#6 UTILIZE THE SPEED

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/04/07
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, NFL, Players, Rants, The 12, Uncategorized, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

6-UTILIZE THE SPEED.jpg

OUTSIDE Linebackers Nigel Bradham and Kamu Grugier-Hill, are probably not the fastest OLB duo in the NFL, but each man has better than average speed. However, in 2018 the Eagles did a poor job of using it to it’s full potential. As a result the Defense (quite frankly), underperformed.

The OLB’s generally get used in shallow man or underneath zone coverage, most of the time. They do a pretty good job of reading run keys and filling their run fits. This keeps many inside runs held to small gains. These are all good things.

What we need to do more of, is use these players to attack. Yes, that means more blitzing (as I said in #3). However, it also means more baiting the QB to throw short passes, and then undercutting those routes. Possibly intercepting a Screen pass here and there, and taking it directly to the house.

Our OLB’s should be more than just run and chase guys. It’s not 1962, LB’s should do more than just scrape. We need to adopt and adapt the tactic of using our LB’s as weapons. Similar to how the Bills use their LB’s to disrupt plays, and not be passive observers. They need to be used to intimidate opposing coaches into simply not calling certain plays when they play US.

#5 GIVE MAILATA THE BALL

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/04/06
Posted in: Coaching, NFL, Offense, Players, The 12, Uncategorized, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 2 Comments

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WHEN you have a weapon that nobody else has, you’re almost obligated to cram it down your rival’s throats. It’s almost a requirement to put on vulgar displays of power, and abuse the privilege of the small window that exists until the arms race equalizes. Or maybe that’s just me.

Such is the case with OT Jordan Mailata. No other team in the NFL has anything like Mailata. So we need to be about the business of letting the other 31 teams know that we have him, they don’t, and then educate them on exactly what that means.

Ostensibly, Mailata was brought here to play Offensive Tackle, but that’s not what got him noticed. Prior to being drafted by the Eagles in 2018, he’d never played a down of pro, college, or even high school AMERICAN style, football. In his entire rookie season last year, he never stepped foot on the field. Even on Special Teams.

In 2017 He caught the Front Office’s eye as a rugby player in Australia. (Which lets you know how thorough the Eagles Scouting department is.) He was damned near unstoppable with the ball in his hands, displaying a level of athleticism that is unheard of in 346 pound men who don’t play in the NFL.

To be fair, I can’t say I’ve seen it in the NFL either. Which is why I say give him the ball. Adopt and adapt the tactic of using, practically abusing, all of our unfair advantages. I’d like to see him report as tackle-eligible for a few plays, lining up as an H-Back. Then get the ball into his hands, in short yardage situations.

There’s no need to do anything crazy. Short pass here, a Toss Run there. There’s that Middle Shovel Pass that Chiefs TE Travis Kelce made popular a couple years ago.

And of course we could just motion him into the backfield and hand the damned thing off to him.

Oh yeah, and let’s not forget, he’s actually a blocker! If he lines up at H-back, things like the H-Back Iso are there for the taking.

It would be a way to get Mailata into live action, while LT Jason Peters is still here to mentor him.

And you know what the best part would be? When teams didn’t know if they needed to fight off his block or cover him. Spread out, to account for him. Or pack in, to cause a pile-up? It would be hard for opponents to be effective in short yardage defense, if they were second guessing themselves the whole time before the ball is snapped.

We can do that to them. We already have the player. All we have to do, is do it. We have an unfair advantage here. We need to use it.

#4 WENTZ RUNS FOR 300 YARDS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/04/05
Posted in: Coaching, Offense, Players, stats, The 12, Uncategorized, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

4-WENTZ RUNS FOR 300 YARDS.jpg

GETTING 300 rushing yards out of QB Carson Wentz, should be a priority this season. While that might sound like a lot, it’s just 19 rushing yards per game. Still, there are people who will be skeptical of having the QB run. This is despite how much it helped us be the best team in football in 2017, and how we slipped several notches when he didn’t run much in 2018. 

