Sports

[teganslaw]

SPURT, it's good to hear all the positive news out of Washington. Things are looking up with the departure of Dan Snyder. 

Greg Olsen, who was demoted to FOX #2 team, won Sports Emmy award for Outstanding Personality/Event Analyst. His salary dropped from 10 million to 3 million because of the demotion. That is quite a difference. 

Tom Brady will be getting 375 million over 10 years. He hasn't been proven as an analyst, yet FOX has confidence that Brady will bring in the money and promotions. Names and connections work. 

[gardenman]

The Eagles let the media attend yesterday's OTA session and the reports are good. The kids all looked good. The vets look to be in shape and ready to go. A few of the players gave press conferences after the practice and all was good. 

The media keeps trying to find a defensive player to say that he doesn't like the new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, but they keep striking out. A Dolphins safety ripped Fangio after he left Miami for his hard practices, but his opinion seems to be in the minority. Last year's rookie DT Jalen Carter was asked about Fangio and his eyes lit up as he professed his love for Fangio. He wants to be coached hard and ridden and has no issue with Fangio. He also trained in the Miami area and met with Dolphins defensive players down there and they all loved Fangio also, so the one disgruntled guy now appears to be just one disgruntled guy. We'll see what happens as the preseason and season goes on, but the Eagles defenders all seem to love Fangio for now.

Not much to learn scheme-wise so far, but we saw Jalen Hurts taking some snaps from under center (a rarity except for the Brotherly Shove in recent seasons.) Lots more motion from the wide receivers than we've seen in recent years. We also saw some dump-off passes to Barkley reminiscent of what we saw from Kellen Moore in Dallas with Dak dumping the ball off to Elliott. That was the get-out-of-trouble play for Dak in Dallas. If the guys down the field are covered or there's a rush, dump the ball off to your star back and let him rumble. It's simple but effective. Not many defenders like the idea of taking down an Elliot or Barkley one-on-one in the open field. It worked in Dallas with Dak, so that appears to be on the table here in Philly with Barkley. An easy read for the QB. Nothing else is there, so give it to Barkley.

And speaking of Barkley, he was funny being interviewed. He was a bit star-struck taking the field with AJ Brown, Dallas Goedert, Devonta Smith, and Jalen Hurts. (DeVonta Smith wasn't at that practice yesterday but had reportedly been there for an earlier practice.) He talked about being in awe the first time he walked onto the field with those guys. When a seven-year vet, Pro-Bowl player is in awe of the guys on the roster, it's kind of funny. Barkley is kind of a big kid out there.

The rookie corners made some plays, but both were on the second team to start the preseason. Well, pre-preseason. There wasn't anything negative said about any of the rookies and if the Philly media can't find anything negative to say, it's a good omen. They'll get more critical when the pads go on and there's contact later in the preseason.

All in all, a pretty good start so far. 

[gardenman]

Speedster WR John Ross is now an Eagle. He was invited to the tryout camp a week or two ago and with DeVante Parker retiring, there was now an opening. We'll see if he makes it through camp. He's still just 28, so there's potential.

[Spurt]

@teganslaw 

I'm reading how pleased the Colt's coaches are with your QB Anthony Richardson......he has a good work ethic, coming in early, studying film, getting his treatment, he's in the weight room, at practice he's been completing a lot of passes, doing well with his reads against different coverages and knowing where to go with the ball. He also said how much he likes working with Joe Flacco. Can't wait to see how he does this season, sounds like he's doing all the right things.

[teganslaw]

Trouble in Green Bay? There are reports that Jordan Love might not want to play in 2024. He signed a one year deal instead of his fifth year option and will make about 11 million this year. It's below current market price for QBs. 

When asked if he would be comfortable playing under his current contract, Love replied "I don't know. We'll see." He hopes to get an extended contract soon. Love is participating in OTAs and hasn't said that he'll sit out. He is aware of the high salary other QBs get, so time will tell what happens with the contract. 

[gardenman]

Jordan Love, Tua, Trevor Lawrence, Dak, and Brock Purdy are all due to get big paydays.  Each one will want to be the next highest-paid QB. All five have shown potential and none of their teams are poised to replace them, so yeah. Jordan Love should have played under the fifth-year option and taken more cash. He took a "prove-it" type of deal and proved it. Now they've got to pay him.

The Cowboys, Dolphins, and Niners will have the hardest time finding the necessary cap space to accommodate their guys. They're pretty much in cap trouble all the time and adding a new $50+ million a year deal to their existing cap isn't the easiest thing. The Jags and Packers have much more wriggle room to work out a new deal.

There's going to be some big money moving in the next few days/weeks as teams work to sign their guys to new deals. The Cowboys also have to make Micah Parsons and CeeDee Lamb happy. They can stall it a bit by opting to tag Lamb in the 2025 offseason, but then they can't use the tag on both him and Parsons in 2026. They've got to get some deals done or move on without some of their star players and JJ loves his star players. He just doesn't like to pay them. Dak is looking at $60 million a year. CeeDee $35-ish million. Parsons, probably $40-ish million a year. So, around $135 million for just three guys.

The local media are desperately trying to find an Eagles player who hates Vic Fangio and are striking out. What they're discovering instead is that the Eagles' players love an old-school type of coach who wants to win. Darius Slay loves Fangio and says every corner who's played for Fangio that he's talked to loves Fangio also. The young kids, our defensive tackle room is among the youngest groups with the oldest guy being just 25, also seem to love Fangio so far.

The unhappiness with Fangio in Miami seems to stem from his benching a second-round pick to start an undrafted kid in his place. The kid played better than the second-round pick though and earned the job. Fangio is more of a coach who plays the guys who play the best than a coach who cares where a guy was drafted. We'll see what happens long-term, but the early returns on the new coordinators seem positive so far. We'll find out more in September when the real games start.

