The 'Have to start somewhere' dynasty

[MartinD]

I only noticed a few weeks back that a new version of Front Office Football had been released, so I dropped by FOFCentral to have a look around and pick up a bit of information on FOF2007. I've played a few of the previous versions, but was never able to make the jump from the Fourth Edition to FOF2004 (which I did buy, but never really played much) - was just too comfortable with the ol' Fourth Edition. I decided to take the plunge, though, and picked up the 2007 version (already patched to 6.0d).

I have written a few dynasty reports before (most notably as part of the WLC in 2001), but I'd be surprised if anyone here remembers them - it's been a long time since I've been round here!

What I've found in the past is that writing a dynasty report makes me have to think more about what I'm doing when I'm playing FOF - think that the main reason is that I have to write all the big moves down, and an element of 'don't make yourself look too stupid' kicks in... (I do have a tendency towards doing things a bit quickly, and sometimes making snap decisions that aren't all that sensible!) As I'm just getting to grips with FOF2007, this should help me slow things down a bit and get a better feel for the game more quickly.

This dynasty starts in 2009, after quick-simming 3 seasons with Oakland (two first-game playoff losses sandwiching a 4-12 wipeout). Two teams are willing to let me make a move, and I decide to go with Philadelphia - their disastrous 2-14 season last year (and the resulting top pick in the draft!) having quite a lot to do with that. I started with randomly-generated players rather than the 'real' player dataset, as I find that my impressions of the real-life player affect how I see the in-game player too much for comfort.

As I'm new to this version of the game, I'm not putting any major limits or restrictions on how I can play the game, although I will tend towards trying to build a team through the draft rather than bringing in lots of external free agents where possible.

[MartinD]

I'll start with a look at the roster I'm inheriting - not particularly promising...

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntr
Tanaka, Bubba 5 QB 11 30 30 --
Tucker, Dwayne 10 QB 4 20 48 1
Irwin, Bryant 4 QB 4 17 40 --
Tinkis, Dustin 7 QB 2 4 40 --
Escalante, Tito 23 RB 8 62 62 3
Sauer, Kevin 49 RB 3 28 35 --
Wallace, Dan 32 RB 3 26 37 --
Erlitz, Kendall 24 FB 3 28 41 --
Natale, Jose 20 FB 2 19 41 --
Cox, Lewis 88 TE 5 69 69 1
Compton, Xavier 80 TE 5 31 38 --
McNeil, Vinny 89 TE 2 18 31 --
Turlington, Benjamin 16 FL 6 46 46 --
Herod, Pete 84 FL 4 34 34 --
Clinton, Mitch 8 FL 2 27 47 3
Childress, Dana 82 FL 2 19 33 2
Corbett, Tony 83 SE 4 36 38 --
Place, David 56 C 6 48 48 1
Lowe, Bennie 54 C 2 26 54 2
Downs, Billy 71 LG 4 54 54 2
Burns, William 67 LG 4 26 43 --
Clemons, Cory 66 RG 5 41 51 3
Phillips, Darryl 64 RG 4 27 36 --
Andrews, Roosevelt 69 LT 4 63 63 3
Wells, Ethan 65 RT 10 40 40 1
Cales, Philip 68 RT 2 25 39 2
Chubick, Jerome 17 P 3 44 44 --
Oden, Matt 2 K 3 60 63 2
Snedeker, Leo 93 LDE 12 60 60 3
Hitchcock, Norm 92 RDE 10 37 37 2
Chanthavong, Horace 74 RDE 2 20 42 --
Stuart, Harris 95 LDT 4 43 55 1
Brown, Bennie 79 LDT 6 33 33 --
Small, Leo 91 LDT 3 25 38 --
Andrews, Blaine 76 RDT 4 67 67 4
Politopoulos, Fernando 70 RDT 4 27 40 --
Newsome, Archie 96 MLB 2 46 46 2
Pote, Ronald 94 MLB 3 22 41 --
Stauffer, Percy 52 SLB 9 68 68 1
Andrews, Martin 98 SLB 5 29 38 --
Winslet, Spencer 50 SLB 3 23 44 1
Dumas, Dominic 57 WLB 4 18 45 --
Marsh, Lorenzo 46 LCB 5 81 81 1
Crane, Phillip 30 LCB 2 62 72 4
Horn, Rick 44 LCB 6 47 47 1
Allison, Conrad 21 LCB 4 29 42 --
Hagemann, Rickey 35 RCB 6 47 47 --
Doyle, Adam 39 RCB 9 38 38 1
Briggs, Gino 41 RCB 3 27 35 --
Ross, Wally 34 SS 4 55 67 1
Nesbit, Damon 45 SS 6 32 44 --
Valentino, Leon 38 SS 2 31 58 2
Schnebele, Derek 31 FS 12 45 45 1
Stephenson, Gus 37 FS 4 18 43 --

$$ - player is suspended, ## - player is inactive,
** = player is injured, %% - player is on IR.

Players Under Contract: 27
Inactive: 0
On Active Roster: 27

Salary Cap: $116,700,000
Cap Room: $4,230,000
Maximum for New Player: ($6,460,000)
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $750,000

Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $0
Cap Room Required Next Year: $62,260,000

Already out of cap room (when the draft picks to come are taken into account), and only 27 players signed - not a good start...

Player # Pos Start OnTm EndCnt Exp Cap Cost
Snedeker, Leo 93 LDE 2006 2011 12 $19,910,000
Doyle, Adam 39 RCB 2006 2009 9 $12,800,000
Stauffer, Percy 52 SLB 2006 2009 9 $10,690,000
Marsh, Lorenzo 46 LCB 2006 2009 5 $9,800,000
Cox, Lewis 88 TE 2006 2009 5 $8,260,000
Escalante, Tito 23 RB 2006 2011 8 $6,900,000
Andrews, Roosevelt 69 LT 2006 2011 4 $5,100,000
Crane, Phillip 30 LCB 2008 2012 2 $3,630,000
Andrews, Blaine 76 RDT 2006 2012 4 $3,610,000
Stuart, Harris 95 LDT 2006 2009 4 $3,610,000
Ross, Wally 34 SS 2006 2009 4 $3,610,000
Downs, Billy 71 LG 2006 2010 4 $3,480,000
Tucker, Dwayne 10 QB 2006 2009 4 $3,040,000
Clemons, Cory 66 RG 2006 2011 5 $2,520,000
Hitchcock, Norm 92 RDE 2006 2010 10 $2,290,000
Schnebele, Derek 31 FS 2006 2009 12 $2,120,000
Wells, Ethan 65 RT 2007 2009 10 $2,070,000
Newsome, Archie 96 MLB 2008 2010 2 $1,770,000
Place, David 56 C 2006 2009 6 $950,000
Horn, Rick 44 LCB 2006 2009 6 $920,000
Childress, Dana 82 FL 2008 2010 2 $840,000
Oden, Matt 2 K 2007 2010 3 $760,000
Winslet, Spencer 50 SLB 2007 2009 3 $700,000
Clinton, Mitch 8 FL 2008 2011 2 $650,000
Lowe, Bennie 54 C 2008 2010 2 $590,000
Valentino, Leon 38 SS 2008 2010 2 $570,000
Cales, Philip 68 RT 2008 2010 2 $530,000

So I have 7 players taking up over $70 million of my salary cap - not a good position to start from, particularly with a #1 overall draft pick to come. Of these 7 players, CB Marsh, RB Escalante and LT Andrews are worth the money they're making (all are high-end starters - the sort of players you want to build a team round), but the others are definitely making more money than they're worth. Only Snedeker has a contract for longer than this season, although there's a significant amount of bonus money attached (about $14m) - cutting him this season would use up over 10% of my cap for next year, although it would make a big difference to the cap this year.

[MartinD]

Staff Hiring

The incumbent scout is 64 years old, with one year left on his contract, and isn't particularly good - he's asked politely to leave, and is replaced by Andrew Baicy (age 34, 5 years at $490k, VG/F/G/A/G/F/G/VG/A).

Head Coach Corwin Raymond is 62 years old, but is still very competent (VG in all the HC areas other than defensive playcalling (good)), so is retained. Offensive co-ordinator Craig Lewis is also retained - 56 years old, and has a solid reputation in all areas (one of those guys who would be good at any of the coaching spots). Defensive co-ordinator is currently open, as the previous occupant is out of contract. J. C. Clemons is signed to look after the defensive side of the ball (G/G/VG/VG/G in the relevant areas) for 3 years at $2.2m per year.

It's fairly obvious to me that the staff haven't been the problem in Philadelphia, so the main task is obviously going to be to upgrade the roster.

Franchise/summer league/ticket prices

No free agents worth franchising (not that I have the cap room to use the tag anyway!), and I send promising SS Leon Valentino to the summer league.

Philadelphia are in a reasonable position with regard to ticket prices, with the price comparison table showing $342 (high is Dallas at $614, low Minnesota at $280), so I do only a little bit of tweaking (30/40/55/65/150/60,000).

Free agency

A few moves to make before I can do anything...

Players released
DE Leo Snedeker (saves $12.37m, $14.36m on next year's cap)
CB Adam Doyle (saves $9.55m)
OLB Percy Stauffer (saves $6.6m)

Renegotiated contracts/restricted free agent signings
TE Lewis Cox (3 years, $9.5m)
QB Dwayne Tucker (3 years, $4.9m)
FB Kendal Erlitz (1 year, $560k)
SE Tony Corbett (1 year, $840k)
P Jerome Chubick (1 year, $560k)
DT Harris Stuart (6 years, $10.5m)
SS Wally Ross (5 years, $11.7m)
CB Lorenzo Marsh (5 years, $29.5m)
CB Phillip Crane (4 years, $5.2m - a small additional bonus, but a significant pay cut over the next few years)
CB Conrad Allison (1 year, $670k)

After these moves, we have 28 players signed and $27.55m cap room free (with just under $19m available after the expected cost of signing draft picks).

Targets for the draft and free agency:
QB: only have QB Tucker signed, so need to find a veteran backup/borderline starter
RB: only RB Escalante signed, so need a couple of young guys to back him up
TE: only TE Cox signed, so need at least one backup here
WR: have only 2 fairly average young receivers under contract, so a veteran and some young talent would be useful
OL: the current starting 5 (Andrews, Downs, Place, Clemons, Wells) are acceptable, but depth behind the starters is needed
K/P: the guys we have are solid enough to work with for now
DL: 3 guys under contract are all solid, but need a starter at LE and depth
LB: only 2 guys at the moment - need a couple of starters and depth
CB: 3 solid players under contract, so only depth needed
S: again, 3 solid players under contract, so not a big need at the moment

The top end of the draft board is heavy on defensive linemen, with two big tackles being the obvious top prospects - looks like there may be value in trading down out of the top pick.

I make a few offers in stage 2 of free agency, mainly looking at shoring up the obvious weaknesses in the current roster:
WR Ray Sims (5th year/4.8) - $12.50m over 4 years
LDE Emmitt Summers (7/4.2) - $2.40m over 2 years
WILB Roger Hall (7/5.3) - $2.50m over 2 years (will need a position switch, as I'm playing a 4-3)
MLB Kenneth McClurken (4/4.7) - $1.9m over 2 years

I also make an offer to our veteran QB Bubba Tanaka (11th year, 30/30, mentor - $5.20m over 2 years), as I'm expecting to bring in a young QB through the draft - will be worth paying the veteran decent money for a couple of years to help out with the kid's development.

McClurken signs immediately, and is likely to step right in as the starter at MLB. Tanaka and Summers sign in stage 4, with Sims signing in week 5. Hall takes his time, but ends up signing with Denver in stage 9.

Additional offers in stage 10:
LT Adam Hastings (6/3.2) - $1.61m over 2 years
SLB Karl Andrews (5/3.7) - $1.88m over 2 years

Both players sign immediately.

Before the end of free agency, I go through the restricted free agents on the roster, and resign a few guys in order to give the team a bit more depth:
QB Bryant Irvin - $670k over 1 year (decent 3rd QB, good kick holder)
WR Pete Herod - $840k over 1 year (decent backup receiver, good kick return man)
LG William Burns - $670k over 1 year (depth for the interior line - respectable run-blocker, but not much more)
RDT Fernando Politopoulous - $670k over 1 year (decent run-stopper on the interior D-line)
WLB Dominic Dumas - $670 over 1 year (much-needed depth at OLB)
RCB Gino Briggs - $560 over 1 year (decent backup cover man, and will help out on special teams)

This leaves the team with 41 players signed and $14.13m cap room free - our current draft picks are expected to cost around $10.7m to sign, though (first pick in each round, plus three additional picks (3.18, 6.15 and 7.14)).

[MartinD]

2009 draft

The best players on the board are two very solid defensive tackles - both look to be the sort of guy that you can build a defensive line around. Unfortunately, I already have a guy like that on my roster in RDT Blaine Andrews (68/68), so picking one of these guys isn't exactly filling a need (both are pretty big for DTs, too, so it's not like I can take one with the intention of switching him to DE...) Of the positions I feel I need to address (QB, WR, LB), there are a few guys on the first page of the 'big board', but none of them are really guys that I'd feel are worth taking first overall. With this in mind, I make a trade with Miami - MIA gets 1.1, PHI gets 1.5, 2.4 and Miami's first-rounder next year.

Surprisingly (to me, anyway!), Miami take the best OLB on the board with the top pick (a guy I was seeing as rated about 20th overall. Picks 2 and 3 are the best RB and ILB, with one of the top DTs finally coming off the board with New England's pick at #4. Even though DT isn't really a need for the team right now, the top DT still on the board looks to be really good value at this point (scouted grade 7.2, as scouted, 4.86 40, 42 strength reps, 7.26 agility, 8' 4" jump, 45% developed, 43 volatility), and would be expected to be an immediate starter in the middle of my DL. With this in mind, the Eagles take LDT Christian Campbell with the 5th pick of the draft. (He's rated at 47/78, so will be expected to start from day 1.)

At this point, I was hoping that the top QBs would drop out of the top 10 (as QB is probably the biggest need for this team, and I have the ammunition to trade back up into the top 10), but the best two QBs go at picks 6 and 7. The top receivers go at 8 and 10 (again, guys I would have traded into the middle of the first round to get), so I now target the best QB remaining - given my need at QB, he's probably worth taking at around 15, but this appears to be a fairly weak QB class, with the next guy looking to be borderline at best as a first round pick (his decision not to do combine drills doesn't help here...). Unfortunately, Tennessee pick this QB at #12 - at this point, I'm leaning towards holding on to my two high second-round picks, and looking to take a decent QB further down the draft (where I concentrated my QB interviews). (For what it's worth, the no-combine QB goes to Detroit at #15 - definite high-risk pick there!)

The value at the top of the second round appears to be on the offensive and defensive lines - while these appear to be relatively strong areas on my current roster, an argument can definitely be made for making at least one addition at offensive tackle, with 3 of the top 5 prospects on the board being OTs, and my current starting RT being a 10th-year veteran (who just so happens to be a mentor...) There are also two undersized DTs, who would probably project as defensive ends in my system. With the choice being between two solid technicians with reasonable strength and a mauler with slightly less polished techniques, I go with the mauler (LT Norman Huffman) - in hindsight, this may be the wrong choice, as he rates as only 28/42.

The two defensive linemen I was looking at are still available at 2.4, but on further reflection, neither look to be particularly promising as defensive ends (both are barely under 5 seconds for the 40, in particular). The top 'true' defensive end on the board actually looks to be a better prospect at defensive end, particularly from a pass-rush point of view, so RDE Moe Rivers is the pick here (initial rating is 25/56, so seems to be a reasonable pick - he should see a fair bit of playing time as a pass-rusher at the very least).

Next pick is 3.1, and I feel that I really need to look at the big need positions now (BPA is all very well up to a point, but there's not much point in being absolutely loaded on the offensive and defensive lines if you don't have anyone able to make a play behind them!) I don't have a lot of experience with a 4-3 defence (have used 3-4 pretty much exclusively in the past), but I see the linebackers being used mostly as run-stoppers and pass defenders at the moment, with most of the pass rush coming from the front 4. With this in mind, SLB Greg Booker is the pick here - appears to be a solid all-round player at LB (rated 23/48, so he should see a bit of playing time this year). At 3.15, I add a bit of depth at WR through Teddy Donohue, going on a decent combine and him being the best WR available at this point (rated 21/49 at this point, so should see some playing time this year).

From this point on, I'm really only looking for guys who'll provide solid depth or a decent contribution in a limited role or on special teams - picking up starters this low is asking a lot! QB seems to be relatively deep at this point, so I go looking for a backup running back - Andrew Lynch appears to be a decent fit, although he appears to be more a solid third-down back than a guy you'd trust to carry the load of a starting RB (25/41 on first glance - not too bad...)

With very little movement at QB to this point, I feel that I should be able to hold back on picking up a QB until round 6 - LB depth is the target with my round 5 pick. The pick here is WLB Daniel Patell, who seems to fit what I'm looking for in a LB (in that he can stop the run, provide decent pass coverage and is able to work out what's going on - not much use at pass-rushing, though, but that isn't all that important to me right now), and looks to have had a decent combine. (Initial impression is 20/57, although I have a feeling that there's a fair bit of fake green in there...)

The QBs start to disappear through the 5th round, so I go after a QB with my first 6th round pick (6.1 - also have 6.15). I used a few interviews on QBs that I expected to drop this far, so I'm not guessing to quite the same extent as I have been with some of my previous picks. The guy I go with is QB Edwin Dunmore, who had a respectable combine and is one of the more developed QBs still available (at 53%) - initial impression is 18/37, which isn't all that promising, but not all that bad.

Looking at the roster, I have a few needs to fill in terms of depth at this point in the draft - another RB/FB would be useful, as would more depth at LB and S. A decent punter is a 'nice-to-have' at this point, but could be good value for a late-round pick (my current punter is serviceable (averages around 40 gross, 34 net), but could be improved on). MLB Renaldo Parker is taken at 6.15 - more a good run-stopper than anything, but should be a decent fit for my proposed defensive system (rated 18/52 on first impression).

7.1 goes on a safety who appears to be a bit of a workout warrior (28 bench press reps for a defensive back!), while 7.14 is used to select a backup RB. (Initial impressions are 16/33 for S Dave Woods and 20/29 for RB Ron Garcia.)

I accidentaly left the 'staff handles signing of drafted rookies' set to Yes, so all rookies were signed automatically (no holdouts, which is always nice). (The Eagles were given a B+ in the draft review, for what it's worth...)

In late free agency, I resign TE Xavier Compton as a solid backup/long snapper (1 year, $780k), and pick up a few rookie free agents on minsal contracts with minimal bonus to fill out the roster:
QB Britt Beaudoin (12/60) - lots of potential, and looks to be a decent holder too
RB Gabe Cardwell (27/37) - a guy I'd interviewed - gives us a different type of runner
FB Donny Driggers (33/51) - solid all-round FB - potential starter, so definitely a good pick-up here
TE Stephen Grice (29/53) - big TE, more a blocker than a receiver
TE Xavier Sudnik (30/50) - decent-looking receiver
LDE Marshall Hernandez (20/51) - looks to be a good pass-rusher

This leaves the team with 59 players signed and $3.47m cap room free heading into training camp.

[MartinD]

Post training camp

A look at the rookie ratings before and after camp:


Acquired Red Before Green Before Red After Green After Change
QB Edwin Dunmore 6.1 18 37 18 37 0/0
QB Britt Beaudoin FA 12 60 12 49 0/-11
RB Gabe Cardwell FA 27 37 26 33 -1/-4
RB Andrew Lynch 4.1 25 41 24 36 -1/-5
RB Ron Garcia 7.14 20 29 19 28 -1/-1
FB Donny Driggers FA 33 51 33 48 0/-3
TE Xavier Sudnik FA 30 50 31 45 +1/-5
TE Stephen Grice FA 29 53 31 51 +2/-2
SE Teddy Donohue 3.15 21 49 23 49 +2/0
LT Norman Huffman 2.1 28 42 28 46 0/+4
LDE Marshall Hernandez FA 20 51 19 42 -1/-9
RDE Moe Rivers 2.4 25 56 28 51 +3/-5
LDT Christian Campbell 1.5 47 78 52 79 +5/+1
MLB Renaldo Parker 6.15 18 52 20 48 +2/-4
SLB Greg Booker 3.1 23 48 23 44 0/-4
WLB Daniel Patell 5.1 20 57 22 49 +2/-8
FS Dave Woods 7.1 16 33 17 33 +1/0


A bit of a mixed bag here - quite a few guys who aren't quite as good as they looked pre-camp (but I was expecting that - tried to go for current ratings where possible on my late round picks and rookie free agent pickups), but a few guys who may be better than I thought - top pick Campbell in particular...

I'm in the habit of cutting the roster to 53 before starting preseason games (unless there are a couple of guys on the bubble that I'm having problems deciding between, which isn't the case here), so the following players were released at this point:

QB Dustin Tinkis (current of 4 - definitely the worst QB of the 6 on the roster)
QB Britt Beaudoin (would be a solid starter if he developed to the extent of his green bars, but I suspect that there's lots of fake green there)
FB Kendall Erlitz (only want to carry 1 FB on the roster if I can, and Driggers is a better player)
TE Xavier Compton (was between Compton and Sudnik for 3rd TE, and I went with Sudnik's superior special teams play)
FL Dana Childress (don't see the 6th receiver being of much use with the offence I'm going to run)
SLB Spencer Winslet (decent run defender, but not the type of LB I prefer)

This leaves the team with 53 players signed and over $4m of cap space free.

2009 roster analysis


Tanaka, Bubba 15 QB 11 27 27 2
Tucker, Dwayne 10 QB 4 22 50 3
Irwin, Bryant 14 QB 4 17 40 1
Dunmore, Edwin 13 QB 1 18 37 3

The weakest position on the team, without doubt. Tucker has been the crash
test dummy for the opposing defence (sorry, the starting QB) for most of the
last three years, and will continue as the starter for the start of the season
at least. In the (unfortunately all too likely) event that the season goes
south on us, rookie QB Dunmore will probably get some playing time.

Escalante, Tito 36 RB 8 56 56 3
Cardwell, Gabe 31 RB 1 26 33 2
Garcia, Ron 38 RB 1 19 28 3
Lynch, Andrew 33 RB 1 24 36 4
Driggers, Donny 34 FB 1 33 48 2

Escalante is the starting RB, with Driggers leading the way - I'm going to be
putting in a run-first offence, so these guys are going to have a lot of work to
do. Cardwell will be the main backup, with Lynch slotted in as our third down
back.

Cox, Lewis 88 TE 5 72 72 3
Grice, Stephen 86 TE 1 31 51 2
Sudnik, Xavier 89 TE 1 31 45 2

Cox is the starter, with Grice the backup. Sudnik is on the roster more for his
special teams than his skills at TE, as he's more of a pass-catching threat
than a blocker.

Sims, Ray 87 FL 5 51 51 4
Herod, Pete 84 FL 4 34 34 1
Clinton, Mitch 85 FL 2 26 43 3
Corbett, Tony 83 SE 4 38 38 1
Donohue, Teddy 81 SE 1 23 49 3

Sims and Corbett are the starters, but all five guys should get on the field in
most games.

Place, David 61 C 6 49 49 1
Lowe, Bennie 63 C 2 26 54 2
Downs, Billy 71 LG 4 53 53 2
Burns, William 67 LG 4 28 43 1
Clemons, Cory 66 RG 5 42 50 3
Hastings, Adam 62 LT 6 32 37 2
Andrews, Roosevelt 69 LT 4 62 62 3
Huffman, Norman 72 LT 1 28 46 4
Wells, Ethan 65 RT 10 34 34 1
Cales, Philip 68 RT 2 28 40 2

The strength of the offence (although that isn't saying much!) The starting
five (left to right) are likely to be Andrews, Downs, Place, Clemons, Wells
(with rookie Huffman waiting in the wings if Wells struggles).

Chubick, Jerome 6 P 3 45 45 1
Oden, Matt 2 K 3 59 59 2

Not a great pair of kicking specialists, but both guys look to be competent, at
the least.

Summers, Emmitt 97 LDE 7 36 49 2
Hernandez, Marshall 91 LDE 1 19 42 2
Hitchcock, Norm 92 RDE 10 28 28 2
Rivers, Moe 99 RDE 1 28 51 4
Stuart, Harris 95 LDT 4 47 55 6
Campbell, Christian 93 LDT 1 52 79 5
Andrews, Blaine 96 RDT 4 66 66 4
Politopoulos, Fernando 90 RDT 4 29 40 1

The likely starting four (from left to right) are Summers, Campbell, Andrews
and Rivers. Harris is likely to see a good bit of playing time coming off the
bench (or possibly filling in at right end).

McClurken, Kenneth 53 MLB 4 48 54 2
Newsome, Archie 55 MLB 2 42 42 2
Parker, Renaldo 54 MLB 1 20 48 3
Andrews, Karl 58 SLB 5 37 37 2
Booker, Greg 51 SLB 1 23 44 3
Dumas, Dominic 57 WLB 4 19 43 1
Patell, Daniel 59 WLB 1 22 49 3

McClurken will start in the middle, with Andrews on the strong side.
Weak-side linebacker is pretty much up for grabs...

Horn, Rick 25 LCB 6 47 47 1
Marsh, Lorenzo 26 LCB 5 82 82 5
Allison, Conrad 21 LCB 4 30 43 1
Crane, Phillip 27 LCB 2 59 70 4
Briggs, Gino 22 RCB 3 30 35 1
Ross, Wally 23 SS 4 62 67 5
Valentino, Leon 24 SS 2 34 59 2
Schnebele, Derek 28 FS 12 37 37 1
Woods, Dave 29 FS 1 17 33 3

I'll be leaving Marsh and Crane in single coverage most of the time, as I
suspect my weak linebacking corps will need all the help they can get. Ross
and Valentino will be the starting safeties.


This certainly doesn't appear to be a particularly strong team, which doesn't come as much of a surprise given the 2-14 record from last year! The roster rating of 22 (28th) looks to be about right, although our division rivals aren't particularly strong either (Washington 50/17th, New York 35/24th, Dallas 25/27th) - don't think I can ask too much more than to try to improve on last year by a few wins.

I set up the gameplans as stated above (run first on offence, fairly conservative on defence), and head to preseason.

[MartinD]

2009 preseason

Week 2: Tennessee 24-21 Philadelphia
Not as close as it looked, as the Titans had control for most of the game - we got a TD with 2:35 left to draw within 3 and managed to get the ball back with 1:50 left, but couldn't get in range for the tying field goal. RB Escalante had 131 yards rushing on 24 carries, while rookie QB Dunmore played decently in the half he was given.

Week 3: Philadelphia 7-19 Cleveland
Not a great game offensively, but it's starting to look like I may go with QB Edwin Dunmore as the starter over Dwayne Tucker - Dunmore wasn't great, but Tucker threw a couple of picks and struggled to move the team.

Week 4: Philadelphia 6-23 Indianapolis
This game was close into the third quarter, but the Colts just pulled away from us late on.

Week 5: Baltimore 12-20 Philadelphia
Good solid defensive performance, holding the Ravens to four field goals (including 3 in the red zone). The offence wasn't great, but did enough - QB Dunmore looks to be running the offence well enough to get the start for the season opener.

We have a few injuries heading into the regular season - rookie RDE Moe Rivers is out for most of the season with a serious knee injury (and has been put on IR), RDE Norm Hitchcock will miss a month with a broken ankle and FL Ray Sims is out for six weeks with a shoulder injury. Our top draft pick, LDT Christian Campbell, is also injured, and will sit out the season opener. As our two RDEs are down, a bit of roster shuffling is required, with 3rd year RDE Sedrick Mitchell being signed to take Rivers' roster spot.

[MartinD]

2009 regular season

Week 1: Philadelphia 17-21 Washington
A nice solid performance to start the season, but a Redskins TD with half a minute left gave them the season-opening victory that should have been ours... The offence was solid all game, with both Escalante (23-122-1) and Cardwell (16-107) putting up 100-yard rushing games. QB Edwin Dunmore didn't start too well, with interceptions on our first two drives, but played solidly the rest of the way (14/23-146-1-2). Not the result we were looking for, but no cause for complaints just yet...

Week 2: Philadelphia (0-1) 20-21 Denver (1-0)
I wasn't looking forward to this game, as the Broncos are the best team in the league (according to the roster strength and power ranking indicators) - Denver were 19 point favourites at kickoff! We managed to keep it close all the way, though, mainly due to the defence and special teams (PR Jamal Jacobs, acquired purely to return punts in preseason (after I realised that there was no-one with punt return skills on the roster!) took one back 77 yards for a TD). The Broncos took the lead for the first time at the end of the third quarter, and managed to keep us off the board the rest of the way to take the narrow win.

Week 3: Philadelphia (0-2) 0-24 Green Bay (1-1)
A team like us is going to have days like these... QB Dunmore had to leave the game in the first quarter, and neither Tanaka or Tucker were able to do anything to move the offence - this, of course, put too much pressure on the running game, so the offence simply didn't work in this game.

QB Dunmore will be out for 4 weeks with a strained calf muscle, meaning that QB Dwayne Tucker will take over as the starter for at least the next game.

Week 4: Atlanta (1-2) 27-0 Philadelphia (0-3)
Another game in which we didn't really give ourselves any chance - the offence didn't move the ball, and Atlanta were able to run the ball all day, putting up over 200 yards on the ground against our defence.

Week 5: New Orleans (2-2) 17-10 Philadelphia (0-4)
A better performance, but still not really enough to be competitive - 33 yards passing isn't going to win many football games! The defence stopped the run pretty well, but allowed the Saints QB to pass for close to 300 yards.

Week 6: Philadelphia (0-5) 0-12 Carolina (4-1)
A better performance, with the defence being solid when it mattered (the Panthers were kept out of the end zone, scoring only four field goals), and the offence moving the ball a bit better. It's fairly obvious, though, that QBs Tucker and Tanaka simply aren't good enough to be of much use to this offence.

Week 7: Philadelphia (0-6) 23-35 Tampa Bay (6-0)
You play this sort of game hoping for a miracle, as that's about what it needs for a team like my Eagles to win. No miracles available today, though - the performance was better, though - while the Bucs were always in control of the game, there were signs of life from the offence, with QB Tanaka having a decent day (23/35-244-2-0). The defence, however, struggled to stop the Tampa offence all day.

Week 8: New York (4-2) 20-7 Philadelphia (0-7)
This game went well for the opening drive - 13 plays, 80 yards, Cardwell with the short TD run to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead. The rest of the game followed the same familiar story that the season so far has told - very little offence, and the defence is simply too overworked to be able to keep the opponent out.

Week 9: Washington (3-5) 33-17 Philadelphia (0-8)
Edwin Dunmore returned behind center for this game, but wasn't able to spark the offence. RB Tito Escalante had a solid day (23 carries for 110 yards), but had very little support from the rest of the team.

Week 10: Philadelphia (0-9) 3-27 Dallas (6-3)
Not much I can say except that the lack of anything like a half-decent quarterback is killing any chance that this team has of being competitive...

Week 11: Bye
On current form, this is about the only way that we're not going to lose a game in any given week...

A quick aside: Despite the winless season to date, the Eagles are rated 23rd in the power ratings, and have played the strongest opponents (at 62-38), although the 10 wins by our opponents helps this quite a bit!

Week 12: Philadelphia (0-10) 13-20 Kansas City (4-6)
It seems like the best we can hope for this season is to be competitive, which is about all you can say about this game. I wouldn't say this season has gone badly so far, but I'm already having thoughts about next year's draft (and hoping that there's a franchise QB waiting for me when the Eagles have the first overall pick again...)

Week 13: San Francisco (8-3) 6-9 Philadelphia (0-11)
Well, it was almost inevitable that the first win of the season was going to be ugly, and so it proved - not that I'm complaining at this point! Cold, wet and windy doesn't make for pretty football, mind you, but the run-first offence that we're using this year is a pretty good fit for days like this - RB Escalante had his best day of the year, with 20 carries for 156 yards. The defence did a good job, with 2 interceptions and 3 sacks of the San Fran quarterback.

Week 14: Oakland (4-8) 23-6 Philadelphia (1-11)
And back to reality with a crash... The defence was reasonable here, but the offence provided no support whatsoever, with the only Eagles points coming from a blocked punt return.

Week 15: Philadelphia (1-12) 3-33 New York (7-6)
An ugly game is a pretty good description here - QB Dunmore had a nightmare (8/30-74-0-3), but the rest of the offence wasn't much better, as the Eagles finished with only 144 yards of total offence. The defence had a reasonable game, but reasonable isn't good enough when the offence is as bad as it was here.

Week 16: San Diego (9-5) 24-23 Philadelphia (1-13)
Well, at least the team is still playing hard, even at the end of a season like this. The score is a little flattering (one of the Eagles TDs was a kick return for a TD by Pete Herod), but all I can ask with this team is that we give ourselves a chance to win the game.

Week 17: Dallas (11-4) 20-7 Philadelphia (1-14)
And finally we reach the end of what has been a terrible season - I didn't think that we would win a lot of games, but this was worse than I expected. Note to self: Make sure that you have some sort of quarterback on the team for next year...

I quick-sim the playoffs - Denver end up as this season's champions (so the preseason rankings actually were a decent guide this year for a change...)

[MartinD]

Summary of 2009 season

Not the best season I've ever had (understatement of the year, anyone?), but I can take a few lessons from this season:
- you need a lot of depth in this game - at least half of my starters picked up an injury that caused them to miss at least one game (have injuries set to 200, for what it's worth)
- it's very difficult to run an offence if you don't have a decent QB (not having much at receiver doesn't help much, either)
- I need to look at picking up a few more half-decent free agents if possible - I had to play my rookies more than I'd have liked this year

A few stats:
QB Edwin Dunmore (now 23/37): 11 starts, 108/233 (46.4%), 1077 yards, 4 TD, 9 Int (49.6 QBR)
RB Tito Escalante: 284 rushes, 1169 yards, 2 TD (4.12 average)
RB Gabe Cardwell: 143 rushes, 494 yards, 2 TD (3.45 average)
TE Lewis Cox: 31 catches (from 45 targeted), 306 yards (9.9 yards per catch), 1 TD (and this was my best receiver!)

DT Blaine Andrews: 66 tackles, 6.0 sacks
MLB Kenneth McClurken: 116 tackles, 3.0 sacks
CB Lorenzo Marsh: 4 interceptions (PD% 80.7)

Not much to write home about, although MLB McClurken was a good free agent pickup.

Looking ahead to 2010

I suppose one way to look at things is that the only way to go from here is up...

There are a few obvious issues that need to be addressed - starting QB is the most important, but I also need to look at strengthening the roster at receiver, defensive end and linebacker. One compensation for this poor season, though, is that we have a nice high draft pick to work with next year - it won't fix all the problems, but will hopefully allow us to pick up a top-quality player to fill one of the big needs.

[MartinD]

2010 season

Herb's evaluation for 2009: 0/36/68/86, for an overall score of 45

The previous management had a stadium renovation in place, which was completed this offseason - nothing dramatic, but it's nice to have a stadium in reasonable condition to work with.

Retirements: Only one Eagle retired - DE Norm Hitchcock, who was an inactive backup for most of last season, so not too big a loss.

The team starts the season with 39 players signed and $32.56m cap room free (of a $121.6m salary cap) - only $17.32m available for new players, though, because we have the first overall pick in the draft. On looking at the draft order, the trade down from 1.1 last year with Miami (for 1.5, 2.4 and Miami's first-rounder this year) has been rather productive, as Miami struggled through a 2-14 season - this means that the Eagles also have the second pick in the draft to work with as well...

All members of staff are under contract for at least this year, and (despite the struggles last year) I'm happy for them to continue with the team, so nothing to report from the staff hiring period.

RDE Moe Rivers, who missed virtually all of last season with a serious knee injury, is the player chosen to go to Europe this year.

The franchise player designation is used on C David Place - while he isn't a top-drawer player, he's the best player going to free agency this year (and the center franchise salary is less than $3m, which is perfectly acceptable...)

No changes to ticket prices this year - while our prices are relatively low (and the team lost money last year), I can't really justify raising prices after a 1-15 season!

2010 Free Agency

Franchise player David Place is signed to a long-term contract at the start of free agency - 6 years for $16.2m. This might be a bit long-term for a 7th year player, but it ties up a solid starter at a reasonable cost without having to pay out too much bonus money ($500k per year).

Minnesota come in with a trade offer at the start of the free agency period - they want LT Roosevelt Andrews, and are willing to give us their first-round pick (1.24) and WLB Larry Roberson (3rd year player, currently rated 28/49 - was a 3rd round pick, and has 1 year left on his rookie contract). We have a decent left tackle in last year's second rounder Norman Huffman (now rated 38/48, so would be a decent starter), but would be creating $2.5m of dead cap space next year. The linebacker will be a contributor straight away, and the extra first-rounder will be useful, so I accept this trade.

Contract renegotiations before the start of free agency proper:
TE Stephen Grice: $1.10m over 2 years
SE Jamal Jacobs: $580k over 1 year (purely as a punt returner)
LT Adam Hastings: $1.88m over 2 years
P Jerome Chubick: $1.58m over 2 years
RDE Sedrick Mitchell: $2.08m over 2 years
RDE Moe Rivers: $2.61m over 3 years (reduces the cap hit in each year in return for $550k more bonus)
RCB Gino Briggs: $1.58m over 2 years
SS Leon Valentino: $9.00m over 5 years (expected to be one of the starting safeties this year)

These moves leave the team with 44 players signed and $10.16m cap room free.

Looking at the draft, it doesn't look like I'll get good value at our big need positions at the top of the draft - the top player on the board is a very solid-looking RB, but none of the best QB, WR and DE are worth a top-5 pick (in my opinion). Looking at alternatives, one of the best young QBs in the league has somehow made it into free agency - 5th year QB Kris Vajda, a 4-year starter for Seattle is rated 75/75 by my scout, and would be a very nice addition to the team (but is likely to be rather expensive from a contract point of view...) Another alternative is to trade for a decent young QB - looking at potential candidates, Cleveland QB Keith Hutchins is a possible target. While he isn't particularly well developed (rated 16/70), he simply hasn't had any playing time after being drafted 1st overall in 2008 - unfortunately, Cleveland won't let him go (even for the 1st overall pick) because the trade would land them with a $9m hit on their salary cap next season.

QB Vajda is definitely going to be expensive - the 'starting point' contract is for $129m over 6 years, which is probably a bit out of my range right now. The cap hit for the first year is reasonable ($7.84m), but is in the $20m-$25m range the rest of the way - it's a big ask to tie up almost 20% of your salary cap in one player.

THe rest of the free agent crop of QBs looks rather unpromising (as in there's no-one there that is a significant improvement over the guys I have at the moment), so I go back to look for potential trade targets. Tampa Bay have a young backup QB with decent potential and a half-decent contract (from a trading point of view - not too much bonus!) - QB Jeremy Wason is a 3rd year player (rated 25/54) who looks to have the potential to be a mid-level starter. Rather than trust to finding a starting QB in the draft, I make the trade with the Bucs - they get the first pick in the second round, while the Eagles get QB Wason and the Bucs' fourth-rounder this year (4.31). This does not mean that I'm not going to look at picking a quarterback in the draft, but it takes away some of the desperate need to find a startable QB.

Into free agency:
LCB Conrad Allison (31/44) offered $1.86m over 2 years in week 2 (Eagles free agent - signed week 3)
SE Clifton Rosano (56/56) offered $2.40m over 2 years in week 2 (signed week 6)
LT Otis Patton (33/48) offered $2.10m over 2 years in week 2 (signed week 3)
RT Eddie Thomason (27/49) offered $1.86m over 2 years in week 2 (signed week 3)
RG Ian Huffman (42/54) offered $2.20m over 2 years in week 2 (signed week 2)
RDE Cornell Turner (48/55) offered $2.80m over 2 years in week 2 (signed week 3)
WLB Max Guerra (41/48) offered $2.10m over 2 years in week 2 (signed week 4)

These guys are decent young players who are either solid depth or mid-level starters on this team.

RCB Rick Horn (48/48) offered $2.02m over 2 years in week 6 (Eagles free agent - signed week 7) - solid nickel/dime back
LG Edward Rayfield (31/48) offered $1.66m over 2 years in week 7 (signed week 8)
QB Brent Woodson (18/18) offered $1.14m over 1 year in week 8 (signed week 10) - mentor for the young QBs

QB Bubba Tanaka was released at this point - his lack of playing time last year was not to his satisfaction, and he's currently at the point where it's not a good idea for a member of team management to be in the same room as Tanaka if there are any sharp objects in the vicinity...

These signings leave the team with 54 players signed (and 9 draft picks to come) and $19.58m cap room free (with the draft picks expected to cost $16.09m to sign).

[MartinD]

2010 Draft

Going into the draft, the Eagles have 9 picks - 1.1, 1.2, 1.24, 3.1, 4.1, 4.31, 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1. In an ideal world, I'm looking to come away with potential starters at QB, WR, DE and LB, with additional depth throughout the team another target. I'm not going to pass up on a highly-rated player at another position if I'm getting the best player available, though, particularly if I don't feel I'm getting good value for the pick if I go after a need position.

The highest rated players on the board are a franchise-calibre running back and a top-notch safety. The talent level is pretty deep in the first round, though, so a trade down may be a good idea - in particular, I'm looking at the top three receivers on the board, as I should be able to get one of these guys between 10 and 15 (if I'm any decent judge of these things, which is debatable...) While I would obviously get better value if I were to trade the first overall pick rather than 1.2, I feel that RB Bo Twisp is worth the difference, so he becomes this year's first overall pick. His draft board rating was 7.2, but my scout puts him at 80/81 with his initial impression - hopefully the sort of player that I can build a team around over the next few years.

I'm not convinced that any of the players on the board is worth using the second pick overall on, so I trade down - Jacksonville pick up 1.2 in exchange for 1.11 and the Jags' first-rounder next year. The Jaguars take the safety (the guy I probably would have taken if I hadn't traded down). Even though this isn't a strong QB class, three QBs go in the top 10, with Indianapolis (1.4), Cincinnati (1.5) and Kansas City (1.7) all going after passers. At 1.11, the three receivers I was looking at are all still there, as are the two best defensive ends available in this draft class. It's a risk to not go after one of the receivers here, as I have a feeling that they'll be gone by 1.24, but I feel that LDE Spencer McKenzie offers the best value for this pick here - he's a bit raw, but is a solid all-round defensive lineman. Initially rated at 29/72, he should see a lot of playing time this year.

My feeling about the three best receivers was pretty accurate - the next three picks are all wide receivers! I still go after a receiver at 1.24, though - WR Ike Browning isn't quite as talented as the guys taken ahead of him, but he still projects as a quality starter (and is a good punt returner, which is a nice little bonus). Initial impression is 31/63 - he's slotted at SE at the moment, but I see him as my backup FL for this year, hopefully moving up over the next season or two.

While the next pick for the Eagles is now 3.1, I'm looking at the top QB remaining, J.T. Watkins. He looks to be the sort of guy who could end up being a solid player in a year or two (and may be able to contribute sooner - 38% developed at this point). It also looks like he may contribute a bit with his legs while he's developing as a passer - a 4.59 40 is pretty darned quick for a QB. I decide to pull the trigger on a trade to acquire the 1.30 pick from Houston - they get 3.1 and the Eagles second-rounder next year in return. Watkins is rated at 19/54 at this point, but time will tell if this was the right move to make at this point.

Having given up my second and third round picks in trades, it's a long wait until we pick again (can't really complain too much, though, having had four first round picks!) It's a big ask to find a starter this late in the draft, so I'm looking more for guys who'll be solid contributors at this point. SLB Lenny Wilcox is a pretty good fit here, as LB is still a bit of a weak spot, and he should contribute straight away (67% developed), and help out on special teams too. He isn't a great tackler, but looks to be solid in all other parts of his game. (Initial rating is 27/39, so he appears to be career backup/special teamer at this point.)

4.31 also goes on depth, this time in the middle of the defensive line - LDT Xavier Russell doesn't show much pass rush ability, but is solid against the run. His initial ratings are not good, though (15/27), so he may be struggling to make the team this year. Offensive line depth is the target with 5.1, as this pick is used on RT Herb Leal - not a perfect fit for our run-first system, but he appears to be a solid pass blocker (rated 29/49 on first impression, so appears to be good value at this point).

With a backup safety required, SS Charlie Tierney is the player taken with 6.1 - another solid-looking player this far through the draft, with intial rating of 27/50 and solid-looking coverage skills. The secondary receives further reinforcement with pick 7.1 and LCB Walt Horner - a guy with decent-looking skills, but a long-shot to make our final roster this year.

This draft was rated at A-, for what it's worth - not easy to get a bad rating when you have the first two picks in the draft, though!

I manage to sign all but two of my drafted rookies at the first opportunity - unfortunately, the two who don't accept the team's initial offer are RB Twisp and LDE McKenzie, our top two draft picks... I manage to get them to agree to contracts before training camp, though, so no rookie holdouts this year.

Late free agency is pretty quiet this year, as I have 63 players signed at this point. The only player signed is rookie free agent C Darrin Watkins (26/55), who looks to be a solid backup interior lineman. The team heads to camp hoping for solid development from our young QBs...

Rookies before and after camp

Acquired Red Before Green Before Red After Green After Change
QB J.T. Watkins 1.30 19 54 19 45 0/-9
RB Bo Twisp 1.1 80 81 79 79 -1/-2
FL Ike Browning 1.24 31 63 31 55 0/-8
C Darrin Watkins FA 26 55 28 51 +2/-4
RT Herb Leal 5.1 29 49 32 47 +3/-2
LDE Spencer McKenzie 1.11 29 72 28 68 -1/-4
LDT Xavier Russell 4.31 15 27 16 27 +1/0
SLB Lenny Wilcox 4.1 27 39 28 38 +1/-1
RCB Walt Horner 7.1 21 34 (didn't get 'before' ratings)
FS Charlie Tierney 6.1 27 50 29 45 +2/-5

Not the best training camp for our rookies, particularly QB Watkins, who looks more like career backup material now. (I have to admit to a small error here - I wanted WR Browning to be our backup flanker this year, but didn't change him from his college position of SE until after training camp - he lost a couple of points of current rating on the switch.)

[MartinD]

With 64 players on the current roster, a lot of cuts need to be made before heading into the season:
QB: Veteran Brent Woodson is safe as our fourth QB, as he's there purely to act as a mentor to our young QBs. J.T. Watkins is untouchable, even after his disappointing camp, as cutting him would result in a $4m cap hit next year. Jeremy Wason currently looks like our starter (rated 25/54), so the decision comes down to either Dwayne Tucker (5th year, 23/48) or Edwin Dunmore (2nd year, 23/37) - Tucker has started a lot of games already in his career (42 games in 4 years), but hasn't put up decent numbers since his rookie year, and he didn't even break 70 in QB rating that year. At this point, it's unlikely that he's going to get much chance to play, as I'd be happier to play Dunmore first, so Tucker is the casualty here, and I'll carry 4 QBs on the roster this year. (Tucker was our holder last year, so we have to find someone to replace him here, but our veteran mentor Woodson is a respectable kick holder, and will take over this task.)

RB/FB: The team is currently carrying 5 RBs (and FB Donny Driggers, who's pretty much assured a roster spot). Bo Twisp, the first overall pick, is definitely safe, as is Tito Escalante - the 9th year veteran is on the downside of his career right now, but is still a solid player (I'd still be happy to start him), and is now a mentor for the RB position (no bad thing when the next most experienced guy in the backfield is a 2nd year player...) Ideally, I'd prefer not to have to carry four RBs on the roster, so two of the other guys are under threat - Andrew Lynch did a decent job as the third down back last year (and is signed for 3 more years on a fairly affordable contract), so is the survivor here, with Ron Garcia and Gabe Cardwell being the cuts here.

TE: I'm happy with the three guys I have here - Lewis Cox is the starter, Stephen Grice is the run-blocking backup, and Xavier Sudnik is a special teams demon.

WR: Of the six guys currently on the roster, the only one at risk is SE Jamal Jacobs - he basically only offers one thing to the team (good punt returner), which probably isn't enough to keep him around, particularly as rookie FL Ike Browning is a respectable punt returner. Jacobs is the only cut here.

OL: I'd like to have 10 offensive linemen on the roster, but currently have 13. The guys most at risk are LT Adam Hastings (lowest rated of the group), RT Philip Cales, LG Billy Downs (last year's starter, rated 52/52, but is a turnstile on passing plays - also in the last year of his contract, and is looking for $3m per year on an extension) and C Bennie Lowe (lacks strength, and his main reason for being on the team (long snapping) isn't enough, as rookie free agent Watkins is equally capable here). Cutting a guard would leave me with only 3 guards, but I'm happy enough to use a center or tackle at guard if needed. While my scout sees Hastings as a weaker player than Cales, I prefer the left tackle. The cuts here are C Lowe, LG Downs and RT Cales.

P/K: No change here, as I'm comfortable with the guys I have (P Jerome Chubick (net 36.2 last year) and K Matt Oden (16/21 on field goals last year).

DL: 10 on the roster right now, which I'd like to cut to 8. Untouchable here are LDE Spencer McKenzie (first round pick), RDE Cornell Turner (expected starter), RDE Moe Rivers (pass rush specialist), LDT Harris Stuart (solid backup inside), LDT Christian Campbell (last year's top pick and a solid starter) and RDT Blaine Andrews (solid starter). LDE Emmitt Summers was our starter last year, but didn't really do all that much - while LDE Marshall Hernandez is a lesser player, he's younger and offers a significantly stronger pass rush threat. Last year's emergency pickup at RDE, Sedrick Mitchell, was useful at the time (if not particularly productive), but is going to struggle for playing time this year behind Turner and Rivers. While Xavier Russell isn't rated all that highly, he should be a respectable run-stopper in the middle, so will survive the Turk this year. The cuts here are LDE Summers and RDE Mitchell.

These cuts leave us with 55 on the roster, so only 2 more cuts to make. We're currently carrying 9 linebackers, 6 corners and 4 safeties. I usually carry 5 corners and 4 safeties if possible, so it looks like we'll be holding on to 8 linebackers (unless there's good reason to do otherwise...)

LB: The current split of 3 MLB and 6 OLB suggests that the cut here is and OLB, but MLB Renaldo Parker appears to be the weakest player here - he's the third guy on the MLB depth chart, and doesn't contribute much outside of that. The potential cuts at OLB are either better special teams guys or more valuable as linebacker depth. This leaves us a bit light for next year (as both the remaining MLBs are signed for this year only), so I offer an extension to starting MLB Kenneth McClurken ($16.0m over 4 years - can live with this for a solid starter). MLB Parker is the cut here.

DB: This is pretty simple - need to cut one of RCB Gino Briggs (last year's 5th DB - decent cover man and kick returner, but of no help in run support), RCB Walt Horner (decent depth and special teamer) and FS Dave Woods (decent depth, but doesn't offer anything else). As Briggs and Horner are both somewhat multi-dimensional, Woods is the odd man out in this group.

Roster heading into the 2010 season

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntr
Woodson, Brent 9 QB 13 14 14 1
Wason, Jeremy 19 QB 3 25 54 3
Dunmore, Edwin 13 QB 2 23 37 2
Watkins, J.T. 11 QB 1 19 45 5
Escalante, Tito 36 RB 9 56 56 2
Lynch, Andrew 33 RB 2 27 32 3
Twisp, Bo 35 RB 1 79 79 5
Driggers, Donny 34 FB 2 37 46 2
Cox, Lewis 88 TE 6 70 70 2
Grice, Stephen 86 TE 2 37 51 2
Sudnik, Xavier 89 TE 2 34 42 1
Sims, Ray 87 FL 6 51 51 3
Clinton, Mitch 85 FL 3 28 38 2
Browning, Ike 83 FL 1 31 55 5
Rosano, Clifton 80 SE 5 55 55 2
Donohue, Teddy 81 SE 2 34 48 2
Place, David 61 C 7 50 50 6
Watkins, Darrin 77 C 1 28 51 2
Rayfield, Edward 70 LG 5 32 49 2
Clemons, Cory 66 RG 6 43 43 2
Huffman, Ian 78 RG 3 45 45 2
Hastings, Adam 62 LT 7 30 35 2
Patton, Otis 73 LT 5 33 48 2
Huffman, Norman 72 LT 2 37 48 3
Thomason, Eddie 64 RT 5 31 49 2
Leal, Herb 75 RT 1 32 47 3
Chubick, Jerome 6 P 4 45 45 2
Oden, Matt 2 K 4 64 64 1
Hernandez, Marshall 91 LDE 2 20 38 1
McKenzie, Spencer 98 LDE 1 28 68 5
Turner, Cornell 92 RDE 5 51 54 2
Rivers, Moe 99 RDE 2 36 48 3
Stuart, Harris 95 LDT 5 47 47 5
Campbell, Christian 93 LDT 2 63 79 4
Russell, Xavier 90 LDT 1 16 27 3
Andrews, Blaine 96 RDT 5 67 67 3
McClurken, Kenneth 53 MLB 5 57 57 4
Newsome, Archie 55 MLB 3 39 39 1
Andrews, Karl 58 SLB 6 36 36 1
Booker, Greg 51 SLB 2 26 42 2
Wilcox, Lenny 52 SLB 1 28 38 4
Guerra, Max 56 WLB 5 44 49 2
Roberson, Larry 50 WLB 3 32 48 1
Patell, Daniel 59 WLB 2 25 46 2
Horn, Rick 25 LCB 7 49 49 2
Marsh, Lorenzo 26 LCB 6 81 81 4
Allison, Conrad 21 LCB 5 31 44 2
Crane, Phillip 27 LCB 3 58 69 3
Briggs, Gino 22 RCB 4 33 34 2
Horner, Walt 30 RCB 1 21 34 3
Ross, Wally 23 SS 5 63 63 4
Valentino, Leon 24 SS 3 46 61 5
Tierney, Charlie 20 FS 1 29 45 3

$$ - player is suspended, ## - player is inactive,
** = player is injured, %% - player is on IR.

Players Under Contract: 53
Inactive: 0
On Active Roster: 53

Salary Cap: $121,600,000
Cap Room: $9,170,000
Maximum for New Player: $9,520,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $21,820,000

Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $3,250,000
Cap Room Required Next Year: $93,710,000


This definitely appears to be a stronger roster than last year's (with the roster rating of 60 backing this up) - the starters are a little better overall, but I feel that the big improvement is in depth. The big problem remains the quarterback position, but whoever ends up starting (Wason will be given the first chance) will have a much better supporting cast to work with. We're also in good cap shape for next year, so I may be able to go after a couple of high-rated free agents next year (if this is the best way to acquire quality starters).

Aside: We have 52,000 mugs (sorry, season ticket holders) this year - this comes as a bit of a surprise, as we only had an average of 47,100 last year as we struggled through a 1-15 season. The only reason I can see for the increase is the stadium improvement that was completed this offseason.

[MartinD]

Analysis of last season's trade with Miami

I've been thinking about the draft-day trade we made with Miami last year - the Eagles gave up the first overall pick, and received 1.5, 2.4 and Miami's first round pick this year in return. The thought has occurred that this trade is not dissimilar to the real-life trade in the NFL a few years ago between the Falcons and the Chargers (IIRC, San Diego gave up 1.1 (Michael Vick) in return for 1.5 (LaDainian Tomlinson), a third round pick (Nate Kaeding) and Atlanta's first rounder the next year (which turned into Shawne Merriman) - there were a few players involved, but can't remember the exact details).

Looking at both sides of this trade at this point in time:

Miami used 1.1 on SLB Kelvin Kerner, a solid starter currently rated at 62/63 - I'm no expert on the draft in FOF 2007, but I would guess that this level of player would be available at 1.5 in most drafts.

Philadelphia used 1.5 on LDT Christian Campbell (63/79) and 2.4 on RDE Moe Rivers (36/48, but missed his rookie season through injury). The Dolphins' first rounder this year ended up being the second pick overall, which we traded away, obtaining two first-rounders from Jacksonville in return. This year's first-rounder was used to pick LDE Spencer McKenzie (28/68 right now), and we have the Jags' first-round pick next year.

I'm probably biased, but I have a feeling that we've come out on top of this trade in a big way - the Dolphins have one high-end starter, where we have one high-end starter, one promising young player who will hopefully be a high-end starter, a useful role-player and a future first-rounder to come...

[DolphinFan1]

Analysis of last season's trade with Miami

I've been thinking about the draft-day trade we made with Miami last year - the Eagles gave up the first overall pick, and received 1.5, 2.4 and Miami's first round pick this year in return. The thought has occurred that this trade is not dissimilar to the real-life trade in the NFL a few years ago between the Falcons and the Chargers (IIRC, San Diego gave up 1.1 (Michael Vick) in return for 1.5 (LaDainian Tomlinson), a third round pick (Nate Kaeding) and Atlanta's first rounder the next year (which turned into Shawne Merriman) - there were a few players involved, but can't remember the exact details).

Looking at both sides of this trade at this point in time:

Miami used 1.1 on SLB Kelvin Kerner, a solid starter currently rated at 62/63 - I'm no expert on the draft in FOF 2007, but I would guess that this level of player would be available at 1.5 in most drafts.

Philadelphia used 1.5 on LDT Christian Campbell (63/79) and 2.4 on RDE Moe Rivers (36/48, but missed his rookie season through injury). The Dolphins' first rounder this year ended up being the second pick overall, which we traded away, obtaining two first-rounders from Jacksonville in return. This year's first-rounder was used to pick LDE Spencer McKenzie (28/68 right now), and we have the Jags' first-round pick next year.

I'm probably biased, but I have a feeling that we've come out on top of this trade in a big way - the Dolphins have one high-end starter, where we have one high-end starter, one promising young player who will hopefully be a high-end starter, a useful role-player and a future first-rounder to come...

You're not biased. When's the last time you heard of the Dolphins making a good trade. This from a Dolphins fan. I know. :(

[MartinD]

You're not biased. When's the last time you heard of the Dolphins making a good trade. This from a Dolphins fan. I know. :(

I admit that it's been a while...

Wasn't meaning to pick on Miami - they were just in the right place at the right time when I wanted to trade out of the first overall pick. It wasn't a great draft to have the first pick, with no potential great players to go with (unlike the draft in 2010, where the top RB was pretty much a no-brainer (although other teams may have disagreed - Houston, for example... ;) )

Martin

[MartinD]

2010 preseason

As a bit of an experiment, I'm going to use the same offensive and defensive gameplans this year as I did last season - I'm fairly sure that our problems offensively were due to personnel more than the gameplan...

Week 2: Philadelphia 6-7 Tennessee
Definitely a defensive struggle (if you're being generous - most people would call it a typical preseason opener, when everyone's just trying to ease back into playing at the start of the season...)

Week 3: Baltimore 7-23 Philadelphia
This is something we didn't see all of last season - a solid outing from the Philadelphia offence. Both Jeremy Wason (9/10-130-1-1) and Edwin Dunmore (7/10-120-0-0) had good days, and the defence did a good job of snuffing out the Ravens' passing game (although mostly against the backup QB).

Week 4: Philadelphia 6-17 Indianapolis
Not much offensive production, but still appears to be better than most of the performances from last year.

Week 5: Cincinnati 0-17 Philadelphia
A very solid defensive performance, with the Eagles holding the Bengals to 119 total yards for the game. The offence did what it needed to, with QB Wason (12/19-155-1-0) having a decent day.

A 2-2 preseason (for what it's worth - probably not much, as I went against the usual wisdom and gave my expected starting lineup a lot of playing time), but there are definitely some positive signs that this year will be better than last. A few injuries, with LT Otis Patton (out for 2 months) and LCB Phillip Crane (3 weeks) the most serious.

Jeremy Wason saw most of the playing time at QB during the preseason, and put up some decent numbers - he will be the starter going in to the regular season. First-round rookie J.T. Watkins will be the backup, with Edwin Dunmore the inactive 3rd QB. While none of these guys are particularly good right now, there is a good bit of potential in this group. Hopefully, someone will step forward and claim the starting spot as their own...

[MartinD]

2010 season

Week 1: Philadelphia 7-13 New York
A good defensive performance to start the season, with the only Eagles TD coming on a pick-six by CB Gino Briggs. The offence didn't do much, though - Wason threw for over 200 yards, but only completed 14 of 34 with 2 picks, and neither Twisp or Escalante were able to break free.

Week 2: Jacksonville (0-1) 7-27 Philadelphia (0-1)
The defence did a great job in this one, with Jacksonville shut out until mounting a garbage-time drive to break the shut-out late in the game. The offence made a good contribution too, though, with Wason (15-23/229-0-0) playing a good game and Twisp getting his first two pro TDs.

Week 3: St. Louis (1-1) 10-20 Philadelphia (1-1)
A fast start for the Eagles saw RBs Twisp and Escalante score TDs on the team's first two possessions - while the Rams did their best to get back into it, they never got closer than 7 points. Twisp finished with 27 carries for 140 yards (plus 4 catches for 27 yards) in his best game so far.

Week 4: Minnesota (1-2) 14-27 Philadelphia (2-1)
The Vikings come out hot, and go 14-0 ahead by early in the second quarter. The defence tightens up and the offence starts to click from then on, though, as the Eagles make it 3 out of 3 at home for the year. RB Twisp again went over 100 yards with a TD (although he needed 34 carries to get there) and QB Wason threw his first TD pass of the year, but the star of the game was CB Lorenzo Marsh, with 2 interceptions and 2 passes defenced.

Week 5: Detroit (1-3) 13-27 Philadelphia (3-1)
The Tito Escalante show this week, as the veteran RB outshines our top rookie with 25 carries for 99 yards and 3 TDs. Three early turnovers give the Lions the early initiative, but the Eagles defence holds them to 13 points off those turnovers, and keeps them off the board from then on.

OK, so we can win our home games - the test now is to take that form on the road...

Week 6: Philadelphia (4-1) 21-24 Green Bay (2-3)
Another slow start this week, as the Packers jump out into a 14-0 lead inside of 8 minutes. An Escalante TD run and Wason to Sims TD get us level, but the Packers use a defensive TD to take the lead for good. Wason (19/33-268-2-1) hits Sims (5-85-2) early in the fourth to get us back to only 3 points down, but the Green Bay defence shuts up shop for the rest of the game.

Week 7: Philadelphia (4-2) 10-34 Washington (3-2)
Pretty simple here - the Redskins were able to drive the ball consistently on our defence, and our offence couldn't keep pace - the Eagles gave up scoring drives of 11, 9, 9, 6, 8 and 3 plays in this game.

Week 8: Bye

This seems an appropriate place to step back and have a look at the season so far:


2010 Summary for Philadelphia Eagles

Year 2010
Record 4-3
Winning Pct. .571
All-Time 20-50-1
Winning Pct. .288
Playoffs 0-0
Playoff Visits 0
Bowl Wins 0
Head Coach Corwin Raymond
Record 20-51
Winning Pct. .281
Off. Coord. C. Lewis
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 37.9 3
Rushing Yards 125.9 10
Yards Per Carry 3.32 30
Pass Attempts 23.4 32
Completions 14.0 32
Completion Pct. 59.8 17
Passing Yards 184.1 26
Yards Per Attempt 7.86 1
Yards Per Catch 13.15 1
Total Yardage Gained 300.9 14
3rd Down Conversions 43.6 4
Points Per Game 19.9 13 (T)
Pass Rush Pct. 10.5 2
Pass Defense Pct. 67.2 21
Turnovers 13 21 (T)
Turnover Margin 0 18 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 23.1 5
Rushing Yards 95.6 9
Yards Per Carry 4.13 20
Pass Attempts 36.0 25 (T)
Completions 20.3 20
Completion Pct. 56.3 9
Passing Yards 197.3 11
Yards Per Attempt 5.48 5
Yards Per Catch 9.73 4
Total Yardage Gained 281.1 8
3rd Down Conversions 38.2 27
Points Per Game 16.4 10 (T)
Pass Rush Pct. 3.2 1 (T)
Pass Defense Pct. 72.6 24
Turnovers 13 8 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 7 at NYK 13
2 27 JAX 7
3 20 STL 10
4 27 MIN 14
5 27 DET 13
6 21 at GBY 24
7 10 at WAS 34
9 at CHI
10 NYK
11 at DAL
12 at TEN
13 at ATL
14 at HOU
15 DAL
16 IND
17 WAS

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
19 J. Wason QB 155 95 1275 8.23 4 7 77.2
**Team --- 164 98 1289 7.86 4 9 69.8
$$Opp --- 252 142 1381 5.48 9 8 70.6

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
35 B. Twisp RB 159 552 3.47 4 3
36 T. Escalante RB 100 333 3.33 6 3
**Team --- 265 881 3.32 10 8
$$Opp --- 162 669 4.13 3 10

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
87 R. Sims WR 34 23 403 17.52 11.85 2 2
80 C. Rosano WR 34 17 272 16.00 8.00 3 1
88 L. Cox TE 19 13 179 13.77 9.42 2 0
35 B. Twisp RB 23 13 64 4.92 2.78 1 0
36 T. Escalante RB 11 8 38 4.75 3.45 3 0
81 T. Donohue WR 9 8 170 21.25 18.89 0 0
83 I. Browning WR 21 7 68 9.71 3.24 2 0

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
53 K. McClurken ILB 43 6 1.0 1 1 4 77.6
23 W. Ross S 33 12 0.0 0 0 6 82.4
56 M. Guerra OLB 27 4 3.0 1 0 1 74.3
24 L. Valentino S 23 5 0.0 0 0 0 74.7
96 B. Andrews DT 21 7 2.0 7 0 0 81.7
58 K. Andrews OLB 18 10 1.0 0 2 1 80.1
21 C. Allison CB 18 0 0.0 0 0 0 69.2
93 C. Campbell DT 17 2 1.5 8 0 0 81.9
26 L. Marsh CB 16 5 0.0 0 2 7 87.5
27 P. Crane CB 13 3 0.0 0 2 4 82.4
92 C. Turner DE 11 11 1.5 4 0 0 78.8
50 L. Roberson OLB 10 2 0.0 0 0 1 70.5
55 A. Newsome ILB 8 4 1.0 0 0 0 62.2
98 S. McKenzie DE 8 5 1.5 4 0 0 82.0
95 H. Stuart DT 7 5 0.0 2 0 0 82.5
99 M. Rivers DE 7 3 0.5 7 0 0 81.6


A few things that aren't really much of a surprise - most carries, lowest average run and least passes, highest average per attempt and per completion pretty much go together (but suggest that the offence is maybe a bit too one-dimensional). The defence has been decent, although the pass rush still isn't as good as I'd like. All in all, definitely an improvement over last year, though!

[MartinD]

Week 9: Philadelphia (4-3) 28-16 Chicago (4-3)
Good solid all-round performance here - RB Escalante went over 100 yards (20-104-1), QB Wason threw two TD passes, and the defence put points on the board through CB Phillip Crane's fumble return for a TD.

At the halfway point, the Eagles sit third in the NFC East, with New York (6-2) and Washington (5-3) the two teams ahead.

Week 10: New York (6-2) 17-10 Philadelphia (5-3)
A defensive struggle here, but the Giants moved the ball just a little better and won the battle of field position. WR Ike Browning scored the only TD for the home team, taking a punt back 43 yards for a score early in the fourth quarter. The running game was solid (Twisp 13-53, Escalante 20-91), but Wason struggled, hitting only 5 of 20 passes, and being sacked 4 times.

Week 11: Philadelphia (5-4) 16-6 Dallas (2-7)
A pretty convincing victory over a poor Cowboys team - Dallas only broke the shutout with a consolation TD inside the last minute. RB Escalante continues to have a good season, with another 100-yard game (28-106), while Wason put his poor game last week behind him with a solid effort (15/19-173-0-0).

Week 12: Philadelphia (6-4) 3-31 Tennessee (5-5)
The score pretty much says it all here - the Titans dominated this game from start to finish, with the Eagles having problems moving the ball all game long.

RB Tito Escalante was injured in this game, and will miss the next month.

Week 13: Philadelphia (6-5) 21-20 Atlanta (7-4)
A big win on the road against a solid Falcons team, with rookie QB J.T. Watkins the hero in his first extended action in the pros. The winning score came with less than 3 minutes to play, as Watkins hit WR Rosano from 31 yards out for the go-ahead score and his second TD of the day. The other Eagles TD came from Ike Browning, who produced his second punt return TD of the season. DE Moe Rivers was the game MVP, though, with 2.0 sacks (out of a team total of 8).

Starting QB Jeremy Wason was injured early in the game, and is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season with a knee injury. J.T. Watkins will get his first career start in week 14 against Houston.

Week 14: Philadelphia (7-5) 23-38 Houston (8-4)
A solid showing from QB Watkins (16/28-240-1-1), but the Texans were always in control of this game, mostly due to the efforts of RB Gus Fleming, who had 4 TDs on the day (21-120-3 rushing, 2-17 receiving, 4-194-1 on kick returns).

Week 15: Dallas (4-9) 20-0 Philadelphia (7-6)
A definite reminder of last year's offensive futility... Only 141 total yards (and RB Andrew Lynch accounted for over 100 of those (20-103)), as J.T. Watkins struggled in this game (10/27-60-0-2, with 5 sacks and 3 fumbles).

Lynch was the featured back for the last game because starting RB Bo Twisp was injured early in the contest - he'll miss 3 weeks. While RB Escalante isn't fully recovered from his injury, he'll see a bit of playing time in our next game.

Week 16: Indianapolis (11-3) 29-6 Philadelphia (7-7)
Not much you can say about this one except that we got our backsides handed to us by a better team.

The risk of playing RB Escalante in this game didn't pay off - he aggravated his injury, and is out for another month. With Twisp also out of action, I put Escalante on IR, and signed RB Thomas Booker for the last game of the regular season.

Despite our 7-8 record, our week 17 game against Washington is not meaningless - the Redskins currently hold the second wild card at 8-7, and need to win to hold on. There are a couple of other 8-7 teams, though, so even if we win, the Eagles need other results to go our way to have a chance.

Week 17: Washington (8-7) 20-6 Philadelphia (8-7)
This was a game that the Redskins needed badly, and it showed - they racked up over 200 yards rushing on a highly-rated Eagles run defence to seal a wild-card berth and a game against New York next week. The Philadelphia offence, without their two star RBs, struggled to move the ball consistently.

No playoffs this year, then, but a much-improved performance over last season.

[MartinD]

2010 Summary


Year 2010
Record 7-9
Winning Pct. .437
All-Time 23-56-1
Winning Pct. .293
Playoffs 0-0
Playoff Visits 0
Bowl Wins 0
Head Coach Corwin Raymond
Record 23-57
Winning Pct. .287
Off. Coord. C. Lewis
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 37.2 2
Rushing Yards 133.2 4
Yards Per Carry 3.58 30
Pass Attempts 22.5 32
Completions 12.4 32
Completion Pct. 55.3 29
Passing Yards 145.3 32
Yards Per Attempt 6.46 14
Yards Per Catch 11.68 8
Total Yardage Gained 262.9 31
3rd Down Conversions 35.7 10
Points Per Game 15.8 26
Pass Rush Pct. 8.9 3 (T)
Pass Defense Pct. 68.9 12 (T)
Turnovers 27 15 (T)
Turnover Margin -2 19

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 28.3 16
Rushing Yards 108.8 15
Yards Per Carry 3.84 12
Pass Attempts 30.6 9
Completions 17.4 2
Completion Pct. 57.1 7
Passing Yards 181.1 3
Yards Per Attempt 5.93 8
Yards Per Catch 10.39 12
Total Yardage Gained 276.6 8
3rd Down Conversions 34.4 15 (T)
Points Per Game 19.5 21
Pass Rush Pct. 5.3 2
Pass Defense Pct. 76.3 32
Turnovers 25 18 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 7 at NYK 13
2 27 JAX 7
3 20 STL 10
4 27 MIN 14
5 27 DET 13
6 21 at GBY 24
7 10 at WAS 34
9 28 at CHI 16
10 10 NYK 17
11 16 at DAL 6
12 3 at TEN 31
13 21 at ATL 20
14 23 at HOU 38
15 0 DAL 20
16 6 IND 29
17 6 WAS 20

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
19 J. Wason QB 223 133 1682 7.54 6 8 77.3
11 J. Watkins QB 137 66 643 4.69 3 8 44.7
**Team --- 360 199 2325 6.46 9 16 64.8
$$Opp --- 489 279 2898 5.93 17 16 72.2

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
35 B. Twisp RB 288 1032 3.58 5 5
36 T. Escalante RB 186 721 3.88 8 3
33 A. Lynch RB 84 323 3.85 1 1
**Team --- 595 2131 3.58 14 22
$$Opp --- 453 1740 3.84 17 20

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
87 R. Sims WR 86 44 672 15.27 7.81 6 4
80 C. Rosano WR 77 39 610 15.64 7.92 5 2
35 B. Twisp RB 43 26 158 6.08 3.67 2 1
88 L. Cox TE 37 24 341 14.21 9.22 4 1

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
53 K. McClurken ILB 112 29 2.0 2 2 8 75.4
56 M. Guerra OLB 62 15 3.0 2 2 3 77.6
96 B. Andrews DT 61 19 5.0 10 0 0 81.8
23 W. Ross S 61 28 0.0 0 1 10 82.1
24 L. Valentino S 54 18 0.0 0 0 3 75.8
93 C. Campbell DT 43 17 5.0 15 0 0 82.2
92 C. Turner DE 33 17 5.5 9 0 0 80.7
26 L. Marsh CB 30 10 0.0 0 3 13 85.6
27 P. Crane CB 30 11 0.0 0 2 9 81.4
99 M. Rivers DE 27 7 5.0 10 0 0 81.2
50 L. Roberson OLB 26 6 2.0 0 0 2 75.4
21 C. Allison CB 24 2 1.0 0 1 0 75.1
51 G. Booker OLB 24 12 0.0 2 0 1 75.1
55 A. Newsome ILB 22 6 1.0 1 0 2 72.1
98 S. McKenzie DE 21 10 3.5 6 0 0 81.6
58 K. Andrews OLB 19 12 1.0 1 3 1 83.4
95 H. Stuart DT 17 12 1.0 3 0 0 81.8
25 R. Horn CB 16 4 0.0 0 1 1 79.2


Definitely an improved performance over last year, with QB Wason making a big difference - while Watkins was decent in patches, it was noticable that the productivity of the offence went down when Wason got injured (although the injuries to RBs Escalante and Twisp will also have contributed to that). The defence was pretty sound all year, with MLB McClurken having a good year. The defensive line was solid enough against the run, but didn't produce much of a pass rush.