It’s silly. He’s a football player, not a porcelain doll. Moreover, just a few rushing yards per game can turn even an average QB, into someone that teams need to be wary of. (See: BORTLES, Blake / MARIOTA, Marcus / TRUBISKY, Mitchell). Even when Seattle’s roster sucks, QB Russell Wilson makes them worthy of fear. Running QB’s can even help teams that should get blown out, steal a game here and there. We witnessed this firsthand vs the Titans, last season.

Running QB’s are lethal to defenses. Adopting and adapting the tactic of making the defense worry about ALL 11 offensive players on the field, will only make moving the ball easier for us. (As it did in 2017.) The notion that it’s more dangerous for the QB is a moot point given that Wentz himself said that, he’s still going to run here and there. We may as well strategize to make it more effective.

Look, a quick 5 yard scamper and slide, when the pocket opens up ahead of Wentz? That’s cheap and easy real estate. Go get that! Eat those up! Put pressure on opposing MLB’s and ILB’s. Get them looking at our QB, and losing track of who they have in coverage. Later on that opens up big plays behind them in the passing game.

All for just 19 yards per game.

While we’re on the subject of using our QB like an athlete (wild idea, right?), here’s a play I’d love to see the Eagles run for him.

QB screen

Yes. That’s a QB Screen. Yes, it’s  my design. (Notice how well it’s blocked up?) Imagine Wentz gaining 30 or more yards on that thing.

It’s for when we’re backed up inside our own 10. It’s for 3rd and 11 in a tied game. It’s for the first play of overtime. It’s a momentum stealing, 70-piece, Ultra Combo to the face. You know. One of these:

And for those reasons, we need to do this. Or something very like it.

If opponents now have to be aware of Wentz, they have to plan to contain him. At which point we already have them doing something they aren’t comfortable with. The idea here is to rattle them mentally.

Again, all for the low low price of just 19 yards per game. We’d be fools not to.

#3 BLITZ MORE

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/04/04
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Players, The 12, Uncategorized, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

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WE need to get to opposing QB’s more. Not pressuring them more. Not just hitting them more. We need to get actual sacks. While the Eagles will never be a blitz-heavy team under Defensive Coordinator Jim Schwartz, he needs to turn it loose more often. (Told you I’d bring it up soon.)

The theory is that hurries should create interceptions, the reality is that sacks often do create fumbles. Also, sack-fumbles are easier to turn into defensive touchdowns than interceptions are. Here’s an example of how immediately a sack-fumble can affect a game’s outcome:

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Besides, how much pressure can we really be applying, with all the off-coverage that we play? How much pressure can we really be applying, when we allow opponents a 66.6 completion percentage? (9th worst in the NFL.) How much pressure can we really be applying, when in 626 pass attempts by opponents, we only come away with 10 interceptions in 16 games.

Opponents have realized that our bark (hurries) is a lot worse than our bite (actual sacks). As a result, opposing QB’s are standing in those pockets, with total faith that they’ll have time to get the ball to an open man. And we keep making them right for doing so! We too often, don’t make teams pay for doing that.

This monotonous four man rush, has yielded some highly mixed results. Before you mention that we went 13 – 3 and  won a Super Bowl with this system, keep Four Things in mind:

1) We also went 7 – 9 with it.

2) We also went 9 – 7 with it.

3) We gave up an all-time record number of passing yards in that Super Bowl win.

4) If it wasn’t for that Super Bowl’s only sack (sack-fumble), we may have allowed a comeback.

So let’s not get cocky about our four man rush. It’s praised for it’s hits, but it generates an awful lot of misses.

We need to turn up the heat. And we need to turn it up more often. Like the Bears did last year getting 50 sacks and keeping opposing QB’s to a rating of 72.9. (That’s not a typo.) They got sacks from everywhere, including 6 from their secondary.

