Eagles Begin Organized Team Activities On Tuesday May 26

The Philadelphia Eagles begin their Phase 3 Organized Team Activities (OTA) tomorrow and this portion of training is different as the coaches now can be on the field with the players as they go through non contact drills. I must emphasize that during Phase 3 there is no contact (hitting) allowed during the live drills. So what happens since there is no hitting allowed?

Teams conduct a total of 10 days of organized team practice activity, or "OTAs" over the course of 4 weeks during Phase 3. No live contact is permitted, but 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are permissible.

 

This is basically a combination of a passing camp and drills but no 1 on 1 drills are permitted between the OL and DL or WRs and DBS so the emphasis during this period are drills you've seen at the NFL combine and formation walkthroughs. The coaches are allowed on the field in Phase 3 and a lot of teaching takes place since Phase 1 and 2 mostly focus on conditioning. The rookies are expected to know the playbook by this time and this is where Kelly and the coaches get to see the team's athleticism and fitness. They film all of the activities and each "room" goes back to review the day's activities and discuss future expectations. The Eagles typically open up 3-4 OTAs to the media and we'll get "their" observations.  I wouldn't take their observations to be gospel because we don't know what's being discussed in the rooms or by the coaching staff.

 

We are getting closer and closer to football Birdgang!

 

NOTE: Room in football parlance means each position coach has a room in the Novacare facility where they review film and go over improvements and areas that need improvement with their position groups players.

Tebow Has A Role For The Eagles

Tim Tebow has a role with the Philadelphia Eagles since the league passed the new Point after Touchdown (PAT) rules. The new rules which take effect this season now set the line of scrimmage at the 15yd line for extra point (1pt) kicks but keep the ball on the 2yd line for 2pt tries. The defense also can return fumbles and interceptions for 2 pts on these plays which add excitement to the game and take out the auto feel of the extra point plays. Where does Tebow come in on these plays? I think he's a tremendous asset in this area of the game.

Tebow for all his detractors (I am not a super fan but I respect his college accomplishments) is a 6-3 240 QB thumper who was utilized as that in college. Chip Kelly for all the people who say he's crazy, he doesnt know what he's doing sure saw this coming and made the move to get him. He made the proposal for 2 pt tries from the 1yd line and that wasnt voted in but the fact is he saw this coming and positioned for it. I'm liking Kelly more and more for his vision and great leaders must have that characteristic.

Are you ready for Tebow Time?!

Eagles Really Wanted Agholor

Gil Brandt, legendary draft expert, tweeted out that the Eagles turned down a swap with Denver of 1st round picks that would have added picks to their stable. They stayed the course though and drafted WR Nelson Agholor, who not only fills a need he also passed with flying colors the Chip Kelly culture requirement. This is a break from the past as Howie Roseman, GM and draft lead man of the past, was a wheeler and dealer of sorts and most likely would have taken that offer.

I would not have made that move either as Denver was at least seven spots below the Eagles and at that spot the pool for impact players would have lessened tremendously. It shows a change of philosophy in the Front Office that shows "targeting" not "collecting" players. 

This is the Chip Kelly and Ed Marynowitz show now and this is the truest indication along with drafting only 6 players.

Can Sports Science Catapult The Philadelphia Eagles To The Top?!

Chip Kelly is at the forefront of the movement of bringing Sports Science to the NFL and he has brought one of the leading players in Sports Science to the Eagles and his name is James Hanisch.  James Hanisch bio is very impressive and he has risen from Sports Performance Analyst in 2006 in Australia for Australia Rules Football to Sports Science Coordinator for Oregon's Football Program in 2012.  You can guess who brought him in and, of course, it was Chip Kelly and Kelly recently has been able to woo him to the Philadelphia Eagles where he is listed in the front office as a High Performance Analyst.  Let's stop and think about this for a minute, Hanisch has 9 years of experience in this discipline and is one the earliest adopters of Sports Science.  In man's man language he is the man in this industry and along with Shaun Huls, who serves as the Director of Sports Science and Reconditioning, serve as the leaders of Sports Science and Performance Department.  All of this talk about Sports Science leaves you wondering just what the heck do these guys do, right?  Ok I'm give it a few sentences and I hope I do it justice though I don't think I can.  Let's go though!

