While any idiot can say “Hey let’s sign every high-priced Free Agent on the market”. THE 12 focuses on what we can do with what we already have, to fix or improve our team.
WEAPONS are only effective if you use them correctly. This offseason, the Eagles re-signed CB James Bradberryfor 38M$ over three years; and restructured CBDarius Slay for 42M$ over three years. That’s 80M$ worth of CB over the next three years. So we’d better be about the business of using them correctly.
Putting them on cushions, backing them off five yards or more, is not the way to go. It prevents a CB from being burned right off the line of scrimmage, but if you have the sort of CB’s who can be beaten like that, you DON’T pay them 80 mil over three years. Capiche?
The best use of these guys is in aggressive Man-Press coverage. They should be in a receiver’s face, at the line of scrimmage. This takes away easy Slant routes; discourages WR Screens; flattens the blocking angle against the run; and lets the CB redirect the route, to throw off the timing of rhythm based passing games.
It also makes opposing QB’s hold the ball for a second or two longer. That would allow the pass rush to get home, and suffocate drives in their infancy. Or even better, lead directly to turnovers. That however won’t happen if opposing QB’s can just 1-2-3-FIRE!, 1-2-3-FIRE! We need to take that option off the board, immediately.
That’s not saying we shouldn’t mix up the coverage, and do some cushion work here and there. I’m saying it should be highly irregular. Teams should be almost confused when we give them a look that seems like an easy completion. Any time it looks like we’ve eased up, they should be mistrustful of the option we’re presenting them. They should immediately feel fucked with.
When in Man-Press, we should default to Cover Two on the back end. That way when a CB is beaten early, and the ball is quickly zipped to an opposing receiver, as that ball gets to him, there’s also a Safety arriving with just the absolute worst of intentions. What kind of hit are we talking? An absolutely FINE one, if you take my meaning.
Receivers should be jostled and frustrated, when trying to run routes, and brutalized when they do catch a ball. In the end, they should dread the idea of playing the Eagles. But first we gotta turn up the heat.
CORNERBACKSDarius Slay and James Bradberry are seen as possibly the best starting Man-to-Man duo, in the NFL. If that’s the case, then they should be allowed to play more Man and less Zone. If that happens, then we should see them lining up closer to WR’s, instead of giving them cushions of five yards or more.
Eagles fans spent 2021 calling for the head of Defensive Coordinator Jonathan Gannon. Whether it was the huge cushions, the lack of blitzing, the unimaginative use of the LB’s, we weren’t happy with last year’s meager 29 sacks and 12 interceptions. Eagles brass (who had assembled that roster), hinted that maybe Gannon just needed better players.
So they went out and added a premier pass rusher in LB Hasaan Reddick. Added a premier CB in Bradberry. Even added some speed with LBKyzir White. And that’s just among the proven NFL veterans! We also added two top-shelf defensive rookie talents. So “a lack of talent to work with” is no longer an excuse in Philadelphia.
Courtesy of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Now that we have the cover men, we can shrink those cushions and make QB’s hold the ball a second or two longer. That will give our pass rush time to get their mitts on him. Or that QB can be an idiot, and throw the ball against tighter coverage. Sure, every so often that will result in a big play for the opposing offense, but it will also mean more chances at the ball for our Defense.
Giving swagger to a defense requires showing confidence in it first. If you want something to sprout, you have to water it first. Work, THEN results. There are no shortcuts. Being lazy today, only robs you in the future.
We went and got the guys. Now let’s let them play their game.
AFTER weeks of speculation over whether we would, the Philadelphia Eagles have finally signed free agent CB Steve Nelson, formerly of the Steelers and the Chiefs. One of the loudest voices trying to lure him here, was CB Darius Slay. By most peoples calculations (and Slay’s), this should give the Eagles a shutdown duo. Especially with the coming changes to the defensive scheme.