Looking ahead to 2011, and it's a bit easier to be optimistic about the future than it was last year - the defence is relatively young and definitely solid, while the offence should improve further as our young QBs mature.

While this year showed that my bodged together 'run-first' gameplan can work with the right personnel (and that the defensive gameplan isn't too bad either), I think I'll be making a few changes on both sides of the ball for next season - we now have enough offensive weapons (and a guy who looks like he's developing into a reasonably reliable QB!) to open things up a bit, and I feel we could do with increasing blitz percentages a little bit to get the pass rush going a bit better.

[MartinD]

2011 season

Herb's evaluation for 2010: 40/34/55/85, for an overall score of 49

The team lost $18.13m on revenues of $140.61m last year - while the stadium upgrade resulted in a significant increase in income, the costs of player salaries and bonuses offset some of this increase. The stadium upgrade also helped increase attendances (up 25% to 59,300/78.5% capacity), although I have a feeling that putting a more competitive team on the field also helped here.

No retirements this year (not unexpected, as most of the roster is made up of young players at the moment).

All members of staff are still under contract, and I'm happy with their performance, so no changes to staff this year.

Very few free agents this year (as many of our signings last year were given 2-year contracts), with none of vital importance to the team, so the franchise tag goes unused this year. FL Ike Browning is the player chosen to go to Europe this year.

Given that the team is making a loss, and that the price comparison table puts the Eagles second from bottom ($298, compared to top team Dallas, at $830, and 16th-rated Pittsburgh at $391), a bit of adjustment to ticket prices appears to be reasonable - these are changed from 30/40/55/65/150/60,000 to 35/45/60/70/160/65,000.

[MartinD]

2011 Free Agency

The Eagles go into free agency with 47 players signed and $29.23 cap room free. We have 7 draft picks this year - 1.14, 3.12, 4.11, 5.10, 6.9 and 7.15 (our second-round pick this year was traded to Houston in the deal for a first-rounder last year (used to select QB J.T. Watkins), plus Jacksonville's first-rounder this year, which has ended up being the second overall pick (the two trades down in the last two drafts have definitely paid dividends - this means that we have effectively picked up 1.5 and 2.4 (in 2009), 1.11 (in 2010) and 1.2 (in 2012) in exchange for the first overall pick in the 2009 draft (which did not contain an obvious standout player). These draft picks are expected to take up $10.88m of cap room, so we have a little over $18m to work with at this point.

While this appears to be a solid starting position for the coming year, almost half of our signed players are signed only for this year, including a number of starters and useful role players. Many of these players are still on the upside of their career, so it's more likely that the cap room will be used to extend the contracts of the guys we already have on the roster rather than going out and signing free agents.

(One trade offer at the start of free agency - Cincinnati offer the first pick in the third round and a young QB for QB Jeremy Wason. My scouting team see the QB as rated only 17/41, and I see Wason as our starting QB (who just so happens to be signed on a very reasonable contract for the next couple of seasons), so this is a fairly easy trade to turn down.)

Our roster heading into free agency (with comments on each position group):


Philadelphia Eagles Roster, Scout Overview

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntr
Woodson, Brent 9 QB 14 14 14 --
Wason, Jeremy 19 QB 4 31 55 2
Dunmore, Edwin 13 QB 3 27 36 1
Watkins, J.T. 11 QB 2 25 42 4

While none of these guys projects as a star, Wason appears to be on the way
to becoming a solid starter, while Dunmore and Watkins should be capable
fill-ins if required. Woodson was only signed last year to be a mentor, and will
probably be resigned to fill the same role this year. I also expect to extend
Dunmore's contract.

Escalante, Tito 36 RB 10 56 56 1
Booker, Thomas 39 RB 6 37 37 --
Lynch, Andrew 33 RB 3 30 30 2
Twisp, Bo 35 RB 2 84 84 4
Driggers, Donny 34 FB 3 39 44 1

Pretty solid group here - Twisp is a star in the making, while Esclalante
provides solid veteran backup (and mentoring, which is a nice bonus). Lynch
is a decent third back, and Driggers solid without being spectacular. The only
change I could see here is at FB, and then only if I see a great blocking back
at the right point in the draft.

Cox, Lewis 88 TE 7 70 70 1
Grice, Stephen 86 TE 3 39 50 1
Sudnik, Xavier 89 TE 3 32 38 --

Happy with the two guys already signed, and Sudnik is worth resigning as a
special teams ace.

Sims, Ray 87 FL 7 51 51 2
Clinton, Mitch 85 FL 4 31 31 1
Browning, Ike 83 FL 2 41 51 4
Rosano, Clifton 80 SE 6 56 56 1
Donohue, Teddy 81 SE 3 41 41 1

The top four here are pretty settled, but Clinton is in danger of not making
the team (mediocre to average receiver, not a great special teamer) as a
running team like this needs additional contributions from its backup receivers.
Rosano had a solid year as our starter at SE last year, and will be offered an
extension.

Place, David 61 C 8 50 50 5
Watkins, Darrin 77 C 2 29 49 1
Rayfield, Edward 70 LG 6 39 39 1
Clemons, Cory 66 RG 7 42 42 1
Huffman, Ian 78 RG 4 44 44 1
Hastings, Adam 62 LT 8 29 29 1
Patton, Otis 73 LT 6 33 46 1
Huffman, Norman 72 LT 3 42 51 2
Thomason, Eddie 64 RT 6 33 48 1
Leal, Herb 75 RT 2 35 46 2

A solid if not spectacular group here. It would be nice to add a top-quality
starter to this group, but I could live with taking these guys into the season
(although another guard for depth would be nice). The guy most at risk is LT
Hastings, who is definitely 3rd in the depth chart at that position. RT Leal
was a nice surprise - the 6th round pick gave us 13 solid starts as a rookie
last year. In an ideal world, a tackle mentor would be a nice pick-up (with
the proposed starters being 3rd and 2nd year players).

Chubick, Jerome 6 P 5 45 45 1
Oden, Matt 2 K 5 64 64 2

Two solid players here - not really looking to change unless I see an obvious
upgrade going cheap.

Hernandez, Marshall 91 LDE 3 19 31 --
McKenzie, Spencer 98 LDE 2 36 66 4
Turner, Cornell 92 RDE 6 53 53 1
Rivers, Moe 99 RDE 3 36 45 2
Stuart, Harris 95 LDT 6 46 46 4
Campbell, Christian 93 LDT 3 72 80 3
Russell, Xavier 90 LDT 2 16 27 2
Andrews, Blaine 96 RDT 6 68 68 2

Probably looking for a couple of backups here - Hernandez won't be resigned,
and I'll freely admit that I made a mistake in offering Russell a rookie contract
last year (as he barely contributed, and is unlikely to develop beyond being
the 4th DT in the rotation). Again, a mentor would be a useful addition here
(preferably at DE).

McClurken, Kenneth 53 MLB 6 59 59 3
Newsome, Archie 55 MLB 4 37 37 --
Andrews, Karl 58 SLB 7 35 35 --
Booker, Greg 51 SLB 3 27 41 1
Wilcox, Lenny 52 SLB 2 29 37 3
Guerra, Max 56 WLB 6 46 46 1
Roberson, Larry 50 WLB 4 35 48 --
Patell, Daniel 59 WLB 3 23 42 1

The area of the team that needs the most work... McClurken is our starter at
MLB, Guerra is the starter at WLB - after that is anyone's guess. I hope to
extend Guerra's contract and resign Roberson - will hope to acquire a starter
for the strong side through free agency or the draft.

Horn, Rick 25 LCB 8 48 48 1
Marsh, Lorenzo 26 LCB 7 80 80 3
Allison, Conrad 21 LCB 6 34 44 1
Crane, Phillip 27 LCB 4 59 68 2
Briggs, Gino 22 RCB 5 34 34 1
Horner, Walt 28 RCB 2 20 31 2
Ross, Wally 23 SS 6 67 67 3
Valentino, Leon 24 SS 4 54 61 4
Tierney, Charlie 20 FS 2 30 41 2

Definitely a strong area for this team - the starters (Horn, Ross, Valentino,
Crane) are all signed for at least the next two years, and there's a decent
amount of depth too. In an ideal world, I would like to pick up a backup
safety with good return or special teams skills, but I would be happy to take
this group to camp without any additions.


$$ - player is suspended, ## - player is inactive,
** = player is injured, %% - player is on IR.

Players Under Contract: 47
Inactive: 0
On Active Roster: 47

Salary Cap: $124,800,000
Cap Room: $29,230,000
Maximum for New Player: $18,350,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $3,250,000

Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $0
Cap Room Required Next Year: $64,490,000


A couple of minor moves before starting into free agency - CB Crane (LCB to RCB) and S Valentino (SS to FS) are changed to the positions they started in last year.

A quick look at the draft suggests that this is a good draft to have high first round picks in - the top prospect is a seriously good CB (grade 8.2, 4.33 40, 22 strength reps, 6.94 agility drill, 76% developed - immediate starter and top shut-down corner!), with the next four on the draft board all looking to be immediate starters and All-Pro picks not too far down the line. Unfortunately, the top players aren't really at need positions for this team, so the choice for 1.2 looks like either BPA (and get a really good player) or trade down a few slots (and get a very good player, plus an extra draft pick or two).

Renegotiations/restricted free agent signings:
QB Edwin Dunmore: $1.64m over 2 years
RB Tito Escalante: $5.55m over 2 years (slightly risky to give a 10th year RB a decent signing bonus, but this reduces the cap hit this year by over $1m)
TE Lewis Cox: $9.3m over 3 years
TE Stephen Grice: $1.35m over 2 years
TE xavier Sudnik: $590k over 1 year
FL Ike Browning: $5.03m over 4 years (reducing cap hit in each year of his current contract)
SE Clifton Rosano: $17.50m over 5 years (likely his last contract with the team - currently in his 6th year)
C Darrin Watkins: $1.11m over 2 years
LT Otis Patton: $2.24m over 2 years
RDE Cornell Turner: $17.50m over 5 years
WLB Larry Roberson: $730k over 1 year
WLB Max Guerra: $15.30m over 5 years
LCB Conrad Allison: $2.00m over 2 years

These moves leave the team with 49 players signed and $22.73m cap room free ($11.85m after allowing for expected cost of draft picks).

Into free agency...

Offers made:
QB Brent Woodson: $1.31 over 1 year in week 2 (own free agent - QB mentor - signed week 3)
SLB Karl Andrews: $930k over 1 year in week 2 (own free agent - OLB mentor - signed week 4)
RDE Jessie Rasmussen: $1.31m over 1 year in week 2 (DE mentor- signed week 3)
RT Phil Coffey: $1.15m over 1 year in week 2 (OT mentor - signed week 4)
SLB Ricky Adamski: $16.20m over 4 years in week 5 (starter at SLB if he signs (55/55, 6th year) - signed week 5)

These signings cover most of the positions most in need of mentoring (although I'm in trouble if the mentors need to take the field!), and hopefully provide a solution to the problem of finding a starter to play SLB. We now have 54 players signed and $14.64m cap free ($4.34m after allowing for the draft picks to come).

Looking at the roster as it stands at the moment, our big needs for the draft are:
- find a fifth/sixth receiver who can contribute on either (or both) special teams or the return game
- improve depth on the interior line - would be nice to find a guard who can be groomed to start next year
- find a decent defensive tackle to be fourth in the rotation
- pick up a couple of linebackers/defensive backs who can contribute both at their given position and on special teams

Obviously, with two picks in the first 14, I'm looking to come out of the draft with two potential starters as well...

[MartinD]

2011 Draft

While this year's draft pool does contain one guy who (to me, anyway!) is the obvious choice for the first overall pick and a bit of a gap to the next group of prospects, I'm not keen to trade up, as it would simply cost too much (and this team isn't in desperate need of a starting cornerback). In the (very unlikely) event of CB Joe Patton being available at my pick, that would be a no-brainer, as (at this point) he simply looks too good a player to pass up.

Cincinnati open the draft by taking CB Joe Patton, as expected (he gets an initial rating of 66/88!). The next tier of prospects (in my opinion) consists of four players (DE Isaac Benaroya (7.8 - slightly weak at run defence, but exceptional otherwise), DT Steve Erxleben (7.6 - slightly undersized, but that's the only downside here), CB Artie Parnell (7.4 - not as good as Patton, but still an exceptional prospect at cornerback) and G Zack Martin (7.2 - immediate starter and future star, but he's a guard...)) While the DE, DT and CB are potentially better than the guys I have at those positions, I think that there's better value here from a trade down. Dallas are willing to give up 1.5 and their first-rounder next year in exchange for 1.2 and Philadelphia's 3rd-round pick next year, which looks a decent trade to me. With the Cowboys in need of safety help, they take CB Artie Parnell (51/86). DE Benaroya (61/75) goes to Cleveland at 1.3, with the top RB, Shane Sample (61/82) taken by Detroit with the fourth pick.

While offensive guard isn't a position that is given much importance, I see G Zack Martin as a guy who will have an immediate impact on our offence. While DT Erxleben is a very good player, we have reasonable depth on the defensive line already. The Eagles' pick here is Martin, who is initially rated by our scouting team at 56/90. (Erxleben (51/79) went to Arizona with the 8th pick.)

The next tier of prospects in this draft is also pretty impressive, so I'm hoping to be able to pick up another good player with 1.14. The player I go for here isn't rated all that highly on the big board (is 15th in the list sorted by adjusted grade at this point) and only participated in the position drill at the combine (although he did very well in that), but is a guy who definitely fills a need for this team. WR Antoine Samanta is a slightly raw receiver with solid potential both as a receiver and as a return man - a bit of a risky pick, but I feel it's a risk worth taking for a guy who could potentially be a playmaker for our offence. The initial impressions are good, as Samanta is rated at 44/76 by our scouts.

After making our two first-round choices, the next Eagles pick is 3.12. There were a couple of players I was hoping would drop a bit - maybe not as far as our third round choice, but far enough as a trade up would have been reasonable, but they went a bit higher than I would have been willing to go. The pick in the third round is SLB Vincent Tayoun, a slightly undersized linebacker who looks to be a solid all-rounder, but will need a bit of time to develop (initially rated at 25/56).

As in previous years, I tend to look at lower-round picks to be a good way to deal with depth issues. SS Randall Cox (22/46) is our fourth-round pick, and should hopefully fill our need for a backup safety and special teamer. Our need for a solid backup defensive tackle was dealt with in the fifth round with the selection of RDT Wayne Galloway (18/47) - he won't provide much pass rush, but should be solid against the run. The sixth round saw us going back to the secondary to pick up LCB/PR Wes Houston (20/42), who looks to be a solid special-teamer and return man, and may be able to contribute at corner too. Our last pick went on C Matthew Booker (22/48), who should provide additional depth on the interior line - he's likely to be moved to play guard, as we already have two solid centers.

After the draft, Cincinnati come calling again to see if we would be willing to trade QB Jeremy Wason, offering pretty much the same deal as they did last time (a third rounder and a 17/41 3rd year QB). I try my best not to laugh in their face and turn the trade down.

Looks like rookie signing could get interesting this year, as only two rookies (4th round S Cox and 7th round C/G Booker) accept the contracts we initially offer.

Rookie free agents offered contracts in late free agency:
FL Winston Hadley: $850k over 2 years ((20/50) raw WR with good potential and special team abilities - signed week 3)
LCB Dusty Foster: $850k over 2 years ((24/51) decent-looking CB who may have a chance to make the team - signed week 3)
RDT Leslie Knight: $850k over 2 years ((19/48) run-stuffing DT - may be useful depth in the middle - signed week 2)
RT Gus Fox: $850k over 2 years ((14/52) raw tackle who may end up being a solid player - worth bringing to camp at least - signed week 1)
RB Jake Belyeu: $850k over 2 years ((32/49) scat-back type who can return kicks - signed week 2)

All of the rookie 'hold-outs' sign contracts before we head to training camp.

Before training camp, I move 3rd-round rookie Vincent Tayoun from SLB to MLB, where he will back up McClurken. We take 66 players to camp this year, so there will be some difficult decisions to make before we get to our season-opening roster of 53.

[MartinD]

Rookies before and after camp

Acquired Red Before Green Before Red After Green After Change
RB Jake Belyeu FA 32 49 31 44 -1/-5
FL Antoine Samanta 1.14 44 76 45 74 +1/-2
FL Winston Hadley FA 20 50 21 49 +1/-1
C Matthew Booker 7.15 22 48 24 42 +2/-6
G Zack Martin 1.5 56 90 61 90 +5/0
RT Gus Fox FA 14 52 16 46 +2/-6
RDT Leslie Knight FA 19 48 21 45 +2/-3
RDT Wayne Galloway 5.10 18 47 20 41 +2/-6
MLB Vincent Tayoun* 3.12 25 56 25 51 0/-5
LCB Dusty Foster FA 24 51 23 48 -1/-3
LCB Wes Houston 6.9 20 42 20 38 0/-4
SS Randall Cox 4.11 22 46 23 41 +1/-5


* Tayoun was drafted as SLB, and switched to MLB before camp - this made a small dent in his current ratings.

Not the best camp for our rookies, but the important guys (G Martin and FL Samanta) came through pretty well.

For what it's worth, a look at some of the early picks in the draft before and after camp:

Acquired Red Before Green Before Red After Green After Change
CB Joe Patton 1.1 66 88 66 88 0/0
CB Artie Parnell 1.2 51 86 56 86 +5/0
DE Isaac Benaroya 1.3 61 75 59 78 -2/+3
RB Shane Sample 1.4 61 82 64 82 +3/0
DT Steve Erxleben 1.8 51 79 54 78 +3/-1


Definitely a good year to have a high first-round pick (as long as you weren't looking for a QB - only one was taken before round 5, and he's 10/40 right now - not good value for a first round pick...)

[MartinD]

A look at the QBs on the roster

This is a slightly unusual team in that we don't have a stand-out starting quarterback - at the moment, I'm trying to get by using younger guys in the hope that one will develop into a solid starter in time.

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/429/wason2011ck2.jpg

Jeremy Wason was acquired last season from Tampa Bay (we gave up a second round pick, and received a fourth-rounder in return). He started 12 games (going 7-5) before getting injured, putting up a QB rating of 77.3.

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/2237/dunmore2011xc0.jpg

Edwin Dunmore was a late-round pick in the 2009 draft - he ended up starting 11 games that year (we were struggling that much at QB!), and didn't put up good numbers. In his defence, our cast of receivers that year was pretty poor (Ray Sims and Lewis Cox were our only competent receivers, as then rookie Teddy Donohue started at SE for most of the season). My feeling at this point is that Dunmore is a useful guy to have on the roster - he's not good enough to win games on his own, but should be able to be a solid backup and stop-gap starter if needed. (In an ideal world, he would be a better kick holder, but you can't have everything <shrug> :p )

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/2527/watkins2011vf1.jpg

J.T. Watkins was the fourth of our first round picks last year (picked 30th overall after a trade up). He started four games at the end of the year after Wason got injured - unfortunately for Watkins, we started losing running backs at about the same time, so he didn't have the same level of support that Wason did. He doesn't look to have quite as much potential as he did when we drafted him (a common problem with QBs), but still looks to be capable of developing into a solid starter if given the playing time. He's currently slotted as our #2 guy, and may start some games at the end of the year if the season gets away from us.

While it would be nice to have a top-notch starting QB, the guys we have are probably a good fit for where this team is (still rebuilding, but getting to the point of being competitive). I certainly intend to put the game in the QB's hands a bit more this year, as the receiving corps is significantly better than it was when I took over the team.

[MartinD]

Roster cut-down

With 66 players on the roster at this point, there's a lot of cutting to be done...

Philadelphia Eagles Roster, Scout Overview

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntr
Woodson, Brent 9 QB 14 10 10 1
Wason, Jeremy 19 QB 4 31 56 2
Dunmore, Edwin 13 QB 3 28 37 2
Watkins, J.T. 11 QB 2 25 42 4

No cuts here - happy to go into the season with these four guys. (Woodson
is there to be a mentor only.)

Escalante, Tito 36 RB 10 45 45 2
Lynch, Andrew 33 RB 3 30 30 2
Twisp, Bo 35 RB 2 84 84 4
Belyeu, Jake 32 RB 1 31 44 2
Driggers, Donny 34 FB 3 40 44 1

One cut to make here, which will be either Lynch or Belyeu - Escalante is
definitely in the twighlight of his career, but can still do a job for us on the
field. Lynch is basically a solid third-down back (decent blitz pickup and
receiving skills), while Belyeu is more a jack of all trades (can do a little bit of
everything). The clincher here, though is team chemistry - Belyeu simply
can't get on with Tito Escalante...

Cox, Lewis 88 TE 7 70 70 3
Grice, Stephen 86 TE 3 41 50 2
Sudnik, Xavier 89 TE 3 34 39 1

Decent group here, and I'm happy to keep three tight ends on the roster.

Sims, Ray 87 FL 7 52 52 2
Clinton, Mitch 85 FL 4 30 30 1
Browning, Ike 83 FL 2 43 51 4
Hadley, Winston 84 FL 1 21 49 2
Samanta, Antoine 82 FL 1 45 74 4
Rosano, Clifton 80 SE 6 56 56 5
Donohue, Teddy 81 SE 3 40 40 1

Sims and Rosano are the starters, Samanta will be the slot receiver, and
Browning the fourth WR. Hadley is a guy I want to keep on the team - solid
special teamer with a bit of potential for development. Clinton is the obvious
7th guy here, so won't make the final roster, and Donohue may be on the
bubble...

Place, David 61 C 8 50 50 5
Watkins, Darrin 62 C 2 31 49 2
Booker, Matthew 63 C 1 24 42 3
Rayfield, Edward 67 LG 6 39 39 1
Martin, Zack 68 LG 1 61 90 5
Clemons, Cory 66 RG 7 41 41 1
Huffman, Ian 65 RG 4 44 44 1
Hastings, Adam 74 LT 8 24 24 1
Patton, Otis 73 LT 6 33 47 2
Huffman, Norman 72 LT 3 42 51 2
Coffey, Phil 76 RT 10 12 12 1
Thomason, Eddie 71 RT 6 36 47 1
Leal, Herb 75 RT 2 39 46 2
Fox, Gus 70 RT 1 16 46 2

I only want to keep 10 offensive linemen, so a few casualties here.
Late-round pick Booker isn't as good as I had hoped (and won't convert to
other line positions easily), so is cut, as is RT Fox. LT Hastings appears to be
declining badly, and is now the 5th tackle, a spot now reserved for Coffey
(tackle mentor - a good thing to have when the expected starters are in their
3rd (Huffman) and 2nd (Leal) years). Keeping 5 tackles on the roster means
that I also need to make a cut at guard - Rayfield is the unfortunate player
here.

Chubick, Jerome 6 P 5 44 44 1
Oden, Matt 2 K 5 65 65 2

These guys have put in solid seasons for the last couple of years, so no
changes here.

McKenzie, Spencer 98 LDE 2 36 65 4
Rasmussen, Jessie 94 RDE 11 19 19 1
Turner, Cornell 92 RDE 6 53 53 5
Rivers, Moe 99 RDE 3 40 45 2
Stuart, Harris 95 LDT 6 47 47 4
Campbell, Christian 93 LDT 3 77 77 3
Russell, Xavier 90 LDT 2 17 26 2
Andrews, Blaine 96 RDT 6 67 67 2
Knight, Leslie 91 RDT 1 21 45 2
Galloway, Wayne 97 RDT 1 20 41 3

The four defensive ends are safe (Rasmussen is a mentor, who should help
McKenzie and Rivers develop). Two cuts to make at tackle, with Russell an
obvious choice. The fourth DT spot is between Knight and Galloway, and I
decide to keep the draft pick here - there is little else to choose between
these two.

McClurken, Kenneth 53 MLB 6 59 59 3
Tayoun, Vincent 54 MLB 1 25 51 3
Andrews, Karl 58 SLB 7 35 35 1
Adamski, Ricky 57 SLB 6 56 56 4
Booker, Greg 51 SLB 3 28 41 1
Wilcox, Lenny 52 SLB 2 30 37 3
Guerra, Max 56 WLB 6 47 47 5
Roberson, Larry 50 WLB 4 38 48 1
Patell, Daniel 59 WLB 3 24 42 1

Two players to cut here - looking for 2 ILB and 5 OLB (although I could live
with 4 OLB if needed). McClurken and Tayoun are the only two inside LBs, so
are safe. Adamski and Guerra are the starters at OLB, and Roberson is a solid
backup. Wilcox is a decent special teamer and the best LB of the rest, so will
also make the roster. Neither Patell or Booker offer anything more than depth
at LB, so both are cut. Andrews remains on the bubble, as he only really
offers depth at LB - while he is a mentor, we don't really need a mentor for
OLB right now...

Horn, Rick 25 LCB 8 49 49 1
Marsh, Lorenzo 26 LCB 7 81 81 3
Allison, Conrad 21 LCB 6 34 44 2
Houston, Wes 38 LCB 1 20 38 3
Foster, Dusty 49 LCB 1 23 48 2
Briggs, Gino 22 RCB 5 33 33 1
Crane, Phillip 27 RCB 4 69 69 2
Horner, Walt 28 RCB 2 23 32 2
Ross, Wally 23 SS 6 66 66 3
Cox, Randall 29 SS 1 23 41 4
Valentino, Leon 24 FS 4 62 62 4
Tierney, Charlie 20 FS 2 32 42 2

Need to cut this group to no more than 9 (with 9 meaning that SLB Andrews is the last player cut). The starters (Marsh, Crane, Ross, Valentino) are safe,
as are Horn, Allison and Tierney. Cox is signed to a 4-year deal, so will make
the team (should be a contributor, and would count around $500k to next year's cap if cut), so the last spot will be a corner - one of Houston, Foster,
Briggs and Horner. Houston offers the most to the team (solid special-teamer
and good backup punt returner), so is the last man to make the team in this
group.



The last spot came down to SLB Andrews and SE Donohue - neither is much help from a special teams point of view, and Donohue is the guy more likely to see playing time through the season, so Andrews is the last guy cut. (Of course, now that I've said that it's pretty much guaranteed that I'm going to have an awful year for injuries at linebacker... :rolleyes: )

[MartinD]

2011 preseason

Now that the roster is down to 53, I need to look at altering the gameplans that the team are going to use this season. While the 'run-first, -second and -third' offence did have its good points, we now have enough talent at receiver to make it worthwhile switching to a gameplan that actually uses the forward pass (OK, slight exaggeration, but not much!) On defence, we struggled to put pressure on the opposing QB last year, despite having a fairly solid defensive line, so the relatively passive gameplan used last year is going to be tweaked to increase the pass rush a bit. I like the starting corners that we have enough to leave them in single coverage most of the time, so we should be able to spare a linebacker or two to improve the pass rush on a fairly regular basis.

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/1165/2011basicoff2ey.jpg

This is almost unchanged from last year - the only two areas that have changed are 1st and 8-10 and 2nd and 4-5 (run percentage reduced significantly in both). As the offence will still (probably) be biased towards the run, I am tending towards keeping the percentage of long passes higher than % short (in order to stretch the field a little to create more room for the running game).

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/4536/2011offadj6zo.jpg

Unchanged from last season, and significantly smaller than the 'default' adjustments - I don't want my team to totally change the way that they're playing just because we've lost two quick TDs at the start of the game, for example.

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/8495/2011miscoff8cu.jpg

The only change here is to alter the run direction percentages a little so that we run more to the left (behind our highly-rated rookie guard and solid left tackle).

I leave the offensive formation settings as recommended.

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/3082/2011misc1xx.jpg

I'm using a 4-3 defence (for the first time in a long time!) because it was a better fit for the roster I inherited, and quality linebackers appear to be harder to acquire in FOF 2007 than in the Fourth Edition, where good defensive linemen are much easier to find. I usually rely on linebackers to provide additional pressure through the blitz - defensive backs are there to cover the receivers IMHO (yes, I'm a bit old-fashioned that way :p).

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/7783/2011basicdef3br.jpg

Unchanged from last year - fairly conventional, and fairly conservative.

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/4336/2011defadj0fe.jpg

Again unchanged from last year, and (similar to the offensive adjustments) much smaller than the default.

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/4784/2011defpers5cf.jpg

This was set using the 'Recommend' button last year, and has been changed significantly - lower percentages of the more extreme defences (i.e. we'll have base defence out there more often) and higher blitz percentages.

I'm not really an expert at setting gameplans, more someone who likes playing around with the numbers to see what happens, so I'm sure that someone will be along shortly to pick holes in this... :p

Onto the preseason games - roster rating this year is 95, so better things are expected...

Week 1: Miami 10-7 Philadelphia
Tight defensive game, as the scoreline would suggest. The offence didn't move the ball particularly well, with QB Watkins not having a good game (13/27-104-0-1), but the defence was solid.

Week 2: Philadelphia 14-17 San Diego
Slightly better offensively, but the offence still isn't clicking (although playing J.T. Watkins for most of the game probably isn't helping there - the offence is definitely working better with Wason under center). A reasonable performance from the defence, with the pass rush definitely looking better so far.

With the offence struggling behind Watkins, I give Dunmore a chance to see what he can do as the #2 QB in our next preseason game.

Week 4: Oakland 38-22 Philadelphia
The scoreline is a little misleading here, as the Raiders got off to a very fast start - 14-0 up about halfway through the first quarter. While there are obvious deficiencies in the defensive performance, the offence put up a solid showing, with Dunmore looking more solid than Watkins has been.

Week 5: Philadelphia 20-8 New England
A solid win to finish off the preseason - nothing out of the ordinary, just a good solid team performance.

A few injuries going into the season - receivers Samanta and Sims are dinged up enough as they'll sit out the first couple of games, and G Clemons will miss the first month of the season with a concussion. (While he's listed as probable, I don't like taking risks with concussions...)

[MartinD]

2011 season

Week 1: Dallas 20-17 Philadelphia
A very scrappy game to open the season, with QB Wason throwing 5 interceptions as the offence struggled. Defence and special teams were almost enough, with Teddy Donohue taking a first quarter kickoff back 82 yards for a TD, but the Cowboys won the game on a fumbled kickoff return after the Eagles scored to go 17-13 ahead.

To make it worse, top draft pick LG Zack Martin was stretchered off late in the game - he'll miss a significant proportion of the season with a broken foot.

Week 2: Philadelphia (0-1) 23-20 Buffalo (0-1)
K Matt Oden made a 49-yard field goal with 8 seconds left to clinch a tough road win for the Eagles here. QB Wason improved on his week 1 showing (21/35-210-1-2), but still has room for improvement, while RBs Twisp and Escalante kept it ticking over on the ground.

Week 3: Tampa Bay (1-1) 0-17 Philadelphia (1-1)
Another solid defensive performance was rewarded with a shut-out, and QB Wason (16/23-196-2-1) appears to be over the worst of his turnover bug. Pass-rush specialist DE Moe Rivers had his best game as a pro, finishing with 5 tackles and 3.5 sacks.

Another injury at G meant a bit of roster shuffling was required, leading to G Trent Champion being signed (I had actually cut my roster to 52 before preseason, so no cut/IR was required).

Week 4: Bye

Week 5: Philadelphia (2-1) 37-14 Seattle (1-3)
The score doesn't really reflect the game - it was definitely closer than the score would suggest. The Eagles defence forced 4 turnovers and sacked the Eagles QB 6 times, while backup linebacker Lenny Wilcox recovered a blocked punt in the endzone for a TD.

Starting safety Leon Valentino was lost for the year in this game, suffering a serious knee injury. He was placed on IR, but no replacement was signed at this point. S Charlie Tierney will start in his place.

Week 6: Arizona (2-3) 3-27 Philadelphia (3-1)
An efficient performance saw the Eagles to a comfortable win in this game. The offence was not explosive, but QB Wason (15/19-146-0-0) and RB Escalante (37-91-1) did enough to keep the ball moving and the scoreboard ticking over. On defence, S Tierney celebrated his first start with a pick-six, while DT Campbell led the defensive effort with 2 sacks.

RB Bo Twisp had to leave this game early with a muscle strain, and will miss a couple of games. Tito Escalante will get the start in week 7.

Week 7: Philadelphia (4-1) 20-17 Washington (3-3)
QB Edwin Dunmore came off the bench to spark a 13-point fourth-quarter rally, with K Oden kicking a 26-yard field goal with 11 seconds left to give the Eagles their first lead of the game. Dunmore (10/18-111-1-1) threw a 9-yard TD pass to Ray Sims with 1:16 left to tie the score, then CB Lorenzo Marsh picked off the Redskins QB to set up the game-winning field goal.

Week 8: New York (5-1) 9-17 Philadelphia (5-1)
RB Andrew Lynch made the decisive play of a defensive struggle with a 56-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter. Lynch (18-95-1) was backed up by QB Edwin Dunmore (8/12-122-1-1), in relief of starter Jeremy Wason for the second straight week. While there were no stand-out defensive performances, the Eagles defence held the Giants to three field goals and only 232 total yards.

It's at this point, where I've felt the need to pull starting QB Wason from the last two games (he was 0/5 in the Giants game in week 8), where I have a feeling that we may have a QB controversy brewing. Dunmore has been solid in relief, while Wason appears to be struggling with the turnover bug this season (9 picks, 5 fumbles so far). I decide to make the switch - Dunmore will start our week 9 game.

Week 9: Philadelphia (6-1) 17-23 St. Louis (2-5) (OT)
I'm starting to wonder if I should start someone at QB, then pull them for the backup after 1 play... The offence definitely seemed to be more explosive with Dunmore at the helm, but turnovers will kill offensive momentum in a hurry, and that's what we had - Dunmore had 3 picks, Wason (in relief) had 2. I'll give Dunmore another chance next week, but I may end up going with Watkins the way things are going!

Team summary at mid-season

Year 2011
Record 6-2
Winning Pct. .750
All-Time 29-58-1
Winning Pct. .335
Playoffs 0-0
Playoff Visits 0
Bowl Wins 0
Head Coach Corwin Raymond
Record 29-59
Winning Pct. .329
Off. Coord. C. Lewis
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 31.3 6
Rushing Yards 108.9 20
Yards Per Carry 3.48 31
Pass Attempts 27.3 30
Completions 15.3 31
Completion Pct. 56.0 23
Passing Yards 165.0 29
Yards Per Attempt 6.06 20
Yards Per Catch 10.82 15
Total Yardage Gained 255.9 30
3rd Down Conversions 28.9 29
Points Per Game 21.9 9
Pass Rush Pct. 10.3 2
Pass Defense Pct. 73.5 3
Turnovers 19 28
Turnover Margin 0 16

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 28.9 19
Rushing Yards 96.9 6
Yards Per Carry 3.35 1
Pass Attempts 34.3 22
Completions 18.5 7 (T)
Completion Pct. 54.0 1
Passing Yards 179.5 4
Yards Per Attempt 5.24 1
Yards Per Catch 9.70 2
Total Yardage Gained 258.5 1
3rd Down Conversions 22.7 1
Points Per Game 13.3 2 (T)
Pass Rush Pct. 6.9 12 (T)
Pass Defense Pct. 79.0 31
Turnovers 19 3 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 17 DAL 20
2 23 at BUF 20
3 17 TBY 0
5 37 at SEA 14
6 27 ARI 3
7 20 at WAS 17
8 17 NYK 9
9 17 at STL 23
10 SFO
11 at DAL
12 at MIA
13 at MIN
14 NJY
15 WAS
16 NED
17 at NYK

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
19 J. Wason QB 155 87 916 5.91 5 11 54.6
13 E. Dunmore QB 63 35 404 6.41 4 5 63.2
**Team --- 218 122 1320 6.06 9 16 57.1
$$Opp --- 274 148 1436 5.24 4 9 60.1

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
36 T. Escalante RB 149 444 2.98 3 1
35 B. Twisp RB 67 244 3.64 2 2
33 A. Lynch RB 22 109 4.95 1 0
**Team --- 250 871 3.48 6 12
$$Opp --- 231 775 3.35 5 18

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
35 B. Twisp RB 30 24 144 6.00 4.80 0 1
80 C. Rosano WR 32 15 174 11.60 5.44 3 0
87 R. Sims WR 29 14 231 16.50 7.97 0 3
88 L. Cox TE 16 13 152 11.69 9.50 0 2
83 I. Browning WR 26 12 184 15.33 7.08 4 1
82 A. Samanta WR 29 9 120 13.33 4.14 2 1
36 T. Escalante RB 11 8 28 3.50 2.55 1 0
84 W. Hadley WR 16 8 118 14.75 7.38 2 0

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
53 K. McClurken ILB 45 13 0.5 2 0 4 76.5
56 M. Guerra OLB 39 19 2.0 4 1 1 69.6
23 W. Ross S 33 16 0.0 0 1 5 83.4
96 B. Andrews DT 32 13 2.0 4 0 0 80.7
54 V. Tayoun ILB 27 5 1.0 1 0 2 68.6
92 C. Turner DE 25 14 5.0 12 0 0 80.6
26 L. Marsh CB 23 7 0.0 0 2 2 83.1
99 M. Rivers DE 21 9 6.5 6 0 0 82.5
93 C. Campbell DT 20 9 2.5 9 0 0 81.0
27 P. Crane CB 19 7 0.0 0 2 7 85.6
95 H. Stuart DT 17 9 1.0 2 0 0 81.6
50 L. Roberson OLB 16 6 1.0 0 0 0 61.8
20 C. Tierney S 15 4 0.0 0 1 4 82.5
57 R. Adamski OLB 13 6 1.0 1 0 2 83.0
29 R. Cox S 12 5 0.0 0 0 0 75.5
25 R. Horn CB 10 2 0.0 0 1 3 84.6
24 L. Valentino S 10 4 0.0 0 0 2 81.0


The areas where I was looking for improvement at the start of the season are definitely improved - the offence is moving the ball better (now we just need to work out how to hang on to the ball!), although there is still room for improvement, and the defence is getting to opposing QBs a lot better without sacrificing yardage on the ground or the big play.

[DolphinFan1]

I noticed that you cut the roster to 53 before preseason, am I correct? How come you don't use the 60 man limit to evaluate talent and cut to 53 after preseason? Just curious.

[MartinD]

I noticed that you cut the roster to 53 before preseason, am I correct? How come you don't use the 60 man limit to evaluate talent and cut to 53 after preseason? Just curious.

I'm usually fairly comfortable that I know the guys I want to keep at the bottom end of the roster - for example, in the 2011 season I had four mentors who were never going to see much playing time but were always going to make the roster. Another thing I'll take into account is how much it's going to cost me to cut a player - means I'm more likely to hang on to mid-round draft picks if cutting them means I'm giving myself half a million of dead cap room the following year.

I will sometimes hold on to a few extra guys to work out who's better, but I find it difficult to take anything from the stats and results of preseason games that I don't already know (or suspect) from the player profiles and training camp. (This is one area where doing dynasty reports is very handy - I've been able to keep track of ratings before and after camp...)

Martin

[MartinD]

At this point, the Eagles are first in the NFC East, one game ahead of New York and Dallas, with Washington bringing up the rear at 4-4.

Week 10: San Francisco (4-4) 10-14 Philadelphia (6-2)
In a tight game, QB Dunmore found scatback Lynch with less than 5 minutes remaining to give the Eagles the lead - the defence held the rest of the way to seal the victory. Dumore (16/30-194-1-1) was given the game MVP, with SE Rosano (5-88) his favourite target.

Week 11: Philadelphia (7-2) 17-34 Dallas (5-4)
A fast start, with two early TDs giving the Eagles a 14-0 lead, but the Cowboys controlled the game from then on. Turnovers hurt us once more, with QB Dunmore throwing for over 200 yards but with 4 interceptions, and Dallas taking a fourth quarter fumble back for the back-breaking score.

Week 12: Philadelphia (7-3) 20-17 Miami (7-3)
A big win on the road, with the defence putting up the shutters in the fourth quarter to preserve a narrow lead. Edwin Dunmore had his best game of the season (20/33-261-2-1), with solid support from RB Twisp (20-85), rookie FL Samanta (4-85) and FL Sims (3-43-2).

Week 13: Philadelphia (8-3) 7-31 Minnesota (3-8)
The classic trap game, and so it proved - one of those games where the offence struggled to do anything right, and the defence wasn't able to cover up for the offence's failings.

Week 14: New Jersey (8-4) 7-33 Philadelphia (8-4)
An all-round solid performance, with the offence moving the ball - Dunmore played a solid game (12/18-203-2-0) - and the defence shutting down the Jets, particularly through the air (the Jets QB was 13 of 36 with 3 picks, and was sacked 5 times).

Week 15: Washington (8-5) 7-20 Philadelphia (9-4)
Two early TDs from Bo Twisp gave the defence something to protect, and they did what was required, holding the Redskins to 11 first downs and 167 total yards. Twisp had 135 yards on 24 carries and 4 catches, while QB Dunmore was efficient (15/25-149-1-0). CB Phillip Crane was the game MVP with one of the Eagles' 3 interceptions and 4 passes defenced.

This win puts the Eagles two games ahead of Washington and Dallas in the NFC East, but does not mean that the division is safe, as Dallas has the season sweep over the Eagles.

Week 16: New England (13-1) 24-17 Philadelphia (10-4)
The good thing about this game is that the Eagles managed to hang with one of the best teams in the league. The bad thing is that the Patriots scored on a long TD pass in the final minute to take the victory. Twisp (9-109) and Dunmore (16/33-192-2-0) were the leaders on offence, but the defence struggled to contain a strong New England passing attack, giving up over 300 yards through the air.

Week 17: Philadelphia (10-5) 22-24 New York (7-8)
A failed 2-point conversion late in the fourth quarter was the difference between the two teams here, as the Eagles allowed Dallas to take the division title. Defensively, the Eagles shut down the Giants' passing game, but allowed too much yardage on the ground.

While the two losses to finish are disappointing, the Eagles still qualified for the playoffs as the second wild card team, and will travel to Dallas in the Wild Card round.

[MartinD]

Regular Season summary


2011 Summary for Philadelphia Eagles

Year 2011
Record 10-6
Winning Pct. .625
All-Time 33-62-1
Winning Pct. .348
Playoffs 0-0
Playoff Visits 1
Bowl Wins 0
Head Coach Corwin Raymond
Record 33-63
Winning Pct. .343
Off. Coord. C. Lewis
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 30.0 11
Rushing Yards 111.9 19
Yards Per Carry 3.73 29
Pass Attempts 28.8 29
Completions 15.7 31
Completion Pct. 54.4 28
Passing Yards 180.3 23
Yards Per Attempt 6.26 16
Yards Per Catch 11.49 6
Total Yardage Gained 273.6 25
3rd Down Conversions 30.4 27
Points Per Game 20.3 11
Pass Rush Pct. 9.3 3 (T)
Pass Defense Pct. 77.3 1
Turnovers 33 26 (T)
Turnover Margin -4 23

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 30.2 23 (T)
Rushing Yards 107.3 12 (T)
Yards Per Carry 3.55 2
Pass Attempts 32.8 17
Completions 17.1 2
Completion Pct. 52.2 1
Passing Yards 183.6 4
Yards Per Attempt 5.60 4
Yards Per Catch 10.72 22
Total Yardage Gained 272.1 1
3rd Down Conversions 30.2 4
Points Per Game 16.3 7
Pass Rush Pct. 7.5 19 (T)
Pass Defense Pct. 77.9 32
Turnovers 29 12 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 17 DAL 20
2 23 at BUF 20
3 17 TBY 0
5 37 at SEA 14
6 27 ARI 3
7 20 at WAS 17
8 17 NYK 9
9 17 at STL 23
10 14 SFO 10
11 17 at DAL 34
12 20 at MIA 17
13 7 at MIN 31
14 33 NJY 7
15 20 WAS 7
16 17 NED 24
17 22 at NYK 24
$$WC at DAL

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
13 E. Dunmore QB 292 160 1930 6.61 14 12 74.1
19 J. Wason QB 169 91 954 5.64 5 14 45.8
**Team --- 461 251 2884 6.26 19 26 63.8
$$Opp --- 525 274 2938 5.60 14 17 64.3

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
36 T. Escalante RB 223 681 3.05 5 2
35 B. Twisp RB 194 819 4.22 5 7
13 E. Dunmore QB 36 163 4.53 0 6
**Team --- 480 1790 3.73 11 23
$$Opp --- 483 1717 3.55 13 31

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
35 B. Twisp RB 59 43 312 7.26 5.29 1 2
80 C. Rosano WR 76 35 501 14.31 6.59 6 1
87 R. Sims WR 61 33 535 16.21 8.77 2 7
82 A. Samanta WR 66 30 429 14.30 6.50 5 1
88 L. Cox TE 34 25 318 12.72 9.35 0 3
83 I. Browning WR 56 24 322 13.42 5.75 7 2
36 T. Escalante RB 30 19 59 3.11 1.97 2 0

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
53 K. McClurken ILB 111 31 2.0 4 1 9 79.3
23 W. Ross S 70 29 0.0 0 2 12 85.8
56 M. Guerra OLB 70 36 3.5 5 2 5 74.9
96 B. Andrews DT 66 23 6.5 10 0 0 81.6
27 P. Crane CB 45 14 0.0 0 4 17 85.0
54 V. Tayoun ILB 39 7 2.0 1 0 4 73.5
20 C. Tierney S 38 12 0.0 0 1 7 80.5
92 C. Turner DE 36 25 9.0 22 0 0 81.5
99 M. Rivers DE 36 16 12.0 12 0 1 83.0
93 C. Campbell DT 35 13 4.5 13 0 0 81.2
26 L. Marsh CB 34 8 0.0 0 2 7 83.1
50 L. Roberson OLB 32 16 1.0 0 0 1 70.1
95 H. Stuart DT 27 16 2.0 3 0 0 82.0
29 R. Cox S 26 14 0.0 0 0 1 76.8
25 R. Horn CB 19 9 0.0 0 1 3 78.4
98 S. McKenzie DE 19 8 4.0 4 0 1 82.1
52 L. Wilcox OLB 16 6 0.0 3 3 1 84.0


Definitely an improvement on previous seasons, with the defence leading the way - a much-improved pass rush was the key here. There is still work to do on offence, but it appears that things are moving in the right direction.

At QB, Wason was a disappointment - he struggled to move the ball, and was turnover-prone to boot. While Dunmore looks to be a significantly lower-rated player, I can't really argue with the difference in production.

Twisp was bothered by a couple of minor injuries this season, so Escalante got quite a bit of playing time (with a solid backup like Escalante, I was always going to try to share the load a bit). The running game definitely benefitted from the slight change in emphasis in the gameplan, although there is still room for improvement - the offensive line, in particular, didn't perform as well as I had hoped.

I didn't intend to spread the ball around quite as widely as this suggests - think that the lack of a 'go-to' receiver was more to do with having a number of reasonably-talented receivers on the roster. The low catch percentages are likely to be partly due to the QB, but also partly due to the gameplan (I set this up to throw relatively large numbers of longer passes compared to the average).

The big difference on defence was the pass rush, particularly from the defensive ends - DE Rivers had a very solid year as a pass-rush specialist, and starters Turner, Andrews and Campbell also contributed to the improvement here. Last year's first-rounder McKenzie has been slower to develop than I'd like, but has been solid enough as the other starter. Run defence was also solid.

The pass defence benefitted from the improved pass rush, and didn't lose too much when starting safety Valentino was lost for the year early on - Tierney did a decent job in his place. Ross, Crane and Marsh are all top-quality starters, and having players of that quality really helps the defence.

[MartinD]

Wild Card Game

We travel to 10-6 Dallas, a team that has beaten us twice already this season. The Cowboys are strong defensively, particularly against the pass, and have an efficient rather than explosive offence. The Cowboys start as 1 point favourites.

Dallas start out with a long touchdown drive - 16 plays, 74 yards. A penalty-ridden Eagles reply is halted when QB Dunmore is sacked and coughs the ball up, with Dallas recovering. The Philadelphia defence holds strong, though, forcing a punt despite the Cowboys starting in Philadelphia territory. Dunmore loses the handle on the ball again at the end of a forced scramble on the first play of the next drive, however, with Dallas again recovering - this time, the Cowboys manage to get a field goal.

After an exchange of punts, Dallas got the ball near midfield after a good return. This time, they are able to take advantage of the good field position, scoring on a short TD run to go up 17-0. After forcing an Eagles punt, the Cowboys again drive into field goal range before the half, but their kick is blocked, holding their lead at 17-0 at the half.

With a big lead to overcome, the Philadelphia offence was under pressure for the first drive of the second half. They responded in the best way possible, with RB Twisp accounting for all 74 yards on the touchdown drive, including the scoring play, a 48-yard run. Both defences forced punts on the following possessions, but again Dallas's special teams gave them good field position - the Cowboys were able to take advantage, but only with a field goal to extend their lead back to 13 points at 20-7. Despite their best efforts, the Philadelphia offence were unable to get into scoring position the rest of the way - Dallas added a late field goal for insurance to make the final score 23-7.

This is the sort of game that our offence simply isn't built to handle - we don't have the explosive passing game required to pull off big comebacks. With the offence forced to pass more often than we would have liked against a strong pass defence, QB Dunmore had a poor game, completing only 7 of 28 passes (along with his two lost fumbles early in the game). RB Twisp was the best player on the Eagles offence, finishing with 10 carries for 102 yards and a TD. The defence did a great job in this game considering the great field position Dallas had for most of the game (Dallas's average starting position was their own 47), but struggled to stop the Cowboys on the ground (giving up 203 yards on 48 carries).

Houston, who had a perfect 16-0 regular season, completed the job in the playoffs by easing to a comfortable 44-20 win over Chicago in the Front Office Bowl.

Comments on 2011 season

There were definitely encouraging signs this season, with the defence leading the way (1st in yards allowed being the highlight). The offence made progress, but there is still a long way to go - the offensive line needs to improve (although losing top rookie Zack Martin to injury for most of the season certainly didn't help), and we need more stability at the quarterback position - Dunmore was more effective than Wason this season, but Dunmore isn't really anything more than a career backup.

This is a young, developing team, though - I would hope that this is something to build on rather than the high water mark...

[MartinD]

2012 season

Herb's evaluation for 2011: 60/40/63/85, for an overall score of 60 - definite improvement on last year, as you would expect from a first-time playoff team.

The team lost $1.66m on revenues of $153.53m last year - outgo was basically flat, while income increased, mainly due to improved ticket and suite revenue. Attendances did rise a little, but this appears to be more the impact of the ticket price rises implemented last season.

Four retirements this year: QB mentor Brent Woodson, long-time Eagle RB Tito Escalante, T mentor Phil Coffey and DE mentor Jessie Rasmussen.

Tito Escalante was the Eagles' 5th-round pick in the start-up draft, and played for the Eagles for the 6 seasons that the league has been playing. He was the starting RB for the first four seasons, then a solid backup behind first overall pick Bo Twisp for his last two seasons. Despite playing on a losing team for most of his career, Escalante's last game was in the playoffs, where he rushed for 47 yards in a backup role in the 23-7 loss to Dallas. He finishes his career with 1,478 carries for 5,986 yards and 34 TDs, with 16 100-yard rushing games.

The Eagles go into the 2012 season with 39 players signed, and $31.22m of the $128.00m salary cap free. $7.01m of that cap space is expected to be required to sign this year's draft picks - the Eagles have their own picks (ranging from 22 to 26 in each round) other than the third-rounder, plus Dallas's first round pick (obtained in a trade down during last year's draft. The first round picks are 1.23 and 1.25, a big change from the high picks we've had for the last three years.

A time of change for our coaching staff this year, with the head coach, offensive co-ordinator and defensive co-ordinator all being out of contract this year (our scout is contracted to us for another two years, and will be retained). Head Coach Corwin Raymond is still solid, but he's now 65 years old, so I'm at least going to look at the market to see what's available. An interesting prospect is the youngest coach available, 32-year-old Corwin Bandle (G/G/VG/G/A in the appropriate areas), who isn't quite as good as Raymond, but has the potential to be a very solid head coach in a few years time. While there are slightly better head coaches out there (going by current reputation), I like to pick up good coaches young, so I make Bandle an offer to become our new head coach (5 years at $3.8m).

Our offensive co-ordinator, Craig Lewis, is pretty much as good as it gets in a lot of ways (E/A/E/A/G/A), although he is 59 years old (and would be a fairly decent head coach if someone were to make him an offer). Looking at what's available on the market, a few names catch my eye:

Kent Ford (37, G/F/G/G/G/VG - would be a decent fit for a relatively young offence)
Kyle Campbell (43, VG/A/G/A/G/A - solid, but not brilliant - good QB coach, though)
Rob Fisk (56, A/E/A/G/A/A - again, decent but not brilliant)

While Lewis is the best of these guys at QB development (a need for us at the moment given our lack of a bona-fide starter), he isn't all that good with young players, and isn't likely to come cheap given that he's a pretty useful head coach as well. My feeling is that Ford is the best fit for this team at the moment - we don't really need a coach who's good with RB with Twisp there to carry the load, and we have enough young players to make improved development very handy. I offer him a 5-year deal at $1.8m per year.

Defensive co-ordinator J.C. Clemons is a guy I want back if possible - 46 years old, G/G/VG/VG/G. While there may be better DCs out there, there won't be many. I offer him a 5-year deal at $3m per year.

Clemons and Ford accept their deals immediately, while Bandle takes a bit of time to think about our offer - he accepts in week 3, though, and our coaching staff is set for the immediate future.

While we have a few free agents this year, none of them are obvious stand-out players (the best is CB Rick Horn, rated 49/49). The only guy that I'd consider being worth franchising is P Jerome Chubick, rated 44/44 but a solid performer over the last few years (net average of around 36 over the last 3 years). While he isn't great, he's good enough to be worth using the tag on this year, particularly with a franchise salary of only $1.15m.

With only 7 second-year players to choose from, it doesn't take long to decide who's going to Europe for the summer this year. Last year's first-rounders (G Martin and FL Samanta) are already close to fully developed, so I send MLB Vincent Tayoun away for a bit of seasoning.

After a fairly significant bump in ticket prices last year, I decide to keep prices unchanged this year - while our ticket prices are relatively low in comparison to others around the league, our financial position is fairly solid.

[MartinD]

2012 Free Agency

A good bit of work to do in free agency this year, with a number of roster spots to fill and a sizable proportion of our signed players (17 of 40, including franchisee Chubick) only signed for one year.

Goals for free agency and the draft:
- find a solid RB to back up Twisp - Lynch is a useful guy to have on the roster, but not a guy I'd want to rely on as a #2 back
- pick up a bit of quality and depth on the offensive line, particularly at guard (where last year's top pick Zack Martin is currently the only guy signed)
- find guys to slot in at 4th in the rotation at DE and DT
- get some more strength in depth (and special team skills) at LB
- pick up a solid CB to be nickel or dime back, as last year's nickel back (Rick Horn) is a free agent, and is getting towards the end of his career in any case

And above and beyond all that - try to find a solution at QB!

Two derisory trade offers are received at the start of free agency, which are turned down without much thought. (One was for QB Wason - he didn't play well last year, but is worth more than a 6th-round pick and a scrub CB, the other for C Place, who's a solid starter and worth more than a 6th round pick to the team.)

Renegotiations and restricted free agent signings:
RB Andrew Lynch - $2.10m over 2 years (useful guy to have on the team - good scatback)
FB Donny Driggers - $750k over 1 year (I'd like to have a better FB in a run-based offence, but he's solid enough)
TE Xavier Sudnik - $750k over 1 year (decent receiving backup TE and special teams ace)
SE Teddy Donohue - $750k over 1 year (useful backup receiver and kick returner)
FL Ray Sims - $7.80m over 3 years (receiver mentor, and still a solid player in his 8th year - will be our slot receiver this year, with Samanta starting at FL)
FL Winston Hadley - $1.13m over 2 years (useful backup receiver and special teamer)
RG Trent Champion - $1.00m over 1 year (injury replacement picked up during last season - solid young player)
LT Norman Huffman - $30.30m over 6 years (solid starter at LT, and still improving)
K Matt Oden - $9.00m over 4 years (a lot for a kicker, but he's been reliable the last few years)
RDE Moe Rivers - $4.50m over 3 years (wanted to tie up a good situational pass rusher - good deal for a guy with 12 sacks last year)
RDT Blaine Andrews - $14.80m over 4 years (has been a good player for this team since the league started 6 years ago - also a DT mentor)
LCB Conrad Allison - $2.04m over 2 years (good nickel/dime back)
RCB Phillip Crane - $25.00m over 5 years (important part of a good defence)
FS Charlie Tierney - $1.75m over 2 years (played well last year when Valentino was injured - good backup)

These moves leave us with 44 players signed and $9.96m cap room free (after allowing for the expected $7m cost of signing draft picks).

With QB continuing to be an issue for this team, I go back to have another look at a guy I tried to acquire through trade a couple of seasons ago. QB Keith Hutchins was the first overall pick in the 2008 draft, but things haven't worked out well so far for him. Now in his 5th year, he's only started 12 games in his career, and appears to be stuck on the bench behind a mediocre starter with the Browns, which he is not happy about at all. He's rated at 24/73, with solid potential in most categories. Despite his lack of playing time, he still appears to be a good prospect to develop into a solid starter at the least. My only concern is that he appears to have a little bit of trouble hanging onto the ball (with 8 fumbles on 30 carries and 16 sacks). Despite Hutchins being glued to the bench in Cleveland, the Browns are unwilling to trade him - well, was worth investigating <shrug> (particularly with the lack of QB talent on the free agent market).

This is the part of the season where the temptation is to load up on mid-quality free agents willing to sign for veteran minimum or just over - the problem with this is that these guys take up roster spots that would otherwise go on younger guys (who hopefully have a bit of potential to be developed...). While I want to make sure that I have reasonable veteran depth where required, I don't want to go too far this way.

Of the Eagles free agents, I only really want to resign one - WLB Larry Roberson (solid all-round linebacker, willing to sign for a little over veteran minimum - offered $2.15m over 2 years - signed in week 4). After looking at the thin pickings on offer at guard, I also make an offer to RG Ian Huffman ($5.85m over 3 years - signed week 9).

Other free agent offers:
LCB Alonzo Blake - $1.94m over 2 years (decent backup defensive back - signed week 5)
RB Todd Harless - $1.19m over 2 years (a decent backup, and will contribute on special teams - signed week 7)

[MartinD]

2012 draft

Going into the draft, the main needs (that I'm likely to be able to deal with during the draft!) are:
- depth on the offensive line
- (quality) depth on the defensive line

Apart from that, I feel I can go after the best player available (unless I feel that there's a QB worth going after...)

A lot longer to wait than usual this year - we've had a very early pick in each draft so far, but only two in the mid-20s this year. A strong class for defensive ends sees five DEs taken in the first seven picks. As the Eagles' first pick approaches, two of the higher-rated QBs in the draft are still available - Irving Sweeney is more polished, but doesn't appear to have a lot of upside, while Darrin Horn looks to be a better prospect, but would need a lot more development time. Miami make the decision on which QB I go after (if I want to go with QB) by taking Horn at 1.21. Other prospects worth taking here are:

RDT Dixon Austin (5.9/6.4) - undersized DT who may be better at DE, not a great combine, but would contribute immediately
WLB Shannon Long (6.2/6.0) - made a good impression on scouts, solid combine, reasonably polished - will start pretty quickly
LCB Isaac Frederick (5.7/5.9) - good combine, well developed, solid cover corner
RCB Jamal Dillon (5.7/5.9) - also a good combine, but a much more developmental prospect than Frederick - would contribute more on special teams though
SLB Benjamin Nordland (6.0/5.8) - similar to Long, but slightly different spread of skills - also a potential starter in a hurry

With a number of players who would be useful additions to the team, I'm seriously considering a trade up using my second-rounder here - there are a lot of solid prospects remaining at this point.

While QB is a very important position, I'm finding it difficult to decide if I want to go after a QB here - I already have 3 respectable QBs on the roster. Dunmore showed that he can run the offence last year, while I'm sure that Wason has a lot still to offer (the problem here is that I don't know if I want to suffer through the growing pains of his development - while he's a 5th year player, he is still relatively raw) and I haven't totally given up on Watkins yet. Sweeney looks like a guy who would end up as about a 50-60 rated QB tops, so I don't think he's worth taking at this point, particularly when there are other players I feel would benefit the team immediately.

While LB is a weakness, I know that I'll be able to get one of the guys I mentioned above if I go another way with 1.23 (as I also have 1.25). The team is relatively young at DE/DT (although I see Austin as a DE rather than a DT), and you can only really have two DEs on the field at a time - corner, on the other hand, is a position where the backups see a good bit of playing time, and my top CB (Marsh) is likely to start to decline soon (as he's in his 8th year). While Dillon is less developed than Frederick, I see him as having a higher upside given a bit of time to develop (which he will get, as a nickel or dime back this year), so our first pick this year is RCB Jamal Dillon (36/68).

None of my targeted players is taken at 1.24, so we're back on the clock at 1.25 with the same guys to choose from. Having taken a corner already, Frederick has moved down the list a bit - he's good value at this point (IMHO), but not a need pick now. I feel that I'm reasonably set on the defensive line, so linebacker is the pick here. The most likely vacancy at starting linebacker is at WLB, where Guerra is solid without being anything more, and Shannon Long looks to be the better fit there (he's a good pass-rusher with useful speed for a LB (4.47 40)). He also seems to be a good fit personality-wise with front seven leader Moe Rivers, so should feel at home pretty quickly. Our pick at 1.25 is WLB Shannon Long (50/63 - if these hold up, he'll start immediately at WLB).

Our next pick is 2.22, but there may be good value in trading up here - we're relatively deep at most positions, so a high-quality player is likely to be of more use to the team than a couple of lower-round picks for depth, particularly in a draft like this (which appears to be pretty deep at the top end). QB Sweeney is a possible target (maybe not worth a first-rounder, but could be worth a look at the top of the second), while DT/DE Austin would also be worth trading up for. It was asking a lot for these guys to drop, though, as they were 1 and 2 on the big board after my second pick at 1.25, and they went at 1.26 (Austin) and 1.27 (Sweeney). Looking down the board, it appears that there are a few QBs who may be starter-potential who may be available with in the later rounds, so I'm probably better to leave QB for now. LB Nordland goes at 1.31, but LB wasn't really a priority after taking Long earlier.

Into the second round, and there are a few guys I'm looking at:
T Wendell LeGay - not an overpowering blocker, but would be a solid addition (and may be able to start at RT fairly quickly)
T Sammy Tanner - solid all-round lineman, but will need a bit of time to develop
CB Isaac Frederick - possible target with the first round picks - very good value in the second round - picked at 2.5 (and is a steal there - rated 35/67)
RB Andy Heavener - not a threat to break the long run, but good strong runner with decent hands - picked at 2.1 (and looks to be good value there)

I decide to trade up to acquire pick 2.13, sending Oakland 4.26 and our second round pick next year - a high price, but this draft is strong enough to justify the trade. The target is LT Sammy Tanner, who projects as a high-end starter - the initial impression of 27/74 bears this out. It's likely that he'll have to play somewhere else on the line initially, but I feel that I've picked up a quality player here.

We still have our original second-round pick (2.22) to use - I feel the biggest remaining needs now are offensive guard and defensive line (while I could get by with the guys I have already, there are players on the draft board who would be significant upgrades (IMHO)). The top guards remaining on the board are Willie Jordan and Emmitt Blair - Jordan is the better prospect, but isn't the best athlete, while Blair will be able to block all day long. An alternative offensive lineman is RT Jim Britton - a guy who would need a lot of development time, but has serious upside. The defensive end prospects don't look all that strong, but there are a couple of interesting players at DT - Donnell Hanks is an undersized and raw tackle (who would project to end) with a significant upside, but more in run defence than pass rush, while Irv Warren is a big solid defensive tackle (while this is not a need position right now, a guy to develop over a couple of years would be useful). I can live with the guys I have on the DL, so go for G Willie Jordan (initial rating 39/65).

We now have no pick until the 5th round - I'm really looking for a backup RB and developmental QB with the remaining picks, and maybe a run-blocking FB if one is available.

There are a couple of decent but flawed QBs available at 5.25 - Zack Drummond is a solid-looking passer who has a bit of trouble reading defences, while Leon Fillion struggles on the mid-range passes. Both are fairly well-developed for late round QBs, but I feel that Drummond is more likely to be a decent passer (and he can hold on kicks too, which is a nice little bonus). The pick here is QB Zack Drummond (initial rating 26/66).

With our sixth-round pick, I go after a fullback - the best available is Claude Gaylord (not the best name for a football player, but if you make fun of him, he'll block you into next week... :p). He's rated at 24/48 immediately after the pick. The seventh-round pick was intended to go on a backup RB, but I see an intriguing run-stuffing DE who projects to DT (at 6' 6", he'd better be able to bulk up from 290!) Omar Harden is our last pick in this draft (rated 20/45).

Detroit come in with a trade offer immediately after the draft - their fourth round pick next year for QB Jeremy Wason. If I'm being totally honest here, I've lost a bit of confidence in Wason as a potential starter, particularly after the promising initial signs from rookie Zack Drummond (there are also a couple of decent-looking rookie free agent QBs I intend to pursue). Why Detroit want a QB I don't know - they have a 4th-year guy who's better than Wason, and drafted a guy fairly high in the first round this year - but I'm not going to argue here, and accept the trade. You have to take a few risks to fill holes in your roster, and trading for Wason is a gamble that has failed on me <shrug>.

Four of our rookies accept their initial contract offers - first-rounder Long and second round picks Tanner and Jordan decide to wait for a better offer. Seventh-round pick

Harden is switched from LDE to RDT - his rating goes from 20/45 to 19/48

Late free agency offers:
QB Leroy Tittle (15/42) - $870k over 2 years (signed week 1)
QB Billy Alton (15/44) - $870k over 2 years (signed week 3)
RB Robbie Bradley (31/51) - $870k over 2 years (signed week 2)
LDE Trevor Hickman (19/41) - $870k over 2 years (signed week 3)
LDE Sedrick Saylor (21/38) - $870k over 2 years (signed week 1)
P Bennie Ballard (41/67) - $870k over 2 years (signed week 3)
QB Bubba Tanaka (27/27, mentor) - $1.20m over 1 year (signed week 2)

(Yes, this is the same Bubba Tanaka that was demanding to be traded away from the Eagles a couple of seasons ago...).

The remaining rookies sign contracts at the end of free agency - this, in addition to the late free agency signings, leaves us with 4.72m cap room free and 61 players signed.

At this point, we head to training camp.

[MartinD]

A look at rookies before and after camp

Acquired Before After Change
QB Zack Drummond 5.25 26/66 25/56 -1/-10
QB Leroy Tittle FA 15/42 16/42 +1/0
QB Billy Alton FA 15/44 15/39 0/-5
RB Robbie Bradley FA 31/51 30/47 -1/-4
FB Claude Gaylord 6.24 24/48 24/41 0/-7
RG Willie Jordan 2.22 39/65 41/62 +2/-3
RT Sammy Tanner 2.13 27/74 30/65 +3/-9
P Bennie Ballard FA 41/67 40/64 -1/-3
LDE Sedrick Saylor FA 21/38 21/39 0/+1
LDE Trevor Hickman FA 19/41 19/42 0/+1
RDT Omar Harden 7.23 19/48 20/43 +1/-5
WLB Shannon Long 1.25 50/63 57/65 +7/+2
LCB Jamal Dillon 1.23 36/68 21/43 -15/-25


A mixed bag - the big disappointment is CB Dillon, who's gone from future starter to struggling to make the team - while this would mean a cap hit of almost $6m next year, it would save me carrying a guy who isn't going to contribute much. QB Drummond's drop in potential is a bit disappointing, but not unexpected - he's still in the mix to get some playing time at QB this season.

On the other hand, it looks like I've found a few solid players - the two rookie free agent DEs look like they'll be decent players (and may mean that DT Harden is vulnerable), while OLB Long looks like a very solid player.

Quick roster note: Before getting around to starting the cutdown to 53, I decide to switch the offensive tackles round - Huffman looks a more natural RT, while rookie Sammy Tanner is a solid all-round blocker, and looks better suited to LT. This switch doesn't do much to ratings - Huffman is now 52/52, while Tanner goes to 28/68 (-2/+3).

[MartinD]

2012 roster and training camp cuts

As usual, a run down the roster with comments on the players in each group.


Philadelphia Eagles Roster, Scout Overview

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntr
Tanaka, Bubba 14 QB 14 22 22 1
Dunmore, Edwin 13 QB 4 32 32 1
Watkins, J.T. 11 QB 3 29 41 3
Tittle, Leroy 19 QB 1 16 42 2
Drummond, Zack 10 QB 1 25 56 3
Alton, Billy 12 QB 1 15 39 2

I want to keep 4 QBs at the most, so a couple of guys to cut. A mentor is
useful with all these young QBs, so Tanaka is safe (although he's likely to be
the fourth QB). Watkins still has decent potential, and Drummond looks like a
guy who could be decent, so they'll make it onto the final roster. This means
that the final decision is between Dunmore, Tittle and Alton. While Tittle has
reasonable potential, I know what I'm getting with Dunmore - a solid but
limited player who's not going to hurt the team too much. The cuts here are
the two rookie free agents, but I'll be keeping an eye on Tittle.

Lynch, Andrew 33 RB 4 29 29 2
Twisp, Bo 35 RB 3 83 83 3
Harless, Todd 38 RB 2 30 34 2
Bradley, Robbie 31 RB 1 30 47 2
Driggers, Donny 34 FB 4 41 41 1
Gaylord, Claude 36 FB 1 24 41 3

Twisp is the starter here, and I like what Lynch offers the team as a
backup/scatback. Driggers is our starting FB, which leaves Harless, Bradley
and Gaylord on the bubble. Training camp wasn't good to Gaylord, and he
isn't as good a blocker as I thought he might be - he's a FB more suited to a
passing offence. Harless and Bradley both offer something useful to the team
- Harless is a decent backup who'll contribute on special teams, while Bradley
appears to be the back most suited to being the main backup runner. Gaylord is the only cut here.

Cox, Lewis 88 TE 8 68 68 2
Grice, Stephen 86 TE 4 47 47 1
Sudnik, Xavier 89 TE 4 36 36 1

Probably the most settled position on the team - these guys all have a role,
and carry it out well.

Sims, Ray 87 FL 8 52 52 3
Browning, Ike 83 FL 3 41 41 3
Hadley, Winston 84 FL 2 30 49 2
Samanta, Antoine 82 FL 2 64 72 3
Rosano, Clifton 80 SE 7 56 56 4
Donohue, Teddy 81 SE 4 41 41 1

The only change here is at starting flanker, where Samanta will take over from
Sims, who'll still see plenty of playing time as our slot receiver.

Place, David 61 C 9 48 48 4
Watkins, Darrin 62 C 3 36 47 1
Champion, Trent 64 LG 3 24 44 1
Martin, Zack 68 LG 2 71 89 4
Huffman, Ian 65 RG 5 45 45 3
Jordan, Willie 67 RG 1 41 62 3
Patton, Otis 73 LT 7 36 46 1
Tanner, Sammy 76 LT 1 28 68 3
Huffman, Norman 72 RT 4 52 52 6
Leal, Herb 75 RT 3 48 48 1

Probably the strongest offensive line I've had in the time I've been with the
Eagles - I have used a few high draft picks here recently, though, and it
shows. This is a relatively young group with a lot of potential. The starting
five are likely to be Tanner, Martin, Place, Jordan, Huffman (from left to right)
- Place is the vet (9th year), with Huffman the only other guy who's has any
decent experience (Martin hardly played last year due to injury).

Chubick, Jerome 6 P 6 44 44 1
Ballard, Bennie 5 P 1 40 64 2
Oden, Matt 2 K 6 66 66 4

While Ballard has a slightly stronger leg than Chubick, I know what I'm getting
with the veteran - a solid punter who's going to give us decent field position.
Oden is a very solid kicker who deserves the extention he received this
offseason.

McKenzie, Spencer 98 LDE 3 42 63 3
Saylor, Sedrick 90 LDE 1 21 39 2
Hickman, Trevor 94 LDE 1 19 42 2
Turner, Cornell 92 RDE 7 53 53 4
Rivers, Moe 99 RDE 4 42 42 3
Stuart, Harris 95 LDT 7 47 47 3
Campbell, Christian 93 LDT 4 78 78 2
Andrews, Blaine 96 RDT 7 68 68 4
Galloway, Wayne 97 RDT 2 22 37 2
Harden, Omar 91 RDT 1 20 43 3

A couple of cuts to come from this group. DEs McKenzie, Turner and Rivers
are safe, as are DTs Harris, Campbell and Andrews. The two rookie free agent
DEs had a good training camp, and both are big enough to play DT if required.
Harden and Galloway are both run-stuffers, while Hickman and Saylor offer a
bit more in terms of pass-rush. It's a tough call, as all four are at a similar
level right now, but I feel that Saylor and Hickman are going to be better
players in time. The cuts here are Galloway and Harden, with one of the DEs
likely to be shifted to DT at some point.

McClurken, Kenneth 53 MLB 7 60 60 2
Tayoun, Vincent 54 MLB 2 46 55 2
Adamski, Ricky 57 SLB 7 53 53 3
Wilcox, Lenny 52 SLB 3 32 36 2
Guerra, Max 56 WLB 7 47 47 4
Roberson, Larry 50 WLB 5 43 48 2
Long, Shannon 51 WLB 1 57 65 4

The starters here are McClurken in the middle, Adamski on the strong-side and
rookie Long on the weak-side. MLB Tayoun had a good summer in the
developmental league, and is now a solid backup. With the drafting of Long,
we have a bit of a logjam at WLB - Guerra is able to play SLB, though, which
eases that problem. The cut here is Wilcox, who has contributed in previous
seasons, but is now obviously the weakest player on the roster in this position
group.

