Random Off-Season Discussion

[ice grillin you]

Marty wants Maclin

ny paper say things

can you imagine an organization telling a ny reporter that they covet a guy in free agency...its funny to because the piece says "the daily news has learned" but doesnt even mention "sources"...it literally says nothing about how they learned it not even an 'un-named source' or 'front office sources'


also this is hilarious...

Gang Green not likely to go after Broncos' Eric Decker, may also pursue drafting wideouts if free agent plan falls through, but Maclin and Sanders remain coveted by Gang Green.


id have a plan b in mind as well if i just announced to the entire planet who i coveted in free agency

[hbionic]

I can tell you've been reading the bible recently. 

[Zanshin]

I'm pretty sure the Jets are interested in just about any WR who wasn't on the Jets last year.

[Eagaholic]

If they don't see it as a priority they should be forced to watch the Super Bowl Clockwork Orange style.

it probably is....hell it could easily be their top priority...but the fact remains that it is a possibility they see wolffman as their strong safety of the future and with nate allens comeback year last season that its not a priority...sometimes critical thinking is needed in these situations rather than just follow the blogs papers and sports radio stations like sheep....because thats their main offseason talking point so far but in reality we dont know

We honestly have no clue, but I'll say it sure seemed like they liked what they saw from Wolff early.  From a rookie perspective, he learned a new Defense at this level and did well enough for us as eagle fans to not want him launched into the sun.  That's encouraging. 

Safety is a priority if for none of the obvious reasons other than they don't have any. Allen, Coleman and Colt Anderson are all free agents. After Wolff,  Andre Waters is next on the depth chart. Also, during the senior bowl week over a third of the players the Eagles talked to were DBs, so that is some indication of where they are looking as well.

[ice grillin you]

The Eagles signed former Chicago Bears wide receiver Joe Anderson on Friday. It was the team's first acquisition in nearly a month.

Anderson, who is 6-foot-1 and 196 pounds, played nine games during the past two seasons with the Bears. He did not record a catch, spending his time as a special teams contributor. He returned five kicks last season for an average of 16.4 yards, with a long of 21 yards. The Bears placed Anderson on injured reserve last November with an abdominal and groin injury.

Anderson has caught touchdowns in the past two preseasons for the Bears. The 25-year-old played college football at Texas Southern and went undrafted.

[PhillyPhreak54]

Rumors going around that the Packers are looking to slim their DL down to smaller quicker dudes. This could mean BJ Raji is let go.

Do you bring him in to be the NT?

[ice grillin you]

it sounds like the packers are going after the exact kind of players chipper likes....so if they dont want him i cant imagine the eagles would

[Eagaholic]

I like Bennnie Logan but if Davis really wants to run a bona fide 2G 3-4 Bennie doesn't have the size to play that many snaps, at least at this point. He also seemed to get gassed too much for a young guy. I think he can still be effective but has to be a rotational player and needs a fat ass to share snaps with him.

Even though his play has dropped off a bit Raji would be a good fit, but I've read he is looking for too much money (refused an $8/yr deal to re-sign with GB earlier iirc). I doubt he'll get what he's looking for at his age so maybe the Eagles can offer one of their typical deals of good pay but not a lot of guaranteed $, with a window of a second or third year cap friendly cut if he's not working out. NT is probably the most under the radar position they need to upgrade, even though it is just with a guy to take half the snaps.

[ice grillin you]

birds met with kelvin benjamin today FAP

[Rome]

Florida State's Benjamin the type of wideout Eagles would love


LES BOWEN, Daily News Staff Writer bowenl@phillynews.com
Posted: Sunday, February 23, 2014, 3:01 AM

INDIANAPOLIS - Kelvin Benjamin, the 6-5, 240-pound Florida State wide receiver who caught the game-winning touchdown pass in the National Championship game, would seem to be exactly the sort of weapon both Eagles fans and Chip Kelly have coveted.

Maybe that's why Benjamin gets mentioned as the Birds' possible first-round selection, at 22nd overall, in a lot of mock drafts, including one from ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr.

Listening to Benjamin recount that title-game winner yesterday at the NFL Scouting Combine definitely set the mind wandering to what Benjamin might do, catching passes from Nick Foles in Kelly's varied, field-stretching attack. The TD that gave the Seminoles a 34-31 victory over Auburn was a classic big receiver-in-the-red-zone grab, Benjamin walling off Auburn cornerback Chris Davis in the middle of the field.

"It was a simple slant route," Benjamin said. "I knew [Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher] was coming back to me. I knew [Davis] was thinking fade, so I was going to try and sell him on that fade route, take three steps out, cut inside him and do what I do best, catch the ball at the highest point."

That's a big-time skill, a combination of size, jumping ability and body control that makes Benjamin elite, despite occasional problems with drops, despite the fact he doesn't have great speed. (Benjamin said yesterday he hopes to run a 4.3 40 here. If that happens, he'll be long gone by the 22nd pick. He could just as easily drop out of the first round, with a slow time.)

