Sports

[gardenman]

@Spurt 

I doubt that the women will wait for Jayden Daniels to have a bad game to start chanting Sam's name. "Football, smootball, we want Sam!" I'm sorry to tell them but he's actively involved with a Wake Forest soccer player named Tyla who can probably kick any of their backsides if they get in her way.

There is a Gardner Minshew vibe about him. I like a team having two young QBs competing with, and working with one another. It can work or it can be a disaster. Overall, I think it's a positive. A lot depends on the mindset of the two kids. There are about a million concepts the kid QBs have to learn and if they're helping one another it can make life easier for both. There will be things Sam will pick up quickly that Jayden won't and vice versa. If each one helps the other, it's a positive development for a team. Coaches sometimes assume a kid knows something that he doesn't and move on to something else before the kid knows what he was being coached. Another kid in the same position can help figure things out for the first one and both grow stronger.

What you don't want are the two trying to destroy each other and working against one another. That can split a team. Assuming Jayden isn't terrible, there shouldn't be a big rift. As the second overall pick in the draft, he'll be the starter. He just can't be horrible or things could start to spiral if Sam looks better. If Jayden takes off running even if a receiver is open, but Sam stays in the pocket and makes the throw to the open receiver, things can start to get messy. The receivers and o-line can start to think that maybe they have the wrong starter.

Howie is being Howie by signing Mekhi Becton. He couldn't get the offensive tackle he wanted in the draft to back up the starters, so he's signing Becton as an insurance policy. Becton looked great as a rookie, then was injured for two years straight. He played in sixteen games last year, showing he can stay healthy, but wasn't great. (Nineteen penalties and 12.5 sacks allowed.) Now he gets to spend a year being coached up by Jeff Stoutland who will fix his technical issues and we'll get to see how good the kid can be. He's got rare size and ability, he just needs polishing and to stay healthy. A good year in Philly with some starts filling in for an injured guy and he can be a priority free agent for some team in 2025.

Stoutland is something of a miracle worker with o-linemen. He took one of the Giants' cast-off linemen last year and rebuilt him in a few weeks and then the Giants poached him back from the practice squad and he was then their best starter on the o-line. Coaching matters. I think we had four o-linemen poached from the practice squad last year and then lost two more backups in free agency. The Eagles are something of an o-line factory. We've got a ton of kids and vets on the roster for Stoutland to work with this year and teams needing an o-lineman will be watching our cuts preseason to grab our castoffs then poaching kids off the practice squad later. Becton may very well be the most sought-after free agent in 2025 if he gets on the field much in 2024.

Will the Eagles grab another free agent? Eh, maybe. Justin Simmons is still out there and is a Vic Fangio disciple, though there are questions as to whether either wants to work with the other one again. The Eagles have Reed Blankenship and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson as the presumed starters, with Sydney Brown, Tristan McCollum as the backups and maybe the kid Cooper DeJean being cross-trained at safety/corner. If they sign Simmons it would likely be to a one-year deal to serve as a player/coach. Not great depth at safety right now. 

The still unsigned free agents now are being targeted by a team that missed the guys they wanted in the draft. If they're not signed in the next few days, they'll likely be lingering until injuries in training camp create an opening or teams realize they missed on a kid they drafted. It won't be long before coaches realize a kid they thought highly of isn't as good as they'd hoped. Rookie camps will start over the next few weeks and coaches will get to see the kids on the field for the first time.

[teganslaw]

Ezekiel Elliott is rejoining the Cowboys. They have worked out a deal provided Elliott passes a physical. Details weren't listed, but it seems that Dallas has found an answer to RB.

Elliott never did much in NE, so this should give him a chance to regain his momentum. 

[Spurt]

@gardenman @teganslaw @PARedbird @LavernLuvsShoes 

Washington gave former Colorado State CB Chig Anusiem a whopping $50,000 signing bonus and a $300K base salary guarantee, per source. Half the league wanted Anusiem after he went undrafted, and Washington paid up to lock him in.

Some say CB Mike Sainristil is Sauce Gardner 2.......and DT Johnny Newton received high praise from national media, saying on film the way he just tossed offensive lineman aside was impressive......

And in Cowboy news.....he's back...pending a physical, Zeke is back with the Cowboys.......good thing because they didn't draft a RB.....As for their selections the Cowboys always pay attention to the online ....But even our local sport's guys said the Cowboys draft is mostly project players that need work, and a couple will be forced to start....is this what Jerry means by being "all in".....

[gardenman]

@teganslaw 

It's an interesting move for the Cowboys. There was a reason besides his contract that they let Elliott go. He's not horrible and he'd fit in with the "all-in" philosophy, if anything else the Cowboys had done matched that statement. Dust off the vet for one last go and hope for the best.