Marsh, Lorenzo 26 LCB 8 78 78 2
Blake, Alonzo 22 LCB 5 32 48 2
Dillon, Jamal 25 LCB 1 21 43 5
Allison, Conrad 21 RCB 7 45 45 2
Crane, Phillip 27 RCB 5 71 71 5
Houston, Wes 28 RCB 2 26 37 2
Ross, Wally 23 SS 7 67 67 2
Cox, Randall 29 SS 2 25 38 3
Valentino, Leon 24 FS 5 62 62 3
Tierney, Charlie 20 FS 3 40 40 2

One cut to be made, and it will be a corner - the four safeties on the roster
are all solid players. The two players on the bubble are Dillon and Houston -
while Houston is definitely the better player, cutting Dillon will have a
significant impact on the cap next year. Our cap situation next year isn't the
best, but I feel that it's worth the one-off pain next year rather than keep a
mediocre player for a few years simply to reduce the cap hit - Dillon is the
player cut for this group.

[MartinD]

Starting lineups going into the 2012 season

Starting on defence, because this side of the ball is pretty settled:

LDE: Spencer McKenzie (3rd year, 42/63) - not the playmaker I had hoped for when I drafted him, but a solid starter
LDT: Christian Campbell (4th year, 78/78) - solid run-stuffer who puts a bit of pressure on the QB
RDT: Blaine Andrews (7th year, 68/68) - not quite the physical force that Campbell is, but is very close - this is a good pair of DTs to build a defence round
RDE: Cornell Turner (7th year, 53/53) - good pass-rusher who plays the run reasonably well
Rush end: Moe Rivers (4th year, 42/42) - pass-rush specialist who sees a lot of playing time in nickel and dime packages

SLB: Ricky Adamski (7th year, 53/53) - good against both run and pass, but not a great pass-rusher
MLB: Kenneth McClurken (7th year, 60/60) - every-down linebacker who isn't exceptional at anything but does everything well
WLB: Shannon Long (rookie, 57/65) - promising youngster, best on the pass-rush, but also decent against the run and in coverage

LCB: Lorenzo Marsh (8th year, 78/78) - shut-down corner who's good enough to be left in single coverage
RCB: Phillip Crane (5th year, 71/71) - decent in coverage, but makes more than his share of big plays
SS: Wally Ross (7th year, 67/67) - decent in run support, but much better in coverage
FS: Leon Valentino (5th year, 62/62) - coming back from a major knee injury, but capable on both run support and coverage
Nickel back: Conrad Allison (7th year, 45/45) - solid backup cover corner
Dime back: Charlie Tierney (3rd year, 40/40) - good coverage defender

A lot of these players were on the roster I inherited in 2009, but I've added a few solid starters through the draft and free agency.

The offence is a lot younger, and a bit more uncertain (particularly at the most important position of all...)

LT: Sammy Tanner (rookie, 28/68) - a bit of a risk putting the rookie on the QB's blind side, but a natural LT who just needs time to develop
LG: Zack Martin (2nd year, 71/89) - should be a dominating blocker after a 'redshirt' year through injury
C: David Place (9th year, 48/48) - solid veteran in the middle of the line
RG: Willie Jordan (rookie, 41/62) - not the strongest blocker, but good technician
RT: Norman Huffman (4th year, 52/52) - pounding run blocker, just switched to his more natural RT position

FL: Antoine Samanta (2nd year, 64/72) - solid all-round receiver will start this year
SE: Clifton Rosano (7th year, 56/56) - good veteran possession receiver - won't make too many big plays, but reliable target in the passing game
Slot WR: Ray Sims (8th year, 52/52) - veteran leader of the receiving group, and still a solid player
4th WR: Ike Browning (3rd year, 41/41) - sure-handed backup receiver

TE: Lewis Cox (8th year, 68/68) - good blocker and big target in the short passing game
FB: Donny Driggers (4th year, 41/41) - decent blocker, but not much more
RB: Bo Twisp (3rd year, 83/83) - power back with good vision, also an accomplished receiver

The obvious place to finish the run-through the line-up is with the QB, but right now I don't know who our starter is! The three candidates are:

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/4762/dunmore20126bo.jpg

The starter for most of last season - did a reasonable job, but it's fairly obvious that he's not going to be able to carry a team on his own. May develop a little further, but is unlikely to become significantly better than he is now.

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/7483/watkins20129ag.jpg

Didn't get the chance to play last season, but is definitely in contention for the starting job this year. Good at the 'secondary' skills, but not the most accomplished passer - needs to show that he can run the offence.

http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/5425/drummond20121ao.jpg

A nice surprise in the late rounds of the draft. The opposite to Watkins in that he can throw the passes, but isn't as strong in the 'intangibles' that you need as a QB. Will be given a chance to play in preseason, but is likely to be the third QB and holder this season.

For what it's worth, the AI-recommended order is Drummond/Watkins/Dunmore...

[MartinD]

2012 preseason

A few minor tweaks to the gameplan this season - slightly less emphasis on the really long passes (particularly if Drummond is our QB), a bit more of a conservative approach on third and very long, and a bit more balanced running on offence, and a change to the balance of blitzing on defence.

I hold out some of our star players for the first three preseason games, and play our full-strength line-up in the final game to allow the guys to get into the groove.

Week 2: Philadelphia 16-3 San Diego
QB Drummond looks like the real deal going by this performance (6/8-110-0-0, before being replaced after a minor injury). J.T. Watkins was certainly not as efficient when he was in the game.

Week 3: Buffalo 10-24 Philadelphia
Another solid defensive performance, with good support from the run offence. Unfortunately, J.T. Watkins struggled again (9/19-114-1-1).

Week 4: Philadelphia 3-10 Oakland
Not much to choose between the teams here other than a pick-six from the arm of QB Watkins. Oakland were able to run pretty well against the Eagles defence, but that isn't too much of a worry with a couple of starting linemen being rested.

Week 5: Miami 3-25 Philadelphia
A bit of a struggle in the red zone, with K Oden making 6 field goals with a long of 37. The return of the starters on the defensive side of the ball made a difference, particularly on the line (LDT Campbell 1.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, RDE Turner 2 sacks)

With Drummond still injured for the first week of the season, I decide to give J.T. Watkins the benefit of the doubt for week 1 (following his reasonable showing in the last preseason game) - Watkins will start, with Dunmore waiting in the wings should he struggle.

[MartinD]

2012 regular season

Week 1: Philadelphia 16-21 Washington
The red zone problems displayed in the last preseason game came back to haunt us again here, with K Oden forced to try three short field goals in the first half. Watkins played reasonably well (20/30-278-1-1), but wasn't able to bring the team back in the late stages.

Week 2: Cincinnati (0-1) 14-30 Philadelphia (0-1)
Three first quarter TDs put the Eagles in control of this game, and the defence did the rest. RB Twisp (28-126-2 rush, 5-35 rec) led the offence, with QB Watkins having another solid showing (15/23-146-1-1).

Week 3: Green Bay (2-0) 3-23 Philadelphia (1-1)
With Bo Twisp leaving the game early on through injury, RB Bradley had to carry the load, and he did with 33 carries for 78 yards and 2 TDs. The defence did most of the work, though, forcing the Packers QB to throw 50 passes and sacking him 9 times, with DE Turner leading the way with 3.5 sacks, 2 hurries and a forced fumble.

RB Bo Twisp suffered a broken foot in this game, and is likely to miss a couple of months.

Week 4: Atlanta (2-1) 17-20 Philadelphia (2-1)
A late Falcons kickoff return for a TD made it close, but the Eagles held out for the win in a tight game. J.T. Watkins (15/25-250-1-1) continued his solid play, with WR Sims getting on the end of an 80-yard TD pass in the third quarter. DE Cornell Turner was the star of the game for the second week in a row, though, with 2.5 of the Eagles' 7 sacks.

RB Robbie Bradley picked up an injury that will see him miss the next month - with three backs unable to play, Bradley was put on IR. Veteran RB Irv Joyner (33/33) was signed as injury cover.

Week 5: New Orleans (2-2) 17-14 Philadelphia (3-1)
Injuries caused us problems in this game - the loss of Twisp meant that the running game was ineffective, and the Saints QB was able to complete passes at will with a couple of DBs not able to play. QB Watkins continues to play solidly (15/23-184-2-2, with one pick thrown in desperation at the end of the game), and the run defence was decent, but the problems with the pass defence were too much to overcome.

Week 6: Philadelphia (3-2) 14-20 Carolina (2-3)
The Panthers dominated the first half, leading 17-0 at the half, and that was too much for the Eagles to pull back. QB Zack Drummond (15/27-181-1-0) replaced ineffective starter Watkins, and led the offence to two TDs, while rookie LB Long led the defence with 11 tackles.

Week 7: Philadelphia (3-3) 13-21 Tampa Bay (2-4)
A similar story to the last couple of weeks - the defence plays a decent game, but the offence can't put enough yardage or points on the board to take advantage.

Week 8: New York (3-3) 27-0 Philadelphia (3-4)
One of those games where nothing worked - the offence couldn't move the ball, while the defence struggled to stop the Giants.

Summary at mid-season


Year 2012
Record 3-5
Winning Pct. .375
All-Time 36-67-1
Winning Pct. .350
Playoffs 0-1
Playoff Visits 1
Bowl Wins 0
Head Coach Wesley Bandle
Record 3-5
Winning Pct. .375
Off. Coord. K. Ford
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 29.6 11
Rushing Yards 101.5 19
Yards Per Carry 3.43 28
Pass Attempts 26.5 30
Completions 14.9 31
Completion Pct. 56.1 23
Passing Yards 176.6 29
Yards Per Attempt 6.67 13
Yards Per Catch 11.87 7
Total Yardage Gained 266.9 30
3rd Down Conversions 25.0 31
Points Per Game 16.3 22 (T)
Pass Rush Pct. 7.8 14
Pass Defense Pct. 66.9 19
Turnovers 13 15 (T)
Turnover Margin -4 24 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 31.0 25
Rushing Yards 96.9 10
Yards Per Carry 3.13 1
Pass Attempts 33.0 17
Completions 19.6 15
Completion Pct. 59.5 17
Passing Yards 207.0 13
Yards Per Attempt 6.27 14
Yards Per Catch 10.55 13
Total Yardage Gained 286.0 10
3rd Down Conversions 44.6 32
Points Per Game 17.5 13
Pass Rush Pct. 4.8 3
Pass Defense Pct. 73.3 26
Turnovers 9 29

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 16 at WAS 21
2 30 CIN 14
3 23 GBY 3
4 20 ATL 17
5 14 NOS 17
6 14 at CAR 20
7 13 at TBY 21
8 0 NYK 27
9 WAS
10 DAL
12 at CLE
13 at SFO
14 BAL
15 at NYK
16 at PIT
17 at DAL

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
11 J. Watkins QB 150 87 1095 7.30 5 7 72.5
10 Z. Drummond QB 62 32 318 5.13 1 2 58.4
**Team --- 212 119 1413 6.67 6 9 68.4
$$Opp --- 264 157 1656 6.27 12 3 88.2

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
33 A. Lynch RB 60 203 3.38 1 1
39 I. Joyner RB 46 171 3.72 2 1
35 B. Twisp RB 39 163 4.18 2 1
31 R. Bradley RB 39 102 2.62 2 2
38 T. Harless RB 23 66 2.87 0 0
11 J. Watkins QB 21 94 4.48 0 5
**Team --- 237 812 3.43 7 13
$$Opp --- 248 775 3.13 4 16

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
81 T. Donohue WR 36 21 300 14.29 8.33 1 0
88 L. Cox TE 32 19 231 12.16 7.22 2 0
80 C. Rosano WR 26 16 175 10.94 6.73 4 2
82 A. Samanta WR 29 15 219 14.60 7.55 2 2
87 R. Sims WR 35 13 264 20.31 7.54 6 1
33 A. Lynch RB 15 10 17 1.70 1.13 0 1
39 I. Joyner RB 14 8 63 7.88 4.50 0 0

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
24 L. Valentino S 40 15 0.0 0 0 1 76.3
51 S. Long OLB 38 11 2.0 3 0 2 74.7
53 K. McClurken ILB 35 13 2.0 2 0 2 78.6
96 B. Andrews DT 32 9 6.0 4 0 0 80.7
93 C. Campbell DT 30 10 2.5 2 0 1 83.0
26 L. Marsh CB 26 0 0.0 0 0 6 75.9
27 P. Crane CB 25 9 0.0 0 2 5 80.7
92 C. Turner DE 21 8 7.0 10 0 0 80.9
95 H. Stuart DT 20 15 2.0 1 0 1 84.7
57 R. Adamski OLB 18 8 0.0 0 0 4 80.0
23 W. Ross S 18 8 0.0 0 0 2 81.9
20 C. Tierney S 18 4 0.5 0 1 5 84.5
50 L. Roberson OLB 17 7 0.0 0 0 0 63.3
54 V. Tayoun ILB 16 2 0.0 0 0 3 75.4
29 R. Cox S 13 3 0.0 1 0 1 82.3
98 S. McKenzie DE 12 2 0.0 6 0 0 81.7
22 A. Blake CB 8 1 0.0 0 0 0 71.5

[MartinD]

Week 9: Washington (6-2) 21-17 Philadelphia (3-5)
Another close loss, as the Redskins put together a long drive late in the game to pinch the win in a close game. QB Drummond again entered the game in relief of Watkins, and played reasonably well, but threw two interceptions and lost a fumble.

While Watkins started the season well, he seems to have regressed a little - instead of continuing to insert Drummond mid-game, I'm going to give Drummond his first start in week 10.

Week 10: Dallas (4-5) 23-17 Philadelphia (3-6)
We turned to QB Drummond to provide a spark - the offence put up its best yardage numbers of the year in this game, with Drummond (13/23-252-2-2) making a few big plays. Unfortunately, Dallas had better field position all game, and were able to take advantage.

Drummond had to leave the game early, and is out for the next month with a knee injury. Instead of going back to Watkins, Edwin Dunmore will start at QB after our bye week. He will have RB Bo Twisp to hand the ball to, though, as our star back is now recovered from his broken foot.

Week 11: Bye

Week 12: Philadelphia (3-7) 21-16 Cleveland (6-4)
The QB may be different, but that wasn't the reason that the Eagles won this game. RB Joyner scored the go-ahead TD with 39 seconds left, his third score of the day, and SE Rosano had 8 catches for 108 yards. Dunmore threw for 220 yards, but also had two interceptions.

Week 13: Philadelphia (4-7) 10-15 San Francisco (4-7)
QB J.T. Watkins was the hero then the villian here, throwing the go-ahead TD with 8 minutes left, then giving up the final score of the game by throwing a pick-six with four minutes to play. DT Blaine Andrews led the defence with 14 tackles and a sack.

Week 14: Baltimore (6-6) 10-20 Philadelphia (4-8)
QB Dunmore threw two TD passes and the defence allowed yardage but not points in a relatively comfortable win.

Week 15: Philadelphia (5-8) 8-23 New York (8-5)
Pretty simple - beaten by the better team here. QB Drummond started on his return for injury, and struggled to complete passes. He's our current QB of the future (for this year anyway :p), though, so will continue to start the rest of the way.

Week 16: Philadelphia (5-9) 19-3 Pittsburgh (11-2-1)
This can be a screwed-up game sometimes... Drummond (17/21-154-1-1) led the offence, while the defence shut down the Steelers.

Week 17: Philadelphia (6-9) 12-35 Dallas (8-7)
Dallas needed the win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, and it showed in this game - they led 35-6 at the half behind two Lee TD passes and two Greene TD runs, which was too much for the Eagles to come back from. QB Drummond did his best, throwing for 267 yards, but also for four interceptions as he tried to force things a bit too much.

A disappointing season, but it's asking a lot to be successful when you don't know who to play at QB... Other injuries (particularly losing Twisp for close to half the year) didn't help, but every team has to live with injuries.

2012 summary


2012 Summary for Philadelphia Eagles

Year 2012
Record 6-10
Winning Pct. .375
All-Time 39-72-1
Winning Pct. .352
Playoffs 0-1
Playoff Visits 1
Bowl Wins 0
Head Coach Wesley Bandle
Record 6-10
Winning Pct. .375
Off. Coord. K. Ford
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 27.9 15
Rushing Yards 102.2 20
Yards Per Carry 3.66 27
Pass Attempts 27.4 30
Completions 15.4 32
Completion Pct. 56.0 27
Passing Yards 188.2 26
Yards Per Attempt 6.86 10
Yards Per Catch 12.24 2
Total Yardage Gained 280.0 26
3rd Down Conversions 27.4 32
Points Per Game 15.9 23
Pass Rush Pct. 7.9 11
Pass Defense Pct. 64.2 25
Turnovers 34 27
Turnover Margin -16 29

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 34.0 31
Rushing Yards 104.3 13
Yards Per Carry 3.07 1
Pass Attempts 30.5 7
Completions 18.9 9
Completion Pct. 61.9 23
Passing Yards 193.0 7
Yards Per Attempt 6.33 10
Yards Per Catch 10.23 6
Total Yardage Gained 282.6 7
3rd Down Conversions 40.4 29
Points Per Game 17.9 17
Pass Rush Pct. 5.9 5 (T)
Pass Defense Pct. 76.4 31
Turnovers 18 29 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 16 at WAS 21
2 30 CIN 14
3 23 GBY 3
4 20 ATL 17
5 14 NOS 17
6 14 at CAR 20
7 13 at TBY 21
8 0 NYK 27
9 17 WAS 21
10 17 DAL 23
12 21 at CLE 16
13 10 at SFO 15
14 20 BAL 10
15 8 at NYK 23
16 19 at PIT 3
17 12 at DAL 35

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
10 Z. Drummond QB 192 101 1242 6.47 5 12 55.5
11 J. Watkins QB 187 106 1315 7.03 7 9 71.0
13 E. Dunmore QB 60 39 454 7.57 2 4 71.1
**Team --- 439 246 3011 6.86 14 25 64.2
$$Opp --- 488 302 3088 6.33 19 7 87.0

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
35 B. Twisp RB 141 495 3.51 2 1
39 I. Joyner RB 115 451 3.92 5 6
33 A. Lynch RB 84 336 4.00 1 1
31 R. Bradley RB 39 102 2.62 2 2
**Team --- 447 1635 3.66 10 25
$$Opp --- 544 1669 3.07 10 26

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
80 C. Rosano WR 68 44 634 14.41 9.32 6 6
82 A. Samanta WR 67 35 498 14.23 7.43 2 3
88 L. Cox TE 55 33 426 12.91 7.75 4 1
81 T. Donohue WR 60 33 487 14.76 8.12 4 0
87 R. Sims WR 69 25 522 20.88 7.57 8 2
39 I. Joyner RB 29 19 108 5.68 3.72 0 0
33 A. Lynch RB 25 17 33 1.94 1.32 0 1
35 B. Twisp RB 24 16 91 5.69 3.79 1 0

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
24 L. Valentino S 77 27 0.0 0 0 4 76.5
96 B. Andrews DT 75 20 8.5 6 0 0 80.6
53 K. McClurken ILB 74 32 3.0 2 0 3 74.1
51 S. Long OLB 71 25 3.0 6 1 2 76.2
23 W. Ross S 56 34 0.0 0 1 6 82.7
27 P. Crane CB 52 12 0.0 1 3 9 78.8
54 V. Tayoun ILB 50 15 0.0 0 0 3 69.7
92 C. Turner DE 46 14 11.0 17 0 0 81.3
26 L. Marsh CB 45 3 1.0 0 1 12 80.1
95 H. Stuart DT 40 22 4.0 4 0 1 83.4
93 C. Campbell DT 38 13 3.0 3 0 1 82.5
57 R. Adamski OLB 35 9 0.0 0 0 4 76.9
50 L. Roberson OLB 30 10 1.0 0 0 0 67.4
20 C. Tierney S 27 8 0.5 0 1 6 82.3
56 M. Guerra OLB 26 12 0.0 0 0 3 73.6
98 S. McKenzie DE 23 11 0.0 11 0 0 81.6
29 R. Cox S 21 9 0.0 1 0 1 78.9


The simple summary is that the offence struggled, and the defence couldn't do enough to bail it out...

The passing game was poor once again - plenty of guys with some catches, but no stand-out receiver. All three QBs were inconsistent - all had good games, all had their problems. My feeling now is that Watkins isn't the guy - he's unlikely to develop much further. The jury is still out on Drummond - he's going to be our guy going to Europe next year, which may help him develop, but he still has a lot to prove. The running game wasn't great - in particular, the offensive line didn't perform as well as I would have hoped - but having to shuffle guys in and out of the lineup doesn't help.

On defence, the yardage numbers are good, but the lack of turnovers hurt the team. The pass rush was decent in parts, but was inconsistent (particularly when we had a couple of linemen out in mid-season). DE Turner was our defensive MVP (with 11 sacks and 17 hurries), and Andrews also had a good year. Rookie LB Long was solid all year, and looks to be a star in the making.

Looking ahead to 2013

We still need to find a QB...

Other than that, it's a case of getting our offensive line to mature and gel before our slightly veteran defence starts to fade.

[DolphinFan1]

A disappointing season, but it's asking a lot to be successful when you don't know who to play at QB...



We still need to find a QB...



Sounds like the Dolphins this year.

[MartinD]

Sounds like the Dolphins this year.

I have a couple of possibilities for the year coming up - Drummond could end up being a decent player given the chance (and we're desperate enough at QB to be able to give him every chance!), and there's a pretty good (but raw) QB in the free agent pool...

Martin

[DolphinFan1]

I've been having some sucess with a 40/40 QB veteran who never really played a lot and I got him in FA and has career highs in TD, completion pct. and QB rating. Of course I have a stud RB and VG receivers.

[MartinD]

2013 season

Herb's evaluation for 2012: 17/49/63/83, for an overall score of 49

The team showed a profit of $4.29m on revenues of $156.60m last year - not a major change from last year, but nice to make a profit.

No retirements this year - we have a relatively young team.

Staff hiring

After the mass changes to the coaching staff last year, no changes are made in that area. I make an effort to sign a better scout, but am outbid - the incumbent, Andrew Baicy, survives for another year.

Pre-Free agency moves

With a young QB in need of development, it's a fairly easy call to send QB Zack Drummond to Europe this summer.

We start the season with 42 players signed and $15.17m of a $131.2m salary cap free - we're expected to need $6.60m to sign our draft picks (picking either 6th or 7th in each round - no second-rounder (traded away to pick up an additional second round pick in last year's draft), but with an extra fourth-rounder). Our cap situation is a bit tighter this year, which is partly due to the cutting of first-round bust CB Dillon last year.

We have a few more free agents this year, but no-one worth using the franchise tag on - we will try to resign a few of our free agents, though.

A small adjustment to ticket prices this year - we're still among the cheapest tickets in the league, and it shouldn't hurt attendance too much. Last year's prices were 35/45/60/70/160/65,000, and have been increased to 40/50/65/75/175/75,000.

[MartinD]

2013 Free Agency

We get a trade offer for QB Zack Drummond, with the Giants offering their fourth-round pick (4.27), but I'm not willing to give up on him just yet.

We have a few restricted free agents, so some contract offers are made before the start of free agency:
C Darrin Watkins: $1.66m over 2 years
LG Trent Champion: $1.70m over 2 years

While RT Herb Leal is a restricted free agent, he's looking for more money than I'd like to give to a backup offensive lineman - he's also a bit one-dimensional, being pretty much a pass-blocker and no more.

A few contract renegotiations:
WLB Larry Roberson: $2.24m over 2 years
RCB Conrad Allison: $2.54m over 2 years
RCB Alonzo Blake: $2.05m over 2 years
FS Charlie Tierney: $1.68m over 2 years

These were more about keeping solid backups from testing free agency next year than anything.

As we go into free agency, we have a few areas that need to be addressed:
- QB (as if I need to mention it again!)
- FB - do we try to bring back Driggers, or do we look for someone else?
- TE - Cox is under contract, but Grice and Sudnik are free agents
- backup OT - our starters are under contract, but Patton is a free agent and Leal's wanting too much money
- P - Chubick is a free agent once again

Everyone on defence is under contract, but we have a few big decisions to make after this year, with a few of our veteran starters only signed for this year.

Even without a second-round pick in the draft, I feel that we can deal with most of our needs through the draft - we should be able to get solid backups in the later rounds. This, along with only having $6.61m of cap space free, means that I don't expect to be very active in free agency.

Offers made in free agency:
QB Bubba Tanaka: $1.23m over 1 year in week 7 - signed week 7
QB Keith Hutchins: $1.78m over 2 years in week 8 - signed week 9 (former first overall pick who never got a chance to play - now in his 6th year, but worth taking a chance on)
TE Xavier Sudnik: $1.78m over 2 years in week 7 - signed week 8
LT Otis Patton: $2.16m over 2 years in week 7 - signed week 7
P Jerome Chubick: $1.97m over 2 years in week 7 - signed week 7

(all offers are for the veteran minimum salary, so are reasonably cap-efficient)

These signings leave us with 49 players signed and $3.52m cap room free (after allowing for the expected cost of signing draft picks) - with our relatively light free agency period over, we head for the draft.

[JetsIn06]

I've really been enjoying your dynasty. I have a question for you. I see that after training camp that you have their pre and post TC ratings. Do you do that by hand? Or are you using an outside program? Or could it possibly be in game somewhere? Thanks and keep it up!

[Izulde]

FWIW, I'd keep sticking with Dunmore. The team seems to play better with him.

[MartinD]

I've really been enjoying your dynasty. I have a question for you. I see that after training camp that you have their pre and post TC ratings. Do you do that by hand? Or are you using an outside program? Or could it possibly be in game somewhere? Thanks and keep it up!

Thanks :) I've been enjoying writing it - means that I'm having to take a bit more time to play the game, but I'm really getting into this team (even though I have no connection with Philadelphia or the Eagles at all!) - and it's a bonus if there are people out there who are enjoying reading...

Have been doing that by hand - I'm (usually!) putting the ratings immediately after drafting into the draft report, so have those available. It does take a little time, but isn't too big a deal for a dozen or so players - I'm also finding it useful to see the before/after, as this gives you a decent idea of what to expect from your rookie players in the future.

Martin

[MartinD]

FWIW, I'd keep sticking with Dunmore. The team seems to play better with him.

I can see where you're coming from with that, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Dunmore is one of those guys who's good enough to make you competitive (i.e. in the playoff mix pretty much every year) but isn't going to be able to lead you deep into the playoffs. The team as it is now is a pretty good place for a young QB - very solid defence and good supporting cast on offence (think Pittsburgh when they first started Roethlisberger...), so being competitive doesn't necessarily depend on how good the QB is.

Dunmore is a free agent in 2013, and I decided not to resign him - have been keeping an eye on a QB (Keith Hutchings, drafted 1st overall by Cleveland a few years back - poster boy for how not to treat a highly-rated young QB) for a couple of years, and managed to sign him in free agency this year. He's only in the 20s on current rating, but still has 70+ potential - IMHO, a guy worth giving a shot, particularly for a 2-year minsal contract.

I also have Drummond, who should develop into about a 40-45 rated guy (if I have any feel for QB development in this version...)

Martin

[MartinD]

2013 draft

With no franchice-calibre QB prospects in the draft, we don't really have any major needs to be filled with our first-round pick (1.7), although I feel that it may be worth looking at drafting a potential replacement for one of our veteran starters on defence, with MLB McClurken, CB Marsh and S Ross all in the last year of their current contracts, and all in at least their 8th year. We also have DT Campbell in the last year of his rookie contract - it's likely that he'll be our franchise player next year, unless we have enough cap room for an extension this year. Another possibility is to trade down a bit in the first round in order to pick up extra picks later on (would be nice to get a second-rounder if possible...)

Despite the lack of top QBs available (from my perspective), three passers are taken in the first five picks - this was a surprise, as it's not like this was the Class of 1983 or anything! There are a few guys I'm interested in here:

DE Dana Landrum (6.7/7.4) - solid pass-rushing defensive end
FS Jerome Jordan (7.6/7.2) - highly rated safety, would be a great replacement for Ross - high volatility is a concern
RB Neal Rivers (6.4/6.8) - no combine, but looks to be a quality back - not a need position, though, as we have Twisp
CB Nathan Kato (6.5/6.7) - best corner on the board, and would contribute immediately - good kick returner, too
TE Jumbo Drake (7.3/6.4) - not a highly regarded position, but this guy is worth taking high

None of these guys would start immediately, and I would be happy to take any of them (although maybe not this high), so I investigate potential trade-downs. I don't want to move down more than about 5 or 6 spots (as this would bring too much risk of not getting one of the guys I want), but none of the teams in that area are willing to give up a second-round pick, even if I include one of our fourth-rounders. Given that we have to use this pick, I go with FS Jordan, who's initially rated at 67/89, and may be able to convert to cornerback.

Our next pick is 3.7, so we have a long wait (and not much ammunition to trade up with). Of the other players targeted with our first-rounder, TE Drake goes at 1.8 (81/84), CB Kato is taken at 1.11 (56/73), RB Rivers at 1.12 (58/63) and DE Landrum with 1.15 (39/65). I don't see anyone worth trading up for, so we wait until 70 players have gone until we're on the clock again. This isn't as deep a draft as last year's, but there are still a few solid players available - a couple of safeties look like solid players, but I go with a center - Jason Giedhill had a decent combine, and looks to be a potential starter in a year or two (a good thing to have with current starter Place in his 9th year). Giedhill is initially rated at 30/64.

There's a run on defensive backs during the third round, with all but one of the guys I'm looking at being taken by 3.27. Our next pick is 4.6, so I'm not confident that he's going to be there for our pick. The cost of trading up is higher than I'm willing to pay, though (don't want to give up more than a 6th to go with our first fourth-rounder), so I hang on for a few picks longer. I eventually make a trade with Cincinnati - 4.2 for 4.6 and 6.6, a high price to pay for a small move, but I really like the guy I'm targeting. FS Vincent Harper is the pick - initially rated at 25/61, he looks to be a solid DB who'll contribute on special teams and returns until he develops as a defensive back.

Our next selection is the last pick in the fourth round. At this point, with 3 picks left (4.32, 5.7 and 7.7), I'm hoping to find a guy to start at FB, a backup TE and a backup OT. There are a few guys I like left at each position, so working out which positions to go after here is more about guessing which position I'm most likely to get one of them in the 7th round... My TE list has fewest guys on it, so our pick at 4.32 is TE Tony Barnes (initially rated 19/43), a big TE with decent receiving skills.

At 5.7, while I feel that OT is more likely to be in demand than FB, I'm looking for a starter at FB - backups are easier to find than startable guys. The best FB left on the board is D.J. Troyer, who isn't great at anything, but looks to be a solid blocker, runner and receiver (and is decent on special teams as well). He's initially rated at 26/56, so looks to be a decent choice at this point.

The calculated risk of leaving backup OT until the 7th round works, as the guy I would have taken at 5.7 is still there at 7.7. RT Roderick Chapman will need a bit of time to develop, but had a decent combine, and looks to have sufficient upside to be a potential starter if everything works out. He's initially rated at 12/62.

I manage to get Harper, Troyer and Chapman signed with our initial contract offers - Jordan and Giedhill reject their initial offers, and I'm going to hold back on offering Barnes a contract until I've had a look to see what TEs are in the undrafted free agent pool (as he doesn't look as good as I had hoped when I picked him).

A few offers go out to undrafted free agents:
TE Craig Dawkins (27/49): $890k over 2 years in week 1 (looks a better prospect than the guy I drafted- signed week 3)
C Ty Burgess (18/68): $890k over 2 years in week 1 (too good a player not to make an offer to - signed week 1)
LT Daryl Malek (10/51): $890k over 2 years in week 1 (huge run-blocker - worth taking a look - signed week 2)
P Patrick Hill (43/72): $890k over 2 years in week 1 (looks to have a big leg - worth bringing in to see what he can do - signed week 3)
FL Conrad Burnside (19/47): $890k over 2 years in week 5 (good special-teamer with a bit of potential - signed week 5)

I manage to get rookie FS/CB Jordan and C Giedhill to sign contracts before heading to camp, but decide not to offer TE Barnes a contract, as I feel that Dawkins is a better player, and I don't want to offer Barnes a deal then have to cut him (which is the most likely outcome right now).

With a greater need at CB than S, I look to convert Jordan to LCB, where he can back up current starter Marsh for a year before stepping in to start - the change goes through fairly smoothly (95% conversion, ratings go from 67/89 to 62/89), so it looks like I may have a solid replacement for Marsh once his contract expires at the end of the season.

With over $4m of cap room free (and 59 players signed), I look to do a bit of renegotiation with a couple of veterans before heading to camp. I want to get LDT Christian Campbell signed to a long-term extension, but he's looking for a bit more money than the team has in cap room - will probably have to use the franchise tag on him. SS Wally Ross is in his 9th year, but is still a very good player - he receives a 5-year extension worth $17.00m (with a $4.5m bonus). The other veteran I would like to keep around is TE Lewis Cox - also in his 9th year, but still very capable, and a quality starter. He accepts a 4-year deal worth $12.00m (with a $4.0m bonus) - he may play out this contract, but it wouldn't be too painful to let him go if he can make it through the next couple of years.

While there is still a bit of cap room free ($2.72m), there are no other players I want to extend (and can afford to extend!) at this point - the only other possibility is MLB Kenneth McClurken, but he's in his 8th year and I have 3rd-year MLB Tayoun as a backup at the moment, who should be able to step in next year.

With contract negotiations finished for just now, the team heads to training camp.

[MartinD]

Rookies before and after camp

Acquired Before After Change
FB D.J. Troyer 5.7 26/56 27/55 +1/-1
TE Tony Barnes 4.32 19/43 19/42 0/-1
TE Craig Dawkins FA 27/49 28/46 +1/-3
SE Conrad Burnside FA 19/47 21/44 +2/-3
C Jason Giedhill 3.7 30/64 31/56 +1/-8
C Ty Burgess FA 18/68 19/61 +1/-7
LT Daryl Malek FA 10/51 10/44 0/-7
RT Roderick Chapman 7.7 12/62 15/54 +3/-8
P Patrick Hill FA 43/72 41/67 -2/-5
LCB Jerome Jordan 1.7 62/89 61/89 -1/0
SS Vincent Harper 4.2 25/61 24/53 -1/-8


A bit of a mixed bag, but it always is with a class of rookies. Some of the draftees look pretty good (particularly 1st-rounder Jordan, who looks like a shutdown corner waiting to happen), but there were some disappointments, particularly C Giedhill and SS Harper.

I picked up C Burgess with the intention of switching him to G, but forgot to make the switch before camp - his ratings go from 19/61 to 21/61. He's not going to live up to his potential, but I can see him ending up in the 40-45 range given time.

Post-camp roster and cuts

One trade offer after camp - Indianapolis want 2nd year OLB Shannon Long in exchange for their first-rounder next year. Given that Long figures to be an integral part of our defence for the forseeable future, it's an easy decision to turn this trade down.

With 59 players signed, 6 cuts need to be made to get us down to the 53 we'll take into the season.

Philadelphia Eagles Roster, Scout Overview

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntr
Tanaka, Bubba 14 QB 15 17 17 1
Hutchins, Keith 18 QB 6 26 73 2
Watkins, J.T. 11 QB 4 31 41 2
Drummond, Zack 10 QB 2 27 52 2

Hutchins and Drummond are the guys fighting it out for the starting QB
position this year. Watkins wasn't all that impressive when given his chance
last year, so will be the 3rd QB, while Tanaka is there purely to be a mentor to
Drummond - we're in trouble if Tanaka sees the field this year.

Lynch, Andrew 33 RB 5 26 26 1
Twisp, Bo 35 RB 4 81 81 2
Harless, Todd 38 RB 3 34 36 1
Bradley, Robbie 31 RB 2 29 44 1
Troyer, D.J. 37 FB 1 27 55 3

Twisp is the unquestioned starter, with Harless the main backup. Lynch is our
scatback, and Bradley will probably be inactive for most of the year. Troyer
will step straight in and start at FB.

Cox, Lewis 88 TE 9 62 62 4
Sudnik, Xavier 89 TE 5 34 34 2
$$Barnes, Tony 85 TE 1 19 42 --
Dawkins, Craig 86 TE 1 28 46 2

Cox is starting to slip a little, but is still a very solid starter at TE. Dawkins
will be the main backup, and will be a contributor on special teams. Sudnik is
our top special teams guy.

Sims, Ray 87 FL 9 53 53 2
Browning, Ike 83 FL 4 41 41 2
Hadley, Winston 84 FL 3 37 48 1
Samanta, Antoine 82 FL 3 73 73 2
Rosano, Clifton 80 SE 8 53 53 3
Burnside, Conrad 81 SE 1 21 44 2

Pretty settled group here - Samanta and Rosano are the starters, Sims the
slot receiver and Hadley the fourth receiver. Browning hasn't developed as
well as we had hoped, but is a solid backup receiver this year. Burnside is a
project who's strictly a special-teamer this year.

Place, David 61 C 10 46 46 3
Watkins, Darrin 62 C 4 36 46 2
Giedhill, Jason 63 C 1 31 56 3
Champion, Trent 64 LG 4 27 45 2
Martin, Zack 68 LG 3 80 89 3
Huffman, Ian 65 RG 6 44 44 2
Jordan, Willie 67 RG 2 48 60 2
Burgess, Ty 60 RG 1 21 61 2
Tanner, Sammy 76 LT 2 36 64 2
Malek, Daryl 69 LT 1 10 44 2
Patton, Otis 73 RT 8 36 36 2
Huffman, Norman 72 RT 5 54 54 5
Chapman, Roderick 78 RT 1 15 54 3

With 13 guys here, this is a prime area for some cuts. LT Malek needed to
have a good camp to make the team, so is an easy cut. At guard, I prefer
rookie free agent Burgess over Champion, but don't want to release the
4-year player, who has been a solid backup over the last couple of years. RG
Huffman is a solid backup, but is making what I would consider to be starter
money, so is cut (this means that I'll have $550k of dead cap next year, but I
can live with that - our cap situation looks to be a bit better next year). I
would ideally like to keep all three centers, but I have a feeling that I'll need
the roster spot - Watkins is a solid backup and special-teamer (at worst), and
is the offensive line leader (with good affinities with a couple of our starters),
so will be on the roster, so I need to cut either veteran starter Place or rookie
Giedhill. The cap hit is similar either way, but Place is more valuable to the
team (as a starter and veteran influence). It hurts to cut a high-round
rookie, but Giedhill's bad camp doesn't bode well for his future development.

Chubick, Jerome 6 P 7 45 45 2
Hill, Patrick 4 P 1 41 67 2
Oden, Matt 2 K 7 66 66 3

Chubick isn't a great punter, but he is good at what he does well, which is not
allow opposing returners much chance of a return (despite having power only
in the mid-30s, he's posted a net punting average of over 37 yards in each of
the last two seasons). Hill has a stronger leg, but is likely to produce more
returnable kicks, so I have to stay with the veteran here. Oden continues to
be a solid, reliable kicker.

McKenzie, Spencer 98 LDE 4 49 62 2
Hickman, Trevor 94 LDE 2 21 42 1
Turner, Cornell 92 RDE 8 54 54 3
Rivers, Moe 99 RDE 5 40 40 2
Stuart, Harris 95 LDT 8 39 39 2
Campbell, Christian 93 LDT 5 79 79 1
Andrews, Blaine 96 RDT 8 65 65 3
Saylor, Sedrick 90 RDT 2 24 42 1

Pretty settled group here - the top 6 are fairly obvious, and I'm happy enough
with Saylor and Hickman to keep them on the roster.

McClurken, Kenneth 53 MLB 8 61 61 1
Tayoun, Vincent 54 MLB 3 51 51 1
Adamski, Ricky 57 SLB 8 52 52 2
Guerra, Max 56 SLB 8 40 40 3
Roberson, Larry 50 WLB 6 44 44 2
Long, Shannon 51 WLB 2 73 73 3

Again, a settled group (although I will have to start thinking about replacing
some of the veterans soon). The starters will be Adamski, McClurken and
Long, but the other three are all solid players.

Marsh, Lorenzo 26 LCB 9 70 70 1
Jordan, Jerome 25 LCB 1 61 89 5
Allison, Conrad 21 RCB 8 43 43 2
Blake, Alonzo 22 RCB 6 45 45 2
Crane, Phillip 27 RCB 6 60 60 4
Houston, Wes 28 RCB 3 29 29 1
Ross, Wally 23 SS 8 67 67 5
Cox, Randall 29 SS 3 28 36 2
Harper, Vincent 32 SS 1 24 53 4
Valentino, Leon 24 FS 6 63 63 2
Tierney, Charlie 20 FS 4 40 40 2

The veterans are starting to slide a little bit, but this is still one of the
strengths of the team. Marsh, Jordan and Crane will be our top three corners
(with Jordan probably not a starter to go into the season, but probably
replacing Crane fairly quickly), and the safety pairing will be Ross and
Valentino. The cuts here are fairly easy, with the two rookies replacing
Houston and Cox.


$$ - player is suspended, ## - player is inactive,
** = player is injured, %% - player is on IR.

Players Under Contract: 59
Inactive: 0
On Active Roster: 59

Salary Cap: $131,200,000
Cap Room: $2,720,000
Maximum for New Player: $3,220,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $6,140,000

Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $0
Cap Room Required Next Year: $108,600,000


One more renegotiation before starting the season - CB Lorenzo Marsh is still a starting-calibre corner in his 9th year, and will be a good mentor to our top rookie Jordan. He's looking for a 3-year deal, which is perfectly acceptable to me (as he'll be a very solid nickel back at the worst for the duration of this deal) - we agree to a 3-year deal worth $17.1m (with $7.5m in bonus).

[MartinD]

The annual look at the QB position

A slightly different look to the starting QB battle this year with the addition of a promising veteran (if that's not a contradiction in terms!).

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/7410/watkins20136gi.jpg

While J.T. played fairly well last year (106/187-1,315-7-9 - 71.0 qbr), he just doesn't look like a long-term solution to our starting QB problem - nice guy to keep around as a backup, but not a guy you really want to be the starter. He's going to start the year as the third QB, and is unlikely to see much playing time unless there's an injury to one of the other guys.

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/5171/drummond20137aw.jpg

While he didn't put up particularly impressive numbers last year (101/192-1242-5-12 - 55.5qbr), he showed a better ability to get the ball downfield than Watkins, and was able to avoid pressure and hang on to the ball better (sacked 11 times, only 1 fumble, compared to 15 sacks/5 fumbles for Watkins). He has shown signs of improvement since last year, and will be given the chance to win the starting QB position in preseason.

http://img226.imageshack.us/img226/2526/hutchins20138qg.jpg

This year's new candidate for the QB position is a veteran with very few miles on the clock - my feeling was that bringing him in on a 2-year veteran minimum contract was a no-risk proposition. Hutchins was drafted first overall in 2008 to be Cleveland's QB of the future, but that future never arrived, with the Browns deciding to stick with a mediocre veteran over the promising youngster for the last 5 years. Hutchins has started 10 games as an injury replacement without distinguishing himself (career QB rating of 64.8), but hasn't been given the chance to make a team his own. While he is still raw, he appears to have top-end starter potential - the issue here is whether he will be able to play enough in what is left of his career to fulfil that potential.

http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/2329/dunmore20136oc.jpg

One other option is to resign a previous candidate for the position, Edwin Dunmore. I can't see me doing this, though, unless we have a rash of injuries at the QB position, as he doesn't appear to be more than a mediocre veteran at this stage of his career.

The other previous candidate for our starting QB position was Jeremy Wason, who we traded to Detroit after training camp last year. After a year playing backup for the Lions, he's now surfaced in Houston, where he appears to be the primary backup behind a 75-rated starter. Wason is currently rated at 37/60, but is unlikely to see much playing time this year.

[MartinD]

2013 preseason

A few changes to the gameplan going into this season - while these are very minor on the defensive side of the ball, the offensive gameplan has been changed a fair bit (more balanced, more emphasis given to the short passes) in order to better fit what our QBs do well. The intention for preseason is to give Drummond and Hutchins roughly equal time on the field, then to make a decision on who the starter is going to be.

We start the season with a roster rating of 100, which we share with Denver, Houston and New England.

Week 2: Philadelphia 9-30 Houston
A nice easy starter, I don't think! Neither quarterback distinguished himself, with the best performance by an Eagle coming from WLB Shannon Long, who had 6 tackles and 2 interceptions.

Week 3: Cincinnati 19-7 Philadelphia
Not a good day for the offence, with our only points coming on a punt return for a TD. QB Hutchins was solid without making any big plays, while Drummond was put into a catch-up situation.

Week 4: Tennessee 13-34 Philadelphia
A very efficient performance from QB Hutchins (14/16-101-2-0) has probably won him the starting job. This game was more about the defence, though, with the Titans backup QB being victimised for 3 interceptions in a 9/28 performance.

Week 5: Philadelphia 15-13 Baltimore
Solid performance on both sides of the ball here. Both QBs were decent in this game, but Hutchins made sure of getting the nod for week 1 with another good showing (12/15-94-1-0).

Only minor injuries going into the regular season, with four players struggling to be fit for week 1.

[MartinD]

2013 season

Week 1: Philadelphia 21-14 New York
Two teams at opposite ends of the preseason power ratings, so (somehow!) Philadelphia go into the game as 20 point favourites! As usually happens when the spread is that wide, the game was much closer, with the Eagles offence not really clicking for most of the game. QB Hutchins capped an efficient performance (15/20-122-1-0) by throwing for the winning score, hitting SE Rosano from 18 yards out.

Week 2: Denver (1-0) 31-10 Philadelphia (1-0)
Denver got ahead early with two first-quarter TDs in this game, and just kept pulling away. RB Twisp led the offence with 19 carries for 106 yards and a TD, but the Eagles running game was taken away by the situation.

Starting RG Willie Jordan was lost for the season with a muscle tear during this game (and was put on IR immediately afterwards), so a bit of shuffling on the offensive line will be required.

Week 3: Philadelphia (1-1) 27-3 Seattle (1-1)
RB Twisp (28-129-1) led the offence on three TD drives, and the defence shut down Seattle's offence in a comfortable win. DT Andrews led the defensive effort with 4 tackles and 2.0 sacks, while OLB Long had 6 tackles and an interception.

Week 4: Minnesota (0-3) 14-17 Philadelphia (2-1)
A 20-play, 99-yard drive taking up over 8 minutes of the fourth quarter was the back-breaker for Minnesota here. The Eagles pounded it out on the ground, with RB Twisp (32-160) having his best game as a pro, which allowed QB Hutchins (20/29-131-1-1) time and space to operate. The highlight of a solid display by the Philly offensive line was LG Martin, who was 7/13 on key run blocks, with 3 pancake blocks.

FL Antoine Samanta picked up an injury during this game, and will miss the next two weeks. This leaves us short of a kick returner, so 2nd-year FL Richard Dinstel (17/34) was signed to help out on special teams and returns.

Week 5: Detroit (2-2) 17-37 Philadelphia (3-1)
A solid display on both sides of the ball for the Eagles, who moved the ball at will on the Lions defence, and held highly-rated Detroit QB Bo Fiebelkorn to 18/43-265-1-2. RB Bo Twisp (32-174-2) continued his great form, with good support from QB Hutchins (19/34-134-1-1), while CB Jordan recorded his first interception as a pro. The Eagles defence produced only one sack, but managed to rack up 9 hurries, 5 knockdowns and 7 passes defenced.

Week 6: Philadelphia (4-1) 20-10 Green Bay (2-3)
Another 100-yard day for Bo Twisp (26-110-1) was the key for the Eagles in a solid road victory. QB Hutchins (23/34-192-1-1) provided solid support in the passing game, and the Philadelphia defence shut down the Packers passing attack, forcing three Green Bay turnovers.

CB Phillip Crane was lost for the season after seriously damaging his ACL during this game - he's been placed on IR. We have reasonable cover in the defensive backfield, so no replacement has been signed for the moment.

Week 7: Philadelphia (5-1) 27-20 Washington (2-3)
A slightly shaky offensive performance, with QB Hutchins (21/31-215-1-2) throwing a couple of picks, but the defence was able to pick up the slack, sacking the Redskins QB 6 times - DE Turner led the way with 2 sacks, 2 hurries and 2 knockdowns.

Week 8: Bye

Week 9: Philadelphia (6-1) 10-7 Chicago (5-2)
A defensive struggle was won by the Philadelphia defence, which held the Bears to 194 total yards and no offensive points. Bo Twisp (29-84-1) scored the Eagles TD with a 1-yard run, and K Oden booted the winning points, a 19-yard field goal with less than 2 minutes to play.

[MartinD]

Mid-season summary


2013 Summary for Philadelphia Eagles

Year 2013
Record 7-1
Winning Pct. .875
All-Time 46-73-1
Winning Pct. .387
Playoffs 0-1
Playoff Visits 1
Bowl Wins 0
Head Coach Wesley Bandle
Record 13-11
Winning Pct. .541
Off. Coord. K. Ford
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 36.8 1
Rushing Yards 163.5 1
Yards Per Carry 4.45 6
Pass Attempts 26.9 31
Completions 17.9 27 (T)
Completion Pct. 66.5 7
Passing Yards 157.9 31
Yards Per Attempt 5.87 24
Yards Per Catch 8.83 30
Total Yardage Gained 314.5 15
3rd Down Conversions 39.3 8
Points Per Game 21.1 13
Pass Rush Pct. 9.7 1
Pass Defense Pct. 72.1 7
Turnovers 10 9 (T)
Turnover Margin +4 9 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 23.3 5
Rushing Yards 84.8 2
Yards Per Carry 3.65 4
Pass Attempts 35.3 26
Completions 19.0 13
Completion Pct. 53.9 3
Passing Yards 207.3 15
Yards Per Attempt 5.88 8
Yards Per Catch 10.91 25
Total Yardage Gained 269.9 2
3rd Down Conversions 31.9 9
Points Per Game 14.5 3
Pass Rush Pct. 5.0 3
Pass Defense Pct. 64.6 11
Turnovers 14 11 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 21 at NYK 14
2 10 DEN 31
3 27 at SEA 3
4 17 MIN 14
5 37 DET 17
6 20 at GBY 10
7 27 at WAS 20
9 10 at CHI 7
10 NYK
11 at DAL
12 KCY
13 TBY
14 at OAK
15 DAL
16 at SDO
17 WAS

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
18 K. Hutchins QB 202 137 1191 5.90 6 7 78.6
**Team --- 215 143 1263 5.87 6 8 75.8
$$Opp --- 282 152 1658 5.88 11 8 72.7

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
35 B. Twisp RB 205 912 4.45 6 1
38 T. Harless RB 49 207 4.22 2 1
18 K. Hutchins QB 21 98 4.67 0 1
33 A. Lynch RB 19 91 4.79 2 0
**Team --- 294 1308 4.45 10 7
$$Opp --- 186 678 3.65 2 10

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
35 B. Twisp RB 40 30 179 5.97 4.48 2 0
80 C. Rosano WR 29 21 230 10.95 7.93 2 2
82 A. Samanta WR 27 17 175 10.29 6.48 1 2
88 L. Cox TE 25 16 132 8.25 5.28 0 0
87 R. Sims WR 27 13 192 14.77 7.11 2 1
84 W. Hadley WR 23 13 162 12.46 7.04 4 0
38 T. Harless RB 11 8 31 3.88 2.82 0 0

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
51 S. Long OLB 33 15 0.5 1 2 2 81.6
53 K. McClurken ILB 30 10 1.0 0 1 2 79.1
57 R. Adamski OLB 24 9 1.0 0 0 1 74.2
23 W. Ross S 23 9 0.0 0 1 2 80.0
93 C. Campbell DT 23 11 1.5 4 0 0 82.5
96 B. Andrews DT 21 10 4.0 7 0 0 80.6
25 J. Jordan CB 20 3 0.0 0 2 2 80.1
92 C. Turner DE 19 9 8.5 18 0 0 81.6
29 C. Allison CB 18 7 0.0 0 0 8 82.1
21 L. Valentino S 18 7 0.0 0 0 8 83.2
26 L. Marsh CB 16 5 0.0 0 1 4 80.3
99 M. Rivers DE 16 5 7.0 7 0 0 82.5
98 S. McKenzie DE 16 3 3.5 2 0 0 80.2
54 V. Tayoun ILB 16 7 1.0 0 0 0 67.0
20 C. Tierney S 14 1 0.0 1 0 3 80.1
95 H. Stuart DT 8 4 1.0 2 0 0 80.9
56 M. Guerra OLB 8 3 0.0 0 1 1 85.7
50 L. Roberson OLB 8 0 0.0 1 0 1 73.1
27 P. Crane CB 8 3 0.0 0 0 2 81.2


So this is what a decent offence looks like... :p

The addition of QB Hutchins, combined with a move to a slightly more balanced offence, has definitely paid dividends. While Hutchins' strong point isn't getting the ball down the field, he's accurate enough on the short passes to force opposing defences to respect the pass, which has given Twisp and the O-line a lot more freedom to work.

On defence, we're stopping the run, getting pressure on the opposing QB and making it tough for the other team to move the ball - pretty much what we've been doing for the last few years, but a bit more support from the offence makes the defence look a whole lot better.

[MartinD]

Week 10: New York (5-3) 14-15 Philadelphia (7-1)
This one did not look good for a long time, with the Giants leading most of the way, but the Eagles scored 9 points in the last 3 minutes to sneak the victory. The defence played a great game, forcing four turnovers, but the Philly passing game struggled, with Hutchins (16/32-107-1-1) not quite firing today.

Week 11: Philadelphia (8-1) 34-7 Dallas (4-5)
A very solid road win against a divisional rival, and it didn't look like going any other way after the Eagles scored the first 24 points of the game. RB Twisp (25-95-2) scored two of the three Eagles rushing TDs, and FL Samanta returned a punt 91 yards for a TD.

Week 12: Kansas City (6-4) 3-23 Philadelphia (9-1)
A very good team performance here, with the defence holding strong (the only KC score came after an Eagles fumble) and the offence moving the ball methodically behind QB Hutchins (16/24-188-1-0) and Twisp (27-101-1). The defensive standouts were DE Rivers (2 sacks) and CB Jordan (2 pass defences, 3 forced fumbles).

Week 13: Tampa Bay (7-4) 0-20 Philadelphia (10-1)
This one was all about the defence, as Tampa Bay could only muster 154 total yards and turned it over 3 times. Rookie S Harper had 2 picks, but the defensive star was MLB McClurken, who had 7 tackles and 2 sacks.

At 11-1, the Eagles have already clinched the division title, with New York and Dallas next best in the NFC East at 6-6. The next best record in the NFC belongs to Carolina (9-3), so the goal now is to try and clinch a first round bye and homefield advantage for the playoffs.

Week 14: Philadelphia (11-1) 20-10 Oakland (7-5)
A hard-fought road win in a defensive struggle. DE Connell Turner was the leader of the Eagles defence with 5 tackles and 2.5 sacks, while QB Hutchins (18/25-134-1-1) and FL Sims (5-74) helped provide enough offence to take the victory.

Week 15: Dallas (6-7) 17-21 Philadelphia (12-1)
Another game where our opponent must be saying 'how the **** did we lose that one?' Dallas led 17-7 when the Eagles got the ball at their own 20 with less than 4 minutes to play, but an 80-yard TD drive, followed by a Cowboys fumble and Twisp TD run turned the game on its head. RB Twisp (27-126-2) was the leader on offence, with G Martin (5/9 KRB, 2 pancake) and C Place (5/8 KRB, 1 pancake) clearing the way.

Week 16: Philadelphia (13-1) 6-13 San Diego (4-10)
The winning run had to end at some point, and better for us to lose a game now than a playoff game in a few weeks time. The Chargers played solid ball-control football and were able to keep the Eagles offence out of the endzone, despite the efforts of Bo Twisp (23-125).

With a few injuries in the secondary (CB Jordan and S Tierney will miss at least the next couple of weeks), veteran FS Ray Walsh (13th year, 32/32) was signed at this point to provide a bit of extra depth.

Week 17: Washington (4-11) 0-38 Philadelphia (13-2)
A good comeback after the poor performance in week 16, with the Eagles dominant on both sides of the ball. The offence was close to unstoppable, led by RB Twisp (29-128 rush, 5-37-2 rec) and QB Hutchins (21/24-237-4-1), while the defence held the Redskins to 173 total yards.

Our final 14-2 record is best in the league (Pittsburgh are next best at 13-2-1), and 3 games ahead of the next best in the NFC (Carolina, at 11-5).

[MartinD]

2013 regular season summary


2013 Summary for Philadelphia Eagles

Year 2013
Record 14-2
Winning Pct. .875
All-Time 53-74-1
Winning Pct. .417
Playoffs 0-1
Playoff Visits 2
Bowl Wins 0
Head Coach Wesley Bandle
Record 20-12
Winning Pct. .625
Off. Coord. K. Ford
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 38.3 1
Rushing Yards 154.9 1
Yards Per Carry 4.05 14
Pass Attempts 25.5 32
Completions 17.2 30
Completion Pct. 67.4 1
Passing Yards 145.8 32
Yards Per Attempt 5.72 24
Yards Per Catch 8.48 30
Total Yardage Gained 295.8 19
3rd Down Conversions 34.3 22
Points Per Game 21.6 7
Pass Rush Pct. 9.2 1 (T)
Pass Defense Pct. 76.1 1
Turnovers 17 1 (T)
Turnover Margin +19 1

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 22.8 1
Rushing Yards 86.1 1
Yards Per Carry 3.79 6
Pass Attempts 35.3 28
Completions 18.7 5 (T)
Completion Pct. 53.0 1
Passing Yards 187.9 6
Yards Per Attempt 5.33 2
Yards Per Catch 10.05 8 (T)
Total Yardage Gained 253.9 1
3rd Down Conversions 29.2 1
Points Per Game 11.3 1
Pass Rush Pct. 5.2 2
Pass Defense Pct. 64.4 10
Turnovers 36 1 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 21 at NYK 14
2 10 DEN 31
3 27 at SEA 3
4 17 MIN 14
5 37 DET 17
6 20 at GBY 10
7 27 at WAS 20
9 10 at CHI 7
10 15 NYK 14
11 34 at DAL 7
12 23 KCY 3
13 20 TBY 0
14 20 at OAK 10
15 21 DAL 17
16 6 at SDO 13
17 38 WAS 0

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
18 K. Hutchins QB 390 265 2242 5.75 15 11 83.7
**Team --- 408 275 2333 5.72 16 12 82.9
$$Opp --- 564 299 3006 5.33 16 21 62.4

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
35 B. Twisp RB 410 1727 4.21 12 4
33 A. Lynch RB 106 370 3.49 4 1
38 T. Harless RB 49 207 4.22 2 1
18 K. Hutchins QB 43 174 4.05 0 1
**Team --- 612 2479 4.05 18 12
$$Opp --- 364 1378 3.79 3 33

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
35 B. Twisp RB 68 52 336 6.46 4.94 2 2
88 L. Cox TE 56 40 290 7.25 5.18 2 0
87 R. Sims WR 63 35 459 13.11 7.29 3 2
80 C. Rosano WR 53 34 390 11.47 7.36 4 5
82 A. Samanta WR 37 22 233 10.59 6.30 1 2
84 W. Hadley WR 35 21 276 13.14 7.89 4 2
37 D. Troyer FB 22 18 69 3.83 3.14 0 2
33 A. Lynch RB 16 16 61 3.81 3.81 0 0

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
53 K. McClurken ILB 71 21 3.0 1 1 6 78.5
51 S. Long OLB 60 23 0.5 2 4 11 84.3
21 L. Valentino S 53 19 0.0 0 0 9 79.2
57 R. Adamski OLB 48 19 1.0 1 0 2 72.5
23 W. Ross S 48 21 0.0 0 4 6 84.7
93 C. Campbell DT 44 18 4.0 12 0 0 81.8
92 C. Turner DE 40 11 17.0 26 0 0 80.5
25 J. Jordan CB 37 16 0.0 0 3 9 82.4
54 V. Tayoun ILB 34 9 1.0 1 1 1 73.1
29 C. Allison CB 31 9 0.0 0 3 13 86.3
26 L. Marsh CB 29 12 0.0 0 1 11 81.6
20 C. Tierney S 25 3 0.0 1 0 3 78.2
96 B. Andrews DT 24 12 4.5 9 0 0 80.6
99 M. Rivers DE 24 10 8.5 12 0 1 82.9
95 H. Stuart DT 23 12 2.0 3 0 0 80.4
98 S. McKenzie DE 23 9 5.5 5 0 0 81.1
56 M. Guerra OLB 16 5 1.0 0 2 1 85.2


This is still a run-first offence, but the addition of Hutchins (and the slight changes to our offensive scheme) meant that opposing defences had to respect our passing game as well. RB Twisp had the sort of season that you want to see out of a back taken first overall in the draft, while Hutchins was very solid and very accurate - his performance this season makes it hard to believe that he didn't get a chance to play in Cleveland. While not shown in the summary above, the offensive line also had a very good year, hitting on 34.1% of key run blocks and allowing only 12 sacks - LG Zack Martin led the way with 55/142 on KRBs, plus 17 pancake blocks, while not allowing a sack.

Despite the improvement on offence, the defence is the strength of this team - very difficult to run against, and passing isn't much easier. DE Turner had a career year, but pretty much everyone on the defence made a contribution.

The team now has a week to rest up before our divisional playoff game, which is very handy with a few minor injuries to starters.

[MartinD]

2013 playoffs

Divisional playoff

Sixth-seeded wild card Tampa Bay managed to upset Chicago on the road, and are rewarded with a trip to Philadelphia to play the #1-seeded Eagles.

The Bucs are a solid team, led by veteran QB Ted Medlock and rookie WR Jerry Raymond on offence and a solid young defensive line. They have already played the Eagles this season, with Philadelphia posting a 20-0 home victory.

While the bye week has allowed most of our injured players to recover, rookie CB Jordan will play this game despite a niggling hand injury. QB Drummond picked up a knock when he came on in relief of Hutchins in week 17, so J.T. Watkins will be the backup QB for this one.

On a cold but sunny day in Philadelphia, the Bucs won the toss and sent their offence out first. This decision proved to be wise, as they drove the ball down the field, RB Wilkens scoring on a 21-yard run to put Tampa up 7-0. A solid return by Samanta put the Eagles in good position to reply, though, and RB Twisp scored from 20 yards out to tie the score at 7. A Rivers sack ended Tampa's next drive, but left Philadelphia deep in their own end - Twisp and Hutchins moved the ball methodically down the field, though, putting together a 13-play drive capped by Twisp's second TD run of the day, this time a 7-yarder.

The Bucs weren't put off by this setback, though, with QB Medlock throwing a 31-yard TD strike to WR Raymond to tie the score at 14 five minutes into the second quarter. While both offences were able to put drives together, the only scoring chance in the remainder of the first half was a long FG try by Philadelphia, which was blocked by the Bucs. The game remained in the balance at half-time, with the teams level at 14-14.

Parity on the scoreboard didn't last long when the teams came out for the second half, though - a short Tampa kickoff to open the third quarter was returned for 83 yards and a TD by Samanta to put the Eagles ahead by a TD once more at 21-14. After the defences forced three and outs on the next three possessions, Philadelphia put together a solid drive on the back of Bo Twisp, with the RB ending the drive with his third TD of the day from 21 yards out - Eagles lead 28-14. The 14-point lead didn't last long, however, as Tampa KR Alstatt returned the resulting kickoff 86 yards for a TD, bringing the Bucs back within a TD with 5 minutes left in the third quarter.

After forcing the Eagles into a three-and-out, the Bucs were moving the ball downfield when SLB Adamski picked off Medlock near midfield. The Philadelphia offence was unable to muster a first down, punting as the third quarter ended, but the Bucs were also unable to move the ball. The Eagles couldn't get into scoring range on their next possession, but were able to pin Tampa back in their own end - the Bucs put together a decent drive to change field position, but had to punt before they got to midfield. A 27-yard Twisp run got the Eagles past midfield with 6 minutes remaining, but Hutchins was picked off as he tried to find his RB with a short pass on the next play. The Medlock to Raymond combination moved the Bucs into Eagles territory, but the Philly defence kept them out of the red zone - Tampa were forced to kick a field goal to make it 28-24 with 3:39 left in the game.

As you would expect, the Eagles turned to RB Bo Twisp to try to run out the clock - the star back was able to pick up one first down, forcing Tampa to use all of their timeouts, but a false start penalty forced the Eagles to punt, leaving Tampa 1:50 to drive 72 yards for the go-ahead score. The Eagles held the Bucs offence to only 1 yard on 3 plays, but were called for holding on the third down play, giving Tampa a fresh set of downs with 1:15 remaining. Medlock found WR Vlasak for 31 yards to move the Bucs into Eagle territory, but that was as far as the Buccaneers managed to go. Medlock threw a desperation pass on 4th and 20 with 29 seconds left, but S Walsh came up with the pick to seal the Eagles victory.

The game MVP was Philadelphia RB Bo Twisp, who ran for 203 yards on 28 carries with 3 TDs, and caught 4 passes for 28 yards. Other noteworthy performances came from FL Antoine Samanta (5 catches for 68 yards, 5 punt returns for 59 yards, 3 kick returns for 146 yards and a TD), LT Sammy Tanner (5/6 key run blocks) and DT Blaine Andrews (3 tackles, 1 pass block, 4 hurries, 1 pass knocked down).

#2 seed Carolina were comfortable winners over #4 St. Louis, so will travel to Philadelphia for the NFC Championship game.

[MartinD]

Championship Game

The divisional round win over Tampa was not without cost, as several players picked up injuries that will force them to miss the Championship game against the Panthers: TE Craig Dawkins, SS Wally Ross and SS Vincent Harper. FS Charlie Tierney is not sufficiently recovered, and will miss his second straight playoff game. QB Zack Drummond, LDE Spencer McKenzie and LCB Jerome Jordan will suit up despite minor injuries.

With a shortage of healthy bodies in the defensive secondary, SS Harper was put on IR, and 9th-year veteran FS Korey O'Sullivan (38/38) signed to help out. O'Sullivan was released by Denver in week 17, so should be able to help out immediately.

Carolina are a strong passing team with a good defensive front seven - however, they have significant injury problems in the defensive secondary, with 5 players listed as 'out' for this game. 8th-year veteran QB Tyrell Cook leads their offence, with FL Maurellio and SE Sandstrom his main targets.

After winning the toss and receiving, the Eagles drove deep into Carolina territory before FL Sims was stripped of the ball after making a reception inside the Panthers 10. The Eagles defence returned the favour, though, with MLB McClurken picking off a Cook pass and returning it inside the 20. The offence was unable to move the ball, and Oden kicked the field goal to put the Eagles up 3-0. Carolina's next drive stalled near midfield, and a good punt pinned the Eagles back inside their 10. The offence was able to create a bit of breathing room, but Carolina were able to force the punt, giving their offence good field position. QB Cook misfired again, though, as CB Allison picked off his deep pass. The first quarter ended with the Eagles on the march, and Hutchins found FL Hadley in the end zone with the first play of the second quarter to put the Eagles up 10-0.

After the Philadelphia defence forced a three-and-out, the offence went back on the march, mixing Twisp runs with accurate passing from Hutchins. The drive ended with Hutchins dumping a short pass to Twisp and the RB taking it in from 2 yards out to extend the Eagles' lead to 17-0 midway through the second quarter. Carolina aren't the NFC South division champions for no reason, though, and they responded in the best way possible, a Cook-to-Wolfe 37-yard TD pass capping a quick, efficient drive and cutting the deficit to 10. The Carolina defence forced the Eagles to punt on their next drive, and the Panthers offence went back to work - 6 plays, 65 yards, with RB Gonzalez running in the TD from 2 yards out. That wasn't the end of the scoring for the first half, though - FL Samanta fumbled the kickoff, giving Carolina the ball at the Eagles 22. The Philly defence stiffened up, though, and the Panthers settled for a field goal to tie the score at 17 going into the half-time interval.

Carolina got the ball first in the third quarter, but Cook threw his third pick of the day on the first offensive play of the second half, McClurken coming up with his second interception of the game. Both defences came out of halftime fired up, though, with the Panthers forcing a punt despite the good field position for the Eagles. After a Carolina punt, the Eagles went back to their bread-and-butter on offence, putting together a 75-yard drive with pounding Twisp runs and the occasional Hutchins pass, with Twisp ending the drive with his second TD catch of the day, a 14-yard screen pass from Hutchins.

An intentional grounding call stopped a promising Carolina drive in its tracks as the third quarter ended, but the Panthers defence got the ball back, forcing Twisp to fumble the ball deep in Eagles territory. The Philadelphia defence showed its strength, though, forcing Carolina to settle for a field goal after the Panthers had first and goal at the 5 - the game was still up for grabs, though, with the Eagles lead cut to 24-20 with 11 minutes left to play. This Philadelphia team is designed for this sort of situation, though - a pounding running game and strong defence meant that Carolina were unable to advance the ball past their own 30 for the rest of the game, leaving the final score as Carolina 20, Philadelphia 24.

Philadelphia QB Keith Hutchins was the game MVP, completing 17 of 23 passes for 187 yards and 3 TDs - RB Bo Twisp provided solid support, rushing 30 times for 148 yards and catching 6 passes for 47 yards and 2 TDs. MLB Kenneth McClurken was the defensive standout, finishing with 5 tackles and 2 interceptions, as the Eagles defence held a strong Carolina passing offence to 190 yards through the air.

The Eagles will play Pittsburgh in the 2013 Front Office Bowl after the top-seeded Steelers beat Houston 27-17.

[MartinD]

2013 Front Office Bowl

It doesn't always happen this way, but this year's Bowl pits the two strongest teams in the league against each other. Philadelphia have reached the bowl behind the strong running of RB Bo Twisp (1727 yards, 12TDs) and a smothering defence (best in the league for yards allowed (253.9/game), points allowed (11.3/game) and turnovers forced (36)), while the Steelers are here on the strength of QB R.J. Montenegro's passing arm (3598 yards passing, 95.2 QB rating) and FL Ian Ruskowski's receiving ability (95 catches for 1680 yards with 11 TDs).

Pittsburgh go into the game relatively healthy, with only two defensive backs missing the game. Philadelphia, on the other hand, are struggling a bit with injuries, with starting RT Norman Huffman and starting SS Wally Ross missing the game due to injuries suffered during the playoffs, and RG Willie Jordan, CB Phillip Crane and FS Vincent Harper already on IR. A number of Eagles will play despite minor injuries, notably starting CB Lorenzo Marsh (knee) and starting DT Christian Campbell (shoulder).

The Steelers are 1-point favourites heading into the game, so it looks like it's going to be a close one between two evenly-matched teams.

Pittsburgh won the toss, and went on offence first. A solid drive, mixing Montenegro passing and Sample running got them into Philadelphia territory, but the Eagles held them to a field goal try, which K Snowden drilled through the uprights to put the Steelers up 3-0 early on. The Eagles responded in kind, with Twisp and Hutchins keying a solid drive - Pittsburgh's defence came up big on 3rd and 1 at the Steeler 24, though, throwing backup RB Lynch for a 5-yard loss, and Oden kicked a 46-yarder to tie the game at 3. After the Eagles defence forced the Steelers into a three-and-out, the Philly offence went to work - Hutchins made several big throws, including a 34-yard completion to SE Rosano on 2nd and 24 to set up 1st and goal at the 4, and Twisp pounded it in from there to put Philadelphia up 10-3 early in the second quarter.

The Steelers came back with a long drive of their own, but a false start penalty and a Rivers sack took them out of field goal range and forced them to punt the ball back to the Eagles. Strong defence by Pittsburgh forced Philadelphia to go three-and-out, though, and the Steeler offence took advantage of the good field position - Montenegro hit Ruskowski for 37 yards to set up 1st and goal, and RB Sample took it in to tie the game at 10 with 5 minutes of the first half to play. Eagles QB Hutchins wasn't about to be upstaged, though - he moved his team down the field, with backup TE Sudnik a favourite target, but the Steelers defence produced a goalline stand to hold the Eagles to a field goal and a 13-10 lead going into halftime.

A promising Philadelphia drive to open the second half was derailed by two penalties in three plays, forcing a punt. This set the tone for much of the third quarter, with the defences very much on top. Solid special teams play gave the Eagles good field position from this defensive struggle, and Hutchins and Twisp were able to break the defensive stranglehold, driving the ball 50 yards for a TD, with Hutchins finding backup FL Hadley from 15 yards out for the score - Eagles lead 20-10 late in the third quarter.

After an exchange of punts, the Steelers got the ball back in their offence's hands with just over 11 minutes to play and a score a necessity. Montenegro worked the short passing game expertly, with the occasional change-up of a long pass or hand-off to Sample, but misfired on 3rd and goal from the Eagles 10, finding Philly MLB McClurken instead of intended target Zuniga. This let-off spurred the Eagles on, and Pittsburgh were unable to get out of their own half the rest of the way - Philadelphia were able to add an insurance field goal just before the two-minute warning, and the Steelers' last glimmers of hope were extinguished when Eagles DE Turner took Montenegro down on consecutive plays, allowing QB Hutchins to take a couple of snaps from the victory formation and the celebrations to begin. Final score: Philadelphia 23, Pittsburgh 10.

Philadelphia's Keith Hutchins completed his season of redemption with a standout performance in the Bowl game, and was named the Most Valuable Player - 20 completions from 27 attempts for 262 yards and a TD. The Steelers were able to hold RB Twisp in check, but the Eagles passing game was able to pick up the slack, with TE Sudnik (5 catches for 51 yards) and FL Sims (3 catches for 79 yards) the top receivers. On defence, DE Connell Turner had yet another great game, finishing with 2.5 sacks, while MLB Kenneth McClurken had 5 tackles, 0.5 sacks and the vital interception.

On the Pittsburgh side, FL Ian Ruskowski caught 8 balls for 130 yards, with Walton contributing 4 catches for 73 yards. QB R.J. Montenegro had a tough day against a strong Philadelphia pass rush, but still managed to complete 22 of 42 for 275 yards, with 2 interceptions.

