Sports

[gardenman]

Stafford's deal raised the starting salary of a top QB to $27 million a year. And truth be told, he's not really a top QB. I think the QB position in the league is one of the most under-coached positions in the league these days. More often than not the teams will toss the guy out there with minimal guidance and see what happens.

I truly believe that if you hired a coach for each quarterback on your roster who would work one on one with that QB every single day they're allowed to, you could create a pretty good corps of quarterbacks who could all be competent starters in the league. The Eagles have pretty much surrounded Carson Wentz with QB coaches in a head coach who was a former QB and QB coach in Doug Pederson, an offensive coordinator who was a former QB and QB coach in Frank Reich, and the current QB coach John DeFelippo. All three of those guys have been quarterbacks and know the position. If you can take a guy with raw talent and coach him into being a good/great QB, those guys will do it.

There are lots of kids coming out of college with the arm talent to play in the NFL. Cooper Rush of the Cowboys being just one example of an undrafted kid who's looked great. More often than not however the high draft picks are the kids from the big programs with lots of wins. Teams will toss them out there to sink or swim and more often than not they sink. (Blake Bortles is in the process of sinking as we speak.) It's ironic that one of the most valuable positions on the team is often the least coached position on the team.

If I had an NFL team I would always have a strong-armed kid of the right size on the practice squad with a personal coach assigned to him. At home games he'd be in the stands/boxes behind the offense each quarter with the coach by his side, reading the opposing defense, checking the offensive formation, telling the coach what he sees, what he'd do, and then watching the actons  of the starting quarterback on the field. At the end of each quarter they'd hop in a cart to race to the other end zone to do the same thing from behind the offense again. It's the closest a kid could get to real game acton and done in real time with a good coach/mentor by his side it could help get his head into the right place. If you could consistently churn out competent starting QB's, you could rotate the position whenever your starter got too pricey and get extra picks for the former starter without missing a beat with the new kid.

[yellowBeetle]

Tonight's game between the Eagles and Jets will be interesting because of the running back situation. Both Corey Clement and Donnel Pumphrey want that 4th RB spot on the roster. I have read some articles that advocate keeping both of them! With Blount, Sproles, and Smallwood most likely sure bets to be on the team, would it be excessive to add Clement and Pumphrey? Maybe not. I like both of them - but if a choice has to be made, I would go with Corey Clement. I think he has been truly outstanding! 

What do you think, @gardenman? 

[brandiwine]

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@Spurt wrote:

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@brandiwine wrote:

Shout out to JJ Watt raising money to help the victims in Houston.  ALL money will go directly to them, no admin costs etc.  Right now it's over 1.2 million.  Love the generosity of the people in this great country.  

@brandiwine

And love to JJ Watt too---great guy! 

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now he's raised over 8 million!  The JJ Watt foundation is organizing donated items in WI and sending them to TX.  The Texans will start distributing on Sunday.  What a great role model.

[gardenman]

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@yellowBeetle wrote:

Tonight's game between the Eagles and Jets will be interesting because of the running back situation. Both Corey Clement and Donnel Pumphrey want that 4th RB spot on the roster. I have read some articles that advocate keeping both of them! With Blount, Sproles, and Smallwood most likely sure bets to be on the team, would it be excessive to add Clement and Pumphrey? Maybe not. I like both of them - but if a choice has to be made, I would go with Corey Clement. I think he has been truly outstanding! 

What do you think, @gardenman? 

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I think keeping them both is pretty smart. Sproles is likely here for one last year. Blount also only signed a one year deal. I wouldn't be shocked to see one of the kids grab his hamstring and collapse on the field tonight to get put on IR for the year, most likely Pumphrey. The general consensus is that he needs a bit more time before he's ready to be a consistent player., but he has the potential to be a new Darren Sproles once he's developed a bit more. From what I've gathered Pumphrey was the darling of the minicamps where there was no hitting, but once the pads went on he regressed.

If you can give Pumphrey a year on the bench to learn, get stronger, get more confident, then use him to replace Sproles next year, it would likely be ideal. The general belief is that the Eagles will grab a runningback early in next year's draft. Saquon Barkley from Penn State is the name you keep hearing. I'm not sure he'll hang around until the Eagles draft, but you never know. The value of running backs seem to vary each year. With Ezekiel Elliott having a big year last year, suddenly running backs became popular picks again. If the top picks from this past year's draft don't excel this year, then they may slip back in the draft again next year. It's a fickle league.

Some of the second round guys from last year, Joe Mixon, Dalvin Cook, look to do well this year. If they perform well, teams may be more willing to wait until round two to grab a guy letting some of the better runningbacks slide down in the draft..

I like Corey Clement but I'm not sure he's "the guy" as much as he's "a guy."  I'm not sure there's anything all that special about him as a runner. I think he's a good solid runner who plays hard, but I haven't really seen anything about him that jumps out to me. A guy like Pumphrey, who has Darren Sproles like ability, is harder to find. If I could only keep one, I'd likely keep Pumphrey and hope Corey Clement slipped through waivers and put him on the practice squad.

[yellowBeetle]

@gardenman

I value your opinion, so if it turns out the way you think, that will be OK!

I hate to think of Sproles ever leaving, lol, but know that he probably will step aside after this season. If you think Pumphrey can be the next Sproles, then definitely Pumphrey should be on the roster. With Clement, I have seen him interviewed several times and have been so impressed with his work ethic, determination, and eagerness to do well. He has certainly made some great plays this preseason!

So my wish is that they both become part of the Eagle organization in some capacity!! 

[gardenman]

Hmmm.....I thnk the Eagles might be reading my posts. Just when I say the QB spot is the least coached position in the NFL and every QB should have their own personal guru on staff, the Eagles just hired another quarterback coach in Trent Miles. We now have Doug Pederson, Frank Reich, John Defilippo, Press Taylor and now Trent Miles all coaching our two (maybe three?) quarterbacks. So much for one on one coaching. They're ramping it up to two to three coaches per quarterback. Assuming all of the coaches are on the same page (which may be assuming a lot) the Eagles QB's can't argue they were undercoached. 

My gut is the Eagles have their eye on a young kid QB prospect they're hoping to pick up after the final cuts. Cooper Rush would be my best guess. Getting him would give the Eagles insight into the Cowboys' program, give them a young backup they can groom, and give them a safety net if Carson Wentz flames out. Would Cooper come to Philly? Would he even clear waivers to have that chance? Likely not, but it will be interesting to see. You don't generally hire an extra coach towards the end of the offseason unless you've got a plan and I'm thinking the Eagles may be adopting my one on one coaching approach with a kid quarterback.

I don't think we have a kid on the roster now who really qualifies as a potential future starter, but there are going to be lots of kids getting cut in a few days time. Find one with the right size and athletic ability who just needs work on his mechanics and thought processes and handcuff him to a personal coach through the season. By next year you could have a budding superstar. We'll have to see what happens, but the Eagles are going heavy at QB coaches.