Riley Cooper

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THE EAGLES AND RACISM

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/08/08
Posted in: Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), NFL. Tagged: , , , . 9 Comments

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THE Eagles franchise has made news for the third year in a row over the notion of racism. Of all the things the national media could choose to talk about surrounding our team, this is what they chose to focus on last week. Former Eagles CB Brandon Boykin (the “source” of this latest story), had to clarify an earlier statement that the press ran with, billing it as an accusation of racism against the Eagles current head coach.

The press practically invented the story; but once Boykin had clarified his statement, the national media merely shrugged its collective shoulders and went elsewhere looking for blood a story. No retraction. No apology to the team. The story was dismissed and they moved on.

However, here amongst Eagles fans, the issue didn’t drop so readily. Fans debated (in some cases hotly) about whether or not the coach is in fact a racist. Some fans feel that there’s enough evidence to say that the claims against the coach are true. Other fans defend him vehemently and say that he’s not at all a racist.

This has had the effect of sharply dividing the fan base. That divide (as you could predict) is generally drawn along racial lines. These are some quotes from one of over a dozen Facebook Eagles groups (this one is BirdGang Bangers) that I’m a proud member of. This is just a sample of what I’m seeing:

jason holman

soto

damenjeffrey

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In all truth it really doesn’t matter what the coach believes in his heart. It’s actually 100% beside the point. Look, even if the coach is a racist, it changes nothing. He’ll still be the coach until he quits or until the team fires him. Does it matter if he invites no Blacks to his home poker table, or Puerto Ricans to his B-B-Q’s? No, it really doesn’t. It’s not like we were keeping tabs on it last year, so let’s not pretend it matters to us now.

What’s truly disconcerting (and this is what BGBer Jason Holman up there was getting at), is the fact that the Eagles organization has in no way, shape, or form come out to address any of this, acting like it will blow over. While it may lie dormant for a season, it seems to take less and less to drag it back up. This now annual smear on the team allows for every offhand comment about the Eagles to be given immediate national attention, so long as it’s tied to race.

Think about it. Riley Cooper using the word ‘nigger’. LeSean McCoy suggesting that his trading was racially motivated. Boykin’s offhand comment. Each of these incidents is less inflammatory than the last, yet the national media flocked to each successive one faster than they did the one before.

When it’s found to be nothing, we get no apology. No retraction. The nation just hears “Oh yeah, the Eagles are bigots” and then the story just drops for a bigger one; leaving behind yet another uncorrected and mistaken impression of this team.

And I’m sorry to break this to you, but who roots for bigots except other bigots? That means us, fellow Eagles fans. While most of us may not be bigots, our nation is getting a more and more warped view of who our team and who our fans are.

I hate to say this, but the Eagles organization is doing us no favors by not publicly weighing in on this issue. In the meantime, we fans rip at each other; either in defense of what we don’t know, or in the process of not getting to the bottom of a meaningless question. That meaningless question being: Is the coach a racist?

Whether or not the head coach likes minorities is beside the point. Halting the smear of shit being dragged across the reputation of the organization, the team and the fans, is what should be of utmost importance here. We’ve been on this ride for three years now. Enough is enough.

(I want to give thanks and much respect for BGB members Jason Holman, Damen Jeffery, and Antonio Soto for allowing me to use their quotes in this article. Without your help this article isn’t possible. Thank you.)

LINE RILEY COOPER UP ON THE OUTSIDE

Posted by The BEAST on 2015/06/09
Posted in: Conversations, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players, Roster. Tagged: , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

player-rileycooper.500

NELSON Agholor starting at WR on the outside is almost a given at this point. Many fans are split over whether or not Jordan Matthews should play the other outside spot, or remain in the slot. (Personally I like the idea of him on the outside, as I said in this past article. ) Other options that fans are discussing for the outside, are Miles Austin or Josh Huff due to their speed and ability to potentially stretch defenses.