[MartinD]

2013 Summary

I think it's safe to say that this season exceeded my wildest expectations - my feeling that a good season for this team was to win 10 games and maybe win one playoff game, so to go 14-2 then add three more wins in the playoffs to be Bowl winners is far beyond what we had any right to expect.

While the offence was much improved this year, this team is built around a strong defence - the three playoff games are a good example of that, with the defence being relied upon to hold on to narrow leads at the end of each game of our postseason run. RDE Connell Turner was our defensive MVP, with 17 regular season and 2.5 postseason sacks and consistent pressure on opposing QBs. The rest of the front seven was very solid, with WLB Shannon Long looking like a steal with the 25th pick of last year's draft - he's now a force in run defence and a good coverage defender. The defensive backfield continues to be very strong, despite the injuries we had this year - CB Lorenzo Marsh continued his high level of play in his 9th year, and rookie CB Jerome Jordan was a solid contributor all year.

A solid offence starts with a strong offensive line, and our line just flat out produced this year. LG Zack Martin proved that he was worth being picked 5th overall with an exceptional season, and the rest of the line followed his example. RB Bo Twisp benefitted from the high quality of blocking and improved passing game to have his best year so far, while QB Keith Hutchins showed that Cleveland were wrong not to give him a chance with a solid first season as a starter.

Season awards

After a season like that, it doesn't come as much of a surprise to find that the team have received a few awards this year:

QB Keith Hutchins: Front Office Bowl MVP
RB Bo Twisp: Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, First Team RB
LG Zack Martin: First Team OG
DE Connell Turner: First Team DE
C David Place: Second Team C
Head Coach Wesley Bandle: Coach of the Year

Looking forward to 2014...

It's going to be tough to follow a season like that...

Even without winning the Bowl in 2013, the next couple of years were going to be difficult - our high draft picks from a few years ago are coming to the end of their rookie contracts, and will require significant pay rises to stay with the team. Several solid veteran players appear to be starting to slip just a little bit, so will need to be replaced over the next couple of years, but we now don't have the high future draft picks that we used to build the team. We appear to have found a QB we can win with, but he's only signed for one more year, and is going to want a lot of money to stay, and our franchise RB has only one year left on his contract. This is still going to be a strong team, but it's going to be tough to keep our key players and maintain reasonable depth yet stay within the salary cap.

Whatever happens, it's going to be a challenge... :)

[MartinD]

2014 season

Herb's evaluation for 2013: 90/55/72/86, for an overall score of 75

Someone's being a harsh marker here - we can't really do much more than go 14-2 and win the Bowl!

The team showed a profit of $32.7m on revenues of $176.0m last year - the extra home games from a playoff run are always welcome from the financial point of view, and costs were relatively flat.

A couple of our veteran players retired at the end of last season - QB mentor Bubba Tanaka and late-season addition FS Ray Walsh.

Staff hiring

Our coaching staff are under contract for the next three years, and I have no intention of looking for replacements at this point.

Scout Andrew Baicy's contract has expired - he's a decent young scout, particularly with QBs and DBs, but does have his shortcomings (VG/F/G/A/G/F/G/VG/A), so I'll see if there are any potential upgrades available on the market this year. Good scouting talent is thin on the ground at the moment, however - the only guy I could see that is a clear improvement on Baicy is 55-year-old Butch Missouri (A/VG/G/E/VG/VG/A/F/A) - not as good with young players as I would like, but definitely very solid at many positions. I

offer Missouri a 5-year deal at $590,000 per year, but he decides to take a slightly higher offer from Atlanta instead. With no other guys I'd be interested in bringing in, I make an offer to Baicy ($500k per year for 5 years), which he accepts in week 3.

Pre-free agency

Last year's hike in ticket prices didn't go down too well with the paying punters, as our attendances dropped by 10% in a season where we only lost 2 games. It probably doesn't come as a surprise that I'm leaving ticket prices well alone this year!

We have a few good players eligible for free agency this year - the two most worthy of the franchise tag are LDT Christian Campbell (6th year, 79/79) and MLB Kenneth McClurken (9th year, 61/61). As I have a decent backup MLB in Vincent Tayoun (who is a restricted free agent, but shouldn't be too expensive to resign), the tag this year goes on Campbell. Using the tag on a DT means a cap hit of $8.19m, significantly reducing our available cap space - we now have $14.76m of a $134.4m salary cap free, with 45 players signed. Our draft picks are expected to use up $5.75m of cap space, leaving us a bit tight to the cap this year.

Next on the agenda is which of our second-year players to send to Europe. Top pick CB Jerome Jordan is already significantly developed (75/89), so I feel that it would probably be a waste to send him over. After that, we have a few guys with potential in the 50s and 60s, but no-one that stands out as being the ideal candidate. The only guy who's pretty much guaranteed playing time is FB Troyer (32/55), who looks as good a guy as any to send (the other guy I was considering was G Ty Burgess, but he's going to be a backup this year with the return of starter Willie Jordan after his season-ending injury).

[MartinD]

2014 Free Agency

We receive a derisory offer from Baltimore for LDE Spencer McKenzie - he hasn't developed into the player we had hoped for when we picked him 11th overall in 2010, but he's a solid starter on our defensive line.

First item on the agenda for free agency is to work out a contract with franchise player Christian Campbell. He's looking for a 4-year deal paying an average of $8.5m-$9m per year (which is a lot of money, but not unreasonable for a high-level starter). We agree on a 4-year, $34m deal with almost $11m of bonus.

We have a few restricted free agents this year, notably our projected starter at MLB, Vincent Tayoun (4th year, 50/50) - he was looking for a 1-year minsal deal to get him through to free agency, but was willing to accept a slightly more lucrative contract to tie him to the team for a bit longer (3 years, $3.30m). Other restricted free agents resigned at this point:

FL Winston Hadley: 1 year, $780k
FL Richard Dinstel: 1 year, $640k

With our starting QB only signed for 1 year (and RB Twisp in the last year of his contract), I would like to sign QB Keith Hutchins up to a long-term extension now rather than have 2 guys looking for silly money at the same time next year. Hutchins is looking for a 5-year deal (which is reasonable for a 7th-year QB), and accepts $25.50m over those 5 years, which is an amount I'm more than happy to pay to a starting QB.

Looking around the guys who are entering the last year of their current deals, the guy that stands out as a 'must-resign' (other than RB Twisp, who'll be franchised next year) is FL Antoine Samanta. With Ray Sims starting to slow down a bit, Samanta will be our starting flanker for the forseeable future, so would be a good guy to tie up for the next few years. He's looking for a 5-year deal, and accepts our $22.50m offer over 5 years.

DE Spencer McKenzie is also in the last year of his rookie deal - as he's only really a two-down DE, his contract demands are fairly reasonable. We agree a 5-year, $18.00m deal that will see him through what are hopefully the best years of his career.

These renegotiations pretty much exhaust our available cap room (48 players signed, with 7 draftees to come, and we have $5.80m cap room free, requiring $5.75m to sign our rookies this year). My feeling is that tying up some of our more important starters on reasonable contracts for the long term is more important than going out and signing free agents on veteran minimum contracts (which is about all we would have been doing this year).

2014 draft

With our lack of cap room limiting our options in free agency, we turn our attention to the draft. We have the 32nd pick in every round this year, so won't be able to go after any of the top prospects. We do have a few needs to be filled, though, mostly regarding depth:

QB: Bring in a young guy to groom as a potential backup, as Watkins and Drummond are in the last year of their current deals
RB: A solid backup is needed to take some of the load off Twisp, who's currently the only RB we have signed
WR: A few guys in the last year of their current deal, so depth would be useful - a guy who can return kicks would be a good pickup too
OL: A potential starter at C would be useful, with Place in his 11th year, and some quality depth would also be handy
DL: We have our starters under contract, but additional quality depth would be useful
LB: SLB Adamski could be replacable, and we need a new backup at MLB

It's a long wait in the first round as 31 picks are made before the Eagles are on the clock. WR appears to be a reasonably deep position this year, with a couple of guys I'm interested in still available at the bottom of the first round - FL Bryce Franklin (5.3/5.5) is a bit raw and doesn't have great hands, but looks to be a decent fit for the scheme I'm running and would contribute on special teams, while SE Blaine Seale (4.9/5.1) looks to be a solid prospect. The other guy I'm considering here is Rickey Rayburn (5.2/5.0), a big OLB who could potentially be an immediate starter at SLB, but would be a solid backup at all three LB positions at worst. I go with Rayburn (36/62), but will see how things go with the receivers, as I feel that Franklin in particular may be worth trading up for.

Franklin (35/62) is taken off the board with the first pick of the second round. Seale drops to the bottom end of the second round, but is taken at 2.22 (initial rating 28/55). When our pick comes up, a few guys catch my eye as potential selections:

FL Josh Musial (4.7/4.9) - good combine, solid special teamer, decent kick returner - would need a bit of time to develop before contributing in the passing game
C Spencer Randolph (5.1/4.4) - very raw, but has the potential to be a solid starter in the middle
DT Aaron Workmon (4.9/5.3) - big run-stuffer who would be a solid backup at worst
SS Wade Bernard (4.8/4.5) - decent-looking safety, useful returner and special teams guy

Given our receiving corps (starters are getting old, and the backups don't look like guys I'd really be wanting to start) and the need to bring in a guy who will be able to return kicks, the pick here is Musial (initally rated at 25/52).

Two of the guys I was looking at for 2.32 go early in the third - Workmon (17/54) at 3.7, Bernard (22/51) at 3.10. Randolph (22/70) is picked just ahead of our third-rounder.

The most likely places to fill a need while getting decent value appear to be RB, DL and OL:

RB Blake Von Hagel (4.5/4.8) - decent runner with some receiving skills
C Devin Jefferson (4.7/4.0) - not the strongest, but solid technique
G Herman Stone (4.5/4.3) - decent pass-blocker, versatile guy who could play any of the interior line positions
DE Butch Reid (4.8/5.3) - run-stopper with a bit of pass-rush ability
DT Deron Holdgate (4.6/5.0) - pass-rushing interior lineman who could contribute straight away
ILB Larry Knoblett (4.5/4.4) - raw, but projects as a starting-quality outside linebacker - good special-teamer too

While LB isn't the biggest need on the team, Knoblett looks like a guy who's going to be picked very soon, so he's our pick at 3.32 - initially rated at 24/64, this looks to be a decent pick.

With a few decent-looking QB prospects available, this looks like a decent draft for finding a backup QB - I want to pick up a decent backup RB too, though, so I'm definitely considering a trade up into the fourth round at this point. A familiar name appears early in the fourth round - TE Tony Barnes, who we picked but didn't sign last year, is taken by Green Bay at 4.4 - a bit high for a guy with his apparent talent level, IMHO. Reid (20/48) goes fairly early in the fourth, Jefferson (17/60) is taken in the middle of the round, with Holdgate (23/31 - good thing I didn't take him!) taken a few picks later. QBs start to come off the board from the middle of the fourth round, with a couple of guys I had been thinking of taking among the players selected. Backup RB is a bigger need than interior O-line right now, so our pick at 4.32 is RB Blake Von Hagel (27/52).

I was half-hoping that Stone would fall to the bottom of the fifth round, but he's taken at 4.14 (initially rated at 26/47). After passing up on QB in the fourth round, this is probably a good place to look for a decent QB - possible candidates are:

QB Ben Webb (4.5/5.1) - will need a lot of development work, but looks to be a decent prospect - decent fit for our offensive scheme
QB Kennedy Guo (4.2/4.8) - not a particularly good fit for our scheme, but should be a decent QB in time
QB Ed Sims (4.2/4.8) - decent fit, reasonable potential, will need time to develop
QB Alex Duffy (4.1/4.7) - most developed of the guys on this list, nice fit, but not the greatest intangibles

Of the guys above, I like Sims best as a potential #2 QB - he should be able to run our system pretty well, and will be able to help out as a kick holder in the meantime. Our pick at 5.32 is QB Ed Sims (15/51). Webb (9/48) goes early in the sixth round, but neither of the other guys are taken before our next pick at 6.32.

The last pick of the sixth round goes on a center that I'd been keeping an eye on for a couple of rounds - Thomas Dawson looks to be a reasonable prospect, and may develop into a starting-calibre centre with time. He's initially rated at 24/57, so will need a bit of time to develop.

As we pick 32nd in each round, we get the chance to pick this year's Mr. Irrelevant. A decent pass-rushing defensive end that I interviewed is still available - Howard Hoedemaker is a bit on the small side to play DE, and he'll need some development time, but will fill a need. Hoedemaker (18/33) is the last pick of this year's draft.

A good year for rookie signings, as only first-rounder Rayburn refuses his initial offer. A few minor positional switches - the most important is Knoblett being changed to SLB (as he was too small to play inside) - this moves his ratings to 23/63.

A few rookie free agent signings:
QB Kirk Lyons (7/51) - $910k over 2 years - signed week 1
QB Alex Duffy (17/50) - $910k over 2 years - signed week 1 (a guy I was looking at drafting...)
RB Rickey Pond (28/45) - $910k over 2 years - signed week 3
RB Curtis Tatum (26/32) - $910k over 2 years - signed week 3
FB Oliver Dunlap (29/55) - $910k over 2 years - signed week 3
DE Leslie Erdich (17/46) - $910k over 2 years - signed week 3
LB Darrin Sanders (12/56) - $910k over 2 years - signed week 4

We get LB Rayburn signed at the end of free agency (then switch him to play on the strong side - ratings now 38/64), and head to camp.

[MartinD]

Rookies before and after camp

Acquired Before After Change
QB Ed Sims 5.32 15/51 15/45 0/-6
QB Alex Duffy FA 17/50 14/39 -3/-11
QB Kirk Lyons FA 7/51 7/42 0/-9
RB Rickey Pond FA 28/45 28/41 0/-4
RB Blake Von Hagel 4.32 27/52 27/49 0/-3
RB Curtis Tatum FA 26/32 26/33 0/+1
FB Oliver Dunlap FA 29/55 29/48 0/-7
SE Josh Musial 2.32 25/52 26/47 +1/-5
C Thomas Dawson 6.32 24/57 27/53 +3/-4
DE Howard Hoedemaker 7.32 18/33 21/32 +3/-1
DE Leslie Erdrich FA 17/46 17/42 0/-4
LB Darrin Sanders FA 12/56 13/47 +1/-9
LB Larry Knoblett 3.32 24/64 23/57 -1/-7
LB Rickey Rayburn 1.32 38/64 11/23 -27/-41


My first rounders seem to be either great players or absolute busts at the moment - unfortunately, LB Rayburn falls in the latter category. Some decent camps among the rookies this year, but not many of them - not one of the best training camps I've had.

2014 Roster

With 62 players on the roster coming out of camp, there are quite a few cuts to be made this year. We do have a lot of players at a couple of positions, though, so it's probably not going to be as hard a job as it would seem on first impression.


Philadelphia Eagles Roster, Scout Overview

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntr
Hutchins, Keith 18 QB 7 37 74 5
Watkins, J.T. 11 QB 5 30 39 1
Drummond, Zack 10 QB 3 28 47 1
Duffy, Alex 13 QB 1 14 39 2
Lyons, Kirk 16 QB 1 7 42 2
Sims, Ed 15 QB 1 15 45 3

The three veterans are safe - Hutchins is the unquestioned starter, with
Watkins and Drummond fighting it out to see who is the main backup. Sims is
the best of the rookies, and will be the fourth QB if I decide to carry 4 into
the season - the two rookie free agents had a poor camp, and will be cut.

Twisp, Bo 35 RB 5 73 73 1
Von Hagel, Blake 32 RB 1 27 49 4
Tatum, Curtis 34 RB 1 26 33 2
Pond, Rickey 36 RB 1 28 41 2
Troyer, D.J. 37 FB 2 33 55 2
Dunlap, Oliver 39 FB 1 29 48 2

Twisp and Von Hagel will be our 1/2 at RB, with Troyer the starting FB. I only
want to carry 5 players from this group, so one of the other three has to go -
Tatum is a decent backup RB, while Pond looks like a reasonable 3rd down
back, so Dunlap is the guy cut here.

Cox, Lewis 88 TE 10 58 58 3
Sudnik, Xavier 89 TE 6 27 27 1
Dawkins, Craig 86 TE 2 35 43 1

Sudnik seems young to be slipping, but his ratings have gone down
significantly over the last couple of years - right now, he's a special teamer
and not much more. He's definitely at risk if I can't find enough cuts
elsewhere. Cox is still a solid starter, with Dawkins a decent backup.

Sims, Ray 87 FL 10 49 49 1
Browning, Ike 83 FL 5 39 39 1
Hadley, Winston 84 FL 4 47 47 1
Samanta, Antoine 82 FL 4 72 72 5
Dinstel, Richard 19 FL 3 22 35 1
Rosano, Clifton 80 SE 9 53 53 2
Burnside, Conrad 81 SE 2 25 40 1
Musial, Josh 85 SE 1 26 47 4

Pretty easy here - Dinstel was signed to be a kick returner (a role Musial will take over) and Burnside is the weakest of the other receivers.

Place, David 61 C 11 43 43 2
Watkins, Darrin 62 C 5 38 38 1
Dawson, Thomas 63 C 1 27 53 3
Champion, Trent 64 LG 5 29 45 1
Martin, Zack 68 LG 4 86 86 2
Jordan, Willie 67 RG 3 51 58 1
Burgess, Ty 66 RG 2 27 57 1
Tanner, Sammy 76 LT 3 42 59 1
Patton, Otis 73 RT 9 35 35 1
Huffman, Norman 72 RT 6 56 56 4
Chapman, Roderick 78 RT 2 17 48 2

One player to cut here - I'm happy to carry 3 centers into the season, as
Place, Watkins and Dawson can all play at G fairly comfortably. I also have a
couple of guards who can play outside at T, so Chapman is the player who
doesn't make the roster.

Chubick, Jerome 6 P 8 45 45 1
Oden, Matt 2 K 8 66 66 2

Not much to say here - two kicking specialists who do their job well.

McKenzie, Spencer 98 LDE 5 53 62 5
Erdrich, Leslie 97 LDE 1 17 42 2
Hoedemaker, Howard 91 LDE 1 21 32 3
Turner, Cornell 92 RDE 9 48 48 2
Rivers, Moe 99 RDE 6 40 40 1
Stuart, Harris 95 LDT 9 38 38 1
Campbell, Christian 93 LDT 6 80 80 4
Andrews, Blaine 96 RDT 9 65 65 2
Saylor, Sedrick 90 RDT 3 30 43 1

The four DTs will make the roster (although I can see this being Stuart's last
year with the team), but one rookie DE will be cut. Hoedemaker is slightly
better on current ratings, but I feel that Erdrich will be of more use to the
team - better balance of skills and more potential.

Tayoun, Vincent 54 MLB 4 51 51 3
Sanders, Darrin 59 MLB 1 13 47 2
Adamski, Ricky 57 SLB 9 52 52 1
Guerra, Max 56 SLB 9 40 40 2
Knoblett, Larry 52 SLB 1 23 57 4
Rayburn, Rickey 55 SLB 1 11 23 4
Roberson, Larry 50 WLB 7 44 44 1
Long, Shannon 51 WLB 3 81 81 2

Rayburn would be an obvious cut, but this would mean a $3m cap hit next
year. In addition, while he won't be much use as a linebacker, he will be a big
contributor on special teams. The two MLBs are safe, as are Adamski and
Long (starters), with Knoblett a decent backup. While Roberson and Guerra
are decent backups, I don't really need both of them - Guerra is signed
through next year, so Roberson is the player cut.

Marsh, Lorenzo 26 LCB 10 61 61 2
Jordan, Jerome 25 LCB 2 73 89 4
Allison, Conrad 29 RCB 9 36 36 1
Blake, Alonzo 28 RCB 7 45 45 1
Crane, Phillip 27 RCB 7 59 59 3
Ross, Wally 23 SS 9 59 59 4
Harper, Vincent 22 SS 2 28 48 3
Valentino, Leon 21 FS 7 64 64 1
Tierney, Charlie 20 FS 5 40 40 1

This is pretty much the same group as we started last season with - no cuts
from the DB group.



The cuts above leave us with 54 players on the roster, so one more player needs to be released. This comes down to one of three players - QB Sims, TE Sudnik or LB Rayburn. Rayburn is the worst of the three, but cutting him would mean losing $3m of next year's salary cap. Sims won't see any playing time this season, but would be expected to move up the depth chart next year, while Sudnik is really only a special-teamer at this point. I feel that I should be able to find a reasonable backup QB next year if needed, so Sims is the final player cut, and we'll go into the season with only 3 QBs.

(This decision can partly be explained by my wish for our special teams unit to be as strong as possible - this was a minor but important part of our success last year.)

With the cap room created by these cuts, I extend LT Sammy Tanner's contract - $17.1m over 6 years (the thinking being to get him signed up for the long term before he starts asking for more money - I could have waited until next offseason and still have had exclusive negotiating rights (as he's only in his 3rd year), but I have a sneaking suspicion that a decent season starting most of our games would have been rather expensive...)

[DolphinFan1]

WOW! Rayburn dropped 41 after camp. What's his vol. rating? How were his combine ratings? Just looking for a clue to avoid this huge bust in my dynasty.

[MartinD]

WOW! Rayburn dropped 41 after camp. What's his vol. rating? How were his combine ratings? Just looking for a clue to avoid this huge bust in my dynasty.

Rayburn has 78 volatility - don't remember his combine ratings (as I'm now playing the 2015 season), but there was nothing to suggest that he wasn't going to be a solid player. I've had a couple of first-rounders go south on me in their rookie training camp - not much you can do about it except deal with it and move on.

Volatility isn't everything here - WLB Shannon Long has volatility 96, and he's one of the best few linebackers in the league now (rated 80/80) despite only having 60-ish potential after his rookie training camp. Volatility can work both ways...

Martin

[MartinD]

[b]2014 preseason[b]

The gameplans I put in place last year seemed to work reasonably well, so no changes at this point - still a run-based offence with the passing game biased slightly towards the short passing game. I rest some of our starters for the first few postseason games, but put our expected season-opening starting lineup on the field in the last game.

Week 2: Indianapolis 10-16 Philadelphia
90 yards for RB Blake Von Hagel with a TD in this game, and J.T. Watkins is the better of the QBs in the battle for the backup slot.

Week 3: Philadelphia 14-27 Baltimore
A late TD puts a gloss on the score - the Ravens dominated this game. RB Rickey Pond had a nice game, with 51 yards and a TD on only 6 carries.

Week 4: Houston 7-32 Philadelphia
RB Pond got a bit more work this week, and he rewarded us with 20 carries for 110 yards and a TD. J.T. Watkins (10/15-91-0-0) was solid again, and will be the #2 QB for the regular season opener. The defence was also solid, despite us playing quite a few backups in starting roles.

Week 5: Philadelphia 17-24 Pittsburgh
Not really worried about the result here - this game is more about giving our starters a few reps to get them in mood for the regular season. The Steelers scored inside the last minute to take the win.

The team is in reasonable shape going into the regular season, but backup RT Otis Patton was placed on IR after suffering a serious leg break - 4th year RT Claude Rogers (33/33) was signed to be our backup tackle. J.T. Watkins suffered a back injury in the last preseason game, and will miss the first month of the season - Zack Drummond will be the #2 QB behind Keith Hutchins.

[MartinD]

2014 regular season

Week 1: Dallas 34-6 Philadelphia
Not the start we wanted... QB Keith Hutchins went down handing off on a running play, of all things, and is out for the year. Zack Drummond (16/24-130-1-2) played decently, and Bo Twisp (16-127 rush, 6-39-1 rec) put up good numbers, but we kept turning it over to end promising drives.

Hutchins was put on IR after the game - his injury should have healed in time for him to take part in our offseason activities next year. With two QBs out, we need to sign someone else as our backup for the next few games, but we have precious little cap room - a bit of roster shuffling is required here. Rookies P Brian Peyrouse and LG Lionel Bolognese are signed, with P Jerome Chubick and LG Trent Champion released - this frees up enough room to sign 5th-year QB Dwayne Joseph (22/50).

Week 2: Philadelphia (0-1) 19-7 Jacksonville (1-0)
Nice yardage numbers in this game, but not a lot of penetration where it matters, as K Oden's four field goals were the margin of victory. QB Zack Drummond was quietly efficient (25/29-171-1-1), but the defence was the strongest part of the team here, with the D-line finishing with 4 sacks and 8 hurries.

Week 3: Philadelphia (1-1) 10-23 Carolina (1-1)
A nice start saw the Eagles lead 10-0 early in the second quarter, but the Panthers took over the game from there. QB Drummond was reasonably efficient, but his two interceptions took away any chance of a late comeback by Philadelphia.

Week 4: Bye

Week 5: Philadelphia (1-2) 20-27 Seattle (1-3)
Two picks from Zack Drummond saw him get the hook at halftime, and backup Dwayne Joseph (13/16-127-0-0) played solidly in relief. Solid wasn't enough, though, as the Seahawks made enough big plays to hold on for the win.

With J.T. Watkins now recovered from injury, there's a bit of shuffling on the QB depth chart - Watkins will start, Joseph will be his backup, and Drummond is relegated to 3rd string and kick holder.

Week 6: Arizona (2-3) 17-7 Philadelphia (1-3)
A tight defensive game, but Arizona just managed to get the better of us here. Watkins (24/39-164-0-2) was reasonably accurate for most of the day, but threw a couple of costly interceptions.

Week 7: Washington (1-5) 19-17 Philadelphia (1-4)
We just seem to be coming out on the wrong end of these games this year - can't really complain, though, as we came out on the right end of plenty of these last year... While the offence isn't as explosive as I'd like, it's the defence which is the worry - while the yardage numbers are still decent, we've only forced 5 turnovers through 6 games.

Week 8: Philadelphia (1-5) 7-16 New York (5-1)
Not a great game for us - the offence didn't click, and the Giants were able to move the ball fairly easily on our defence. J.T. Watkins was unceremoniously yanked from the game after a very slow start (missed his first 3 passes, sacked twice, picked once) - backup QB Joseph was better, but not great.

Week 9: Philadelphia (1-6) 25-0 St. Louis (3-4)
OK - so where did a performance like this come from? The defence was back to dominating form, allowing only 8 first downs and 149 total yards while forcing 5 turnovers, while the offence was quietly efficient, with RB Twisp (21-106 rush, 7-62-1 rec) and QB Joseph (25/31-175-1-1) having solid games.

[MartinD]

2014 mid-season summary


Year 2014
Record 2-6
Winning Pct. .250
All-Time 55-80-1
Winning Pct. .408
Playoffs 3-1
Playoff Visits 2
Bowl Wins 1
Head Coach Wesley Bandle
Record 25-18
Winning Pct. .581
Off. Coord. K. Ford
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 29.9 9
Rushing Yards 127.9 4
Yards Per Carry 4.28 6
Pass Attempts 30.3 27
Completions 20.3 17 (T)
Completion Pct. 66.9 5
Passing Yards 159.8 32
Yards Per Attempt 5.28 30
Yards Per Catch 7.89 32
Total Yardage Gained 277.9 27
3rd Down Conversions 38.9 9
Points Per Game 13.9 27
Pass Rush Pct. 5.9 25
Pass Defense Pct. 72.7 3
Turnovers 22 30 (T)
Turnover Margin -10 31

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 30.0 24
Rushing Yards 113.6 20 (T)
Yards Per Carry 3.79 10
Pass Attempts 26.9 3
Completions 15.6 2
Completion Pct. 58.1 7 (T)
Passing Yards 159.5 2
Yards Per Attempt 5.93 6
Yards Per Catch 10.21 8
Total Yardage Gained 256.9 2
3rd Down Conversions 37.8 21
Points Per Game 17.9 12
Pass Rush Pct. 6.6 12
Pass Defense Pct. 67.6 16
Turnovers 12 23 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 6 DAL 34
2 19 at JAX 7
3 10 at CAR 23
5 20 at SEA 27
6 7 ARI 17
7 17 WAS 19
8 7 at NYK 16
9 25 at STL 0
10 SFO
11 at DAL
12 TEN
13 CHI
14 HOU
15 at WAS
16 at IND
17 NYK

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
10 Z. Drummond QB 91 61 455 5.00 2 7 54.0
17 D. Joseph QB 79 54 487 6.16 1 2 78.4
11 J. Watkins QB 65 41 287 4.42 0 4 47.4
**Team --- 242 162 1278 5.28 3 14 59.9
$$Opp --- 215 125 1276 5.93 6 5 74.9

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
35 B. Twisp RB 135 605 4.48 2 3
36 R. Pond RB 57 193 3.39 2 3
11 J. Watkins QB 18 103 5.72 2 1
32 B. Von Hagel RB 17 57 3.35 0 1
**Team --- 239 1023 4.28 6 14
$$Opp --- 240 909 3.79 7 10

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
35 B. Twisp RB 53 47 288 6.13 5.43 1 1
82 A. Samanta WR 44 28 308 11.00 7.00 0 1
80 C. Rosano WR 38 24 294 12.25 7.74 0 0
37 D. Troyer FB 18 15 37 2.47 2.06 0 0
85 J. Musial WR 22 10 126 12.60 5.73 3 0
87 R. Sims WR 18 9 94 10.44 5.22 2 0

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
23 W. Ross S 43 12 0.0 0 0 2 73.0
51 S. Long OLB 39 12 0.0 1 1 3 80.5
96 B. Andrews DT 36 14 4.0 9 0 0 81.9
57 R. Adamski OLB 26 11 1.0 2 0 1 77.4
92 C. Turner DE 24 14 5.5 4 0 0 81.8
54 V. Tayoun ILB 24 13 0.0 1 0 1 77.3
21 L. Valentino S 19 7 0.0 0 1 3 83.3
52 L. Knoblett OLB 19 8 0.5 0 0 1 69.9
26 L. Marsh CB 18 5 0.0 0 0 6 79.5
56 M. Guerra OLB 18 7 0.0 0 0 2 73.1
93 C. Campbell DT 18 5 3.5 0 0 0 80.0
99 M. Rivers DE 15 4 3.0 5 0 0 81.0
25 J. Jordan CB 14 4 0.0 0 1 6 85.3
27 P. Crane CB 12 5 0.0 0 2 2 87.1
98 S. McKenzie DE 11 7 0.5 1 0 0 79.1
90 S. Saylor DT 8 3 2.0 1 0 0 82.5


The statistics of a relatively poor team, which is a fairly good summary of the performance up to this point. Hutchins going down in the first game has really hurt this team, as we currently have a street free agent outplaying the two guys we've had on the roster for a few years. That partly explains the offensive problems, but the defence has really regressed from last year - it's basically the same guys playing, so it looks like one more year has had a big effect on some of our veteran guys.

[MartinD]

Week 10: San Francisco (3-5) 10-13 Philadelphia (2-6)
QB Dwayne Joseph (20/24-142-0-0) has brought a bit of stability to the offence, and the defence appears to be picking up a bit - 5 players recorded sacks as the 49ers were limited to 195 total yards.

Week 11: Philadelphia (3-6) 10-7 Dallas (4-5)
This is more familiar - our defence and special teams put in a solid effort as we come out on top in a low-scoring struggle. The Eagles forced three turnovers, and RB Twisp scored the vital TD as the Philadelphia defence pitched a second-half shutout.

Week 12: Tennessee (9-1) 34-18 Philadelphia (4-6)
The Titans were always in charge of this game, but the Eagles made a decent fight of it - QB Dwayne Joseph had a decent game (21/32-219-2-3), with a couple of late interceptions when we were forced to take chances. The problem here was the pass defence - the Tennessee passing game was able to move the ball without too much bother all day long.

Week 13: Chicago (6-5) 13-7 Philadelphia (4-7)
It's tough to score when the other team is playing 'keep-ball' - the Bears held the ball for over 40 minutes in this game, leaving the Eagles unable to produce enough offence to be competitive.

At this point, we're mathematically alive in the playoff race, but I'm resigned to having January off this year. At this point, I fiddled the depth charts to give our younger players a bit of playing time.

Week 14: Houston (7-5) 16-29 Philadelphia (4-8)
A bit of a 'butterfingers' game, with five fumbles between the two teams. Apart from that, the Eagles offence was very efficient, with QB Joseph (19/21-151-2-0) and RB Twisp (23-127) leading the way. DE Connell Turner came alive after a quiet season, finishing with 3 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 1 pass defence, 2 blocks, 3 hurries and 4 knock-downs.

Week 15: Philadephia (5-8) 20-24 Washington (5-8)
Decent yardage in this one - Twisp (28-131 rush, 6-52 rec) leading the way - but too many turnovers in bad spots on the field gave the Redskins good field position too many times.

Week 16: Philadelphia (5-9) 24-10 Indianapolis (9-5)
A tied game at the two-minute warning was blown wide open by a Bo Twisp 9-yard TD run and a Wally Ross interception, returned 35 yards for a TD. Twisp (24-128-1) had a solid game, with LG Martin (7/15 KRB, 2 pancake) leading the way, while the defence contributed 3 sacks and 3 interceptions.

Week 17: New York (10-5) 27-23 Philadelphia (6-9)
A Twisp TD run midway through the fourth quarter put the Eagles ahead by 10, but the Giants scored the last 14 points of the game to take the win.

2014 Summary

2014 Summary for Philadelphia Eagles

Year 2014
Record 6-10
Winning Pct. .375
All-Time 59-84-1
Winning Pct. .413
Playoffs 3-1
Playoff Visits 2
Bowl Wins 1
Head Coach Wesley Bandle
Record 29-22
Winning Pct. .568
Off. Coord. K. Ford
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 32.1 5
Rushing Yards 132.4 3
Yards Per Carry 4.13 11
Pass Attempts 26.8 31
Completions 18.2 25
Completion Pct. 67.8 3
Passing Yards 152.4 32
Yards Per Attempt 5.68 28
Yards Per Catch 8.38 32
Total Yardage Gained 277.7 27
3rd Down Conversions 39.7 5
Points Per Game 15.9 27
Pass Rush Pct. 7.7 14
Pass Defense Pct. 67.8 14
Turnovers 37 29 (T)
Turnover Margin -10 26

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 28.6 20
Rushing Yards 106.5 15
Yards Per Carry 3.72 4 (T)
Pass Attempts 29.5 2
Completions 17.8 3
Completion Pct. 60.2 14
Passing Yards 194.9 5
Yards Per Attempt 6.61 18
Yards Per Catch 10.98 23
Total Yardage Gained 282.9 4
3rd Down Conversions 37.4 20
Points Per Game 17.8 11
Pass Rush Pct. 5.4 3
Pass Defense Pct. 67.0 17
Turnovers 27 16 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 6 DAL 34
2 19 at JAX 7
3 10 at CAR 23
5 20 at SEA 27
6 7 ARI 17
7 17 WAS 19
8 7 at NYK 16
9 25 at STL 0
10 13 SFO 10
11 10 at DAL 7
12 18 TEN 34
13 7 CHI 13
14 29 HOU 16
15 20 at WAS 24
16 24 at IND 10
17 23 NYK 27

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
17 D. Joseph QB 266 183 1647 6.19 8 10 79.6
10 Z. Drummond QB 91 61 455 5.00 2 7 54.0
11 J. Watkins QB 65 41 287 4.42 0 4 47.4
**Team --- 429 291 2438 5.68 10 22 68.7
$$Opp --- 472 284 3118 6.61 17 11 82.0

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
35 B. Twisp RB 311 1376 4.42 6 7
32 B. Von Hagel RB 94 331 3.52 0 3
36 R. Pond RB 57 193 3.39 2 3
**Team --- 513 2118 4.13 11 24
$$Opp --- 458 1704 3.72 10 28

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
35 B. Twisp RB 96 79 488 6.18 5.08 2 2
82 A. Samanta WR 57 38 375 9.87 6.58 0 1
80 C. Rosano WR 61 37 495 13.38 8.11 1 1
85 J. Musial WR 43 27 299 11.07 6.95 4 1
88 L. Cox TE 29 22 161 7.32 5.55 0 2
37 D. Troyer FB 30 21 62 2.95 2.07 0 0
87 R. Sims WR 39 20 243 12.15 6.23 3 0

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
51 S. Long OLB 81 15 2.0 2 1 6 77.2
96 B. Andrews DT 61 30 6.0 12 0 1 81.8
21 L. Valentino S 55 16 0.0 0 1 4 77.2
23 W. Ross S 51 14 0.0 0 1 4 78.5
92 C. Turner DE 47 22 14.5 16 0 2 82.4
54 V. Tayoun ILB 47 21 1.0 1 1 6 81.6
93 C. Campbell DT 46 14 7.0 6 0 0 81.1
57 R. Adamski OLB 40 15 1.0 4 0 4 77.4
27 P. Crane CB 37 15 0.5 0 3 3 79.7
52 L. Knoblett OLB 37 15 1.5 0 0 2 73.8
56 M. Guerra OLB 34 16 0.0 0 1 2 74.3
25 J. Jordan CB 33 11 0.0 0 1 8 80.7
26 L. Marsh CB 30 8 0.0 0 0 8 76.2
99 M. Rivers DE 29 6 6.5 9 0 0 81.4
28 A. Blake CB 26 8 0.0 0 2 4 80.4
22 V. Harper S 26 10 0.0 0 0 1 75.0
90 S. Saylor DT 23 9 4.0 3 0 0 80.2
98 S. McKenzie DE 22 11 2.5 3 0 0 80.2


Losing Hutchins early in our week 1 game basically knocked our season off course before it had really gotten started. Our backup QBs, Watkins and Drummond, showed that they couldn't run the offence effectively, with both throwing too many interceptions - street free agent QB Dwayne Joseph came in and did a decent job in relief. I don't think it's a coincidence that we started winning a few more games when Joseph was given the starting QB position for our week 9 game against St. Louis...

Twisp had a solid season once again, but none of the receivers stood out. Part of this appears to be that Twisp is such a good receiver that our QBs look to him on the short pass on a very regular basis. I can see next year being a time of change in the receiving corps, with Sims and Rosano coming to the end of their careers.

The defence was decent without being brilliant - the yardage numbers are respectable, but the lack of turnovers (particularly combined with the number of turnovers given up by the offence!) was a problem. DE Turner had a very quiet 14.5 sack season, but didn't have a lot of support - I'm having serious thoughts about moving DE McKenzie inside, as he struggles to provide a consistent pass rush threat. The secondary was unsettled all season with niggling injuries, but I thought we had enough depth there for that to not be a problem - seems I may have been wrong...

Special teams were a highlight - the Eagles averaged 11.3 yards per punt return and 26.4 per kick return, but our opponents only managed 2.4 and 14.3 yards per return. Rookie LB Rickey Rayburn may not have contributed on defence, but he was a special teams demon with 22 tackles and a TD on a fumbled punt return. K Matt Oden was solid once again (29/36 on field goals, including 8/13 from 40 yards or more), while rookie P Brian Payrouse was solid, finishing with a 37.3 yard net average - he doesn't have a strong leg, but he didn't give returners much chance to gain yardage.

[MartinD]

2014 Awards

A few mentions this year:

LG Zack Martin: First Team All-Pro
RB Bo Twisp: Second Team All-Pro
DE Connell Turner: Second Team All-Pro

Looking ahead to 2015

There is definitely work to be done in the upcoming offseason - RB Bo Twisp is a free agent, as are a couple of other starters, and we need to look at freshening up the team in a number of areas. Our cap situation looks to be significantly better, though, so we should be able to pick up some useful players through free agency. We will also have a relatively high draft pick (likely to be at the low end of the top 10), so should be able to acquire at least one good player through the draft.

While last year's team maybe wasn't quite as good as the 14-2 record would suggest, I have a feeling that this year's team was better than the 6-10 record would make you think. I think we should be in playoff contention next year if we can have a good offseason...

[MartinD]

2015 season

Herb's evaluation for 2014: 14/68/62/81, for an overall score of 50

The team showed a profit of $9.48m on revenues of $174.8m last year - revenues held up fairly well (as attendances went up after the Super Bowl season in 2013), but salary and bonus costs also rose, mainly due to us locking up a number of players on long-term deals last offseason.

One retirement this year - OLB Max Guerra decided to call it a day. He signed for the Eagles in 2010, when we were in desperate need of a solid starter at LB, and was a consistent contributor as a starter in 2010 and 2011. The drafting of Shannon Long meant that Guerra became a backup, but he was still a very handy guy to have on the bench for the last three years.

Staff Hiring

No changes here - all staff members are under contract through at least next year, and I'm happy with their performance.

[MartinD]

2015 Free agency

No changes to ticket prices this year - we're in the bottom few in the league in terms of the cost of going to the game, but our financial position appears to be reasonable at the moment.

Quite a few free agents this year - the most notable are listed below:

QB J.T. Watkins - won't be getting offered a contract
RB Bo Twisp - this year's franchise player
FL Ray Sims - still a decent receiver - need to see how much money he's looking for
FL Ike Browning - am happy to let him test free agency
FL Winston Hadley - decent player, but not essential to resign
C Darrin Watkins - would like to resign him - decent backup, and offensive line leader
DE Moe Rivers - would like to resign - good pass-rusher
SLB Ricky Adamski - has been a starter, but now in his 10th year
CB Conrad Allison - has been a good player, but starting to slow down
CB Alonzo Blake - will look at resigning him
FS Leon Valentino - starting safety, so will look at resigning him
FS Charlie Tierney - solid backup - will try to bring him back at the right price

With Twisp given the franchise tag, we have 31 players signed, and $38.52m of a $137.6m salary cap free. The expected cost of signing our draft picks is $7.74m - we have one pick in each round, ranging from 5th to 9th (our first-rounder this year is 1.8).

Looking at our second-year players, there are a few decent candidates for a trip abroad this year - RB Blake Von Hagel, SE Josh Musial and SLB Larry Knoblett are the three that stand out most. (C Thomas Dawson is actually our most-developed rookie (now rated 44/54), but has seen enough playing time to develop without additional help. Knoblett is the guy who's most likely to see significant playing time this year (he's currently slated as our starting SLB), so he gets the trip to Europe.

I have a big decision to make regarding RB Bo Twisp - if we try to sign him to a long-term contract, he's looking for around $50m over 5 years (including $15m of bonus). This is a lot of money for a 6th year running back, as he's likely in the prime of his career right now, and is going to start to decline before this deal expires. While he's been our best offensive player for the last couple of years, there are signs that he is actually interfering with what we're trying to do on offence - in particular, he's a sufficiently talented receiver that he's had a lot of balls thrown his way. While this is very good for inflating the completion percentage of our QBs, I don't think it's helping our offence much at all - we've struggled to get the ball into the hands of our wide receivers. Given these problems, I feel it's worth looking at potential trades - it appears, however, that the market for a 6th-year RB isn't all that good. Despite this, I don't want to commit significant amounts of money to a player I think is causing problems for our offence - Twisp is traded to Cincinnati in return for their fourth-round pick this year (4.2).

We have a few restricted free agents this year, including a couple of guys who have been starting:

TE Craig Dawkins - $1.55m over 2 years (solid backup TE)
RG Willie Jordan - $13.20m over 4 years (decent starter on the interior O-line)
RG Ty Burgess - $1.08m over 1 year (good backup guard)
P Brian Peyrouse - $530k over 1 year (doesn't kick it a long way, but doesn't allow big returns)
RDT Sedrick Saylor - $1.79m over 2 years (third DT in the rotation - not a great player, but a good guy to have on the roster)

These signings (and the Twisp trade) leave us with 35 players signed and $40.44m cap room free, so we have a bit of room for manoeuvre in free agency this year. We do have a few areas that need to be addressed, however:

QB: Need a decent backup behind Hutchins (as this really hurt us last year) - Dwayne Joseph would be a decent guy to resign
RB: Von Hagel and Pond are startable, but would be nice to find a better RB as our starter if possible
WR: Samanta and Rosano are solid starters, but we only have Musial signed behind them
OL: Need some quality depth, particularly at tackle
DL: This group is getting a bit old, so at least one good young player is needed here
LB: Would be nice to find a better starter than Knoblett at SLB, and quality depth also needed
DB: This group is also getting up there in years - we have one solid young starter (CB Jordan), but need to bring in more young talent

Looking at the draft, it doesn't look like a particularly strong batch of rookies, but I should be able to pick up at least one starter and some decent quality depth through draft picks. I'll definitely be going shopping in free agency, though...

Looking at what our free agents are looking for, I need to change plans almost immediately - QB Dwayne Joseph, the guy we were hoping would be our backup, is looking for almost $5m over 2 years (which I should have expected - he did start 9 games for us last year...), which is a bit more than I'm looking to pay a backup QB...

S Leon valentino receives an offer of $20.38m over 4 years from St. Louis - he's in his 8th year, and I'm unwilling to pay that much money to someone approaching the end of his career, so I don't try to compete - he signs for the Rams in week 5.

I sit out the first few stages of free agency to let prices come down a little on the guys I'm looking at, and start making offers in week 6:

QB Sammie Lake (7th year, 33/47) - $2.06m over 2 years (signed week 6 - looks to be a solid backup, doesn't have a history of interceptions, and is a decent fit for the offence)
TE Xavier Sudnik (7th year, 27/27) - $2.06m over 2 years (signed week 7 - purely for his abilities on special teams)
FL Ray Sims (11th year, 49/49) - $3.75m over 2 years (signed week 9 - slowing down now, but still a good receiver, particularly in the system we're going to run)
C Darrin Watkins (6th year, 38/38) - $1.86m over 2 years (signed week 6 - decent backup, good long snapper, position group leader)
RT Thurman Isaac (4th year, 39/39) - $3.00m over 2 years (signed week 7 - can play both LT and RT, decent pass blocker)
LDE Will Hasan (6th year, 40/42) - $1.88m over 2 years (signed week 8 - decent against the run and can rush the passer)
RDE Moe Rivers (7th year, 39/39) - $2.06m over 2 years (signed week 6 - important part of our D-line)
RCB Glenn Denney (4th year, 45/45) - $1.93m over 2 years (signed week 6 - good cover corner, and will help out on special teams/returns)
FS Dale Lester (6th year, 48/48) - $4.00m over 3 years (signed week 6 - solid player who looks to be a capable starter)

These signings leave us with 44 players signed and $31.70m cap room free (before allowing for the expected cost of rookie contracts). This is a lot of cap room when the top-end free agents are gone, but there are a few key players who need new contracts, most notably LG Zack Martin and WLB Shannon Long.

Renegotiated contracts:
LG Zack Martin: $58.8m over 6 years (including $18m bonus)
WLB Shannon Long: $50.00m over 5 years (including $15m bonus)
LCB Lorenzo Marsh: $7.24m over 2 years (still a solid player, and gives him a slightly lower cap number this year)

[MartinD]

2015 draft

We have 8 picks this year - our own picks in rounds 1 through 7 (picking between 5 and 9 in each round, with the first-rounder being the 8th overall pick), plus 4.2, obtained from trading RB Bo Twisp.

While we've filled a few holes through free agency, there are still some areas that need to be addressed:

- QB depth
- starter at RB (we can get by with the guys we have, but may be able to find a rookie who does a better job)
- depth at receiver
- offensive line depth
- a quality starter at LDE (my current thoughts are to move McKenzie inside to DT, where he will replace Blaine Andrews (10th year, last year of his current contract), and find someone who'll provide a bit more pass rush from LDE
- depth at LB
- a starting safety, plus some solid younger players at backup CB

Looking at the draft board, there are two very highly-rated DEs (Jesse Reeves (7.3/8.1) and Rod Salerno (7.0/7.7)) who would be able to step in and start immediately - both have had outstanding combines, and look to be the real deal. Unfortunately, I would be very surprised if these guys don't go off the board very quickly - my feel is that I'd probably have to trade up to at least 1.4 or 1.5 to have a chance at getting one of them (and that is likely to cost me either my second-rounder this year or first-rounder next year, neither of which I want to give up if I can avoid it). The next guy down (Gino McConnell (5.8/6.4)) isn't quite as good a prospect, but still looks to be a guy who would develop into a high-end starter - 1.8 may be a bit high for him in terms of value for the pick, but taking him certainly appears to fill a need.

Another option is to use the first-rounder on a quality replacement for Bo Twisp - there are two backs who I'd expect to be taken in the top 10 (Wendell Brown (6.9/7.3) and Dan Snodgrass (6.3/6.7)), who both look like franchise-quality RBs (Brown in particular, who looks to be everything you'd want out of a running back - fast, agile, good blocker, good hands). There are some decent options further down, though, who project as capable starters, so it may be a better use of draft picks to get the back I'm looking for in the second or third round.

The third option that comes to mind is to take a quality receiver at 1.8 - this draft isn't that deep at wide receiver, but there are a couple of guys there who would be useful additions. Pat Sheldon (5.8/6.0) is the top prospect at this position, and would be a decent fit in the short passing system I intend to use.

DE Jesse Reeves is taken at 1.2, which is about where he should be going - the initial rating of 60/79 is about right too. Salerno slides a bit, as 3 QBs are taken in the top 5 (Keith May, taken 1st overall, looks to be worth the high pick (rated 40/80), while Marcus Reynolds (1.3) is raw but talented (17/69) - the Rams definitely reached in taking Marcus Jeffries at 1.5, though, as he's initially rated at 20/41). At this point, I feel it's worth looking at trading up - the Redskins are willing to take a second-round pick next year to drop down two spots, and we take DE Rod Salerno at 1.6. He's initially rated at 46/72, but I would hope that he turns out a bit better than that.

Of the other guys I was looking at, RB Brown was taken 4th overall (rated 60/72), RB Snodgrass at 1.8 (49/76), WR Sheldon was taken at 1.12 (35/61) and DE McConnell at 1.18 (35/73).

I would like to go after one of RB, WR and DB with our second round pick - there appears to be reasonable depth at RB and WR, so the pick here is FS Jumbo Hopkins, who will need time to develop, but is projected as a solid starter - initial rating is 21/66, but he should be able to help out on special teams while he learns the nuances of playing safety in the pros.

With the depth at WR still looking pretty good, the third round pick is used to add another back to the race to replace Bo Twisp - Roosevelt Walsh is definitely not going to run away from defenders, but he looks to be pretty good at everything else a running back needs. He also had one of the better combines among the RBs (19 strength reps, 7.17 agility, over 10 feet on broad jump, good position drill). He's initially rated at 39/51 - if that rating holds up and he has a solid training camp, he's favourite to open the season as our starting RB.

With two picks early in the fourth round, we have a chance to find a decent WR and also deal with one of the other areas of need. While there are a few WRs I like remaining on the board at this point, SE Adam Barker looks to be the best fit for our offence - our scouts rate him as 21/45 initially, but this pick was intended to deal with WR depth, as it's a big ask to get a starting-calibre player this far down the draft. The second fourth-rounder goes on LCB Nicky Strong, a pure cover corner who will hopefully contribute in nickel and dime packages as well as on special teams - he's initially rated at 27/52.

With only 2 QBs signed at this point, I was always looking to take a QB at some point in the draft - the fifth round is usually a good place for this, as this means you get in before the AI starts going after QBs again (after reaching for QBs through most of the first round). The two players I'm most interested in are Archie Westbrook (not a running threat, doesn't have great passing skills, but very solid intangibles - would be able to run the offence we plan to use) and Ray Perroni (good runner, reasonable passer, good intangibles, decent combine) - both have similar development and knowledge of formations. Perroni is the pick here, as he looks to have a slightly better upside from what I can see at the moment - our scouting team's initial impression is 17/54. (Archie Westbrook was picked at 6.20, with initial rating of 17/44.)

Depth at linebacker is a real issue at the moment, as we really don't have anyone that I would be happy to fill in should one of our starters go down. It's asking a lot to find that level of player this deep in the draft, but MLB Julio Glover looks like an improvement on our current backups at least - his initial rating of 14/50 is a bit of a surprise, as his profile suggested that he would be a bit more developed.

Our last pick of the draft goes on a guy who doesn't look like much of a player, but had a very decent combine - FL Rex Murray is fast (4.44 40), agile (under 7 seconds) and strong by WR standards (22 reps), and is worth taking a flyer on with a 7th-rounder. He's only rated at 22/34 right now, but I would hope that he'll have a decent camp after that solid combine. If not, it's not like this pick is going to ruin the team!

One roster move before we head into the late free agency period - veteran C David Place is a bit miffed that he was relegated to the bench behind rookie Thomas Dawson last year. Place is in his 12th year, and is unlikely to see much playing time this year either, so I make the call to release him from the last year of his contract. He's been a solid starter for us for a long time, but would be struggling to make the team this year.

Five of our rookies accept their initial contract offers - inevitably, two of the guys who decide to wait for another offer are DE Salerno and S Hopkins, our first two picks (the other is 4th-round pick Strong).

Offers made in late free agency (rookie free agents unless otherwise stated):
QB James Ritchey (15/54) - $930k over 2 years (best of the rookie free agent QBs - signed week 3)
RG Carl Bennett (11/48) - $930k over 2 years (not going to be brilliant, but has potential to be a decent blocker - signed week 3)
RT Tyrell Scott (20/35) - $930k over 2 years (a guy I had thought about drafting - solid combine - signed week 1)
P Rex Koumentakos (39/61) - $930k over 2 years (looks to be an upgrade over Peyrouse - still good hang time, but a stronger leg - signed week 2)
SLB Burt McGlockton (17/48) - $930k over 2 years (my type of backup - decent potential, and good special teamer - signed week 3)
SLB Ricky Adamski (10th year, 52/52) - $6.31m over 2 years (solid player, and we have plenty of cap room to bring him back - signed week 5)

The three unsigned rookies accept the contracts we offer before training camp, meaning we go to camp with 57 players signed and $8.10m cap room free.

[MartinD]

Rookies before and after camp

Acquired Before After Change
QB James Ritchey FA 15/54 16/50 +1/-4
QB Ray Perroni 5.9 17/54 17/48 0/-6
RB Roosevelt Walsh 3.6 39/51 37/48 -2/-3
FL Rex Murray 7.7 22/34 22/31 0/-3
SE Adam Barker 4.2 21/45 21/39 0/-6
RG Carl Bennett FA 11/48 14/45 +3/-3
LT Tyrell Scott FA 20/35 19/33 -1/-2
P Rex Koumentakos FA 39/61 39/60 0/-1
RDE Rod Salerno 1.6 46/72 50/77 +4/+5
MLB Julio Glover 6.8 14/50 16/42 +2/-8
WLB Burt McGlockton FA 17/48 19/45 +2/-3
LCB Nicky Strong 4.5 27/52 26/46 -1/-6
FS Jumbo Hopkins 2.7 21/66 22/58 +1/-8


The usual drop in potential for many of our rookies, but the one exception is the guy I was most hoping to buck the trend, first-rounder DE Rod Salerno. He's a bit undersized, but looks to be an immediate starter on our defensive line.

2015 roster

We currently have 57 players on the roster, so 4 cuts to be made.


Philadelphia Eagles Roster, Scout Overview

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntr
Hutchins, Keith 18 QB 8 39 75 4
Lake, Sammie 14 QB 7 35 48 2
Perroni, Ray 13 QB 1 17 48 3
Ritchey, James 16 QB 1 16 50 2

I want to keep all four QBs on the roster this year - both Perroni and James
look like they will be decent players if given a chance to play (and both will
get a look in preseason). Hutchins is the starter, with Lake as the backup.

Walsh, Roosevelt 38 RB 1 37 48 4
Tatum, Curtis 34 RB 2 27 33 1
Pond, Rickey 36 RB 2 27 40 1
Von Hagel, Blake 32 RB 2 26 43 3
Troyer, D.J. 37 FB 3 38 54 1

A slight change to this group - none of the backups are particularly good
special teams players, so the fourth guy on the depth chart (Tatum) was cut,
and replaced by 9th-year back Thomas Singleton, who was signed as a
special teamer who may help out a bit in the backfield. Walsh and Troyer will
start, with Pond and Von Hagel fighting for the #2 RB slot.

Cox, Lewis 88 TE 11 53 53 2
Dawkins, Craig 86 TE 3 39 39 2
Sudnik, Xavier 89 TE 7 22 22 2

New blood will be needed in this group shortly, with both Cox and Sudnik
declining fairly sharply, but no changes to this group just yet.

Samanta, Antoine 82 FL 5 71 71 4
Sims, Ray 87 FL 11 49 49 2
Murray, Rex 84 FL 1 22 31 3
Rosano, Clifton 80 SE 10 47 47 1
Musial, Josh 85 SE 2 35 44 3
Barker, Adam 81 SE 1 21 39 4

Samanta and Rosano will start, with Sims as the slot receiver. Musial and
Barker are the next two guys, with Murray likely to see a lot of time inactive.

Dawson, Thomas 63 C 2 47 47 2
Watkins, Darrin 62 C 6 37 37 2
Martin, Zack 68 LG 5 85 85 6
Jordan, Willie 67 RG 4 58 58 4
Burgess, Ty 66 RG 3 30 50 1
Bennett, Carl 64 RG 1 14 45 2
Tanner, Sammy 76 LT 4 46 56 5
Scott, Tyrell 78 LT 1 19 33 2
Huffman, Norman 72 RT 7 55 55 3
Isaac, Thurman 75 RT 4 39 39 2

I usually carry 10 offensive linemen on the roster (although only 8 on the
active gameday roster most of the time), so no cuts here. The starting five
are fairly obvious - Tanner, Martin, Dawson, Jordan, Huffman.

Koumentakos, Rex 7 P 1 39 60 2
Peyrouse, Brian 9 P 2 21 30 1
Oden, Matt 2 K 9 65 65 1

Peyrouse had a good season for us last year, but Koumentakos does
everything Peyrouse can do, just better. There was no point in bringing in a
challenger to Oden, as he's a very solid kicker.

McKenzie, Spencer 98 LDE 6 56 56 4
Hasan, Will 94 LDE 6 32 33 2
Erdrich, Leslie 97 LDE 2 18 39 1
Salerno, Rod 91 RDE 1 50 77 5
Turner, Cornell 92 RDE 10 37 37 1
Rivers, Moe 99 RDE 7 37 37 2
Campbell, Christian 93 LDT 7 80 80 3
Andrews, Blaine 96 RDT 10 66 66 1
Saylor, Sedrick 90 RDT 4 37 43 2

Hasan's surprising decline (was 40/42 when we signed him) means that he's at
risk of not making the team. Erdich is a definite cut, and was always at risk
once I decided to go after a defensive end with our first-round pick.

Tayoun, Vincent 54 MLB 5 51 51 2
Glover, Julio 56 MLB 1 16 42 3
Sanders, Darrin 59 MLB 2 14 41 1
Adamski, Ricky 57 SLB 10 47 47 2
Knoblett, Larry 52 SLB 2 27 54 3
Rayburn, Rickey 55 SLB 2 11 20 3
Long, Shannon 51 WLB 4 83 83 5
McGlockton, Burt 50 WLB 1 19 45 2

I look for backup linebackers to be able to contribute on special teams - Darrin
Sanders isn't much use there, so is the MLB cut. While Rayburn would be an
obvious cut if I wanted to go with 6 LBs, he's a good enough special teamer
to be worth keeping on the roster. Tayoun will start in the middle, flanked by
Adamski and Long (although Knoblett will get plenty of playing time at SLB).

Jordan, Jerome 25 LCB 3 92 92 3
Marsh, Lorenzo 26 LCB 11 52 52 2
Strong, Nicky 31 LCB 1 26 46 3
Crane, Phillip 27 RCB 8 59 59 2
Denney, Glenn 24 RCB 4 18 18 2
Ross, Wally 23 SS 10 59 59 3
Harper, Vincent 22 SS 3 32 44 2
Lester, Dale 21 FS 6 50 50 3
Hopkins, Jumbo 30 FS 1 22 58 3

I was expecting this group to survive unscathed, but RCB Glenn Denney is
obviously not the player we thought he was - a disappointment, given that he
was expected to be our dime back this year. The roster spot opened up by
cutting Denney has been used to resign veteran CB Conrad Allison (10th year,
30/30) - while definitely at the 'veteran' stage of his career, he's still decent
in coverage and on special teams.


With the above cuts (and signings) leaving us with 54 on the roster, DE Will Hasan is the last guy to be cut - he was going to be the 5th defensive end on the depth chart, so was unlikely to see much playing time. While this leaves us with only 7 defensive linemen on the roster (and only 3 DTs), LDE Spencer McKenzie is capable of playing inside if needed, so we should have enough solid players to get by on the D-line, unless we get a couple of big injuries.

[MartinD]

2015 Preseason

A slight change in gameplan on the offensive side this year - as we no longer have a franchise back, I'm moving the balance of the offence a bit more towards the pass (although the intention is still to have a relatively balanced offence). No changes have been made to the defensive gameplan.

Week 2: Denver 7-30 Philadelphia
A good performance from our backups, with both rookie QBs looking decent. Rookie RB Walsh (23/87) also had a decent game, while the defence did a good job of keeping the Broncos in check, and added a late TD on a Wally Ross interception.

Week 3: Philadelphia 23-0 New Jersey
Running game and defence were the keys here, with backup RB Von Hagel (16-104) leading the offence, and the defence forcing the Jets to turn it over 4 times.

Week 4: Philadelphia 14-24 Kansas City
Our young QBs were due a down game, and so it arrived - both threw an interception as the Chiefs controlled this one from start to finish. RB Von Hagel continued his good preseason form with 82 yards on only 9 carries.

Week 5: Buffalo 21-22 Philadelphia
Everyone came safely through the last preseason game, with all of our starters seeing significant playing time to get them ready for the regular season. The Eagles won the game, which is nice, but not really all that big a deal.

The only casualty of the preseason was backup LT Tyrell Scott, who will miss most of the regular season with plantar fasciitis.

[MartinD]

2015 Regular Season

Week 1: Philadelphia 13-10 washington
The blueprint to many of the wins in our Bowl-winning season was that the offence put up enough points, then the defence closed it out - that's exactly what happened here. The offence, led by QB Hutchins (21/25-159-0-0) and RB Walsh (17-92-1) put the points on the board, and the defence forced the Redskins to punt on every possession in the second half until they turned it over on downs with 44 seconds remaining.

Week 2: Philadelphia (1-0) 20-23 Buffalo (1-0)
Spotting an opponent a 17-point start isn't usually very good for your chances of winning a game... QB Hutchins (22/38-175-1-3) struggled with the need to come from behind, as the Eagles called 38 passes to 18 runs.

SS Wally Ross will miss the next couple of months with a back injury suffered during this game.

Week 3: Philadelphia (1-1) 20-17 Green Bay (2-0)
Our season-opening three game road trip ended with a win, despite another slow start - the Packers led 10-0 midway through the second quarter. SLB Ricky Adamski led the defence with 6 tackles, 1 sack, 2 pass blocks and an interception, while QB Hutchins (20/30-219-1-1) and WR Samanta (7-109-1) were the backbone of the offence.

Our injury problems at safety continue, with FS Dale Lester out for at least a month with a broken collar bone. Rookie FS Jumbo Hopkins will get the start in week 4.

Week 4: Atlanta (3-0) 27-28 Philadelphia (2-1)
The defence gave up over 400 yards of total offence, but came up big in the clutch - defending a 1-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Falcons started at ATL 40, ATL 29 and PHI 45, but couldn't put any points on the board. QB Hutchins (16/21-177-2-0) was solid and efficient, and WR Samanta had a 47-yard TD catch and a 99-yard kickoff return for a TD.

Week 5: New Orleans (0-4) 0-37 Philadelphia (3-1)
There are good reasons for New Orleans being winless so far, and the Eagles highlighted most of them in this game. QB Hutchins (25/29-220-2-0) and WR Samanta (8-120-1, plus an 81-yard punt return TD) led the offence for the second consecutive week, while the defence hassled the Saints QB all game, with 6 sacks, 4 hurries, 4 knockdowns and 2 picks.

Week 6: Philadelphia (4-1) 10-16 Carolina (1-4)
13 points in the fourth quarter brought the Panthers from behind to claim the victory. The Eagles defence had little response to the efficient passing of Carolina QB Tyrell Cook (20/22-203-1-0), and the offence struggled to mount consistent drives.

Week 7: Philadelphia (4-2) 17-6 Tampa Bay (3-3)
A solid team performance led to another road win for the Eagles. Hutchins (20/26-132-0-0) and Walsh (28-99-2) led the offence on several long drives, while the defence made it hard for the Tampa passing game to get in gear with 4 sacks of the Bucs QB and CB Jordan's 4 passes defenced.

Week 8: Philadelphia (5-2) 27-13 New York (3-3)
RB Roosevelt Walsh (26-149), with solid support from his offensive line, was the key to this victory as the Eagles pounded it out on the ground for a change. The defence also played its part, holding the Giants out of the end zone after an early TD.

This victory was not without a price, however, as veteran CBs Lorenzo Marsh and Phillip Crane both picked up serious injuries - Crane may be able to play again this season if the Eagles go deep into the playoffs, but Marsh is done for the year, and has been placed on IR. 4th-year CB Isaac Rasmussen (36/36 was signed as a replacement.

Midway through the season, the Eagles are one game out of the division lead, held by Dallas at 7-1, but have 6 home games to look forward to in the second half of the regular season.

Mid-season summary


Year 2015
Record 6-2
Winning Pct. .750
All-Time 65-86-1
Winning Pct. .430
Playoffs 3-1
Playoff Visits 2
Bowl Wins 1
Head Coach Wesley Bandle
Record 35-24
Winning Pct. .593
Off. Coord. K. Ford
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 30.1 11
Rushing Yards 116.3 13
Yards Per Carry 3.86 23
Pass Attempts 29.1 25
Completions 21.0 11
Completion Pct. 72.1 2
Passing Yards 173.4 30
Yards Per Attempt 5.95 26
Yards Per Catch 8.26 32
Total Yardage Gained 282.4 27
3rd Down Conversions 39.1 15
Points Per Game 21.5 10 (T)
Pass Rush Pct. 6.8 18
Pass Defense Pct. 66.4 11
Turnovers 13 21 (T)
Turnover Margin +3 8

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 27.0 14
Rushing Yards 112.0 18
Yards Per Carry 4.15 21
Pass Attempts 33.5 19
Completions 20.8 18 (T)
Completion Pct. 61.9 13 (T)
Passing Yards 211.0 13
Yards Per Attempt 6.30 12
Yards Per Catch 10.17 8
Total Yardage Gained 306.5 15
3rd Down Conversions 38.9 22
Points Per Game 14.0 4
Pass Rush Pct. 4.3 1
Pass Defense Pct. 59.1 8
Turnovers 16 2 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 13 at WAS 10
2 20 at BUF 23
3 20 at GBY 17
4 28 ATL 27
5 37 NOS 0
6 10 at CAR 16
7 17 at TBY 6
8 27 at NYK 13
9 WAS
10 DAL
12 at MIA
13 ARI
14 NJY
15 NYK
16 NED
17 at DAL

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
18 K. Hutchins QB 233 168 1387 5.95 8 7 85.9
**Team --- 233 168 1387 5.95 8 7 85.9
$$Opp --- 268 166 1688 6.30 5 7 75.2

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
38 R. Walsh RB 145 638 4.40 5 6
35 T. Singleton RB 50 198 3.96 2 1
18 K. Hutchins QB 23 38 1.65 1 0
32 B. Von Hagel RB 23 56 2.43 1 0
**Team --- 241 930 3.86 9 11
$$Opp --- 216 896 4.15 4 14

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
82 A. Samanta WR 54 38 464 12.21 8.59 3 5
88 L. Cox TE 28 23 227 9.87 8.11 2 0
37 D. Troyer FB 27 22 62 2.82 2.30 0 1
80 C. Rosano WR 28 18 193 10.72 6.89 1 0
38 R. Walsh RB 18 16 43 2.69 2.39 0 0
87 R. Sims WR 28 15 174 11.60 6.21 2 0
86 C. Dawkins TE 16 14 71 5.07 4.44 1 1
85 J. Musial WR 16 12 109 9.08 6.81 0 1

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
54 V. Tayoun ILB 42 12 1.0 2 0 2 72.9
52 L. Knoblett OLB 34 9 1.0 0 0 4 77.3
57 R. Adamski OLB 33 4 1.0 0 1 4 75.6
27 P. Crane CB 29 14 0.0 0 2 5 81.7
25 J. Jordan CB 26 1 0.0 0 2 7 82.5
26 L. Marsh CB 21 3 0.0 0 0 4 77.7
93 C. Campbell DT 21 3 2.0 5 0 0 82.5
51 S. Long OLB 19 6 0.0 0 2 0 86.8
20 J. Hopkins S 18 2 0.0 0 0 3 80.2
98 S. McKenzie DE 16 11 4.0 2 0 0 81.0
28 C. Allison CB 15 1 0.0 0 0 1 71.4
22 V. Harper S 15 9 0.0 0 0 0 76.6
96 B. Andrews DT 13 9 1.5 1 0 0 82.5
29 N. Strong CB 13 1 1.0 0 0 1 73.2
92 C. Turner DE 12 8 4.0 4 0 0 82.5
91 R. Salerno DE 11 8 1.0 7 0 0 81.2
23 W. Ross S 10 3 0.0 0 0 1 68.9
90 S. Saylor DT 10 7 1.0 1 0 0 81.3
99 M. Rivers DE 9 3 3.5 4 0 0 80.7
56 J. Glover ILB 8 9 0.0 0 0 0 75.3


A solid start to the year, with things working well on both sides of the ball. Rookie RB Walsh has proved to be a good choice to be our featured back, and WR Samanta is now definitely our leading receiver - would be nice to find someone to act as a solid foil for him on the other side, though. On defence, there are no real standouts, but pretty much everyone who's seen playing time has played well - yardage numbers aren't all that good, but I can live with giving up only 14 points a game.

[MartinD]

2015 Regular Season

Week 1: Philadelphia 13-10 washington
The blueprint to many of the wins in our Bowl-winning season was that the offence put up enough points, then the defence closed it out - that's exactly what happened here. The offence, led by QB Hutchins (21/25-159-0-0) and RB Walsh (17-92-1) put the points on the board, and the defence forced the Redskins to punt on every possession in the second half until they turned it over on downs with 44 seconds remaining.

Week 2: Philadelphia (1-0) 20-23 Buffalo (1-0)
Spotting an opponent a 17-point start isn't usually very good for your chances of winning a game... QB Hutchins (22/38-175-1-3) struggled with the need to come from behind, as the Eagles called 38 passes to 18 runs.

SS Wally Ross will miss the next couple of months with a back injury suffered during this game.

Week 3: Philadelphia (1-1) 20-17 Green Bay (2-0)
Our season-opening three game road trip ended with a win, despite another slow start - the Packers led 10-0 midway through the second quarter. SLB Ricky Adamski led the defence with 6 tackles, 1 sack, 2 pass blocks and an interception, while QB Hutchins (20/30-219-1-1) and WR Samanta (7-109-1) were the backbone of the offence.

Our injury problems at safety continue, with FS Dale Lester out for at least a month with a broken collar bone. Rookie FS Jumbo Hopkins will get the start in week 4.

Week 4: Atlanta (3-0) 27-28 Philadelphia (2-1)
The defence gave up over 400 yards of total offence, but came up big in the clutch - defending a 1-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Falcons started at ATL 40, ATL 29 and PHI 45, but couldn't put any points on the board. QB Hutchins (16/21-177-2-0) was solid and efficient, and WR Samanta had a 47-yard TD catch and a 99-yard kickoff return for a TD.

Week 5: New Orleans (0-4) 0-37 Philadelphia (3-1)
There are good reasons for New Orleans being winless so far, and the Eagles highlighted most of them in this game. QB Hutchins (25/29-220-2-0) and WR Samanta (8-120-1, plus an 81-yard punt return TD) led the offence for the second consecutive week, while the defence hassled the Saints QB all game, with 6 sacks, 4 hurries, 4 knockdowns and 2 picks.

Week 6: Philadelphia (4-1) 10-16 Carolina (1-4)
13 points in the fourth quarter brought the Panthers from behind to claim the victory. The Eagles defence had little response to the efficient passing of Carolina QB Tyrell Cook (20/22-203-1-0), and the offence struggled to mount consistent drives.

Week 7: Philadelphia (4-2) 17-6 Tampa Bay (3-3)
A solid team performance led to another road win for the Eagles. Hutchins (20/26-132-0-0) and Walsh (28-99-2) led the offence on several long drives, while the defence made it hard for the Tampa passing game to get in gear with 4 sacks of the Bucs QB and CB Jordan's 4 passes defenced.

Week 8: Philadelphia (5-2) 27-13 New York (3-3)
RB Roosevelt Walsh (26-149), with solid support from his offensive line, was the key to this victory as the Eagles pounded it out on the ground for a change. The defence also played its part, holding the Giants out of the end zone after an early TD.

This victory was not without a price, however, as veteran CBs Lorenzo Marsh and Phillip Crane both picked up serious injuries - Crane may be able to play again this season if the Eagles go deep into the playoffs, but Marsh is done for the year, and has been placed on IR. 4th-year CB Isaac Rasmussen (36/36 was signed as a replacement.

Midway through the season, the Eagles are one game out of the division lead, held by Dallas at 7-1, but have 6 home games to look forward to in the second half of the regular season.