I do however, have a couple of questions. Why were we able sign him? Why only a 1 year, 4M$ deal? Many Eagles fans will say “Shut up! Just take the gift!”, but I’m not wired like that. I crave knowledge. I didn’t see any stories about him being arrested or anything like that. So maybe he’s not a great locker room guy? I dunno.
Nelson is just 28, has been durable, and started a ton. He’s also been moved on from, twice in his career. The two coaches to do so, were Andy Reid and Mike Tomlin, respectively. Those are not coaches known for giving up on players. Especially promising ones.
For some reason though, he’d just been sitting in free agency limbo since March. While a few teams were kicking the tires, it was reported that they (and the Eagles), had reservations about paying him north of 3M$ per year.
Honestly, 3M per year for CB with Nelson’s resume, doesn’t seem that expensive to me. The idea of being able to negate a 20M$ WR with a 3M$ CB, strikes me as a win. What confuses me, is now that the leap has been made, why only one year? Why the lack of commitment? Why are we still not sold on him?
When General Manager Howie Roseman inked Slay last year, it was for 3 years, 50M$, with 26M guaranteed. Slay was 29, had been durable, and started a ton.
Despite Nelson ticking those same boxes, his deal has me wondering why the Eagles didn’t try to lock him down, before he plays his way into a more lucrative deal.
It’s not like there’s going to be an open competition for the spot, because he’ll plenty of opportunity to shine. Nelson and Slay (barring injury), are your starters at CB in 2021. This is the reality. The Eagles aren’t spending 4 mil on a guy, to watch him ride pine.
Rookie CB Zech MacPherson may get to challenge for the spot in 2022, but any fantasies he entertained of winning a starting role in 2021, are officially dead. Still, I’ll be keeping an eye on how Nelson gels with his teammates. Especially with everyone predicting that we’ll have a rough season.
OVER the decades, Eagles fans are used to hearing “I believe we can win with the guys in this locker room.” We’ve also heard (with regard to wish list free agents), “We’re not thinking about anyone who’s not on this roster.” As Eagles fans we’re used to quotes like that. Which makes what CB Darius Slay is doing, stick out so much.
Slay has been campaigning for weeks now, to bring in free agent CB Steve Nelson. Let’s clear something up right away. I’m not saying that Slay is wrong to want to add Nelson. I think Nelson is better than every Eagles CB aside from Slay. There is no doubting that he would be an upgrade in talent.
However, unlike Slay, I’m not on the Eagles roster. There is no way for Slay to say that Nelson should be the other starting CB, without saying that CB Avonte Maddox should take a seat. Jumping up and down and shouting for a free agent, is not a vote of confidence in Maddox. In fact, it’s saying that Slay doubts that Maddox can get the job done.
It’s a slick way of calling Maddox trash, without repeatedly brushing his feet with a broom. For weeks now, I’ve sat back and waited for the local media to ask “Did Slay call Maddox, trash?” As usual they ducked the obvious story, for fear they’d ruffle feathers. (See what I did there?)
So I’m here asking the question. Did Slay-
ULTERIOR MOTIVE ALERT! ULTERIOR MOTIVE ALERT!
Okay, okay. I only asked that question, to ask a more important one. If Eagles players can openly call Maddox trash, how far is that honesty allowed to roam? Let me give you some examples:
Is anyone going to call out C Jason Kelce and G Isaac Seumalo for ending up in a QB’s lap too often? At what point can teammates tell WR Jalen Reagor that his routes should be as well run as his mouth? Is it okay to say, that when he starts, QB Jalen hurts the Offense? (See what I did there? Don’t act like you didn’t like it!)
I say this because we are at the beginning of a new culture here. Players baptizing each other is over and out the door. That went away with OCFrank Reich, TE Trey Burton, QB Nick Foles, QB Carson Wentz, and HC Doug Pederson. This is a new locker room. And for their opening trick, we have a player ever so slyly, being thrown under a bus.