What I find curious is the way fans seem to have just written off Riley Cooper. We all know that the contract extension he got last year, makes it stupid to cut him right now due to dead money (see the contract) . That all-but guarantees him a roster spot in Philly this year, unless some team is willing to trade us for him. Whether people like it or not, Cooper got that extension because the coach sees something that he likes in him. But what could that be? Let’s take a look.

Cooper has a few things in his favor actually. Standing 6’4 and 230 pounds, he is the most physically imposing WR on the roster right now. His run blocking is generally well regarded. Since being called upon as a starter two years ago, he has never missed a game. His first fumble as an NFL player came last year, during his fifth season. He’s used to catching wounded ducks from Tim Tebow. If DeSean Jackson can keep drawing double-coverage, Cooper could have another year like…Oh wait. Never mind.

To be honest even Cooper’s best year wasn’t that big of a deal considering the circumstances surrounding how it happened. Under those circumstances another WR would have made more of Jackson drawing so much attention. In fact, Jeremy Maclin frequently did just that. The boiled down truth is that the Eagles should have let Cooper walk last year, but instead they shot themselves in the foot, and gave themselves little flexibility with him.

Today it would be an extra two million and change to free up a roster spot by cutting Cooper. However, it could be looked at as an investment! Look, given the commitments to players like Agholor and Matthews, the blatant favoritism of Huff, the upside of rookie Devante Davis, and the speed and kick return experience of Quron Pratt, eating three million or so (only for this year), by cutting Cooper and Miles Austin now, frees up practice reps and time to develop all of these young receivers. It allows us to potentially field a stable of young studs.

People aren’t discussing Cooper because they have too many other reasons not to. We know what he is, and more importantly, after five years, we know what he isn’t. The smart play for the long-term, is to line Cooper up wide. I mean wide like way wide. Not just along the hash marks, the numbers, or even the sideline, wide. More like the parking lot, wide. Like playing bocce ball at 10th and Carpenter, wide. Or waiting for a cab at Chelten and Germantown, wide.

The wider out we can get Cooper (and Austin) the better for this team it’ll be in the long run.

START JORDAN MATTHEWS NOW OR PAY FOR IT LATER.

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/10/30
Posted in: Coaching, Draft, NFL, Offense, Players. Tagged: , , , , . 16 Comments

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RIGHT now our 2014 Draft looks awful. DE/OLB/ILB/ Marcus Smith had played in 4 straight games before being held out of the Arizona game. That has all the earmarks of regression. At this point the EAGLES have to hope he was a 1st round reach, and not a 1st round bust.

Despite clear athletic talent, WR/KR Josh Huff has shown some really questionable instincts so far. This only adds weight to notion of him having been a reach in the 3rd round.

WR Jordan Matthews on the other hand has been a consistent contributor so far, but it’s clear that he’s underachieving and is somewhat trapped in his role as a slot receiver. When Chip Kelly said on Draft night that Jordan would start in the slot, I had visions of him working intermediate along and in between the hash marks. Keeping both opposing Safeties playing closer to the middle, and away from being able to help their corners against our WR’s on Fly routes and Fade routes. I didn’t expect him to be a deep threat, but I did expect a guy who allowed the deep threats room to roam.

Instead what we have is a guy who runs WR middle screens, and Bubble screens.  That’s mostly because it’s what he’s asked to do. Seems to me that a WR selected in the 2nd round should be given more rope by now. It would certainly help the run game. Let me show you something:

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That’s RB LeSean McCoy’s career. See that huge, across the board fall-off this year? That’s because up until this year he had 2 WR’s that could get vertical and be enough of a threat to open up room for him to create those long runs. Matthews and fellow WR Riley Cooper aren’t allowing for that. One on hand, routes called for Matthews keep him close to the line of scrimmage. On the other hand neither WR is doing much with yards after catch, as Matthews has 103 YAC, and Cooper has 75. So there is no room for McCoy to create long runs. Oh yeah! Then there’s the other thing. Let me show you something:

wrs

Combined Matthews and Cooper have fewer yards than WR Jeremy Maclin. Despite each having just 10 fewer catches than Maclin, neither man has even half his yards. Or TD’s. Maclin is also on a one year deal and will be an Unrestricted Free Agent after this season. He is clearly looking for a big contract and if someone offers him more money, he’s as good as gone. At that point our experienced WR’s are Cooper, Matthews and Huff.