Settling for hurries with these simple four man rushes… It seems like teams have figured us out. It’s time to adopt and adapt new tactics.

We need to blitz more.

#2 PLAY SOME DAMNED PRESS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/04/03
Posted in: Coaching, Defense, Players, stats, The 12, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

2-PLAY SOME PRESS

DEFENSIVE Coordinator Jim Schwartz is not going to abandon the principles that have built his career thus far. However, it’s clear that the old dog needs to learn a couple of new tricks. We need to become more disruptive of opposing passing games. We need to play some damned press coverage.

We don’t need to do it every down. That’s not who we are. But a 3rd and 7 should never come with a clean release off the line. Especially given how rarely this team blitzes. (We’ll also get into that soon, in another edition of The 12.) Adopting and adapting tactics that work, is just being smart. Observe:

Schwartz like to use off-coverage. He likes his Cornerbacks to play with a “cushion” of 5 or so yards off the line of scrimmage, so that they can read the intent of the receiver. (Is it an inside route, an outside route, a GO route, etc.?) That allows the CB to constrict their area of responsibility, release (if needed) the receiver to underneath LB coverage, and inform the Safety about where they have to be to help deep.

Last year the Eagles defense allowed opposing QB’s a 66.6 completion percentage (9th worst in the NFL). We also allowed 4,308 passing yards (3rd worst), 60 passes of 20 or more yards (tied for 3rd worst), collected just 10 interceptions (only 7 teams had fewer)*.

On the plus side, we only gave up 6 passes of 40 or longer (only 3 teams allowed fewer), and only 22 touchdowns all year (only 7 teams allowed fewer). Then again why would a team gamble if we keep giving them easy completions?

We aren’t giving up the big plays, but we also aren’t getting our Defense off the field. Plus, the longer the opponent has the ball, the more opportunities they have to do something dangerous with it.

We simply aren’t doing enough to get teams off the field. We aren’t doing enough to create turnovers. We aren’t doing enough to turn so many hurries into sack/fumbles. We aren’t doing enough to be disruptive. That 66.6 completion percentage (9th worst) tells that tale. New Orleans (both games) tells that tale.

Good but not good enough. If the mission is to win, then similar to the Patriots, we need to adjust to the situation, then adopt and adapt those tactics that will help us accomplish our goal. One of those things would be more of this:

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2
3
4

*NOTE: I use the “only x# teams had fewer” line, because of the screwy way the NFL ranks ties in a category. Note that both the Eagles and Bengals are ranked 9th , and how there is is no 10th ? As you can see, I made the adjustment and placed us 9th worst, not tied for 9th worst.

NFL ties

Both teams allowed a 66.6% completion rate, but going one decimal place over (Cincy .6660, Philly .6661), would allow for a definitive ranking. The NFL however, stops shy of that for some reason. This is just lazy stat keeping on the NFL’s part.

Keeping inaccurate stats helps fans make silly mistakes in debates, and look foolish for doing so. This can’t happen to you, because I do the homework to keep you looking good out there.

#1 RUSH FOR 2,000 YARDS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/04/02
Posted in: Coaching, Offense, playoffs, stats, The 12, Uncategorized, X's and O's. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

1 - RUSH FOR 2000.jpg

RUSHING for 2,000 yards has to be one of the goals for the 2019 season. If another Super Bowl win is our mission, then we must pay respect to a very basic NFL truth. Specifically: If you want to win playoff games, pack your defense and your run game.

When the Eagles won the Super Bowl in 2017, we ran for 2,115. Last year in 2018, we ran for 1,570. See the difference?

During the regular season last year, we won 9 games. In each of those 9 wins, the Eagles ran the ball at least 20 times on non-QB carries. Our lone playoff win also fits into this category. We lost every game in 2018 where we didn’t run the ball at least 20 times.