Honestly, where else could you go, to get such a no bullshit perspective, like this? Admit it. I spoil you.
SILVER linings, right? Last year in 2018, our Secondary was decimated by a vicious injury bug that resulted in having to start 13 different players over the course of 16 regular season games. While that wasn’t a good thing, it worked itself into a very long-lasting positive. It forced our young Secondary players to grow up fast. Especially at CB.
The seeds of last year’s efforts are already producing fruit. It’s great that we get back CB Ronald Darbyfrom a mid-season blown ACL, CB Jalen Mills from a mid-season foot injury, and CB Sidney Jones from late season hamstring strain. Even better however, is the fact that CB Rasul Douglas and CB Avonte Maddox are openly challenging for the spots that they effectively manned last year.
Rasul Douglas
Let’s not forget about reserve CB’s Cre’Von LeBlanc, and free agent signee Blake Countess. LeBlanc has proven dangerous, and quick study as a Nickel here. Countess has a few starts for the Rams, but not in our system. So it remains to be seen if he takes well to it.
Still, that puts us six CB’s deep, with a seventh possible. Four of whom (Darby, Mills, Douglas and Maddox) can be referred to as big game tested, legit starters in this league. Name another team that can boast that.
That’s not to say that 2019 doesn’t bring a few question marks with it.
Sidney Jones has struggled to stay healthy since before we drafted him. He has yet to be 100% since becoming a pro. A lot of his struggles can clearly be traced back to him not yet trusting his body’s recovery. The hope is that it doesn’t permanently damage his confidence. Can he finally justify the second round pick the Eagles bestowed upon him?
Jalen Mills is a better Nickle than outside Corner because he has trouble with true speed. Also his tackling degenerated to that of an ankle-biter, when he plays on the edge. He’s an emotional spark plug though, and every good Secondary has to have one or two of those. Mills was the Starter when he went down. Will Mills start on the outside in 2019?
Ronald Darby’s stock in trade is his ability to turn and run with true speed. However, coming off a second serious injury in two years (2017 broken leg, 2018 torn ACL), you have to wonder how much of his ability to accelerate and gear down RELIABLY, still remains.
This is football. You don’t have it back, until you prove that you do. Does Darby still have the speed that sets him apart, or he just average now?
The odds on favorites at starter are Darby and Jones, right now. However, Rasul Douglas and Avonte Maddox have been turning heads in Mini-Camp. True, it’s shorts and no real contact. It’s just glorified catch, meant to wake the body up, introduce new concepts, and integrate new players. Still, when given the opportunity to show out, you should show up, and these young guys are.
Again, if Countess pans out we could end up with seven bonafide players here. The Eagles will likely only keep six, possibly squirreling Maddox away under the FS position (since it’s what he played before last year forced him to change that). In any case, we are COVERED at Cornerback.
DEFENSIVE Coordinator Jim Schwartz brought with him a version of the Wide Nine defense, that was leveraged (smarter) differently, than the version that Eagles fans saw run under Jim Washburn/Juan Castillo, toward the end of Andy Reid’s tenure here. Schwartz’s system does a better job of getting pressure with our front four, than we have at any time since 1992. What Schwartz doesn’t seem to be able to do, is find a CB.
Oh, we’ve run the gamut in our search! We’ve kept veterans from the prior regime (Nolan Carroll). We’ve brought in guys who played in a Schwartz system before (Ron Brooks, and Leodis McKelvin, both former Bills). We brought in re-treads (Patrick Robinson). Drafted talent early (Sidney Jones). Reached on a project (Rasul Douglas). Promoted a gritty underdog (Jalen Mills). Now we even traded away Jordan Matthews, the WR with the best proven chemistry with our QB, in exchange for a third Bills CB (Ronald Darby).
