Eagles 7 Round Mock

I enjoy the draftnik games that superfans like us play especially in the mock believe world that every superfan lives in. We all know what we need to fix the team and fight strongly for our mock picks. Check out my latest mock and Im be the first to say this is my make believe world and I think if it falls like this I believe a Super Bowl is but 2 years away. I could give you a breakdown on each pick but I wont because if youre reading this you know the 1st three picks make the draft! Did I say the 1st three picks make the team better immediately?!

Enjoy this mock like I did and stay tuned for one more next week.

Playoffs Or Bust - Will The Philly Fanbase Let Kelly Work?

Chip Kelly has won twenty games in two seasons and has by all accounts brought a fresh perspective to Philly and the NFL but is that enough for a rabid fan base who are desperate for a Super Bowl.  There doesn't seem to be a middle ground for the expectations of the fan base who watch every move like they are sips of air from a dying breathing apparatus. Is Kelly a victim of his early success? We're going to take a look at Kelly and his early success and how it may have hurt him in the long run.

 

In season one there was a point when the Eagles were 3-5 and looked like the team that was coming off a 4-12 season and in need of rebuilding. Somehow and in amazing fashion they won seven of the last eight games with the biggest win coming in Dallas to clinch a playoff berth. Sounds like a fairy tale right? It turned out to be just that though as New Orleans beat them at home in the playoffs. What's wrong with this picture you're probably wondering? The talent level of the team was that of a 4-12 team and it still needed more young talent coming in the form of high draft picks. In one season the team went from 4-12 to 10-6 which means a significant drop to the bottom of the draft board in each round. This doesn't seem to be a big deal you say, you draft talent wherever you draft at says a champion. Lets see what happened in season two.

 

Season two started out rather unchampion like because Kelly shocked the world by releasing without comment one of their major players, DeSean Jackson. It was a move that shocked the entire NFL community and added a new need to the team that was already drafting at the backend of round one.  This move foreshadowed a theme for Kelly that essentially said "this is my team". Kelly and GM Roseman next turned their attention to the draft and to be honest they both struck out in their second collaboration with adding talent to the team through the draft. A solid contribution only came from two of the team's eight picks with first round pick Marcus Smith offering a very tiny contribution on special teams. Kelly to his credit coached a banged up team to a 10-6 record but they sputtered down the stretch losing three of their last four games which eliminated them from the playoffs. What's next and will the fans be patient?

 

Remember Kelly essentially saying "this is my team" from earlier, well in year three he has turned the table over trading Nick Foles and LeSean McCoy and choosing not to resign Jeremy Maclin. Sam Bradford is now the Qb and DeMarco Murray, Ryan Mathews and Jordan Matthews and Miles Austin makeup the offense. This is a huge make over and represents some risk as owner Jeff Lurie stated at the NFL Annual Meeting. The question is will the fanbase stay with Kelly and his rebuild or will they abandon his unorthodox blueprint for building a team. Season three will write itself and it's going to be a tale of the ages or a coach on the brink of getting tossed out of the big leagues.

A Philadephia Story of Stars and Losses - Chip Has Every Right To Purge Stars Off His Team!

LeSean McCoy on the very first day of Buffalo's off-season program has taken to the airwaves to say Chip Kelly doesnt want or likes star players on his team. This statement by McCoy comes on the heel of two consecutive years of Kelly moving on from big-time Eagle performers DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy. I have a different take on why these players are not on the Kelly's Eagles anymore and this may anger some people. Bottom-line these players are not winners and are more interested in the star life. That's my analysis and I support it with the last two years of Andy Reid's reign and the actions of these players after they left the Eagles. Lets first look at the last two years of the Andy Reid.

The 2011 Season was a roller coaster ride that at one point featured a four game losing streak, a two game losing streak and a four game winning streak that brought the team's record to 8-8. It was a very average to poor showing and LeSean was a part of that team as well as the other stars (Mike Vick, DeSean and Jeremy).

The 2012 season which was dubbed the "Dream Team" was a free agency spree that brought in even more stars. One could say it was star studded but it was poorly coached and ill-equipped to even compete. It was a complete wreck of a season that ended with the team losing 8 out the last 9 games. Andy Reid was fired and again the same cast and crew was on the offensive side of the ball. Why did I use the 2011 and 2012 seasons in this piece? My point is the team never lacked for stars and the result was losing and often in consecutive streaks. A lot of the losing can be laid at the feet of Andy Reid and his staff but where were the "stars" at and why didnt they shine?

Disciplined talent wins in the NFL not stars who call themselves stars. The culture must be more important than individual performances and fancy talk of league leading poppycock. Kelly tired of such talk and lack of fortitude on the field as again the team lost three straight critical games and guess who was a part of that dive again. You guessed right.

Champion's PreSeason Fantasy Season Checklist

NFL Fantasy Football is fast becoming a 12 month operation that requires planning, prep, and mock exercises in the offseason just as well! Let's take a look at some of the things a Fantasy GM has to review in the offseason:

 

 

 

 

 

1st - Stay abreast of Team's depth charts before and after Free Agency and the Draft. Most teams wipe their charts before training camp but if you follow at these times you will know who they are counting on to produce for them. I followed OBJ and the daily reporting on the Giants website and knew they were really counting on him so I jumped in week 3 of the season and added him to my roster before his debut in week 4. I knew he was going to be counted on to add excitement for the Giants and I hit big!

