Sports

[gardenman]

Happy June everyone! More power rankings are out this week including one from Peter King. He ranks the Eagles fifteenth in his power rankings and the Cowboys at ninth.

I get the impression that I'm missing something that others are seeing and I don't know what it is. I think the Eagles are better right now than they were last year. The only real question marks are left tackle where widely heralded second-year guy Andre Dillard takes over, linebacker where Nigel Bradham is gone, and safety where Jalen Mills gets shifted from corner to safety, but he played safety in college and excelled.

We've added a top-tier cornerback and defensive tackle in Darius Slay and Javon Hargrave. We've added speed at wide receiver and linebacker including a veteran wide receiver in Marquise Goodwin to go with the three rookies. We've added a handful of other veterans at safety and linebacker to also provide depth there.

I think the Eagles are better than they were last year when they finished 9-7 and could have finished 13-3 except for four dropped passes. I definitely don't see them being a middle of the pack type team at fifteenth.

I think the Cowboys are worse than they were last year when they finished 8-8. I think they're weaker at cornerback, safety, wide receiver, and tight end.

Clearly, I'm missing something. I just don't know what. I try to set aside my fan's bias and look at just the facts, but the facts don't add up to the Eagles being worse than they were last year to me. Does everyone think Jason Garrett was such a horrible coach that he cost them multiple games and despite being weaker at multiple positions in 2020 that the team will be so much better for getting rid of Garrett? 

I don't know what people are seeing, but I'm not seeing whatever it is they're seeing. The Cowboys have built an all-2015 team with free agents who were at their best in 2015, but have slipped a lot since then. Their new head coach got fired from his old job despite having a top-five QB. I'm just missing whatever the experts are seeing, but we'll see how it all plays out this fall.

[teganslaw]

Adam Schein made some bold predictions, one of which is that Dallas will win the NFC East. He thinks that Jason Garrett was part of the problem and that things will improve under Mike McCarthy. Dak will most likely sign a contract, Zeke will do well and huge things expected out of CeeDee Lamb. The team also signed a former Giants coach. Time will tell how accurate Schein is. 

According to ESPN, the Colts have one of the most improved pass rushes. That has been a weakness of theirs in the past, so maybe this year will be different. I like the players that they've signed.

@ wakefield. Maybe Stidham will do well as starter. I would take him over Brian Hoyer. He started for the Colts when Brissett was hurt, and things didn't go well. The Patriots seem to have confidence in Stidham, so give him a chance. 

[Spurt]

@gardenman 

Maybe its a ratings thing...everyone is trying to talk up the Cowboys because like it or not people will tune in to see them succeed OR see them FAIL!!!  (I think we fall into the later category )......They have some holes on defense and are relying on some OLD veterans to play well and stay healthy....Dak will have to lead an offense that will need to score a lot of points to make up for their defensive defficiencies, but he hasnt even signed yet and the deadline is drawing ever closer to make a key decision....and he might not show up for training camp despite a new coach and system.... SMH!!!  I agree... the Eagles arent getting much respect at all...SURPRISING!

[Spurt]

Redskins WR Terry McLaurin is getting a lot of kudos and respect from Coach Rivera....

“Terry McLaurin’s been a treat,” Rivera said on FS1, via 247Sports.com. “He’s been a treat to get to know. I ran into him several times before the lockdown when he would come around and I’d have a conversation with him. And then listening in on his conversations with [wide receivers] coach [Jim] Hostler has been really, really good. I mean, he’s a young man I think that had a solid year last year as a rookie, a third-round pick — he’s a guy that could be on the verge, he really is. He reminds me so much of a D.J. Moore that we had in Carolina. Just an outstanding young man.”

JMHO--- I know Rome's not built in a day, but I think they really needed to get Terry some help on offense, sure they drafted a couple of promising prospects but you never know how rookies will work out, and with the unusual circumstances surrounding CDC requirements the draftees aren't getting as much one on one instruction that they usually get....  I think a veteran FA WR would have helped....we tried to get Amari but failed....but I think perhaps the team needs to look around.....(and no PLEASE no AB!!!).....

[wakefield64]

@teganslaw 

I am not certain Belichek is going to start with Stidham or Hoyer. This is going to be an interesting season for us!

[gardenman]

The Patriots will be a very interesting team to watch this year. With the Colts having Philip Rivers as their new QB, it's possible they could look to move Jacoby Brissett. He was a former Patriot who Bill might want back. I don't think he's a longterm solution anyplace though.

Tanking to get a superstar QB isn't unheard of. But maybe Belichick truly believes Stidham can get them back into contention. My suspicion is Bill has two plans. Plan A is to try to win like the Titans did last year with a solid defense and a strong running game. The Titans knocked the Patriots out of the playoffs playing that style of football and most coaches say the last game is the one they remember the most. He's a defensive-minded coach and defensive-minded coaches tend to prefer that approach to offense. 

