Sports

[yellowBeetle]

I think I am suffering from Mock Draft Fatigue Syndrome.😉 Every analyst out there seems to be trying to outdo every other analyst with some shocking or surprise prediction! It is getting kind of crazy. 

It is still lots of fun to speculate...but to put any real belief or stock into any particular mock draft seems kind of pointless. At least we only have two more weeks of these predictions! We will see what actually happens on April 29!😉

[gardenman]

The hot new rumor has the Eagles and Bills making a deal on draft night. The Eagles bundle pick 37 and Zach Ertz to the Bills to move up to 30. Moving up to thirty gives the Eagles some more options. If a QB they like (Kyle Trask) is still there, they can draft him and have that fifth-year option that comes with first-round picks. Whoever they'd pick at thirty would have that fifth-year option which is handy.

That's a fairly believable trade. Ertz has value. The Bills are a contender. The Eagles are moving away from Ertz. We have Goedert and three conversion projects on the roster now. If the Eagles were to cut Ertz he'd be free to negotiate with anyone (assuming no one put in a waiver claim for him, which someone might since he's only due $8 million in 2021.) This way the Bills would be sure they got him without having to get in a bidding war with anyone. Moving back seven spots isn't horrible for them. It kind of makes sense for everyone. We'll have to see if it comes true or not.

[yellowBeetle]

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@gardenman wrote:

The hot new rumor has the Eagles and Bills making a deal on draft night. The Eagles bundle pick 37 and Zach Ertz to the Bills to move up to 30. Moving up to thirty gives the Eagles some more options. If a QB they like (Kyle Trask) is still there, they can draft him and have that fifth-year option that comes with first-round picks. Whoever they'd pick at thirty would have that fifth-year option which is handy.

That's a fairly believable trade. Ertz has value. The Bills are a contender. The Eagles are moving away from Ertz. We have Goedert and three conversion projects on the roster now. If the Eagles were to cut Ertz he'd be free to negotiate with anyone (assuming no one put in a waiver claim for him, which someone might since he's only due $8 million in 2021.) This way the Bills would be sure they got him without having to get in a bidding war with anyone. Moving back seven spots isn't horrible for them. It kind of makes sense for everyone. We'll have to see if it comes true or not.

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@gardenman 

Yes I have read this too about the possible Ertz trade and it sounds like it could happen... and it really makes great sense! But what I have seen is that if with their 12th pick the Eagles went with a CB like Surtain, then with this 30th pick they could also get a really good WR like Minnesota's Rashod Bateman or LSU's Terrace Marshall, Jr. Sounds encouraging!😉

[gardenman]

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@Spurt wrote:

Interesting signing for my WFT--- 

The WFT signed developmental TE prospect, Sammis Reyes. Reyes worked out at the Florida Gators’ Pro Day a couple of weeks ago and made an impression with many scouts with his ridiculous athleticism. Originally from Chile, Reyes came to the US to try to make it in the NBA, played basketball at Tulane. Though his pro basketball dreams didn’t come true, his near ideal build and athleticism appeared to be a good fit for the NFL. Reyes was on the path to being placed as one of the players in the NFL’s International Pathway Program, but  Washington snatched him before he could be assigned elsewhere.  Reyes is extremely raw, but could end up being a very interesting developmental option at a position of need.

I was thinking what does this say about Thaddeus Moss....this Reyes guy with his raw talent was signed and Moss let go....

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Extremely raw might be an understatement when it comes to Reyes. There are positions on the football field where you can plop down an "athlete" and they can be okayish. Tight end isn't one of those positions. There are a lot of subtleties a tight end has to be able to handle and you don't learn those in ten weeks. Things like chipping a defensive end/outside linebacker take time to learn. How long do you engage him? What do you do if he grabs you and holds you to prevent you from going out on your route? How long does it take for the tackle to be ready to take him over for you? How do you handle the transition? What happens if the tackle isn't ready to take him?

Things like hand placement, footwork, angles, leverage, and more all need to be learned and become second nature. It's not an easy transition. Thaddeus Moss had the right physical traits, but couldn't make the adjustment. The Eagles have three guys they're trying to transition to tight end. All three have football experience but are still trying to learn all of the subtleties. One mistake and your tight end can go from chipping a defensive end to seeing that defensive end crushing your QB. 

I wouldn't expect too much from Reyes. He might make the practice squad, but I wouldn't be overly optimistic. You can plug an "athlete" in as a fullback without a lot of trouble. "The ball goes that away. Block anyone who's in front of you."  In some defenses, you can plug an "athlete" in at the middle linebacker spot. "Chase the ball and tackle whoever has it." By and large, most spots on the football field need both an athlete and a technician. It's that technician part that takes time to learn.

[Spurt]

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@gardenman 

Well here's something interesting I found out....this hasn't been the first time that Riverboat Ron took a chance on guys with no prior football experience:

Teddy Williams attended college at UTSA right here in San Antonio, he was a track star and had a track time that one time matched Usain Bolt.....He ended up playing 8 years in the NFL and for several teams and was picked up by Rivera and the Panthers, Williams played special teams and CB (which I know is a different skill set than TE) and was on their Super Bowl team that lost to the Patriots....