It would be smart to sit Cooper and start developing (or trying to develop) Matthews into a starter ASAP. This offense was deadly with DeSean Jackson as our #1. It’s fallen to good with Maclin there. However if we lose Maclin too, we’re pretty much dead in the water.

Maclin settled for five million this just year (1.75 base, 3.5 signing bonus) , instead of signing for 5 per year on a longer deal. I’m guessing he’ll want the kind of money he saw DJax making, and will ask for something like 9 million per year. Odds are good there’ll be bidding and we’d have to overpay to keep him next year. Especially with what’s behind him, because as of right now the EAGLES have zero leverage. And oh, have I mentioned that there’s a salary cap crunch looming? Too much money paid for Maclin will, (not may) mean the difference between being able to afford someone and having to release or trade them.

If we don’t start developing Matthews soon, we’re going to be paying for the failings of this Draft through the nose.

 

 

FIXING THE DJAX PROBLEM

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/10/07
Posted in: Coaching, Offense, Players, Rants. Tagged: , , , , , . 7 Comments

New York Jets v Philadelphia Eagles

 

IN my last article I showed you the hidden culprit behind why our Offense isn’t nearly as lethal or as machine-like as it was last year. Most fans want to chalk it up to injuries on the Offensive Line and look no further than that. That is a mistake.

It’s true that the Offensive Line being beat-up affects what kind of holes RB LeSean McCoy gets to run through, and the time that QB Nick Foles gets in the pocket. However when McCoy breaks the line of scrimmage and STILL can’t get himself free like he could last year, that’s not the O-line. When Foles steps into a pass that sails too high, or too long, that’s not the O-line. In fact who do you “blame” for Foles holding the ball too long? And the O-line has nothing to do with WR Riley Cooper going off a cliff.

What all these things have in common is the absence of DeSean Jackson. He was shown the door and no one bothered to replace him. By replacing him I don’t just mean getting a fast WR. We don’t need to replace what he could do, we needed to replace what he caused to happen.

Teams didn’t line up their FS 15-20 yards deep just because of his 4.4 speed. He also could change direction in a flash, has fairly reliable hands, and unlike a lot of 4.4 guys, can run the NFL route tree. As a result, teams warped their defenses to try to compensate and not make scoring TD’s too easy for Jackson

While we don’t have anyone on the roster with Jackson’s individual abilities, we do have a guy who can warp a defense: RB Darren Sproles. He’s every bit as dangerous in space a Jackson was, break tackles better, and can run most NFL routes from the WR position.

Put in motion to the slot, you can bet your ass a Safety would follow him out there. It’s not like you can cover Sproles with a Linebacker. Instead of a Safety playing extra deep, you have one playing extra shallow. And it’s still a warped defense isn’t it? And you know…when that Safety comes down, someone on the outside has a 1-on-1. That leaves a lot of options for Foles to place a ball.

You could do this in multiple formations, with multiple packages…It doesn’t have to be a restrictive number of plays at all.

So that’s it. You motion Sproles out like he used to do in New Orleans. (Man do they miss HIM!) That’s how you create space for McCoy and Cooper. That’s how you give Foles wider windows to throw to. That’s how you solve the DeSean Jackson problem.

Tomorrow I’ll talk about problem #2.

 

THE OFFENSE’S UNSPOKEN PROBLEM

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/10/06
Posted in: Coaching, Offense, Rants. Tagged: , , , . 9 Comments

players-foles+mccoy550px eagledelphia

IT’S easy to blame the Offensive Line for the mess that our Offense has become, and while they shoulder part of the responsibility, the Offensive Line isn’t overthrowing WR’s, or dropping passes. The Offensive Line isn’t holding onto the ball too long, or dancing around before it hits the hole. We have other problems.

Of course, the first step to fixing any problem is correctly identifying it.