Mid-season summary


Year 2015
Record 6-2
Winning Pct. .750
All-Time 65-86-1
Winning Pct. .430
Playoffs 3-1
Playoff Visits 2
Bowl Wins 1
Head Coach Wesley Bandle
Record 35-24
Winning Pct. .593
Off. Coord. K. Ford
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 30.1 11
Rushing Yards 116.3 13
Yards Per Carry 3.86 23
Pass Attempts 29.1 25
Completions 21.0 11
Completion Pct. 72.1 2
Passing Yards 173.4 30
Yards Per Attempt 5.95 26
Yards Per Catch 8.26 32
Total Yardage Gained 282.4 27
3rd Down Conversions 39.1 15
Points Per Game 21.5 10 (T)
Pass Rush Pct. 6.8 18
Pass Defense Pct. 66.4 11
Turnovers 13 21 (T)
Turnover Margin +3 8

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 27.0 14
Rushing Yards 112.0 18
Yards Per Carry 4.15 21
Pass Attempts 33.5 19
Completions 20.8 18 (T)
Completion Pct. 61.9 13 (T)
Passing Yards 211.0 13
Yards Per Attempt 6.30 12
Yards Per Catch 10.17 8
Total Yardage Gained 306.5 15
3rd Down Conversions 38.9 22
Points Per Game 14.0 4
Pass Rush Pct. 4.3 1
Pass Defense Pct. 59.1 8
Turnovers 16 2 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 13 at WAS 10
2 20 at BUF 23
3 20 at GBY 17
4 28 ATL 27
5 37 NOS 0
6 10 at CAR 16
7 17 at TBY 6
8 27 at NYK 13
9 WAS
10 DAL
12 at MIA
13 ARI
14 NJY
15 NYK
16 NED
17 at DAL

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
18 K. Hutchins QB 233 168 1387 5.95 8 7 85.9
**Team --- 233 168 1387 5.95 8 7 85.9
$$Opp --- 268 166 1688 6.30 5 7 75.2

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
38 R. Walsh RB 145 638 4.40 5 6
35 T. Singleton RB 50 198 3.96 2 1
18 K. Hutchins QB 23 38 1.65 1 0
32 B. Von Hagel RB 23 56 2.43 1 0
**Team --- 241 930 3.86 9 11
$$Opp --- 216 896 4.15 4 14

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
82 A. Samanta WR 54 38 464 12.21 8.59 3 5
88 L. Cox TE 28 23 227 9.87 8.11 2 0
37 D. Troyer FB 27 22 62 2.82 2.30 0 1
80 C. Rosano WR 28 18 193 10.72 6.89 1 0
38 R. Walsh RB 18 16 43 2.69 2.39 0 0
87 R. Sims WR 28 15 174 11.60 6.21 2 0
86 C. Dawkins TE 16 14 71 5.07 4.44 1 1
85 J. Musial WR 16 12 109 9.08 6.81 0 1

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
54 V. Tayoun ILB 42 12 1.0 2 0 2 72.9
52 L. Knoblett OLB 34 9 1.0 0 0 4 77.3
57 R. Adamski OLB 33 4 1.0 0 1 4 75.6
27 P. Crane CB 29 14 0.0 0 2 5 81.7
25 J. Jordan CB 26 1 0.0 0 2 7 82.5
26 L. Marsh CB 21 3 0.0 0 0 4 77.7
93 C. Campbell DT 21 3 2.0 5 0 0 82.5
51 S. Long OLB 19 6 0.0 0 2 0 86.8
20 J. Hopkins S 18 2 0.0 0 0 3 80.2
98 S. McKenzie DE 16 11 4.0 2 0 0 81.0
28 C. Allison CB 15 1 0.0 0 0 1 71.4
22 V. Harper S 15 9 0.0 0 0 0 76.6
96 B. Andrews DT 13 9 1.5 1 0 0 82.5
29 N. Strong CB 13 1 1.0 0 0 1 73.2
92 C. Turner DE 12 8 4.0 4 0 0 82.5
91 R. Salerno DE 11 8 1.0 7 0 0 81.2
23 W. Ross S 10 3 0.0 0 0 1 68.9
90 S. Saylor DT 10 7 1.0 1 0 0 81.3
99 M. Rivers DE 9 3 3.5 4 0 0 80.7
56 J. Glover ILB 8 9 0.0 0 0 0 75.3


A solid start to the year, with things working well on both sides of the ball. Rookie RB Walsh has proved to be a good choice to be our featured back, and WR Samanta is now definitely our leading receiver - would be nice to find someone to act as a solid foil for him on the other side, though. On defence, there are no real standouts, but pretty much everyone who's seen playing time has played well - yardage numbers aren't all that good, but I can live with giving up only 14 points a game.

[MartinD]

2015 Regular Season

Week 1: Philadelphia 13-10 washington
The blueprint to many of the wins in our Bowl-winning season was that the offence put up enough points, then the defence closed it out - that's exactly what happened here. The offence, led by QB Hutchins (21/25-159-0-0) and RB Walsh (17-92-1) put the points on the board, and the defence forced the Redskins to punt on every possession in the second half until they turned it over on downs with 44 seconds remaining.

Week 2: Philadelphia (1-0) 20-23 Buffalo (1-0)
Spotting an opponent a 17-point start isn't usually very good for your chances of winning a game... QB Hutchins (22/38-175-1-3) struggled with the need to come from behind, as the Eagles called 38 passes to 18 runs.

SS Wally Ross will miss the next couple of months with a back injury suffered during this game.

Week 3: Philadelphia (1-1) 20-17 Green Bay (2-0)
Our season-opening three game road trip ended with a win, despite another slow start - the Packers led 10-0 midway through the second quarter. SLB Ricky Adamski led the defence with 6 tackles, 1 sack, 2 pass blocks and an interception, while QB Hutchins (20/30-219-1-1) and WR Samanta (7-109-1) were the backbone of the offence.

Our injury problems at safety continue, with FS Dale Lester out for at least a month with a broken collar bone. Rookie FS Jumbo Hopkins will get the start in week 4.

Week 4: Atlanta (3-0) 27-28 Philadelphia (2-1)
The defence gave up over 400 yards of total offence, but came up big in the clutch - defending a 1-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Falcons started at ATL 40, ATL 29 and PHI 45, but couldn't put any points on the board. QB Hutchins (16/21-177-2-0) was solid and efficient, and WR Samanta had a 47-yard TD catch and a 99-yard kickoff return for a TD.

Week 5: New Orleans (0-4) 0-37 Philadelphia (3-1)
There are good reasons for New Orleans being winless so far, and the Eagles highlighted most of them in this game. QB Hutchins (25/29-220-2-0) and WR Samanta (8-120-1, plus an 81-yard punt return TD) led the offence for the second consecutive week, while the defence hassled the Saints QB all game, with 6 sacks, 4 hurries, 4 knockdowns and 2 picks.

Week 6: Philadelphia (4-1) 10-16 Carolina (1-4)
13 points in the fourth quarter brought the Panthers from behind to claim the victory. The Eagles defence had little response to the efficient passing of Carolina QB Tyrell Cook (20/22-203-1-0), and the offence struggled to mount consistent drives.

Week 7: Philadelphia (4-2) 17-6 Tampa Bay (3-3)
A solid team performance led to another road win for the Eagles. Hutchins (20/26-132-0-0) and Walsh (28-99-2) led the offence on several long drives, while the defence made it hard for the Tampa passing game to get in gear with 4 sacks of the Bucs QB and CB Jordan's 4 passes defenced.

Week 8: Philadelphia (5-2) 27-13 New York (3-3)
RB Roosevelt Walsh (26-149), with solid support from his offensive line, was the key to this victory as the Eagles pounded it out on the ground for a change. The defence also played its part, holding the Giants out of the end zone after an early TD.

This victory was not without a price, however, as veteran CBs Lorenzo Marsh and Phillip Crane both picked up serious injuries - Crane may be able to play again this season if the Eagles go deep into the playoffs, but Marsh is done for the year, and has been placed on IR. 4th-year CB Isaac Rasmussen (36/36 was signed as a replacement.

Midway through the season, the Eagles are one game out of the division lead, held by Dallas at 7-1, but have 6 home games to look forward to in the second half of the regular season.

Mid-season summary


Year 2015
Record 6-2
Winning Pct. .750
All-Time 65-86-1
Winning Pct. .430
Playoffs 3-1
Playoff Visits 2
Bowl Wins 1
Head Coach Wesley Bandle
Record 35-24
Winning Pct. .593
Off. Coord. K. Ford
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 30.1 11
Rushing Yards 116.3 13
Yards Per Carry 3.86 23
Pass Attempts 29.1 25
Completions 21.0 11
Completion Pct. 72.1 2
Passing Yards 173.4 30
Yards Per Attempt 5.95 26
Yards Per Catch 8.26 32
Total Yardage Gained 282.4 27
3rd Down Conversions 39.1 15
Points Per Game 21.5 10 (T)
Pass Rush Pct. 6.8 18
Pass Defense Pct. 66.4 11
Turnovers 13 21 (T)
Turnover Margin +3 8

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 27.0 14
Rushing Yards 112.0 18
Yards Per Carry 4.15 21
Pass Attempts 33.5 19
Completions 20.8 18 (T)
Completion Pct. 61.9 13 (T)
Passing Yards 211.0 13
Yards Per Attempt 6.30 12
Yards Per Catch 10.17 8
Total Yardage Gained 306.5 15
3rd Down Conversions 38.9 22
Points Per Game 14.0 4
Pass Rush Pct. 4.3 1
Pass Defense Pct. 59.1 8
Turnovers 16 2 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 13 at WAS 10
2 20 at BUF 23
3 20 at GBY 17
4 28 ATL 27
5 37 NOS 0
6 10 at CAR 16
7 17 at TBY 6
8 27 at NYK 13
9 WAS
10 DAL
12 at MIA
13 ARI
14 NJY
15 NYK
16 NED
17 at DAL

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
18 K. Hutchins QB 233 168 1387 5.95 8 7 85.9
**Team --- 233 168 1387 5.95 8 7 85.9
$$Opp --- 268 166 1688 6.30 5 7 75.2

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
38 R. Walsh RB 145 638 4.40 5 6
35 T. Singleton RB 50 198 3.96 2 1
18 K. Hutchins QB 23 38 1.65 1 0
32 B. Von Hagel RB 23 56 2.43 1 0
**Team --- 241 930 3.86 9 11
$$Opp --- 216 896 4.15 4 14

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
82 A. Samanta WR 54 38 464 12.21 8.59 3 5
88 L. Cox TE 28 23 227 9.87 8.11 2 0
37 D. Troyer FB 27 22 62 2.82 2.30 0 1
80 C. Rosano WR 28 18 193 10.72 6.89 1 0
38 R. Walsh RB 18 16 43 2.69 2.39 0 0
87 R. Sims WR 28 15 174 11.60 6.21 2 0
86 C. Dawkins TE 16 14 71 5.07 4.44 1 1
85 J. Musial WR 16 12 109 9.08 6.81 0 1

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
54 V. Tayoun ILB 42 12 1.0 2 0 2 72.9
52 L. Knoblett OLB 34 9 1.0 0 0 4 77.3
57 R. Adamski OLB 33 4 1.0 0 1 4 75.6
27 P. Crane CB 29 14 0.0 0 2 5 81.7
25 J. Jordan CB 26 1 0.0 0 2 7 82.5
26 L. Marsh CB 21 3 0.0 0 0 4 77.7
93 C. Campbell DT 21 3 2.0 5 0 0 82.5
51 S. Long OLB 19 6 0.0 0 2 0 86.8
20 J. Hopkins S 18 2 0.0 0 0 3 80.2
98 S. McKenzie DE 16 11 4.0 2 0 0 81.0
28 C. Allison CB 15 1 0.0 0 0 1 71.4
22 V. Harper S 15 9 0.0 0 0 0 76.6
96 B. Andrews DT 13 9 1.5 1 0 0 82.5
29 N. Strong CB 13 1 1.0 0 0 1 73.2
92 C. Turner DE 12 8 4.0 4 0 0 82.5
91 R. Salerno DE 11 8 1.0 7 0 0 81.2
23 W. Ross S 10 3 0.0 0 0 1 68.9
90 S. Saylor DT 10 7 1.0 1 0 0 81.3
99 M. Rivers DE 9 3 3.5 4 0 0 80.7
56 J. Glover ILB 8 9 0.0 0 0 0 75.3


A solid start to the year, with things working well on both sides of the ball. Rookie RB Walsh has proved to be a good choice to be our featured back, and WR Samanta is now definitely our leading receiver - would be nice to find someone to act as a solid foil for him on the other side, though. On defence, there are no real standouts, but pretty much everyone who's seen playing time has played well - yardage numbers aren't all that good, but I can live with giving up only 14 points a game.

[MartinD]

Week 9: Washington (2-6) 14-26 Philadelphia (6-2)
I had bad feelings about this being a 'trap' game (against a weaker team as we finally get another home game), but the team came through with a solid performance. Hutchins (18/26-163-2-1) and Walsh (30-111) led the offence, with RT Huffman (6/8 KRB, 1 pancake) leading the way, and four of our defensive linemen recorded sacks.

Week 10: Dallas (7-2) 28-21 Philadelphia (7-2)
Big plays were our downfall in this game - after pulling back within a point at 14-13, the Cowboys hit a 71-yard TD pass to go 8 ahead. After a Hutchins to Samanta TD pass tied it with just over 2 minutes to play, Dallas hit an 80-yard TD pass the other way for the final points of the game. Apart from that, the game went well - Hutchins (24/37-204-2-0), Walsh (18-107) and Samanta (5-71-1) were solid, the offensive line played well and the defence (apart from the big plays) held the Cowboys in check.

Rookie RB Roosevelt Walsh broke a collar bone in this game, and will miss the next month - Singleton and Von Hagel will fill in while he's out.

Week 11: Bye - much needed to help the guys get over some niggling injuries. At this point, I decided to tweak my defensive gameplan - our second cornerback isn't a shut-down guy now, so we're going to give him some safety help a bit of the time.

Week 12: Philadelphia (7-3) 24-3 Miami (5-5)
It's not often you get a QB with figures like these - Hutchins 24/31-163-3-0 (with all three TD passes to FL Samanta) and he doesn't get game MVP, but it happened here. CB Jerome Jordan had 5 tackles, 2 passes defenced, 2 interceptions and a fumble recovery as part of a solid defensive performance to earn the MVP.

Week 13: Arizona (7-4) 10-20 Philadelphia (8-3)
The first game of four in a row at home, so it was important to get the win here. A solid team performance got the job done - the offence put the points on the board (with Hutchins (18/23-177-1-0) putting in another good shift), the defence kept the Cardinals in check, and the special teams did their usual efficient job.

Week 14: New Jersey (5-7) 7-26 Philadelphia (9-3)
QB Hutchins (32/38-263-2-0) had the best game of his career so far, and the defence limited the Jets to 207 total yards and 10 first downs in a comfortable win. CB Jordan and SLB Knoblett picked off the Jets' QB in the fourth to snuff out any hope of a comeback.

TE Lewis Cox broke his leg in this game, and will be out for the rest of the season - he was put on IR after the game, with 11th-year TE Deron Jacomy being signed to take his spot.

With two games to go in the regular season, the Eagles are currently the 1st wild card team - Dallas (11-2) are ahead of us in the NFC East (and we go to Dallas in week 17), with Atlanta also at 11-2.

Week 15: New York (5-8) 10-20 Philadelphia (10-3)
This one didn't look good midway through the second quarter, with the Giants 10-0 ahead, but the Eagles took control of the game from then on. The Giants didn't make it into Eagle territory the rest of the way, and the Philadelphia offence clicked into gear behind QB Hutchins (26/36-269-1-0). CB Jerome Jordan had another good game, with 4 passes defenced and a pick.

Week 16: New England (6-8) 22-21 Philadelphia (11-3)
A frustrating game, as both Dallas and Atlanta (the two teams ahead of us in the conference) both lost as well. The Patriots deserved the win, though, as they were able to run up 477 yards of offence in this game - the Eagles can thank solid red zone defence (Pats had 5 field goals) and special teams (90-yard kick return for TD from Samanta) for keeping it this close.

Going into the last game of the regular season, the Eagles are guaranteed a playoff spot, and will be the #5 seed if we don't beat Dallas in week 17. Things get interesting if Philadelphia beat the Cowboys, though - the team that wins the division will be no worse than the #2 seed (i.e. week off!), and I think we would come out on top in the tiebreaker...

Week 17: Philadelphia (11-4) 15-29 Dallas (12-3)
Looks like we'll have to do things the hard way... No complaints again - beaten by the better team on the day. After driving for a field goal to lead 15-14 on the first possession of the second half, the Cowboys shut the Eagles offence down, and were able to put up 15 more points of their own. QB Hutchins (21/32-215-1-2) had a decent game, but was picked off twice by Dallas CB Artie Parnell.

The loss means that Philadelphia are the first wild card team (seeded #5 in the NFC playoffs), and will travel to Seattle for a wild card playoff matchup.

[MartinD]

2015 Playoffs

Wild Card Round

The #5-seeded Eagles travel to Seattle to face the NFC West Division Champion Seahawks, seeded #4. Seattle are a relatively balanced team, with QB Killian a solid manager rather than a guy who can win games on his own, and RBs Nelson and Woods operating in a RB-by-committee setup. The defence is decent rather than brilliant in terms of yardage, but forces a lot of turnovers, a big reason for the Seahawks being +11 on turnovers during the season.

Seattle started the game strongly, moving purposefully down the field on their opening possession - 12 plays, 78 yards, 3-yard Woods TD run, Seahawks lead 7-0. Both offences stalled for the remainder of the first quarter, but Philadelphia's renowned special teams unit provided a spark for the Eagles as Sudnik forced the punt returner to fumble - Dawkins recovered at the Seahawks 15. Hutchins found TE Jacomy with two short passes, including the touchdown pass from 3 yards out to tie it up at 7.

After a Seattle drive petered out near midfield, the Eagles drove downfield - Seattle's defence forced a field goal try, though, and Oden missed wide right from 44 yards out. The Seahawks took advantage of the resulting good field position to drive into range for a field goal try of their own, and K Patel hit the 47-yarder to put Seattle up 10-7. Hutchins was intercepted on Philadelphia's next drive, and the Seahawks again took advantage - Killian finding WR Enzi with a 16-yard TD pass just inside the 2-minute warning. Eagles QB Hutchins regrouped, and led a smooth 2-minute drill down the field, with Oden's field goal making the score 17-10 Seahawks at the half.

The Eagles got the ball first in the third quarter, and kept the momentum of their last drive going by marching down the field - the drive ended when C Dawson sprung RB Walsh for a 20-yard TD run, making it 17-all early in the third quarter. After a Seattle three and out, the Philadelphia offence just kept on marching, but stalled in long field goal range. Oden made up for his earlier miscue by drilling his 45-yard kick right down the middle to give the Eagles their first lead of the game at 20-17.

Seattle came back with a nice drive of their own, reaching the Philadelphia 26 before CB Jordan picked off Killian and snuffed out the scoring threat. The turnover led to another 3 points, with Oden hitting a 50-yarder this time. As was the case in their Bowl-winning run two years ago, the Eagles defence took over the game from this point on - Seattle didn't get into scoring range the rest of the way until it was too late. Another Oden field goal at the two-minute warning rounded off the scoring, and Jordan made his second interception of the day to snuff out Seattle's final drive. After winning this game 26-17, the Eagles advance to play #1-seeded Atlanta in the divisional round.

Divisional Round

Another road trip, this time to face the 13-3 Falcons, the #1 seed in the NFC. Even after a bye week, Atlanta are banged up - their injury report has about 15 players on it, with 7 listed as 'out'. This is a classic playoff team - an offence based around running the ball but with the threat of a big-play passing game, and a solid defence that makes opponents work for every yard and comes up with plenty of turnovers. This is not a team of stars, though - definitely a group of guys who play well as a team, with the whole being better than the sum of the parts.

A promising opening drive from the Eagles was derailed by a couple of procedure penalties, forcing a punt, which pinned the Falcons back deep in their own end. Atlanta made light of the good field position, though, driving down the field with relative ease - the 91-yard drive was finished off by RB Lorch, who scored from 5 yards out to put the Falcons up 7-0. The Philadelphia offence responded in the best way possible, though, putting together an impressive drive of their own - short yardage back Singleton pounding it in on a 1-yard TD run to tie it at 7 on the first play of the second quarter. The rest of the second quarter was all about the defences, with neither offence able to get into scoring position until the Falcons were able to set up a 56-yard field goal try just before time expired - K Gionfriddo hit the long kick to give the Falcons a 10-7 lead at the half.

Philadelphia kicked off the second half, and the Falcons stretched their lead without their offence needing to take the field - KR Canada took the kickoff all the way back, 94 yards for the TD that put Atlanta up by 10. Undeterred, the Eagles offence took the field - 17 plays later, RB Von Hagel took the ball in for a 2-yard TD to cap an 80-yard drive that had taken nine and a half minutes, making it 17-14 to the home team. After forcing a three and out, the Eagles drove into Falcons territory, but stalled just outside of Oden's range, and had to punt the ball away.

Atlanta were in possession at the start of the fourth quarter, but both defences played it tough on the next few drives. Philadelphia finally broke the shackles midway through the quarter, putting together a 43-yard drive into field goal range - Oden booted it through from 45 yards to tie the game at 17 with just over 4 minutes left. This was plenty of time for the Falcons to put a scoring drive together, though, and that's what they did, mixing run and pass on an impressive 67-yard drive, ended when RB Lorch scored his second TD of the day, giving the Falcons a 7-point lead with less than two minutes to play.

A good kick put the ball in the endzone, meaning Philadelphia needed to drive it 80 yards for the tying score. With one last chance to save the game, the Eagles went with the arm of Keith Hutchins to move the ball down the field - the defence was too strong, though, and the Eagles were unable to muster a first down, turning the ball over on downs deep inside their own territory. Game over? Not quite - a thumping tackle by Lester and Long jarred the ball loose on the Falcons' next play, and DT Andrews dropped on the ball to give Philadelphia another one last chance, starting at their own 27 with 61 seconds left. That used up the miracles for this game, though, as the Atlanta defence forced another turnover on downs. A hard-fought game, but the Falcons advance to the Championship Game, beating the Eagles 24-17.

A tough way to end the season, but it's a big ask to go to play the #1 seed in their own stadium and come away with the victory - we definitely had chances to win this game, but it wasn't to be.

Dallas upset Atlanta on the road to win the NFC Championship, then comfortably beat Oakland 34-17 in the Bowl game.

[MartinD]

2015 Season Summary


2015 Summary for Philadelphia Eagles

Year 2015
Record 12-6
Winning Pct. .666
All-Time 70-89-1
Winning Pct. .440
Playoffs 4-2
Playoff Visits 3
Bowl Wins 1
Head Coach Wesley Bandle
Record 41-28
Winning Pct. .594
Off. Coord. K. Ford
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 31.2 6
Rushing Yards 117.2 12
Yards Per Carry 3.76 29
Pass Attempts 29.8 25 (T)
Completions 21.6 8
Completion Pct. 72.3 1
Passing Yards 186.3 28
Yards Per Attempt 6.25 23
Yards Per Catch 8.64 32
Total Yardage Gained 295.4 22
3rd Down Conversions 38.0 14
Points Per Game 21.6 12
Pass Rush Pct. 7.5 13 (T)
Pass Defense Pct. 69.4 5
Turnovers 23 11 (T)
Turnover Margin +7 10 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 26.4 11
Rushing Yards 107.2 14
Yards Per Carry 4.05 16
Pass Attempts 32.7 17
Completions 19.5 6 (T)
Completion Pct. 59.7 9
Passing Yards 210.7 16
Yards Per Attempt 6.45 13
Yards Per Catch 10.80 20
Total Yardage Gained 301.1 11
3rd Down Conversions 36.1 16 (T)
Points Per Game 14.7 3
Pass Rush Pct. 4.3 1
Pass Defense Pct. 58.9 4
Turnovers 30 8 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 13 at WAS 10
2 20 at BUF 23
3 20 at GBY 17
4 28 ATL 27
5 37 NOS 0
6 10 at CAR 16
7 17 at TBY 6
8 27 at NYK 13
9 26 WAS 14
10 21 DAL 28
12 24 at MIA 3
13 20 ARI 10
14 26 NJY 7
15 20 NYK 10
16 21 NED 22
17 15 at DAL 29
$$WC 26 at SEA 17
$$CS 17 at ATL 24

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
18 K. Hutchins QB 477 345 2980 6.25 21 11 93.4
**Team --- 477 345 2980 6.25 21 11 93.4
$$Opp --- 523 312 3371 6.45 15 15 76.2

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
38 R. Walsh RB 228 985 4.32 6 8
35 T. Singleton RB 132 497 3.77 3 4
32 B. Von Hagel RB 92 314 3.41 2 0
18 K. Hutchins QB 47 79 1.68 1 5
**Team --- 499 1875 3.76 12 25
$$Opp --- 423 1715 4.05 7 27

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
82 A. Samanta WR 98 74 812 10.97 8.29 4 10
80 C. Rosano WR 78 52 590 11.35 7.56 2 3
37 D. Troyer FB 53 46 170 3.70 3.21 0 1
87 R. Sims WR 62 36 471 13.08 7.60 3 3
88 L. Cox TE 37 30 287 9.57 7.76 2 0
86 C. Dawkins TE 28 24 120 5.00 4.29 1 1
38 R. Walsh RB 25 22 57 2.59 2.28 0 0
85 J. Musial WR 36 20 156 7.80 4.33 1 2

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
54 V. Tayoun ILB 78 33 3.5 6 0 3 74.5
52 L. Knoblett OLB 65 18 2.0 2 2 6 75.8
57 R. Adamski OLB 59 11 2.0 0 1 5 75.7
25 J. Jordan CB 54 7 0.0 0 6 20 87.9
51 S. Long OLB 43 17 1.0 2 2 1 79.9
20 J. Hopkins S 40 6 0.0 0 0 4 76.3
93 C. Campbell DT 38 5 3.5 11 0 0 82.1
23 W. Ross S 35 18 0.0 0 1 5 81.4
29 N. Strong CB 33 3 1.0 0 1 3 76.2
22 V. Harper S 31 14 0.0 0 0 3 78.4
96 B. Andrews DT 30 18 4.5 4 0 1 82.8
98 S. McKenzie DE 30 19 6.5 5 0 0 80.5
27 P. Crane CB 29 14 0.0 0 2 5 81.7
91 R. Salerno DE 26 12 4.0 11 0 0 81.5
92 C. Turner DE 25 8 7.5 7 0 1 82.7
26 L. Marsh CB 21 3 0.0 0 0 4 77.7
90 S. Saylor DT 20 12 1.0 2 0 0 81.8
21 D. Lester S 19 4 0.0 0 0 2 77.9
56 J. Glover ILB 18 14 0.0 0 0 0 73.2
24 I. Rasmussen CB 17 2 0.0 0 0 2 77.1
28 C. Allison CB 16 2 0.0 0 0 1 72.5


A good season for the team, but not quite good enough - we finished a couple of games away from the division title (an inability to beat Dallas really hurt us there...), and couldn't overcome our low seeding in the playoffs.

On offence, Keith Hutchins continued to show that Cleveland made a big mistake in not giving him a chance to play with his best season so far. Rookie RB Walsh had a few problems holding onto the ball, but was productive as our main runner. Antoine Samanta finally started to establish himself as a true #1 reciever (and was a constant threat on kick and punt returns all year). The key to the solid offensive production was a good performance from the offensive line - of our starters, only LT Tanner hit less than 30% of his key run block opportunities, and Hutchins was sacked only 20 times all year. LG Martin was our best lineman, which came as no surprise to anyone, but 2nd year C Dawson also had a very good year (always nice when a low-round pick turns out to be a quality player!).

On defence, the yardage numbers weren't as good as in previous years, but this was a bit of a transition year, with quite a few of the starters in our Bowl-winning year now reaching the end of their careers. The standout as our defensive MVP was CB Jerome Jordan, who came into the league with high expectations, and has exceeded pretty much every expectation that was made of him - he is now a true shut-down corner, a guy you can use to take one side of the field out of play. The linebackers were solid all year, with Knoblett now looking like a solid starter to go alongside Long and Tayoun. The defensive line was probably the weak point, with the pass rush struggling a bit this year - rookie DE Salerno was solid, but didn't produce big numbers, while Rivers and Turner were less effective than in previous years - this is still an area that needs attention.

Special teams were again solid, with Sudnik and Rayburn more than justifying their roster spots on their special teams work alone. Samanta scored on both kick and punt returns, finishing with very solid averages for both, while K Oden hit on 30 of 35 field goals attempted. Rookie punter Koumentakos had an indifferent year, but was generally effective.

2015 Awards

A few Eagles got a mention in the awards this year:

LG Zack Martin: First Team All-Pro
CB Jerome Jordan: First Team All-Pro
C Thomas Dawson: First Team All-Pro

Looking ahead to next year...

The Eagles should remain in playoff contention, but there are definitely holes to be filled - the defensive line and secondary are aging, so younger players need to be brought in, and the offence would benefit from having one or two more playmakers to catch Hutchins' passes. It's going to be tough, though, with this year's Bowl winner in our division...

[MartinD]

2016 season

Herb's evaluation for 2015: 66/66/51/82, for an overall score of 59

The team showed a loss of $9.48m on revenues of $183.2m last year - while slightly higher attendances raised revenues, the team paid out a lot of money in signing bonuses last year (a high draft pick, plus large renegotiated contracts with two of our best players will do that...)

Two retirements this year - TE Lewis Cox, and his mid-season replacement TE Deron Jacomy.

Lewis Cox was a 6th-round pick of the Eagles in the 2006 draft, and never played for another team. He ended up being a solid starter for most of his career, catching almost 300 passes for over 3000 yards, retiring as the Eagles leader in receptions. He was also a solid blocker and good special teams player. After enduring through the lean years, the Eagles won the Front Office Bowl in his 9th year. A broken leg late in the 2015 season caused him to hang up his cleats to end a solid, workmanlike career.

Staff hiring

No changes here, as all staff are under contract through this year.

2016 Free Agency

The team starts the year with 43 players signed, and $30.70m of a $140.8m salary cap free. $4.87m of that salary cap space is expected to be used to sign this year's rookie draft picks - we pick between 24th and 26th in each round, and have a pick in each round except the 2nd (traded to Washington last year in order to move up and draft DE Rod Salerno).

We have a few free agents this year, most notably SE Clifton Rosano, RDE Cornell Turner and RDT Blaine Andrews, but I don't anticipate trying to bring these guys back, as all of them are in their 11th year. The only free agent worth using the franchise tag on is K Matt Oden, who's in his 10th year, but has been consistently accurate through the time I've been GM. The franchise salary for kickers this year is $2.74m, which is certainly not a problem at this point - Oden is this year's franchise player.

We have a few potential candidates for sending to the summer league - DE Rod Salerno is certainly an option, but he's developing pretty well as it is, and will see plenty of playing time in the coming season to continue that development. CB Nicky Strong and S Jumbo Hopkins would definitely benefit from some time in Europe, as would one of our 2nd-year QBs, Ray Perroni and James Ritchey. I decide to send S Hopkins, as he's likely to be required to start at safety sooner rather than later, and he will get plenty of playing time this year in nickel and dime packages in any case.

We're still among the cheapest tickets in the league, so a small bump in ticket prices this year - from 40/50/65/75/175/75,000 to 45/55/70/85/200/85,000.

At the start of the free agency period, Buffalo offer a trade for QB Keith Hutchins - they would give us a 3rd round pick and a good young RB in exchange. While the RB would be a useful addition, there's no way that I want to trade Hutchins at this point - while he's now in his 9th year (and will turn 30 before the season starts), he's still a very solid starting QB, and I've seen at first hand how hard it can be to find one of those! The trade offer is rejected.

We have a few restricted free agents this year - the only two I'm looking to bring back are starting FB D.J. Troyer and backup guard Ty Burgess.

Contracts renegotiated before the start of free agency proper:
FB D.J. Troyer - 2 years, $1.81m
RG Ty Burgess - 2 years, $1.81m
K Matt Oden - 3 years, $9.81m (a lot of money for a kicker, but a solid kicker is a big weapon for a team like this)

We have quite a few needs to be met in free agency and the draft this year - probably won't be able to meet them all, but will just have to see how it goes:

TE: Find a starter to replace Lewis Cox
WR: Need a guy to start opposite Samanta - Sims is our second best receiver, and he's really only suited to slot duty at this point in his career
DE: LDE McKenzie is being moved inside to play tackle, so we need a guy to start opposite Salerno
LB: The starters are decent, but depth is an issue
DB: Need to find some younger guys to replace aging veterans, particularly at corner

Our needs at WR and on the defensive line are partly caused by a decision to not offer contracts to free agents SE Clifton Rosano, RDE Cornell Turner and RDT Blaine Andrews - while all of these guys can still play, they're all in their 11th year, so resigning them would be a very short-term move.

It's difficult to say which of these needs our first draft pick is most likely to fill, as we pick near the end of the round this year. The WR class looks fairly weak at the top end, with only 3 players looking worthy of a first-round grade. Defensive end is definitely a possibility, but the defensive backs available don't look to be all that promising. There are a few decent tight ends available, but using a late first-rounder on one may not be getting full value for the pick.

Into free agency, then, and I decide to go after one of the higher-valued players for a change - WR Drew Adamov (6th year, 58/58) would be a solid starter opposite Samanta were we to sign him. I put in an offer of $21.20m over 4 years in week 4, which Adamov accepts in week 5.

CB Isaac Rasmussen, a mid-season pick-up last year, is now a free agent, and a reasonable backup defensive back (5th year, 38/38) - he's also a CB mentor, so is a useful guy to have around. I was hanging back to let his price drop a little, but Tennessee come in with an offer in week 6 - we counter with a 2-year, $2.20m offer in week 7, which Rasmussen accepts. Not a signing which moves us a long way towards a younger secondary, but a good guy to have around if we do bring in a rookie corner.

That's all we do in early free agency, leaving us with 48 players signed and $19.31m cap room free.

[MartinD]

2016 Draft

Inevitably, most of the highly-rated rookie talent is off the board by the time pick 1.26 rolls round, including the three best receivers and most of the top defensive linemen. There are a few players worth taking here, though:

QB Gabe Bush (4.7/5.4) - pocket passer with a strong arm, looks to be a solid prospect (if not in a need area)
FB Barry Manard (6.3/5.1) - high for a fullback, but this guy looks to be a 10-year starter
TE Donovan Schwantes (5.6/4.9) - raw but talented TE - definitely starter-quality in time
FL Harvey Strickland (4.9/5.1) - not the best hands, but runs good routes and is elusive after the catch
LG Vinny Kahle (5.8/5.5) - not a need position, but a definite value pick from a potential point of view - is raw, however
RDE Perry Sampson (5.5/6.1) - best DE available, but more an all-round type than a big pass-rush threat
LDE Grant Galloway (5.3/5.8) - another solid DE, but will need a lot of development time
LDE Corwin Twisp (4.9/5.4) - undersized and not a big hitter, but the best pass-rusher available
LDT Shane Grembowski (5.5/5.9) - projects as a DE, and would be a respectable pass-rusher who could play on first and second downs too
SLB Mo Stephens (5.7/5.5) - best linebacker available - has the potential to be a top-end starter (and may be able to play DE too - currently 257lbs)
RCB Leon Royse (4.8/4.9) - raw but talented corner - projects as a potential starter if given the right opportunities to develop

Having to provide this big a list should be a good clue that none of the potential prospects stands out as a 'must-pick' at this point. LG Vinny Kahle would be an obvious pick if I needed help at any of the interior offensive line positions, but the guys we currently have on the roster are pretty solid (and relatively young!). TE Schwantes would be expected to start immediately at TE, but I'm not certain that he's going to develop as well as the current projections suggest. LDE Corwin Twisp is the obvious pick if I want to go after a pass-rushing defensive lineman, while RCB Royse would be a useful addition to our secondary this year, and should step up to start beside Jordan in the near future.

While DE is a bigger need right now, I feel that I should be able to pick up someone who can help out later in the draft (or patch up this position through free agency this year and find a more permanent solution later), while a starting-calibre corner (which I feel Royse could potentially be) is a hard thing to find. The pick here is RCB Leon Royse, who is initially rated at 18/69.

Having traded our second-round pick during last year's draft (in order to trade up and select DE Rod Salerno), we have another long wait before our next pick at 3.24. In passing, the players I was considering go off the board one by one:

SLB Mo Stephens - 1.27 (35/64)
LG Vinny Kahle - 1.28 (35/79)
RDE Perry Sampson - 1.30 (27/51)
FL Harvey Strickland - 1.32 (29/55)
TE Donovan Schwantes - 2.1 (42/71)
LDE Grant Galloway - 2.2 (26/66)
FB Barry Manard - 2.4 (60/77)
RDT Shane Grembowski - 2.5 (35/52)
LDE Corwin Twisp - 2.14 (23/60)

While QB Bush has not yet been picked when 3.24 finally comes around, I feel that there are picks that will do more for the team straight away. TE is still an obvious need, with Sammy Delmonico (4.6/4.0) looking to be the best still on the board - should be able to step in and play straight away, but is more of a receiving threat than a pounding blocker. Two pure pass-rushers are still available - LDE Juan Hansen (4.7/5.2) and LDE Jack Wade (4.8/5.3) don't offer much else, but would be useful additions on the defensive line. I feel, however, that there isn't much depth at TE, and that I'm better off going after a solid player while there is still a solid player on the board - our third round pick is TE Sammy Delmonico (initially rated at 27/51).

The two defensive ends drop most of the way through to our next pick, but Wade (22/43) is taken by Miami five picks before the Eagles are on the clock again. I consider trading up to make sure of getting Hansen, but decide to take the risk - it pays off, as Hansen survives to 4.26. He's rated at 26/44 initially, but is likely to contribute in our nickel and dime sets straight away.

The usual run on QBs late in the draft kicks in midway through the fifth round, and QB Gabe Bush is finally taken at 5.16 - he's initially rated at 20/58, so is probably a better prospect than some of the QBs taken in the first round!

As always, depth is the main concern with our late-round picks. We're still a bit light on the defensive line, so the pick at 5.25 is NT Brenden Monroe, a guy who looks to be a solid two-way backup lineman - not sure if he'll end up at DT or DE yet, but we'll see how he pans out before camp. He's initially rated at a slightly disappointing 18/42. At 6.24, the pick is SE Fred Britton - while depth at WR isn't really much of an issue, Britton looks to be a 4th or 5th receiver and special teamer. 27/39 is Britton's initial rating, which is decent for a WR picked this late. Our last pick on the draft is a bit of a 'this guy looks interesting - why not?' pick - QB Jermaine Guevara doesn't fill a need or provide depth where needed, he's just a player I found too interesting to pass up. He had a decent combine, highlighted by a 4.55 40, has reasonable development for a late-round pick, and looks to be a decent fit for the short-passing offence we run. He's initially rated at 18/62, which is promising, but we'll wait to see how he goes in camp before anointing him as the successor to Keith Hutchins.

Rookie contract negotiations went reasonably well, with only first-rounder Royse declining our initial offer.

Into late free agency, and we have a few positions to look at here:

RB - backup needed, with only Walsh and Von Hagel on the roster at the moment
TE - we need a third servicable TE, as Sudnik is strictly special teams only now
OL - worth raking around for a decent young backup
DL - a decent backup interior lineman would be useful
LB - while the starters are fine, the depth is poor (to the point where we could improve it by adding rookie free agents!)

Offers made in late free agency (rookies unless otherwise stated):
RB Ted Raaen (28/46) - $960k over 2 years (signed week 3)
RB Chad Burnett (25/27) - $960k over 2 years (signed week 3)
RB Ernie Greene (25/33) - $960k over 2 years (signed week 2)
RB Dana Tiller (22/31) - $960k over 2 years (signed week 3)
FB Juan Waldrop (22/54) - $960k over 2 years (signed week 2)
TE Jerald Nestor (18/43) - $960k over 2 years (signed week 1)
LT Glenn Bridgeman (12/45) - $960k over 2 years (signed week 3)
RDT Reggie Necaise (25/36) - $960k over 2 years (signed week 2)
RDT Ellis Hall (4th year, 37/37) - $2.14m over 2 years (signed week 3)
WLB Marshall Robertson (16/41) - $960k over 2 years (signed week 1)

A bit more action than normal, but I thought I'd try to bring in a few players (particularly at RB) to try them out.

First-round pick RCB Royse signs a contract at the end of free agency, and the team heads to camp.

[MartinD]

Rookies before and after camp

Acquired Before After Change
QB Jermaine Guevara 7.26 18/62 15/53 -3/-9
RB Ted Raaen FA 28/46 28/43 0/-3
RB Chad Burnett FA 25/27 25/27 0/0
RB Ernie Greene FA 25/33 25/33 0/0
RB Dana Tiller FA 22/31 22/31 0/0
FB Juan Waldrop FA 22/54 23/51 +1/-3
TE Sammy Delmonico 3.24 27/51 28/46 +1/-5
TE Jerald Nestor FA 18/43 20/43 +2/0
SE Fred Britton 6.24 27/39 28/37 +1/-2
LT Glenn Bridgeman FA 12/45 12/42 0/-3
LDE Juan Hansen 4.26 26/44 34/59 +8/+15
LDE Brenden Monroe 5.25 18/42 18/42 0/0
RDT Reggie Necaise FA 25/36 27/37 +2/+1
WLB Marshall Robertson FA 16/41 20/40 +4/-1
RCB Leon Royse 1.26 18/69 14/53 -4/-16


Definitely a bit of swings and roundabouts here - RCB Royse now looks to be a nickel back at best, but LDE Hansen may well be an every-down starter (and a serious bargain for a 4th-round pick - his breakout was sufficient to earn him a spot on the Green Page!)). RDT Necaise was a useful pickup, and has likely earned himself a roster spot (over free agent Hall) as our 4th defensive tackle.

2016 Roster

With 64 players currently on the roster, there are quite a few cuts to make to get down to the 53 we'll take into the season. There are a few positions where we have a lot of players, though (notably RB, where I signed four rookie free agents hoping that two would be good enough to keep on the roster), so most of the cuts should be fairly straightforward.


Philadelphia Eagles Roster, Scout Overview

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntr
Hutchins, Keith 18 QB 9 52 77 3
Lake, Sammie 14 QB 8 31 41 1
Ritchey, James 16 QB 2 15 44 1
Perroni, Ray 13 QB 2 17 44 2
Guevara, Jermaine 15 QB 1 15 53 3

Hutchins is our starting QB, without question, but it's tough to decide which
guys will be on the roster behind him. Ritchey looks to be one of the
all-too-common QB varieties (foolius goldius), and won't be on the roster
going into the season. Lake is unhappy for some reason (did he really expect
to play in front of Hutchins last season?), and looks to be a lesser player than
he did last season - this would normally be enough for him to be cut, but I'm
not sure that I want to go into the season with Perroni as our primary backup.
Looking at the QBs available in free agency, though, suggests that I'd be able
to pick up a decent stop-gap starter if required, so Lake is cut, and we go
with Hutchins, Perroni and Guevara as our QBs this year.

Von Hagel, Blake 32 RB 3 26 37 2
Walsh, Roosevelt 38 RB 2 37 45 3
Burnett, Chad 31 RB 1 25 27 2
Raaen, Ted 33 RB 1 28 43 2
Greene, Ernie 39 RB 1 25 33 2
Tiller, Dana 34 RB 1 22 31 2
Troyer, D.J. 37 FB 4 45 54 2
Waldrop, Juan 35 FB 1 23 51 2

Definitely a few players to be cut from this group - as we're only going with 3
QBs, I think we can live with 4 RBs and 2 FBs on the roster (as I feel Waldrop
is a good enough player to be worth keeping). Of the running backs, Walsh is
the unquestioned #1, but the other five are all much of a muchness. Burnett
isn't ever going to be an every-down back, but is a guy I can see being a
useful change of pace. Raaen is similar to Walsh, and looks to be a decent
backup (if a backup who isn't going to be a gamebreaker). Greene is similar to
Burnett, but won't be much of a contributor on special teams, so is the first
cut in this position group. Tiller looks to be the best fit as a third down back
of the rookies, but isn't as good in this role as Von Hagel, so Tiller is the other
RB cut.

Sudnik, Xavier 89 TE 8 17 17 1
Dawkins, Craig 86 TE 4 38 38 1
Nestor, Jerald 83 TE 1 20 43 2
Delmonico, Sammy 88 TE 1 28 46 4

Pretty simple here - Sudnik or Nestor. At this point in his career, Sudnik is
strictly a special-teams player only - he has 90 special teams, with only third
down catching above 30 apart from that (with more than half below 10).
Nestor isn't going to be anything like the special-teamer that Sudnik is, but
he's more likely to contribute as a solid backup TE. We have plenty of other
solid special-teamers, so Sudnik is the player released from this group.

Sims, Ray 87 FL 12 45 45 1
Samanta, Antoine 82 FL 6 70 70 3
Murray, Rex 84 FL 2 25 30 2
Adamov, Drew 80 SE 6 58 58 4
Musial, Josh 85 SE 3 35 35 2
Barker, Adam 81 SE 2 24 36 3
Britton, Fred 19 SE 1 28 37 3

The top four receivers are fairly settled - Samanta and Sims at flanker,
Adamov and Musial at split end. I'd like to keep two of the other three, but
there isn't an obvious guy to cut there. Murray is the lowest rated (and
doesn't do much on special teams), but looks to be developing faster than his
potential would suggest. Barker is the opposite - good special-teamer, but a
guy who probably isn't going to reach the potential shown by his green bars.
Britton is fairly safe - good special-teamer, and the best receiver of the three.
I feel Murray's likely upside makes him worth hanging on to, so Barker is the
player cut from the wide receiver group.

Watkins, Darrin 62 C 7 37 37 1
Dawson, Thomas 63 C 3 46 46 1
Martin, Zack 68 LG 6 84 84 5
Jordan, Willie 67 RG 5 57 57 3
Burgess, Ty 66 RG 4 31 48 2
Bennett, Carl 64 RG 2 16 42 1
Tanner, Sammy 76 LT 5 48 48 4
Scott, Tyrell 78 LT 2 19 32 1
Bridgman, Glenn 77 LT 1 12 42 2
Huffman, Norman 72 RT 8 57 57 2
Isaac, Thurman 75 RT 5 39 39 1

One cut here from the tackles - Bridgeman was brought in to compete for our
4th tackle spot, and didn't do enough into camp to get past Tyrell Scott.

Koumentakos, Rex 7 P 2 45 58 1
Oden, Matt 2 K 10 66 66 3

No training camp battles here, although Koumentakos will have to play better
this season or he may see some competition in camp next year...

Hansen, Juan 95 LDE 1 34 59 4
Monroe, Brenden 96 LDE 1 18 42 3
Rivers, Moe 99 RDE 8 37 37 1
Salerno, Rod 91 RDE 2 67 79 4
McKenzie, Spencer 98 LDT 7 49 49 3
Campbell, Christian 93 RDT 8 73 73 2
Saylor, Sedrick 90 RDT 5 42 44 1
Hall, Ellis 94 RDT 4 38 38 2
Necaise, Reggie 97 RDT 1 27 37 2

The four defensive ends are safe, with Salerno and Hansen starting, and
Rivers seeing spot duty as a pass-rusher. At tackle, McKenzie and Campbell
will start, with Saylor as the main backup. Necaise's good camp is enough for
me to go with the rookie free agent over the veteran, so Ellis Hall is the guy
who doesn't make the final 53.

Tayoun, Vincent 54 MLB 6 50 50 1
Glover, Julio 56 MLB 2 19 38 2
Adamski, Ricky 57 SLB 11 39 39 1
Knoblett, Larry 52 SLB 3 41 51 2
Rayburn, Rickey 55 SLB 3 12 17 2
Long, Shannon 51 WLB 5 81 81 4
McGlockton, Burt 50 WLB 2 24 41 1
Robertson, Marshall 58 WLB 1 20 40 2

The starters are obvious (Tayoun in the middle, Long and Knoblett on the
outside), and Adamski is a solid backup, which takes up four spots of the
seven I usually use on linebackers. Rayburn can't play LB to save himself, but
is a crack special-teams guy, and a guy who will make the roster at the
expense of a significantly better positional player for his special teams alone.
Glover isn't a great backup in the middle - there's a better 2nd-year guy
available as a free agent, so Glover is cut, and MLB Broderick Delaney (22/40)
signed to be our backup MLB. At backup WLB, McGlockton and Robertson are
pretty much equivalent players - McGlockton is a slightly better special teams
guy and has an affinity with DE Moe Rivers, so Robertson is the OLB cut.

Marsh, Lorenzo 26 LCB 12 45 45 1
Rasmussen, Isaac 24 LCB 5 39 39 2
Jordan, Jerome 25 LCB 4 97 97 2
Strong, Nicky 29 LCB 2 31 42 2
Crane, Phillip 27 RCB 9 57 57 1
Royse, Leon 28 RCB 1 14 53 4
Ross, Wally 23 SS 11 51 51 2
Harper, Vincent 22 SS 4 35 42 1
Lester, Dale 21 FS 7 40 40 2
Hopkins, Jumbo 20 FS 2 35 54 2

I'm happy to keep the four safeties currently on the roster - Ross isn't the
player he was, but is still a decent starter, while Hopkins is likely to start
ahead of Lester, and Harper is a decent backup. At corner, Royse's
disappointing training camp puts him at serious risk of not making our
opening-day roster - the other five guys are significantly better than him right
now, and he doesn't really have much to offer outside of his potential, which
is not looking anything like as good as it did when he was drafted. While it's
going to cost us almost $3.5m of next year's cap to cut him, I don't feel he's
worth keeping over one of our other defensive backs. I can't keep drafting
dud CBs in the first round...



The cuts detailed above leave us with 54 players on the roster, so one more cut is required - the obvious candidates (to my mind) are one of the RBs (probably Von Hagel, who hasn't shown much in his two years with the team) or DE Brenden Monroe, who isn't likely to see a lot of playing time this year (as LDT Spencer McKenzie is perfectly capable of going back out to play defensive end if required). Monroe is the last cut, leaving us with our roster of 53 to start the season with.

With plenty of cap room available, I offer starting MLB Vincent Tayoun an extension to his current contract - $7.80m over 3 years.

[MartinD]

2016 preseason

No changes to gameplans this season - the offence seems to work fairly well, and the slight change in coverages on defence in the middle of last season seemed to get the D back

where I want it to be.

Week 2: Philadelphia 3-14 Kansas City
With backups playing all over the place, the offence doesn't click at all - neither Perroni or Guevara are able to move the ball. Defensively, things look much better, with our backups at least keeping the Chiefs' offence in check.

Week 3: New Jersey 20-9 Philadelphia
A closer game than it looked, with the Eagles kicking three relatively short field goals, and one of the Jets' TDs coming on a kickoff return for a TD. QB Ray Perroni (19/22-129-0-1) put himself in good position to win the backup QB position, while RB Burnett (9-65 rush, 5-30 rec) was also solid.

Week 4: Philadelphia 7-14 San Diego
Nice first drive, not much thereafter on offence, decent without being spectacular on defence.

Week 5: Buffalo 20-21 Philadelphia
The starters are put in to give them a tune-up for the regular season opener, and (almost) normal service is resumed. The offence is much more consistent with Hutchins at the controls, and the defence gets a bit of pass rush and is solid against the run.

A few minor injuries at this point, but nothing that's not going to heal within a few weeks, and nothing that affects any of our key players.

[MartinD]

2016 Regular Season

Week 1: Philadelphia 3-34 New York
A slow start to the season, with nothing really working in the season opener. The offence was off-key, and the defence struggled to contain the Giants, who had several long scoring drives.

Week 2: Cincinnati (0-1) 7-24 Philadelphia (0-1)
The first of four straight home games, and a much-needed win to start the run off. The Bengals racked up a lot of rushing yards, but struggled to pass the ball, which made it difficult to put points on the board. The Eagles offence was much more efficient, with Hutchins (28/34-199-1-1) spreading the ball around in his usual way.

Starting C Thomas Dawson broke his leg in this game, and will be out of action for a couple of months. G Willie Jordan will slide over to fill in a C, with backup G Ty Burgess taking Jordan's place in the lineup.

Week 3: Arizona (2-0) 10-16 Philadelphia (1-1)
Not a vintage performance, but the team managed to grind out a win here. QB Hutchins (28/36-215-0-0) kept the offence ticking over, while the defence made it tough on the Arizona passing game - DE Salerno had 1.5 sacks, 3 hurries and a pass knockdown to lead the pass rush, while veterans Ross, Crane and Marsh combined for 7 pass defences and a pick.

Week 4: Minnesota (3-0) 13-24 Philadelphia (2-1)
Good solid performance to knock of an unbeaten team here - Hutchins (21/27-154-2-0) ran the offence efficiently, while the defence gave up some rushing yards, but managed to keep the Vikings passing game well under control. Backup LB McGlockton returned an interception for a TD, and CB Jordan had 4 pass defences to go with his interception.

Week 5: Detroit (2-2) 14-17 Philadelphia (3-1)
With the Lions keeping the Eagles passing game under control, RB Roosevelt Walsh took the game into his own hands, with 27 carries for 137 yards and both Philadelphia TDs. The Eagles defence did a great job of keeping one of the best passing offences in the league in check here.

Week 6: Philadelphia (4-1) 20-27 Green Bay (3-2)
Back on the road again after our month-long homestand. The Packers took advantage of the Eagles' recent weakness against the run, rolling up 186 yards on the ground. QB Hutchins (19/36-151-0-1) was uncharacteristically inaccurate as the Philly offence struggled for most of the day.

Week 7: Philadelphia (4-2) 13-17 Washington (4-1)
The Redskins completed a comeback from 13-0 down by scoring the go-ahead TD with less than 90 seconds left. While RB Walsh (22-118) had a good day, QB Hutchins (17/28-107-0-2) continued to struggle on the road.

QB Keith Hutchins picked up a minor hand injury in this game - while he would be able to play, it will affect his performance, and playing him may risk serious injury. It's likely to be a game-time decision on whether or not he plays our next game.

Week 8: Bye

Week 9: Philadelphia (4-3) 17-20 Chicago (1-6)
With Hutchins still banged up, Ray Perroni gets the start at QB in this game. He doesn't get off to a good start, throwing an interception on his first pass, leading to a Chicago TD, but plays a decent game after this (26/40-196-2-1), with good support from RB Walsh (21-101). The Bears managed to keep it close all the way, though, and sneaked the win with a late field goal.

[MartinD]

Mid-season summary


Year 2016
Record 4-4
Winning Pct. .500
All-Time 74-93-1
Winning Pct. .443
Playoffs 4-2
Playoff Visits 3
Bowl Wins 1
Head Coach Wesley Bandle
Record 45-32
Winning Pct. .584
Off. Coord. K. Ford
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 31.1 7
Rushing Yards 128.5 6
Yards Per Carry 4.13 14 (T)
Pass Attempts 32.4 17 (T)
Completions 22.6 4
Completion Pct. 69.9 2
Passing Yards 163.5 30
Yards Per Attempt 5.05 31
Yards Per Catch 7.23 32
Total Yardage Gained 288.1 26
3rd Down Conversions 40.3 10
Points Per Game 16.8 23
Pass Rush Pct. 7.1 16
Pass Defense Pct. 83.3 1
Turnovers 10 8
Turnover Margin +3 12 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 28.3 17
Rushing Yards 121.6 23
Yards Per Carry 4.31 23
Pass Attempts 29.1 6
Completions 15.1 1
Completion Pct. 51.9 1
Passing Yards 161.1 2
Yards Per Attempt 5.53 4
Yards Per Catch 10.65 17
Total Yardage Gained 269.4 5
3rd Down Conversions 40.4 19 (T)
Points Per Game 17.8 12
Pass Rush Pct. 5.9 6 (T)
Pass Defense Pct. 56.4 4
Turnovers 13 13 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 3 at NYK 34
2 24 CIN 7
3 16 ARI 10
4 24 MIN 13
5 17 DET 14
6 20 at GBY 27
7 13 at WAS 17
9 17 at CHI 20
10 NYK
11 DAL
12 at CLE
13 at TBY
14 BAL
15 at DAL
16 at PIT
17 WAS

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
18 K. Hutchins QB 207 150 1054 5.09 3 5 78.4
13 R. Perroni QB 52 31 254 4.88 2 2 68.9
**Team --- 259 181 1308 5.05 5 7 76.5
$$Opp --- 233 121 1289 5.53 9 9 65.2

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
38 R. Walsh RB 145 598 4.12 7 2
31 C. Burnett RB 74 277 3.74 0 1
18 K. Hutchins QB 19 100 5.26 0 2
**Team --- 249 1028 4.13 7 7
$$Opp --- 226 973 4.31 7 6

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
80 D. Adamov WR 51 36 378 10.50 7.41 1 1
82 A. Samanta WR 56 34 276 8.12 4.93 0 0
38 R. Walsh RB 22 21 63 3.00 2.86 0 0
31 C. Burnett RB 24 21 82 3.90 3.42 0 1
87 R. Sims WR 24 17 181 10.65 7.54 1 1
88 S. Delmonico TE 18 12 66 5.50 3.67 1 0
85 J. Musial WR 15 10 85 8.50 5.67 1 0
37 D. Troyer FB 14 9 50 5.56 3.57 2 2
35 J. Waldrop FB 12 9 37 4.11 3.08 0 0

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
54 V. Tayoun ILB 36 18 1.0 0 0 2 78.3
93 C. Campbell DT 28 7 2.0 5 0 0 80.4
98 S. McKenzie DT 27 6 1.5 1 0 0 80.2
22 V. Harper S 27 5 0.0 0 2 5 87.9
25 J. Jordan CB 22 7 0.0 0 3 10 90.2
27 P. Crane CB 19 2 0.0 1 1 10 86.3
51 S. Long OLB 18 14 1.0 0 0 2 77.3
91 R. Salerno DE 18 6 4.0 11 0 0 81.3
57 R. Adamski OLB 16 7 0.0 1 0 0 62.7
90 S. Saylor DT 15 8 1.0 3 0 0 81.7
53 B. Delaney ILB 14 2 0.0 0 0 2 81.5
20 J. Hopkins S 14 1 0.0 0 1 3 86.0
52 L. Knoblett OLB 13 9 1.5 0 0 0 77.0
50 B. McGlockton OLB 13 6 0.0 0 2 0 84.8
95 J. Hansen DE 13 6 3.0 6 0 0 80.6
99 M. Rivers DE 10 6 2.0 2 0 0 82.5
29 N. Strong CB 9 2 0.0 0 0 2 74.8
21 D. Lester S 8 6 0.0 0 0 1 82.4


4-0 at home, 0-4 on the road - this isn't a bad team, or we wouldn't be unbeaten at home, but it's obvious that not everything is right, and not just from the road record. On offence, the running game is decent, but we're not getting the ball down the field enough in the passing game - Walsh and Burnett are getting too many passes thrown their way. On the other side of the ball, our run defence is getting burned on a regular basis - the pass rush isn't as good as it might be, either.

Definitely a few things to be fixed as we go into the second half of the regular season...

[MartinD]

Week 10: New York (6-2) 13-17 Philadelphia (4-4)
With Hutchins still banged up, Ray Perroni got the start again this week - he didn't have a great game (15/21-85-0-1), but RB Walsh (29-129-1) was there to pick up the slack. The defence, led by CB Jordan (2 defences, 1 pick), DT Campbell (1.5 sacks, 2 knockdowns) and DE Hansen (1.5 sacks, 1 hurry) put in a solid showing, while special teams also contributed - FL Samanta took a kickoff back 90 yards for a TD.

Big divisional win, as we hadn't won a divisional game up to this point - it also dropped the Giants back to 6-3, with Washington also losing this week to go back to 6-3.

Week 11: Dallas (2-7) 10-13 Philadelphia (5-4)
With the lowly Cowboys coming to town, Perroni got his third straight start with Hutchins not quite fully healthy. This decision looked like backfiring on me as Dallas dominated the game early on, leading 10-0 going into the fourth quarter. The team turned it up a notch in the last 15 minutes, though, putting together three long scoring drives, including 83 yards in the final 1:13 for the go-ahead field goal. Perroni (28/36-296-1-0) was the game MVP, with SE Adamov (10-117-1) and FL Sims (6-93) also having big games.

With many of our niggling injuries finally clearing this week, we go into week 12 with only a couple of minor injuries outstanding - most notable is a clean bill of health for QB Keith Hutchins, who will start against Cleveland (a game he was really wanting to play, given how the Browns treated him after they drafted him first overall!)

Week 12: Philadelphia (6-4) 20-3 Cleveland (3-7)
A solid, clinical demonstration of how to dominate a lesser team on the road - the offence put in a good showing, with Hutchins (20/23-127-0-0) getting back into his usual accurate groove and the RB duo of Walsh (28-136-1) and Burnett (11-68) keeping the chains ticking over. The game MVP was a defensive player, however - DE Rod Salerno had 2.5 sacks, including a sack/fumble, which he returned 20 yards for a TD.

Week 13: Philadelphia (7-4) 14-19 Tampa Bay (5-6)
It's a testament to our defence that this game was as close as this given how ineffective the offence was outside of the opening (11 plays, 77 yards, TD) and closing (15 plays, 80 yards, TD) drives. A frustrating loss, but I know that the team can play better.

Week 14: Baltimore (11-1) 22-7 Philadelphia (7-5)
Not really a surprise here, as the Ravens are one of the best teams in the league. Baltimore's offence moved the ball at will, while the Philadelphia offence (and Keith Hutchins in particular) struggled.

Injuries jumped up and bit us in this game - SE Adamov (knee) and RT Huffman (knee) are out for the year, while TE Dawkins (foot) will miss the rest of the season unless we have a good run in the playoffs. DT McKenzie is struggling with impaired vision, and is out indefinitely. No changes to the roster are made right now (although Adamov and Huffman are put on IR, with SE Britton and RT Isaac taking the starting spots), as we should be able to cover for these injuries using the other guys on the roster.

Week 15: Philadelphia (7-6) 13-10 Dallas (4-9) (OT)
K Matt Oden's 45-yard field goal with 3:35 left in OT won this game for the Eagles after again having to come from behind to beat the Cowboys. The offence did just enough, with QB Hutchins (26/37-238-1-0) having a decent day, but the star was DT Christian Campbell, who had 3 of the Eagles 6 sacks.

With two games left in the regular season, the Eagles are somehow still in playoff contention despite a relatively poor season up to now - our 8-6 record is third in the NFC East, but Washington and New York are only one game ahead at 9-5, and we play the Redskins in Philadelphia in week 17. We're quite a long way back in the wild card race, though - both are currently in the hands of 9-5 teams, with one other 9-5 team on the outside looking in - looks like we'll need to win our last two games, and hope for a few results to go our way...

Week 16: Philadelphia (8-6) 17-10 Pittsburgh (6-8)
A must-win game, and the team came through with a good performance and the victory. While the offence was solid (with Hutchins (14/19-164-0-0) and Walsh (19-73-2) leading the way), the defence won this game for us, with 7 sacks, 4 hurries, 8 knockdowns, 5 pass defences and 2 interceptions - DE Juan Hansen was the game MVP with 2 sacks.

The win draws us level with Washington, who lost to Baltimore to fall to 9-6. New York lead the division at 10-5, with the two wild cards also at 10-5 at the moment. It's one of those strange years, where 9-6 would be enough to pretty much guarantee a playoff spot in the AFC, but it's on the outside looking in when you're in the other conference.

A win against the Redskins may not be enough, but all we can do is go out and play our game - if we win and don't make the playoffs, there isn't a lot more we could have done.

Week 17: Washington (9-6) 14-10 Philadelphia (9-6)
One of those games where a team dominates the game but doesn't put it away, and the opponent nicks the go-ahead score late on - just at the worst time... The defence did its job for most of the game, holding the Redskins to 137 total yards, but Washington put together an 8-play, 62 yard TD drive for the go-ahead score, leaving the Eagles only 84 seconds to reply.

The loss ends our season - one consolation (although it is minor) is that a win probably wouldn't have been enough either, as the Redskins are also on the outside looking in for the playoffs with a 10-6 record. (For what it's worth, two 9-7 teams got the wild cards in the AFC, and one will play the 8-8 Raiders next week in the wild card round...)

[MartinD]

2016 Season Summary


2016 Summary for Philadelphia Eagles

Year 2016
Record 9-7
Winning Pct. .562
All-Time 79-96-1
Winning Pct. .451
Playoffs 4-2
Playoff Visits 3
Bowl Wins 1
Head Coach Wesley Bandle
Record 50-35
Winning Pct. .588
Off. Coord. K. Ford
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 31.1 5
Rushing Yards 135.6 4
Yards Per Carry 4.36 6
Pass Attempts 31.2 22
Completions 21.7 8 (T)
Completion Pct. 69.5 2
Passing Yards 170.7 29
Yards Per Attempt 5.47 30
Yards Per Catch 7.87 32
Total Yardage Gained 299.7 19
3rd Down Conversions 33.8 24
Points Per Game 15.3 27
Pass Rush Pct. 7.3 14
Pass Defense Pct. 76.8 1
Turnovers 20 7 (T)
Turnover Margin 0 14

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 28.0 16 (T)
Rushing Yards 106.7 9
Yards Per Carry 3.81 7
Pass Attempts 29.4 8
Completions 16.4 2
Completion Pct. 55.6 2
Passing Yards 177.6 3
Yards Per Attempt 6.03 6
Yards Per Catch 10.85 22
Total Yardage Gained 264.2 2
3rd Down Conversions 33.2 11
Points Per Game 15.2 3
Pass Rush Pct. 5.9 4
Pass Defense Pct. 57.1 3
Turnovers 20 27

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 3 at NYK 34
2 24 CIN 7
3 16 ARI 10
4 24 MIN 13
5 17 DET 14
6 20 at GBY 27
7 13 at WAS 17
9 17 at CHI 20
10 17 NYK 13
11 13 DAL 10
12 20 at CLE 3
13 14 at TBY 19
14 7 BAL 22
15 13 at DAL 10
16 17 at PIT 10
17 10 WAS 14

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
18 K. Hutchins QB 382 268 1993 5.22 5 6 80.0
13 R. Perroni QB 117 79 738 6.31 4 3 85.3
**Team --- 499 347 2731 5.47 9 9 81.3
$$Opp --- 471 262 2842 6.03 13 14 70.4

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
38 R. Walsh RB 290 1231 4.24 12 5
31 C. Burnett RB 162 751 4.64 1 2
**Team --- 498 2169 4.36 13 19
$$Opp --- 448 1707 3.81 10 20

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD 
80 D. Adamov WR 89 66 690 10.45 7.75 2 3
82 A. Samanta WR 92 55 508 9.24 5.52 2 0
87 R. Sims WR 66 45 499 11.09 7.56 2 1
31 C. Burnett RB 52 41 186 4.54 3.58 0 1
38 R. Walsh RB 36 32 98 3.06 2.72 0 0
37 D. Troyer FB 36 27 133 4.93 3.69 2 3
83 F. Britton WR 32 23 255 11.09 7.97 2 1
88 S. Delmonico TE 33 18 91 5.06 2.76 2 0

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
54 V. Tayoun ILB 64 32 3.0 0 1 2 78.8
93 C. Campbell DT 58 21 12.0 10 0 0 81.2
51 S. Long OLB 55 24 4.0 4 0 9 81.0
25 J. Jordan CB 48 17 0.0 0 5 19 88.1
52 L. Knoblett OLB 47 16 4.5 0 0 3 74.6
22 V. Harper S 42 12 0.0 0 3 7 84.7
27 P. Crane CB 40 6 0.0 1 2 14 83.6
98 S. McKenzie DT 39 12 2.5 5 0 0 81.1
91 R. Salerno DE 38 13 9.0 16 0 0 81.5
95 J. Hansen DE 34 13 7.5 9 0 0 80.7
23 W. Ross S 32 10 0.0 0 0 5 79.0
90 S. Saylor DT 32 14 4.0 5 0 0 81.3
20 J. Hopkins S 32 8 0.0 0 1 7 81.9
50 B. McGlockton OLB 28 9 0.0 0 2 0 74.9
53 B. Delaney ILB 25 4 0.0 1 0 3 81.7
57 R. Adamski OLB 24 13 0.0 1 0 0 67.9
99 M. Rivers DE 21 11 4.5 8 0 0 81.4


The second half of the season was definitely better than the first - the offence was slightly more productive, while the defence tightened up considerably against the run without losing too much on the pass defence. (This was probably partly due to playing a slightly easier schedule in the second half of the season, though - two games against Dallas (who finished 5-11, and we played some of the weaker out-of-division teams on our schedule later on - and Baltimore, of course, but that's a different story!)

QB Keith Hutchins was accurate, but struggled to get the ball downfield consistently - we may need a bit of tweaking to our offensive scheme to counter this next year. Ray Perroni was decent when called upon in relief of Hutchins, winning two of his three starts in midseason. RB Roosevelt Walsh solidified his position as a solid starting RB with a good season, while rookie free agent Chad Burnett was a pleasant surprise as his backup. The receiving corps were part of the reason for the struggling passing game, as FL Samanta and rookie TE Delmonico both made little impact downfield. Adamov was a solid starter, and the veteran Sims reliable as always. Late-round rookie SE Fred Britton was a definite bright spot, earning a few starts at the end of the year after Adamov's injury purely through his play up to that point.

The offensive line did a good job of providing a platform for the offence to run from - all of the guys who started put up KRB percentages well into the 30s (with C Dawson top of the list with 21/47 - 44.7%). The line also pass-protected well, allowing only 17 sacks all year.

On defence, the rejigged defensive line was decent, with Campbell having his best year so far. Salerno and Hansen were consistent pass-rush threats, which bodes well for the future. At linebacker, no-one really stood out as having an outstanding season, but all three starters were solid. Jordan had a good season out on his man-coverage island, while Crane did a good job at the other corner.

Special teams were a bit disappointing this year, with K Oden (21/31 FG, 6/13 40+) having the worst year of his 8-year career with the Eagles. P Koumentakos again struggled to pin opponents back, averaging less than 36 yards net for the second consecutive year. Samanta had a decent year on returns (8.4 average punt return, 27.6 average kick return, 1 TD), but not up to his previous standards.

2016 Awards

In a slightly down year for the franchise, two players still managed to get mentions in the awards list:

RDT Christian Campbell - First Team All-Pro
LCB Jerome Jordan - First Team All-Pro

Looking ahead to 2017...

The core of a good team is in place - it's just a case of finding the best way to get the pieces to work together as well as possible.

The big problem that needs to be addressed in the offseason is the passing game - we have a good-quality starting QB, one of the better offensive lines in the league and a solid running game, but struggle to get consistent production from our passing game. FL Samanta has been a disappointment as a starting receiver, and may be better suited to working from the slot. We also need a good receiving TE to replace Lewis Cox (in hindsight, this would have been addressed in the first round of the draft this year - not much use to see that now, though <shrug>).

Another worry, although this isn't quite as urgent, is the defensive backfield, where we have one top-notch starter (CB Jordan) and are filling in around him with solid veterans and mid-level starters - this is definitely a need area for next offseason, as another top coverage guy would make a big difference to how we play defence.

Definitely work to be done to avoid next season being a disappointment like this year, but there are certainly reasons for optimism here...

[MartinD]

2017 season

Herb's evaluation for 2016: 52/58/76/83, for an overall score of 67.

The team showed a loss of $48.69m on revenues of $191.18m last year - revenues were only slightly higher (+4%), but player bonuses were down significantly - we were relatively quiet in free agency, had a fairly low-cost draft (low picks in each round, no second-rounder), and didn't have any major contract extensions to make.

One retirement this year - LCB Lorenzo Marsh.

Lorenzo Marsh was the Eagles' 3rd round pick in the league's original allocation draft in 2006, and played all 11 years of his career in Philadelphia. He was a shut-down corner for much of his career, moving to nickel back in his last year as age started to catch up with him. While he didn't make many interceptions (19 in his career), he was tough to throw against (246 completions against in his career, with 94 passes defenced - PD% of 82.3%). While he was a standout on a poor Eagles team for many years, he was an integral part of the defence of the Bowl-winning Philadelphia team in 2013.

Staff Hiring

Scout Andrew Baicy is entering the 4th year of his current 5-year deal, and will be retained for 2017.

The coaching staff is a different matter - head coach Wesley Bandle, offensive co-ordinator Kent Ford and defensive co-ordinator J.C. Clemons are all out of contract. All three guys are good at their job, so I'm going to try to retain all three if possible. Initial offers are 5 years at $6m per to Bandle, 5 years at $3m per to Ford and 5 years at $2m per to Clemons. Bandle and Ford accept immediately, while Clemons takes a little time to think about it, but accepts in stage 2.

With our coaching staff sorted out, I turn my attention to the playing side of the team. We start the year with 37 players signed, and $39.82m of a $148.6m salary cap free - our draft picks (the standard 7, ranging from 18 to 21 in the round, with the first-rounder being 1.19) are expected to use $6.92m of cap room.

Free agents this year:
TE Craig Dawkins (5th year, 38/38) - decent backup, but no more than that
FL Ray Sims (13th year, 45/45) - has been a good player for us, but will struggle for playing time this year if we resign him
C Darrin Watkins (8th year, 37/37) - long snapper and decent backup - will resign at the right price
RT Thurman Isaac (6th year, 39/39) - decent backup, would like to resign at veteran minimum (if not, should be able to find an equivalent backup T who'll play for vetmin)
RDE Moe Rivers (9th year, 37/37) - has been a good pass-rusher for us - a guy I'd like to resign (for mentoring purposes if nothing else)
RDT Sedrick Saylor (6th year, 43/43) - solid backup tackle - would like to resign at or near veteran minimum
SLB Ricky Adamski (12th year, 39/39) - unlikely to be approached with a contract offer
RCB Phillip Crane (10th year, 57/57) - likely starter if we resign him - will depend on how much he's looking for
SS Vincent Harper (5th year, 38/38) - useful backup, but not essential if he's looking for too much money

I don't see anyone on this list who's worth using the franchise tag on, so the tag goes unused this year.

Restricted free agents:
C Thomas Dawson (4th year, 46/46) - has been our starter for the last 3 years (and has played well) - will resign unless he's looking for silly money
RG Carl Bennett (3rd year, 17/43) - won't be offered a contract
LT Tyrell Scott (3rd year, 20/33) - won't be offered a contract
P Rex Koumentakos (3rd year, 51/51) - hasn't met the standards I'm looking for from a punter, so we'll try someone else this season
MLB Broderick Delaney (3rd year, 25/40) - decent backup, contributes on special teams, so will look to resign
WLB Burt McGlockton (3rd year, 28/42) - similar to Delaney - decent backup, plays special teams, want to resign

Needs to be addressed heading into free agency:

- need to find a starting-quality receiving TE
- want to upgrade our starting receivers if possible
- depth on the offensive line
- depth on the defensive line (and add a top-notch starting DT if possible)
- depth at linebacker
- younger starters at corner and safety

We raised ticket prices last year, so will leave them unchanged (at 45/55/70/85/200/85,000) for this year.