Ron also signed Efe Obada a defensive lineman from England..... In 2020, there were eight players from the IPP program and four of them played in the NFC East.  If they had waited for the IPP program to kick in before signing Reyes, a player signed under the Pathway program doesn’t count toward the 90-man roster in the off-season. He is, in effect, the 91st guy. Plus, no matter what, the team is able to carry the player for the full season; even If he doesn’t make the 53-man roster or practice squad, the league created what was, last season, a special 11th practice squad spot for the Pathway Program players.

Ron had also been impressed with the work he saw that TE Coach, Pete Hoener did with Logan Thomas. Here's something interesting too, that several NFL TEs converted from basketball---Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates, and Jimmy Graham....so there's a skillset that converts nicely...but still no football experience is a LOOONNNG way to go .... he might make the practice squad IF he's really lucky..... I guess its what Bruce Allen used to call "just a fun pick" 🙄 There had to be something that really intrigued them because they didnt wait for him to hit the NFL's International Pathway Program....

As a basketball player Reyes should have had his agent contact my NBA Spurs....they LOVE international basketball players and which has helped them to win 5 championships---(guys from France, Argentina, Australia, Italy...even Tim Duncan is from VI...a U.S. territory)....He been a good prospect for their G League Developmental Team...

[Spurt]

In other WFT news---

In the latest draft, Mel Kiper has the WFT selecting LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah....and seems to be the most popular pick with mock drafters. 

WFT and ESPN Reporter, John Keim, has been pretty vocal about Washington’s desire to address the left tackle position in the draft, and if they don’t get their guy at #19, it’s a pretty strong possibility they won’t wait until Day 3. Alabama OT Alex Leatherwood shows up this week as a player that could compete with Cornelius Lucas for the LT spot from Day 1. Alijah Vera-Tucker is a versatile offensive lineman that pops up again this week, this time from Daniel Jeremiah.

[gardenman]

By and large, the mock drafts have the Eagles taking whichever wide receiver is still there, a corner, or an o-lineman. Those are pretty safe bets. I think a few more defenders will go earlier than anticipated. The same with o-linemen. That could drop a receiver right into the Eagles' lap. This is generally viewed as a receiver-heavy draft, so there's less need to grab one at the top. All of the receivers have some sort of question mark with them also.

I don't see the Eagles going o-line early. We're knee-deep in o-linemen when they're healthy. Things looked bad last year because they weren't healthy. We're pretty much two deep in starter quality o-linemen at each spot though. At left tackle, we've got Mailata and Dillard. At left guard, we've got Seumalo and Opeta. At center, we've got Kelce and Juriga. At right guard, we've got Brooks and Herbig. At right tackle, we've got Johnson and Driscoll. And then we've got Brett Toth, Ross Pierschbacher, and Matt Pryor hanging around looking for a role. That's arguably the most solid group we have at any position. We just got killed with injuries last year. That shouldn't happen again. (God willing.)

We invested a lot in kid receivers over the last few years. Were we wrong about their potential? Were they badly coached? Badly schemed? Are they better than they looked? (They can't be a lot worse.)

Cornerback is an issue. We've got Darius Slay and that's about all. If you go by roster construction, cornerback should be the priority. Will the new style of defense (more zone) help our existing corners? 

We tend to draft d-line a lot in the draft. Kwity Paye is the top d-lineman. If he's there at twelve he could get Howie's attention. Is the best d-lineman better than the fourth receiver? Who knows? We'll start to find out answers in a little over two weeks.

[teganslaw]

Reggie Wayne will be inducted into the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame, along with 4 others. Wayne was in the 2001 Senior Bowl, when Colts scouts noticed him. The rest is history. 

One woman has dropped her lawsuit against DeShaun Watson, so it's down to 21 now. All of them plan to give their identities. The lawyers are also working on consolidating all the lawsuits into one class action suit. I don't know how that will work out. The NFL hasn't commented on what they plan to do. 

[Spurt]

@yellowBeetle @teganslaw 

Yellowbeetle hope Comcast fixed your channel so you could watch Jeopardy....but here's the funny moment from this week's hosting...Teganslaw didnt know if you got to see this...

http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=31252139

[yellowBeetle]

QB Justin Fields is having his second Pro Day today. Heard this morning that reps from at least five teams will be there to watch. SF, NE, DEN, ATL, and the NY Jets will all be there. The Jets are kind of a surprise given that everyone seems to think they are locked in with Zach Wilson. Kyle Shanahan will be there as will Bill Belichick. I have read that it likely will be closed to the media.

I still have a hard time believing that Kyle Shanahan traded away so, so much to move up to the #3 pick to get Mac Jones. Maybe it is my Scottish frugality coming out, lol....but it just seems that Mac Jones would likely have still been available to SF at #12 had they not traded up, and therefore there was not any reason to give away so much if that is who they want. The only argument though that makes sense is that NE has been rumored to like Mac Jones and if Shanahan really does think Jones is his type of QB in the Kirk Cousins-Matt Ryan mold, then he felt he had to trade up to guarantee that NE would not swoop in and get him.

But it seems that most agree in objectively comparing Mac Jones to Justin Fields that  there really is no comparison. Mac Jones is considered to be a very good QB...but Justin Fields is considered to be an elite QB. So as several analysts  said on "Get Up" this morning, they will not believe it until they see it on April 29 that Shanahan really traded away so very much to move up to #3 to take Mac Jones!😉