rookie

All posts tagged rookie

WHERE I STAND ON CARSON WENTZ

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/05/21
Posted in: Conversations, Offense, Players, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , . 11 Comments

carson wentz

LOTS of Eagles fans already love rookie Quarterback Carson Wentz because he gives a good interview, and because he’s not Sam Bradford. Well, actor Patrick Stewart meets those qualifications as well, but you wouldn’t want him as the Eagles starting QB, would you? Of course not, because he lacks the merits to be one.

Before we get started, let me put my cards on the table. I wasn’t a fan of moving up to get him, but this isn’t a case of a guy with an ax to grind. Wentz is here. Even if he’s a bust he’ll be here for at least 4 years. If he’s any good he’ll be here for a decade of so. I’ll be 41 soon, so that means Wentz could be here into my 50’s (should I live that long). I’m not looking to spend a decade booing a man who’s just looking to do his best for our team. However, what you respect about me (even if you can’t stand me) is that I’ll tell it to you straight. So here it is.

Michael Vick‘s speed, Joe Flacco‘s cannon, Carson Palmer‘s ability to see passing lanes before they open, Andrew Luck having every tool in the box…people made big deal of those special talents when these guys were drafted. So what are fans and media saying sets Wentz apart?

Well that’s the thing. We haven’t much discussed the actual merits of Carson Wentz as an athlete, have we? Our Front Office spent a lot of capital to move up to get this guy, but I have yet to hear fans gushing over why he is so special. The reason that fans aren’t doing that, is because he isn’t special. I’m not saying that he can’t become a decent to good pro player. What I am saying is that there is nothing about this guy that makes you say “WOW!”

Even though the “Bottom Line” on his Draft Profile gave him a Round One projection, it also described him as “developmental”. On that same profile, while an AFC Scout did say that he possesses intangibles, that scout did not go as far as to say what a single one of those intangible qualities (for example: leadership, toughness, the ability to inspire or keep teammates levelheaded, etc.) were. When Wentz was asked what sets him apart, he said it’s the mental aspect of his game. At which point he defaulted to giving boilerplate answers that any QB (ranking from arm chair to NFL) could give. (Seriously check the link out). It’s all so deliciously vague.

With so much positive but vague talk surrounding the guy, I decided that the truest evidence would lay in how he plays. I wanted to see recent video of him, so I downloaded and watched a few videos of Wentz 2015 games. (Games, not just highlights, mind you.) I repeatedly went over and dissected five of them (Jacksonville, South Dakota, Northern Iowa, Montana and Weber State).

While those teams hardly represent high quality competition, at no point did I feel like I was looking at a man among boys when I saw Wentz play. I saw nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, special about him. He by no means looked bad out there, but he never looked “WOW!” either.

But don’t take my word for it. Watch THE VIDEOS and look at his ball placement. Look at how often he checks it down, or goes to a first-read pass to the flat. Look at the percentage of overthrows on deep balls from a clean/mostly clean pocket. These things happen to all QB’s, but they happen more often to average QB’s. Oh, and when you watch him run with that gangling style of his, don’t pretend you can’t already see the type of shots he’s going to take at the pro level. Watch the films. I’ll wait….

I’m not saying he’s without any potential. If he’s coached up, he has as much chance as any other athlete to be a decent to good pro. To be clear, what I’m saying is that this guy has no obvious tool in his arsenal that indicates a minimum career .625 win percentage. He lacks an x-factor; but since he’s going to be here for at least the next 4 to 10, 12 years, let’s hope he doesn’t need one.

EAGLES 2016 DRAFT REPORT (Full)

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/05/01
Posted in: Draft, Front Office (F.O.), NFL, Players, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

retro

WE looked at the first three rounds in Part One. This here is the FULL report.

ROUND ONE: Carson Wentz (QB) – I see Eagles fans everywhere talking themselves into this guy. Don’t get me wrong, he seems like an okay guy, and gives a pretty good interview. But hey! He’s still a #2 overall who’s supposed to sit on a shelf for a year or so. Why would you sit a rookie QB? So he can watch and learn. Learn from who? GOOD QUESTION! People point to Aaron Rodgers sitting behind Brett Favre as an example, but last time I checked, Sam Bradford was no Favre. And neither is Chase Daniel. The bottom line here is that we traded the farm to draft a kid who won’t help us improve on last years 7-9 mark. Conversely he also won’t improve while contributing to a worse record this year. Grade: C-

ROUND TWO: I’d love to discuss this pick but, well…ya know… (sigh)

ROUND THREE: Isaac Seumalo (G) – I watched some game tape of this guy vs Arizona and was blown away by how poor his hand usage is. Add to that just 19 bench presses at his pro day (not the Combine). I’m left worrying about the longevity of a 303 pound Guard who has poor hand instincts and little upper body strength. Grade: D

ROUND FOUR: Let’s play everyone’s favorite game! Waiting for Round Five!!!