While last year's rookie class wasn't as good as I could have hoped (having to cut your first-round pick after camp is never a good thing), we still have a few guys who would benefit from a summer in Europe. The most obvious candidate (in my eyes) is LDE Juan Hansen, who looks to be a solid starter at the moment, but may end up being better than that with the right treatment - the defence will really benefit if we have two solid starting defensive ends, so Hansen is this year's summer league player.

[MartinD]

2017 free agency

Two trade offers at the start of free agency:

- Chicago offer a raw young DT (2nd year, 20/43) and the third overall pick in this year's draft for CB Jerome Jordan (5th year, 96/96). This might sound a bit screwy, but I think Jordan is better than that! While he's in the last year of his current contract, he's a guy who is a top priority to get signed to a long term deal in the near future (although this might involve the franchise tag next year). I decline this trade offer.

- Kansas City offer pick 4.3 in this year's draft for 2nd-year QB Jermaine Guevara (20/48) - a very good offer for a guy who was a bit of a throwaway pick in the 7th round of last year's draft. I investigate a variation on this trade, inquiring about 6th-year veteran QB Irving Sweeney (29/47), a guy I had thought about drafting a few years back (and a guy who would be a very solid backup), but the Chiefs are looking for more than I'm willing to give up (they wouldn't accept Guevara plus a 4th-round pick). I accept the trade as initially proposed, as I see a fourth-round pick as a very good return for our third-string QB.

Before starting free agency proper, I offer contracts to some of our restricted free agents:
C Thomas Dawson - $4.80m over 3 years (was only looking for a 1-year deal, but I feel that $1.6m per year is reasonable for a decent starting center)
MLB Broderick Delaney - $720k over 1 year
WLB Burt McGlockton - $720k over 1 year

Looking at this year's draft class, I feel that the most likely use of our first-round pick is a defensive back (most likely a safety), although offensive lineman is a definite possibility too (while we're pretty much set for this year on the O-line, RT Norman Huffman is in the last year of his current contract, and I'm not sure if I want to offer him a big extension given that he's now in his 9th year - if there's a good tackle available for our first-round pick, it wouldn't be the worst decision in the world to go after his replacement). The TE class is relatively weak, so that's a position that may well be a good idea to target in free agency.

This may well end up to be a turning point year in this dynasty, as quite a few important players are in the last year of their current contract:
RT Norman Huffman (9th year, 57/57)
RDT Christian Campbell (9th year, 73/73)
SLB Larry Knoblett (4th year, 50/50)
LCB Jerome Jordan (5th year, 96/96)
SS Wally Ross (12th year, 51/51)

A number of role players are also playing out the last year of their current deal.

Jordan is as good a player as we're likely to see, even if I run this dynasty for another hundred seasons, so will be franchised next year (and hopefully signed to a long-term contract). Knoblett is a solid starter, but is looking for around $4.5m per year (i.e. 3% of the cap), which seems a little expensive for a mid-level starter. We are a bit short of depth at LB, though - think I'll hang back on extending Knoblett's contract until after free agency to see if we can find any reasonably-priced replacements. Huffman and Campbell have been very solid players for us for a number of years, but giving older players long-term extensions is not a good way to run a team. Looking at their initial requirements, Huffman is looking for about $4m per year, which is fairly reasonable for a solid sarting tackle. Campbell, however, wants a good bit more money - around $9m-$10m per year. He's important enough to our defence, though, to make this seem reasonable value for money.

Campbell accepts an offer of $30.6m over 3 years (on a flat contract - we have plenty of cap room this year, so don't need to backload). I take a little risk with Huffman, and offer him a 4-year deal (which is likely to be his last with the team) - $18.4m over the term is reasonably affordable.

These signings leave us with 39 players under contract and $32.44m cap room free (not allowing for the $7.57m that we're now expecting to need for our draft picks) - a bit of room for manoeuvre in free agency if I feel there are players out there worth using it on.

Into free agency, and our initial target is a decent CB who would be expected to be a nickel back at worst, and may be able to start if needed - LCB Leon Zachary (6th year, 48/48) is a solid all-round defensive back who's played well when given the chance. Our initial offer is $4.35m over 3 years in week 2. Another player made an offer in week 2 is RDT Irv Warren (6th year, 46/46), who offers us something we don't have at the moment - an interior lineman who can rush the passer. He is also offered a $4.35m contract over 3 years in week 2. Our final offer in week 2 goes to TE Larry Morrison (7th year, 48/48) - the best all-round TE available in free agency. Our offer to Morrison is $4.11m over 3 years.

LCB Zachery signs in week 3 - our own free agent Crane has been targeted by the 49ers at this point, but signing Zachery means that we can afford to let Crane go (particularly as I'd need to offer at least $5m per year to compete with San Francisco's offer!) TE Morrison signs in week 4, but we lose RDT Sedrick Saylor in this week - was hanging back a little to let his price go down a bit, as I didn't think that there would be too much of a market for a 40ish-rated DT.Having traded QB Guevara before the start of free agency, we're a bit light at that position, so I see what's out there in the way of reasonably-priced veterans to come in and compete for the backup spot. QB Cedric Anthony (5th year, 30/49) is a guy who hasn't played much, but is a decent fit for what we want to do on offence - our offer to him is $3.27m over 3 years. I also offer a contract to RT Daryl Schultz (5th year, 36/42), who is looking for a lot less money than current backup RT Thurman Isaac - the offer is for $2.02m over 2 years. MLB Les Schwartz (6th year, 46/46) is also offered a contract at this point, also for $2.02m over 2 years (veteran minimum plus small bonus) - a decent backup linebacker who's also a great special teams player.

RDT Warren eventually signs in week 7, but WR Ray Sims accepts an offer from and leaves the Eagles after years in this week. We go after FL K.C. Oskolkoff (3rd year, 35/44) in order to bring in a fresh face at receiver, offering him $3.12m over 3 years.

At this point, I start to look at bringing back some of our own free agents:
RDE Moe Rivers - $2.46m over 2 years (veteran minimum)
C Darrin Watkins - $2.46m over 2 years

All of our targeted players sign by week 10, leaving us in a good position heading into the draft.

We end the free agency period with 47 players signed and $23.88m cap room free ($16.13 after allowing for the expected cost of signing draft picks).

[MartinD]

2017 Draft

While we've managed to fill quite a few needs in free agency, there are still areas that need to be dealt with through the draft:

- would be nice to find a starting-quality receiver to allow Samanta to play his more natural slot receiver position
- depth on the offensive line
- depth on the defensive line (but I wouldn't complain about finding a starter)
- a starting-quality corner
- depth at safety
- a decent punter (because field position is very important for this team)

Our first pick this year is 1.19, so a bit of time to wait before we go on the clock. When our turn to pick comes, there are a few guys who I think would be good choices at this point:

SE Patrick Ohanian (5.6/5.8) - very raw, but projects as a top-end starter - good combine, too
LT Darian Hartman (5.9/6.5) - not the strongest, but a good technician
LT Todd O'Neill (5.6/6.2) - the archetypical left tackle - good pass-blocker
LT Lewis McKenzie (5.4/5.9) - very raw, but projects as a solid all-round blocker (although may be better suited to play RT)
RDE Edwin Nolan (5.7/6.3) - will need time to develop, but looks to be a pass-rushing end who can play the run if needed
LDT Toby Clayton (5.7/6.2) - starter-quality DT who would be able to contribute straight away
FS Kendrick Fernyhough (5.7/5.4) - solid all-round safety who would only need a little while to develop into a starter

While the three tackles all look to be good prospects, I feel that I may be able to get one of them further down (maybe trading into the bottom of the first round). Fernyhough looks like a starter right now, but on a second glance, he has those small return skills that often forecast a bust. The best value here appears to be LDT Clayton - a guy who would be a solid starter in time, something we'll need in the near future, with our current starters being McKenzie (8th year) and Campbell (9th year). Clayton is initially rated at 38/63.

The guys I was considering with our first pick start to come off the board fairly quickly:

RDE Edwin Nolan (25/65) - 1.20
LT Darian Hartman (29/70) - 1.22
LT Todd O'Neill (33/59) - 1.24
LT Lewis McKenzie (20/69) - 1.31
FS Kendrick Fernyhough (32/71) - 1.32
SE Patrick Ohanian (30/64) - 2.5

After dealing with the defensive line in the first round, I'd like to go after a receiver or defensive back with our second-round pick. In my eyes, the best receiver available is SE Thomas Quigley (4.8/5.0), who will need time to develop, but had a good combine and looks to be a third receiver at worst. Of the cornerbacks available, I would go with LCB Jeff Lawton (4.7/4.6), but Lawton looks to be a nickel back at best. The safeties remaining appear to be more talented, with FS Carlos Hamilton (5.5/5.2) the raw, risk/reward pick and FS Lamar Hicks (5.3/5.0) the safer choice, as he's significantly more developed - FS Grady Linville (5.0/4.7) also looks to be worth this level of pick, and may be able to play CB as well as safety. With more defensive backs available, I go with SE Quigley, who's initially rated at 21/49.

Hamilton (2.20 - 25/56) and Hicks (2.23 - 35/50) go soon after the Eagles pick. As the draft moves into the third round, I decide to move up to make sure of getting one of the defensive backs I want - the Eagles get Chicago's third-rounder (3.3) in exchange for 3.21 and 4.3. The pick at 3.3 is FS Grady Linville, who gets an initial rating of 27/63, with a very good potential to cornerback - I make the switch, and his ratings go to 26/58. LCB Lawton (26/49) goes with pick 3.15.

Our next pick is at 4.20 - while there are other good players still on the board, I decide to address the need for depth on the offensive line with this pick. LT Roger Lindsay (4.4/4.8) is a raw but promising blocker who looks well-suited to playing at the blind-side tackle position. He's initially rated at 19/58, which suggests that this is a decent value pick at this point (although we'll need to wait to see how that potential holds up...)

At 5.19, there still appears to be a lot of value on the board (as in guys I would have considered taking a couple of rounds earlier...) One of these guys is MLB Bubba Sylvester, who projects as a solid backup/borderline starter at linebacker. He's initially rated at 22/58, but may struggle to stick if he stays in the middle, so may be moved outside before training camp.

With our sixth-round pick (6.18), we take a backup center who may take over from Darrin Watkins as our long snapper - C Willie Barber (26/52) will be a solid backup for the interior line positions, and may challenge Dawson for the starting job at some point down the line. Our last pick (7.21) goes on the backup safety that we've been looking for - FS Wade Qaderi isn't likely to become a starter, but should be a decent backup defensive back who can help out in the return game (initial rating of 18/35).

Before the draft ends, I have a look through for a few guys I'd be interested in picking up as rookie free agents:
RB Cornelius Neumeyer (3.7/3.9) - decent bars (in the right places) and a good combine
FB J.J. Bedell (4.5/3.6) - good special teamer, and may be worth looking at as a TE or RB
TE Kevin Cochrane (4.5/3.9) - raw, but has a lot of potential - looks to be a good special teams guy too - taken 7.25 (20/59)
LT Moe Chechetts (4.3/4.7) - decent combine, and looks to be a decent pass-blocker - taken 7.31 (16/42)
RDE Howie Browning (4.2/4.6) - looks to be a decent backup DE - taken 7.24 (19/42)
LDT Bernard Sanderson (4.1/4.4) - projects as a DE, reasonable combine, could be a useful pass-rusher

[MartinD]

2017 Late free agency

Our draftees are given initial contract offers - only first-rounder Clayton decides not to sign. I move fifth-round pick Sylvester from MLB to SLB - his ratings drop from 22/58 to 21/58, which is harmless enough.

We bring in a few rookie free agents to see if we can find a diamond in the rough...

QB O.J. Hume (18/44) - $1.01m over 2 years (signed week 3)
RB Cornelius Neumeyer (22/32) - $1.01m over 2 years (signed week 3)
RB Al Briggs (25/42) - $1.01m over 2 years (with the intention to move him to receiver - signed week 2 - moved to FL, new ratings 12/35)
FB Marc Vaughn (26/50) - $1.01m over 2 years (liked this guy over Bedell on a second look)
TE Randall Anstaett (21/49) - $1.01m over 2 years (signed week 2)
RT Harvey Gerhart (16/38) - $1.01m over 2 years (signed week 4)
P Levon Howard (47/56) - $1.01m over 2 years (signed week 3)
LDT Bernard Sanderson (23/47) - $1.01m over 2 years (signed week 1, and switched to LDE (new rating of 24/51))
RCB Ellis Polomalu (20/53) - $1.01m over 2 years (surprised he didn't get drafted! - signed week 1)
FS Xavier Burlsworth (23/52) - $1.01m over 2 years (have a feeling that this guy is a bust waiting to happen, but no harm in bringing him in to see - signed week 1)
FS Donovan Barton (17/48) - $1.01m over 2 years (a guy I had thought about drafting)

DT Clayton signs his contract at the end of the free agency period, and we head to camp - 65 players on the roster, and $17.13m cap room free.

Rookies before and after camp


Acquired Before After Change
QB O.J. Hume FA 18/44 18/44 0/0
RB Cornelius Neumeyer FA 22/32 21/31 -1/-1
FB Marc Vaughn FA 26/50 26/48 0/-2
TE Randall Anstaett FA 21/49 23/46 +2/-3
FL Al Briggs FA 12/35 13/30 +1/-5
SE Thomas Quigley 2.18 21/49 20/42 -1/-7
C Willie Barber 6.18 26/52 29/52 +3/0
LT Roger Lindsay 4.20 19/58 18/53 -1/-5
RT Harvey Gerhart FA 16/38 18/39 +2/+1
P Levon Howard FA 47/56 46/52 -1/-4
LDE Bernard Sanderson FA 24/51 23/50 -1/-1
LDT Toby Clayton 1.19 38/63 40/63 +2/0
SLB Bubba Sylvester 5.19 21/58 22/52 +1/-6
RCB Grady Linville 3.3 26/58 29/56 +3/-2
RCB Ellis Polamalu FA 20/53 24/49 +4/-4
FS Xavier Burlsworth FA 23/52 26/49 +3/-3
FS Wade Qaderi 7.21 18/35 21/36 +3/+1
FS Donovan Barton FA 17/48 20/47 +3/-1


Quite a few of the draft picks have worked out pretty well - DT Clayton looks to be a guy who's going to be a solid starter sooner rather than later, CB Linville should be a solid nickel back at the absolute worst, and I've managed to pick up some useful role players further down the draft. The rookie free agents we signed also look decent, and a few of these guys are likely to make the regular-season roster.

[MartinD]

2017 Roster

With 65 players currently on the roster, there's a fair bit of cutting to do before we get into the preseason...


Philadelphia Eagles Roster, Scout Overview

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntr
Hutchins, Keith 18 QB 10 63 78 2
Anthony, Cedric 14 QB 5 33 49 3
Perroni, Ray 13 QB 3 18 41 1
Hume, O.J. 15 QB 1 18 44 2

I would like to keep all four guys if possible - Hutchins is the starter, and will
be backed up by Anthony. Perroni and Hume both have enough potential to
make me want to keep them around, even if they're unlikely to see much time
on the field.

Von Hagel, Blake 32 RB 4 25 36 1
Walsh, Roosevelt 38 RB 3 38 43 2
Burnett, Chad 31 RB 2 26 27 1
Raaen, Ted 33 RB 2 26 39 1
Neumeyer, Cornelius 40 RB 1 21 31 2
Troyer, D.J. 37 FB 5 46 46 1
Waldrop, Juan 35 FB 2 25 47 1
Vaughn, Marc 39 FB 1 26 48 2

An obvious area for a few cuts... Walsh is our starting RB, with Burnett
showing enough last year to be the #2 guy. Von Hagel has been a
disappointment, and will not be with the team this year - I feel that Neumeyer
is more likely to produce decent yardage if given the chance. Raaen is a
similar style of back to Von Hagel, and may be at risk if we need the roster
spot in another area.

At FB, Troyer is the incumbent starter (and position group leader), but isn't a
great fit for our offence - he isn't a great blocker, and doesn't do much with
the ball when it's thrown his way. Waldrop is a similar type of player, just not
quite as far along the road to full development. Rookie free agent Vaughn is
actually a better fit, so is the only FB we'll carry into the season.

Morrison, Larry 81 TE 7 42 42 3
Nestor, Jerald 89 TE 2 24 43 1
Delmonico, Sammy 88 TE 2 34 44 3
Anstaett, Randall 86 TE 1 23 46 2

Morrison and Delmonico are the top two guys here, so it's about finding the
#3 guy here. Anstaett is very much a simple blocking TE who doesn't offer
much in the way of receiving skills (which is not necessarily a bad thing for a
#3 TE), while Nestor is more of a jack of all trades (who, unfortunately, is
decent but not particularly good at all of them). As Anstaett gives us
something we don't really have with the other two guys, Nestor is the cut
here.

Samanta, Antoine 82 FL 7 70 70 2
Murray, Rex 84 FL 3 28 29 1
Oskolkoff, K.C. 87 FL 3 41 48 3
Briggs, Al 34 FL 1 13 30 2
Adamov, Drew 80 SE 7 59 59 3
Musial, Josh 85 SE 4 34 34 1
Britton, Fred 83 SE 2 34 35 2
Quigley, Thomas 19 SE 1 20 42 4

Fairly simple to get us down to 6 receivers here - Briggs was a rookie free
agent experiment that didn't pan out, and Quigley simply isn't as good a player
as I thought when I drafted him. Cutting Quigley will cost us over $2m of cap
room next year, but we have a lot of space to play with at the moment - in hindsight, he shouldn't have been offered a contract.

Watkins, Darrin 62 C 8 32 32 2
Dawson, Thomas 63 C 4 46 46 3
Barber, Willie 61 C 1 29 52 3
Martin, Zack 68 LG 7 84 84 4
Jordan, Willie 67 RG 6 54 54 2
Burgess, Ty 66 RG 5 34 34 1
Tanner, Sammy 76 LT 6 47 47 3
Lindsay, Roger 73 LT 1 18 53 4
Huffman, Norman 72 RT 9 54 54 4
Gerhart, Harvey 60 RT 1 18 39 2

This group is going to make the roster unscathed - the only possible cut is C
Watkins, who seems to be slipping a bit (and has effectively been replaced by
the rookie Barber).

Howard, Levon 8 P 1 46 52 2
Oden, Matt 2 K 11 66 66 2

The two kicking specialists are fairly safe, although Howard needs to perform
or he may be at risk of replacement.

Hansen, Juan 95 LDE 2 42 57 3
Sanderson, Bernard 92 LDE 1 23 50 2
Rivers, Moe 99 RDE 9 27 27 2
Salerno, Rod 91 RDE 3 86 86 3
McKenzie, Spencer 98 LDT 8 48 48 2
Necaise, Reggie 97 LDT 2 31 38 1
Clayton, Toby 90 LDT 1 40 63 4
Campbell, Christian 93 RDT 9 74 74 3
Warren, Irv 96 RDT 6 46 46 3

One cut here, which is between Rivers and Necaise. It would be a bit unusual
to carry 5 DTs, but Necaise is a guy I like a lot - good run-stuffer, and
appears to be developing beyond his apparent potential. Rivers is definitely
reaching the end of the line, but is still a decent pass-rusher - I feel,
however, that the other three DEs will be able to produce sufficient pass-rush
(and McKenzie can help out on running downs if required). Rivers is the guy
to be cut here, which is tough, as he's been a solid contributor while he's
been here, but time waits for no man.

Tayoun, Vincent 54 MLB 7 49 49 2
Schwartz, Les 56 MLB 6 45 45 2
Delaney, Broderick 53 MLB 3 27 40 1
Knoblett, Larry 52 SLB 4 50 50 1
Rayburn, Rickey 55 SLB 4 13 13 1
Sylvester, Bubba 59 SLB 1 22 52 3
Long, Shannon 51 WLB 6 80 80 3
McGlockton, Burt 50 WLB 3 29 40 1

One cut here, which is likely to be one of the MLBs - while Rayburn is
obviously the worst LB on the team, he gets a pass purely because of his
special teams abilities. Delaney is the lowest-rated of the three MLBs, and
doesn't have any mitigating circumstances (like being a good special-teamer),
so is the player to be cut from the LB group.

Rasmussen, Isaac 24 LCB 6 32 32 1
Zachery, Leon 26 LCB 6 50 50 3
Jordan, Jerome 25 LCB 5 96 96 1
Strong, Nicky 29 LCB 3 35 41 1
Polamalu, Ellis 28 RCB 1 24 49 2
Linville, Grady 27 RCB 1 29 56 4
Ross, Wally 23 SS 12 45 45 1
Lester, Dale 21 FS 8 40 40 1
Hopkins, Jumbo 20 FS 3 42 50 1
Barton, Donovan 30 FS 1 20 47 2
Burlsworth, Xavier 36 FS 1 26 49 2
Qaderi, Wade 22 FS 1 21 36 3

A big group of guys to cut down here...

At corner, Jordan and Zachery are the obvious starters, with Strong a useful
contributor as an extra defensive back in nickel and dime sets. While
Rasmussen is the better player now (and is a useful punt returner), Linville
and Polamalu are not all that far behind right now, and are likely to become
better players fairly quickly - Rasmussen is the cornerback who doesn't make
it through the final cuts.

At safety, Ross and Hopkins are the starters, but it's pretty much keep any
two of the other four. Qaderi has the least apparent potential, but he may be
a creeper (and is a useful kick returner too), while Burlsworth is the best of
the rookie free agents (and would be able to play corner if needed). While
keeping the two rookies would leave us a bit short in the event of injuries, I
feel that this is the best combination to keep looking past this season. Lester
and Barton are the two safeties cut.



These cuts leave us with 54 players signed - the guys on the bubble here are QBs Hume and Perroni, RB Raaen, FL Murray and C Watkins. I like Hume and Perroni as prospects enough that I don't want to cut either of them, and Murray is a decent backup receiver. Raaen is our 4th RB, while Watkins has basically been replaced by our 6th-round pick Barber. Looking around the roster, it appears that we are a bit short of return guys, so both Raaen and Watkins are cut, with 2nd-year RB Norman Reese (24/30) signed to fill the roster spot.

The AI must really like our roster, as we have the maximum 100 roster rating going into the season - next best is Cincinnati (86), with the next best NFC team being Detroit at 72.

[MartinD]

2017 preseason

A few tweaks to the gameplans going into this season - a bit less emphasis on the short pass on offence (as we struggled to get downfield last year), and some tweaking of our blitzing on defence.

Week 1: Philadelphia 16-26 Houston
Not much expectation for this one, with mostly backups starting, and the team lived up (or down) to those expectations. Rookie RB Neumayer went over 100 yards, and two of our off-season acquisitions at CB (Linville and Zachary) had interceptions.

Week 3: Cincinnati 28-7 Philadelphia
A day of offensive futility, with only 5 first downs and 103 total yards - our only points came on a blocked punt! The defence was a bit better, but wasn't able to handle the load on its own.

Week 4: Jacksonville 31-0 Philadelphia
Not quite as futile in terms of yardage, but the offence still can't put points on the board - we'll just have to see how much difference putting our starters back in makes.

Week 5: Philadelphia 23-24 Baltimore
Welcome back offence! We may have lost this game, but the offence returned with a vengance, racking up over 450 total yards. Turnovers were a bit of a problem, though, as the Ravens started in good field position on a regular basis.

Only minor injuries going into the season, so we should be able to field a full-strength team in week 1.

[MartinD]

2017 Regular Season

Week 1: Dallas 11-31 Philadelphia
As good an offensive performance as some of the preseason games were bad - QB Hutchins (27/29-228-2-0) was close to perfect, with good support from his receivers and running game. The defence put the Cowboys' QBs under pressure all game, forcing the starter to leave the game after a 2/15 day.

Week 2: Denver (1-0) 6-12 Philadelphia (1-0)
A game of field goals - both teams were able to move the ball, but unable to get into the endzone. While the passing game wasn't as sharp as in week 1, the running game picked up the slack, with both Walsh (20-87) and Burnett (9-80) rushing for 80 yards. On defence, DE Salerno didn't get credited for any sacks, but was a constant force with 4 tackles, 1 block, 6 hurries and 3 knockdowns.

Week 3: New Orleans (1-1) 3-19 Philadelphia (2-0)
About as dominant a game as you're likely to get - the defence held the Saints to 10 first downs and 104 total yards, while the offence, despite QB Hutchins having to leave the game early on, was consistently productive, with backup QB Anthony (17/27-196-0-0) playing well in relief.

The injury to Hutchins was minor, and he's healthy and ready to go for our next game.

Week 4: Bye (not ideal timing, but not much we can do about it <shrug>)

Week 5: Philadelphia (3-0) 23-6 Seattle (4-0)
We've beaten up on some weak opposition at home, now for a bit more of a challenge on the road. The Eagles rose to the challenge, though, with a very solid team performance - QB Hutchins (20/22-237-2-0) was back to his accurate best, with FL Samanta (6-127-2) catching the two TD passes. DE Rod Salerno was the standout in a good defensive performance, finishing with a sack and 5 hurries.

Week 6: Arizona (2-3) 14-36 Philadelphia (4-0)
The Cardinals are not a great team, but all you can do is beat the team that's up against you, and that's exactly what the Eagles did here - Arizona's offence managed only 8 first downs and 68 total yards, with their QBs combining for 10/32 passing. The offence rolled up the yardage against a weak defence, with QB Hutchins (29/38-285-1-0) finding his receivers with ease, particularly SE Adamov (8-104). On defence, veteran S Ross had 2 interceptions, and DE Salerno 2 sacks.

Week 7: Philadelphia (5-0) 24-28 Washington (3-3)
The unbeaten start was going to end sometime, but it would have been nice if it wasn't down to our mistakes - while the offence put up good yardage numbers, two fumbles from RB Walsh stopped a good-looking Eagles drive, then gave the Redskins a short field to work with. QB Hutchins (27/42-292-1-0) and SE Adamov (12-149) led the offence, but couldn't produce a comeback at the end.

Week 8: New York (3-3) 0-23 Philadelphia (5-1)
A good response after a disappointing loss, particularly early on, as our first two offensive drives ended with touchdowns. RBs Burnett (19-79-1) and Walsh (18-99) had solid days, while the defence shut down the Giants' offence, forcing four interceptions, two by LB Long. DE Salerno continued his impressive season - he only had half a sack, but had 2 blocked passes, 5 hurries and 5 knockdowns.

Week 9: Philadelphia (6-1) 10-13 St. Louis (4-3)
A good start, but very little after that as the Rams overcame an early 10-0 deficit to win with a late TD. QB Hutchins was again forced to leave the game early through injury, and backup QB Anthony struggled, throwing two important interceptions. Defensively, the Eagles played a solid game, but the lack of offensive production told in the end.

QB Hutchins will be out for a couple of months after suffering a serious leg injury - at this point, it looks like he may be back for the end of the regular season.

2017 mid-season summary


Year 2017
Record 6-2
Winning Pct. .750
All-Time 85-98-1
Winning Pct. .464
Playoffs 4-2
Playoff Visits 3
Bowl Wins 1
Head Coach Wesley Bandle
Record 56-37
Winning Pct. .602
Off. Coord. K. Ford
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 34.1 5
Rushing Yards 139.6 4
Yards Per Carry 4.09 17
Pass Attempts 30.0 28
Completions 21.8 9 (T)
Completion Pct. 72.5 1
Passing Yards 216.6 15
Yards Per Attempt 7.22 9
Yards Per Catch 9.96 24
Total Yardage Gained 345.4 7
3rd Down Conversions 42.4 6
Points Per Game 22.3 10
Pass Rush Pct. 13.2 1
Pass Defense Pct. 74.7 1
Turnovers 10 7 (T)
Turnover Margin +4 7 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 21.3 2
Rushing Yards 73.1 1
Yards Per Carry 3.44 1
Pass Attempts 35.6 24
Completions 17.6 3
Completion Pct. 49.5 1
Passing Yards 162.1 1 (T)
Yards Per Attempt 4.55 1
Yards Per Catch 9.20 1
Total Yardage Gained 220.4 1
3rd Down Conversions 28.8 3
Points Per Game 10.1 1
Pass Rush Pct. 4.6 2
Pass Defense Pct. 56.8 1
Turnovers 14 16 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 31 DAL 11
2 12 DEN 6
3 19 NOS 3
5 23 at SEA 6
6 36 ARI 14
7 24 at WAS 28
8 23 NYK 0
9 10 at STL 13
10 SFO
11 at DAL
12 KCY
13 at GBY
14 at OAK
15 WAS
16 at SDO
17 at NYK

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
18 K. Hutchins QB 196 148 1467 7.48 7 2 103.8
14 C. Anthony QB 44 26 266 6.05 0 2 57.6
**Team --- 240 174 1733 7.22 7 4 95.4
$$Opp --- 285 141 1297 4.55 5 9 55.0

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
38 R. Walsh RB 136 549 4.04 4 7
31 C. Burnett RB 110 489 4.45 4 2
18 K. Hutchins QB 17 63 3.71 0 2
**Team --- 273 1117 4.09 8 17
$$Opp --- 170 585 3.44 2 11

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
80 D. Adamov WR 64 49 552 11.27 8.63 0 0
82 A. Samanta WR 64 44 457 10.39 7.14 3 6
81 K. Oskolkoff WR 24 16 221 13.81 9.21 1 0
31 C. Burnett RB 18 15 65 4.33 3.61 0 0
89 L. Morrison TE 17 13 111 8.54 6.53 1 0
88 S. Delmonico TE 16 13 126 9.69 7.88 1 1
38 R. Walsh RB 15 9 57 6.33 3.80 1 0

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
54 V. Tayoun ILB 51 12 0.0 3 0 2 70.6
51 S. Long OLB 38 13 2.0 0 2 4 81.0
23 W. Ross S 32 11 1.5 0 3 6 85.5
25 J. Jordan CB 22 10 0.0 0 2 11 87.7
93 C. Campbell DT 21 5 2.0 4 0 0 82.0
90 J. Hansen DE 20 4 4.0 9 0 0 82.0
91 R. Salerno DE 19 6 5.0 27 0 0 81.1
26 L. Zachery CB 14 3 0.0 0 0 3 78.3
50 B. McGlockton OLB 14 2 0.0 1 0 1 74.3
56 L. Schwartz ILB 12 0 0.0 0 1 0 82.1
21 X. Burlsworth S 11 6 0.0 0 0 1 78.1
52 L. Knoblett OLB 10 7 1.0 3 0 0 78.0
20 J. Hopkins S 10 5 0.0 0 1 2 83.7
96 I. Warren DT 9 10 3.0 7 0 0 81.5


A very solid first half of the year, with the defence as good as any I've seen - DE Rod Salerno is a very big reason for this, as he's been an absolute terror to opposing defences all year. The offence is also much improved, with the passing game getting the ball downfield much better than in past years - the injury to QB Hutchins will be tough to overcome, though. RB Walsh has been productive, but he's also put the ball on the ground far too often - the problem here is that we don't really have a guy who's capable of stepping in and starting behind him, as our backups are more suited to being role-players.

At the mid-point of the season, our 6-2 record leads the NFC East by 2 games, with the other three teams in the division all at 4-4. In terms of playoff position, the Lions are 7-1, with Seattle also 6-2 - there are a lot of teams at .500 or better, though, so we'll need to keep playing well to get into the playoffs.

With Hutchins out for a significant period, we need to find another QB to keep things going. The options are QB Anthony, who has been inconsistent so far, or QB Perroni, who isn't as strong a player, but was solid in relief of Hutchins last year. My feeling is that Perroni is the safe option, as Anthony may be more prone to turning the ball over than I'd like. Perroni gets the start for week 10, but I'll be keeping a close eye on how he does.

[MartinD]

Week 10: San Francisco (3-5) 13-10 Philadelphia (6-2)
A 44-yard field goal as time expired snatched the win for the 49ers. The offence wasn't at its best, as you would expect when we are without our starting QB, but Perroni (20/35-129-1-2) struggled towards the end of the game, throwing two fourth-quarter interceptions.

Week 11: Philadelphia (6-3) 10-27 Dallas (4-5)
A tough divisional loss, but the Cowboys were the better team in this game. The offence was able to move the ball, but not able to put points on the board consistently, and the defence was unable to pick up the slack.

Week 12: Kansas City (5-5) 10-20 Philadelphia (6-4)
It wasn't pretty, but you'll take any win when you've lost three straight! This one goes down to the defence, which did a great job at keeping the Chiefs' offence under control, with the pass rush sacking the KC QB 5 times. RBs Burnett (16-77) and Walsh (10-67-1) kept things moving on offence.

Third receiver K.C. Oskolkoff was lost for the season with a serious shoulder injury in this game - he was put on IR, but no replacement signed at this point. Fred Britton will move up to play the slot receiver, with Murray and Musial as backups.

Week 13: Philadelphia (7-4) 17-31 Green Bay (6-5)
A closer game than it looked, with the Packers scoring a garbage time TD to extend their margin of victory, but Green Bay were the better team. QB Perroni (16/34-142-0-3) struggled, particularly later in the game when the Eagles were forced to pass in an effort to come from behind.

With Perroni struggling, QB Anthony will be given the chance to start in week 14.

Week 14: Philadelphia (7-5) 17-20 Oakland (5-7)
Starting QB Anthony (26/37-237-2-1) certainly gave the offence a lift, but a slow start cost us in this game - Oakland were 17-0 ahead at the half, and the deficit proved to be too much to make up.

Week 15: Washington (7-6) 17-23 Philadelphia (7-6) (OT)
RB Burnett scored the winning TD on a 38-yard run on the first possession of overtime to give the Eagles a vital win. QB Cedric Anthony (26/35-269-1-2) was able to move the ball, but made a couple of vital mistakes, including a pick-six early in the fourth quarter to draw Washington level.

This win puts us top of the NFC East at 8-6, but only on tiebreakers with New York and Dallas - Washington are at 7-7 in a very tight division. The wild cards are both at 9-5 at the moment, so there's definitely pressure on us to win our two remaining games.

Unfortunately, we lost one of the cornerstones of our defence in this win - LCB Jerome Jordan is likely to miss all of next year after tearing his ACL during the game. This causes a big problem, as Jordan is a free agent after the season - we were intending to use the franchise tag on him next offseason. Rookie CB Grady Linville will start in Jordan's place.

Week 16: Philadelphia (8-6) 17-24 San Diego (8-6)
A decent performance, but not good enough, as the Chargers took advantage of our weakened secondary. Anthony (16/25-131-2-0) and Walsh (16-104) put in good performances, but the pass defence was vulnerable, giving up 273 yards.

The loss drops us one game behind New York, but we play the Giants in week 17, so our playoff position is still in our own hands.

Week 17: Philadelphia (8-7) 44-10 New York (9-6)
With the season on the line, the team needed to respond - did they ever! QB Anthony (19/26-186-2-0) threw two first-quarter TD passes, while RB Walsh (31/118-2) ran for two more TDs in the third quarter. The defence really stepped up, though, forcing the Giants' starting QB to the bench after picking him off four times, two each by S Ross and CB Linville, then S Qaderi intercepted the backup, and took it back for the final TD of the game.

The win, coupled with Dallas's victory over Washington, meant that three teams in the NFC West finished at 9-7. A superior record in games between the teams saw the Eagles win the division, though - we swept New York and split with Washington, while the Giants and Redskins split their season series. The wild cards went to Atlanta (10-6) and Detroit (9-7), so we are the only team from the NFC East to make the playoffs - the Eagles will host Atlanta in the wild card round of the playoffs.

[MartinD]

2017 playoffs

Wild Card round

OK, so it wasn't pretty, but the aim during the regular season is to get into the playoffs, and that's what we've done - you can't win the Bowl if you don't make it into the postseason.

The Falcons are a good all-round team, but are probably slightly stronger on the offensive side of the ball, where a strong ground game sets up a good big-play passing game. They don't have any real stand-out players on offence, with the running game split between RBs Browning (1065 yards) and Wiltshire (960 yards). They have three solid receivers - none had over 1000 yards, but all managed at least 39 catches and 500 yards. Defensively, they don't look quite as strong, but aren't easy to run against and don't give up too much through the air.

The good news going into this game is that starting QB Keith Hutchins is fully recovered from his injury, and will start this game (he was dressed as the #3 QB for the final regular season game in case things didn't go well, but was not needed. We do have a few injury worries, though - in addition to the long-term injured (Oskolkoff and Jordan) starting S Hopkins and backups RB Burnett and DE Sanderson will miss this game. Rookie S Burlsworth will get the start in the defensive backfield, while RB Neumayer will be the reliever for starter Walsh. DT McKenzie will be the backup at DE, with DTs Warren and Necaise behind the starters at tackle.

A promising opening drive for the Eagles was stopped just outside of field goal range when Hutchins was sacked. The Falcons took the ball down the field in a hurry, scoring the first points of the game with QB Charron's 6-yard TD pass to Shaw - 7-0 Atlanta. After an exchange of punts, the Eagles' offence got things going with a solid drive, finished off by RB Walsh going in behind Martin's block for a 2-yard TD run to tie the score at 7 midway through the second quarter. Atlanta responded with a long field goal, but Philadelphia put together a nice two-minute drill, going 51 yards in 6 plays and 68 seconds to set up Oden's field goal, making it 10-10 at the half.

Defences were on top to start the third quarter, with both teams going three and out on their first possession. Atlanta picked up the initial first down of the second half on their next possession, but Charron was intercepted by LB Schwartz on the next play, giving the Eagles the ball deep in Atlanta territory. A penalty and a sack pushed the Philadelphia offence back, but Walsh took advantage of great blocking on a sweep play to take the ball in for a 25-yard TD run, putting the Eagles up 17-10 midway through the third quarter. After the Eagles defence forced a punt, the offence drove down the field again, but stalled in the red zone - Oden's 31-yard field goal extended the lead to 10 points. The 10-point lead didn't last long, though, as the Falcons put together a solid drive of their own, riding Charron's arm down the field on a smooth TD drive, Nichols ending it with a 13-yard TD reception - 20-17 Eagles as the third quarter ended.

Atlanta had momentum on their side going into the fourth quarter, and kept it going by forcing the Eagles to go three and out, then driving down the field once more, Charron finding his FB Perroni with a short TD pass to put the Falcons up by 4 with 12 minutes to play. The Philadelphia offence responded to losing the lead by putting together a big drive of their own, with Hutchins finding Musial on a deep pass for 43 yards, and G Martin clearing huge holes for Walsh to exploit. The drive ended with Hutchins finding Samanta in the endzone with a 10-yard pass to put the Eagles back in front, 27-24, with a little under 8 minutes left. With the momentum back in their favour and a lead to defend, the Philadelphia defence stepped up, picking off Charron on consecutive passes - the first pick led to another Oden field goal, putting the Eagles 6 points ahead, but the offence was unable to take advantage of the second pick, giving the Falcons the ball back at their own 37 with 2:40 left. A 7-yard pass on 4th and 6 kept Atlanta in the game, but a Salerno sack and three incompletions ended the Falcons' hopes of a comeback. A couple of knees from Hutchins ran out the clock, with the Eagles winning 30-24 to advance to the divisional round.

This was an all-round solid performance from the Eagles, led by QB Keith Hutchins (26/35-269-1-0) and RB Roosevelt Walsh (17-77-2) on offence, and DE Juan Hansen (4 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 2 hurries, 2 knockdowns) and DE Rod Salerno (1 sack, 2 hurries, 5 knockdowns) on defence. Four different Eagles defenders had interceptions.

The Eagles came through this game relatively unscathed - one big injury, however, with RDE Rod Salerno picking up an abdominal injury during the game. He will try to play in our divisional round game, though.

[MartinD]

Divisional round

With NFC North champions Green Bay also winning their wild card game, the Falcons travel to play the #1-seeded New Orleans Saints in the divisional round. The Saints, who finished 12-4 in the regular season after a 1-4 start, are an up-and-coming team led by 3rd-year QB Keith May (3081 yards passing, 90.2 QB rating) and 2nd-year RB Alvin Rhodes (1258 yards rushing, 62 catches). Their defence is led by the defensive line, with DE Schottlander (12 sacks, 14 hurries) and DT Bateman (12.5 sacks, 19 hurries) providing the bulk of a solid pass rush.

The defences were on top early on, with both teams forced to punt without gaining a first down on their opening possession. The Eagles were first to put together a couple of first downs, but a holding penalty pushed them back, forcing a punt from near midfield. After another couple of three and outs, a first quarter dominated by defence ended with the Saints starting to get things going on offence.

New Orleans kept their drive ticking over nicely to start the second quarter, and drew first blood when QB May found WR Marrero with a 1-yard TD pass to put the Saints up 7-0. The Eagles offence couldn't match their counterparts in black and gold, going three and out once again, but the Philadelphia defence bailed them out by stopping another promising Saints drive just outside field goal range. The Eagles finally got something going on offence on the ensuing possession, driving 80 yards in 13 plays for the tying TD, scored on a 6-yard run by backup RB Neumayer at the two-minute warning. New Orleans put together a decent two-minute drill, but ran out of time before they could get into field goal range - the teams went in at the half tied at 7.

Philadelphia got the ball first in the second half, and maintained their offensive momentum with a 10-play drive using up almost 6 minutes - the New Orleans defence came up with a sack at the right time, though, forcing the Eagles to settle for a field goal and their first lead of the game at 10-7. The Eagles defence also came out firing after half-time, forcing the Saints to punt - backup TE Anstaett blew through the line to block the kick, giving Philadelphia the ball at the Saints 17 - two Roosevelt Walsh runs later, the Eagles led 17-7 on an 8-yard TD run. The defences were on top for the remainder of the third quarter, so the Eagles took a 10-point lead into the final 15 minutes.

10 points became 3 in a hurry, though, as the Saints took advantage of good field position earned by their defence and special teams late in the third quarter - QB May found WR Patterson in the endzone for a 12-yard TD pass to get New Orleans back to 17-14. The Eagles defence has been in this position before, though, and held strong the rest of the way - New Orleans were unable to get the ball into Philadelphia territory on any of their last three drives, and the Eagles pulled off the upset on the road, beating the #1-seeded Saints 17-14.

In a defensive game, the Eagles did just enough on offence to get the job done - RB Walsh (24-102-1) was the game MVP, with solid support from QB Hutchins (19/23-159-0-0) and FL Samanta (9-94). The defence didn't make many big plays, but managed to hold a potent New Orleans offence in check, LBs Long and Schwartz leading the way with 8 tackles each. Special teams also came up big for the Eagles, as the blocked punt led to a vital touchdown.

Philadelphia came through the game in good shape, with no new injuries to report heading into the NFC Championship game. On a week of upsets where only one home team won, the Eagles will travel to #3-seeded Green Bay, with the winner representing the NFC in this year's Front Office Bowl.

[MartinD]

NFC Championship Game

The Green Bay Packers come into this game following a closely-fought 30-27 win over the #2-seeded Seattle Seahawks, and will be a very tough opponent. They have one of the strongest offences in the league, led by QB Moe Regalia (4046 passing yards, 96.1 QB rating), ably supported by RB Upshaw (1204 rushing yards, 48 catches) and WRs Sheldon (1074 yards) and Pollard (1031 yards). Their defence is not the strongest, however, ranking only 18th in yardage given up - the offence, 2nd in the league in points scored, more than makes up for this, though.

While the Eagles are in relatively good shape entering this game, the Packers have been slightly harder hit by injuries, with a few starters unable to play due to injury. It's a relatively warm day at Lambeau Field, with the sunny weather likely to give a high temperature of slightly above freezing for the game.

The Eagles came out flat, and had to punt on their first possession - the Packers, on the other hand, didn't, and drove the ball rapidly down the field, Regalia hitting Sheldon with a 30-yard TD pass for the opening score of the game. Things got worse for Philadelphia - after going three and out on their second possession, the Eagles defence was unable to stop the Green Bay offence putting together another touchdown drive, this time finished off with RB Upshaw's 2-yard TD dive. 14-0 Packers, and we weren't even at the end of the first quarter - not a good start...

The Philadelphia offence showed some signs of life on their next possession, managing to pick up two first downs, but the Packers forced a stop near midfield. P Howard got away a perfect punt, however, putting the ball out of bounds at the Green Bay 1. While the Packers were able to get out of their own end, a big hit forced a fumble, which backup LB Sylvester recovered at the Packer 24. The offence took advantage of the good field position, with FB Vaughn leading the way on RB Walsh's 4-yard TD run - the Eagles back in it at 14-7. The game was now much more competitive, and the Eagles kept the momentum going when backup CB Polamalu picked off a Regalia pass near midfield. Philadelphia's offence now seemed to be over their earlier problems, and drove confidently down the field for the tying TD, Roosevelt Walsh scoring his second TD of the quarter from 6 yards out. Green Bay came back with a very competent two-minute drill, getting to the Eagles 19 before Philly DT Warren blew past his man for a sack-fumble, recovered by DT Campbell to snuff out the scoring threat. 14-14 at the half, but it was clear where the momentum lay in this game.

Neither offence was able to get into scoring range in the third quarter - both teams put together decent drives, but the defences stiffened up near midfield. The quarter ended with a Green Bay punt, but the Eagles weren't able to move the ball on their first possession of the fourth quarter. Green Bay QB Regalia was hit hard on a scramble on the Packers next possession, LB Tayoun's hit knocking the ball loose and DE Salerno picking it up to give the Eagles great field position. The Packers looked set to limit the damage to 3, though, as the Eagles had 3rd and 12 on the Packer 13, but G Zack Martin made a perfect lead block to spring RB Walsh for his third TD of the game - Philadelphia took their first lead of the game, 21-14 with 7 minutes left.

After setting up the go-ahead TD, the Philadelphia defence came out fired up on Green Bay's next possession. LB Larry Knoblett timed his blitz perfectly to force Regalia into another sack-fumble, DT Warren recovering the ball to set up 1st and 10 at the Green Bay 11 for the Eagles offence. Two plays later, Hutchins hit Samanta on a receiver screen, the 2-yard TD pass extending the lead to 28-14 with 4:25 to play. The Eagles defence held strong the rest of the way, and an Eagles team that had to win its last regular season game just to get into the playoffs is now going to play in the Bowl game!

While Roosevelt Walsh's three TDs (on 23 carries and 99 yards) were a big part of this win, the game MVP was DE Rod Salerno, who fought through his injury to finish with 2 sacks, 2 blocks and a hurry, as well as recovering a fumble. Seven other Eagles defenders also had at least half a sack as Green Bay QB Regalia went down 8 times, with three fumbles.

This was a tough game for the Eagles, with several players being added to the injury report in the lead up to the Bowl - RDT Christian Campbell is the most serious, with MLB Les Schwartz also a big doubt for the game. Starting C Thomas Dawson broke some ribs in the Green Bay game, and is definitely out - he will be replaced by rookie C Willie Barber. Starting S Jumbo Hopkins is now recovered from his injury, and will take his accustomed place in the defensive backfield as our starting free safety.

Our opponent will be the New England Patriots, who upset the #1-seeded Jacksonville Jaguars 17-12 in the AFC Championship game.

[MartinD]

2017 Front Office Bowl

Two unexpected teams in the Bowl game this year - we're probably the bigger surprise after just scraping into the playoffs at 9-7, but New England (11-5 regular season, #3 seed) were not expected to get by either Pittsburgh (12-4) or Jacksonville (13-3) in their last two games. New England are very much a passing team, with QB Hardy Richard (4283 passing yards, 103.5 QB rating) one of the best in the league - he is injured, and missed the Championship game last week, but I expect him to play. His main targets are WRs McElroy (1440 yards, 14 TDs) and Cannon (1519 yards, 9 TDs), but McElroy has been ruled out of the game through injury. The New England defence isn't quite as strong, but is still a solid unit, particularly up front where DT Berry (8.5 sacks, 28 hurries) and DE Sims (8.0 sacks, 18 hurries) provide a very useful pass rush.

Both offences looked tight on their opening drives, with the defences forcing a three and out on both sides. Philadelphia's offence then managed to put a decent drive together, but came away with no points after stalling inside the 10, then missing the field goal due to a bad snap. New England took advantage of this mishap by putting together a solid drive of their own - they too, though, were stopped inside the 10, but the Pats kicked the field goal to go up 3-0 early in the second quarter. After the Eagles were forced to go three and out, New England's offence started rolling again - 14 plays and 61 yards later, an errant Richard pass was picked off by CB Linville to end the scoring threat. That was the end of the scoring for the first half - 3-0 Patriots at the break, with the defences firmly on top.

New England had first possession in the second half - they had obviously made some good adjustments in the interval, as they put together another solid drive - 15 plays, 69 yards this time. Unlike their previous drives, this one ended with a TD, with Richard finding Cannon with a 3-yard TD pass. 10-0 quickly became 10-3, as the Eagles offence finally got started with a decent drive, and Oden booted one through from 43 yards. Neither team could move the ball for the remainder of the third quarter, so New England held on to their 7-point lead with 15 minutes to play.

The Patriots started the fourth quarter with the ball deep in their own end after a good Howard punt, but were able to get themselves out of trouble with a mix of Mills runs and Richard passes. The drive stalled in the red zone, but the resulting field goal put New England back up by two scores at 13-3. The unheralded Patriots defence then took over the game, not allowing the Eagles to get past the New England 45 for the rest of the game. The Patriots added an insurance touchdown after the two-minute warning after Philadelphia failed to convert on a desperation fourth down, making the final score 20-3 Patriots.

New England QB Hardy Richard (22/40-236-1-1) was the Bowl MVP.

A disappointing game for the Eagles on both sides of the ball - the offence simply couldn't get a passing game going (Hutchins (11/27-93-0-0) was ineffective all game) and the defence couldn't stop New England on those back-breaking long drives.

[MartinD]

2017 Summary


2017 Summary for Philadelphia Eagles

Year 2017
Record 12-8
Winning Pct. .600
All-Time 88-103-1
Winning Pct. .460
Playoffs 7-3
Playoff Visits 4
Bowl Wins 1
Head Coach Wesley Bandle
Record 62-43
Winning Pct. .590
Off. Coord. K. Ford
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 30.8 9 (T)
Rushing Yards 136.0 5
Yards Per Carry 4.42 5
Pass Attempts 31.1 23
Completions 20.9 14
Completion Pct. 67.4 3
Passing Yards 190.1 28
Yards Per Attempt 6.12 22
Yards Per Catch 9.08 32
Total Yardage Gained 315.8 15
3rd Down Conversions 37.9 12 (T)
Points Per Game 21.0 12
Pass Rush Pct. 10.8 1
Pass Defense Pct. 74.7 1
Turnovers 26 15 (T)
Turnover Margin +4 10 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 27.1 16
Rushing Yards 100.3 4
Yards Per Carry 3.70 3
Pass Attempts 32.2 15
Completions 16.8 1
Completion Pct. 52.2 1
Passing Yards 160.7 1
Yards Per Attempt 4.99 1
Yards Per Catch 9.56 4
Total Yardage Gained 247.2 1
3rd Down Conversions 30.1 2
Points Per Game 14.6 3
Pass Rush Pct. 6.0 6
Pass Defense Pct. 59.7 1
Turnovers 30 9

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 31 DAL 11
2 12 DEN 6
3 19 NOS 3
5 23 at SEA 6
6 36 ARI 14
7 24 at WAS 28
8 23 NYK 0
9 10 at STL 13
10 10 SFO 13
11 10 at DAL 27
12 20 KCY 10
13 17 at GBY 31
14 17 at OAK 20
15 23 WAS 17
16 17 at SDO 24
17 44 at NYK 10
$$WC 30 ATL 24
$$CS 17 at NOS 14
$$CF 28 at GBY 14
**FB 3 vs NED 20

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
18 K. Hutchins QB 196 148 1467 7.48 7 2 103.8
14 C. Anthony QB 182 117 1112 6.11 7 6 80.2
13 R. Perroni QB 119 70 463 3.89 3 6 54.7
**Team --- 497 335 3042 6.12 17 14 83.4
$$Opp --- 515 269 2571 4.99 12 19 58.8

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
38 R. Walsh RB 260 1160 4.46 10 12 
Front Office Football 2007
31 C. Burnett RB 174 845 4.86 5 3
**Team --- 492 2176 4.42 15 28
$$Opp --- 434 1605 3.70 10 22

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
80 D. Adamov WR 125 85 929 10.93 7.43 3 2
82 A. Samanta WR 118 73 706 9.67 5.98 6 7
31 C. Burnett RB 41 32 121 3.78 2.95 2 1
38 R. Walsh RB 36 28 131 4.68 3.64 1 1
81 K. Oskolkoff WR 36 23 278 12.09 7.72 1 1
88 S. Delmonico TE 29 21 181 8.62 6.24 2 3
89 L. Morrison TE 27 20 143 7.15 5.30 1 0
83 F. Britton WR 35 19 246 12.95 7.03 4 2

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
51 S. Long OLB 92 25 3.5 2 2 7 78.6
54 V. Tayoun ILB 88 26 2.0 4 2 7 74.3
23 W. Ross S 70 25 1.5 0 5 6 83.5
93 C. Campbell DT 50 15 3.5 10 0 0 80.6
52 L. Knoblett OLB 42 17 1.0 4 1 3 78.1
25 J. Jordan CB 41 12 0.0 0 3 14 86.2
91 R. Salerno DE 41 14 9.5 39 0 0 80.9
90 J. Hansen DE 39 10 8.5 14 0 0 81.3
56 L. Schwartz ILB 28 6 1.0 0 1 0 74.7
26 L. Zachery CB 26 6 0.0 1 0 6 79.9
20 J. Hopkins S 26 9 0.5 0 1 5 83.2
21 X. Burlsworth S 26 12 0.0 0 0 2 79.0
29 N. Strong CB 24 6 0.0 2 0 3 76.2
50 B. McGlockton OLB 22 5 0.0 1 1 1 78.3
99 T. Clayton DT 22 13 0.0 1 0 0 81.3
96 I. Warren DT 19 21 3.5 12 0 0 80.9


Definitely a strange season - start out with 5 straight wins, then lose 7 out of the next 10 before sneaking into the playoffs by the back door with a week 17 win. The mid-season injury to QB Hutchins was a big blow, and I compounded that by going with the wrong QB for a few games - I went with the guy I thought I knew better rather than the better QB. Once we did make it into the playoffs, however, I fancied that we might win a game or two with Hutchins back in control of the offence - it was still a surprise that we made it to the Bowl game, but the performance was definitely sub-par.

The offence was much more diversified this year - solid running game and a more downfield passing attack (still relatively short, but at least the passes were going a bit further downfield!). Hutchins was very solid when he played, and Anthony a reasonable replacement. Walsh had a lot of problems hanging onto the ball, but was productive, while Burnett continued to be the ideal backup RB. Our starting receivers had good years, as did Oskolkoff before he got injured. The offensive line was a bit unsettled for most of the year due to minor injuries, but generally played solidly, although not quite as well as in previous years.

The defence played about as well as anyone can expect a defence to play this year - solid against the run and virtually impregnable to the pass. Our defensive MVP was definitely RDE Rod Salerno, who was a constant threat to the opposing QB, even if he didn't get all that many sacks. LDE Hansen provided solid pressure from the other side, and the DTs were also effective in the pass rush. LCB Jerome Jordan was having another solid year before his injury - it's difficult to say if he's going to be able to play at anything like the same level when he's recovered, but it's going to be difficult to replace him next year. Zachery was a good addition, putting in a good year without making too many big plays, while Linville was a solid nickel back.

After a down year, K Matt Oden was back to his best in 2017, hitting on 33 of 37 field goals, including 6 of 9 from 40 yards or more. P Levon Howard was decent (net average of 37.4 yards), and will get another shot next year. The return game didn't produce any TD returns, but yardage was consistent and solid - kick coverage was also good.

2017 Awards

Two Eagles were mentioned this year:

S Wally Ross - 1st Team All-Pro
WLB Shannon Long - 2nd Team All-Pro

Looking ahead to next year

This year was a good start on the road towards moving away from the veterans who helped us win the Bowl in 2013 to a younger group of players - can't complain when you end up playing in the Bowl game in a rebuilding year!

The strength of this team continues to be the defence, but losing CB Jordan for what's likely to be all of next season is a big blow - Jordan was the sort of cornerback you could use to take the other team's top receiver out of the game, which really changes how you play defence. The defensive backfield is likely to be a priority in the offseason, as we're without a top-end starter there.

On offence, we have a lot of solid players but very few stars - Hutchins is the only high-end starter we have at the skill positions (and he's unlikely to have many good years left, as this year was his 10th). With the defence we have, though, we don't need to have an explosive offence.

This remains a solid team that should be in playoff contention, but a couple of injuries at key positions will cause us big problems - plenty of work to be done in the upcoming offseason...

[MartinD]

2018 season

Herb's evaluation for 2017: 69/67/72/81, for an overall score of 71.

The team showed a profit of $66.46m on revenues of $227.11m last year - costs went up a little bit (coaching costs were higher due to the new contracts signed last year, and bonuses went up from the abnormally low level of 2016), but revenues went up a lot (almost 20%).

One retirement this year - safety Wally Ross.

Wally Ross was the Philadelphia Eagles' pick in the 11th round of the original expansion draft, and played his entire career in Philadelphia, starting 155 games over 12 years. A rock in the middle of our secondary, he was a consistent performer who was tough in run support and hard to throw on in coverage - one of the best safeties of his generation. Despite this, he was only named to an All-Pro team once, in his final year. He had 25 interceptions and 697 tackles in his career, both Eagles records.

Staff Hiring

All members of staff are under contract, so no action required here.

Pre-free agency

At the start of the season, the Eagles have 39 players signed and $55.70m of a $156.4m salary cap free. Our draft picks are expected to take up $6.81m of cap room - we have the 31st pick in each round of the draft, as the team that lost in the Bowl game.

We have some free agents this year:

SE Josh Musial (5th year, 34/34) - decent backup receiver, but definitely replacable
RG Ty Burgess (6th year, 35/35) - decent backup lineman, but replacable
SLB Larry Knoblett (5th year, 50/50) - solid starter, but a guy we could replace if needed
SLB Ricky Rayburn (5th year, 13/13) - great special teamer, and someone we want back (but at veteran minimum if possible)
LCB Jerome Jordan (5th year, 96/96) - the guy we would be franchising if he hadn't got injured

Jordan would have received the franchise tag if he hadn't picked up a serious ACL injury during last season - at the moment, it's looking likely that Jordan won't play at all this season.

We also have a few restricted free agents:

QB Ray Perroni (4th year, 21/41) - decent but not brilliant - we may have a better player in 2nd-year man O.J. Hume
RB Chad Burnett (3rd year, 27/27) - has been a very solid backup for us - definitely want to bring him back
RB Norman Reese (3rd year, 25/30) - decent backup, special teamer and return man - want to resign
FL Rex Murray (4th year, 31/31) - decent backup, but don't want to pay more than the minimum for him
LDT Reggie Necaise (3rd year, 33/38) - solid backup lineman, but would be the 5th defensive tackle if we bring him back
WLB Burt McGlockton (4th year, 31/31) - decent backup, would like to bring him back
RCB Nicky Strong (4th year, 39/39) - currently our third CB - not a big playmaker, so we may be able to do better
FS Jumbo Hopkins (4th year, 45/45) - likely starter at FS if we brought him back - safety is a weak spot at the moment, so will resign him

After last year's fairly significant dip into the rookie free agent market, we have a lot of second-year players to choose from for picking someone to go overseas for the summer league. As short as we are in the defensive backfield, it would make sense to send a defensive back for some seasoning, and either RCB Grady Linville or FS Xavier Burlsworth would benefit from the experience. Burlsworth is more of a career backup, while Linville should develop into a mid-level starter at least, so Linville is chosen to go to Europe.

While our ticket prices are among the cheapest in the league, I don't see much point in raising prices when we're making decent amounts of money - prices remain at 45/55/70/85/200/85,000.

[MartinD]

2018 Free Agency

Two derisory trade offers at the start of free agency - Indianapolis offer a 4th-round pick for RCB Grady Linville, while Kansas City offer a fair RB and a 4th-round pick for WLB Shannon Long. Neither are anywhere close to what I'd value these players at, so are rejected without wasting too much though.

The first action in free agency is to offer contracts to restricted free agents:
RB Chad Burnett - $3.17m over 3 years (a lot for a guy of his apparent talent level, but he's produced enough over the last two years to be worth it)
RB Norman Reese - $750k over 1 year
RDT Reggie Necaise - $750k over 1 year
WLB Burt McGlockton - $910k over 1 year
FS Jumbo Hopkins - $3.69m over 3 years (is going to be a starter, so worth tying him up for a few years)

Looking at the roster, we (as usual) have a few areas that need to be addressed through either free agency or the draft:

RB - find a starter who doesn't fumble as often
WR - starters are OK, but need a bit more depth
OL - need a couple of decent backup guards
LB - need a starter at SLB, plus better quality depth
CB - I could live with starting Zachery and Linville, but another starter-quality guy would be a good pickup
S - need a starter-quality guy to replace Ross (and one to replace Hopkins wouldn't be a bad thing either)

The first big question in free agency is what do I do about LCB Jerome Jordan? After his serious ACL injury last season, he's not going to play at all this season, and is not guaranteed to come back at the same (very high!) level after his injury. He's going to want serious money to resign - while we do have plenty of cap space to offer him a contract, I don't want to be giving out $20m of bonus to a guy who's going to end up being a mediocre starter (which is a definite possibility). Something to think about going into free agency.

Looking at the draft pool, it's a bit of a strange group of rookies - very weak in some positions, pretty deep in others. Fortunately for me, G and S appear to be two of the deeper position groups, with LB and WR looking reasonably strong too.

Into free agency proper, then, and first up is a check on how much our guys are looking for. LCB Jordan has some fairly significant demands, as I had suspected - he's looking for $85m-90m over 5 years, with about $25m of bonus guaranteed. SLB Knoblett is looking for around $5m per year, which isn't too bad for a solid starter. Our other free agents (SE Musial, RG Burgess and SLB Rayburn) are all looking for close to veteran minimum.

While we have over $50m of cap room free, there are a few important guys on the roster who are in the last year of their current deals (QB Hutchins, FL Samanta, RG Jordan, MLBs Tayoun and Schwartz), so we'll need to do some renegotiating.

SLB Knoblett doesn't hang around - he signs a contract with Dallas in week 2 before we even offer him a deal. We don't have any real depth at linebacker, so I make an offer to the best young OLB on the market - SLB Daniel Grove (4th year, 51/51), $40.00m over 5 years. I also make an offer to RB Courtney Bruce (5th year, 58/58) - for this level of RB, and a guy who's already started 60 games, he's not looking for all that much money, as he's willing to consider an offer of $5.40m over 3 years. There's also a solid WR I like the look of in FL Derrick Burgess (6th year, 58/58) who would be a very useful addition - the offer here is $20.40m over 4 years.

RB Bruce decides to stay with the Raiders on a 1-year deal, so I turn my attention to RB Levon Rose (6th year, 45/45), offering him $4.35m over 3 years - he signs in week 6. Better luck with SLB Grove, though, who decides to join the Eagles in week 5. Burgess is still wavering between a number of offers, so I bump our offer up to $21.20m over 4 years in week 6 - the increased offer works, and Burgess signs with us in week 7.

At this point, I start looking at resigning a few of our own free agents:

SE Josh Musial - $3.15m over 3 years (good special teamer and useful backup receiver - signed week 7)
RG Ty Burgess - $3.41m over 3 years (decent backup guard - signed week 7)
SLB Rickey Rayburn - $3.15m over 3 years (only rated at 13, but great special teams guy - signed week 9)

That ends our activity in free agency - a bit more active than usual, and we've managed to pick up a few guys who should be contributors in the season ahead.

At this point, we have 50 players signed and $34.05m cap room free ($27.24m after allowing for the expected cost of the 7 draft picks to come).

[MartinD]

2018 Draft

We have a few areas needing attention in the draft, but it's difficult to say which way I'm going to look at this point, when 30 guys are going to come off the board before we pick. We didn't address the defensive backfield in free agency, though, so it's very likely that we're going to take at least one defensive back in the first three rounds...

After a long wait, we finally get on the clock for pick 1.31. Guys I'm considering taking here:

TE Anthony Lazuka (5.1/4.4) - no workout, very volatile, would need a lot of work, but very high ceiling - definite risk-reward pick
RG Lewis Ahern (5.0/4.8) - solid technician who projects as a quality starter - would be able to step in sooner rather than later
RG Melvin Fau (5.1/4.8) - better prospect than Ahern, but will need more time to develop
LDT Hugh Farrell (5.5/5.9) - undersized DT who projects as a DE - raw and didn't work out, but looks to have seriously good potential - another risk-reward pick
FS Eric Bove (5.7/5.4) - best safety prospect left on the board - should be able to step in and start straight away
SS Justin Flowers (5.6/5.3) - good safety, but may also be able to play corner - would contribute straight away
SS Xavier Wilcox (5.5/5.2) - big hitting safety, but not the best in coverage - still a starting-calibre prospect, but a bit of a risk with no combine workout

The best player here, irrespective of position, is LDT Farrell, but defensive line is not really a need area - we're pretty much set with our starters, and they're mostly younger players with a few years still ahead of them. The defensive backfield is a big need area, but it's not obvious which of the three safeties will help the most - Wilcox is the most suited to playing strong safety (which is where our need is - the three safeties on the roster are free safeties by position and skill set), but Bove and Flowers are better in coverage. I go with Wilcox here, as I feel he's the best fit for our needs right now (and there are a few slightly lower-rated guys who would be a decent fit at CB/FS on the board I feel may be available in rounds 2 or 3). Wilcox is rated at 37/71 initially, so looks to be a good bet to be our starting strong safety come opening day.

The players I was looking at start to go off the board in round 2:

FS Eric Bove (2.3) - 33/56
DT Hugh Farrell (2.4) - 35/73
FS Justin Flowers (2.12) - 34/55

With a few of the guys I was considering in round 1 still available, I should get decent value for 2.31. RG Melvin Fau is a good fit for our needs on the offensive line - a guy to develop this year and hopefully step in and start when current starter Willie Jordan becomes a free agent next year. It's maybe a bit early to be taking Lazuka when there's still a lot of value on the board. Other prospects that catch my eye at this point:

RDE Spencer Flannery (4.7/5.2) - undersized defensive end who looks like a solid pass-rushing specialist
SS Reggie Brew (5.1/4.8) - looks a decent player, but has the small return skills that suggest he isn't as good as advertised
SS O.J. Brooks (4.5/4.2) - likely to be a good fit at corner, has good coverage skills

While Flannery is the sort of guy who would be a very useful specialist on most teams, we're already pretty well set at DE. I have a feeling that I'll be able to pick up one of the DBs further down, so RG Fau is our second round pick - rated at 22/71, this looks like good value at this point (as long as that potential stands up...)

TE Lazuka is taken at pick 3.5, and is initially rated at 41/67, so would have been worth taking in the second round. SS Brew (28/62) goes a couple of picks later. RG Ahern, RDE Flannery and SS Brooks are still available at pick 3.31 - I feel I can't pass up on Flannery at this point purely from the 'best player available' angle, so we pick RDE Spencer Flannery with our third round selection (inital rating of 31/44 suggests his upside isn't quite as good as I thought).

RG Ahern finally goes with pick 4.7, and is rated at 24/64 - great value this late in the draft, even if he is a guard. SS Brooks is still available at pick 4.31, but I'm also tempted by FS Matthew Ackerman (4.5/4.2) at this point - Brooks is better developed, but Ackerman looks to have more potential. I go with Ackerman here (initially rated at 18/58) - a bit more risk involved, but I'm willing to take a bit of a chance if there's a chance of getting a solid player out of it with this late a pick. Ackerman is able to convert to corner reasonably well, so I make the switch - he's now rated at 17/58, but may not live up to this, as he now has those small return skills that are usually a bad sign.

While Brooks is still available at 5.31, I feel that I've managed to pick up enough defensive backs for now. Backup linebacker is a need area (as it always seems to be!), so the pick here is ILB Brandon Flemming - initially rated at 19/53, Flemming is an undersized linebacker with good instincts who excels at stopping the run. We don't really need a MLB, so Flemming is switched to SLB with no change of ratings. (S Brooks is finally taken at 6.14, and is rated at 25/44.)

Late round picks are a good time to take a chance on a player, and that's what I do with 6.31 - RB Cory Sawyer isn't going to see much action as a runner, but looks to be a decent prospect as a third down back and has a fair bit of talent as a return man. He's rated at 24/35, but I have a feeling that he may make a solid contribution irrespective of his overall rating. Special teams is also a strength of our 7th-round pick - SE Mitchell Bennett (13/34) is very raw, but looks likely to develop into a reasonable receiver, and is a solid return man to boot.

2018 Late Free Agency

We get a trade offer in at the start of the late free agency period - Carolina offer us a 4th-round pick for backup QB Cedric Anthony. There are quite a few decent QBs still available in free agency and the cap hit isn't a big deal (around $100k next year), so this is a fairly easy trade to accept.

The initial round of rookie contract offers is fairly successful, with only 1st-rounder Wilcox and second-round pick Fau rejecting our first offer.

After trading our backup QB, we ideally need to pick up another veteran to back up Keith Hutchins - there are a few guys who look to be a decent fit, but I offer QB Shaun Langham (5th year, 30/52) $3.27m over 3 years.

We also make a few offers to rookie free agents:

RB Dominic Sweeney (29/47) - $1.06m over 2 years (signed week 3)
FL Thomas Asturias (22/48) - $1.06m over 2 years (signed week 2)
LT Shannon McKenzie (16/55) - $1.06m over 2 years (signed week 3)
WLB Jay Bermudez (21/50) - $1.06m over 2 years (signed week 3)
RCB Cory Sears (21/48) - $1.06m over 2 years (signed week 3)

The other issue to be addressed is free agent CB Jerome Jordan - he's still available, but still wants a multi-year contract for a scary amount of money (around $75m over 5 years). My thinking right now is to wait until the season starts so I can sign him for one year, then see how he recovers from his injury - if he's still as good as he was pre-injury, we franchise him and sign him long term, but it gives us the option to let him go back to free agency if he's been significantly impaired.

Wilcox and Fau agree to contracts at the end of the free agency period, meaning we have 62 players signed and $29.47m cap room free. A fair bit of this cap room will be used for renegotiations, but I'll wait until after camp to start on these.

[MartinD]

Rookies before and after camp

Acquired Before After Change
RB Dominic Sweeney FA 29/47 28/44 -1/-3
RB Cory Sawyer 6.31 24/35 22/32 -2/-3
FL Thomas Asturias FA 22/48 22/43 0/-5
SE Mitchell Bennett 7.31 13/34 15/34 +2/0
RG Melvin Fau 2.31 22/71 26/68 +4/-3
LT Shannon McKenzie FA 16/55 16/50 0/-5
RDE Spencer Flannery 3.31 31/44 34/44 +3/0
SLB Brandon Flemming 5.31 19/53 19/46 0/-7
WLB Jay Bermudez FA 21/50 22/46 +1/-4
LCB Corey Sears FA 21/48 20/45 -1/-3
LCB Matthew Ackerman 4.31 17/58 16/52 -1/-6
SS Xavier Wilcox 1.31 37/71 39/72 +2/+1


A pretty decent camp from our rookies, particularly the high picks - SS Wilcox looks like a solid starter already, while Fau looks like a guy who should be able to step in next year and Flannery will be a solid pass-rushing specialist. A bit of a mixed bag further down, but we should get a few players from our later picks and rookie free agents.

Some renegotiations with veteran players:
QB Keith Hutchins (11th year, 69/78) - $53.00m over 4 years (probably his last contract, but good value for a high-end starter at QB)
FL Antoine Samanta (8th year, 66/66) - $35.60m over 5 years (again his last contract, but a solid starter and good return man - good guy to tie up)
MLB Les Schwarts (7th year, 46/46) - $4.24m over 3 years (was either Schwartz or Tayoun, and I go with the younger guy here)

Injured CB Jordan is looking for around $10m for the year - we have the cap room (still have almost $16m left), so there's no harm in signing him to give us first refusal at him next year - it also has the advantage of giving us a mentor for our young CBs. We sign him for $9.96m for the year, and will put him on IR before we start the season.

2018 Roster

We have 63 players on the roster at the moment - CB Jordan is going on IR, so 9 players to cut to get us to the 53 we'll take into the season.


Philadelphia Eagles Roster, Scout Overview

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntr
Hutchins, Keith 18 QB 11 69 78 4
Langham, Shaun 19 QB 5 29 51 3
Hume, O.J. 15 QB 2 23 43 1

Only 3 QBs this year, but I feel we have three guys who can lead the team if
necessary.

Rose, Levon 36 RB 6 45 45 3
Walsh, Roosevelt 38 RB 4 38 42 1
Burnett, Chad 31 RB 3 28 28 3
Reese, Norman 30 RB 3 21 29 1
Neumeyer, Cornelius 32 RB 2 21 30 1
Sweeney, Dominic 37 RB 1 28 44 2
Sawyer, Cory 35 RB 1 22 32 3
Vaughn, Marc 39 FB 2 32 46 1

A few cuts to be made here - Rose and Vaughn are the starters, with Burnett
the primary backup RB. Sweeney looks to be a solid prospect, and will get
time as our third down back. With only one of Walsh, Reese, Neumeyer and
Sawyer making the team. They all offer something different - Walsh is a solid
runner (apart from his tendency to fumble), Reese is a decent all-round back,
Neumeyer is Burnett-lite (a decent runner with low endurance), and Sawyer is a decent scatback who will help out on special teams. Sawyer looks to be
the guy who's going to give most value to the team, so he's the survivor.

Morrison, Larry 89 TE 8 40 40 2
Delmonico, Sammy 88 TE 3 37 37 2
Anstaett, Randall 87 TE 2 27 43 1

Happy to stick with the three guys here - Morrison and Delmonico will share
the starting TE duties, while Anstaett is a blocking specialist.

