EMB Blog: 2020 Regular Season

[Ace Nova]

34 minutes ago, ManuManu said:

 

Wow.  How tragic for his family.  😞 

This isn't good in any way for either College or NFL Football.  Prayers for him and his family. 

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

4 minutes ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

Ritchie 

ESP

Are just two local pundits I heard today. I know, ESP is a dope.  But Ritchie isn’t normally a Debbie downer.  

I’ve been on the same 8-8 train as you for a while now. I think with the schedule being what it is and injuries they have on the offensive line and depth issues It’s going to catch up to them. I’ve been of the belief for a while now they’re going to take a step back in 2020. I’ve seen some talk about this as a 10 or 11 or even 12 win team, I don’t see that type of talent to be 11 or 12. I think it’s possible to get the 10 but that means Eagles have to stay relatively healthy. I don’t see that happening either

[Green Dog]

8 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

I think one of the biggest opportunities to stay ahead of the curve in 2020 with the NFL will be in load management.

Training camps around the league have been a total farce.  I'm no trainer, but it cannot be good to flash into 60 minutes of full contact football, even for the players that maintained excellent cardiovascular fitness in the offseason (not to mention the ones who didn't).

I'd want a team of statisticians looking at soft tissue injuries by quarter in a normal year.  I'd also want them to isolate the incidence of injuries in players who have missed training camp and jumped into the regular season...and when those injuries occurred.  

We often see a rotation to maintain energy along the DL.  We see personnel changes at skill positions mostly for the the purpose of changing matchups.  Otherwise, this is not usually a thing.  And it never happens along the OL for the purpose of continuity and synchronization.  

I wonder if it's time to revisit these conventions, at least for the early weeks of this 2020 season.  I'm especially looking at guys like Lane Johnson, Mcleod, Kelce, Ertz, Desean...even Slay.  Older, some injury issues, may not often rotate out.  

If these guys are on the sidelines when some of their core muscles are fatigued and they are highest risk for injury, then they will be preserved.  

If you really isolate an athlete on tape (take a pitcher as an example), you can really identify when fatigue is setting in and they are risking injury.  Granted, that position has been isolated to a science that exceeds anything in the NFL, but one can make an attempt here.  

Regardless, those 60 minutes are going to hit every team harder than they ever have in NFL history.  Some teams are going to approach it as they have every other year.  And a few will be open to keeping their stars on the sidelines far more than they otherwise would.

Yup, I think you hit on a big issue here.

Lots of things will feel different about football this year as the weeks go by.  Let's hope the Eagles try to stay on top of it.

They are usually among the forefront in things like this.

[LeanMeanGM]

49 minutes ago, DeathByEagle said:

Shocker cant count to 10 so it might be difficult for him to track the records. He also cant spell so he cant google the records as well. 

Totterisgod will just try and "Educate" you after every prediction with his wide football knowledge from playing madden

Just start tagging them and let’s see what happens 

[LeanMeanGM]

1 hour ago, DEagle7 said:

@LeanMeanGM was dead on 

Today’s been a strong day for the b-hole community 

[DEagle7]

18 minutes ago, e-a-g-l-e-s eagles! said:

And I would argue offensive line is worse. And I want to say not a little worse it is significantly worse. Losing Brooks for an entire year is massive. Plus now you’re relying on a 38-year-old Jason peters with a backup who’s not a former first rounder.

 And safety imo is still a question mark As Mills is playing the position at the NFL level for the first time since college. In an off-season where there was no mini camps, no preseason and no OTAS.  McLeod should be better with slay however he’s also a year older coming off a season where he wasn’t great even with bad corners he also wasn’t great I’d point to the fins game and first half of the giants game at home. 