We’ve swapped out physical guys like Dwayne Gratz, and cut then brought back finesse guys like Aaron Grymes. In the last two years, we’ve had a ton of CB’s and DB’s come and go in Philly. So many different kinds of athletes. So many varied gifts. So why can’t we find a decent starting pair of CB’s?
The answer is that we probably already found a pair of starting Corners. Fact is, the athletes aren’t the problem. The system isn’t the problem. The DC isn’t the problem. All of those are great. The problem is the coverage technique that Defensive Backs coach Cory Undlin is teaching the Corners (likely at the behest of Schwartz).
If Darby grabs 5 picks this year, most folks will say that I’m just a crank for talking about this. On the other hand, if he ends up on the pile like all the others have, we will have given up a valuable piece for something we already have plenty of.
JALEN Mills,Ron Brooks, Sidney Jones, and Rasul Douglas. Those are our top four CB’s on the roster. These four guys (plus one or two others) will make the team, and man the boundaries of our Defense. In fact, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that our Week One starting CB’s will be (barring injury), Mills and Douglas.
While that may come across as bravado or confidence, I assure you that it’s the opposite. Complete opposite. I’m worried ab— More accurately, I’m terrified of our CB situation. Did you know that between them, all four of those guys have a combined ZERO career interceptions?
Brooks has hung around for 5 NFL seasons, yet doesn’t have a single turnover (via interception, forced fumble, or fumble recovery) to his credit. Mills has a year under his belt, and may just have been a 7th round steal last year; but he only started 2 games, and played a lot of Nickel Corner. So as 16 game starters go, he’s still extremely raw. The other two CB’s are rookies. One of which will likely start the year on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list.
The most veteran CB/experienced starter on the roster, is Patrick Robinson.
Robinson iswearing his 4th different jersey in 4 years, so I have to wonder why teams keep signing him, starting him, and then not even keeping him around for depth, less than a year later. To me that comes across as a huge red flag. Some fans hope for him to be a mentor, but that seems unlikely.
A fellow fan told me this week, that he’d seen Robinson listed #1 on our depth chart. If so, then the likelihood that he’ll mentor a young guy who’ll impact his chance to start, is very thin. Besides, word around the campfire has it that he ain’t exactly a vocal locker room guy to begin with.
This isn’t to discount other players at the position. I liked what I saw in Aaron Gyrmes last preseason. I was irritated when he was cut, instead of a couple of DC Jim Schwartz‘s favoritism recipients. It would be smart to get a good look at former Jaguar, Dwayne Gratz since he’s a CB who likes to hit. Also Terrence Brooks, who snagged a pick and forced a fumble in our win over the giants last year, deserves to be here until at least final cut downs this year. That said, none of those three is someone you’d be enthusiastic about starting just yet.
So we have compromised health, no mentors, and no proven game-changer (at this level). That leaves us with the hope that Sidney Jones will rescue the position when he finally gets to see his first live action. Either that or we have to hope to be pleasantly surprised by whomever starts opposite Mills. Also we have to hope that the coaches didn’t see fool’s gold in Mills last year. That’s a lot of saying “hope”.
Our shakiest position from last season, comes a ton of change but zero certainties heading into this season. Instead of knowing that we have bedrock, we’re building a foundation on what we hope to be solid ground. So as I said, I’m terrified. More accurately, I’m scared shitless.
Well, here’s hoping that we’ll be pleasantly surprised.
DURING the beginning of 2016 our Safeties were making plays on the ball, because opposing QB’s were testing our entire Secondary looking for soft spots. Well they found those soft spots along the sidelines vs our CB’s. After that there was no reason to risk throwing at the Safeties much.
While some of the blame can be laid at the feet of players “getting comfortable in the new system”, most of it can be put on the Corners themselves. Too often they gave up huge cushions, and didn’t do a good job of leveraging their coverage to trap WR’s on the outside, to narrow the passing windows. They just didn’t get in anybody’s face last year, and that has to change in 2017.