Since 1999, the Eagles have run for 2,000 yards six times. Of those six times, we reached the Super Bowl twice (one win), and the NFC Championship game three times (two wins). More importantly, we only missed the playoffs, once. (Note: in 1980, the Eagles as a team, ran for 1,995 yards. We lost that Super Bowl)

We need to make a solid commitment to running opponents down physically. We need to make a solid commitment to controlling the clock. We need to make a solid commitment to limiting an opponents opportunities to posses the ball.

The NFL season is a marathon, not a sprint. It is a war of attrition. It’s critical that we adopt and adapt the tactics to accomplish our goal. In this case we need look no further than our own recent past.

So let’s get to wearing away our obstacles. Setting a goal of 125 rushing yards per game, and then executing it, does exactly that.

UPDATE: I wrote this on 3/4/19. Since then we acquired RB Jordan Howard via trade. I think the Eagles and I are on the same page right at the outset of these.

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Jordan Howard posing with his jersey, standing outside of (ughhhh) my job.

 

THE AAF IN PHILADELPHIA

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/04/01
Posted in: Conversations, Fans, Rants, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

AAFMAP.0

GENERALLY I don’t do interviews. Since I’m not an actual journalist, I usually can’t get direct access to athletes, coaches, general managers and owners of sports teams. The idea of talking to a fan with a “blog or whatever” doesn’t hold much appeal for people who already have large distribution media hanging on their every word.

As it happened however, on Saint Patrick’s Day, I managed to get into a liquor fueled shoving match with a guy, after he spilled his drinks on himself. He was walking backwards, carrying two drinks and shouting across the room. While it’s true that I was doing the same thing, I didn’t spill my drinks. So as you can see, that shit was totally HIS fault.

After my fingers were pried from his throat, I found out that he’s a lesser known figure in pro football. When I told him that I had a site, he asked if I wanted to interview him. To which I said. “Fuck. Why not?”

His name is Eugene Nicks, and he wants to start an AAF (Alliance of American Football) team here in Philadelphia.

PhillySportsZone

Image courtesy of Philly Sports Zone*

To this point the AAF has not contacted him, and he has several theories on why that is.

BEAST: First of all, I want to thank you for agreeing to this interview, and for dropping the charges.

EUGENE: I never said I was dropping the charges.

BEAST: Fair enough. Okay Eugene-

EUGENE: Mr. Nicks.

BEAST: Fair enough. Alright dude, why do you think the AAF hasn’t contacted you?

EUGENE: (Points to his MAGA hat) I think they’re worried about public perception, with their league being so young. Especially after what happened with Kaepernick and the Pledge of Allegiance.

BEAST: Yeah, no. It wasn’t the- You know what? Neverm- You said there were several reasons?

EUGENE: With Philly being home to like what is it 5, 8 million people?

BEAST: One point six.

EUGENE: Nooooo. It’s bigger than that. Gotta be. Gotta be. Know what? The number isn’t important. The point is that the market here is huge! The AAF should have a presence here, if they want to survive. But they don’t want a guy like me, because I have a history of telling the truth. Because I bring up subjects that make people uncomfortable.

BEAST: Subjects like?

EUGENE: Reparations for White people. I belong to certain groups that strongly believe we White people are owed for our contributions towards the development of Black athletes. I’m not saying that slavery was good, but there were, how can I say…unintended benefits, of that institution. Through a couple hundred years of selective breeding, Whites were able to create a race of super-athletes. Blacks have capitalized on that, and have made millionaires out of people with no other discernible skill or ability, beyond what we gifted them.

BEAST: Holy shit, dude.

EUGENE: There’s also the letter I wrote, saying that it’s in the leagues best interest to get an early handle on the salary issues. To make sure that we keep control of the plantation, so to speak.

BEAST: Plantation? Seriously? Are you- Seriously? Surely you’re aware that your rhetoric is overtly racist. Of course the AAF wants no part of you.

EUGENE: Racist? You say potato, I say potato.

BEAST: You just said “potato” the same way twice.

EUGENE: My racism isn’t even their biggest issue with me. It’s my insistence that we introduce new elements into the game. To help differentiate us from the NFL.