Also not go to anoint the wide receivers as significantly better. Because desean at some point is going to get hurt. The rookies are still rookies and one is currently hurt. Jjaw has not proven it in an actual game yet That he’s turned the corner. And alshon who knows what he’s going to be like after his injury. They should be better however everyone was saying the same thing about defensive tackle Last year And I said don’t count your chickens before they hatch because Jackson was coming off a down and there’s always potential for injury which would ruin that. And then it did

So we "can't count our chickens before they hatch", but we can just assume Desean is going to get hurt again?  See this is the argument I have an issue with. Injuries crop up all the time so yes literally anything can happen in the NFL.   It's also "possible" that Sidney Jones turns things around elsewhere and Slay falls off a Nnamdi-esque cliff performance wise, or Hargrave gets a serious injury that limits him all year.  We can either decide all predictors are meaningless or we can accept that risk but still acknowledge that there are areas where improvement or regression seems likely.

But on paper this year, by pretty much any objective standard, our DT situation with Hargrave on board and Jackson healthy is significantly better than what we had last during the 2019 season.  Our CB situation with Slay and NRC is very likely to be much better than Darby and LeBlanc.  And even ignoring Desean's return yes I would argue that Reagor/Hightower/Watkins and a year of experience for JJAW seem like a significant upgrade over Agholor.

I'll fully accept that losing Brooks is a big loss. And I'll even agree that safety is still a question mark as to whether Mills/Parks/Wallace/Epps with a new secondary coach will be better than what we had with Jenkins last year.  Still my original statement about our DTs CBs and WRs being, on paper, better still stands.

[Green Dog]

6 minutes ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

Ritchie 

ESP

Are just two local pundits I heard today. I know, ESP is a dope.  But Ritchie isn’t normally a Debbie downer.  

[Green Dog]

6 minutes ago, LeanMeanGM said:

Just start tagging them and let’s see what happens 

Omg...  just imagine the chaos...

Every poster.  Double tags.

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

8 minutes ago, DEagle7 said:

So we "can't count our chickens before they hatch", but we can just assume Desean is going to get hurt again?  See this is the argument I have an issue with. Injuries crop up all the time so yes literally anything can happen in the NFL.   It's also "possible" that Sidney Jones turns things around elsewhere and Slay falls off a Nnamdi-esque cliff performance wise, or Hargrave gets a serious injury that limits him all year.  We can either decide all predictors are meaningless or we can accept that risk but still acknowledge that there are areas where improvement or regression seems likely.

But on paper this year, by pretty much any objective standard, our DT situation with Hargrave on board and Jackson healthy is significantly better than what we had last during the 2019 season.  Our CB situation with Slay and NRC is very likely to be much better than Darby and LeBlanc.  And even ignoring Desean's return yes I would argue that Reagor/Hightower/Watkins and a year of experience for JJAW seem like a significant upgrade over Agholor.

I'll fully accept that losing Brooks is a big loss. And I'll even agree that safety is still a question mark as to whether Mills/Parks/Wallace/Epps with a new secondary coach will be better than what we had with Jenkins last year.  Still my original statement about our DTs CBs and WRs being, on paper, better still stands.

Yes because DeSean Jackson’s been hurt every single year for the last four years. He misses games. That’s not an assumption anymore when it happens every single year that means it is going to happen. it’s a matter of when And how many games he’ll miss. He hasn’t played 16 games since 2013. He hasn’t played 15 games since 2016. So yes he is going to miss games. The last three years have told you that as he’s gotten older he’s missed games

I would not say significantly better at wr because They haven’t proven to be significantly better yet. Do they have the potential to be significantly better? Absolutely. But just assuming because they have talent they’re going to be massive upgrades as rookies in a year where they dealt with a Covid off-season and no preseason Or minicamps or otas and ignoring like that’s not potentially going to have an affect and make it like it’s definitively significantly better is pretty bold.  Everyone thought JJaw after the preseason last year was going to make the wide receiver corps significantly better when he showed in that ravens game. Then it didn’t happen. That very easily could happen to these guys since we had a Covid off-season. Do I think they have the talent to do it? Yes but that doesn’t mean as rookies they are just going to hit the ground running and a given to be significantly better. I’ve seen rookies struggle. Nelson Agholor look great in the preseason his rookie year, didn’t do much during the regular season

And I still disagree that wide receiver is significantly better. Does it have more talent and more potential upside then they have last year? Absolutely. But definitively saying they are significantly better at this moment in time is not a true statement

 

[DEagle7]

1 minute ago, e-a-g-l-e-s eagles! said:

