordan Howard.

I beg to differ. Having a stable of players like RB Miles Sanders, Howard and Johnson, gives the Eagles loads of high level insurance against injury. When all three are healthy, they can be shuttled in and out, or lined up in different combinations to create horrifying mismatches.

As for Boston Scott, I happen to think his biggest threat, is rookie RB Kenneth Gainswell.

Scott has proven that he can be a quality role player, but Gainswell has way more wiggle in his run, and is also a superior route runner. While I wouldn’t project him as a long-term starter, Gainswell seems to have way more upside than Scott has shown, when pressed into the role.

With Sanders, Howard, Johnson and Gainswell, the Eagles have three, possibly four quality starters on the roster. That’s amazing depth! This was a well-rounded group before the Draft. Since then the Eagles have added just two players, but are exponentially better at this position.

The best part of all this? This sort of commitment to loading up the RB position, indicates that the Eagles are going to lean pretty heavy on the position. Think about it. They haven’t loaded up like this at WR or TE, have they? Nope. Not at all. By the way, this guy is still the starter:

Running the ball more, should really help the starting (Jalen) QB, whomever (Hurts) he turns out (Jalen) to be. After all (Hurts), the coach did say (Jalen) that it would be (Hurts) a completely (Jalen) open competition. I’m excited to see how the competition shakes out. I expect that QB Jalen Hurts and the other one, will make it hard for the coaches to decide on who our Jalen QB will be.

But the RB’s though! Very excited about this group, and I’m happy to be wrong about Kerryon Johnson. As for being lazy, I will give my standard effort in the future.

Flacco! The other QB is named Flacco. Wow. What a weird first name. 

THE EAGLES 2021 SCHEDULE

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/05/13
Posted in: Conversations, Crazy Talk, NFL, Preview, Rants, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!??? What the fuck is a Week 14 Bye?! We play FIVE, count ‘em FIVE, games in October, three of which are road games.

Here’s our October:

We start with a home game vs the Chiefs, probably getting kicked in the nuts before we head down to Carolina, in what should be a coin flip. Then on a short week, we get Tampa Bay. We follow that with a plane to Vegas, then back home to practice, then a plane to Detroit. All in a span of 28 days.

Unless we can make some hay in November, we might be already circling the drain by the time our Bye Week gets here.

What the fuck is a Week 14 Bye?! Will someone tell me that!?! Who the fuck does that to someone? “Easiest schedule” my wide, hairy ass! I hope the NFL schedule makers get uncontrollable diarrhea in a traffic jam.

The worst part is, that not knowing this coaching staff, it’s impossible to look at the schedule and forecast any W’s. At least with real confidence. It was already an uncertain year, but this schedule feels like someone handed a drowning man an anchor.

2021 EAGLES DRAFT REPORT

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/05/03
Posted in: breakdown, Conversations, Defense, Draft, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

LIKE the 2020 Draft, this wasn’t a draft that was meant to produce a bunch of immediate starters. Most of the picks here were made with an eye towards restocking the shelves, in order to avoid desperation down the road. That being said, an upper-tier CB would have been great.

Round 1 (12th overall): WR DeVonta Smith (H)

Remember when I told you “Ignore all this nonsense about “guys competing for the starting job”. Jalen Hurts is the guy.” With their first pick in this draft, The Front Office put the entire farcical notion of an honest competition to bed, and then killed it with a shovel in it’s sleep.

Smith comes in as a rookie who doesn’t have to win over the confidence of the starting QB. In fact, his very presence does something unheard of among rookies: His history and chemistry with QB Jalen Hurts, actually helps legitimize the notion of Hurts as the starter, despite all the question marks about Hurts himself.

Whether stemming his route, running the route, or running after the catch, he has an easy, graceful, long stride that is damned near hypnotic. He has reliable hands, and is willing to block despite not being very good at it. I expect him to start, and have a 1,000 yard, 8 TD season.

Round 2 (37th overall): C Landon Dickerson (H)

I love everything about the way he plays, but I hate his injury history:

ACL tear ended his freshman year.

Ankle injury ended his sophomore year.

Another ankle injury ended his first junior year. He then red-shirted.

He completed his second junior year.

ACL injury ended his senior season.