Our CB’s have to be more physical and do a better job of disrupting timing routes. They have to not allow “Crosses”, “Drags”, and “Slants” to develop cleanly. Anything our Defense can do to throw off the rhythm of opposing offenses, forces those offenses to improvise. This gets away from what they practiced and so not everyone is on the same page. That will usually work in favor of our Defense. It will also force opposing QB’s to hold the ball a little longer, and that gives our pass rush time to get home.
ASIDE from QB Carson Wentz, 2016’s Draft was a disaster. We took eight players in last year’s Draft, and aside from Wentz, not one of them is good enough to be a Starter in 2017. That being said, we should go easy on that draft. We didn’t have an idea of who we were going to be as a team yet. There was no way of predicting what character would emerge from the new culture brought in by rookie Head Coach Doug Pederson.
Sixteen games later, we now have an idea of who we are, and of who we’re trying to be. So in the 2017 Draft, we need to add players who can enhance our strengths, and minimize (if not completely eliminate) our shortcomings.
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PARABLE: A man needed milk for his cereal and a loaf of bread. Having only 6$ on him, he figured he could cover both, so he went to the market. At the market he got a loaf of bread costing him 3.69, but there was no milk to be had. No pints, quarts, half or whole gallons. There wasn’t even cream or half and half. When the man asked the merchant why there was no milk, the merchant said that no milk had been delivered that week. The merchant suggested the man buy liquid coffee creamer instead. The man pointed out that even a small coffee creamer (being 2.39), was nearly 1$ more than a quart of milk. The merchant agreed. The man thinking in that moment only of his cereal, put back the bread and bought the creamer.
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The Eagles have several big needs, the biggest one being a CB. However, given our first Draft spot, the CB we really need, won’t be there this year. It doesn’t matter how high of a pick we spend on a substitute CB. Spending extra on what you don’t need (coffee creamer), won’t turn it into what you need it to be (milk). Especially when it will cost you something else you need in the process (bread).
Put in terms of Draft prospects: Picking [Tre’Davious White] at #14 won’t turn him into won’t turn him into [Marshon Lattimer], and will only cost us a shot a the WR we need. Let’s address our CB need by overspending on a one-year FA, and gamble on a CB on Day Two.
(Keep in mind this is coming out BEFORE the Combine. Nothing here is set in stone)
1)(14 or 15 overall) WR [Corey Davis] should still be on the board when we pick, and that’s perfect. He has the requisite size and speed to force opponents take him seriously on the boundary. He’s also a decent blocker in the run game, and is already accustomed to being an Alpha WR. He expects that role, wants that role, and has lived up to that role at the collegiate level.
Wentz needs a true #1 to help him develop and reach his potential. Watching Wentz with his WR’s this year was like the days of Donovan McNabb being stuck with Todd Pinkston and James Thrash. If we want better from Wentz, he has to be given better tools. Start with Davis.
2)(42 overall) We need a Starting RB. Not a committee. Not a Free Agent re-tread with injury issues. We need a real bell-cow, who will scare teams into loading the box. [D’Onta Foreman] seems like he could be that guy.
I have my doubts about him being on the board at #42. If he’s there, take him. If Foreman is already gone, reach on a CB and grab RB [James Connor] in the Third.
3) (75 overall) If he’s there I take CB [Channing Stribling] before 5 seconds are off the clock. We still have yet to see if he “makes any money” at the Combine, but right now he’s still kind of below the radar.
Former Eagle Mike Zordich was his Secondary Coach at Michigan and you can see some of that lunch-pail mentality come out of this skinny (6’2”, 175) CB. He’s one of the few CB’s in this Draft who commits vs the run. At #42 he’d be called a reach today, but at #75…given a few years, he’d likely be called a steal.
4A) (119 overall) Normally I don’t include highlight reels, but I felt I had to here.