The first problem (nope, no foreplay), is that we’re missing DeSean Jackson. Or more accurately, Nick Foles is missing DeSean Jackson. And Riley Cooper is missing DeSean Jackson. And so is LeSean McCoy.

Last year in 10 starts Nick Foles got to just lay the ball out there, knowing Jackson has the speed to get under it. In case after case this year, we’ve seen that Foles no longer has a WR who can do that. That’s where all those rainbow shots are coming from, as Foles tries to put enough air under the ball to allow who he has left, to run under the ball. The result has been more than twice the interceptions in half the starts, compared to last year. You may say you don’t miss Jackson, but the numbers don’t lie. Nick Foles misses DeSean Jackson.

Let’s take drops out of the equation. Last year Riley Cooper averaged 17.8 yards per catch, and generally caught balls with lots of space around him. This year the coverage is tighter and he’s averaging a meager 8.3 yard per catch. I had a laugh when Chip Kelly said that aside from Calvin Johnson, no WR in the NFL sees double coverage. I’ll give Kelly the benefit of the doubt and say that instead of lying to make the loss of Jackson more palatable for fans, he merely doesn’t recognize bracket coverage when he sees it. Regardless of which one it is, Cooper is no longer the beneficiary of loose coverage. At this rate by season’s end, his new, over-inflated, NON-GUARANTEED contract won’t be commensurate with his play and will be expendable. I promise you, right about now DeSean Jackson is one n***** Cooper misses.

When the Free Safeties of most defenses you face, line up almost in the parking lot on most downs, it makes turning short runs into long runs much easier. On runs when LeSean McCoy can make it out of the backfield, he has plenty of those short runs to his credit. Problem is, there isn’t much space for him to create now. Now all the dancing around people loved about him last year, is getting him hemmed in most of the time this year. LeSean McCoy misses DeSean Jackson.

Getting rid of Jackson was one thing, but assuming that you didn’t have to replace his effect as a catalyst was outright foolish. But again, this is just to identify the problem. We don’t have a player on the roster who can do what Jackson did (try as Jeremy Maclin might). But there are things we can do to get us back on track, and what’s more, we can do it with guys we already have under contract.

And I’ll get into that, starting tomorrow.

I’M EXPECTING FIREWORKS

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/09/18
Posted in: Coaching, Front Office (F.O.), Offense, Players. Tagged: , , , , . 5 Comments
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Courtesy of Section215.com

DeSEAN Jackson even while nursing an injured shoulder, has no intention of missing this game. This will be his first time setting foot on Lincoln Financial Field in a jersey without an EAGLE on it. There’ll be the desire to make the EAGLES pay for casting him aside. There’ll be the need to show the organization just what they gave up.

Gave away.

For nothing.

That’s the part that has to burn him the most. So make no mistake he’ll want revenge. He’ll be angry. But mark my words, there’ll be some sadness too. Nothing, NOTHING about his demeanor on the subject indicates he’s at peace with this yet.

 

On the other side we have Jeremy Maclin, Riley Cooper, and Chip Kelly, each with something to prove.

Maclin is on a one-year deal to prove he can be a #1 WR. Cooper has to prove that he’s legit WR who doesn’t need Jackson on the other side for him to be a factor in a game. But those are smaller personal goals.

The real challenge is reserved for Chip Kelly. Kelly has to prove that releasing Jackson wasn’t a mistake. That we can not only get along fine without him, but that he can’t be used to hurt us.

Kelly cannot afford to let Jackson come here and give us fits; and he cannot allow his starters to be outplayed. What I’m saying here, is that Sunday the EAGLES have to put on a show.

I quite frankly, am looking forward to it.

HOPING WE DON’T CATCH HELL

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/08/05
Posted in: Offense, Players. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

coop drop

 

LAST year Riley Cooper burst on the scene with 47 catches, 835 yards and 8 TD’s. Because of those numbers, fans are expecting more production from him in 2014.

Until yesterday (despite him being the #2 WR), I really wasn’t dwelling much on the idea of Riley Cooper . Then Jeremy Maclin pulls up lame for a second time since the start of camp, and now I can’t stop fixating on Cooper. Let me explain.