Samanta, Antoine 82 FL 8 66 66 5
Burgess, Derrick 86 FL 6 62 62 4
Oskolkoff, K.C. 81 FL 4 50 50 2
Asturias, Thomas 10 FL 1 22 43 2
Adamov, Drew 80 SE 8 58 58 2
Musial, Josh 85 SE 5 33 33 3
Britton, Fred 83 SE 3 33 33 1
Bennett, Mitchell 3 SE 1 15 34 3

The four top receivers (Samanta, Burgess, Oskolkoff and Adamov) are assured
of a roster spot, so the other guys are fighting for the remaining two spots.
Musial and Britton are the safe choices here - both are useful backup
receivers with solid special teams skills - so Asturias and Bennett need to
have something special going for them to make the roster. I don't see either
contributing more than the two veterans, so Asturias and Bennett are the
cuts here.

Dawson, Thomas 63 C 5 45 45 2
Barber, Willie 61 C 2 34 50 2
Martin, Zack 68 LG 8 84 84 3
Jordan, Willie 67 RG 7 53 53 1
Burgess, Ty 66 RG 6 33 33 3
Fau, Melvin 65 RG 1 26 68 4
Tanner, Sammy 76 LT 7 45 45 2
Lindsay, Roger 73 LT 2 21 50 3
McKenzie, Shannon 75 LT 1 16 50 2
Huffman, Norman 72 RT 10 52 52 3
Gerhart, Harvey 78 RT 2 21 40 1

One guy to cut here, and it comes down to Gerhart or McKenzie. McKenzie
has more potential, but Gerhart looks to be a creeper, so is likely to be the
better player in the long run.

Howard, Levon 8 P 2 49 50 1
Oden, Matt 2 K 12 67 67 1

No changes here - Oden is very solid, and Howard did enough last year to
deserve another chance.

Hansen, Juan 90 LDE 3 49 56 2
Sanderson, Bernard 92 LDE 2 25 49 1
Salerno, Rod 91 RDE 4 87 87 2
Flannery, Spencer 94 RDE 1 34 44 4
McKenzie, Spencer 98 LDT 9 39 39 1
Necaise, Reggie 97 LDT 3 37 40 1
Clayton, Toby 99 LDT 2 47 62 3
Campbell, Christian 93 RDT 10 74 74 2
Warren, Irv 96 RDT 7 47 47 2

The four defensive ends are assured a roster spot, so one of the tackles
needs to be cut here. Clayton and Campbell are our starters, with Warren safe
as our pass-rushing specialist. McKenzie or Spencer is the declining veteran
against a (somewhat) promising youngster - both are decent run-stuffers, but
McKenzie hasn't been particularly productive, so I go with the younger player
here.

Tayoun, Vincent 54 MLB 8 48 48 1
Schwartz, Les 56 MLB 7 46 46 3
Rayburn, Rickey 55 SLB 5 13 13 3
Grove, Daniel 52 SLB 4 51 51 5
Sylvester, Bubba 59 SLB 2 23 49 2
Flemming, Brandon 53 SLB 1 19 46 3
Long, Shannon 51 WLB 7 80 80 2
McGlockton, Burt 50 WLB 4 31 31 1
Bermudez, Jay 57 WLB 1 22 46 2

I've been keeping 7 linebackers on the roster recently, and will continue with
that, so two cuts needed. Schwartz will start in the middle (better skill set
than Tayoun), with Long and Grove starting outside. Rayburn is our 7th LB,
but is on the roster to play special teams only. McGlockton is a decent
backup outside, so will be retained - this means that Bermudez will be cut.
You would think that Tayoun would be safe as the backup MLB, but I don't
really want to hang on to him - he's a position leader that no-one really likes
all that much, so is the other guy cut. Rookie Brandon Flemming is moved
back inside to be our backup MLB (his rating goes to 24/49 with this move).

Zachery, Leon 26 LCB 7 49 49 2
Jordan, Jerome 25 LCB 6 96 96 1
Sears, Corey 29 LCB 1 20 45 2
Ackerman, Matthew 24 LCB 1 16 52 3
Polamalu, Ellis 28 RCB 2 27 45 1
Linville, Grady 27 RCB 2 47 55 3
Wilcox, Xavier 23 SS 1 39 72 4
Hopkins, Jumbo 20 FS 4 43 43 3
Burlsworth, Xavier 21 FS 2 39 46 1
Qaderi, Wade 22 FS 2 28 36 2

Fairly simple here - Jordan won't be ready to play until the postseason at
best, so he goes on IR.


Probably not the best roster I've had with this team (particularly in the defensive backfield), but it's not far away - the AI agrees, giving us a roster rating of 100, with the next best team at 72.

[MartinD]

2018 Preseason

Keeping the same gameplans as we finished last year with, as they seemed to work reasonably well. I'm using the usual approach to preseason - lots of playing time for the backups in the early games, with the starters getting their spots back for the last game.

Week 2: Indianapolis 20-17 Philadelphia
A bit of a surprise in that our second string were fairly competitive, although RB Burnett (13-97) was a big part of that. The QB play was respectable, with Hume (12/20-103-1-1) getting most of the time.

Week 3: Philadelphia 23-20 Cleveland (OT)
The opposition wasn't great (the spread suggested Eagles by 20!), but a good solid performance here - Hume (22/28-188-1-0) and Burnett (15/92) led the offence, while rookie S Wilcox had a pick and 2 pass defences.

Week 4: Jacksonville 10-14 Philadelphia
The classic 'how to win a game with no offence' performance - the offence managed only 4 first downs and 126 total yards, but a Sawyer punt return for a TD and a TD off a turnover-inspired short field were enough here.

Week 5: Philadelphia 27-21 Pittsburgh
Not our best game, but some nice opportunistic play got us the win - Samanta took an offensive fumble in for a score, while rookie CB Ackerman had a pick-six as one of his two interceptions.

We had a bit of a scare in our last preseason game, as QB Keith Hutchins was forced to leave the game very early on, but it was only a minor knock, and he's ready to go for week 1 of the regular season. We do have a few injury worries, though, with RCB Linville out for a few weeks and rookie DE Flannery likely to miss the entire regular season with a high ankle sprain.

[MartinD]

2018 Regular Season

Week 1: Philadelphia 6-20 Washington
Not the best way to start the year - a fair bit of rust showed up here. The yardage numbers were similar for both teams, but the Redskins took advantage of good field position and the Eagles' inability to score TDs in the red zone.

Week 2: Jacksonville (1-0) 3-23 Philadelphia (0-1)
Normal service is resumed, as Hutchins (22/27-269-1-0) started to find his receivers with his usual accuracy. The defence also managed to shut down the Jaguars' passing attack, allowing them only 21 completions on 47 attempts.

A good win, but not a good week for injuries - FL Samanta and DE Salerno will miss three weeks, while DE Hansen is out for about six weeks. This, combined with the longer-term injury to DE Flannery, means we have one healthy defensive end - to get around this, Flannery is put on IR, and we sign rookie LDE Kenny Schokora (22/37) to fill in until our starters recover.

Week 3: Philadelphia (1-1) 14-31 Seattle (2-0)
Losing your two starters at defensive end while having a weakened secondary is not a good combination, and so it proved in this game. Add to that the little matter of 6 interceptions (4 by Hutchins before he got pulled, then 2 more by Langham), and it's a shock that we managed to keep it as close as this.

Week 4: Atlanta (1-2) 31-16 Philadelphia (1-2)
The lack of our usual big pass rush is really hurting here, as Atlanta were able to hit the big pass play all day long. While our offence played decently, it simply isn't built for shootouts - Hutchins (28/44-275-1-0) played well, but the offence struggled in the red zone once again.

More injury problems after this game, as starting FS Hopkins is out for a couple of months, and DTs Clayton and Necaise are out for a few weeks - we're struggling to put a team with the minimum number of healthy defensive linemen out right now. Just to make sure that we're really happy with our injury situation, QB Hutchins now has a little niggle in his knee - won't stop him playing, but means our injury list is that much longer...

To give us enough bodies on the defensive line, I put backup S Qaderi on injured reserve (he's only out for a couple of weeks, but we really need the roster spot right now) and sign DT A.J. Thigpen (5th year, 35/35), who's probably going to have to start in week 5...

Week 5: New Orleans (1-3) 17-24 Philadelphia (1-3)
I had a bad feeling about this one, as the Saints have the best young QB in the league right now, but our banged-up defence held up pretty well, holding New Orleans to 175 yards passing and picking QB May off twice. QB Hutchins (27/36-238-1-0) wasn't about to be outplayed by the kid, either...

Another week, another major injury - I played DE Salerno before he was fully fit because of our problems on the defensive line, and we've paid the price. Salerno went down with a major ACL injury, and will be out for the rest of the season. He goes on IR after the game, and we sign DE Tito Nieman (2nd year, 23/35) to help out on the defensive line.

Week 6: Philadelphia (2-3) 29-17 Carolina (2-3)
For a banged up defence, this unit can still perform - with the game on the line and less than 4 minutes left, the Panthers went fumble, downs, interception (returned for TD). The offence was able to take advantage this week, with Hutchins (19/29-240-1-0) getting good support from RB Rose (14-84-1).

Week 7: Philadelphia (3-3) 24-17 Tampa Bay (3-3)
QB Hutchins (23/29-227-2-0) got the game MVP, but this was the Chad Burnett show, the RB finishing with 58 yards and a TD on the ground plus 5 catches for 62 yards and 2 TDs. The defence came up with the big plays when needed, most notably just before the two minute warning in each half, when forcing a 3 and out gave the Eagles offence the ball deep in Tampa territory.

Just when it looked like the team was starting to get over the injuries, DT Reggie Necaise suffers a serious hamstring pull, and will miss the rest of the season - another guy goes on IR (the fourth defensive player for the year, not counting LCB Jordan!). No signing to replace him on the roster, though, as DT Clayton is finally ready to go again. This means that we have our top three guys at DT, but our starting defensive ends are both undrafted guys, with another former UDFA backing them up.

Week 8: New York (4-2) 14-26 Philadelphia (4-3)
This one's on the defence, even though Hutchins (22/29-273-1-0) had another solid day - CB Zachery came up with the big play of the game just before the half, picking off a pass and taking it back 98 yards the other way for a TD when the Giants were looking like going in for the go-ahead TD. The pass rush from the banged up defensive line was impressive, with DT Warren having 6 QB hurries and DE Sanderson 4.

The injury bug continues to bite us, with SS Wilcox likely to miss a couple of weeks and LT Tanner out for a month. With only one safety able to play, we bring a former player back into the fold - SS Vincent Harper (6th year, 34/34) is signed to help out in the defensive backfield. Where's that bye week when you really need it?

[MartinD]

Mid-season summary


Year 2018
Record 5-3
Winning Pct. .625
All-Time 93-106-1
Winning Pct. .467
Playoffs 7-3
Playoff Visits 4
Bowl Wins 1
Head Coach Wesley Bandle
Record 67-46
Winning Pct. .592
Off. Coord. K. Ford
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 29.6 12
Rushing Yards 123.8 10
Yards Per Carry 4.18 21
Pass Attempts 33.9 12
Completions 23.0 5 (T)
Completion Pct. 67.9 7
Passing Yards 239.4 9
Yards Per Attempt 7.07 12
Yards Per Catch 10.41 17
Total Yardage Gained 354.4 7
3rd Down Conversions 40.0 9 (T)
Points Per Game 20.3 13
Pass Rush Pct. 7.8 7
Pass Defense Pct. 71.6 3
Turnovers 13 21 (T)
Turnover Margin -2 20 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 25.1 7
Rushing Yards 104.0 10
Yards Per Carry 4.14 19
Pass Attempts 31.4 14
Completions 18.3 4
Completion Pct. 58.2 3
Passing Yards 196.8 6
Yards Per Attempt 6.27 4
Yards Per Catch 10.78 18
Total Yardage Gained 284.0 2
3rd Down Conversions 33.7 9
Points Per Game 18.8 13
Pass Rush Pct. 6.2 13 (T)
Pass Defense Pct. 61.5 10
Turnovers 11 13 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 6 at WAS 20
2 23 JAX 3
3 14 at SEA 31
4 16 ATL 31
5 24 NOS 17
6 29 at CAR 17
7 24 at TBY 17
8 26 NYK 14
9 WAS
10 DAL
12 at TEN
13 GBY
14 HOU
15 at NYK
16 at IND
17 at DAL

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
18 K. Hutchins QB 267 184 1915 7.17 10 6 92.5
**Team --- 271 184 1915 7.07 10 8 88.1
$$Opp --- 251 146 1574 6.27 10 9 75.0

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
31 C. Burnett RB 105 415 3.95 1 2
36 L. Rose RB 76 364 4.79 2 1
18 K. Hutchins QB 30 92 3.07 0 3
37 D. Sweeney RB 26 119 4.58 1 1
**Team --- 237 990 4.18 4 11
$$Opp --- 201 832 4.14 7 6

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
80 D. Adamov WR 64 37 454 12.27 7.09 3 1
31 C. Burnett RB 35 32 222 6.94 6.34 0 2
81 K. Oskolkoff WR 47 29 403 13.90 8.57 1 2
86 D. Burgess WR 33 22 254 11.55 7.70 4 2
36 L. Rose RB 23 19 160 8.42 6.96 0 1
39 M. Vaughn FB 10 9 66 7.33 6.60 0 0
89 L. Morrison TE 11 8 81 10.13 7.36 0 0
82 A. Samanta WR 13 8 55 6.88 4.23 0 0

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
56 L. Schwartz ILB 45 17 0.0 2 1 1 73.8
51 S. Long OLB 41 16 1.0 0 2 2 79.2
52 D. Grove OLB 31 8 1.0 1 0 0 71.7
23 X. Wilcox S 30 11 2.0 0 1 4 81.3
93 C. Campbell DT 19 7 2.0 3 0 0 82.5
21 X. Burlsworth S 19 7 1.0 0 0 1 77.9
92 B. Sanderson DE 18 2 4.0 8 0 0 79.7
27 G. Linville CB 15 3 1.0 0 1 2 80.1
99 T. Clayton DT 14 5 1.0 1 0 0 79.1
29 C. Sears CB 14 4 2.0 0 0 4 79.2
50 B. McGlockton OLB 13 8 0.0 0 0 1 69.4
96 I. Warren DT 11 2 1.0 12 0 0 81.5
26 L. Zachery CB 11 4 0.0 0 2 5 86.3
24 M. Ackerman CB 11 2 0.0 0 0 3 78.7
97 R. Necaise DT 10 3 0.0 0 0 0 82.5
20 J. Hopkins S 9 4 1.0 0 0 1 78.7
95 K. Schokora DE 9 0 0.0 1 0 0 78.8
53 B. Flemming ILB 8 6 0.5 0 1 1 84.2


It's been a patchwork team for much of the year, but you can't fault the effort from the guys we've put out there - it would have been very easy to give up on the season with all the injuries we've had, but we're halfway through the regular season and still very much in playoff contention.

The offence has been reasonably healthy, so it's not really surprising that the numbers on that side of the ball are decent - the defence is the real story here, as we've been struggling to put a team out for much of the year (including starting two street free agents on the defensive line in one game).

[MartinD]

Week 9: Washington (3-5) 3-28 Philadelphia (5-3)
Another solid performance in shutting down the Redskins completely - the offence put together a number of long drives behind the passing of Hutchins (19/24-176-3-1) and the running of Rose (19-70-1) and Burnett (15-76), while the defence held Washington to 9 first downs and 153 total yards.

It probably doesn't come as a shock to find out that we picked up more injuries during this game - newly signed S Harper tweaked a groin, while backup WLB McGlockton is out for a few weeks with a separated shoulder.

Week 10: Dallas (6-3) 13-27 Philadelphia (6-3)
This one didn't look good late in the third when RB Rose fumbled on 2nd and goal at the 2, and the Cowboys took the ball back 99 yards the other way for a TD to tie it at 13, but QB Hutchins (25/32-280-2-0) hit FL Samanta with a 50-yard TD strike with 50 seconds remaining, then CB Linville picked off the Cowboys QB (his second of the day) and returned it for an insurance TD.

Week 11: Bye (FINALLY!)

Week 12: Philadelphia (7-3) 13-17 Tennessee (2-8)
We've struggled on the road this year, and it continued here. The yardage numbers seem to indicate that the Eagles were the better team, but not being able to convert red zone into TDs caught us again. Hutchins (21/24-194-0-0) had his usual efficient performance, while DE Hansen had 2 sacks.

Week 13: Green Bay (6-5) 7-33 Philadelphia (7-4)
A good way to come back after a disappointing defeat. It looked for a while like our red zone problems would bite us again, but two late TDs put the game well out of reach for the Packers. QB Hutchins (24/33-263-1-0) continues to spread the ball around, while our RB by committee approach is getting results (RB Sweeney leading the way this week with 10-70-1). The defence did a good job of stifling the Green Bay offence, and chased starting QB Regalia by forcing three interceptions.

Week 14: Houston (10-2) 7-44 Philadelphia (8-4)
This looked like a tough game coming in, but the Texans simply never got started here. After a miscue on our opening drive, the Eagles' offence scored on five straight possessions to put Houston in a big hole, down 31-7 at the half. RB Burnett was the star, scoring 3 TDs among his 19 carries for 77 yards. Starting CBs Linville and Zachary both had picks, and Samanta took a punt back 77 yards for a TD.

With three games left in the regular season, the Eagles lead the NFC East by a game over Dallas and New York. We finish the year with three tough road games, though, including divisional games against New York (week 15) and Dallas (week 17), so there's a lot of work still to be done before we can think about playoffs.

Week 15: Philadelphia (9-4) 6-3 New York (8-5)
A defensive slugfest decided by the kickers, but we'll take the win any way it comes in a game like this. After being shut out in the first half, the team improved just enough to take the win, with QB Hutchins (22/26-167-0-0) doing enough to be game MVP. CB Linville continued his great play in the secondary with another interception.

Week 16: Philadelphia (10-4) 6-14 Indianapolis (8-6)
Another defensive game, and our problems in the red zone resurfaced at the worst time - the Colts got two TDs, we got two field goals, and you can see the final score. Hutchins (26/36-193-0-0) was accurate without being particularly penetrating, being outplayed by former Eagle Jeremy Wason in this game.

Going into the last game of the regular season, it looks like we have at least a wild card tied up (although it's not guaranteed at this point), but we need a win over Dallas (10-5) to win the division. Detroit (12-3) have home-field advantage tied up already, but we have a chance at a first round bye with a win.

Week 17: Philadelphia (10-5) 37-13 Dallas (10-5)
Not quite a must-win game, but definitely important, and the Eagles came to play in this one. The defence was immense, holding the Cowboys to 127 total yards and sacking the Dallas QBs six times. QB Hutchins (19/24-213-2-0) played his usual accurate game, while DT Warren (2 sacks) and CB Linville (1 pass defence, 1 interception) finished off good regular seasons in style.

The victory means that the Eagles finish on top of the NFC East, but only gives us the #3 seed - Seattle also finished at 11-5, but came out on top in the tiebreakers. A familiar opponent in the first round of the playoffs - Dallas got in as the second wild card, and will travel to Philadelphia for the wild card round.

[MartinD]

2018 Playoffs

Wild Card Round

Well, at least we're familiar with our opponents - the Cowboys are a solid all-round team with a big-play passing attack and a tough pass defence. They aren't loaded with stars, though, with veteran QB Dwayne Lee (3283 passing yards, 89.8 QB rating) more a game manager than a guy who can carry a team. His supporting cast is solid, though, with RB Dawson (1150 rushing yards, 11 TDs) and WRs Washington (81 catches, 1266 yards, 6 TD) and Strong (73 catches, 1196 yards, 5 TDs) all strong players. The defence is a little suspect against the run, but definitely tough to pass on - league-leading in passing yards against, yards per attempt and yards per catch. The Eagles have beaten them twice this year (by a combined score of 64-26), but this isn't going to be an easy game.

As a team, we're about as healthy as we've been all year - apart from the long-term injuries, we're down to minor knocks, most of which won't stop the guys playing. A couple of guys who are sitting this week are normal starters RG Willie Jordan and FS Jumbo Hopkins.

The Eagles got the ball first, but couldn't do anything with it - Dallas did worse on their first possession, though, with QB Lee getting sacked on his first two drop-backs. The Cowboys' defence stayed strong, though, forcing another Eagles punt, and this time the Dallas offence got things moving, the drive finishing with Lee hitting Strong with a 9-yard TD pass - 7-0 Cowboys. That was the last drive allowed in a defense-dominated first quarter, with neither offence clicking at this point.

The Philadelphia offence got something going early in the second quarter, but poor starting field position meant that they didn't get out of their own half. Dallas also put a drive together, and their better field position told, as they were able to get into field goal range, making the kick to extend their lead to 10. The lead was cut to 7 soon after as the Eagles got into scoring range for the first time on the day, only to stall in field goal range - Oden was good from 43 yards to make it 10-3. The Cowboys' offence was starting to click, though, and another nice drive gave them first and goal just inside the two-minute warning - solid defence from the Eagles limited them to the short field goal, and a 13-3 half-time lead.

The first drive of the second half was vital to both teams - Dallas got the ball first, and could virtually put the game away with a scoring drive. A perfect mix of Lee passes and Dawson runs took the ball down the field, and Lee found Strickland from 8 yards out to put the Cowboys 17 points up with 7 minutes of the third quarter played. Game over? Not quite - the Philadelphia offence finally woke up, a decent kick return from Samanta leading to a 60-yard TD drive capped by a 1-yard TD pass from Hutchins to Adamov. 20-10 meant the game was still alive, but there was a lot of work left to do for the Eagles.

That work needed to start with stopping the Dallas offence - easier said than done, as the Cowboys were on a roll, and got back into field goal range. Lee misfired on a 3rd and long, though, and was picked off by CB Zachery to end the scoring threat. The Eagles only just got past midfield on the ensuing possession, though, and were forced to punt with just under 10 minutes left. Leading by two scores, the main aim of Dallas's next drive was to milk the clock, and they did exactly that, running 8 plays but taking almost 6 minutes off the clock, leaving the Eagles deep in their own end to boot. Four incomplete passes, and the game was effectively over. Dallas added an insurance field goal, but had already secured the victory - the Cowboys' 23-10 win means that they advance to play #1-seeded Detroit in the Divisional Round.

A disappointing peformance, but the Cowboys dominated this one - our offence struggled to get anything going, with Hutchins (18/35-131-1-0) forced to misfire by a strong Dallas pass defence. The Eagles defence also struggled, with Dallas QB Lee throwing for over 300 yards while only missing on 3 passes.

[MartinD]

2018 Summary


2018 Summary for Philadelphia Eagles

Year 2018
Record 11-6
Winning Pct. .647
All-Time 99-108-1
Winning Pct. .478
Playoffs 7-4
Playoff Visits 5
Bowl Wins 1
Head Coach Wesley Bandle
Record 73-49
Winning Pct. .598
Off. Coord. K. Ford
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 32.4 5
Rushing Yards 130.8 7
Yards Per Carry 4.03 23
Pass Attempts 31.0 18
Completions 22.4 6 (T)
Completion Pct. 72.2 1
Passing Yards 228.7 12
Yards Per Attempt 7.38 9
Yards Per Catch 10.22 21
Total Yardage Gained 352.1 4
3rd Down Conversions 39.4 7
Points Per Game 22.3 7
Pass Rush Pct. 8.2 5 (T)
Pass Defense Pct. 72.9 1
Turnovers 21 8 (T)
Turnover Margin +9 4

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 23.5 2
Rushing Yards 89.9 2
Yards Per Carry 3.82 6
Pass Attempts 29.7 5
Completions 17.1 1
Completion Pct. 57.5 3
Passing Yards 175.9 2
Yards Per Attempt 5.93 2
Yards Per Catch 10.31 8 (T)
Total Yardage Gained 246.4 1
3rd Down Conversions 30.7 1
Points Per Game 14.2 1
Pass Rush Pct. 5.7 7
Pass Defense Pct. 55.8 1
Turnovers 30 5

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 6 at WAS 20
2 23 JAX 3
3 14 at SEA 31
4 16 ATL 31
5 24 NOS 17
6 29 at CAR 17
7 24 at TBY 17
8 26 NYK 14
9 28 WAS 3
10 27 DAL 13
12 13 at TEN 17
13 33 GBY 7
14 44 HOU 7
15 6 at NYK 3
16 6 at IND 14
17 37 at DAL 13
$$WC 10 DAL 23

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
18 K. Hutchins QB 492 358 3659 7.44 18 8 99.1
**Team --- 496 358 3659 7.38 18 10 96.6
$$Opp --- 475 273 2815 5.93 15 22 65.8

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
31 C. Burnett RB 220 872 3.96 5 5
36 L. Rose RB 180 742 4.12 4 4
37 D. Sweeney RB 73 357 4.89 4 3
18 K. Hutchins QB 46 122 2.65 1 4
**Team --- 519 2093 4.03 14 26
$$Opp --- 376 1438 3.82 8 20

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
80 D. Adamov WR 106 71 879 12.38 8.29 4 4
31 C. Burnett RB 59 54 322 5.96 5.46 1 3
81 K. Oskolkoff WR 71 49 636 12.98 8.96 1 3
86 D. Burgess WR 59 42 499 11.88 8.46 5 3
82 A. Samanta WR 68 40 419 10.48 6.16 2 1
36 L. Rose RB 38 33 287 8.70 7.55 0 2

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
51 S. Long OLB 89 32 2.0 1 3 6 78.6
56 L. Schwartz ILB 71 30 2.0 3 3 3 78.6
52 D. Grove OLB 60 20 2.0 2 0 0 71.8
23 X. Wilcox S 48 21 2.0 0 2 6 80.9
93 C. Campbell DT 37 15 3.5 6 0 0 81.8
99 T. Clayton DT 36 12 3.0 6 0 0 80.2
21 X. Burlsworth S 34 9 2.0 0 0 3 76.8
27 G. Linville CB 30 6 2.0 0 7 4 87.1
26 L. Zachery CB 27 11 0.5 1 4 8 86.1
92 B. Sanderson DE 24 5 6.5 10 0 0 80.6
96 I. Warren DT 22 7 6.5 20 0 1 82.8
29 C. Sears CB 21 5 2.0 0 0 4 76.5
28 E. Polamalu CB 20 5 0.0 0 2 4 82.0
53 B. Flemming ILB 20 12 1.5 0 1 1 77.3
90 J. Hansen DE 19 7 8.5 10 0 0 80.4
20 J. Hopkins S 16 5 1.0 0 0 2 80.0
24 M. Ackerman CB 16 2 0.0 0 0 3 76.4


A solid year despite all the injuries, but it all fell apart with one poor performance in the playoffs.

Offensively, everything runs through QB Keith Hutchins, who is the most accurate QB in the league - there were no other stand-out performances on offence, but plenty of solid contributors. The offensive line had a decent year, despite a number of minor injuries forcing lots of little changes - RT Huffman was the stand-out, hitting on 46% of his key run block chances, while rookie G Fau ended up starting 9 games and playing solidly.

On defence, the guys who stayed healthy did a good job of filling in for the many injury victims - DE Sanderson did a solid job as the only defensive end to be healthy all year, DT Warren showed his versatility by filling in at DE for a good part of the year, while DE Hansen was a threat when he was able to take the field. The linebackers were solid if not spectacular, while the secondary did a decent job, particularly CB Linville, who had 6 picks in the last 8 games of the regular season.

K Matt Oden had another good year (35/39 on field goals, including 10/14 from 40+), while P Howard was less impressive, managing a net average of only 36.5 yards. The return game was reasonable (9.8 average on PR, 27.4 on KR, compared to 6.3/19.1 on returns allowed).

2018 Awards

Only a couple this year:

K Matt Oden: First Team All-Pro
CB Grady Linville: First Team All-Pro

Looking forward to next year...

This season showed that we've managed to build up a deep and talented roster here, but it would be good if we could have a season or two with all of our best players available for the majority of the year...

I can sense that we may be coming to the end of our window of opportunity with this team, as some of our key players are getting towards the end of their careers (notably QB Hutchins, who's just finished his 11th year in the league). No pressure for next season, then! :p

[MartinD]

2019 season

Herb's evaluation for 2019: 74/75/53/81, for an overall score of 64.

The team showed a profit of $8.12m on revenues of $218.02m last year - only having one home playoff game hurt revenues a bit, but player costs were more 'normal' in 2018 than they had been in 2017.

No retirements this year.

While our stadium is still in good condition, I decide to try to get an upgrade through - support for the project isn't great, but I think I may as well try for as good a stadium as I can get (but offer to pay a significant proportion of the costs). Our current stadium has 75,500 seats, 7,400 club seats and 220 luxury boxes, is in Excellent condition, with Very Good turf and parking lot - the proposal is to upgrade to 99,900 seats, 19,900 club seats, 399 luxury boxes and to renovate the parking lot and turf, all using a high-quality construction firm. Unsurprisingly, this doesn't come cheap - almost $800m for the project. I put in a team contribution of $390m - I don't expect this proposal to have much chance, but no harm in giving it a try...

Staff Hiring

Our coaching staff are tied up for the next few years, but scout Andrew Baicy (44, VG/F/G/G/G/F/G/VG/A) has come to the end of his current contract. The pool of available scouts is not particularly strong, however - Baicy looks like as good a guy as there is out there. I make him an offer of $650k per year for 5 years, which he accepts in week 1 of the staff hiring period.

Pre-Free Agency

We go into the season with 41 players signed and $40.74m of a $164.2m salary cap free (not allowing for the $7.87m cap space expected to be taken up by drafted rookie contracts).

There is good news in that LCB Jerome Jordan is fully recovered from his serious knee injury at the end of the 2017 season - this makes the decision about the franchise tag very easy, as Jordan was always going to get franchised if he came back at close to 100%. This does mean a sizable hit on the cap ($11.3m for the franchise salary, and the long-term deal won't be any cheaper, for sure!), but this is a guy who's worth that sort of money.

We do have a few other free agents:

RG Willie Jordan (8th year, 53/53) - has been a solid starter for us, but I'm happy for 2nd-year RG Melvin Fau to take over now
WLB Burt McGlockton (5th year, 31/31) - decent backup, but not happy about his lack of playing time - probably won't be coming back
SS Vincent Harper (7th year, 34/34) - mid-season injury cover - decent backup, but no more - probably won't resign him

We also have quite a few restricted free agents:
QB O.J. Hume (3rd year, 32/44) - likely to be our #2 QB this year, as he developed significantly last year (was 23/43 in camp last year)
FB Marc Vaughn (3rd year, 36/46) - solid but unspectacular FB - will probably resign him
TE Randall Anstaett (3rd year, 31/44) - good blocking TE, which our other two guys aren't great at, so want to resign
SE Fred Britton (4th year, 34/34) - decent backup receiver, good special teams guy - will probably try to resign
RT Harvey Gerhart (3rd year, 25/40) - has played well when given the chance, so will be resigned
P Levon Howard (3rd year, 54/54) - has been a bit disappointing, but will be resigned (although will probably have competition in camp)
LDE Bernard Sanderson (3rd year, 29/49) - played well last year, but will be a backup this year - want to bring him back, though
LDE Tito Nieman (3rd year, 24/35) - signed as injury cover last year, and won't be asked to return
RDE Kenny Schokora (2nd year, 24/37) - signed as injury cover last year, and won't be asked to return
RCB Ellis Polamalu (3rd year, 31/46) - decent nickel/dime back, so will be resigned
FS Xavier Burlsworth (3rd year, 45/45) - low endurance means he's better suited as a backup, but a solid player we want to bring back

Only two serious candidates for the summer league this year - SS Xavier Wilcox and RG Melvin Fau. Both will be starters this year, and both have a fair bit of development potential remaining. I see Wilcox as more likely to benefit from the additional seasoning, so he gets the call.

While the team is reasonably healthy from a financial point of view (as in we're making reasonable profits), we're still among the cheapest tickets in the league so I feel a bump in ticket prices is reasonable - they move from 45/55/70/85/200/85,000 to 50/60/80/100/240/100,000.

[MartinD]

2019 Free Agency

First item on the agenda for free agency this year is negotiating a long-term deal with CB Jordan. We manage to agree on a 5-year deal worth $70.00m - a lot of money, but he's the sort of player that's worth using almost 10% of your salary cap on (as long as he can stay healthy...)

While it's unlikely that we'll be active players in free agency this year (we already have over 40 players signed, with 8 draft picks to come and restricted free agents to resign), it's still worth looking over the roster for strengths and weaknesses:

QB: Pretty much set, with Hutchins the starter and Hume this year's likely #2 - will be looking for another developmental guy in the draft though
RB: Rose, Burnett and Sweeney are all productive, and Sawyer is a nice change of pace and special teams guy - don't see much point in adding anyone here
FB: Will try to resign Vaughn, but may look for an upgrade here
TE: We have three average guys here - may want to try to find a quality starter
FL: Pretty much set - four solid players as our top four, and Britton and Musial provide depth and special teams ability
OL: Interior of the line is solid, but need to start looking for a tackle or two - Huffman's in his 11th year, and Tanner isn't anything special (and may not be back after this year)
P: Actively looking for a better guy here
K: Oden is solid, but how many good years does he have left (now in his 13th year)
DL: Pretty much set if we can resign Sanderson and Necaise
LB: Starters are decent, but no real depth here - worth looking for an upgrade
CB: Three solid guys here in Jordan, Linville and Zachery, with Polamalu a decent dime back - can do better than Sears and Ackerman, though
S: Wilcox is a solid starter at SS, but we only have backup-quality guys at FS

We start negotiations with our restricted free agents before getting into free agency proper:

QB O.J. Hume - 880k over 1 year (third year guy, so not much point in signing him for longer right now)
FB Marc Vaughn - $790k over 1 year
TE Randall Anstaett - $790k over 1 year
SE Fred Britton - $3.23m over 3 years (minimal bonus, so no risk in going with the longer deal here)
RT Harvey Gerhart - $1.43m over 1 year (more money because he had a fair bit of playing time last year - can afford to pay a little more here though)
P Levon Howard - $790k over 1 year
LDE Bernard Sanderson - $1.20m over 1 year (again more than the minimum because of playing time - not too much for me not to offer the contract though)
LDT Reggie Necaise - $3.23m over 3 years
RCB Ellis Polamalu - $790k over 1 year
FS Xavier Burlsworth - $970k over 1 year

These signings don't leave us with a lot of cap space (around $9m after allowing for signing the draft picks to come), and we have a few renegotiations coming up this year, so not much leeway for going after free agents this year.

Looking at this year's draft class, it appears to be reasonably strong for defensive backs (although more corners than safeties), and there are a few TEs who look to be potentially a good bit better than the guys I have on the roster at the moment. There are a few offensive tackles worth looking at, and some quarterbacks with a bit of potential as possible late round targets (the top-rated QB is interesting too, as he's called Backbreaker Bradley - not that I'm going to get anywhere near him, but that's just a great name...) It actually looks to be a draft where having extra high picks is a very good thing indeed - I can see four or five guys I expect to go in the low first or high second that I think would really improve the team.

Given the strength of the draft pool where I'm most looking to upgrade, there isn't much point in being too active in free agency (not that we have the cap room anyway!) - if I make any moves, it's likely to be to bring a mentor or two in at positions where we have young players to develop.

RG Willie Jordan doesn't last long in free agency - he signs for Baltimore in week 2. I wait for prices to come down a little before offering contracts to SLB Ernie Ferguson (8th year, 38/38, mentor) - $2.72m over 2 years (veteran minimum) - and FS Toby Chubb (11th year, 37/37, mentor) - $3.12m over 2 years (again, veteran minimum). Both guys sign fairly quickly, and that's all she wrote for the Eagles in free agency.

[MartinD]

2019 draft

We have 8 picks in this year's draft - our 'usual' one per round (ranging from 26 to 29, with the first-rounder being 1.27), plus an additional fourth-round pick (4.25) obtained in a trade last year.

While we have a long time to wait before our first pick this year, I feel that we should be able to find a quality player - defensive back is the priority, but a decent developmental OT or a solid starting TE wouldn't go amiss either.

QB 'Backbreaker' Bradley goes first overall to Cincinnati, and looks like the real deal (46/83 rating immediately after being picked). A couple of players I was hoping would fall are taken in the early 20s (notably CB Melvin Crumpler, taken at 1.23 by Carolina - a big CB who would do well at S initially rated at 26/74), but there are still a few guys to choose from when 1.27 comes round:

TE Tommie Lyle (5.9/5.1) - good blocker, decent receiver, likely starter if we go with him
RT Leo Skupin (5.6/6.2) - best OT on the board, but a natural RT, and would need time to develop - not a mauler, but good technique
LDT Shane Womble (5.7/6.2) - best DT remaining - solid run-stuffer who offers some pass-rush threat
SS Bucky Covington (5.1/4.8) - best safety remaining - good all-round player, but not a guy I'd like to see starting this year, as he's very raw

If we're going for best player available here, DT Womble is an easy pick - a guy who projects as a high-level starter. Defensive tackle isn't an immediate need, though (although starting RDT Christian Campbell is in his 11th year), so Womble isn't the guy I go for. RT Skupin isn't an ideal fit (would prefer a left tackle), but Huffman is more than capable of playing on the left side if needed, so Leo Skupin is the pick here. He's initially rated at 26/70, so should be able to step into the starting lineup at some point fairly soon.

The other guys I was looking at start to come off the board as we wait for our next pick:
LDT Shane Womble (1.29) - 37/73
TE Tommie Lyle (1.30) - 40/60

With our second-round pick approaching, S Covington is still on the board - there is also a running back (Vince Compton - 5.0/5.3) who I feel is a good fit for our system. I try to trade up a few picks to make sure of getting one or the other, but am not willing to pay the price - waiting it out is tough, particularly when Pittsburgh take a good RB off the board right in front of us, but both Covington and Compton are still there when the Eagles go back on the clock. While safety is a bigger need right now, I feel that Compton will be a very good player - Compton is also rated as the top RB, while Covington is the 3rd safety, so I go with the RB here. Compton is initally rated at 33/48, so this may have been a mistake - we'll just have to wait and see...

I wait until the middle of the third round before thinking about trading up to take Covington, but Cleveland take him at 3.10 (before either of the higher-rated safeties are taken) - his initial rating is 23/63, so he looks like a good prospect.

When our third round pick comes around, there are a few possibilities - one is to go with a safety, with Raymond Lowe (4.4/4.1) and Brady Jamison (4.3/4.0) being the best guys remaining. We already have an offensive tackle on board, but LT Gabe Bishop (4.5/4.9, 48% developed) looks like a solid player - not the strongest, but a good technician. A guy who isn't at a need position, but looks to be good value here is RG Perry Hernandez (4.7/4.5), who is a solid blocker who has the potential to be a solid starter at least. With two safeties of a similar level, I hold back a bit more on the defensive back and take LT Gabe Bishop (initially rated at 25/58). RG Hernandez goes to San Francisco with pick 4.3 - rated at 25/61, he would also have been a good choice there.

We're next up with pick 4.25, and finally go after a safety here. Our pick is FS Raymond Lowe, who I felt was the safer pick of the two - he's initially rated at 26/54, so looks like being a decent player. We also have a pick at 4.28, which also goes on an offensive lineman - not a big need area, but LG Jumbo Welker (4.5/4.3) looks to be another good prospect - his initial rating of 23/60 certainly suggests that he's got a bright future.

QBs start to come off the board fairly quickly in round 5, so I go after a guy I was hoping to pick up at some point with pick 5.27. QB Tyrus Monpoto (initial rating 14/58) is a highly intelligent guy, but also a great athlete - a project, to be sure, but a guy who has a chance to be a decent player. At 6.26, I go with FB Randall Boswell (initial rating 23/52), who projects as a good run blocker. Our last pick of the draft (7.29) goes on a guy who may add a bit of competition at the TE position - TE Frankie Lindsay (19/41) is very much a receiving tight end.

At the end of the draft, the results of the vote on our stadium proposal comes in - surprisingly, enough of the people of Philadelphia voted for the proposal for it to pass (although only just - 50.2% in favour). We'll be playing in an expanded and renovated Veterans Stadium in 2022. (Yes, I know that the Eagles have moved in real life, but the stadium we play in was opened in 1989 (level playing field on stadiums and finances option on startup), so it seems more realistic for us to be playing at the old place.) Now all we have to worry about is finding the little matter of around $100m per year to meet our share of the costs!

Late Free Agency

Denver approach us at the start of the late free agency period with a trade offer for CB Grady Linville - the Broncos' second-round pick in next year's draft plus a scrub TE. Linville (3rd year, 50/54) is currently slated to be a starting cornerback for us, so it's not a matter for a lot of thought - we reject the trade offer.

Rookie signing talks are a bit of a mixed bag - it's not unexpected that first-rounder Skupin decides to wait for another offer, but both fourth-round picks (LG Welker and FS Lowe) also refuse our initial offer. We do manage to get everyone else under contract, though.

We offer a few rookie free agents a chance to come to camp with us:

QB Michael Morin (18/46) - $1.11m over 2 years (signed week 3)
TE Harold Galloway (25/50) - $1.11m over 2 years (signed week 2)
SE Freddie Hampton (25/48) - $1.11m over 2 years (signed week 1)
P Rico Bullock (44/58) - $1.11m over 2 years (signed week 3)
P Melvin Scott (45/56) - $1.11m over 2 years (signed week 2)
SLB Jerome Parham (20/28) - $1.11m over 2 years (signed week 1)
SS Bart Stevens (13/60) - $1.11m over 2 years (signed week 2, and moved to RCB - new rating of 15/58)

We have a bit of cap room left over, so some contract renegotiations were carried out before heading to camp:

FL K.C. Oskolkoff (5th year, 50/50) - $15.70m over 5 years
LDE Juan Hansen (4th year, 52/52) - $23.00m over 4 years
WLB Shannon Long (8th year, 78/78) - $42.00m over 4 years

Our remaining rookies without contracts agree deals at the end of the free agency period, and we head to camp.

[MartinD]

2019 Roster

A couple of trade offers coming out of training camp before we get on with the roster for the year:

San Francisco offer a 6th-round pick and a fairly poor defensive end for MLB Les Schwartz - doesn't take a lot of thought to turn this one down, as Schwartz is our starting MLB, and we don't really have anyone behind him that we'd be comfortable starting.

Tampa Bay offer a 2nd-round pick for QB Shaun Langham - while Langham is a solid QB, he's been demoted to #3 this year because of the unexpected improvement in O.J. Hume. Langham is also unhappy about his lack of playing time (maybe he should have thought a bit harder about signing with us when we have a top-end starter in Hutchins!), and isn't going to cause too big a cap hit on the trade (all of $40k this year and next). I don't quite bite the Bucs' hand off in accepting this trade, but wasn't far short of it.

We carried 69 players into camp with us (before trading Langham), so a lot of cuts to be made.


Philadelphia Eagles Roster, Scout Overview

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntr
Hutchins, Keith 18 QB 12 80 80 3
Langham, Shaun 19 QB 6 33 58 2
Hume, O.J. 15 QB 3 31 43 1
Monpoto, Tyrus 11 QB 1 13 50 3
Morin, Michael 16 QB 1 18 45 2

Langham has been traded, and I would like to see how the two rookies fare
this year, so we're likely to be carrying four QBs again this year.

Rose, Levon 36 RB 7 37 37 2
Burnett, Chad 31 RB 4 29 29 2
Sweeney, Dominic 37 RB 2 28 40 1
Sawyer, Cory 35 RB 2 21 30 2
Compton, Vince 33 RB 1 32 44 4
Vaughn, Marc 39 FB 3 34 44 1
Boswell, Randall 34 FB 1 23 50 3

I'd like to cut this group to a maximum of 5, with Burnett, Sweeney and
Compton the only certainties to make the final roster. We don't use our FB
for much more than blocking, so Boswell is a better fit than Vaughn (who's a
bit better at the running and receiving that we don't use). At RB, Sawyer has
been overshadowed by Compton, while Rose was a starter in name only last
year - he appears to be starting to decline already. Rose and Vaughn are the
cuts at this point, but Sawyer may be on the bubble if I feel the roster spot is
better used elsewhere.

Morrison, Larry 89 TE 9 36 36 1
Delmonico, Sammy 88 TE 4 36 36 1
Anstaett, Randall 87 TE 3 31 39 1
Lindsay, Frankie 84 TE 1 20 41 3
Galloway, Harold 10 TE 1 26 46 2

Five guys, and we're keeping a maximum of three. The two rookies are going
to make the team, as they both offer decent receiving skills. Anstaett is the
best blocker (although he's not much of a receiver), so the cuts here are
Morrison and Delmonico (who never looked like reaching his potential).

Samanta, Antoine 82 FL 9 60 60 4
Burgess, Derrick 86 FL 7 57 57 3
Oskolkoff, K.C. 81 FL 5 50 50 5
Adamov, Drew 80 SE 9 60 60 1
Musial, Josh 85 SE 6 33 33 2
Britton, Fred 83 SE 4 33 33 3
Hampton, Freddie 9 SE 1 26 46 2

Seven players, six roster spots - the cut is going to be one of the bottom
three. Hampton offers enough as a backup receiver and punt returner to
secure a roster spot, and Musial is a good kick returner and special teams guy
as well as a decent depth receiver. Britton is the odd man out, and is cut.

Dawson, Thomas 63 C 6 44 44 1
Barber, Willie 61 C 3 52 56 1
Martin, Zack 68 LG 9 81 81 2
Welker, Jumbo 67 LG 1 25 55 3
Burgess, Ty 66 RG 7 33 33 2
Fau, Melvin 65 RG 2 43 66 3
Tanner, Sammy 76 LT 8 37 37 1
Lindsay, Roger 73 LT 3 22 47 2
Bishop, Gabe 79 LT 1 25 51 4
Huffman, Norman 72 RT 11 48 48 2
Gerhart, Harvey 78 RT 3 28 40 1
Skupin, Leo 70 RT 1 30 64 4

A bit of change here, which drafting three guys at one position group is going
to do! Four of our starters (Martin, Barber, Fau and Huffman) are settled, but
I feel that Tanner isn't going to retain his starting spot this year - it's difficult
to justify keeping him if he isn't starting, so Tanner is one cut. Backup C
Dawson is unhappy about being deposed as our starter, so will be cut (and
replaced, as I don't want to be forced to make a roster move if Barber is
hurt). I like our tackles enough as I want to keep 5 guys, so G Burgess is the
other casualty.

Rookie C Todd Collins (12/42) is the replacement for Dawson.

Howard, Levon 8 P 3 51 51 1
Bullock, Rico 3 P 1 44 57 2
Scott, Melvin 5 P 1 44 55 2
Oden, Matt 2 K 13 63 63 2

Oden is our kicker, as he has been since I took over as GM of the Eagles. The
punters are evenly matched enough to cause a problem, so I'm going to keep
all three on the roster for the first three preseason games, giving each guy a
chance to prove himself.

Hansen, Juan 90 LDE 4 52 52 4
Sanderson, Bernard 92 LDE 3 29 49 1
Salerno, Rod 91 RDE 5 88 88 1
Flannery, Spencer 94 RDE 2 37 44 3
Necaise, Reggie 97 LDT 4 43 43 3
Clayton, Toby 99 LDT 3 55 55 2
Campbell, Christian 93 RDT 11 74 74 1
Warren, Irv 96 RDT 8 42 42 1

A solid group - no cuts or changes here (other than RDT Campbell getting a
renegotiated contract with the cap room freed up by other cuts - $33.00m
over 3 years).

Schwartz, Les 56 MLB 8 47 47 2
Flemming, Brandon 53 MLB 2 26 46 2
Ferguson, Ernie 58 SLB 8 34 34 2
Rayburn, Rickey 55 SLB 6 13 13 2
Grove, Daniel 52 SLB 5 52 52 4
Sylvester, Bubba 59 SLB 3 24 46 1
Parham, Jerome 54 SLB 1 20 29 2
Long, Shannon 51 WLB 8 68 68 4

Schwartz, Grove and Long are the starters, while Ferguson and Flemming are
assured of spots as backups. Rayburn is the special teams demon, so is given
a pass for lack of skill at his given position. One more guy makes the team -
while Sylvester is the better player, Parham will contribute more to the team,
so Sylvester is cut.

Zachery, Leon 26 LCB 8 43 43 1
Jordan, Jerome 25 LCB 7 95 95 5
Sears, Corey 29 LCB 2 24 42 1
Ackerman, Matthew 24 LCB 2 18 48 2
Polamalu, Ellis 28 RCB 3 32 42 1
Linville, Grady 27 RCB 3 55 55 2
Stevens, Bart 38 RCB 1 18 52 2

Dealing with CB and S separately because we have so many guys at both
positions...

Jordan is the unquestioned starter on one side (and will cover the opposition's
best receiver), with Linville manning the other side. Zachery is starting to
slip, but is still our best nickel back, while Polamalu's coverage skills make him
a useful backup. One more to survive from this group - none of Sears,
Ackerman and Stevens have 'other' skills (i.e. returns or special teams) to help
them stick on the roster, so it goes on the guy I feel is of most use to the
team, which is Ackerman (Sears is slightly better in run support and man
coverage, but struggles in zone and doesn't make the big play, while
Ackerman is a more rounded player). Sears and Stevens are the cuts here.

Wilcox, Xavier 23 SS 2 53 77 3
Chubb, Toby 32 FS 11 38 38 2
Hopkins, Jumbo 20 FS 5 41 41 2
Burlsworth, Xavier 21 FS 3 41 41 1
Qaderi, Wade 22 FS 3 32 37 1
Lowe, Raymond 42 FS 1 29 53 3

Another two cuts here, with Wilcox and Chubb the only guys guaranteed a
spot. Lowe did enough in camp to be worth keeping (and he may compete for
the starting FS spot). While Qaderi is the lowest rated of the other guys, he
also has the best balance of skills (and is a decent kick returner to boot), and
is still improving - he looks to be one of those guys whose actual potential is
greater than it first appears. Burlsworth and Hopkins are the players cut here.


These cuts leave us with 56 players on the roster - two of the extras are punters, but I have to find one other cut from somewhere. RB Cory Sawyer has basically been replaced by players brought in this year (in that rookie RB Compton is a better third down back and kick returner, and rookie SE Hampton is a better punt returner), so is our final cut.

[MartinD]

2019 preseason

Week 2: Philadelphia 13-16 Denver
Looks like that second round pick may not have been a waste after all - rookie RB Vince Compton (18-83-1) shows signs of being a decent starting running back. QB Montopo (6/13-51-0-0, sacked 3 times) struggled in relief of O.J Hume, though.

Punter watch: P Melvin Scott had the first opportunity to impress, and did a decent job (gross 40.9, net 37.3, allowed 1 return for 5 yards) on a tough day for the kickers.

Week 3: Miami 10-7 Philadelphia
Not much offence in this one, but the Dolphins did just enough more to deserve the win. The Eagles passing game was a bit lacklustre, although Monpoto (17/22-94-0-0) showed signs of getting to grips with the pro game.

Punter watch: P Rico Bullock's turn this week, and he didn't do himself any favours (38.7 gross, 35.5 net, long of 45, 7 returnable kicks).

Week 4: San Diego 17-27 Philadelphia
A better offensive showing, with RBs Compton (14-61-1) and Sweeney (12-68) carrying most of the load. Rookie QB Morin (15/27-107-0-2) got most of the playing time in this one, and didn't do much to help his chances of getting back on the field. DE Rod Salerno saw his first action since his ACL injury early last season, and was back to his usual ways, knocking the Chargers QB down 5 times.

Punter watch: Levon Howard's turn this week, and he did a decent job (48.4 gross, 40.9 net, allowed 3 returns for 13 yards). That's enough for me to narrow it down to 2, with Rico Bullock getting the chop.

Week 5: Philadelphia 0-23 New Jersey
Not quite as bad as it looks, as the game was close while QB Hutchins (8/10-95-0-0) was in the game - the Jets only took over when Monpoto went in at QB.

Punter watch: Melvin Scott did enough in week 2 to earn another try, but he had a very poor day (35.8 gross, 28.1 net, long of 46), although he was given a short field to work with on a number of occasions (and promptly put it in the endzone for a touchback on most of them). Looks like Levon Howard has managed to keep the job for another season...

The injury situation isn't too bad going into the season with one exception - LCB Jordan has a knee ligament sprain, so will miss a few weeks at the start of the year.

[MartinD]

2019 Regular Season

Week 1: Philadelphia 16-3 New York
The Giants don't look very good this year, but this was still a good solid performance to open the season with. Hutchins (25/34-234-1-0) kept the offence ticking over, while the defence took it in turns to beat the **** out of the Giants QB, sacking him 11 times. DE Hansen took more turns than most, though, finishing with 4.5 sacks.

Week 2: Buffalo (0-0-1) 10-20 Philadelphia (1-0)
This one was looking bad for a long time, as the Eagles dominated in terms of yardage, but couldn't get the ball into the endzone - QB Hutchins (14/22-182-1-0) found SE Adamov with a 36-yard TD pass just before the two-minute warning to put Philadelphia ahead for good. DE Salerno had 2 sacks, while CB Linville made an interception.

Week 3: Carolina (0-2) 7-34 Philadelphia (2-0)
A dominant display on both sides of the ball, with the offence ticking over nicely behind Hutchins (20/29-183-2-0) and Burnett (18-118-1). On defence, the line put the Panthers QB under pressure all day, and rookie S Lowe took advantage, making two interceptions.

Week 4: Minnesota (2-1) 3-30 Philadelphia (3-0)
This was close until half-time, but the Eagles defence took over in the second half - the Vikings simply couldn't pass the ball, their QB hitting on only 12 of 37 passes while getting sacked 7 times. Unsurprisingly, DE Salerno was the cause of much of the chaos in the Minnesota backfield, finishing with 2.5 sacks, 5 hurries and 2 knockdowns.

Week 5: Detroit (4-0) 35-9 Philadelphia (4-0)
They scored TDs, we kicked field goals - OK, there's a bit more to it than that (in particular, the Lions offence was very solid all day), but you don't win big games like this if you can't get the ball in the end zone.

Week 6: Philadelphia (4-1) 0-27 Green Bay (2-3)
One of those games where absolutely nothing worked on offence - Hutchins (6/13-40-0-1) couldn't get into anything like a rhythm, and Hume (5/16-57-0-1) did even worse when called into action. The defence was pretty good, forcing a couple of fumbles and making two interceptions, but couldn't carry the offence all game long.

Week 7: Washington (1-4) - Philadelphia (4-2)
Just the opponent we needed after two big losses - the NFC East doesn't look all that strong this year, and the Redskins simply aren't all that good. Hutchins (19/27-212-0-0) got his accuracy back, and Compton (25-99-4) put the points on the board, with Martin (6/12 KRB, 3 pancake) leading the way. The defence was also solid, allowing only 10 first downs and forcing 4 turnovers.

With two of our three offensive guards struggling with injury, I cut backup SLB Jerome Parham and resign former Eagle RG Ty Burgess, who was unfortunate to be cut after training camp.

Week 8: Bye

Week 9: Philadelphia (5-2) 23-20 Chicago (4-3) (OT)
QB Keith Hutchins (31/39-334-2-1) had the first 300-yard passing day in Eagles history, and Matt Oden kicked a 23-yard field goal with 22 seconds left in overtime as the Eagles win a tough game on the road. A Shannon Long interception with 43 seconds left stopped the Bears from winning the game in regulation, one of his two on the day.

RT Leo Skupin broke his collar bone in this game, and will miss the next month to six weeks. I would tell you who's going to take his place, but our offensive line is in a state of flux right now (due to lots of little injuries, including C Barber and LG Welker both having turf toe injuries).

[MartinD]

Mid-season summary


Year 2019
Record 6-2
Winning Pct. .750
All-Time 105-110-1
Winning Pct. .488
Playoffs 7-4
Playoff Visits 5
Bowl Wins 1
Head Coach Wesley Bandle
Record 79-51
Winning Pct. .607
Off. Coord. K. Ford
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 32.6 6
Rushing Yards 140.1 4
Yards Per Carry 4.30 8
Pass Attempts 29.1 28
Completions 20.0 15
Completion Pct. 68.7 5
Passing Yards 202.3 21
Yards Per Attempt 6.94 13
Yards Per Catch 10.11 27
Total Yardage Gained 336.9 11
3rd Down Conversions 28.7 30
Points Per Game 21.1 14
Pass Rush Pct. 8.5 9
Pass Defense Pct. 74.1 1
Turnovers 12 13 (T)
Turnover Margin +8 3

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 28.0 12 (T)
Rushing Yards 96.8 2
Yards Per Carry 3.46 1
Pass Attempts 29.8 9
Completions 16.4 1
Completion Pct. 55.0 1
Passing Yards 179.4 2
Yards Per Attempt 6.03 6
Yards Per Catch 10.95 16
Total Yardage Gained 250.4 1
3rd Down Conversions 32.4 5
Points Per Game 14.4 2
Pass Rush Pct. 5.4 4
Pass Defense Pct. 59.0 5 (T)
Turnovers 20 4

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 16 at NYK 3
2 20 BUF 10
3 34 CAR 7
4 30 MIN 3
5 9 DET 35
6 0 at GBY 27
7 37 WAS 10
9 23 at CHI 20
10 NYK
11 at DAL
12 MIA
13 at SEA
14 at NJY
15 DAL
16 at NED
17 at WAS

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
18 K. Hutchins QB 217 155 1561 7.19 7 3 96.5
15 O. Hume QB 16 5 57 3.56 0 1 16.9
**Team --- 233 160 1618 6.94 7 4 91.1
$$Opp --- 238 131 1435 6.03 4 13 55.9

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
33 V. Compton RB 141 570 4.04 6 1
31 C. Burnett RB 77 346 4.49 2 8
37 D. Sweeney RB 29 146 5.03 0 2
**Team --- 261 1121 4.30 8 19
$$Opp --- 224 774 3.46 9 18

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
80 D. Adamov WR 62 45 584 12.98 9.42 4 2
82 A. Samanta WR 37 23 197 8.57 5.32 4 0
86 D. Burgess WR 32 17 262 15.41 8.19 3 2
31 C. Burnett RB 19 17 96 5.65 5.05 1 0
89 H. Galloway TE 19 15 127 8.47 6.68 2 0
81 K. Oskolkoff WR 26 14 195 13.93 7.50 2 2
33 V. Compton RB 9 9 23 2.56 2.56 0 0

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
23 X. Wilcox S 48 10 0.0 1 2 5 81.2
52 D. Grove OLB 41 15 2.0 0 0 1 72.0
51 S. Long OLB 38 14 2.0 4 4 2 83.4
56 L. Schwartz ILB 35 12 0.5 1 0 1 75.6
91 R. Salerno DE 34 5 9.5 11 0 0 82.5
21 R. Lowe S 29 5 1.0 0 2 2 78.0
93 C. Campbell DT 22 7 4.5 6 0 0 80.6
96 I. Warren DT 13 3 2.0 2 0 0 82.5
26 L. Zachery CB 13 4 1.0 0 2 2 84.0
97 R. Necaise DT 13 6 2.0 1 0 0 81.1
90 J. Hansen DE 10 2 4.5 3 0 0 82.5
94 S. Flannery DE 10 1 2.0 3 0 0 81.5
27 G. Linville CB 9 7 0.0 0 3 2 88.0
20 T. Chubb S 8 4 0.5 0 0 0 75.0
28 E. Polamalu CB 8 4 0.0 1 0 0 79.5
22 W. Qaderi S 8 0 0.0 0 0 0 77.7


A decent first half of the year (apart from those two games where the offence disappeared!). The defence has been very strong, as usual, even though CB Jordan has only just come back from injury - Salerno's injury doesn't seem to have slowed him down any, and Long continues to be a very solid player against both run and pass. Compton looks to be a solid starter, with Burnett productive behind him (if he could only hang on to the ball!) - Sweeney might get a bit more time in the second half of the year.

[MartinD]

Week 10: New York (3-5) 3-20 Philadelphia (6-2)
Not our absolute best performance, but a good solid win nonetheless. Hutchins (17/21-168-1-0) and Sweeney (25-94) got the job done on offence, but the defence won the game for us here, with DE Rod Salerno (3 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 2 blocks, 1 hurry) and DE Juan Hansen (1.0 sacks, 3 hurries, 3 knockdowns) leading the way.

Week 11: Philadelphia (7-2) 26-20 Dallas (4-5) (OT)
Our second fifth-quarter win of the season, but we'll take road wins any way we can get them! QB Hutchins (16/30-145-3-0) threw the game-winning TD, but RBs Sweeney (23-91) and Compton (20-84) did a lot of hard work in keeping the offence moving. CB Jordan led a solid defensive performance with 2 interceptions.

Week 12: Miami (7-3) 7-13 Philadelphia (8-2)
The Eagles defence played their best game of the year in shutting down a highly-rated Miami offence, holding them to 130 total yards, 6 first downs and no offensive points, but the Dolphins did a good job against the Philadelphia offence, making the game a lot closer than it could have been. DEs Salerno (2 sacks, 1 hurry, 1 fumble and recover) and Hansen (1 sack, 3 hurries, 2 knockdowns) led the defensive effort in this game.

Week 13: Philadelphia (9-2) 17-13 Seattle (8-3)
A very big win in terms of playoff position, as a loss would have made it very difficult for us to earn a first-round bye. Seattle scored early in the fourth to pull within 4, but the defence didn't allow a first down the rest of the way to seal the victory. As has been the case for most of the season, DE Rod Salerno (2.0 sacks, 3 hurries, 3 knockdowns) led the defensive effort.

This win clinches the NFC East, although this hasn't been in much doubt for some time, with Washington (at 5-7) the second-placed team at the moment.

Week 14: Philadelphia (10-2) 35-38 New Jersey (6-5-1)
This one turned into a bit of a shootout, and this team isn't really built to be successful in shootouts... Hutchins (24/36-243-3-2) played well, but made mistakes at critical times, while FL Burgess (4-106-2) had a big game. The defence struggled to contain a well-balanced Jets offence, which produced 5 TDs despite giving away 4 fumbles.

Week 15: Dallas (5-8) 17-3 Philadelphia (10-3)
We always seem to have problems against the Dallas defence, and that was definitely the case here - both of the Cowboys TDs came from their defence. The Eagles defence also played a solid game, but didn't get as many big plays as Dallas's D.

Week 16: Philadelphia (10-4) 10-17 New England (9-5)
Another tough game for the offence, but the Patriots were the better team here. Hutchins (16/26-198-0-0) and Adamov (8-132) put up good numbers, but had very little support from their offensive teammates.

This loss makes it very unlikely that the Eagles will get a first-round bye, as the Lions (13-2) and Saints (11-4) are now ahead of us.

Week 17: Philadelphia (10-5) 14-6 Washington (5-10)
Not pretty, but any win is welcome after losing three straight. The offence scored two early TDs, then the defence took over the game - DE Hansen was the game MVP following a 3.0 sack, 2 fumbles forced performance.

New Orleans won their last game, so the Eagles will be playing in the Wild Card round of the playoffs - we are #3 seed, though (on a tiebreaker over Seattle), and will play 8-8 Arizona.

[MartinD]

2019 Playoffs

Wild Card Round

Our opponents are the Arizona Cardinals, who scraped into the playoffs with an 8-8 record despite losing their last two games. We're catching a bit of a break here, as the Cards' starting QB, Kelvin Brentlinger, suffered a broken ankle in week 16 and will miss this game. QB Derrick Stallings will start the game, despite being on his third team in a month. This will put more pressure on star RB Wendell Brown (1,215 rushing yards, 52 catches), but Stallings does have a decent supporting cast to work with. The defence is tough to pass on, with DT Erxleben (11.0 sacks, 17 hurries) a force in rushing the passer and CB Trippi (3 interceptions, 28 pass defences, PD% 92.1) a shutdown corner, but isn't all that strong against the run.

We go into this game with a few injury concerns, most notably QB Keith Hutchins, who is strugggling with a sprained knee - he's going to start the game, but it's not certain if he's going to be able to finish. SS Xavier Wilcox is also nursing a sprained knee, and will sit out this game. Our offensive line is finally healthy, though, with the five guys I'd consider my starters all fully healthy for this game.

On a damp, overcast day, the Eagles got first possession, but were unable to move the ball - nerves appeared to play a part, with the Philadelphia offensive line called for two false starts on the possession. The defence, however, made up for the offence's slow start as DE Salerno burst through the line, forcing Stallings to fumble - Hansen recovered to give the Eagles great field position. The Cardinals defence was able to step up as well, though, with a third-down sack forcing the Eagles to punt. The Arizona offence put together the first extended drive of the game, but a Long sack on 3rd down near midfield forced a punt. The punt-fest continued on each team's next possession, as the defences forced three and outs. After a first quarter totally dominated by the defences, it came as no suprise that the quarter ended with the Eagles about to punt away possession as their drive stalled near midfield. No score at the end of one, and, if I'm being totally honest, neither team looked remotely like scoring.

A good Howard punt to start the second quarter saw the Cardinals pinned back at their own 4-yard line. A nice pass on third down appeared to relieve the pressure and give the Cards a bit of room, but the play was called back on a holding penalty and Arizona were forced to punt. The Eagles were able to take advantage of the good field position, and finally opened the scoring in this game with an Oden field goal from 43 yards. After forcing another three and out, Philadelphia put together their best drive of the game, but they stalled just outside field goal range once again, with a couple of penalties not helping at all. Neither offence was able to do anything for the rest of the quarter, but the Eagles dodged a bullet on the final play of the half - a Hutchins fumble was recovered by Arizona at the Philly 25, but time had run out. 3-0 Eagles at the half, but defences have been so far on top that it's a surprise that any points have been scored.

The pattern from the first half didn't appear to have been changed during the interval as the Eagles forced the Arizona offence into another three and out to open the third quarter. A Hutchins-to-Burgess pass and a Sweeney run earned the Eagles a couple of first downs, and got them in range for Oden to double the lead, the kicker hitting on a 49-yard field goal this time. Arizona finally made a positive play on offence, with Stallings finding Paul for a first down, but consecutive sacks rattled the QB, and he picked out Shannon Long on the third and long, the interception giving the Eagles yet another chance to score. The Cardinals defence continued to offer stout resistance, though, holding the Eagles to another Oden field goal try - the normally reliable veteran kicker didn't hit this try solidly, though, and the attempt fell short from 47 yards. In keeping with the game up to this point, the quarter ended with back-to-back punts after three and outs - the Cardinals return man, however, fumbled on his return - Barber's recovery gave the Eagles the ball deep in Cardinal territory once again as the third quarter ended.

After being stopped on 3rd and 3, K Oden trotted onto the field once again to try a 41-yard kick, but missed it wide right. The miss didn't cost the Eagles, though, as their defence came up big on 4th and 1 after a debatable decision by the Cardinals coaching staff to go for it at their own 40. They were made to pay straight away as Hutchins found Burgess in space - the veteran wide-out took advantage by running the ball into the endzone for a 40-yard TD. 13-0 Eagles with 12 minutes to play, but the Cardinals had shown nothing at all on offence up to this point. In keeping with the rest of the game, there was precious little offence from either team in the fourth quarter - the Arizona offence was unable to move the ball anywhere close to scoring territory, and the final points of the game came after a Jordan interception of Stallings, Oden kicking a 44-yard field goal to make the final score 16-0 Philadelphia.

To say that the Eagles defence dominated in this game isn't going too far - the Cardinals managed only 6 first downs and 87 total yards in this game, and turned the ball over four times. DE Rod Salerno was given the game MVP award after making 7 tackles and picking up 3.5 of the Eagles' 9 sacks while forcing two fumbles. OK, this is facing a team that's been forced to start a street free agent at QB, but all you can do is beat the team you're playing against!

While the defence had one of its best games of the year, the offence was often ineffective - Hutchins (13/21-129-1-0) was solid without being particularly penetrating, while Sweeney and Burnett struggled to gain yardage consistently.

As the #3 seed in the NFC playoffs, the Eagles now head to New Orleans to play the #2-seeded Saints.

[MartinD]

Divisional Round

New Orleans finished the regular season with a 12-4 record, good enough to win the NFC South by a margin of 5 games. They are a fairly well-balanced team, but their undoubted star is QB Keith May (2,612 yards, 99.9 QB rating), one of the best QBs in the league - while May has missed some time this year with a couple of minor injuries, he's healthy and ready to go for this playoff game. Veteran FL Clifton Marrero (1053 yards, 7 TDs) is May's favourite target, but the Saints spread it around a bit in their passing game. The defence isn't all that highly-rated statistically, but is a solid unit - in particular, the pass rush, led by DT Bateman (13 sacks) can put a lot of pressure on opposing QBs.

The Eagles came through the wild card game without any serious additions to the injury list, although FL Derrick Burgess will be held out of the game with a sprained thumb. QB Hutchins will again start despite a balky knee.

After a lacklustre showing against the Cardinals in the wild card game, the Philadelphia offence came out like it had a point to prove - Hutchins hit Hampton for 17 on 3rd and 10, then found Adamov for 31 more to set up first and goal. Burnett punched it in from 1 yard out to put the Eagles up 7-0 after a 9-play, 65 yard drive. The Saints came out to try to respond to that opening salvo, but May misfired on his first pass, with S Lowe making the pick. The Philadelphia offence couldn't take advantage of the turnover, and punted possession away. May found his range with three consecutive completions to get the Saints into Eagles territory, but the Eagles defence tightened up to hold New Orleans out of field goal range. The quarter ended with the Eagles on the drive in New Orleans territory, already leading 7-0.

A costly penalty for an illegal block stopped the Philadelphia drive in its tracks, and Oden compounded the mistake by missing a 41-yard field goal try. New Orleans couldn't take advantage, though, with Salerno blocking May's third-down pass to force another punt. The Eagles were forced to punt the ball right back, however, as their drive stalled near midfield. Howard's short punt gave the Saints good field position, and they were able to utilise this to get on the board, but Salerno again stopped the drive with a timely hurry of May on third down - the field goal made it a 7-3 game. 4 became 11 in a hurry, though, as Hutchins hit Samanta in stride for a 69-yard catch-and-run TD pass to put the Eagles up 14-3 just before the two minute warning. The Saints were unable to mount a successful two-minute drill, so the Eagles led by 11 at the half.

New Orleans didn't become the #2-seeded team by chance, though - the first possession of the second half was a 10-play, 71-yard march ended by May-to-Marrero from 7 yards for the TD that brought the Saints back within 4 at 14-10. The Eagles' next drive stalled, but Howard kept the pressure on the Saints with a good punt to the New Orleans 7 - a quick three and out gave the Philadelphia offence the ball back in Saints territory. A 16-yard run from Sweeney put the Eagles in field goal range, but good defence from New Orleans meant it was another field goal try, not a TD - Oden put it through from 41 yards out, extending the Philadelphia lead to 17-10.

The Saints opened the fourth quarter on the drive, but the drive was ended abruptly at midfield when May misfired and was intercepted by CB Ackerman. The Eagles offence took advantage, but only with a field goal - a nice call with a draw play on 3rd and 12 got the ball into Oden's range, and he hit on the 43-yard field goal attempt. 20-10 Eagles with less than 11 minutes to play meant that all the pressure was on New Orleans to mount a comeback. A 15-yard scramble by May on 3rd and 10 kept the drive alive, but a run for no gain and two incompletions forced a punt from midfield - the New Orleans defence forced a quick punt from the Eagles, but left less than six minutes on the clock.

With a quick score absolutely essential, May hit on three of four pass attempts, finding Marrero in the endzone from 27 yards out for the TD which kept the Saints alive - 20-17, with four and a half minutes left. Needing to mount a drive to run down the clock (and give their defence a chance to rest), the Philadelphia offence managed one first down on a 21-yard Burnett run, but were forced to punt with 2:30 left. May hit TE Lofton on a deep route to get the Saints to midfield, but was unable to drive his team any further, with Eagles CBs Jordan and Zachery doing a great job in defending the passes. After the Saints turned it over on downs, Hutchins took a knee three times to run out the clock and seal the 20-17 victory.

This was a much better all-round team effort, but the offence deserved a lot of credit for producing this performance after a below-par showing against Arizona. Hutchins (20/26-216-1-0) was very solid, and received good support from his running game - Burnett (20-106-1) and Sweeney (14-73) both had good days. On defence, the Eagles only got to May once, but put him under pressure all day, with DE Salerno leading the way (1.0 sack, 1 block, 2 hurries, 2 knockdowns). The pass defence was also solid - S Lowe and CB Ackerman had interceptions, while five different Eagles were credited with pass defences.

In the other NFC Divisional round matchup, the Packers were on the verge of pulling of a huge upset in Detroit, but the Lions pulled off a great fourth-quarter comeback with 22 unanswered points to win 42-38. Lions QB Bo Fiebelkorn had a big day with 5 TD passes in a real shootout.

[MartinD]

NFC Championship Game

With the #1-seeded Lions winning, the Eagles are forced to travel to Detroit to play the NFC Championship Game against a team that took them apart in the regular season - the Lions won 35-9 in an extremely one-sided game.

Detroit have one of the best offences in the league, led by 11th-year veteran QB Bo Fiebelkorn (3,716 yards, 32 TDs, 107.3 QB rating), who has started for the Lions since being their first draft pick (15th overall) in 2009. Providing balance to the offence is RB Brock George (1440 yards, 4.6 ypc, 10 TDs) - the other skill-position players are solid without being spectacular, but the success of this offence lies in a talented and experienced offensive line. On defence, DEs Pearson (12.5 sacks, 27 hurries) and Lap (10.0 sacks, 15 hurries) provide the pressure that make the Lions defence one of the toughest to pass on in the league. Going by the statistics, the run defence is poor, but that's at least partly due to the quality of the team - a team that leads in most of its games will expect to be passed on more, so is a bit more vulnerable to the run.

Again, we appear to have come through our previous game relatively unscathed - no enforced changes to the lineup through injury for this game.