BEAST: New elements might be good. What kind of new elements?

EUGENE: Animals. The ball should be a cat, and you should have to get that cat, safely into the end zone. If the cat ends up dead, the team loses the game then and there. If the cat is just injured, it’s a penalty. A healthy cat makes it into the end zone, it’s 6 points. There would be no concussions because you couldn’t tackle too hard. And there would always be an element of chance to every game, because with the ball fighting to get away, the turnovers would be impossible to plan for. And of course players wouldn’t be allowed to wear any wrist or forearm protection. Gotta give the ball a fair chance to get away, right? Plus you’d have to be careful on the recovery of a fumble, because again, squished cat equals dead cat. Dead cat equals loss. So imagine what the bottom of a pile would look like!

BEAST: I can’t believe, I’m entertaining this, but… What about the passing game?

EUGENE: Can you imagine the fear in a wide receiver’s eyes as he worried about the hit AND being clawed up by the ball as it hissed and yowled through the air?

BEAST: People can’t throw a cat 30 yards!!

EUGENE: For enough money, and with enough vodka in their system, people will sure as hell try. That’s my other innovation. We’d replace water with vodka. Cramps, dehydration, bloody scratches, screaming cats twisting through the air… Drunk players stumbling everywhere, terrified of hitting each other, but still trying to… Tell me you wouldn’t pay to see that.

BEAST: I wouldn’t pay to see that.

EUGENE: Then you my friend, would be missing out.

BEAST: Don’t call me your friend.

EUGENE: Then you good buddy, would be missing out.

For those who’ve made it this far, let me just say APRIL FOOLS!

Love you folks! THE 12, starts tomorrow.

*Note: Shout out to Philly Sports Zone, for having a picture I could use as click bait, and being a media voice who actually has the “Philly Accent”. Most Philadelphian’s don’t have it, and we get sick of hearing about it. But it was interesting to hear football being broken down by a guy who does have it.

LANDING COLLINS

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/03/05
Posted in: Defense, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), NFC East, NFL, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

 

Collins Jenkins.jpg

CAP space is limited. However, there are a bunch of you who hope that (GM) Howie Roseman can pull off a miracle, and make it so we can afford either RB Le’Veon Bell, or WR Antonio Brown. Well, my hope would be for SS Landon Collins.

SS Malcolm Jenkins is 31, and FS Rodney McLeod is coming off of an injury. Thinking of the future and building depth are not issues to be taken lightly. Also there is the idea of line-up flexibility. Three proven playmakers in a Nickel or Dime package, minimizes any falloff from us not being in our base defense.

The knock on Collins is that he’s more of an “in the box” Safety than a cover Safety. So what? He can cover, he’s just better near the line and in zones. No harm in that. Given how much we ask our LB’s to cover, that just makes him a better version of what we have in LB Kamu Grugier-Hill. For that matter, we could make the Nickel our base. Shit, half the time we do that anyway! (As you can see by KGH and former Eagle OLB Mychal Kendricks number of starts.)

Considering how good Collins has been for four years on a bad giants defense, it stands to reason that he’d be a force magnifier on a good unit. The Eagles defensive line can actually force QB’s into making errors, and plays the run well enough to allow him to play Safety, instead of Mr. Do-It-All.

It shouldn’t take a miracle to convince him to come to a team that just won Super Bowl two years ago, and still has a strong enough nucleus to do it again soon. Not a miracle, but he will want a lot of money. Deservedly so.

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Adding him here would do two important things. It would add depth and talent to our roster,, and keep him out of Dallas or Washington, while stealing him from New York. Particularly in the case of Dallas, as they may soon add FS Earl Thomas. Adding both Thomas and Collins, is an immediate and massive upgrade over current Safeties Jeff Heath and Xavier Woods.

Eagles fans, we don’t need that kind of headache in our lives.

