Sports

[gardenman]

It's draft month! The next big roster-building period is almost upon us. Teams that haven't found "their guy" in free agency now get a chance to try and find him in the draft. Mock drafts will start popping up every five minutes instead of every ten minutes.

The "experts" still seem intent on the Eagles drafting an offensive lineman. Eh, maybe. I still think the Eagles think they got the five kids last year and like them, so why waste an early pick on another one? Safety or edge seems like a bigger need to me. I don't see a rookie offensive lineman coming in and starting this year or next year, so why use a high pick now on one? You've got five kids queued up now, why add a sixth?

A rotational edge, DT, or safety has playing potential. A good young tight end would be nice. A good young corner isn't a bad option. A speed receiver is always an option. That's been more of a focus in free agency (Hollywood Brown, Elijah Moore), so if they can find a fast, cheap kid, they could go that way. Brown and Moore are both one-year deals, so, a short-term fix. 

They'll probably use a later round pick on a kid QB or sign one as an undrafted free agent. Not a huge need, but Howie likes to have a kid around to develop. 

Howie tends to patch holes with one-year guys, then draft a kid to replace the one-year guy. The one-year guys this year are Riq Woolen, Hollywood Brown, Elijah Moore, Marcus Epps, the TEs, and the two edge rushers. So, corner, safety, edge, speed receiver, and tight end seem to be the areas where Howie will focus in the draft. Whoever is highest rated at any of those spots will likely be his picks.

A new mock draft (Bruce Feldman's) has the Cowboys trading up to three to get David Bailey. He has the Cowboys trading picks 12 and 92 to move up to three. That doesn't make sense on the draft value charts. The Cards would be vastly underselling pick three in that trade scenario. Pick three is typically valued at 2200 points. Pick twelve is 1200 points. Pick 92 is 132 points.  To get to 2200 points, the Cowboys would need picks 12 (1200 points), 20 (850 points), and 92 (132 points) and still be a little short in terms of value. I don't see the Cards making a move unless the Cowboys bundle both firsts and a later pick. It's not like those two organizations love one another and want to help the other. The Cards are more likely to make the Cowboys pay a premium to move up than cut them a very good deal. (Maybe Feldman forgot to include pick 20 in his article?)

Teams get players back in the building again and talking football again this month. The OTA's officially start soon. New head coaches can start meetings on April 6th, and returning coaches on April 20th.

[Spurt]

@gardenman @PARedbird @teganslaw @nrm @LavernLuvsShoes @sunshine45 and All

Big story on ESPN's website regarding Jalen Hurts and Eagles being at crossroads. Hurts has pushed back on changes to diversify the offense, and now it looks like he's gonna be on the hot seat this season 

And MERRY CHRISTMAS 

The NFL owners are overjoyed, but not so much for NFL fans and their wallets....Two Christmas games on Netflix-- so let that cash register ring 🤑💵 and one on Fox. This year, the league also will likely play Thursday, December 24, and one or more games on Saturday, December 26, which sets up a full, five-day run of games--- Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday!!!

Jerry Jones is pushing for an 18 game season and cutting a game from the preseason, and he feels the players will come around when they see how much money they can make....But there's significant evidence and widespread belief within the NFL community that reduced playing time for starters in the preseason—and a generally less intense training camp—has contributed to higher injury rates, particularly during the first few weeks of the regular season. 

It's described as a catch-22: teams want to protect star players from getting hurt in meaningless preseason games, but this lack of "warming up" their bodies to game-speed impact leaves them vulnerable to injuries when the regular season begins. 

[nrm]

@Spurt Well,that's interesting! I hope Jalen has a better season this year. 
I don't have a problem with watching football over the holidays, but I would rather see fewer injuries. 
Thanks for the info. 

[gardenman]

The Jalen Hurts nonsense is endless. It's always "anonymous sources" or "insiders" but they're always too scared to put their names out there. If you're going to complain about the QB, be a man and put your name behind your claim. Doubt him all you want, but I'll take him over any QB in the league right now. 

I think a lot of the nonsense around Hurts comes from the "experts" who hated the Eagles drafting him in the second round when they already had Wentz. "He's a wasted draft pick!" Nope. He's arguably the best QB from the 2020 NFL draft now. Burrow (first overall) is good, but has injury, and other issues. Tua (fifth overall) is playing his way out of the league. Herbert (sixth overall) is good, but not great. Love (26th overall) is also good, but not great. And then you have Hurts (53rd overall), who has outperformed all of them. He's been to two Super Bowls. Super Bowl MVP in one and could have been the MVP in both. 

"He audibles too much!" Is he right when he makes the audibles? That's kind of an important point. Sticking with a bad playcall when the defense is stacked against it is stupid. "This QB is great! He never audibles."  No. That QB is stupid. You have to get out of bad plays. 

