Wellness

[gardenman]

Chip Kelly's secret to keeping the guys healthy isn't really a secret if you follow the Eagles. They've got a pretty impressive training regimen where each day when the players report they have to complete a report indicating any soreness, stiffness, tightness, etc. and turn that in before meetings. While they're in the meetings the sports science guys, trainers, and team docs will go over the reports and create a training program specific for each player. Then after meetings when they go to train, the sports science guys and trainers will have a training regimen already for them that will allow them to either rest the affected area, or work the affected area depending on what's best for it.

Chip's practices are typically no/limited contact. He rotates players a lot. Other than three torn ACL's in training camp, and a few minor nicks during the season, the guys stayed really healthy. He emphasizes staying hydrated (the players all get a custom made protein shake after each workout) and getting a good night's rest (the players wear sleep monitors to ensure they're getting their rest.) The players have all pretty much bought into his approach and it seems to have worked. Now, next year everyone might get injured, but based on what we've seen so far, it looks like Chip's approach really works.

About the only Eagle players who stayed on the field the whole time and who were never rotated out were our offensive linemen. Every other position you would have the starters take a breather for a series or two and their backups take some snaps. Continuity on the o-line is important so Chip never wanted to disrupt that, but every runningback, wide receiver, tight end, linebacker, d-back, defensive lineman on the Eagles roster saw playing time last year. Playing everyone gave Chip a chance to see how they'd respond as a starter, gave them valuable playing time, and helped to keep the real starters rested and healthy. Many of the Eagle players said they felt as fresh at the end of the season as they had at the start. The vets raved about how well they felt. The rookies didn't seem to hit that rookie wall that typically sets in around game twelve.

A lot of coaches want lots of contact in practice. The organizations don't closely monitor the health of the players. Players are largely left on their own to get ready through the offseason. (Each Eagle player got a three ring binder filled with a workout program specific for that player after this past season ended that would strengthen their weaknesses and maintain their strengths.)

Nothing Chip Kelly does is done without a good, solid reason behind it. The fact that it all seems to be working only makes the players even more willing to buy into what he's selling. Getting that initial buy-in from the players was the tricky part. Now they've bought in, seen the results, and are anxiously looking forward to next year.

[gardenman]

And the Wells report on the Dolphins is now released. It doesn't look good for the Dolphins. One of their coaches apparently participated in the harrassment along with trainers. We may see some significant changes down there pretty quickly.

[gardenman]

Johnny Manziel is not going to throw at the combine. I think that's a mistake. The combine exists so teams can compare players side by side and when a player opts out, it makes it clear that he doesn't think he'll compare favorably to the competition. He's also warning the Texans that they'll be sorry if they don't draft him first overall. I've still got a feeling that the mock drafts are all way, way off on where Manziel will be drafted. I wouldn't be shocked to see him drop pretty far in the draft.

I've already seen reports where film study shows that he takes off and runs even when his first read is wide open. If you've got an open receiver you've got to get the ball to him. If Manziel can't explain to teams in the interviews why he tucked the ball and ran instead of throwing to the open guy/guys, he's going to drop a lot. I just don't think Johnny Manziel is going to blow teams away, and to be a top ten pick, you've pretty much got to blow people away. He's an exciting college quarterback, but I'm just not sure he'll translate to the NFL.

The combine is a showcase where you can come in and show the scouts and GM's how you measure up to the rest of the class. As a quarterback they'll be looking for arm strength, speed of release, accuracy, consistency, temperament, intelligence, and more. If he was confident in those areas he'd relish the chance to go head to head with the best guys out there. Instead he wants to only throw whern there's no competition around to compare him to. That wouldn't make me overly confident drafting him.

[brewhaha]

The talk about Michael Sam & Jonathan Martin has finally slowed down. They were talking about it ad nauseum.

The combine is only a few days away. The NFL Network has been showing some promos. They show a player doing his vertical leap. You hear about guys with vertical leaps of 35"" or more. I'm beginning to think that's not how high off the ground he jumps. I think his vertical leap is the difference between how high his fingers reach at the peak of his jump and his actual height. That means a player with long arms has an advantage. That's why you hear about 300 lb linemen with very high vertical leaps. There's no way a player is jumping 35"" off the ground from a standing position. I think he's only going as high as his knees to thighs assuming he doesn't bend his knees while he's in the air.

[gardenman]

brewhaha. It's been a while since I last saw a vertical jump comp, but the last time I saw one they had the guy stretch as far as he could on tiptoes and with extended fingers to move the lower markers out of the way. They then marked that spot and he then jumped up to see how much further he could go. The difference from where he could reach while extended and the jumping distance was his vertical jump. William Perry (the 400 pound defensive tackle of the Bears a few years back) reportedly had a 36 inch vertical jump. They said he'd jump flat footed from the ground to stand atop the training tables in the training room.