Tyler Guyton their new rookie left tackle has reportedly (Sports Illustrated) played all of one snap at left tackle in his career. I'm not sure I wouldn't have found a more experienced replacement. The kid could be good, but plugging him in to protect Dak's blindside is a high-risk choice. Every defense will target the kid this year. He's going to see things he's never seen before.

It's going to be an interesting year for Dallas. I don't see them being improved over last year. It's not hard to argue their roster is weaker this year. They have some pretty unhappy stars who want new contracts. Not an ideal situation.  

[gardenman]

@Spurt 

When kids get to the sixth and seventh round, they almost hope not to get drafted as they can often get more money and pick their team in free agency. Draft picks are slotted in at a certain price, but the undrafted kids often can get more than the guys slotted in higher rounds if teams compete for them.

It's a nightmare for a kid to get drafted late and be tenth on the depth chart when he might be two or three on another team. Kids prefer to not be drafted later in the draft. 

[teganslaw]

CBS is dropping Phil Simms and Boomer Esiason from "The NFL Today." Matt Ryan (who officially retired) and JJ Watt will take their places, though Watt is scheduled only part time. 

James Brown, Nate Burleson and Bill Cowher will remain on the show. 

[Spurt]

[Spurt]

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@teganslaw wrote:

CBS is dropping Phil Simms and Boomer Esiason from "The NFL Today." Matt Ryan (who officially retired) and JJ Watt will take their places, though Watt is scheduled only part time. 

James Brown, Nate Burleson and Bill Cowher will remain on the show. 

---

@teganslaw 

When watching CBS Sports Pre-Game I felt that Phil Simms never really connected with the rest of the panel, and the only ones I really liked on that show were James Brown and JJ Watt.....the rest came across as at bit smug.....Matt Ryan seems to have a kinda dull personality.....but he could be different away from the field and locker room...

I just prefer Fox, not the kickoff show---but the show with: Curt Menefee with analysts Terry Bradshaw,  Howie Long, Michael Strahan and Jimmy Johnson with reports from NFL insider Jay Glazer.

[Spurt]

@Spurt 

I doubt that the women will wait for Jayden Daniels to have a bad game to start chanting Sam's name. "Football, smootball, we want Sam!" I'm sorry to tell them but he's actively involved with a Wake Forest soccer player named Tyla who can probably kick any of their backsides if they get in her way.

@gardenman 

It seems like many NFL player's girlfriends or wives also have had an athletic background .....Patrick Mahomes wife played soccer in college, Simone Biles, gymnastics is married to the Bears Jonsthan Owens and JJ Watt's wife played professional soccer and was recently hired as a commentator for the sport....others were in softball, volleyball etc....maybe Travis Kelce needs to go in a different than the music field.....Jason Kelce's wife was in journalism....met on an online dating site....BTW did Goff ever marry his swimsuit model?

...BUT NO MATTER, IT WON'T PREVENT THE AVERAGE FEMALE NFL FAN FROM CHEERING THAT GOOD LOOKING PLAYER ON.  .....THEY JUST AREN'T AFRAID OF CURRENT GIRLFRIENDS OR WIVES NO MATTER ATHELE OR NOT

[gardenman]

Jason Kelce is joining ESPN's Monday Night Countdown pregame show. And his brother Travis is signing a two-year extension with the Chiefs making him the highest-paid TE. (For now anyway.)

The Eagles cut four guys from the current roster to make room for the undrafted free agents they wanted. Not a great time to get cut if you're a player. Most teams have their ninety-man roster more or less set, so you're likely hanging around now until injuries start taking guys out later in the preseason process. It might be time for those guys to look into the other football leagues or a career outside of football. These cuts with the reported signings and draft picks put the Eagles at the ninety-man mark. That also implies no other free agent signing is imminent as the Eagles didn't create an extra roster spot.

The Eagles have their rookie minicamp this coming weekend where the kids all get together for the first time and start to get some serious coaching. It can be a very nerve-wracking time for a kid. Moving to a new city, getting settled, and then immediately into the fire. About ten million things are going on in their life and they have to keep their heads straight. Not an easy time for them. Some of them are still finishing classes and getting ready to graduate. Some have wives and kids they need to find a home for in addition to everything else. And none of them are truly guaranteed a job. A fairly high-stress time for a kid.

I've always thought it would be smart for a team to build their own housing subdivision. Some individual houses, some apartments/condos, all designed for the needs of football players who tend to be bigger and heavier than "normal" people. A guard gated community with a running track, gym, practice fields, a cafeteria, a medical clinic, daycare, etc. all there in a safe, comfortable place for the players/coaches. A football village for lack of a better term. Everything could be furnished or unfurnished depending on the needs/wants of the player/coach. I suspect the NFL would require you to charge rent, but you could charge on the lower end of the local rent scale and give the players/coaches a better option than what was available locally. It would take a significant upfront investment, but given the money thrown around in the NFL these days, it wouldn't be too bad and could give you a better chance at landing free agents or keeping your own guys.