ROUND FIVE (A): Wendell Smallwood (RB) – Having read the tweets he put out badmouthing Philly and calling 75% of the men here gay, I wanted to be able to say that this guy sucks, is just a camp body, and that he’ll never make it in the NFL. After watching some game tape (not a highlight reel), I have to say that he’s a pretty ordinary RB. He can get you some good gains if the holes are there, but he’s not a creator in the LeSean McCoy mold, despite having a similar build. He also gets run down from behind with open space still in front him. He has the look of a camp body, but considering our lack of depth, he may give Kenjon Barner a real run for his money. Grade: C-

ROUND FIVE (B): Halapoulivaati Vaitai (T) – I know I’ve been giving these picks some pretty unexciting grades, and this one is no different. Seriously watch the tape and tell me why I should be enthusiastic. This isn’t me being mean. Look, Carson Wentz will pay the price if we don’t get him good protectors. This kid here watches too much football when he should be playing. He’s sluggish off the line, and doesn’t believe in finishing his blocks. Seriously, watch the tape and see how often he takes halfhearted swipes at his man, fails to latch on, or maintain control of his assignment or area. Grade: D-

ROUND SIX: Blake Countess (CB) – There are some highlight tapes of him, but I need a game tape to really evaluate a player’s habits. Since I couldn’t find any on him, I can’t form a solid opinion. What I can do is give my general impression of his situation with the Eagles. He’s a 5’9” Nickel CB, on a team with veteran depth. Even if he sticks he adds nothing we don’t already have. This is a wasted pick. Grade: F

ROUND SEVEN (A): Jalen Mills (FS) – Tackles with an exaggerated looping motion to his arms that may get him killed in the NFL. Stops his feet way too much when diagnosing from the Nickel spot. As a FS doesn’t hit his run fits and is hardly a factor in coverage. As a Safety you have to make your name either being able to cover really well or being known to take guys heads off. This player does neither. Grade: D

ROUND SEVEN (B): Alex McCalister (DE) – At 6’6” 239 he’s too thin to play DE at the pro level, as he already could be manhandled by blockers in college. That said, the guy is explosive and seems to prioritize setting the edge over rushing the QB. He also turns his hips and runs pretty well. If he can translate that to OLB, we could have a steal here. Even if he only develops into a situational player. Grade: B

ROUND SEVEN (C): Joe Walker (ILB) – No game film. We need players at this position. Grade: C

TEACHING CARSON WENTZ

Posted by The BEAST on 2016/04/30
Posted in: Conversations, Offense, Players, Roster, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , . 8 Comments

NFL/

BUILDING a franchise QB.

Even before QB Sam Bradford threw a bitch-fit and ran away from the offseason training program crying, falling, screaming for his mommy and blowing snot bubbles; using Bradford to be a teacher for Carson Wentz was a bad idea. Using Bradford as a positive model to teach any young QB is a bad idea. For Bradford fans who demand proof: As the starting QB you should never bail on any team activity you already showed up for. Leaders know this. Clearly Bradford is not a leader and therefore cannot instruct a youngin in this.

For a moment we’ll set aside Captain Checkdown‘s bland and uninteresting style of play. We’ll set aside his dismal record as a starter (25 – 37 – 1). We’ll look past his playoff performances. Oh that’s right, he’s never led a team to the playoffs. We’ll overlook the fact that his knees are as sturdy as the knees on a Dollar Store toy. We’ll look past the creepy eyes, and the sleeves, the hesitancy to fall on fumbles or throw a block. We’ll look past the nerve it took for him to ask for 25M$ per year. We’ll look past all of that.

What we cannot overlook is the childishly selfish and entitled behavior he has shown. What we cannot overlook is how his teammates will respond to him after simply walking away from them, over something that eventually happens to every starter to ever play this game. The lack of character. The lack of maturity. The galling lack of decency and situational awareness for such an overpaid underachiever. These things cannot be ignored. And they are why Bradford cannot be a model of success for Wentz. And we know because we’ve had better examples than Bradford.

QB

Word now is that Bradford won’t report to the team. This is bull. Unless he’s willing to retire and wave sayonara to the 35 million he just signed for, at some point he has to report to the team. Failing that, he’s risking a lawsuit and nothing he’s done in the last week would cause any judge or jury to take his side. So he’ll be here no later than Week One, but likely for Training Camp. (And he could always show up at OTA’s and blame it on the media as them making a story out of nothing.)

I’d trade Bradford. For pretty much anything I could get for him. I’d ship him to Arizona, so he could sit behind a guy named Carson. Or to Houston where their horrible offensive line just got a little worse after we raided it for G Brandon Brooks. Or to San Francisco where he would find love among his own kind. Even if it meant eating some of his 2016 cap figure it A) Is less than eating all of his cap figure; and B) Gets rid of a locker room cancer.

If Head Coach Doug Pederson still wants to develop Wentz behind a veteran, we still have Chase Daniel. Not that I think that Daniel has a lot of wisdom to impart either, but at this point Sam Bradford has invalidated himself both as a professional and as a man. That is not the sort of person we want leaving any fingerprints on our next franchise QB.

ROOKIE MARCUS SMITH. NO RUSH.

Posted by The BEAST on 2014/07/08
Posted in: Defense, Players. Tagged: , , , . 2 Comments
Marcus Smith learning the ropes.

Marcus Smith learning the ropes.

FIRST round Draft pick, Marcus Smith is a player that I’ll be keeping an eye on once Training Camp begins in a couple of weeks. His chances of taking a starting OLB spot away from Trent Cole or Connor Barwin, are likely almost nil, but then he wasn’t drafted to do that in 2014.

During OTA’s Smith wasn’t just Barwin’s back-up, Smith was 3rd string. That had more to do with letting him pick up the system slowly, and allowing him to watch players who played in this system last year. There’s no need to rush him, good things take time.

Actually despite me not being 100% sold on Chip Kelly, I really dig his approach to the OTA’s. Many NFL coaches use them to sift for a pecking order. Kelly is doing no such thing. His whole approach is to just use OTA’s as an assessment period.

In the meantime, Smith is being said to be doing all the little things in terms of his study and practice habits. Coaches are guardedly optimistic about what they’ve seen, saying that he moves well and has so far not balked at anything he’s been asked to do with regard to responsibilities within the scheme.

Then again that was in shorts, and without hitting. I can’t wait to see what happens when that all changes.