Despite the fact that teams frequently doubled DE [Tanoh Kpassagnon] (Tan-No Passon-Yo) they still ran many plays away from his side during many of those doubles. (If you want to see how that looks during a game, I have game film for you here. Be patient, it’s not exciting.)
The idea of a guy you have to double on the outside, as well as having to double DT Fletcher Coxon the inside, could mean incredible things for our Defensive Line. So far nobody is talking much about this guy, and so he could be the absolute steal of the Draft. Grabbing him this early is just a bit of a reach, but I wouldn’t bank on this guy being around in the Fifth Round.
4B) (139 overall) FS [Obi Melifonwu] is a guy who I expect to hear a lot about in the next few weeks. His measurables are of course the first thing you notice about him (6’3” 217).
Upon looking at the tape, you notice that when he’s not lining up in the parking lot or near the line, you see a guy who has a knack for squeezing passing lanes, and can reliably finish his tackles one-on-one.
5) (154 overall) As I said before, we need RB help. While taking a bell-cow early would an extremely smart thing to do, it would also help to plan for the day when RB Darren Sproles isn’t here anymore. I like RB [De’Angelo Henderson].
He doesn’t have any recent video out there, but it’s hard not to see flashes of Brian Westbrook in his game.
6) (197 overall) RT [Sam Tevi]. He’s new to the position but shows potential not just athletically, but in how he attacks his assignments.
Doesn’t play to the whistle, but then no one on his college O-line seemed to. Makes you wonder if this is something that can be corrected with a change of atmosphere. Especially since Tevi is still so raw. If not, then he’s no better than a career back-up. In any case he’s already better than the OT we drafted last year.
7)(232 overall) This is the pick that I like to use on project players, or long-shot steal prospects. Some would say wait until after the draft for those picks, and they are entitled to their opinions. This however is MY Wish List, so here’s the guy I’d pick: C [Erik Austell]. At only 260 pounds, he probably won’t be able to add the 20-25 pounds needed to be a 16 game NFL starter. What he could be is an ace H-Back, and core Special Teamer. If he could be taught to long snap, he could be worth his weight in gold.
There were other players I liked such as CB’s Marshon Lattimore and [Teez Tabor]; WR’s [Noah Brown] and [Jalen Robinette]; RB’s [De’veon Smith] and [Shock Linwood]; OT [Will Holden]; and TE [Adam Shaheen]. I wouldn’t be sad to see any of them in midnight green. However, due to where we draft, what we need, and who would realistically still be on the board when we picked later, hard choices had to be made.
I scrambled for WEEKS (on a busted computer) to get this done before Combine news started to come out. Corey Davis, Tanoh Kpassangon, De’Veon Smith and D’Onta Foreman were the guys in my head when I started this. Compiling the rest of this list was like pulling my own teeth. The truth is, this is a very weak Draft and it was hard to find players that I liked. There were a couple of pleasant surprises, but MAN, I hope next year is deeper and has a top-tier CB for us.
THERE is no way I could say the Eagles shouldn’t pursue Free Agent CB Byron Maxwell, without being shouted down. He’s got the size teams covet, and having played in the “Legion of Boom” he has a reputation that teams will at least show respect to at first.
He says he likes the Man-Press/Cover Three scheme that we play, because it’s similar to Seattle’s. Perhaps it is as far as the way the Secondary players are utilized. However because of the fact that Seattle plays a 4-3 and rushes their 4 down linemen as a rule, the result is that they play their OLB’s very different from how we play ours.
Then again maybe it’s too much to ask to expect a 6th round draft pick with just 17 career starts to look at such “subtleties”. Oh you didn’t know about the 17 starts? Or the 6th round selection? Or WHY he fell so far? But you DO think the Eagles should pay this guy 12-13M$ a year.
Fine. I won’t argue with that. What I will say though, is that if we sign him and Bill Davis doesn’t change his coverage scheme; the same fans who clamored for him will be calling Maxwell overpriced by Thanksgiving, and for his head by Christmas.
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