Fred Davis, the soon to be free agent tight end from the Redskins, has now earned an indefinite suspension from the league for violating their substance abuse policy. Not a smart move as you're about to become a free agent. He was a risky free agent to begin with and just became toxic. No team will even consider signing him now. Those indefinite suspensions make a guy untouchable. It's a shame as the kid's got potential, but teams just won't take a chance on him now. Maybe when injuries start taking out tight ends in the fall and if he gets his suspension lifted a team may give him a chance, but he's going to have to be very, very lucky to play next year.

[Spurt]

On 2/20/2014 gardenman said:

brewhaha. It's been a while since I last saw a vertical jump comp, but the last time I saw one they had the guy stretch as far as he could on tiptoes and with extended fingers to move the lower markers out of the way. They then marked that spot and he then jumped up to see how much further he could go. The difference from where he could reach while extended and the jumping distance was his vertical jump. William Perry (the 400 pound defensive tackle of the Bears a few years back) reportedly had a 36 inch vertical jump. They said he'd jump flat footed from the ground to stand atop the training tables in the training room.

Fred Davis, the soon to be free agent tight end from the Redskins, has now earned an indefinite suspension from the league for violating their substance abuse policy. Not a smart move as you're about to become a free agent. He was a risky free agent to begin with and just became toxic. No team will even consider signing him now. Those indefinite suspensions make a guy untouchable. It's a shame as the kid's got potential, but teams just won't take a chance on him now. Maybe when injuries start taking out tight ends in the fall and if he gets his suspension lifted a team may give him a chance, but he's going to have to be very, very lucky to play next year.

GARDENAMN---well good riddance to "pothead" Fred.....he destroyed his chances of a successful NFL career....maybe he can move to Washington State or Colorado and live happily every after....

Well the Redskins re-signed De Angelo Hall.....he did play extremely well last year and why take a chance signing an unknown commodity that would definitely want more money than Hall got. I dont like the idea of the Redskins trying to trade Kirk Cousins for a potential 2nd round pick when Robert's healthy and ability are still a question mark and its hard to find a decent backup, I think we are jumping the gun here.

So Shannon Sharpe and Dan Marino got cut from CBS and they signed Tony Gonzalez instead......was not a fan of Sharpe and Marino added very little insight...now if they'd only get rid of Boomer Esiason. I still prefer Fox pre-game.

I just want to warn everyone----the end of the world is near----prepare now---

Stephen A. Smith said something actually positive about my Spurs---yep the Apocalypse is upon us!!!

[gardenman]

I also prefer the Fox pregame. It'll be interesting to see what happens with Shannon Sharpe and Dan Marino. There are so many sports channels around these days that they're bound to turn up someplace.

[Spurt]

On 2/20/2014 gardenman said:

I also prefer the Fox pregame. It'll be interesting to see what happens with Shannon Sharpe and Dan Marino. There are so many sports channels around these days that they're bound to turn up someplace.

Well there's a rumor Marino might go to work for the Dolphins front office.....after all the bad publicity from the Incognito/Martin fiasco that might not be a bad idea .....

I keep hearing even though the Eagles have greater needs they may go for a backup QB somewhere in the draft.....

Negotiations have made little progress with Redskins and LB Riley...Rak is the priority...

[gardenman]

Marino working for the Dolphins might make some sense from a PR standpoint. He did have that issue of fathering a child out of wedlock with a CBS co-worker a few years ago though which could be an issue for the Dolphins. If they're trying to aim for the high moral ground, he might not be an ideal fit for them.

I'd still be surprised if the Eagles reached for a quarterback, but if an Aaron Murray or Zach Mettenberger fell to them in round three or four (due to their torn ACL's) I could see the Eagles grabbing one of them. If you can get a first round talent guy for a third or fourth round pick, it's kind of silly not to make the move. That's how we got Matt Barkley last year and I could see the same thing happening again. If we got one of those guys we could put him on PUP or the IR for the coming year, get him healthy and then have Barkley, Foles and the new kid all fighting it out for the job in 2015. We've got GJ Kinne still on the roster as a third stringer and there are always guys like Rex Grossman available in a pinch if you get desperate.

I wouldn't worry about the Redskins losing Orakpo. They'll franchise tag him if need be, but they can't afford to lose him. Players have the edge in negotiating right now. They know the teams don't generally want to tag a good player as it only locks them in for one year and at a high price. It's better for the team to sign a guy to a long term contract with a big bonus that can be spread out over years. I suspect that in the week before free agency starts you'll see quite a few signings. Right now players and their agents are just toying with GM's. In the next week to ten days you'll see lots of names coming off the free agent list as they resign with their current teams.

[brewhaha]

Gardenman, thanks for the explanation about the vertical jump. It's still incomprehensible to me how a 300 lb man can jump three feet into the air from a standing position without taking a step for momentum.

Johnny Manziel measured in at 5'11 3/4" and 207 lbs. I would be very hesitant to take him in the top ten. Because of his style of play, he's going to take some hits and at 207 lbs, I don't know how he's going to hold up. He's going to have to be smart about when he runs and become more of a pocket passer.

Jeff Fisher was on ESPN's NFL Insiders show and it sounds like an OL or two is high on their list. He also mentioned this is a very deep draft so trading down would be a possibility.