Plan B would be to tank if the Patriots can't win games using that style of football. That would let them get a star QB to replace Brady and play a more modern style of football with more passing in the future.

Teams like the Chiefs are built on speed and down the field passing with the run game mixed in. Teams like the Titans want to take the ball out of the QB's hands and rely on a back.

Defensive-minded head coaches typically want to avoid bad situations. If they have a running back who can average 3.5 yards per carry, they'll just feed him the ball nonstop rather than risk passing the ball. Bad things can happen when you try to pass. The QB can be sacked or injured. Offensive linemen can get penalized for holding, hands to the face, or tripping. The pass can be tipped or intercepted. The receiver can drop the ball (especially if he's an Eagle.) To a defensive-minded head coach, the passing game is rife with disastrous possibilities while the running game is much more under control. If they have to punt, okay they'll punt and count on the defense to hold the other guys. It's the lowest risk option for them.

Offensive-minded tend to look at the passing game as a more efficient way to attack a defense. Receivers are often faster than the defensive backs and the receivers know where they're going while the defenders have to read and react. Offensive-minded coaches want those big chunks of yards. Sure, there's a bit more risk, but the rewards are greater also. A bomb's away offense can put up thirty or forty points a game and force the opposing team to try and keep up with them while a run-first team might average 17-21 points per game. If you can put up 40 points a game and the other team can only put up 21, you're going to win a lot of games.

The Patriots with Brady, Gronk, Edelman, and others were a very dangerous passing team. I don't think they're going to be as dangerous a passing team this year. I think they'll try to win by running and if that fails, tank to get a star QB for next year and beyond. They'll be a fun team to watch. How they start in those first four games (Dolphins, Seahawks, Raiders, Chiefs) will likely tell us a lot. Three of their first four games (Chiefs, Raiders, Seahawks) could easily be losses. Their first game is against the Dolphins. If they lose all four of those games, they're tanking. If they go 1-3, they're tanking. If they go 3-1 or 4-0 forget tanking. If they go 2-2, well they're in no man's land and could go either way. They'll be a fun team to watch. 

If they try to tank, can Belichick force himself to lose games? Even knowing that losing is better for the team, can he let his team lose? It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out.

[wakefield64]

@gardenman 

I don’t think Belichek has it in him to let the team tank. Don’t forget his giant ego and he is still wanting to go after Shula’s record. Plus, like myself others are wondering how good Tom Brady would have been with another coach, or good would Belichek have been without Brady. My opinion Tom got the better of the deal!

[gardenman]

Well, that's different. The Texans had announced the signing of Timmy Jernigan, the former Eagles' defensive tackle back in April, but are now not signing him for some reason. He reportedly passed a physical, but now the Texans have withdrawn the contract. Dang! That costs the Eagles a compensatory pick in next year's draft. Bill O'Brien had announced the signing, but the formal paperwork had never been submitted to the league, so Timmy is now a free agent again. Weird. I don't remember ever seeing that happen before.

[teganslaw]

I couldn't find the reason why the contract was withdrawn.. One article said that it would make sense for Jernigan to return to the Eagles. Any chance of that happening? 

[gardenman]

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@teganslaw wrote:

I couldn't find the reason why the contract was withdrawn.. One article said that it would make sense for Jernigan to return to the Eagles. Any chance of that happening? 

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Probably not. The Eagles signed Javon Hargrave and already have Malik Jackson, Hassan Ridgeway, and Fletcher Cox as veteran DT's with Bruce Hector, Albert Huggins, and Anthony Rush as young guys (one to two years experience) and an undrafted free agent rookie they really liked in Raequan Williams. Now they'll move a DT with good pass-rushing ability outside sometimes to play DE on pass-rushing downs, but only five or six DTs will likely end up on the roster, so Jernigan would be hard-pressed to make the final cuts.

Moving a DT out to DE tends to work best against the smaller OTs who are more prone to being bull-rushed. Our 250 lb-265 lb defensive ends tend to be less of a handful for them on a bull-rush than a 350 lb Anthony Rush going full speed and plowing them back into the QB. A lot of teams are looking more for lighter, faster OTs to take on the speed rushers, so putting a bulldozer-type DT against one of those guys can often push them right back into the QB. A guy like Anthony Rush may lack subtlety as a pass rusher, but if he's using his 350 lbs against an OT at 275 lbs, he's going to get the guy moving where the guy doesn't want to move. Put Rush at DT against a 320 lb guard who can get help from the center and he's not as effective. Slide him out to an undersized tackle on an obvious passing down and he'll get the QB's attention.

Jernigan's a good player and a good locker room guy, but there's really no place for him on the Eagles right now.