Much of, most of, the Eagles' problems in 2025 were injury-related. The offensive line was banged up, with three starters either out or trying to play through significant injuries. Hurts typically found himself in third and long situations, and success then is not easy no matter who the QB is. 

Does he have plays he prefers? Yeah. So does every QB. "He's inflexible!" He's had different OCs and coaches every year since high school. He's always adapted to whatever's thrown at him.

Hurts is a winner. Those who hate him are whiners. If you want to complain about the man, put your name on it. Own the criticism. This anonymous backstabbing gets real old, real fast. If you're going to complain about the man, be a man and put your name behind your claims. 

[teganslaw]

Kirk Cousins is signing with the Raiders. The contract details weren't listed. Raiders coach Klint Kubiak said that he would prefer not to start a rookie QB week 1 if the scenario is right. It seems that Cousins will now be starter and Mendoza (if analysts are correct) would be on the bench learning from Cousins. 

[PARedbird]

@gardenman - agree with you one thousand percent on your post about Jalen!!  Couldn't have said it better myself!  

As I always say, the Eagles are a hated team in the NFL and someone is always looking for trouble!  Even the one sports guy from NBC10 in Philly is always stirring the pot with his posts on Facebook abou the Eagles, Jalen, and all the other Philly teams!  He should go work for another station other than Philly!  People go after them with their comments bu he either doesn't read them or else is loving it that he ticks off the fans!  

I think Jalen is doing just fine!  He needs time to adjust to his new coach and routine in the upcoming season! 

[gardenman]

The Kirk Cousins' deal is interesting. It gives the Raiders an out next year, but the club option of "two years at $80 million" is a bit vague. Is that $40 million per year, or $80 million per year? If it's $80 million per year, then Cousins is guaranteed to be a free agent again next year. The $40 million per year is more manageable if the Raiders decide he's "the guy."

I don't know how that works based on the reporting I've seen/read.  At $40 million per year for four years ($160 million) plus the $12 million this year, it works out to the reported $172 million. There may be two void years, so the $80 million for two years ($160 million) and the $12 million works too. 

No matter how well he plays in 2026, there's no way the Raiders pay him $80 million a year. The possible $40 million a year could be a bargain for the Raiders if he plays well. Upper-tier QBs are getting $50+ million a year these days. 

[Spurt]

@gardenman @PARedbird 

ESPN'S Adam Schefter agrees with you both and said he doesn't understand all the criticism of Jalen Hurts! He said Hurts did a lot of things right, won Super Bowl, and even Super Bowl MVP not that long ago....He said different offense coordinators and a different offense every year and he still does a lot of things right!

[gardenman]

Hurts is a solid, decent, outwardly Christian athlete, so the media has to try to destroy him. Tank Bigsby had the best reply saying, “The best in the world! Stop all that hating my boy!”

The criticism of Hurts is just nuts. It's just reporters trying to make a story out of thin air. "Sources within the organization," who? A cheerleader? Building janitor? One of the cooks? Anyone can be a "source within the organization." Put a name on the people making the accusations. Don't do this anonymous nonsense. Name names or don't print nonsense. 

Philly sports media is the worst in the country. They'll find the clouds on the sunniest of days. If there are no clouds, they'll make some up. 

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

Hurts is a solid, decent, outwardly Christian athlete, so the media has to try to destroy him. Tank Bigsby had the best reply saying, “The best in the world! Stop all that hating my boy!”

The criticism of Hurts is just nuts. It's just reporters trying to make a story out of thin air. "Sources within the organization," who? A cheerleader? Building janitor? One of the cooks? Anyone can be a "source within the organization." Put a name on the people making the accusations. Don't do this anonymous nonsense. Name names or don't print nonsense. 

Philly sports media is the worst in the country. They'll find the clouds on the sunniest of days. If there are no clouds, they'll make some up. 

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@gardenman @PARedbird 

Not just Philly, I think Sports Reporters and social media writers hate the high character good guys......they prefer the strip club, bad boys, the fighters, drug users, the guys that carry guns, assualt their women etc etc....it makes the journalist's life exciting 🙄 .....thats why the media hates Jalen and also the Spurs--they're all good guys....(Here in SA one mistake in your private life and their gone!!!) So the Spurs get labeled BORING, they even play as an actual team and share the ball...IMAGINE THAT!!! Who cares if these high character guys no matter what the sport are winners, that doesn't matter, its all about the published or social media story..... 🙄 It's like THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER with its Sensational headlines is the standard for journalism today!!! (I remember waiting to checkout at the grocery store and reading the headlines on that very tabloid--- early form of "click baiting"---SMH)....So maybe Hurts need to view the criticism as a "badge of honor" in representing the decent athlete....