Dickerson is the post-Jason Kelce plan. Again, I love his play. He’s powerful and mean. He’s also bigger than Kelce and appears to have a better anchor. While Kelce will no doubt be a Hall of Famer, we have watched him for a over a decade be ridden back into QB’s from Michael Vick to Jalen Hurts. I don’t see that being an issue with Dickerson.

This pick is the primary example of what I meant when I said restocking. Having to rehab, he’s clearly not meant to contribute in 2021, but that high pick means that his contribution is expected soon.

Round 3 (73rd overall): DT Milton Williams (Q)

At 284 pounds, and possessing an average college first step, he will be a liability against the run in the NFL. If he’s exclusively played as a 3rd down interior pass rusher, he might find a role. If he’s moved to weak-side DE, he may even find a way to start some games. Otherwise, this just seems like a bad pick.

Round 4 (123rd overall): CB Zech McPhearson (Q)

I can’t offer a solid opinion on him, because all I could find was highlight videos. There was no video that showed who he is down-in and down-out. In the limited bits that I can piece together (from other player’s videos), he looks more like a FS than CB. I’m at a loss for why we waited until 123 to grab a CB.

Round 5 (150th overall): RB Kenneth Gainwell (H)

Last year I wanted WR/RB Antonio Gibson out of Memphis, but Washington got him. This year the Eagles went and got us RB/WR Kenneth Gainwell out of Memphis. While Gainwell is smaller, between the two players, at this stage of their college career, Gainwell is clearly the more natural receiver, and a better blocker. (Just ask Micah Parsons.) Neither runs very hard

Gainwell is an immediate upgrade over RB Boston Scott, though neither of them have that “take it to the house” type speed. His ability to be split out, and run routes like a WR, allows the Eagles to move him around the formation, even while RB Miles Sanders is on the field. We could line up in the I Formation, and audible to Empty, and every bit of that would have to be respected. Look. I’ve got goosebumps!

Round 6 (189th overall): DT Marlon Tuipulotu (M)

Heavy footed and doesn’t gain penetration. Even when the play is run away from him. He may have been good enough to start at his college, but he’ll likely be out of here before training camp is over.

Round 6 (191st overall): DE Tarron Jackson (Q)

Lacks decent first step, because he never really gets into a three point stance. Lines up almost sitting on his heels. When he plays out of two point stance, he gets a much better jump. That however, basically makes him a situational player, who offers nothing vs the run. Again, his biggest flaw can be fixed with coaching, but he still doesn’t seem to have a high ceiling beyond that.

Round 6 (224th overall) : S JaCoby Stevens (M)

Early word has the Eagles wanting to move this 212 pound S to LB. Either move would be a mistake. He lacks a feel for pass coverage as a S, but he doesn’t shed blocks or tackle well enough to be a LB. He also doesn’t initiate contact, and ends up watching more football than he plays. Honestly, it looks like he gets stuck trying to read where the play is going, instead of locking down his area, and forcing plays into the shark tank.

Round 7 (234th overall): EDGE Patrick Johnson (H)

I hate seeing the term “Edge”. Is he lining up at DE or OLB? The responsibilities are very different. Their techniques are very different. Usually “Edge” means either LB who can’t cover, or undersized DE. At 240 pounds, Johnson looks to be the latter.

Despite my bitching about a title, I like what I see on tape. The guy sets the edge before pass rushing, or chasing a tackle. He is nimble enough for stunts, uses his hands to shed blocks, and can cover in an underneath zone. Unfortunately he lines up at DE in a two point stance, which almost eliminates him as being useful vs the run. If he’s going to do that, he needs to move to OLB.

Otherwise, he needs to add 12 pounds and put his hand on the ground.

*******

For this year’s haul, I’d have to say we had four hits, two misses, and three that we’re waiting to see about. Let’s math!

With 9 players drafted, (H)its being worth 2, (M)isses 0, and (Q)uestionables 1, we had a possible score of 18, and scored 11. As a grade, that’s a 61% out of 100. If you recall, 65 was a ‘D’ in school. Not a great haul, Howie. Then again, it is just a restocking.

WHAT I WANT FROM THE DRAFT

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/04/28
Posted in: Conversations, Draft, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, trade, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

WHAT I really want the Eagles to get out of the 2021 NFL Draft is: Clarity.