A reporter asked yesterday whether the title-winner, scored with 13 seconds remaining, really was the way it looked on those zillion TV replays - did Benjamin actually jump before quarterback Jameis Winston threw the ball, and just hang there until it arrived?

"Yeah, sometimes I like to jump early," said Benjamin, whose 11 career red-zone catches went for 10 touchdowns, according to ESPN Stats & Info. "It throws the DB off."

Benjamin said not getting to play for the national championship the year before was a key point in his development. He said the 2013 season was about "growing up, being a man."

Before that, "I was basically a kid, doing kid things, not putting in the work needed to be a great receiver."

He added: "Seeing the season that we had [in 2012], knowing that we could have gone to the national championship, knowing that we left a lot out there on the field, I just wanted to turn it around for the team."

Benjamin grew up in Belle Glade, Fla., sometimes called "Muck City" because of the mucky soil in which sugar cane grows. The area has produced a lot of elite athletes. Benjamin said that's because poverty nurtures "the determination to be great."

"It's a bad environment down there," he added.

Is it true he used to chase rabbits through the cane fields?

"Everybody chased rabbits back when they were small," Benjamin said. "They was good to eat. They're really good, if you've never had them before. But that also helps with speed and agility and things like that."

Benjamin was held back twice in elementary school, he confirmed, which is why he just turned 23, though his final season at Florida State, he was a redshirt sophomore. He probably could have used more work on the drops and on route-running, but with the draft becoming more and more about 20- and 21-year-olds, waiting longer would have made his age a significant negative.

A team drafting him, Benjamin said, will get "a guy that'll never give up . . . If I need to work on something, my route-running, my techniques, that's what I'm going to do."

"I love press coverages," said Benjamin, who said he measured at 4 percent body fat. USA Today compared him to Plaxico Burress, though presumably not in the way he handles firearms.

Complimented about his ability to gain yardage after the catch, Benjamin linked that talent to one of his shortcomings.

"That was one of my problems, seeing the yards before I start to run, and then I end up dropping the ball. They're called 'focus drops,' you know?"

The draft is still more than 2 months away, but Benjamin probably ranks behind Clemson's Sammy Watkins and Texas A&M's Mike Evans, maybe behind USC's Marqise Lee. He might be in the same ballpark as Penn State's 6-4, 215-pound Allen Robinson.

No chance we (wink) get lucky enough to get this guy.

[SD]

My dream offseason would be:
re-sign Maclin
Sign TJ Ward
Sign Orakpo

Draft Benjamin

I doubt that comes to fruition but the above moves would make the Eagles legit contenders next season in my opinion.

Then there's this:

Whispers that the Eagles might be interested in Patriot's receiver Julian Edelman. Would you rather bring Maclin back or go after Edelman?

I like Edelman, I think a lot of teams overlook his ability to get open. Guy can really move the chains. That being said I think Maclin is  a better fit for Chip's offense. Would love to see Desean/Maclin/Benjamin, that would be hard to stop. Rumors like the above used to have some merit, agents/unnamed sources would float this stuff out there from time to time to drum up interest in their client. Now it's an overly used tactic and you don't know who to believe.

[ice grillin you]

Would you rather bring Maclin back or go after Edelman?

you want white mr glass or black mr glass?


im not a tj ward hater but i dont want an in the box safety...i want someone that can run in space...my preference would be trade for jarius byrd (im assuming buffalo tags him)

[SD]

I'm fine with Byrd, I just think he's going to want too much money. I doubt the Bills use the FT on him but you can never be sure.

Davis's safety's don't go by a standard position, so there really is no SS or FS. If they sign Ward, then they'll have to sign an over the top safety. If they sign Byrd they'll have to find a guy who can support the run. I wouldn't be opposed to keeping Allen, he covered the deep pass well and has grown as a player.

[ice grillin you]

run stopping safetys are marginalized in todays nfl in general....but if you run a 3-4 you dont need one at all....mind you i dont want two nate allens but i would be fine with a jarius byrd and a nate allen

i need my linebackers to tackle

[SD]

I doubt Ward or Byrd happen. I'd be fine with either. But realistically they don't need either. If they were say the 49ers and were a safety away from going to the SB, by all means you sign one. They have a bunch of holes on D. I think they'll sign a lesser player who's servicable.

Some names:
James Ihedigbo
Antoine Bethea
Steve Brown is coming off an ACL tear, might be worth the gamble, might be another Kenny Phillips
Mike Mitchell (pretty sure Carolina re-signs him, he's under rated and they know it)
Bernard Pollard
Louis Delmas

All of these guys are an upgrade. Some excel in coverage, some against the run, some are Veteran's who just get the job done. They can probably be had for half the price of Byrd or Ward.