Yes because DeSean Jackson’s been hurt every single year for the last four years. He misses games. That’s not an assumption anymore when it happens every single year that means it is going to happen. it’s a matter of when And how many games he’ll miss. He hasn’t played 16 games since 2013. He hasn’t played 15 games since 2016. So yes he is going to miss games. The last three years have told you that as he’s gotten older he’s missed games

I would not say significantly better at wr because They haven’t proven to be significantly better yet. Do they have the potential to be significantly better? Absolutely. But just assuming because they have talent they’re going to be massive upgrades as rookies in a year where they dealt with a Covid off-season and no preseason Or minicamps or oats and ignoring like that’s not potentially going to have an affect and make it like it’s definitively significantly better is pretty bold.  Everyone thought JJaw after the preseason last year was going to make the wide receiver corps significantly better when he showed in that ravens game. Then it didn’t happen. That very easily could happen to these guys since we had a Covid off-season

And I still disagree that wide receiver is significantly better. Does it have more talent and more potential upside then they have last year? Absolutely. But definitively saying they are significantly better at this moment in time is not a true statement

Who said definitively?  I'm saying very likely based on what we lost vs what we gained, and that really can't be disputed unless you're a big Agholor fan.

Saying that Desean is definitively going to miss games is also not a true statement.  You can't have it both ways. Either we're able to accept likely outcomes or not.  Pick one.

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

14 minutes ago, 4for4EaglesNest said:

I wouldn’t read to far into the schedule, especially this year.  We normally lose games we shouldn’t and then win games we shouldn’t.  I just think the talent is not that great and there is a good amount of large holes.  Not to mention Doug has hardly been a great play caller, especially early in the season.  

I actually think the Eagles have to start off hot. That’s the part of their schedule where they should win those games cause they’re a better team in terms of talent then a lot of the teams are facing. Their first three games they are the better team. Then you hit SF, Steelers, ravens, giants and cowboys. Then you have another 5 game stretch 3 weeks later of Seattle, Green Bay, New Orleans, Arizona (long travel) and Dallas. To me you better win those first three games of Washington, rams and bengals 

[Green Dog]

I predict we will have a wr get more than 500 yds this year...

By mid-season.

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

16 minutes ago, DEagle7 said:

Who said definitively?  I'm saying very likely based on what we lost vs what we gained, and that really can't be disputed unless you're a big Agholor fan.

Saying that Desean is definitively going to miss games is also not a true statement.  You can't have it both ways. Either we're able to accept likely outcomes or not.  Pick one.

No history has shown DeSean Jackson is going to miss games. It’s been his MO for the last seven years. That’s not a definitive statement that is the reality in each of the last 6 seasons he has missed games. So at 34 years old, the likelihood he stays healthy for 16 games is minimal. That is like saying Jason peters is not going to miss any snaps all season. It’s going to happen. History has shown you that  Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. So counting on DeSean Jackson to be there for all 16 games it’s a little foolish when recent history and even history dating back to five years ago tells you he’s not

Not a big agholor fan. However history has shown that Eagles rookie wide receivers who are drafted very high (and even mid rounders) besides Jordan Matthews have turned out to not be very good In their rookie seasons over the last half decade. Granted they have a better wide receiver coach this year. But granted let’s add in the Covid off-season there could be an issue with their rookie wide receivers not living up to the expectations placed upon them. Especially 6/7th round guys. 

[EaglePhan1986]

2 minutes ago, Green Dog said:

I predict we will have a wr get more than 500 yds this year...

By mid-season.

Maybe if Desean plays 7 or the first 8 games 

[DEagle7]

1 minute ago, Green Dog said:

I predict we will have a wr get more than 500 yds this year...

By mid-season.

That WR?  Some guy we picked up off another team's PS after our whole squad goes down.  

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

5 minutes ago, EaglePhan1986 said:

Maybe if Desean plays 7 or the first 8 games 

Someone needs to make an over/under How many games until desean gets hurt

[Mike030270]

55 minutes ago, e-a-g-l-e-s eagles! said:

And I would argue offensive line is worse. And I want to say not a little worse it is significantly worse. Losing Brooks for an entire year is massive. Plus now you’re relying on a 38-year-old Jason peters with a backup who’s not a former first rounder.