In the Eagles last game of the 2020 season, they deliberately tanked against Washington. We came into that game slotted in the #9 position for the 2021 Draft, but tanking the game moved us into the #6 position. The 2020 season was a burning heap, and so already the Eagles had turned their attention to arming for the 2021 season.

That indicates that the organization was planning ahead. Which says plainly: We have a plan.

Then Owner Jeffrey Lurie, fired head coach Doug Pederson, and replaced him with Nick Sirianni, who is green enough to have been Reggie White’s jersey. Then General Manager Howie Roseman traded franchise QB Carson Wentz to Indianapolis, and signed QB Joe Flacco to compete with QB Jalen Hurts for the starting job. Man, I wish I were joking about that.

After that, the Eagles traded down in the Draft from #6 to #12, picking up a first rounder in 2022 for their trouble. Shrewd move if the guy they want this year, is likely to be at 12 or lower. However, now the Eagles want to move back up. But that is a move that will likely cost them a first rounder next year. So what was the point of trading the #6 spot, in the first place?!

All indications are that this team is in a tailspin, because the pilot is incompetent.

The team that used to be The Gold Standard, seems to lack the clarity of vision, which has more or less defined them since the turn of the millennium.

Or perhaps this Draft will bring it all home for us. Maybe those 11 picks we have, will be used to complete a puzzle that we just can’t make out right now. That’s extremely doubtful, but I want to put it out there. I WANT to be wrong about my team being rudderless. I WANT the Eagles to show me that they’ve had it under control the whole time.

When this Draft is done, I want us Eagles fans to be able to sit back and say, “Ahhhh. Now I get it. Now it makes sense.” Because right now, it seems like incompetence is in charge. As of right now, it seems like if Howie counted his balls 10 times, he’d never get the same number twice.

EAGLES 2021 DRAFT

Posted by The BEAST on 2021/04/26
Posted in: Conversations, Crazy Talk, Draft, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Rants, Roster, trade. Leave a comment

CAN you remember when you were less excited for a Draft? Unless you served in Vietnam, the answer is probably ‘No’. If I wasn’t as obsessive about this event as I am about Christmas, I might not even know that it was happening this week. Things are low-key in Philly for a reason. What exactly are you looking forward to? Most fans expect disaster.

Most Eagles fans expect General Manager Howie Roseman to blow the whole thing to shit in the first place. Mostly because there’s no voice of reason to say “Hey Stupid, don’t be stupid”, because the guy we have coaching the team, is off somewhere playing paper/rock/scissors, or Uno, or trying to guess the number of jelly beans in jar, with Draft prospects. Meanwhile the owner is thinking that France is looking pretty good right now.

All this, so we can draft another QB at 12th overall, and immediately name him as the starter. Eagles fans smirked at that, but it wasn’t a fun smirk. It was that smirk you do when you’re on the expressway, during a traffic jam, and your stomach makes a (gurgle) noise that tells you that “Until further notice, NO fart is to be trusted!”

If you could buy stock in anxiety, Eagles fans would make you fortune this week.

We pick 12th overall, after moving down 6 spots to pick up an extra first rounder next year. Some fans gave Howie crap for that. I thought the move was rather shrewd. The sort of move you want from a GM. Especially if who we want, is expected to be there at 12 or a little later. This should be idiot-proof.

Then came news that the Eagles now wanted to move back, up. (Wait what?) This is a move that will likely cost us a first rounder. Yes! From next year. So then why did… Has anyone ever done something so stupid, that it made you tick off the progression of events on your fingers? Almost as if you were counting? Howie does this to me. He perplexes me. He vexes me.

Again, this should ALL be idiot-proof!

The Eagles however, employ an advanced species of idiot. One that is capable of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Of complicating the process of falling down. Howie Roseman is no ordinary, run-of-the-mill idiot. He is their Alpha. Their Omega! He is why we’re going to draft a Long Snapper in the first round.

Nah. I’m over-reacting. First round picks are simple, right? Two words:

Danny Watkins.

(Gurgle.)

We pick 12th. If we don’t want a QB, and can’t get TE Kyle Pitts, we should still be in pretty good shape to get a year one, impact player. Maybe a CB who locks down half of our Secondary. Or a WR that changes the dynamic of the entire Offense. All we have to do is NOT, suddenly decide to trade out of the first round. Right??

(Gurgle.)

“PAPER COVERS ROCK, BITCHES!!!”

(Gurgle.)