Sports

[gardenman]

Interesting. The Cowboys signed Everson Griffen to a one year. maximum $6 million deal ($3 million locked in $3 million in incentives.) Why was he so inexpensive? He's 32 but has played well in recent years. He had eight sacks last year and has averaged around 7.5 sacks per year. Guys with those numbers typically sign bigger deals. He doesn't have much of an injury history. Why would he sign a deal for just $3 million guaranteed?  If that was his best offer, why was it his best offer? Is he a bad locker room guy? Is there something else going on that we don't know about? Getting a healthy 7.5-8 sack a year guy for $3 million typically doesn't happen. Why were so few teams bidding for him? I get the impression there's something happening there that I don't understand. It seems like the league knows something about Everson that I don't.

[gardenman]

In some good news the last Eagle, Jordan Mailata, came off the Covid-19 Reserve list today. The NFL doc overseeing the Covid-19 response has confirmed that there have been no serious cases of Covid-19 reported since the protocols were put in place. The few cases that popped up were all mild or asymptomatic.

[gardenman]

DeSean Jackson and Darius Slay have been matched up man-to-man in practice today and DeSean has looked like vintage DeSean, escaping Slay's attempts to get his hands on him and blowing past him. Next play DeSean starts down the field, slams on the brakes, makes the catch and darts downfield. The Eagles DB's are going to have their hands full in practice this year. DeSean's back healthy and ready to play, and the kid speedsters aren't far behind him. The Eagles DBs are going to be looking forward to real games so they don't have to face those guys.

[teganslaw]

I was checking the internet about Everson Griffen. In 2018 there were incidents of "verbal outbursts" by him, which happened often enough that the Vikings ordered him to have a mental evaluation. He had an encounter with police in which he thought someone was trying to kill him. He spend 3 months in a sober house to help him cope.

He is much better now and has put these issues behind him, but that could have been the reason he wasn't offered a high salary. Maybe teams were afraid to take a chance until the Cowboys came along.

Jadeveon Clowney has apparently turned out several offers of 15 million or more. He's not interested unless the offer is at least 20  million. The Seahawks want him back, but aren't offering want Clowney expects. He might be waiting a long time for that to happen. 

[Spurt]

@teganslaw @gardenman 

Clowney's salary demands are ridiculous has he forgotten his own injury history----

Jadeveon Clowney Injury History

Date League Injury Details

Feb 25, 2020	NFL	Inguinal Groin Strain Grade 2	Clowney had successful surgery on the core-muscle injury he dealt with over the second half of the season.
Dec 9, 2019	NFL	Inguinal Groin Strain Grade 2	Clowney dealt with a core injury as he missed two games against the Panthers and the Cardinals but he was ready for the season finale
Nov 20, 2019	NFL	Knee Patella Sprain	Clowney missed the game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Week 12 after suffering a hip injury.
Sep 9, 2018	NFL	Back Lower Lumbar Sprain/Pull Unspecified Grade 1	Clowney missed Week 2 with an unspecified back injury.
Jan 8, 2018	NFL	Knee Strain Grade 1	Clowney underwent arthroscopic knee surgery shortly after the 2017 season ended.
Jan 23, 2017	NFL	Knee Strain Grade 1	Clowney underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee after the 2016 season.
Dec 24, 2016	NFL	Arm Elbow Sprain
Nov 27, 2016	NFL	Arm Elbow Sprain
Dec 27, 2015	NFL	Pedal Lisfranc Sprain
Nov 1, 2015	NFL	Back Lower Lumbar Sprain
Oct 8, 2015	NFL	Pedal Ankle Sprain Grade 2
Nov 23, 2014	NFL	Knee Meniscus Tear	Clowney missed the final 5 games of the season dealing with complications from his September surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee. He had microfracture surgery in December.
Sep 7, 2014	NFL	Knee Meniscus Tear	Clowney underwent surgery for a torn lateral meniscus in his knee.
Aug 14, 2014	NFL	Head Cranial Concussion Grade 1	Clowney missed about a week of training camp with a concussion.
Jun 3, 2014	Non-NFL	Inguinal Groin Sports Hernia	Clowney played through a sports hernia in his final season at South Carolina and underwent surgery in June 2014.

[gardenman]

@teganslaw 

That helps explain Griffen's situation. It seemed odd that a guy with his resume was still available and available at that price.

Clowney is a bit of a clown with his contract demands. We'll have to see how that plays out. The Giants have no pass rush and their top corner is facing prison time, so they could be in the market for him at the right price.

In Eagles news, more video of our speedsters burning our cornerbacks is emerging. This time it was Quez Watkins blowing past a DB. I'm starting to worry that maybe we've just got bad DBs.

[gardenman]

Well, what do you know? Something resembling a normal preseason starts tomorrow with real practices starting and the media allowed to cover them. That'll be a nice change of pace. We're less than a month from the start of the regular season now and things are finally starting to look a bit more normal. 

My Twitter feed will be exploding once the players hit the field tomorrow as I follow all of the local Eagles beat reporters and they'll all be at practice. We'll start to get some perspective on how good or bad the rookies are looking. We'll hear who's lining up on the first team at various positions. Things will start to resemble a normal preseason.

The bad news is someone's likely to get injured as things now ramp up a bit. Things have been very quiet on the injury front so far this summer, but that's all likely to change over the coming days/weeks.

Around the league, it'll be interesting to hear the reports out of New England. Is Cam the starter or the kid? How does Tua look in Miami? Burrow in Cincy? What rookies are looking good and which ones are flopping badly? Teams already pretty much know. Some head coaches are quietly cursing their personnel guys and wondering how they're expecting them to win with this class of clowns. Some head coaches are thanking their personnel guys for the great kids they found. We'll start to learn which group is which over the coming days as the reporters get to watch things in person.

It's going to be fun now.

[Spurt]

Well Alex Smith is cleared to practice and Rivera said he's definitely in the competition for starting QB of the WFT.....

Here's something for @teganslaw and @gardenman  to discuss..... The Colts signed CB Tremon Smith....Initially was the Chiefs draft pick in 2018, he played with the Packers before ending up on the Eagles practice squad before being cut in July.......

[teganslaw]

Good luck to Alex Smith. After what he's been through, he's brave to try out for QB.

I don't know much about Tremon Smith. Have to check out more on him.

Phillip Rivers is fitting in well with the Colts. Other players like and respect him, and he's showing leadership on the field. he should rebound from last season with the type of O-line the Colts have now. 

[gardenman]

Tremon Smith is an athlete more than a football player. He's run a 4.32 forty, so he's fast, but he doesn't really know what to do on the football field. The Chiefs tried making him a RB, but moved him back to corner. He's one of those guys you just think you can find a way to utilize his raw athletic ability, but then you get him on the field and realize he's just not a player. His numbers make you want him, his play makes you want to cut him. He lacks the instincts/training necessary to succeed, but that raw athleticism is mesmerizing.

If he could ever master a position, with his size, speed and athleticism, he'd be great. He just hasn't shown that ability yet. He might be a guy who could be converted to a deep safety. Let him sit back, watch the play develop, then react. He's got the speed and size you want, but lacks instincts. A deep safety doesn't need the instincts quite as much. They can see what's happening and then react.