Instead of trading for and then breaking the bank, on a WR who will only cry when TE Zach Ertz sees more targets than he does. Instead of breaking the bank, on a RB who has a penchant for missing games that have nothing to do with injuries. Instead of doing these things, why not add a player who shifts the balance of power in the division, just by signing?

Note: For those keeping score, so far my Free Agent Wish List consists of Latatvius Murray, LeGarrette Blount,

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and Landon Collins. That’s not my whole list, but I want to see who else hits the cutting room floor, before I just jump on the first few names. These guys all fit what we do, so they’re easy to add early.

FREE AGENT: NICK FOLES

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/02/28
Posted in: Conspiracy Corner, Conversations, Defense, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, Roster, trade, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , . Leave a comment

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LETTING QB Nick Foles become a Free Agent isn’t a good thing. It’s a great thing. This is the only smart move the Eagles could have made, and as a fan, I’m stoked that they saw that. Besides, this just made it easier for us to bring Foles back, at a price we can live with, for years.

Six days ago I said we should let him become a FA, then make him an offer of 50M over 5 years, with 30 guaranteed over 3. (Here’s that article) I still say we should float that out to him. If he bites, awesome. As I said, we’d have him at an affordable price until he retires. If he doesn’t, then he goes to a team that he can lead for a couple of years.

Either way, we don’t get saddled with a tag we can’t afford, on a QB we then couldn’t trade.

Foles was due 20M that we were never going to pay him in 2019. So he “bought his freedom” (yikes) for 2M, which allowed him to become a FA if he wished. This left the Eagles with the option to tag him for around 25M. That sets up a tag and trade situation, right? Right?! Wrong.

If the Eagles had already indicated that we wouldn’t shell out 20M, then why would we shell out 25? Every GM in the NFL with two brain cells to rub together, would realize that it’s just a matter of time before we had to cut Foles, at which point they could go after him for free, without having to give us anything in a trade. They could just wait us out.

In my sickest fantasy, we would have packaged our 1st rounder and Foles, in a trade to Jacksonville to move up from 25th to 7th , and get maybe a 4th or 5th rounder to boot. However, after the trade of QB Joe Flacco from Baltimore to Denver, it seemed that the market for trades had been set, and that it was a buyer’s, not a seller’s market.

That meant the Eagles would have no leverage in trying to move Foles. This is why I wrote last week, about just keeping him. Foles is more valuable as an Eagles player, than as an Eagles bargaining chip. Also, for a man of faith who says that where he plays matters, the Eagles are more valuable to Foles as well.

But…Let’s play Devil’s Advocate. Despite him being 30 already, let’s look at where Foles could get a shot to be “The Man”:

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1) Jacksonville: They’re a team that’s built to win now. The question is whether or not Foles fits in, with what can be an very up and down locker room, that isn’t known for handling adversity well. If they don’t get off to a good start, Foles might wish he never left Philly.

2) Washington: The organization is a shit show from top to bottom. The owner is an idiot. The head coach was 21 – 26 – 1 and he was given a two year extension in 2017. Since then, he’s 14 – 18, which brings him to 35 – 44 – 1 (.444) for his career. The weapons are mediocre. There is no standard for excellence there. Foles would be a fool to sign there. At least without a Kirk Cousins type deal. Which would be so ironic, it might kill me from laughter.

3) Arizona: Rumor has the Cardinals trading away their young QB, which means they’d need a signal caller. Foles played college ball out there in Arizona and most of his family is still in Texas, where he was born and raised. He’d get to play with RB David Johnson, and whatever is left of WR Larry Fitzgerald. Aside from that, he’d have to live with water drought, playoff drought, scoring drought, an offensive line that’s allowed 104 sacks over the last two years… Arizona is in rebuild mode. Foles would need a concussion to decide to sign here.

Basically comes down to if Foles is serious about being part of great team, or whether or not he wants to make a final cash grab. Is he willing to tarnish his legacy by starting for a mediocre team? We shall soon find out.

WHY NOT KEEP NICK FOLES?