[Spurt]

Where is the NFLPA in all this...

Some teams will play three games from Monday to Sunday to Thursday. It happens for six teams: Jets, Seahawks, Saints, Cowboys, Bengals, and Bears.

For four other teams, it’s a Sunday-Saturday-Wednesday thing, thanks to the Christmas games: Steelers, Ravens, Chiefs, Texans. It’s a lot to expect from any team.

The fact that the league expects it from 10 teams this year doesn’t make it better. However, once the league stumbled over the statistic that the injury rates when teams play with six days off between games is no different than playing with three days off between games, therefore, plenty of scheduling configurations can be justified. HOWEVER, aren't they overlooking the fact that this doesn't allow for the player's bodies to have time to recuperate, which leads to additional wear and tear on the player's bodies??????

[gardenman]

Short weeks cut down on recuperation time, but then that gets offset by the longer week that follows the short week. If you have a Wednesday game and then don't play until the following Saturday or Sunday it gives you ten or eleven days to recuperate. Kind of a mini-bye. That first day after a game is the hardest. By the third day post-game (typically a Wednesday) you're feeling pretty much back to normal. For the younger guys anyway. Teams typically start practicing again on Wednesdays.

And that's the real problem. Teams can't truly practice like they'd like to practice until the players are less sore and you just don't have the time to practice in a meaningful way for a Wednesday game. You won't see teams making major adjustments before a Wednesday game as there's just not enough time. The quality of play is likely to suffer a bit for teams on Wednesday games. It's not as big an issue for veteran players who know what to do, but for the kids, it's more of a challenge to just dive into a game with minimal practice.

One of the guys who impressed in the limited time we've seen the Eagles practicing has been QB Kenny Pickett. He's reportedly looked very sharp so far in practices. He'll likely be the primary backup this year. Granted, practices to this point have been mostly pitch and catch, but he's been pitching as well as anyone. If he continues to play well and gets a few starts and plays well, he could be a valuable commodity this offseason. He's a talented kid. 

[Spurt]

• @gardenman @teganslaw @LavernLuvsShoes 

One of the rookies that had a bad practice was none other than the #1 pick, Caleb Williams who was really off target....I'll give credit to the Bear's veterans, even the defense, who rallied around their young QB and explained this is part of the process and to learn from it and continue to grow!......I know this doesn't mean anything in May, but it just makes me glad we picked Jaylen instead of Caleb....BUT only time will tell...what really matters is what happens during the actual season......

I think Kenny Pickett was hit hard emotionally when the Steelers traded him to the Eagles.  There was obviously friction between Kenny and the Steeler's Management Team.....He still spoke highly of his Steeler coaches and teammates...I think this move will give Kenny extra motivation to succeed......And I think the Steelers Mangement will learn age has impacted Russell Wilson's performance,  and that he is somewhat of a Prima Donna too.....STAY TUNED

Normally, I like and agree for the most part with what Mina Kimes says......but now I think SHE'S WAY OFF BASE when she said this about Dan Quinn----“If there is one coaching hire who might be one and done, it would be him. I cannot believe he was their first choice. I am very nervous about the situation Jayden Daniels is walking into behind that offensive line. And if it looks bad, to me, new ownership, I could see him (Quinn) getting the axe.”.........

First of all, the roster is set by a COLLABORATIVE effort ( which Josh Harris, Staff, and Coaches have used this word and emphasized it in each Press Conference).....so Quinn alone isn't going to be the fall guy regarding this roster spot, besides with this disaster, of a roster and so many needs; they couldn't fill them all in one draft and off season.

They do have a plan in place and are hoping the rookie Brandon Coleman,6-foot-6 320 lbs, can develop at that spot, he played more tackle than guard in college. GM Adam Peters said of Coleman, "he’s got the feet; he’s got the speed; he’s got the strength. And he’s got the intelligence, and he’s got the right mind-set.” In the interim, they can start Lucas at that spot, he was one of the better players on that line and can also play both tackle spots. In addition, they have also rebuilt the majority of the line as well---Tyler Biadasz was signed to a three-year deal, then former Chief Nick Allegretti was added to compete for a starting job opposite Sam Cosmi, who has blossomed into a core member of the line. Five-year veteran Michael Deiter, who has played guard and center, was added for depth. Then there's play calling to help the oline, which should improve with the new coaches, like adding more running plays instead of passing the most in the entire NFL...SMH!

Also, Josh Harris has shown as owner of both the 76ers and NJ Devils he's a patient owner and realizes a rebuild will take time and won't take just ONE season, he's not Panther owner's David Tepper who didn't even give his coach a full season before firing him!!!!

So while Mina may be correct in saying coaches Robert Saleh (Jets) Mike McCarthy (Cowboys), and Nick Sirianni (Eagles) are on the hot seat....Dan Quinn is NOT one of them!!!!  She could have added Dennis Allen (Saints), Sean McDermott (Bills), Brian Daboll (NYG) instead.  Either Mina hasn't done her homework on Washington, OR is trying to drum up controversy to spike up her ratings and secure her job, since ESPN jobs have been on Shakey ground lately...I've lost respect for her.....Also, an interesting note, she was a proponent of Washington taking Drake Maye over Jayden Daniels...hmmmm

[teganslaw]

Mina Kimes is being criticized for her comments on Dan Quinn. Fans are saying they no longer respect her; someone posted that Kimes doesn't even follow the Commanders. Certain podcast hosts don't understand why she said that, so this is getting a lot of press online.

OTOH, Kimes said that Anthony Richardson "can take a big leap" in 2024. She also likes the Colts pick of AD Mitchell. 

I've always liked Mina Kimes, but don't think that she is knowlegeable about every team. She probably should do more homework before speaking out on some teams.