Sports

[gardenman]

Two games down, two to go. This would typically be the dress rehearsal game for NFL teams, but many, maybe most teams are being more conservative this year and not playing their presumed starters much, if at all. The Eagles have two practices with the Ravens this week, one on Monday and another on Tuesday that they're planning to use as a dress rehearsal of sorts. I don't think we'll see the majority of the Eagles starters until week one of the regular season.

Who will play at quarterback for the Eagles this week? Good question. Josh McCown will likely get a few snaps, but most of the work will likely fall to Clayton Thorson, our sole surviving backup QB besides the newly signed McCown. I don't think Doug Pederson will risk Carson Wentz just yet. Losing two quarterbacks to injury in two weeks has him more cautious than normal right now. 

It's going to be interesting to see what the Eagles do with QB's on cutdown day. If Thorson keeps playing well, he may earn a roster spot. But then you'd have Wentz, Thorson, Sudfeld and McCown all on the roster. Sudfeld and McCown are just on one year deals, so they're somewhat expendable. With Sudfeld having the broken left wrist. I'm thinking he may end up on the IR list to start the season. We'll have to see how that all plays out down the road.

A trade towards the end of camp is always possible also.

Lots of chaos going around the league. Antonio Brown is throwing a hissy fit. The Cowboys seem to be forcing a divorce with Ezekiel Elliott. Trent Williams is seeking a divorce from the Redskins. Jadeveon Clowney is likely leaving the Texans. Lots of teams have $20 million plus in cap space which lets moves happen. Things are going to get interesting as those final rosters shape up,.

[1Snickers]

  My son who is a Dolphins fan has been in Houston visiting my grandson. They went to a game Saturday night. The stadium was huge holding over 75,000 people.

  I’m so glad he got to even a pre season game there are none close to home except Redskins he dislikes. 

[gardenman]

If anyone's watching the Niners/Broncos game, that interception by the Niners was caused by the Broncos running a pretty simple tackle/end stunt that the Niners o-line absolutely whiffed on. That was their first team o-line also. I don't know why, but teams seem to having trouble picking up those stunts these days. The Rams whiffed on them a ton in last year's Super Bowl. The Eagles youngsters have surprised me with consistently picking them up so far. I don't know if some coaches emphasise it more, or if some players are just brain dead but more and more simple stunts just aren't getting blocked.

[Spurt]

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@1Snickers wrote:

  My son who is a Dolphins fan has been in Houston visiting my grandson. They went to a game Saturday night. The stadium was huge holding over 75,000 people.

  I’m so glad he got to even a pre season game there are none close to home except Redskins he dislikes. 

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@1Snickers 

Hi, I'm a Redskin fan and live in Texas of all places...but not Houston...My grandmother was a Dolphin fan......Glad your son had a good time.  I will tell you, the Texan's Stadium is THE BEST and perfect for the fans....good site lines, good food at concession stands, and nice lounge areas....and the Texan fans were very nice (some of them hate the Cowboys as much as we Redskin fans)

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

If anyone's watching the Niners/Broncos game, that interception by the Niners was caused by the Broncos running a pretty simple tackle/end stunt that the Niners o-line absolutely whiffed on. That was their first team o-line also. I don't know why, but teams seem to having trouble picking up those stunts these days. The Rams whiffed on them a ton in last year's Super Bowl. The Eagles youngsters have surprised me with consistently picking them up so far. I don't know if some coaches emphasise it more, or if some players are just brain dead but more and more simple stunts just aren't getting blocked.

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@gardenman 

I was watching that game....and saw that....

[Spurt]

@gardenman 

Ya just gotta love Jerry, now he's insulted Zeke with his "joke"..and he's probably going to alienate Zeke even more.....

Interesting that Baker Mayfield is taking shots at Daniel Jones.....

In an interview with Clay Skipper of GQ, Mayfield made these eyebrow-raising comments about the sixth overall pick in the 2019 draft: “I cannot believe the Giants took Daniel Jones. . . . Blows my mind.”  Mayfield’s primary criticism comes from the fact that Jones had a record of 17-19 at Duke.

[gardenman]

Yeah, JJ is making it very hard to see a way Elliott comes back without over-paying him. The Cowboys have surrendered the high ground in their contract talks and instead of admitting their mistakes, they're adding onto them. It's an interesting strategy.

Let's assume Elliott sits out the season (not unlikely given how things are going) and Dak and Cooper don't sign below market deals. The Cowboys could only tag Dak or Cooper. Who would get the tag? If they let Cooper leave, they'd have wasted a first round pick to have him play 25 games. (Assuming he's healthy and plays all 16 this year which may be a big assumption as he has a heel injury and heel injuries can sometimes translate into an Achilles injury.) The franchise tag number for Dak would likely be north of $32 million. Do you let Dak go? And you still have an angry Elliott to deal with.

They've got a whole lot of self-made issues and few good solutions. It's great for the rest of the NFC East.

Baker Mayfield is a gun-slinger. I love the kid. Daniel Jones is more of a cerebral, dissect the defense type. They're about as different as two QB's could be. Daniel Jones needs to be in the right system, with the right staff, and a good supporting cast. Baker just needs a football and some guys around him. If they know how to play football, great. If not, Baker will just tell them what to do and trust them to get the job done. Over the long term, both can be very successful, but if I was betting on one or the other, my money would be on Baker. He's the closest guy I've seen to a Favre. Jones is more of a Tom Brady, Eli Manning type.

[gardenman]

The Cowboys signed a young player to a contract extension! It's Jaylon Smith, their linebacker to a $65 million, five year extension with $35.5 million more or less guaranteed. That's going to eat some more cap space and make signing the others more challenging.

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

Yeah, JJ is making it very hard to see a way Elliott comes back without over-paying him. The Cowboys have surrendered the high ground in their contract talks and instead of admitting their mistakes, they're adding onto them. It's an interesting strategy.

Let's assume Elliott sits out the season (not unlikely given how things are going) and Dak and Cooper don't sign below market deals. The Cowboys could only tag Dak or Cooper. Who would get the tag? If they let Cooper leave, they'd have wasted a first round pick to have him play 25 games. (Assuming he's healthy and plays all 16 this year which may be a big assumption as he has a heel injury and heel injuries can sometimes translate into an Achilles injury.) The franchise tag number for Dak would likely be north of $32 million. Do you let Dak go? And you still have an angry Elliott to deal with.

They've got a whole lot of self-made issues and few good solutions. It's great for the rest of the NFC East.

Baker Mayfield is a gun-slinger. I love the kid. Daniel Jones is more of a cerebral, dissect the defense type. They're about as different as two QB's could be. Daniel Jones needs to be in the right system, with the right staff, and a good supporting cast. Baker just needs a football and some guys around him. If they know how to play football, great. If not, Baker will just tell them what to do and trust them to get the job done. Over the long term, both can be very successful, but if I was betting on one or the other, my money would be on Baker. He's the closest guy I've seen to a Favre. Jones is more of a Tom Brady, Eli Manning type.

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@gardenman 

I like Baker too...I like his fire, I just thought of all the young QBS it was odd that he singled out Daniel Jones.....why not Murray, or Haskins, or Drew Lock....

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

The Cowboys signed a young player to a contract extension! It's Jaylon Smith, their linebacker to a $65 million, five year extension with $35.5 million more or less guaranteed. That's going to eat some more cap space and make signing the others more challenging.

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@gardenman 

And the saga continues I wonder how Dak and Zeke are feeling now.....and seeing the deal Smith got.....the plot thickens...