Eagles Blog

The Eagles love to run the ball, but they do it creatively and that puts a lot of pressure on defenders. Former NFL Safety Matt Bowen is impressed.

Lots of moving parts makes a simple play seem so much more complex.

I made this joke on Twitter last year.

What's changed since we first talked to Chip Kelly? Eagles signed OL Allen Barbre. Seems to me Chip is coming here so he can coach Barbre.

— Tommy Lawlor (@lawlornfl) January 16, 2013

Turning out to be 100 percent true.

Connor Barwin might be the most likable Eagle of them all. He’s only been part of the team for a year, but you just get the feeling he was meant to be an Eagle. He loves the city of Philadelphia. He loves the team and organization. And he’s a good player.

Zach Berman wrote a good piece on Barwin for the Inquirer recently. Most football players aren’t “normal”. Some enjoy the money and live a fancy lifestyle. Some are very driven in a way that the average person can’t understand. They obviously have strange jobs and very odd work schedules.

Barwin seems to take pride in trying to be a normal guy.

Barwin said one of the advantages of playing professional football is the free time in the offseason. Barwin has a girlfriend and no children, so he spends most of his free time as he chooses.

“It’s the offseason; my weekends aren’t too full,” Barwin said. “I think when I get invited to a lot of things, I usually say yes. All those things that happened are people that invited me, and usually good things happen.”

After the concert and a conference later that month, Barwin said July will become “all football.” He will spend two weeks with his trainer in Houston and two weeks working with former Texans teammate Brian Cushing in New Jersey.

Barwin has kept busy during the offseason in the past, but social media and his profile in Philadelphia have enhanced his popularity.

“I know I’m a normal person,” Barwin said, “so I’m out in Philadelphia, going to dinner, walking around, all the normal things.”

Barwin might be a normal guy, but he sure doesn’t seem like a normal football player. The Eagles are lucky to have him. So is the city of Philadelphia.

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One of the most fascinating rookies the Eagles added is Trey Burton. He went to Florida to play QB and moved around while there. The Eagles have him playing TE, but Burton is only 6-2, 224 so he’s an interesting fit there. He is getting a lot of help in adjusting to life as an NFL TE.

Fortunately for the young tight end, one of the veterans in his position group has taken him under his wing, showing him the ropes during his first few practices with the team.

“The guy who has helped me out the most is James Casey,” Burton said. “He’s been unbelievable for me and all the other rookies. He’s always been there to answer all of the questions that we have, and he’s a really funny dude, so he definitely lightens up the mood in the meeting rooms and around the locker room.”

It is always a good sign when veteran players help the young guys, especially when they are potentially fighting against each other for a roster spot.

Matt Bowen was a SS for a few teams in his NFL career. He is now a good writer and football analyst. He recently posted a piece on rookies trying to learn some concepts as they are introduced to the NFL.

If you want to play fast (at any level of the game), you can’t worry about your alignment or the basic checks before the snap of the ball. This forces players to hesitate (and get beaten) when they are thinking about their responsibilities, stance, etc., instead of reading their keys and playing with speed.

And that’s why it’s crucial for rookies to grasp the core schemes in the playbook so they can go out and compete with the veterans during OTAs and minicamp this spring.

Coaches will start with the basics when the playbook is handed out so rookies can get lined up and execute the techniques of the call in the huddle.

Bowen then shows some X’s and O’s and explains what the coaches might be throwing at the rookies. Good stuff.

The Eagles offense was fast last year, but it appears they want to play at an even faster pace this season.

From Nick Fierro:

After witnessing the first of four practices at organized team activities (OTAs) that will be open to the media this spring, I am safe to report that, yes, the goal is definitely to move a lot faster this year and that the Eagles are making significant strides in that area.

During the scrimmage portion of practice today, the offense was at the line almost before the whistle blew ending the previous play. The only real delays were when the quarterbacks would see something they didn’t like and audible out of it.

Other than that, it was like a drag race out there, which is what Chip Kelly has wanted from the start. They couldn’t move as fast as he wanted in his first season a year ago because everything was so new.

Can’t wait to see how the offense looks this season.

Mike Tanier came up with an interesting way of rating teams. He judged them based on “hope”. His formula:

Recent Super Bowl Appearances: 5 points for the 2013 season, 4 points for 2012, and so on down to 2009. The team did not have to win, simply make it, to inspire confidence that it is still within a championship success cycle.

Super Bowl Quarterback: 3 points for multiple appearances, 2 points for single appearances. These points stack with the last set of points in most circumstances. Again, it’s the appearance that matters.