2nd - Fantasy GMs have to be fans in season and out. Chip Kelly has "erased" his QB, RB, and WR from the Eagles. You have to follow that story now thru the OTAs to Training Camp. He will tell you who he's counting on offensively from his WRs and how they will be deployed before the season starts.
 

3rd - Follow all the sites for all the information. There are free and pay sites that will help you GM and if want to compete you have at least 5 sites that you can rely on so you can make informed decisions.

Do these three things in the offseason and work like hell during the season doing the same things and you see that win graphic......That could be you with some luck added with your skillful preparation!

NFL Draft Season, Oh You Thought The Football Season Was Over?!

The NFL Silly season as some would call it or evidence that Football is a twelve month league, the NFL Draft season is in full swing! A quick look at my twitter feed favorites would show favorited tweets of Matt Miller, Charles Davis, Daniel Jeremiah, Jimmy Kempski, Tommy Lawlor, Bucky Brooks and Fran Duffy.  These guys are the go to analysts for prospect analysis, prospect visits, and things happening with teams during the NFL Draft Season and please know there are a lot of things happening!  My wife asked me the other day "is the season over because that looks like the football dudes you watch during the season", my reply was it's Draft Season and it's probably just as busy now as it is during the season.  She said you must really love football and I said YES I do and I follow the Silly season just as passionately. I need to know that Dan Quinn is planning to use referees in all of the Atlanta Falcons practices so they can cut down on infractions. I surely must know that Tony Romo re-did his contract in hopes of the Dallas Cowboys trying to trade for Adrian "All Day" Peterson.  I definitely have to know that Chip Kelly is hosting wide receivers in hopes of bringing in top wide receivers to the team to offset the loss of Jeremy Maclin.  YES this is the Silly season but guess who's silly? I will fall on the silly sword but I will bet large sums of money that I'm not alone!  It's ok to step out with me silly season lovers, we must get our own shirts and be proud of it!

 

The silly season will be over starting the weekend of April 30th ending May3rd and then everyone will be redoing all of their silly season work again but with knowledge of the new players on their teams. Something funny happens after silly season though and you can probably guess it's just as passionate as the silly season and that is the Offseason Training activities and Mini Camps.  It surely does appear that the NFL season is 12 months long!!

Miles Austin Reportedly Signs With The Eagles

I texted my brother yesterday and said "We signed a big-time receiver!!!!" He replied "WHO!!!" and I said Miles Austin and he replied back "Man why you playing with me, you're kidding right?" and I said no.  He wasn't happy that I wasn't kidding and said man what is Kelly doing?!  I thought I'd get you started with a funny exchange before we break Miles Austin down and folks it's not a bad signing to me.  Miles Austin in this offense can be productive, let me repeat Miles Austin in this offense can be productive.  Let's look at his profile, 6-2 220 with some speed and tackle breaking ability.  Miles played well with Dallas when he was on the field and if we want to be honest, his bubble screens (I'm come back to this) killed the Eagles because we had Asante Samuel who wanted nothing to do with tackling.  Let's look at 2 Chip Kelly bubble screens to see how Miles would be a threat in this offense, keep in mind we threw Riley Cooper this play and he stunk it up.
 

He can run after the catch and get yards and in this offense Kelly can get him the ball in space (like shown) with that ability.  Corners in today's game hate to see a 220lb wide receiver coming at them with linemen and in front on bubble screens so I can see how the plan and best way to maximize Miles in this offense. I have a gripe with our fan base who like my brother places too much emphasis on name players.  Our previous name players like DeSean, LeSean, and Jeremy haven't won a playoff game and we've had two playoff games at home with these players. It's time to stop falling in love with names and look at the blue-print for winning.  Yes Miles comes with a health concern but everyone that plays football is subject to health so I'm not as concerned as others are.  I want to see this new physical football team that Kelly is building and I want to see Miles deployed correctly because this offense has helped players have career years.

What do you think? Think Miles is washed up and risky or a good veteran who can fill a role on a team that currently has 3 signed receivers?  I'm going with good veteran who can fill a role and be a team player.

Battle of the All 22s

If you're like me when it comes to football, you enjoy the strategy and gamesmanship of football. I believe the reason that football is the number 1 sport in the United States is because it has a "battle" plan aspect similar to a general commanding his troops to get the mission completed.  The All 22 "tapes" that come before and after games are something that I really look forward to because it shows the tremendous strategy, preparation, and action of the NFL game and also who is doing the yeoman work for teams. The Philadelphia Eagles have 3 analysts that really do great work with their All 22 cutups and they are Fran Duffy of Philadelphiaeagles. com, Sheil Kapadia of Birds 24/7 of Phillymag.com and Chipwagon.com who withholds his name.

These analysts do a great job of drawing out the little things that take place of the football field that are keys to winning and losing a football game.  I'm lucky to consume their insights of what makes the team successful and I look forward to watching them breakdown games so I can sound smart. I especially like discussing football in the Sports bar against other fan bases because I can tell them arrogantly how and why my team will win!

Check out their pages and get the details you need to be smart about our team!  Who do you think does the best job by the way?  I like them all but you may prefer one over the other in the "Battle of the All 22's".