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Eagles also going super young along the OL, perhaps foolishly

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  • Eagles also going super young along the OL, perhaps foolishly

    http://bloggingthebeast.com/2011/08/...aps-foolishly/

    Eagles also going super young along the OL, perhaps foolishly
    Aug 29th, 2011 by Jimmy Kempski.


    Just like the Cowboys, it appears the Eagles are going ultra young along the OL by naming Jason Kelce the starter at center. However, unlike the Cowboys, I think it’s a major mistake for the Eagles to go with 2 rookies, right next to each other no less, protecting Michael Vick. They did the right thing by sliding Todd Herremans to right tackle and filling in Evan Mathis at LG, but starting two rookies that looked so horrific in the 3rd preseason game against the Browns makes little sense. Why not start Jamaal Jackson for the first few weeks, and let Kelce take over when he’s ready? This is not a typical offseason. Rookies have only been in camp for about a month.

    - 2010 NFL MVP runner-up behind center? Check.

    - Two fast, dynamic playmakers on the outside? Check.

    - Veteran, savvy, professional chain movers as the 3 and 4 receivers? Check.

    - An emerging star at the RB position? Check.

    - Two rookies protecting the middle of the line… that have not looked good at all in the preseason?

    Oof. The Eagles are playing with fire.

  • #2
    http://bloggingthebeast.com/2011/08/...-andre-gurode/

    Cowboys cut Andre Gurode: 3 projected starters have 109 career NFL snaps
    Aug 29th, 2011
    by Jimmy Kempski.

    WOW! They really did it. Ballsy. OK, that’s the third straight post I wrote “ballsy’” as its own sentence. Phil Costa, I hope you’re ready.

    The new Cowboys OL, per my earlier post, will likely look like this:

    LT Doug Free
    LG Bill Nagy
    C Phil Costa
    RG Kyle Kosier
    RT Tyron Smith

    And also as I noted earlier, Costa, Nagy, and Smith have a combined 109 snaps in the NFL. The Cowboys could also start Montrae Holland at center, or perhaps sign a player or two once teams cut down to 53, but for now, Tony Romo has to be a little unsettled by this development. As it stands, the Cowboys depth along the OL consists of Holland, Sam Young, David Arkin, Kevin Kowalski, Jermey Parnell, and Pepa Letuli.

    Holland aside, wanna guess how many career NFL snaps the Cowboys’ current backups have? If you guessed 0, you win.

    All that said, I like it. The Cowboys don’t look anything remotely like a serious Super Bowl contender right now, so what the hell? Go young, get some growing pains out of the way, and see what the young guys can do. Very un-Cowboy-like, but they’ll be better for it in the long run.

    The Giants are set at C with David Bass, and the Redskins seem to have a good thing going so far in the preseason with their interior OL, but I wonder if the Eagles would have any interest in Gurode. I doubt it, but it’s intriguing.

    Comment


    • #3
      I don't like it either -- two rookies right next to each other, the line trying to gel as a whole, and you have to pray there is no rookie wall later in the season when they have (hopefully) improved a lot. That said... I'll give Mudd the benefit of the doubt for now.

      Can we still say a small prayer that we keep Jackson on the roster, unlike Gurode? Kelce may start the season, but the jury is still out on game 2 (or even the second quarter of game 1).

      Comment


      • #4
        Not to mention that we seem to have evolved from being among the biggest OLines in the league to one of the lightest. Not sure how I feel about that. I will say that we have seen some signs that this athletic OL might just be real damned effective for our run game(if we actually call runs)
        http://shop.cafepress.com/content/global/img/spacer.gifOK, let's try this again...

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by FRESH View Post
          Not to mention that we seem to have evolved from being among the biggest OLines in the league to one of the lightest. Not sure how I feel about that. I will say that we have seen some signs that this athletic OL might just be real damned effective for our run game(if we actually call runs)
          I guess it does have its merits. Then again, aren't you supposed to have big AND athletic guys? I'm still not buying.
          "Hey Giants, who's your Daddy?"

          Comment


          • #6
            A rookie P, a rookie K, two rooks on the OL, a rook MLB flanked by a 7th rounder and UDFA. And I'm not 100% sold on Vick playing like he did last year. Sounds like a SB is in the cards this year.
            Wait until next year is a terrible philosophy
            Hope is not a strategy
            RIP

            Comment


            • #7
              No other approach has brought a SB to Philly,maybe this is the way to get it done.
              We're looking for people that are fundamentally different,” vice president of player personnel Andy Weidl said Saturday night. “The love and passion for football, it's non-negotiable. They're caring, their character, they do the right thing persistently, and they have a relentless playing style that you can see on tape. The motor, it burns hot. You see them finishing plays. They have a team-first mentality. They're selfless individuals.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by musicman View Post
                No other approach has brought a SB to Philly,maybe this is the way to get it done.
                Maybe taking the snap from under center and having a fullback in the game might help too.
                "Hey Giants, who's your Daddy?"

                Comment


                • #9
                  http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2...offensive-line

                  Andy Reid Confident In Eagles Offensive Line

                  A fair bit of panic crept into the Eagles fanbase after last week's preseason contest against the Browns. Michael Vick was knocked down at least five times and generally had rushers in his face all night. Of particular concern was the play of the two rookies Jason Kelce and Danny Watkins, which left a lot of people wondering whether it was smart to start two rookies on the line. Speaking on WIP this week Andy Reid said it doesn't really matter to him whether they're rookies.
                  "I've got combinations I can use and I'm just trying to find the right one that fits in with what Howard Mudd is doing and what we are trying to get done offensively and I've never been one that cares how old you are or if you a rookie or if you are a second or third, fourth, fifth year player. I don't care as long as I got the right combination."
                  Reid says that combination they've settled on has been improving every day.
                  "The one thing we are doing is that we are working in these different combinations and we'll have the right one by the time we get ready for the St.Louis Rams and get ready to play the Rams. Right now the one we are working with is Evan Mathis at left guard and Todd Herremans at right tackle. It looked pretty good today and we'll see how it looks tomorrow. I'm not as concerned as other people. I know we will get it right and they'll gel with that group. Whoever it is. They'll gel and play well."
                  They'll get a pretty good test in week one against the Rams. St. Louis may not have the pass rushers a team like say... the Giants do, but they do have Steve Spagnuolo in charge and he knows how to craft blitz schemes as good as anyone.

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