Posted by The BEAST on 2019/02/21
Posted in: Conversations, free agents, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Offense, Players, Roster, trade, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 3 Comments

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FRANCHISE Tag? Transition Tag? Tag him and trade him? Tag you’re it? Chatter right now is about whether or not the Eagles will tag and trade, QB Nick Foles.

There’s growing speculation that they Eagles won’t, because if they can’t trade him, we’re stuck paying him roughly 25M$ to be a back-up, due to the tag. Growing speculation is that the Eagles can’t afford that gamble, and so may have to let Foles walk as a Free Agent, free and clear.

That means all interested teams have to do, is sit and wait us out.

The problem is in the form of trade partners. There are teams who have established QB, who aren’t going anywhere in 2019:

PHI – Carson Wentz

NYG – Eli Manning

DAL – Dak Prescott

MIN – Kirk Cousins

GB – Aaron Rogers

DET – Matt Stafford

CHI – Mitch Trubisky

NO – Drew Brees

ATL – Matt Ryan

CAR – Cam Newton

TB – Jameis Winston

SF – Jimmy Garafolo

SEA – Russell Wilson

LAR – Jared Goff

NE – Tom Brady

PIT – Ben Roethlisberger

BAL – Lamar Jackson

CLE – Baker Mayfield (I got halfway through typing Johnny Manziel)

CIN – Andy Dalton

IND – Andrew Luck

TEN – Marcus Mariota

HOU – Deshaun Watson

KC – Pat Mahomes

LAC – Phillip Rivers

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That’s 24 of 32 teams that wouldn’t gamble what they have for a shot a Foles. The remaining eight:

WAS – Is still waiting for an updated timetable for Alex Smith’s rehab.

ARI – Drafted Josh Rosen last year. Speculation is that Rosen could end up in NE, which would open up a possible landing spot for Foles near the place where he played college ball.

NYJ – Are content to let Sam Darnold continue his on the job training.

BUF – Josh Allen had a bad rookie year, but he was last year’s #7 overall pick, so the Bills can’t give up on him this soon.

MIA – Does Ryan Tannehill get another year? Do they draft a QB? No one has a clue what’s going on with the Fins.

JAC – Blake Bortles bags are packed and sitting by the door. While this team could draft a passer, they’re built to win now, and so would best be served by an experienced hand with playoff pedigree.

OAK – Derek Carr is the guy. The only reason he’s in this group and not the other, is the unpredictability of the Raiders Front Office.

DEN – Just traded for what’s left of Joe Flacco.

Of that group, only Washington, Arizona, and Jacksonville really seem to be in the market for a QB. Which poses a problem for the Eagles, when it comes to trying to trade Foles. Fewer possible trade partners, means we have less leverage to uh…incentivize teams to give us something juicy for Foles.

However, a choked market also means it will be harder for Foles as a FA. If few spots want to add a starter, he could just end up a back-up elsewhere. That is unless he wants to start for Washington or Arizona, two programs currently in turmoil. Dysfunction almost made him retire once. Jacksonville seems like the best fit, but we shouldn’t just let them grab him. Right?

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Hey! Here’s a crazy thought. What if we kept him? He’s frequently said that he loves it here. He’s also said that who he plays with, and the environment he plays in, matters to him. So why not put that to the test? He wants to play FA, okay. Offer him 50M$ over 5 years, with 3 of those years guaranteed. 

Aside from the current Joe Flacco (18M) / Case Keenum (21M) situation in Denver, there is no back-up in football approaching 10M per year. None. Done this way, Foles gets to stay in a place he loves, in a system that plays to his strengths, as he soaks up crazy bench fees, while staying pretty healthy to boot. And if we do need him to step in here or there, his coaches, teammates, and even he himself, has no jitters about what to expect.

He is the ultimate insurance policy for THIS CITY, and he should, and could be paid like it.

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This literally settles everything, and makes a deep strike at making sure that Nick Foles never wears another teams colors, ever again.