Sports Science is the discipline of tracking players risk, readiness, and return to play data using a monitoring system developed by Catapult Sports.  Catapult on their website says "You know exactly how hard your guys work in the weight room, but how do you know how hard they worked on the field? How do you measure performance? Develop normative data for each position on your team - a valuable tool to objectively measure a new recruit."  This means wearing body sensors and buying in to Sports Science as Hanisch mentions in a Grantland article in 2013.  The athletes have to believe that this helps them perform better as a professional athlete and wear the sensors even sleep monitors which is a data point that Kelly wants to track as well.  It's this sophistication and dedication to Sports Science that allows an executive like Kelly to take chances on athletes like Sam Bradford, Kiko Alonzo, DeMarco Murray, DeMeco Ryans, and Ryan Mathews and in the past Jeremy Maclin.  These athletes all are high risk injury players but they all have major NFL talent that if healthy can catapult (pun intended) the Eagles to the top.  It's a risk that was well thought out as Chip recently said "the only way we get a Sam Bradford is because of his injury history" but as I tried to lay out, he really believes in his investment in Sports Science and is banking that this department gets these players  through reconditioning to perform at their max capacity.

Buy in is very important as stated earlier and it's probably along with some other factors the reason why DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy aren't members of the Eagles now.  We are all waiting to see if this faith in Sports Science will pay off and lead the team to the top.

It's definitely a gamble but I'm all in on the gamble, are you?

Talent, Character, and Intangibles - NFL Draft

Thursday will be the culmination of a dream for 500 players as 250 will be drafted and 250 will be added to teams as Priority Free Agents (PFA). Getting drafted or signed as a PFA by a NFL Franchise is no gurantee though but what it does is make you a prospect and talent, character, and intangibles are what's going to bind them to their organization and teammates. Those 3 things are going to carry them up the ladder or down on the bench as making a professional team is as much mental as it is physical. What does a typical prospect encounter as they try to integrate into their new organization?

Integrating into an organization can be an overwhelming experience or an expected foray into what that prospect always expected. The first level of the experience are the media requirements like interviews and appearances. That's the first judgement, presence and communication. The second level comes during the organized training activities when athletic and physical gifts are judged by the teammates. The third level is the organization's expectation of the prospect and how they fit into the team. Imagine a team cutting a respected veteran to make way for the prospect. That's a tell in poker parlance and everyone picks up on it including the prospect.

Talent, Character, and Intangibles again are what the organization, team, and fans will be looking at as these prospects try to live out their life long dream. Heavy stuff right?!

 

 

 

  

Eagles Schedule Release Party

I watched the schedule show like the darn superfan that I am and came away looking at the schedule and said "We have a shot to blow up the league!" How you're asking? This is how:

 

1. Win the 1st 4 games which are winnable even with 3 of them being on the road.

2. Dominate at home which all championship caliber teams do.

3. Win both games vs the Redskins and Giants.

 

This formula right here equals a 12-4 record and, of course, we need good quarterback play to go with the running game which everyone is expecting to be stout. I do have two concerns and its about our wide receivers and cornerbacks. We need someone other than Matthews to show up as a pass catcher and we need the corner opposite Maxwell to defend at least adequately his side of the field. If the Eagles answer my concerns we can win 12 games and blow it up! What do you think?!

Tim Tebow Signs With The Philadephia Eagles

Big news came via Jay Glazer who scooped that Tim Tebow would be signing a contract and participating in the Philadelphia Eagles offseason workouts starting April 20th. That is big news everyone, a big ticket item in a news cycle that is about to spin out of control with the Draft starting in 10 days! Is Chip Kelly the most arrogant pompous coach in the League (without a playoff win) or is too much being made over a potential 3rd string Qb? Lets break it down and see!

 

Tim Tebow deserves another chance and lets be clear its just an opportunity that Chip Kelly is extending to one of college's winningest quarterbacks. The hope is that the organization will handle the hoopla a whole lot better than the New York Jets did and set the tone for normalcy for the team. The signing also allows them to either trade or release Matt Barkley who has not faired well since being drafted two years ago. The signing, however, does has its detractors who are saying this type of move signals a lack of a quarterback on the team especially coming on the heals of trading quarterback Nick Foles for a talented but perenially hurt quarterback Sam Bradford. I don't honestly know what to think but I'm patient and willing to let things play themselves out.

 

Chip Kelly is ballsy enough to make this move and throw conventional wisdom by the wayside which can be construed as arrogant or brilliant. People are taking sides and it makes the Philadelphia Eagles must see TV as people either want to see Kelly succeed or fail. I fall on the succeed side as I'm that diehard who's open to anything that pushes us towards winning the Super Bowl. What do you think and what side do you fall on?!