Super Bowl Coach: 1 point. You might think this should be worth more, but Mike Shanahan was a heck of a buzzkill last year, and Ken Whisenhunt does not send people cartwheeling into the streets with spontaneous glee.

Winning Records, Last Five Years: 1 point each.

Playoff Appearance, 2013: 1 point.

Pro Bowl Participants, 2013: 1 point each. When trying to muster enthusiasm, it is easier to point to six Pro Bowlers on the roster than some 9-7 wild card sneak-in, though the combination of both can be pretty potent. The Pro Bowl lists are taken from Pro Football Reference and include injury replacements; in a few cases, players who earned All-Pro notice but were somehow left off Team Rice and Team Sanders were added to the Hope Index scores.

Pro Bowl Participants, 2012: 0.5 points each. These points give a little extra boost for teams that fell off suddenly last year while keeping the perennial sad sacks in their places.

Class of 2012 Quarterback: 3 points. The next set of values reward future possibilities, not past accomplishments. The 2012 quarterbacks pack a powerful psychological cache, so having one is as good or better than having some 37-year old who won a Super Bowl years ago. Brandon Weeden does not count as a 2012 quarterback, Robert Griffin and Kirk Cousins combine to form one, and in a grand compromise, Nick Foles counts as half of one.

New Quarterback: 1 point. Quarterback changes always bring a jolt of enthusiasm, even if they involve mid-round draft picks and Matt Schaub.

New Coach: 2 points. Both 2013 and 2014 coaching changes count here, as most fans give new staffs tons of benefit of the doubt in the first year (and so many new 2013 coaches performed so well).

New Regime: 1 point. New owners, new general managers and deposed despotic coaches of the Shanahan class all get one additional point, again retroactive to 2013.

Major Draft Improvements: 1 point for selecting in the top five, 1 non-stacking point for two first-round picks. We could get far more technical here, but this point boosts the hope for some weaker teams, and it stacks with “new quarterback” points in a few important cases.

Stuck in a Nasty Division: Minus-one point. The AFC East and AFC West contenders are docked a point for having to try to unseat the Patriots and Broncos to get anywhere. All four NFC West teams are docked a point, the 49ers and Seahawks simply for having to cope with each other.

Add the totals up, and Presto! You know how you are supposed to feel about your favorite team. If you feel different, it does not reflect poorly on your intellect or sanity. Probably.

So where do the Eagles rank?

11) Philadelphia Eagles: 13.5

The Eagles tap various elements of the Hope Index: three winning records in five years to represent the past, coach-quarterback-regime points for the future, and five 2013 Pro Bowlers for the present. These ratings would look very different if a “wide receiver anxiety” variable were added — the Texans, Browns and Eagles would all drop — but does anyone want to give wide receivers that much power?

Interesting.

Giants – 13th.

Skins – 14th.

And Dallas? Way down at 26th. Ouch.

#PhillySportsBirthday May 26, 1941: Jim Johnson (Eagles) [Deceased] pic.twitter.com/JzneyIstZp

— PhillySportPast (@PhillySportPast) May 26, 2014

One of a kind.

This cartoon has been out there a while, but in case anyone missed it…

Funny stuff.

The Eagles reportedly signed Nebraska star Taylor Martinez. Notice I didn’t mention a position. Martinez was a QB for the Huskers,  but worked out as a QB, DB and WR at his Pro Day. Eagles DB coach John Lovett was at that workout and put Martinez through DB drills.

The Eagles normally keep 5 QBs. They only have 4 on the roster so Martinez could be here for that. But he’s a marginal passer so he’s got virtually no chance as a QB. Martinez is a talented athlete that could play WR or DB.

From Gil Brandt.

Taylor Martinez played quarterback at Nebraska — starting 43 games at the position during four seasons with the Cornhuskers — but might be a man without a position as an NFL draft hopeful.

Martinez (6-foot 1/4, 201 pounds) ran the 40-yard dash in 4.45 and 4.6 seconds. He had a 39-inch vertical jump and 10-foot-9 broad jump. He had a 20-yard short shuttle time of 4.03 seconds and did the three-cone drill in 6.85 seconds. All of those numbers with the exception of the three-cone would have either been the best among quarterbacks or matched the best among quarterbacks at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Martinez worked out as a quarterback, wide receiver and defensive back at Nebraska’s pro day. Some NFL team will have to take a look at Martinez and decide what to do with him because he’s such a gifted athlete.

The Eagles had 90 guys on the roster already today. Someone will have to be cut before Martinez can be officially added.