Should Jeremy pull a Maclin, we’re left with Cooper and a rookie as Nick Foles top targets. While Jordan Matthews is a talented player, there are wrinkles of this game that he has never seen before. And while he can study coverages on tape, it’s different having to play against them. He’ll in all likelihood need some shakedown time. In which case our #1 WR would be Riley Cooper. But can Cooper really carry us there?

Of his 47 catches last year, 8 of them occurred over two weeks in games versus injury depleted teams, Oakland and Green Bay. In those two games he also collected 241 of his 835 yards and 5 of his 8 TD’s.

Setting aside Oakland and G.B, in the remaining 14 games, Cooper’s numbers are just 39 catches, 594 yards, and 3 TD’s. While no player has a static level of production week in and week out, that level of fall-off is staggering. (Especially in light of his contract extension.)

I can’t say that I’m emotionally prepared for the fallout of Cooper being the #1; and I can only assume that the idea of Maclin being out for any length of time has to be costing Foles’ agent at least a little sleep. Up until now I thought that Maclin need to stay healthy for the sake of his financial future. Now it seems like so much more is riding on his fragile shoulders. I just hope we catch a break.

IF WE TRADE DeSEAN…

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/03/07
Posted in: Offense, Players. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

dionjordan-Image courtesyofPhillymag

SINCE this trade could go down at any moment, I wanted to be on record with this before it all goes down.

If we trade DeSean Jackson, I think that would make Riley Cooper our #1, go-to guy.

You’re laughing. Maybe shaking your head. Perhaps frowning.

That’s fine, because at first I did too. Then I thought about it. No. I mean really thought about it. From the Eagles perspective.

Cooper is pulling in five million a year for the next four. The Eagles have made a fair sized investment there.

Jeremy Maclin has a one year deal, which fans hope will yield a longer one here. Security wasn’t a concern since Maclin rejected the five year offer from the Birds, opting for the one year deal instead. He’s banking on having a big year, to angle for more money per year, in 2015.

What are the odds that the Eagles staff will draw up game plans to pad Maclin’s stats, and drive up his 2015 asking price? Remember what I predicted as a “good” season for Maclin? Write that down somewhere. And I won’t even bring up the dreaded “I” word. But if it doesn’t go the way Maclin wants, he could be unemployed, damaged goods in 2015, and wishing he’d taken the five year offer.

Some will insist that we’ll get a rookie WR, but right now we haven’t drafted him, signed him, taught him, started him, or watched him have any success. So right now in 2014, Cooper looks like the top of the food chain as far as our WR depth goes.

If we truly become the run-based Offense that Chip Kelly says his system really favors, then we could be okay. But if our defense doesn’t improve much and we need to win shootouts to win games, I don’t see us as having the firepower.

In a real way, in order to make a DeSean Jackson trade work, our Defense has to improve.

And for those who insist the Eagles wouldn’t trade Jackson: Donovan McNabb. To the Redskins.

ARE YOU O-KKK WITH RILEY COOPER?

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/02/27
Posted in: Defense, Front Office (F.O.), Players. Tagged: , . 2 Comments

New York Jets v Philadelphia Eagles

WHILE I would have preferred Eric Decker, I guess I can live with the idea of Riley Cooper sticking around.

Hell, it’s not my money.

Besides if Jeremy Maclin (who is also close to re-signing) pulls up lame again, at the very least Cooper has shown he can man that spot. Provided Cooper can improve his game, he could possibly unseat even a healthy Maclin this year. We’ll see.

Word on the street, (and the internet) is that Jason Kelce is also close to an extension. I’m a little weirded out by the number of Reid-era players not only still here, but getting extensions to stay longer. Heck, half the talk has us keeping Michael Vick.

I’m hoping for more changes on the Defense this year at least. A lot has been made of how DC Bill Davis didn’t have enough of the right pieces last year, which was why his unit performed as schizophrenically as it did.

If we’re going to button up the the Offense before Free Agency starts, I’m really expecting something substantial to happen with this Defense in 2014.