 

Seems like some people think we're fine at LT because we moved Peters back. We're still going to have to deal with him taking himself out of games

44 minutes ago, eagle45 said:

I think one of the biggest opportunities to stay ahead of the curve in 2020 with the NFL will be in load management.

Training camps around the league have been a total farce.  I'm no trainer, but it cannot be good to flash into 60 minutes of full contact football, even for the players that maintained excellent cardiovascular fitness in the offseason (not to mention the ones who didn't).

I'd want a team of statisticians looking at soft tissue injuries by quarter in a normal year.  I'd also want them to isolate the incidence of injuries in players who have missed training camp and jumped into the regular season...and when those injuries occurred.  

We often see a rotation to maintain energy along the DL.  We see personnel changes at skill positions mostly for the the purpose of changing matchups.  Otherwise, this is not usually a thing.  And it never happens along the OL for the purpose of continuity and synchronization.  

I wonder if it's time to revisit these conventions, at least for the early weeks of this 2020 season.  I'm especially looking at guys like Lane Johnson, Mcleod, Kelce, Ertz, Desean...even Slay.  Older, some injury issues, may not often rotate out.  

If these guys are on the sidelines when some of their core muscles are fatigued and they are highest risk for injury, then they will be preserved.  

If you really isolate an athlete on tape (take a pitcher as an example), you can really identify when fatigue is setting in and they are risking injury.  Granted, that position has been isolated to a science that exceeds anything in the NFL, but one can make an attempt here.  

Regardless, those 60 minutes are going to hit every team harder than they ever have in NFL history.  Some teams are going to approach it as they have every other year.  And a few will be open to keeping their stars on the sidelines far more than they otherwise would.

It's kind of sad that Eagles should be prepared for this because they're constantly dealing with injuries to key players

[315Eagles]

7 hours ago, PrinceKelby said:

How many double moves will DJax put on Darby?

10+ right?

Maybe more?

 

Would be funny if Darby locked him down all game 😄

 

[315Eagles]

Not sure if it was brought up earlier but any of you see that Deadspin article about McCown having a job with the Eagles but Kaepernick still cant get one?  Beyond stupid.  Came from Rob Parker so it's not surprising.

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

1 minute ago, Mike030270 said:

Seems like some people think we're fine at LT because we moved Peters back. We're still going to have to deal with him taking himself out of games

It's kind of sad that Eagles should be prepared for this because they're constantly dealing with injuries to key players

I would argue we are worst at left tackle this year than we were last year. First Jason peters is a year older so I’m guessing his athleticism dropped a little more. so he’s not gonna be as good as he was even last year. Don’t know how much of a decline is the key. Could be very little. Or it could be more than that. Time will tell. Add on you don’t have Andre Dillard as the main back up at left tackle when he does leave games. you have Jordan mailata or pryor who neither one of them I believe are capable of being competent starters in the NFL or asked to play significant snaps at LT

[DEagle7]

14 minutes ago, e-a-g-l-e-s eagles! said:

No history has shown DeSean Jackson is going to miss games. It’s been his MO for the last seven years. That’s not a definitive statement that is the reality in each of the last 6 seasons he has missed games. So at 34 years old, the likelihood he stays healthy for 16 games is minimal. That is like saying Jason peters is not going to miss any snaps all season. It’s going to happen. History has shown you that  Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. So counting on DeSean Jackson to be there for all 16 games it’s a little foolish when recent history and even history dating back to five years ago tells you he’s not

Not a big agholor fan. However history has shown that Eagles rookie wide receivers who are drafted very high besides Jordan Matthews have turned out to not be very good In their rookie seasons. Granted they have a better wide receiver coach this year. But granted let’s add in the Covid off-season there could be an issue with their rookie wide receivers not living up to the expectations placed upon them. Especially 6/7th round guys. 

You're being disingenuous with your stat selection to prove your opinion.  Him playing all 16 may be unlikely and no one is arguing that.  However since coming into the league he has missed 2 games or less in 8 out of his 12. Last year was only 1 out of 2 years where he hasn't played 10 games (2015 he played 9).  So again we're comparing what happened last year to what is likely this year "history has shown" that he is much much more likely to play more than 3 games than less.

And again, yes hypothetically all our rookies could suck.  But again can you really honestly think that 2019 Nelson Agholor/JJAW/the slew of practice squad cast offs we had out there is likely to be better than 2020 Reagor/Hightower/JJAW/Watkins?  Like that bet is at even odds and you had to place a wager you would really have to think about it that hard? C'mon...

[EaglePhan1986]

11 minutes ago, e-a-g-l-e-s eagles! said:

Someone needs to make an over/under How many games until desean gets hurt

1.5

[e-a-g-l-e-s eagles!]

9 minutes ago, DEagle7 said:

You're being disingenuous with your stat selection to prove your opinion.  Counting on him to be there all 16 may be unlikely and no one is arguing that.  However since coming into the league he has missed 2 games or less in 8 out of his 12. Last year was only 1 out of 2 years where he hasn't played 10 games (2015 he played 9).  So again we're comparing what happened last year to what is likely this year "history has shown" that he is much much more likely to play more than 3 games than less.

And again, yes hypothetically all our rookies could suck.  But again can you really honestly think that 2019 Nelson Agholor/JJAW/the slew of practice squad cast offs we had out there is likely to be better than 2020 Reagor/Hightower/JJAW/Watkins?  Like that bet is at even odds and you had to place a wager you would really have to think about it that hard? C'mon...

I’m not being disingenuous. He has not played 15 games in 4 seasons. And he’s now a year older coming off a core hernia surgery at his age. Those are the facts. So you are going to have to replace him when he is not on the field for those games. If he’s out. alshon we have no clue about what he looks like off his injury. Now you’re back to three rookies, JJaw who has proven nothing Yet and Greg Ward. How is that significantly better than it was last year? Three unknowns In rookies, a guy who hasn’t proven anything yet and Greg Ward. Do they have better potential than what we had last year? Yes. But that doesn’t mean they are better just because they are more talented. Talent doesn’t mean it always translate in rookie seasons. It didn’t for JJAW and people praised him after the ravens preseason game. And PS guys looked better than our second rounder last year  

again you’re assuming they’re just going to be better because they are talented. That is a mistake. People did that with JJAW last year and you’re doing it again with a six and a seven round rookie. I do think reagor has a shot to be good his rookie year but I’m still thinking he struggles at times and dealing with a shoulder injury. If you believe a 6th and 7th round rookie should be just be good contributors their rookie years then by all means believe that. However I’ve seen more sixth and seventh round rookies struggle to be productive in their rookie years than be productive. Add on the fact that they had no mini camps, no preseason and no OTA’s because of Covid. I think it’s crazy that people are just assuming Hightower and Watkins would hit the ground running. And i love Hightower and liked Watkins in the draft.

are they more talented than what we finish the season with? Hell yeah. However just because you have more talented rookies than PS guys that does not mean they are ready to be those type of guys you are expecting in year one

[Alphagrand]

8 minutes ago, 315Eagles said:

Not sure if it was brought up earlier but any of you see that Deadspin article about McCown having a job with the Eagles but Kaepernick still cant get one?  Beyond stupid.  Came from Rob Parker so it's not surprising.

My suspicion is once Goodell encouraged teams to bring him in that at least one team (almost guarantee SEA) reached out to him, and found out what I’ve been saying for two years — the guy isn’t employed because he expects to get paid starting QB salary.

The good news is he’s back active in Madden 2021 — and has an overall rating of 82; higher than Newton and Mayfield.  Now, that’s ridiculous 

[Green Dog]

14 minutes ago, DEagle7 said:

That WR?  Some guy we picked up off another team's PS after our whole squad goes down.  

There could be multiple candidates.  Remember, they brought in a couple new guys this year to tweak the offense.  Clearly they are going to move towards favoring deeper routes and progressions evidenced by the speed drafted at wr.  And we know Carson prefers the deep ball because he is constantly trying to extend plays looking for it.  But after Jackson went down last year, there was never anyone to throw to.