On a sunny but chilly day in Detroit, the Eagles got the ball first - a 4-yard Sweeney run on 3rd and 4 got things moving, but the Lions stopped the drive in a hurry, forcing TE Anstaett to fumble after a short reception on the next play. A brief jaunt onto the field from the Lions offence put them 7-0 up - Fiebelkorn to Washington, 15 yards, TD. The Detroit defence continued to dominate the early going on the next Eagles drive, this time picking off a Hutchins pass. This scoring drive wasn't quite as quick (4 plays, compared to the 1 on their first possession), but Fiebelkorn put another TD on the board by finding Russo from 13 yards out - 14-0 Lions, and the game was less than 6 minutes old. The Philadelphia offence returned to the field still trying to get over the two early mistakes, but started to settle down with a couple of first downs - while the drive eventually stalled just past midfield, it was a great improvement on what had gone before. Detroit's offence, however, was most definitely in the groove, and ended the first quarter at the Eagles' 12-yard line.

The Philadelphia defence managed to hold Detroit to just a field goal on that drive, making the score 17-0 Lions early in the second quarter, but the offence couldn't feed off the stop, going three and out. Fiebelkorn went back to work, and hit on three long passes to set up another first and goal, which RB George convertedwith a 4-yard TD run - 24-0 Lions, and this one was looking like a rout. The Eagles weren't quite finished yet, though, with Hutchins hitting TE Lindsay on a deep pass to put the offence into striking range, then Burnett getting the team on the board with an 11-yard TD run - 24-7 was still a bad position, but the offence had at least showed that it could put points on the board. The defence fed off this positive momentum, forcing a fumble by Lions WR Espinoza to set up first and goal at the 9 - good Detroit defence limited the damage to a field goal, though, making it 24-10. Neither team was able to get into scoring range before half-time, so the Lions went in at the half leading by 14.

Down two touchdowns, the Eagles defence knew that it needed a stop to open the third quarter, and that's what they delivered. The offence started deep in their own end, though, but made it almost to midfield before Hutchins missed intended receiver Adamov and was intercepted. Detroit know how to punish mistakes like that, and Fiebelkorn found former Eagle Winston Hadley with a 27-yard TD pass to put the Lions up by 21. After being stopped before reaching midfield, the Eagles at least pinned the Lions back with a good Howard punt, but Detroit simply took it down the field on a 95-yard TD drive, backup RB Corbett scoring from 7 yards out to end the third quarter with the Lions firmly in control and on their way to the Front Office Bowl, leading 38-10.

28 points is a long way behind if you've only got 15 minutes to make up the deficit, but Philadelphia started the fourth quarter like they were going to pull off the comeback, Hutchins finding Adamov with a 9-yard TD pass to round off a drive that took only three and a half minutes. Back to 21 points down, and the defence joined in by forcing the potent Lions offence into a three and out. The spell was broken when Hutchins put up a poor throw and was intercepted on the first play after the Lions punt - another short field, another short but efficient drive, another TD for Detroit, basically ending the game as a contest at 45-17. Both teams basically knew that the game was over at this point, and played out the rest of the game without further scoring. Detroit win the NFC Championship game by the comfortable margin of 45-17, and take a lot of confidence into the Front Office Bowl.

Obviously not our best performance, but the Lions are that good a team this year - they're very tough to stop on offence, and have a defence that isn't long on star players but performs very well as a unit. That said, turnovers killed us in this game, as the Eagles lost the turnover battle 4-1, and most of those turnovers gave Detroit a very short field to work with - four of the Lions' TDs came after starting in Philadelphia territory.

The win came at a big cost to the Lions, however - QB Bo Fiebelkorn was stretchered off the field late in the third quarter with what appeared to be a very serious head injury. Backup QB Ike Holtz came in with the game already won, but this will have a serious effect on Detroit's Bowl chances (in the short term) and status as a top NFC contender (looking further down the line).

Missing their star QB and leader, Detroit failed to perform to anything like the level they had showed in the Championship game, losing the Front Office Bowl to Miami by the score of 30-7. Holtz, forced to start after Fiebelkorn's injury, had a tough day, throwing three interceptions.

[MartinD]

2019 Summary


2019 Summary for Philadelphia Eagles

Year 2019
Record 13-6
Winning Pct. .684
All-Time 110-113-1
Winning Pct. .493
Playoffs 9-5
Playoff Visits 6
Bowl Wins 1
Head Coach Wesley Bandle
Record 86-55
Winning Pct. .609
Off. Coord. K. Ford
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 32.6 6
Rushing Yards 130.6 9
Yards Per Carry 4.01 19
Pass Attempts 28.8 29
Completions 18.9 20
Completion Pct. 65.7 6
Passing Yards 187.7 24
Yards Per Attempt 6.51 19
Yards Per Catch 9.91 25
Total Yardage Gained 311.9 17
3rd Down Conversions 26.7 32
Points Per Game 19.2 18
Pass Rush Pct. 8.5 8
Pass Defense Pct. 71.5 2
Turnovers 23 10 (T)
Turnover Margin +16 3

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 28.5 14 (T)
Rushing Yards 104.2 6
Yards Per Carry 3.66 2
Pass Attempts 31.3 14 (T)
Completions 17.4 1
Completion Pct. 55.6 1
Passing Yards 191.9 5
Yards Per Attempt 6.14 7
Yards Per Catch 11.05 20
Total Yardage Gained 273.6 2
3rd Down Conversions 30.3 3 (T)
Points Per Game 14.8 2
Pass Rush Pct. 7.1 16
Pass Defense Pct. 61.6 8
Turnovers 39 2

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 16 at NYK 3
2 20 BUF 10
3 34 CAR 7
4 30 MIN 3
5 9 DET 35
6 0 at GBY 27
7 37 WAS 10
9 23 at CHI 20
10 20 NYK 3
11 26 at DAL 20
12 13 MIA 7
13 17 at SEA 13
14 35 at NJY 38
15 3 DAL 17
16 10 at NED 17
17 14 at WAS 6
$$WC 16 ARI 0
$$CS 20 at NOS 17
$$CF 17 at DET 45

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
18 K. Hutchins QB 445 298 2946 6.62 16 9 89.0
**Team --- 461 303 3003 6.51 16 10 86.5
$$Opp --- 500 278 3071 6.14 11 19 65.5

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
33 V. Compton RB 215 864 4.02 7 2
37 D. Sweeney RB 184 718 3.90 3 5
31 C. Burnett RB 94 409 4.35 2 8
**Team --- 521 2089 4.01 12 31
$$Opp --- 456 1667 3.66 12 37

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
80 D. Adamov WR 120 83 1036 12.48 8.63 7 5
82 A. Samanta WR 71 43 373 8.67 5.25 6 1
86 D. Burgess WR 65 37 556 15.03 8.55 6 5
89 H. Galloway TE 33 26 188 7.23 5.70 2 2
81 K. Oskolkoff WR 49 24 304 12.67 6.20 3 2
31 C. Burnett RB 26 23 128 5.57 4.92 1 0
33 V. Compton RB 21 18 90 5.00 4.29 0 0

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
51 S. Long OLB 85 30 3.0 6 5 5 81.0
56 L. Schwartz ILB 75 25 0.5 1 0 3 75.9
52 D. Grove OLB 72 27 2.0 0 1 2 73.0
91 R. Salerno DE 62 14 17.0 21 0 0 82.0
23 X. Wilcox S 60 16 1.0 1 2 6 81.4
21 R. Lowe S 52 16 1.0 0 2 5 79.3
93 C. Campbell DT 48 15 6.5 11 0 0 81.2
26 L. Zachery CB 42 6 1.0 0 2 3 75.9
25 J. Jordan CB 33 7 1.0 1 3 17 91.0
20 T. Chubb S 27 5 1.5 0 0 2 78.9
90 J. Hansen DE 26 7 11.0 15 0 0 82.2
96 I. Warren DT 22 8 2.5 2 0 0 81.8
97 R. Necaise DT 22 17 3.0 5 0 1 82.5
27 G. Linville CB 20 12 0.0 0 4 5 85.2
58 E. Ferguson OLB 19 7 0.0 1 0 0 71.0
55 R. Rayburn OLB 19 10 0.0 0 0 1 63.6
94 S. Flannery DE 19 4 3.0 3 0 0 81.2
99 T. Clayton DT 16 11 1.0 2 0 0 81.3


Another solid year for the Eagles, but a couple of annoying lapses cost us the chance of a first-round bye (and then, of course, we ran into Detroit...)

The offence was solid and well balanced, but didn't really show any real explosiveness - Hutchins had another solid year, Compton emerged as a decent starting RB and Adamov put up good numbers, but there were too many games where the offence simply didn't produce. The offensive line had a mixed year, not helped by a number of minor injuries (meaning that it was rare for us to put out a settled unit). LG Zack Martin (51/121 KRB, 16 pancakes) returned to his best, though, after a couple of sub-par years.

On defence, it was a different story - the pass rush was as good as any, with Salerno having a big year (ably supported by Hansen and Campbell), and the pass defence was tough to throw on, particularly after Jordan's return from injury. The run defence was also solid, and the defence as a unit forced more than their fair share of turnovers. The reworking of the secondary appears to have been pretty successful, as we now have three solid young starters (Linville (3rd - 56/56), Wilcox (2nd - 67/77) and Lowe (1st - 47/53) to play alongside Jordan.

Special teams were decent, with Samanta (10.8 average, 1 TD) continuing to prove that he's one of the best punt returners of all time. He isn't as strong on kick returns, though, and no-one else really stepped up (25.9 average kick return for the team. Coverage units were decent (4.4 average punt return, 19.7 average kick return). Oden (30/38 FG, 7/13 40+ regular season, 5/9 40+ playoffs) had a decent year, although he seems to be starting to struggle with the longer kicks, while Howard showed a little bit of improvement over previous seasons.

2019 Awards

Three mentions in the All-Pro teams this year:

LG Zack Martin - First Team All-Pro
RDE Rod Salerno - First Team All-Pro
WLB Shannon Long - Second Team All-Pro

In addition, SE Drew Adamov was the League's Fastest Man.

Looking ahead to next year...

While we have a few grizzled veterans on the roster, this is a fairly young team with a number of very good young players - we should still be in playoff contention, and may be a Bowl contender if we can get a bit more consistency out of the offence (and maybe a bit of luck...)

[MartinD]

2020 season

Herb's evaluation for 2019: 78/86/9/82, for an overall score of 44.

The team showed a loss of $113.75m on revenues of $247.11m last year - the major factor in this was the first of our stadium payments (the little matter of $129.87m!), so we actually made a decent profit ($16.12m) after allowing for this.

One retirement this year - SLB Ernie Ferguson decided to call it a day. We signed him last offseason as a veteran backup who would also act as a mentor to our young OLBs.

Staff Hiring

All members of staff are under contract, and I see no need to make any changes.

Pre-Free Agency

After bumping ticket prices last year, I don't see much point in changing them again this year - prices remain at 50/60/80/100/240/100,000.

This year's franchise tag is a very easy decision - DE Rod Salerno is an absolute beast on the offensive line, and we have to keep a guy who can play at that level. The franchise salary for a DE is $15.22m, but that may end up being cheap compared to the long-term deal I hope to negotiate with Salerno.

After using the franchise tag, we have 38 players signed and $26.45m of a $172.0m salary cap free. Our draft picks (the usual one in each round, alternating between 28th and 27th, starting with 1.28, plus 2.15, obtained in trade from Tampa Bay last year) are expected to take up $9.35m of cap room.

With Salerno tagged, the following guys are free agents:
SE Drew Adamov (10th year, 60/60)
RG Ty Burgess (8th year, 33/33)
RDT Irv Warren (9th year, 41/41)
LCB Leon Zachary (9th year, 43/43)

My initial feeling is that none of these guys will be returning - Adamov would be a good player to bring back, but is likely to want more money and a longer contract than I'd be willing to give a 10th-year receiver.

We also have quite a few restricted free agents:
QB O.J. Hume (4th year, 37/43)
RB Dominic Sweeney (3rd year, 30/39)
TE Randall Anstaett (4th year, 35/35)
C Willie Barber (4th year, 53/53)
C Todd Collins (2nd year, 13/42)
RT Harvey Gerhart (4th year, 29/29)
P Levon Howard (4th year, 51/51)
LDE Bernard Sanderson (4th year, 30/49)
RCB Ellis Polamalu (4th year, 37/37)
FS Wade Qaderi (4th year, 33/33)
FS Bryan Norris (3rd year, 21/40)

My initial impression is that we'll look to resign Hume (solid backup QB), Sweeney (has been productive when given the chance), Barber (starting center), Sanderson (decent backup DE), Polamalu (good cover corner) and Qaderi (decent backup S and kick returner).

Resigning these restricted free agents is unlikely to leave us with a lot of cap room to use in free agency, but I prefer to use free agency to provide depth and to pick up decent players at reasonable prices rather than as a means of acquiring top-end talent.

The last task before heading into free agency is to decide which player is to be sent to the summer league. The two most obvious candidates in my mind are RT Leo Skupin (34/64) and FS Raymond Lowe (47/53) - both are expected to be starters in the season ahead, so should get significant playing time. My feeling is that Skupin is more likely to benefit from the additional experience, so he's the guy chosen to spend a bit of time in Europe over the summer.

[MartinD]

2020 Free Agency

The first task in free agency is to negotiate contracts with our franchise player and restricted free agents:

QB O.J. Hume - $3.75m over 3 years
RB Dominic Sweeney - $1.02m over 1 year
C Willie Barber - $5.70m over 3 years
P Levon Howard - $1.00m over 1 year (he isn't great, but this is a no-risk contract with no bonus)
LDE Bernard Sanderson - $3.75m over 3 years
RDE Rod Salerno - $103.2m over 6 years (including $37.2m of bonus money - a lot of money, but this guy's worth it as long as he stays healthy)
RCB Ellis Polamalu - $3.75m over 3 years
FS Wade Qaderi - $1.00m over 1 year

These contracts leave us with 45 players signed and $6.45m cap room free (after allowing for the expected $9.35m cost of drafted rookie contracts). We do have a few renegotiations to carry out (notably with LG Zack Martin, LDT Toby Clayton and RCB Grady Linville), so it's unlikely that we'll be doing much in free agency this year.

Looking at our roster at this point, there are a few areas that need attention:
QB: Not an immediate issue, but would be nice to pick up a QB for the future to groom as Hutchins' replacement
WR: While the guys we have are solid, they're not all that young - would be good to pick up a solid youngster to ease into the rotation
OT: With Huffman getting to the end of his career, we need a guy who can play at LT (as Skupin looks to be a guy who can only play RT) - also need a backup C
DT: I can live with Necaise and Clayton playing opposite Campbell, but wouldn't want to see us starting the two younger guys - a young DT to groom as a starter would be useful
LB: Our starters are starting to get on a bit, and there's precious little depth
DB: I'm reasonably happy with the starters, but you can never have enough good defensive backs

While our options are limited in free agency, we should be able to pick up a couple of impact players through the draft - although we pick fairly late in the first round, we have two second-round picks to work with.

SE Drew Adamov was a hot commodity on the free agent market, as I suspected he might be, and signs with Arizona (for over $20m over 3 years!) in week 2. RDT Irv Warren also catches on with another team fairly quickly - he'll play for the Falcons this year.

We do go after one player in free agency - LT Andy Fortmann (5th year, 27/45) isn't a great player, but is that rare breed, a young mentor. We already have one young tackle in , and are looking to bring in someone else to play LT at some point. The offer is $7.20m over 3 years, a bit more than I really want to play a backup, but worthwhile for the mentoring side - he signs in week 10.

[MartinD]

2020 Draft

We start with the long wait that's the 'reward' for a solid season the previous year, and eventually go on the clock when 27 picks have been made. The players I consider taking here are:

SE Austin Rice (5.0/5.2) - raw, but good fit for the scheme we run and solid combine
C Marvin Pierce (6.1/5.3) - probably early to go after a backup center, but this guy has the potential to be a very good player
RT Otis Sims (5.4/5.9) - will be able to play the left side - not strong, but good technique, and would be able to step into the starting lineup fairly quickly
SLB Rich Weber (5.7/5.5) - struggles in zone coverage, and would only be able to play outside, but a good player apart from that - will need very little development
SILB Horace Robertson (5.5/5.3) - not the best in coverage, but a good player who projects as a solid starter at worst
RCB Hugh Wooden (5.7/5.9) - solid combine, good development, good all-round corner, but maybe doesn't have all that good an upside
FS Wade Tripplehorn (5.8/5.5) - good coverage skills, decent development, good combine - may be able to play corner, too

In terms of filling a need, T Sims is the obvious pick - we'll need a startable tackle sooner rather than later - but I don't feel he gives us best value for the pick here. My gut feel is that ILB Robertson is the best guy to go after here - he's a significant upgrade at LB at worst, and looks like a guy who should be a solid starter for a long time if he develops to his full potential. Robertson is our pick here - he's rated at 42/67 immediately after, so looks to be a solid choice.

As always, the guys I was looking at start to come off the board before our next selection:
RCB Hugh Wooden (1.30) - 32/56
S Wade Tripplehorn (1.32) - 37/66
RT Otis Sims (2.4) - 31/66
SLB Rich Weber (2.5) - 32/61
SE Austin Rice (2.7) - 30/68

Our first second-rounder is pick 2.15 - I'm still really looking for a starter at this pick, so C Pierce isn't really an option, even though he's about as good a player as there is at this point. Guys I am considering taking here are:

TE Kirk Bell (5.6/4.9) - strong blocker, decent receiver, good combine - will need a bit of time to develop, but should be able to start fairly quickly
FL Leo Burnett (5.0/5.2) - best receiver left on the board, but a guy I see as being a career 3rd receiver rather than a guy I'd be happy to start
SE Orlando McIndoe (4.0/4.2) - raw, but I actually see this guy as having more upside than Burnett - think he'll be there at 2.27 (if not 3.28)
C Marvin Pierce (6.1/5.3) - would be the pick here if we needed a center, but we're pretty much set for interior linemen right now
RT Bryan Wischhof (5.5/6.1) - top OT on the board - looks like a guy who can play LT, but also looks like the sort of guy who's going to end up at around 50/50
LT Hunter Hartman (5.1/5.6) - no workout, low endurance, but a guy who appears to be a potential starting-quality tackle
LDT Phillip Kerr (5.0/5.4) - best of the DT prospects still on the board (in my eyes at least) - not particularly strong, but good technique
WLB Justin Small (5.0/4.8) - high volatility makes this guy very much risk/reward, but has _serious_ upside (as in could be a top-end starter - emphasis on 'could'...)
SS Thurman Wynn (5.5/5.2) - should be able to switch to corner, and looks to be a good nickel back at worst - had a good combine (4.37 40, 30 strength reps, 10'+ jump)

Definitely a lot of guys to choose from here! We do have another pick in the second round (2.27), so should hopefully get at least 2 of these guys, so I'm wanting to go after the guy who's most likely to come off the board before we pick again. S/CB Wynn looks like a guy who would get a lot of playing time this year as a nickel back, while I'm very surprised that a guy with the upside of WLB Small is still on the board. While offensive tackle is a position I'm targeting in this draft, I'm not sure that either Wischhof or Hartman is a significant improvement on the guys we have at the moment (starters will be Huffman and Skupin, with a few high 20/low 30 guys in reserve). McIndoe looks like a guy who might be available in the third round, so I'm going to hold back on receiver right now. There's also a reasonable TE (Sedrick Broderick - 5.0/4.4) who should be around further down, so I'll pass on TE Bell as well.

The pick at 2.15 comes down to LB Small or S/CB Wynn - while Small has a higher potential upside, I feel that Wynn is likely to contribute more this year (if he's as good as I think he is, he'll be our nickel back). The pick here is SS Thurman Wynn, who's initially rated at 28/46 - he will switch to CB pretty well, so I go ahead with the switch, resulting in an adjusted rating of 29/54, which I can live with at this point.

Both tackles I was looking at come off the board soon after we pick Wynn - Wischhof (26/51) at 2.16, Hartman (25/59) at 2.19. TE Bell (36/58) goes at 2.20, but all of the other players on the list above are still there at 2.27. This makes the pick easy - we go with WLB Justin Small, who gets an initial rating of 22/70.

FL Leo Burnett (25/51) is taken at 3.6, with DT Phillip Kerr (22/64) taken at 3.22. C Marvin Pierce (32/74) is taken immediately before our pick - the Seahawks nip in with 3.27 to get a guy who should be a quality center in years to come. SE McIndoe is still there, but is a long way down the receiver list, while TE Broderick is the second-rated TE. Other possibilities here are:

RT Irv Horn (4.6/5.1) - strong run blocker, but not as accomplished in pass protection - good value at this point, but not what we need (i.e. a solid LT)
RT Zach Lehan (4.4/4.8) - would be able to play LT, but I don't see him as a significant improvement over the guys we have
MLB Bo Breeze (4.7/4.6) - I know that we've already picked two LBs, but this guy would be a solid backup at worst (and is a good special-teamer)
SLB Paul Stauder (4.9/4.7) - see the comments for Breeze above - solid backup at worst, good special teamer

My feeling here is that TE Sedrick Broderick is the best fit here - while he's not the strongest of blockers, I would guess that he's probably a guy who could start fairly quickly and provide Keith Hutchins with a solid additional weapon in the short-range passing game. Our pick here is TE Broderick, who's initially rated at 24/58.

The guys on our list stick around for a while, with SLB Stauder (23/49) the first to go at pick 4.16, followed by MLB Breeze at 4.19. While the offensive tackles would be good value at this point, WR Orlando McIndoe is our guy at 4.27 - we need another receiver after losing Adamov, and McEndoe looks to be a decent prospect. His initial rating of 20/53 suggests he'll need a bit of development time, but he should be able to contribute on special teams straight away.

RT Irv Horn (22/51) goes at 5.8, which is a pretty good value pick for Kansas City, who get a decent backup tackle for only a fifth-rounder. While RT Lehan is still available at 5.28, we need a backup center more than another backup tackle, so I go with the best C left, Leo Hewko (initial rating of 24/65). Lehan finally goes at 6.10 - our decision to pass looks reasonable, as he's only rated at 19/44.

After a run on QBs during the sixth round, the QB pool looks fairly weak (which is a pity, as I tend to use 6th and 7th round picks on developmental QBs). The one guy I think may be worth taking is QB Reggie Froehlich (3.7/4.2 - not the most physically gifted guy, but decent development, reasonably intelligent and good intangibles), but I'm happy to hold back until the 7th for him. We do need a DT to be the fourth guy in our rotation - possible candidates for this vacancy are LDT Thomas Kravitz (4.1/4.4 - raw and a little small, but looks like a decent run-stuffer), RDT Deion Pullen (3.9/4.2) - not the strongest, but decent development and technique) and RDT Joel Skeen (3.9/4.2 - decent combine, and looks like he can play both run and pass fairly well). I go with Skeen, who comes in with an initial rating of 15/46. Our last pick of the draft (7.28) is used on QB Reggie Froehlich, although his initial rating of 10/39 does not bode well for his chances of making the team after camp.

Miami offer us a trade immediately after the draft - a fourth-round pick for LDE Juan Hansen. This would mean us taking a hit of around $3m on next year's cap and losing a guy we expect to start at defensive end, so it's a fairly easy trade to turn down.

[MartinD]

2020 Late Free Agency

The initial rookie offers are a bit of a mixed bag - first-round pick Robertson not signingn our initial offer isn't a surprise, but we're usually better at getting the later-round picks signed - TE Broderick (3rd-round) and SE McIndoe (4th-round) both reject the contracts we offer.

We go after our usual crop of rookie free agents, including this year's challenger to P Levon Howard:

RB Bo Prall (28/41) - $1.17m over 2 years (signed week 1)
TE Tony Korzuk (9th year, 32/32, mentor) - $2.82m over 2 years (worth bringing in a mentor to our young TEs - signed week 1))
FL Tom Nelson (22/49) - $1.17m over 2 years (signed week 3 - ratings go to 23/55 after signing)
P Roosevelt Houston (36/61) - $1.17m over 2 years (signed week 1)
WLB Marshall Poston (16/52) - $1.17m over 2 years (apparently 61% developed, which suggests that he's not going to reach that 50-odd potential - worth a look, though - signed week 3)

The three remaining unsigned rookies put pen to paper at the end of the free agency period, and we head to camp with 59 players signed and $4.28m cap room free. (We do have a few contracts to renegotiate, but I'll do this after camp.)

Rookies before and after camp

Acquired Before After Change
QB Reggie Froehlich 7.28 10/39 10/33 0/-6
RB Bo Prall FA 28/41 27/39 -1/-2
TE Sedrick Broderick 3.28 24/58 25/49 +1/-9
FL Tom Nelson FA 22/49 23/45 +1/-4
SE Orlando McIndoe 4.27 20/53 21/47 +1/-6
C Leo Hewko 5.28 24/65 25/57 +1/-8
P Roosevelt Houston FA 36/61 34/57 -2/-4
RDT Joel Skeen 6.27 15/46 18/39 +3/-7
MLB Horace Robertson 1.28 42/67 45/65 +3/-2
WLB Justin Small 2.27 22/70 28/64 +6/-6
WLB Marshall Poston FA 16/52 18/46 +2/-6
LCB Thurman Wynn 2.15 29/54 30/57 +1/+3


The high-round picks seem to have come through camp fairly well, with LBs Robertson and Small looking like they are going to be solid players. CB Wynn now looks to be a seriously good pick, as he's one of those rare players to improve their potential during training camp (although asking him to lose a little weight (he's now 191) may have helped here). The rest of our draft picks and free agent pickups are a mixed bag - most had a fairly significant drop in potential during camp.

One other training camp ratings change worth mentioning here - C Willie Barber had a veteran breakout, and is now rated at 76/76 (he was rated mid-50s before camp).

I've been looking for a decent punter for a while now - am not happy with last year's starter Howard, and don't see rookie free agent Houston being good enough to displace him. There is a decent veteran punter on the free agent list - P Anthony Hawks (9th year, 57/57) has been Tennessee's punter for the last 8 years, and has performed respectably well. I sign him to a 1-year deal worth the veteran minimum of $1.40m.

[MartinD]

2020 Roster

With the signing of Hawks, we have 60 players on the roster at this point - 7 cuts to be made.


Philadelphia Eagles Roster, Scout Overview

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntr
Hutchins, Keith 18 QB 13 81 81 2
Hume, O.J. 15 QB 4 37 43 3
Monpoto, Tyrus 11 QB 2 15 46 2
Morin, Michael 16 QB 2 20 43 1
Froehlich, Reggie 14 QB 1 10 33 3

At least one guy to be released here. Rookie Froehlich is the obvious choice
after a poor training camp, but I like his intangibles enough to want to keep
him around. While Morin is the highest-rated of the three young guys, he's
also the least intelligent and has the poorest grasp on our playbook (5
intelligence, 10 formations known), so he's the guy I'm cutting.

Burnett, Chad 31 RB 5 29 29 1
Sweeney, Dominic 37 RB 3 28 37 1
Compton, Vince 33 RB 2 32 40 3
Prall, Bo 35 RB 1 27 39 2
Boswell, Randall 39 FB 2 28 46 2

I'm happy to carry 5 players in this position group, so no cuts at this point - I
see Compton and Boswell as the starters, with Sweeney our main backup.
Prall is a decent straight-ahead power runner, while Burnett has a bit more
speed, so there's a good mix of styles here.

Korzuk, Tony 87 TE 9 26 26 2
Lindsay, Frankie 88 TE 2 23 40 2
Galloway, Harold 89 TE 2 31 43 1
Broderick, Sedrick 80 TE 1 25 49 3

Korzuk is a TE mentor, so will make the roster. Lindsay would be the third TE,
and doesn't offer much else (not a great special teams guy, and not a good
long snapper), so is the odd man out in this group.

Samanta, Antoine 82 FL 10 51 51 3
Burgess, Derrick 86 FL 8 57 57 2
Nelson, Tom 19 FL 1 23 45 2
Musial, Josh 85 SE 7 30 30 1
Oskolkoff, K.C. 81 SE 6 49 49 4
Hampton, Freddie 84 SE 2 32 42 1
McIndoe, Orlando 83 SE 1 21 47 3

One cut to make here. Burgess and Oskolkoff will be the starters (Oskolkoff
has been moved back to SE to be our starter there), with Samanta the slot
receiver. Hampton is the backup SE, so we have three guys for two spots.
McIndoe looks like he has a chance to develop into a decent backup, and is a
respectable special teamer, so will get one of the spots. Musial is slipping,
but is still a useful guy to have on the team, as he's been one of our better
special teams guys over the last few years, so Nelson is the odd man out
here.

Barber, Willie 61 C 4 76 76 3
Hewko, Leo 63 C 1 25 57 3
Martin, Zack 68 LG 10 74 74 1
Welker, Jumbo 67 LG 2 29 51 2
Fau, Melvin 65 RG 3 54 64 2
Lindsay, Roger 73 LT 4 23 47 1
Bishop, Gabe 79 LT 2 26 47 3
Huffman, Norman 72 RT 12 44 44 1
Fortmann, Andy 76 RT 5 34 46 3
Skupin, Leo 77 RT 2 42 60 3

Center and guard are fairly well set, but 5 tackles may be a bit of a luxury -
Huffman, Fortmann and Skupin are all safe, but Lindsay and Bishop will need to
wait to see if we need a roster spot more at another position.

Hawks, Anthony 5 P 9 60 60 1
Howard, Levon 8 P 4 50 50 1
Houston, Roosevelt 4 P 1 34 57 2
Oden, Matt 2 K 14 65 65 1

Kicker is the easiest spot on the roster - it's Oden's job until he decides to call
it a day. The signing of Hawks makes punter fairly easy to decide on as well -
Howard and Houston are the cuts here.

Hansen, Juan 90 LDE 5 49 49 3
Sanderson, Bernard 92 LDE 4 30 49 3
Salerno, Rod 91 RDE 6 89 89 6
Flannery, Spencer 94 RDE 3 40 44 2
Necaise, Reggie 97 LDT 5 45 45 2
Clayton, Toby 99 LDT 4 56 56 1
Campbell, Christian 93 RDT 12 65 65 2
Skeen, Joel 96 RDT 1 18 39 3

I like to carry 8 D-linemen when I'm playing 4-3, so these 8 guys are going to
make the final roster.

Schwartz, Les 56 MLB 9 49 49 1
Flemming, Brandon 53 MLB 3 29 43 1
Robertson, Horace 50 MLB 1 45 65 4
Rayburn, Rickey 55 SLB 7 13 13 1
Grove, Daniel 52 SLB 6 52 52 3
Long, Shannon 51 WLB 9 65 65 3
Poston, Marshall 59 WLB 1 18 46 2
Small, Justin 54 WLB 1 28 64 4

One cut here, as I've been in the habit of carrying 6 linebackers plus special
teams demon Rayburn for the last few seasons. First-round pick Robertson
will be our starting MLB this year, so one of the other middle-backers will be
cut. Schwartz is a better linebacker and special teams player than Flemming,
so we stick with the veteran here.

Jordan, Jerome 25 LCB 8 89 89 4
Wynn, Thurman 29 LCB 1 30 57 4
Polamalu, Ellis 28 RCB 4 36 36 3
Linville, Grady 27 RCB 4 55 55 1
Ackerman, Matthew 24 RCB 3 30 45 1
Chubb, Toby 20 SS 12 34 34 1
Wilcox, Xavier 23 SS 3 73 77 2
Qaderi, Wade 22 FS 4 34 34 1
Lowe, Raymond 21 FS 2 49 52 2

Pretty settled group here - second-round pick Wynn will come in and be our
top backup and nickel corner, but no changes other than this.


The cuts detailed above leave us with 54 players on the roster, so one more cut to make. The guys on the bubble here are QB Froehlich, RB Burnett and LTs Lindsay and Bishop. While Burnett has been productive for us in the past, his increasing tendency towards fumbling doesn't inspire confidence in me - I'm also comfortable going with the three backs that this move would leave us with, so Burnett is the last guy to be cut.

With our 53-man roster settled, I now turn to renegotiating a few contracts - we have $5.47m of cap room to work with. LG Zack Martin is starting to decline, but he's still a very good player, and will be a starter for a few more years - we agree a 3-year deal worth $25.50m. LDT Toby Clayton signs a 3-year deal worth $12.90m, while RCB Grady Linville accepts $5.40m over 3 years.

[MartinD]

Apologies for not posting in this dynasty thread for a while - just got out of the way of playing SP for a bit. I do have a bit that I'd written but not posted, then I'll get on with the new stuff (starting with the 2021 offseason - have since added the 6.0e patch, which may make a bit of difference...)

[MartinD]

2020 Preseason

No changes to the gameplans for this season.

Week 2: San Diego 16-13 Philadelphia
Initial signs are good for rookie free agent RB Bo Prall (12-62) and second-year QB Tyrus Monpoto (10/12-114-1-0), but QB Reggie Froehlich (8/19-48-0-0) struggled, and the offensive line didn't have their best game. The defence, missing a few starters, played a decent game.

Week 3: Philadelphia 24-16 New Jersey
Another good game for RB Prall (15-76-2), while Monpoto (6/8-53-1-0) and Froehlich (12/15-93-0-1) had decent outings. The defence put good pressure on the Jets' QBs (4 sacks, 5 hurries) and did a solid job against the run.

Week 4: Denver 10-34 Philadelphia
A pretty dominant performance, with all areas of the team working well - while our top two QBs got some action, Monpoto (12/15-88-1-0) played most of the game, and got good support from RB Prall (16-112-1). The defence harried the Denver QBs all game, while not allowing them to establish a running game at all.

Week 5: Philadelphia 19-23 Miami
A tight game all the way, but we came out on the wrong side of the result. More important is our injury status, with two starters (C Barber and SS Wilcox) out for at least a month.

2020 Regular Season

Week 1: Philadelphia 24-19 Dallas
A good win to open the season on a hot day in Texas. The Cowboys scored 10 unanswered points to pull within 5, but the Eagles offence managed to run off the last 4:24 to seal the victory. Hutchins (17/23-216-3-0) led the offence, hitting nine different receivers, while Salerno (2 sacks) was the standout on defence.

Week 2: Philadelphia (1-0) 13-17 Cincinnati (0-1)
One of those games where the team struggled to get going - the offence was ineffective, and the defence gave up almost 200 yards on the ground.

Not a good game for our injury list either - MLB Robertson is out for a few weeks, while SE Oskolkoff and CB Jordan both picked up knocks which will see them miss at least one game.

Week 3: Philadelphia (1-1) 20-13 New Orleans (1-1)
Bo Prall scored the go-ahead TD with 1:40 left in the game, and Grady Linville sealed it by picking off Saints QB Keith May in a very useful road win over a strong NFC team. Hutchins (29/36-233-1-0) led the offence with good support from RBs Compton (12-67) and Prall (10-53), while the defence did a good job of pressuring May and containing a decent New Orleans ground game.

Week 4: Bye (at a useful time, when we have a few niggling injuries to clear)

Week 5: Philadelphia (2-1) 40-17 Seattle (2-2)
Three wins out of four road games is definitely a good start to the season! This win was down to QB Keith Hutchins (28/37-317-4-0) and a strong defensive showing, with the Seattle QB completing only 16 of 47 passes, and being picked twice (both by the now healthy Jordan).

Week 6: Arizona (3-2) 31-21 Philadelphia (3-1)
We finally make it through to our home opener, then play a game like this... The Cardinals scored TDs after a fumbled kickoff return and a blocked punt, and the Eagles were unable to overcome these errors. QB Hutchins (22/42-252-2-2) was forced to pass more than he would have liked, and the Arizona passing game was able to pick the Philly defence apart.

Week 7: Washington (1-5) 10-38 Philadelphia (3-2)
This is more like it in terms of performance - a dominant game against a weaker team. While the Redskins were able to put up similar yardage numbers, winning the turnover battle 4-0 is always going to make a big difference. Hutchins (17/21-137-2-0) got game MVP, but Shannon Long (8 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception, 1 forced fumble) had a very good game.

Week 8: Philadelphia (4-2) 34-3 New York (4-2)
Another dominant performance against a division rival - the defence, in particular, completely snuffed out the Giants offence, allowing 160 total yards and 7 first downs, with the New York field goal coming on a drive where they started on the Eagles 14. Hutchins (20/30-238-1-0) was solid, with Samanta (6-86, plus an 86-yard punt return TD) having his best game of the year.

Starting WLB Shannon Long will miss the next month after needing an emergency appendectomy after the game - rookie WLB Justin Small will deputise.

Week 9: Philadelphia (5-2) 3-14 St. Louis (3-4)
Another of those games where our offence couldn't get going. The defence did a good job of limiting the Rams for most of the game, but a Hutchins interception gave the St. Louis offence 8 yards to drive (which they did comfortably) for all the points they were going to need.

Mid-season summary


Year 2020
Record 5-3
Winning Pct. .625
All-Time 115-116-1
Winning Pct. .497
Playoffs 9-5
Playoff Visits 6
Bowl Wins 1
Head Coach Wesley Bandle
Record 91-58
Winning Pct. .610
Off. Coord. K. Ford
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 29.1 11
Rushing Yards 108.5 19
Yards Per Carry 3.73 28
Pass Attempts 31.9 20
Completions 21.5 10 (T)
Completion Pct. 67.5 5
Passing Yards 216.9 18
Yards Per Attempt 6.80 12
Yards Per Catch 10.09 22
Total Yardage Gained 314.6 17
3rd Down Conversions 39.4 12
Points Per Game 24.1 7
Pass Rush Pct. 7.4 18
Pass Defense Pct. 69.4 6
Turnovers 11 7 (T)
Turnover Margin +7 4

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 29.1 18
Rushing Yards 118.5 20 (T)
Yards Per Carry 4.07 16
Pass Attempts 29.5 4
Completions 17.9 5 (T)
Completion Pct. 60.6 11 (T)
Passing Yards 168.3 1
Yards Per Attempt 5.70 3
Yards Per Catch 9.41 3
Total Yardage Gained 271.8 3
3rd Down Conversions 31.7 4 (T)
Points Per Game 15.5 3 (T)
Pass Rush Pct. 6.4 5 (T)
Pass Defense Pct. 59.7 6
Turnovers 18 3 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 24 at DAL 19
2 13 at CIN 17
3 20 at NOS 13
5 40 at SEA 17
6 21 ARI 31
7 38 WAS 10
8 34 at NYK 3
9 3 at STL 14
10 SFO
11 DAL
12 CLE
13 DET
14 at BAL
15 at WAS
16 PIT
17 NYK

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
18 K. Hutchins QB 255 172 1735 6.80 13 4 97.1
**Team --- 255 172 1735 6.80 13 4 97.1
$$Opp --- 236 143 1346 5.70 7 8 72.1

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
35 B. Prall RB 113 374 3.31 6 1
33 V. Compton RB 81 323 3.99 1 3
37 D. Sweeney RB 28 132 4.71 0 2
**Team --- 233 868 3.73 7 12
$$Opp --- 233 948 4.07 7 20

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
82 A. Samanta WR 60 34 378 11.12 6.30 3 0
81 K. Oskolkoff WR 32 22 269 12.23 8.41 2 4
86 D. Burgess WR 26 20 243 12.15 9.35 2 4
84 F. Hampton WR 33 18 220 12.22 6.67 2 1
83 O. McIndoe WR 27 16 207 12.94 7.67 1 1
87 T. Korzuk TE 16 13 111 8.54 6.94 1 0
37 D. Sweeney RB 14 12 54 4.50 3.86 2 0
33 V. Compton RB 10 9 43 4.78 4.30 0 2
35 B. Prall RB 12 8 31 3.88 2.58 1 1

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
91 R. Salerno DE 36 7 6.0 7 0 0 81.4
52 D. Grove OLB 35 14 1.0 0 0 3 77.6
51 S. Long OLB 34 10 1.0 0 1 1 78.2
23 X. Wilcox S 28 6 1.0 0 1 3 88.3
21 R. Lowe S 25 10 1.0 0 0 5 79.4
50 H. Robertson ILB 24 9 0.0 0 0 0 65.0
27 G. Linville CB 22 5 0.0 0 2 3 78.0
93 C. Campbell DT 21 10 2.0 6 0 0 81.8
56 L. Schwartz ILB 19 4 0.0 0 0 0 69.3
20 T. Chubb S 15 5 0.0 0 0 2 77.1
54 J. Small OLB 15 3 1.0 1 0 2 77.6
90 J. Hansen DE 14 9 2.0 4 0 0 80.6
97 R. Necaise DT 13 6 0.0 4 0 0 82.5
25 J. Jordan CB 12 3 0.0 1 4 3 90.9
24 M. Ackerman CB 11 3 0.0 0 0 0 69.4
28 E. Polamalu CB 10 2 0.0 0 0 1 76.5
22 W. Qaderi S 10 5 0.0 1 0 0 71.4
29 T. Wynn CB 8 1 0.0 1 0 2 80.8


Despite our winning record, these are the numbers of a fairly average team - while the defence has been solid, we're giving up more yards on the ground than I'd like, and the offence has struggled for consistency.

[MartinD]

Week 10: San Francisco (5-3) 3-27 Philadelphia (5-3)
Back to the Dr. Jekyll Eagles this week... The offence was solid and consistent, led by Hutchins (21/24-263-2-0) and the receivers (Samanta 8-71, Oskolkoff 4-70, Burgess 3-70-1), while DT Campbell (2.5 sacks) led the defence in terrorising the 49ers QB.

Week 11: Dallas (5-4) 26-20 Philadelphia (6-3) (OT)
The Cowboys have been our bogey team recently, but it looked like things were changing when we took a 20-3 lead into half-time. Dallas came back with 23 unanswered points, though, with QB Lee burning the Eagles secondary for 438 passing yards.

Backup RB Dominic Sweeney was lost for the year in this game with a serious knee injury. Veteran RB Shane Sample (9th year, 32/32) was signed to take Sweeney's place in the RB rotation.

Week 12: Cleveland (8-2) 24-27 Philadelphia (6-4)
A case of hanging on by our fingernails at the end, but a good win over a solid team, despite the secondary struggling for the second straight game. The Eagles offence was efficient rather than explosive, with Hutchins (20/26-158-2-0) doing his usual solid job, while starting safeties Wilcox and Lowe both had interceptions.

We need to go back out and sign another RB this week, as rookie RB Bo Prall is out for 6 weeks after pulling a calf muscle in this game, and goes on IR - the guy we sign isn't going to need much time to get used to the system, though, as we bring back RB Chad Burnett (5th year, 29/29).

Week 13: Detroit (4-7) 10-38 Philadelphia (7-4)
The Lions are definitely not the same team without their star QB Fiebelkorn, and it showed here. Hutchins (19/24-276-2-0) and Oskolkoff (7-171) had big days, while DT Toby Clayton (6 tackles, 4 sacks, 2 hurries, 3 knockdowns) was instrumental in chasing the Lions's starting QB.

Week 14: Philadelphia (8-4) 26-15 Baltimore (8-4)
A big road win against a very good team - the defence shut down one of the more prolific passing offences in the league, while the Eagles offence were able to move the ball with both pass (Hutchins 20/28-188-1-0) and run (Compton 20-86-1, Sample 17-114).

Week 15: Philadelphia (9-4) 24-27 Washington (2-11) (OT)
Another game where our opponent was able to burn our secondary, this time for the little matter of 380 yards. The Eagles offence put in a solid effort, with Hutchins (23/30-194-1-0, 1 rush TD) having another good game, but our pass rush was ineffective, giving our secondary too much to do.

Week 16: Pittsburgh (7-7) 24-38 Philadelphia (9-5)
A game of big plays, but the Eagles were able to make more of the plays that mattered. Hutchins (20/27-224-2-0) got good support from his receivers (Samanta 6-59-1, Burgess 4-68-1, Oskolkoff 4-90-1) and running game (Compton 20-82-1, Burnett 14-69-1), while the defence did enough to keep the Steelers offence in check.

This win came at a major cost, though, with QB Keith Hutchins suffering a broken leg late in the game. O.J. Hume will start in week 17, with Tyrus Monpoto as the #2 QB.

Our week 17 game against New York is very important, as both teams have a 10-5 record. The winner will get a first-round bye (and possibly home-field advantage), while the loser will end up as a wild card team. Not the ideal situation to have a QB making his first career start...

Week 17: New York (10-5) 37-10 Philadelphia (10-5)
The inexperience at the quarterback position really hurt us in this game - neither Hume or Monpoto were able to produce, despite good support from our running game (Compton 16-85-1, Burnett 11-72), and the Giants took full advantage.

In a very close NFC playoff race, the loss drops us to either 5th or 6th seed (depending on how the tiebreaker with Tampa Bay turns out) - we will travel to St. Louis for the wild card round. The Giants get the week off, and are seeded #2.

[MartinD]

2020 Playoffs

Wild Card Round

Our opponents for this game are the St. Louis Rams, who won the NFC West division with a 10-6 record (all six NFC playoff teams finished at either 11-5 or 10-6). This Rams team is led by their defence, with DE Benjamin Willis (13.0 sacks, 22 hurries) leading the front seven and S Larry Mayes (6 interceptions) the best player in the secondary. The offence is relatively ordinary - the passing game, with QB Phil Wickland (3,248 passing yards, 83.7 QB rating) in control, is better than the running game, where St. Louis run a 2-back system.

Apart from the obvious big injury to Hutchins, the Eagles are in reasonable shape for this game, with all other starters able to play.

The Rams won the toss, and got the ball first - their opening drive was a disaster, however, with Salerno hitting RB Wayne in the backfield, forcing a fumble. Eagles CB Ackerman recovered the ball, and took it into the endzone for a TD - 7-0 Philadelphia, with just over half a minute played. Neither offence was able to do anything with their next possession, but St. Louis got on the board with a long field goal later in the first quarter to make it 7-3. The Philadelphia offence showed some signs of life on their next drive, but the Rams defence forced a punt with the Eagles just outside of field goal range. A good Hawks punt pinned the Rams back deep in their own end at the end of the first quarter.

Philadelphia's offence started the second quarter in St. Louis territory after a short punt, and were able to get into field goal range this time (but no further) - Oden hit from 49 yards out to put the Eagles ahead by 7 once again. The Rams offence then went on the march, but stalled inside the red zone - the field goal attempt was true, making it 10-6 to Philadelphia. Neither team was able to get into scoring range before the half, so the Eagles went into the break 4 points ahead despite not producing much of a threat offensively to this point.

A 30-yard Qaderi kick return to open the third quarter gave the Eagles good field position, and a mix of Hume passes and Burnett runs put the Eagles into field goal range. The Rams came up with a sack on third down to stop the drive and push Oden back, but the veteran kicker got enough into the kick to make the resulting 50-yarder - Eagles lead 13-6 five minutes into the third quarter. Consecutive sacks of Wickland forced a punt from the Rams, but the Eagles were unable to move the ball either - in fact, neither offence mounted a significant drive for the remainder of the third quarter. Some great punting from Hawks gave Philadelphia the field position advantage, though, with the Rams starting the fourth quarter pinned back at their own 3.

Wickland was able to extricate his team from this hole, though, with a combination of accurate passing and timely scrambles - the building momentum of the drive, however, was halted by a holding penalty. After falling a couple of yards short on third down, the Rams went for 4th and 2 at the Eagles 31, but Hansen managed to force Wickland into a bad throw. The decision didn't hurt the Rams, though, as Compton fumbled on the next play, giving the Rams' offence the ball back inside field goal range. Philadelphia's offence allowed one first down, but didn't let St. Louis get any further - the resulting field goal pulled the Rams within 4 at 13-9.

With just over 7 minutes left in the game, the Eagles were able to put a bit of a drive together, taking over 4 minutes off the clock, and pinning St. Louis back deep in their own end once again. Needing to drive 98 yards in the last 2:40 for the go-ahead TD, Wickland hit one nice pass to get out of the shadow of the goalposts, but pushed for too much on his next throw and was intercepted by Eagles S Lowe. The Rams' defence gave their offence one last chance by forcing a punt, but Wickland was unable to move his team past midfield. Hume took a knee to seal the win in his first playoff start, the Eagles moving on to the Divisional Round after a 13-9 win.

It's fairly safe to say that this was not a classic - the Eagles ended up gaining only 111 total yards and 7 first downs, with the only TD of the game being scored by the Philadelphia defence. While the Rams' offence was more productive, it also made more mistakes - the Eagles special teams, particularly P Anthony Hawks (42.1 net average on 7 punts) were instrumental in keeping Philadelphia in good field position for most of the game.

The statistical standouts were all on the defensive side for Philadelphia - FS Lowe came up with the big late interception, while Salerno (1.5 sacks, 2 hurries) and Hansen (1.0 sacks, 2 hurries) were part of a very solid pass rush. The offensive stats were as unimpressive as 111 total yards would make you think, but Hume (12/17-58-0-0) did the main thing we were looking for - he didn't turn it over.

The win means that the Eagles take a trip to Carolina in the Divisional round.

Divisional Round

Carolina are a big running team, with RB Collins (1483 yards, 4.45 ypc, 11 TDs) the main threat, backed up by a solid second option of RB Mustard (874 yards, 4.65 ypc, 5 TDs). Their passing game, however, is unexceptional, with two solid veterans doing a reasonable job at QB - 5th-year QB Jim Roseman has been getting the starts late in the year, but QB Cedric Anthony is seen as a slightly better player by my scout. Outside of FL Sammie Perdue (959 yards, 7 TDs), there isn't a lot of threat from the Panthers' receivers. On the other side of the ball, Carolina have an efficient defence without any real standout performers - still good enough to be 8th in yards allowed and 5th in points allowed, so it's a good unit.

The Panthers started with the momentum despite Philadelphia getting the ball first - Hume was sacked on consecutive plays to force a punt. The Eagles defence was also able to force a stop, but only just outside field goal range - Carolina definitely on top in terms of field position early on. A three and out from Philadelphia made things worse for the Eagles, and this time Carolina took advantage - a 41-yard field goal opened the scoring. A 30-yard pass from Hume raised hopes of the Eagles offence mounting a drive, but no further progress was made, and Hawks was called on yet again to punt it away. In return, Carolina's offence put together a decent drive, but this stalled just outside of field goal range - the quarter ended with Philadelphia on their own 7 after a good Panthers punt.

The poor field position didn't hurt the Eagles too much, though, as Hume passes and runs from Burnett and Compton took the Philly offence down the field - the drive was capped by a perfectly-thrown pass from Hume to Samanta for a 30-yard TD. The Eagles defence made the 7-3 lead stand up for a little while by stuffing the Panthers on their next drive, but the Philadelphia offence was also unable to make much progress on their next drive. A perfect strike from QB Anthony to FL Perdue put Carolina back in front - the 40-yard TD pass made it 10-7, and was the last score of the second quarter.

Carolina's offence came out of the half-time break firing on all cylinders, marching the ball down the field with relative ease. RB Mustard applied the finishing touches on the drive, scoring with a 12-yard run to put his team up by 10 at 17-7. With backup QB O.J. Hume in control of the offence, this wasn't going to be easy for Philadelphia... Neither offence did much in the remainder of the third quarter, leaving the Eagles with it all to do in the fourth.

Carolina started the fourth quarter with the ball, and were moving into scoring range when backup S Qaderi picked off an Anthony pass near midfield. The turnover didn't hurt the Panthers, though, as their pass rush came through with consecutive sacks to force the Eagles back. A clock-draining drive saw the Carolina offence run over 5 minutes off the clock, but the Panthers' kicker missed a chance to extend the lead, missing a 44-yard kick short. With the Eagles now in desperation mode, Hume tried to force the ball too much, and was picked off, ending Philadelphia's last real chance of a comeback. The Panthers defence held the rest of the way, and Carolina advance to the NFC Championship Game after a 17-7 win.

Looking at the stats, it's surprising that this game was as close as 17-7 - the Eagles were totally unable to get their running game going, leading to Hume being under serious pressure virtually every time he dropped back to pass. On the other side of the ball, the Panthers RBs gained consistent yardage, allowing QB Anthony plenty of time to find his receivers.

Not a great way to end the season, but I can't say that I expected to get this far in the playoffs after the injury to Hutchins.

[MartinD]

2020 Summary


2020 Summary for Philadelphia Eagles

Year 2020
Record 11-7
Winning Pct. .611
All-Time 120-119-1
Winning Pct. .502
Playoffs 10-6
Playoff Visits 7
Bowl Wins 1
Head Coach Wesley Bandle
Record 97-62
Winning Pct. .610
Off. Coord. K. Ford
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 30.8 8 (T)
Rushing Yards 128.9 9
Yards Per Carry 4.19 16
Pass Attempts 29.6 26
Completions 20.6 12
Completion Pct. 69.4 1
Passing Yards 214.7 17
Yards Per Attempt 7.25 8
Yards Per Catch 10.44 20
Total Yardage Gained 332.6 11
3rd Down Conversions 35.7 19
Points Per Game 25.2 3
Pass Rush Pct. 8.0 13 (T)
Pass Defense Pct. 66.5 9
Turnovers 21 8
Turnover Margin +11 4

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 27.2 11 (T)
Rushing Yards 112.3 11
Yards Per Carry 4.13 13
Pass Attempts 33.9 26
Completions 20.3 19 (T)
Completion Pct. 59.8 10
Passing Yards 214.6 18
Yards Per Attempt 6.33 10 (T)
Yards Per Catch 10.60 14
Total Yardage Gained 310.9 15
3rd Down Conversions 33.5 8
Points Per Game 18.1 10
Pass Rush Pct. 5.4 2
Pass Defense Pct. 59.5 4
Turnovers 32 4

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 24 at DAL 19
2 13 at CIN 17
3 20 at NOS 13
5 40 at SEA 17
6 21 ARI 31
7 38 WAS 10
8 34 at NYK 3
9 3 at STL 14
10 27 SFO 3
11 20 DAL 26
12 27 CLE 24
13 38 DET 10
14 26 at BAL 15
15 24 at WAS 27
16 38 PIT 24
17 10 NYK 37
$$WC 13 at STL 9
$$CS 7 at CAR 17

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
18 K. Hutchins QB 444 314 3297 7.43 24 6 104.3
**Team --- 474 329 3435 7.25 25 8 100.7
$$Opp --- 542 324 3433 6.33 16 12 78.9

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
33 V. Compton RB 224 934 4.17 7 7
35 B. Prall RB 116 378 3.26 6 1
36 S. Sample RB 43 227 5.28 0 1
37 D. Sweeney RB 43 193 4.49 0 2
18 K. Hutchins QB 33 152 4.61 2 4
**Team --- 492 2063 4.19 16 25
$$Opp --- 435 1797 4.13 15 40

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
82 A. Samanta WR 110 69 722 10.46 6.56 4 2
81 K. Oskolkoff WR 80 58 867 14.95 10.84 5 5
86 D. Burgess WR 60 41 538 13.12 8.97 9 6
83 O. McIndoe WR 54 33 433 13.12 8.02 4 4
33 V. Compton RB 22 19 84 4.42 3.82 0 4
84 F. Hampton WR 33 18 220 12.22 6.67 2 1
87 T. Korzuk TE 24 17 129 7.59 5.38 1 0

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
52 D. Grove OLB 75 23 2.5 0 0 5 76.6
23 X. Wilcox S 62 26 1.5 1 2 6 81.6
51 S. Long OLB 59 18 1.0 0 2 3 78.8
21 R. Lowe S 55 19 1.0 1 1 10 81.6
27 G. Linville CB 50 11 0.0 0 2 8 77.3
91 R. Salerno DE 46 15 7.5 11 0 0 81.2
50 H. Robertson ILB 46 16 2.0 0 0 0 66.6
56 L. Schwartz ILB 44 14 0.0 0 0 3 69.7
93 C. Campbell DT 40 17 6.5 10 0 0 81.5
54 J. Small OLB 39 10 1.0 2 0 3 76.3
90 J. Hansen DE 30 13 4.0 12 0 1 81.4
97 R. Necaise DT 29 16 0.0 6 0 0 81.6
99 T. Clayton DT 28 21 9.5 3 0 0 81.4
25 J. Jordan CB 24 9 0.0 1 4 7 84.3
29 T. Wynn CB 23 6 0.0 2 1 10 82.7
22 W. Qaderi S 22 10 1.0 1 0 0 72.1
24 M. Ackerman CB 21 5 1.0 2 0 2 75.6
20 T. Chubb S 20 7 0.0 0 0 2 76.6
28 E. Polamalu CB 18 2 0.0 1 0 3 77.3


Not our best season, as the defence appeared to regress significantly this year - the run defence wasn't great, and the lack of a consistent pass rush really hurt the pass defence. On offence, things were going reasonably well until Hutchins suffered a broken leg in our week 16 game - while Hume is a respectable backup QB, he's not capable of carrying the team in the same way that Hutchins does.

2020 Awards

Only one this year - QB Keith Hutchins was voted onto the All-Pro Second Team.

Looking forward to next season...

The pressure is certainly starting to build for this team - we have a few key veterans who are on the verge of retirement (notably QB Hutchins, who's just finished his 13th year), so our window is definitely closing. We have done a decent job, however, of bringing in solid young players over the last few years, so all is not lost just yet...

[MartinD]

2021 season

Herb's evaluation for 2020: 63/100/0/80, for an overall score of 38.

The team made a loss of $123.59m on revenues of $242.63m last year - this is pretty much wholly due to the team's contribution to our stadium upgrade ($129.87m). Apart from that, the team is in reasonable financial shape, although ticket and suite revenue was down slightly due to not having a home playoff game.

Two retirements this year: S Toby Chubb, a solid veteran who played his last two years in Philadephia, and DT Christian Campbell, who played his entire career in Philadelphia.

Christian Campbell was the fifth overall pick in the 2009 draft, my first year as GM of the franchise, and turned out to be everything that you would expect from a high draft pick. He was the anchor of our defensive line for 12 seasons, starting 177 games, and was both solid against the run (505 tackles, 10.4 tackle %) and a useful pass-rusher (59.5 sacks, 110 hurries, 4.8% pass rush %). While he made only one All-Pro team (was a 1st Team DT in 2016), he was one of our best defensive players for his entire career, and will be very hard to replace.

Staff hiring

I'm not trying to be boring in this section, but no changes again - I'm very happy with the coaching and scouting staff in place. Head coach Wesley Bandle and co-ordinators J.C. Clemons and Kent Ford are all out of contract next year, though.

Pre-Free Agency

We start the season with 39 players signed and $32.66m of a $179.8m salary cap free. We have our standard one pick in each round - these range from 23rd to 27th, with our first-rounder being 1.26 - with an expected rookie signing cost of $7.77m.

Quite a few free agents this year:
RB Shane Sample (10th year, 33/33) - mid-season injury cover, won't be resigned
RB Chad Burnett (6th year, 29/29) - mid-season injury cover, won't be resigned
SE Josh Musial (8th year, 32/32) - likely to be our sixth receiver this year, so we may let him go
LT Roger Lindsay (5th year, 23/47) - has been decent in limited action, but simply isn't developing - probably won't try to resign
RT Norman Huffman (13th year, 44/44) - has been a great servant to the franchise, but is only going to be a backup if we bring him back
P Anthony Hawks (10th year, 60/60) - was an improvement over the guys we had before, but still only competent rather than good - will bring him back at minsal only
K Matt Oden (15th year, 65/65) - still a very solid kicker, and will be franchised
MLB Les Schwartz (10th year, 48/48) - has been replaced as our starting MLB, but would be a good guy to bring back as a backup/special teamer
SLB Rickey Rayburn (8th year, 13/13) - still one of the best special teams guys in the league - will resign for minsal
FS Wade Qaderi (5th year, 34/34) - would like to bring him back, but he wasn't happy at the end of last year

We also have a few restricted free agents:
RB Dominic Sweeney (4th year, 30/37) - a guy who's been solid for us, but will miss pretty much the entire season with the injury he suffered last year
TE Harold Galloway (3rd year, 35/44) - decent receiver, good special teamer - will resign him
SE Freddie Hampton (3rd year, 35/35) - a useful 4th or 5th receiver - will resign him
RCB Matthew Ackerman (4th year, 37/45) - it's always a good idea to have reasonable depth at DB, and this is the sort of guy you need for that - will resign him

We have a few guys who would benefit from a bit of time in Europe over the summer - LBs Robertson and Small, and CB Wynn are the obvious candidates, in my opinion. While Robertson is already the most developed of the three, he's also the one who's going to get the most playing time (he's our starting MLB, while the other guys don't start and get most of their playing time in nickel sets), so Robertson is the guy to get the call.

No change to ticket prices this year - still at 50/60/80/100/240/100,000.

[MartinD]

2021 Free Agency

This year's free agency started with signing K Oden to a longer-term deal and getting the restricted free agents under contract.

K Matt Oden - $9.60m over 3 years (a bit of a risk for a guy in his 15th year, but he's performed well enough in past years to deserve it)
TE Harold Galloway - $860k over 1 year (3rd year guy, so will be restricted next year too)
SE Freddie Hampton - $860k over 1 year
RCB Matthew Ackerman - $3.66m over 3 years

These deals leave us with $18.37m of cap room (after allowing for the expected cost of signing draft picks) and 43 players signed. We do have a few areas that need some attention:

RB: An upgrade at starter would be nice, but need at least one more guy here
TE: We have three respectable guys, but no stand-out to start for us
OL: Need someone to start at LT, and some additional depth at T and G
P: Want to either bring Hawks back or sign someone else who can do a solid job for us
DT: I could live with starting Necaise and Clayton, but would be good to bring in another starting-calibre guy
LB: We're fairly well set for starters, but depth is needed
S: We have two solid starters in Wilcox and Lowe, but no-one behind them

Looking down the roster, we also have quite a few guys in the last year of their current deals:
QB Keith Hutchins (14th year, 81/81) - the backbone of our offence - think our best bet is to franchise him next year (as he could retire at pretty much any time...)
FL Derrick Burgess (9th year, 54/54) - has been a useful contributor, but should be replacable - don't like giving extensions to guys on the decline
RG Melvin Fau (4th year, 63/63) - solid starter who's worth giving a decent extension to
LDT Reggie Necaise (6th year, 45/45) - borderline starter who's never going to produce big numbers, but is a good guy to have on the D-line
SS Xavier Wilcox (4th year, 75/75) - has been a bit injury-prone, and is never going to be great in coverage, but is an important player on this defence.

Fau signs an extension worth $20.8m over 5 years, with Necaise getting $11.8m over 4 years and Wilcox $34.0m over 4 years - these moves leave us with $8.63m of cap room free to use in free agency. With 43 players signed and seven draft picks, there is a bit of freedom to look at what's available in free agency.

The first move we make in free agency is to make an offer to P Anthony Hawks - $3.18m over 2 years is minsal plus a small bonus, which is reasonable for Hawks. He signs in week 5. Rickey Rayburn is also brought back for a year on a minsal contract for 1 year - that's all we do in free agency, though, as there are no young players I feel are worth spending the money that would be needed to bring them in.

[MartinD]

2021 Draft

We have our standard allocation of seven picks this year, ranging from 23rd to 27th in the round - our first-round pick is 1.26. This is a fairly strong draft, though, so we should have a chance of picking up a quality player even that low down. The teams up the top, though, have a couple of franchise-calibre QBs to go after (although both look a bit raw...)

Almost inevitably, the QBs go 1-2 (Washington get a guy who may be a superstar in Justin Hanks - his 12/83 rating suggests that he'll need a couple of years to develop, though, and he may struggle to get playing time behind a solid QB who was picked in the top 5 last year...) After a relatively long wait (in which quite a few solid-looking defensive linemen are taken), the Eagles get on the clock, with the following guys looking like possible selections at this point:

RB Sammie Peterson (5.7/6.0) - a bit raw and doesn't have great endurance, but looks like the real deal apart from that
TE Charlie Kelley (5.4/4.7) - maybe a bit early to take a raw prospect like this, but a solid all-round prospect
LT Phillip Webster (4.8/5.3) - not the prototypical left tackle, but a solid run blocker who would step straight in and start
LT Emmanuel Lester (4.4/4.8) - raw, but looks like the best tackle prospect remaining
RDE Mel Manning (5.2/5.7) - not a need position and an undersized DE, but definitely a quality prospect
RDT Chuck Cooley (5.7/6.2) - a guy who probably won't ever be a full-time starter, but a good run-stopper who should be able to contribute from the start
SLB Jack Malone (5.3/5.1) - again, not a need position, but a very solid all-round linebacker (could play inside, too, which raises possibilities of 3-4...)
SS Wesley McNeil (5.5/5.2) - good coverage safety, but not a position where we need a starter
SS Butch Harvey (5.3/5.0) - will need time to develop, but projects as a top-end starter

While there are better players (in terms of value) out there, I feel that we need to fill that gaping hole at LT before looking at other positions. While Webster is more ready to play, I see Lester as the better long-term prospect - pick 1.26 is used on LT Emmanuel Lester, who rates at 21/65 immediately after the pick (which looks fairly respectable at this point).

Inevitably, the guys I was looking at start to come off the board right away:

1.27 - RB Sammie Peterson (50/62)
1.31 - DT Chuck Cooley (33/53) - decent player, but probably not great value as a first-rounder
2.8 - SS Wesley McNeil (40/65)
2.17 - RDE Mel Manning (27/63) - very good value at this point, particularly after taking a lesser player at DE in the first round

This means that a few of the guys I was considering with the first-round pick are still on the board. TE Kelley is the best player at a position of need, but I really like the look of SLB Malone, particularly as we don't have a lot of depth at linebacker (and Shannon Long is going into his 10th season). Pick 2.25 is used on SLB Jack Malone, who is initially rated at 29/67 - looks like a guy who can be a quality backup this year, and work his way into the starting lineup over the next couple of years. I really like the value from this pick, as I would have been happy to take him at 1.26 if linebacker was a bigger need.

I did consider trading up to get one of the other players I was looking at, but decided to wait a little. Unfortunately, SS Harvey is taken at 2.27, and looks like an absolute steal at that point (rated at 25/82). With TE Kelley being the only starter-quality TE remaining on the board, I decide to make a trade - Tampa Bay accept the Eagles second-round pick next year for pick 3.6, which we use to take TE Charlie Kelley - initial impressions suggest that the trade was worthwhile, with Kelley rated at 29/69. If this rating holds up, this may finally be the solution to our problem TE position...

LT Phillip Webster is finally taken at 3.8, and looks like a very solid pick at that spot with an initial rating of 28/59.

Our original third-round pick comes round at 3.24, and we still have a few areas that need to be addressed - a potential starter at running back would be very useful, youth at wide receiver is a longer-term need, while we still need depth on the offensive and pretty much all the way through on defence. Possibilities are:

RB Sammie Shipman (4.4/4.7) - not all that fast or strong, but a guy who looks like he's going to be productive nevertheless
FL Rondell Vance (4.6/4.8) - very much a possession receiver, but has good hands and will go over the middle - would be a good complement to the guys we have
RG Ross Conway (5.1/4.8) - will struggle with pass-blocking, but a strong run-blocker
LT Steven England (4.8/5.3) - while I've already taken a guy at this position, this is a guy who projects as a solid backup at worst
LDE Winfred Sticha (4.7/5.2) - big defensive end who could play inside - more of a pure pass-rusher, though, so would be a situational guy in our rotation
LDT Scott McNown (4.6/5.0) - not the strongest, but solid against the run and a good reader of the play - looks like a guy who could develop into a starter
ILB Erik Shannon (4.6/4.5) - solid inside linebacker, particularly good in coverage (a good fit for us, as starting MLB Robertson isn't all that good against the pass)

Again, it looks like there are a lot of players who would be solid value here, so trading for another third-rounder might be a very good move. Most of the guys in the list above are a fair bit of the way down the list at their position. This pick is used on ILB Erik Shannon, as I feel that he's most likely to be taken in the next few picks - an initial rating of 22/60 isn't quite what I expected (thought he was a bit more developed than that), but we'll have to wait and see how he turns out.

Guys coming off the board in the next few picks:
3.29 LT Steven England (22/45)
4.8 FL Rondell Vance (19/55)
4.15 RG Ross Conway (21/56)

I managed to resist the temptation to trade another of next year's picks to go after one of the guys on the list above - I'm a little surprised that I still have quite a few to choose from at this point. As RB is the biggest need (it's as simple as we really need a guy who can start for us), the pick at 4.23 is Sammie Shipman - initial rating is 31/48, which suggests that he may well be our starter come opening day.

A big run on offensive linemen means that the two defensive linemen I was looking at fall into the middle of the fifth round, so I decide to give up our fourth-round pick next year to acquire pick 5.7 from San Francisco. This pick is used on DT Scott McNown, who comes in with a rating of 19/59 - looks like he should be a solid backup at the least. DE Sticha is taken at 5.24 (rated at 24/42, so think I may have gone with the right guy here...)

As usual, the last few picks go on depth - 5.27 is used to take SS Kelly Lynn (18/54) - must have been hard growing up when your parents have lumbered you with two girls' names... Our pick at 6.26 is SE Fred Jurkiewicz (19/34), who will compete for the sixth receiver slot, and 7.25 goes on our annual developmental QB prospect, QB Jay Griffin (16/42).

A slightly bigger draft than we initially had in mind, but it certainly seemed to be a pretty deep group of guys this year - will just have to wait and see if trading a couple of next year's picks was worthwhile...

Rookie signing goes fairly well - only first-round pick Lester and sixth-rounder Jurkiewicz decide to wait on a better offer. (Not sure why Fred decided not to sign - if he's going to cause problems, it's not a big loss simply to not bother to sign him...)

[MartinD]

2021 Late Free Agency

A few rookie free agents to go after here...

QB Otis Zaiser (16/44) - $1.22m over 2 years (minsal with minimal bonus) - signed week 3
RB Earnest McIndoe (30/47) - $1.22m over 2 years - signed week 1
RB Jumbo Marceau (32/41) - $1.22m over 2 years (with the intention of moving to receiver - changed ratings to 13/45) - signed week 1
FB Cris Lane (32/52) - $1.22m over 2 years - signed week 1
SE Dominic Weintraub (20/52) - $1.22m over 2 years - signed week 3
RT Martin Brooks (22/47) - $1.22m over 2 years - signed week 2
LDT Julio Hartman (21/45) - $1.22m over 2 years - signed week 2
ILB Albert Gaines (20/43) - $510k over 1 year - signed week 1
SS Shawn McGuire (19/41) - $1.22m over 2 years - signed week 1

Lester and Jurkiewicz sign their rookie deals, and we head to training camp.

Players before and after camp

Acquired Before After Change
QB Otis Zaiser FA 16/44 17/46 +1/+2
QB Jay Griffin 7.26 16/42 15/40 -1/-2
RB Earnest McIndoe FA 30/47 30/45 0/-2
RB Sammie Shipman 4.23 31/48 30/42 -1/-6
FB Cris Lane FA 32/52 33/51 +1/-1
TE Charlie Kelley 3.6 29/69 32/71 +3/+2
FL Jumbo Marceau FA 13/45 13/39 0/-6
FL Dominic Weintraub FA 20/52 21/48 +1/-4
SE Fred Jurkiewicz 6.26 19/34 21/32 +2/-2
LT Emmanuel Lester 1.26 21/65 20/60 -1/-5
RT Martin Brooks FA 22/47 23/44 +1/-3
RDT Julio Hartman FA 21/45 23/44 +2/-1
RDT Scott McNown 5.7 19/59 20/51 +1/-8
MLB Erik Shannon 3.24 22/60 24/50 +2/-10
MLB Albert Gaines FA 20/43 21/41 +1/-2
SLB Jack Malone 2.25 29/67 30/58 +1/-9
SS Kelly Lynn 5.27 18/54 18/48 0/-6
FS Shawn McGuire FA 19/41 19/41 0/0


A bit of a mixed bag, with first-round pick Lester particularly disappointing - we may be in trouble at left tackle this season... There are some bits of good news, though - in particular, TE Kelley looks like he's going to be a very good player.

[MartinD]

2021 Roster

We take 63 players to camp this year, so a few cuts to be made.


Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntr
Hutchins, Keith 18 QB 14 83 83 1
Hume, O.J. 15 QB 5 38 45 2
Monpoto, Tyrus 11 QB 3 20 43 1
Froehlich, Reggie 14 QB 2 11 30 2
Zaiser, Otis 16 QB 1 17 46 2
Griffin, Jay 17 QB 1 15 40 3

My usual is to take 4 QBs into the season, so two cuts here. Froelich hasn't
shown any signs of developing into anything more than a career third-stringer,
so will be the first cut, and I like Zaiser more than Griffin at this point.

Compton, Vince 33 RB 3 32 37 2
Prall, Bo 35 RB 2 26 35 1
McIndoe, Earnest 32 RB 1 30 45 2
Shipman, Sammie 30 RB 1 30 42 4
Boswell, Randall 39 FB 3 31 41 1
Lane, Cris 31 FB 1 33 51 2

I'm happy with the four backs on the roster (although it will be interesting to
see who gets the start on opening day - Shipman didn't have as good a camp
as I had been hoping for), but Boswell will make way for Lane at fullback.

Korzuk, Tony 87 TE 10 20 20 1
Galloway, Harold 80 TE 3 34 34 1
Broderick, Sedrick 89 TE 2 31 44 2
Kelley, Charlie 88 TE 1 32 71 3

One to cut here - Korzuk is the lowest-rated, but is a mentor (handy when
you have young guys to develop) and a good long-snapper. That means that
Galloway is the guy to be cut here (his conflict with Korzuk didn't exactly help
his cause here...)

Samanta, Antoine 82 FL 11 46 46 2
Burgess, Derrick 86 FL 9 52 52 1
Marceau, Jumbo 19 FL 1 13 39 2
Weintraub, Dominic 85 FL 1 21 48 2
Oskolkoff, K.C. 81 SE 7 49 49 3
Hampton, Freddie 84 SE 3 32 32 1
McIndoe, Orlando 83 SE 2 30 43 2
Jurkiewicz, Fred 13 SE 1 21 32 3

Eight receivers, and I'll take 6 into the season. Marceau was an experiment
which didn't work out - nothing ventured, nothing gained, but unfortunately,
there were no gains here. The other cut is a bit tricky, as I like both
Weintaub and Jurkiewicz - Hampton has been a contributor, but is never going
to be more than a 5th receiver for this team (while he's a decent punt
returner, we have one of the all-time greats in Samanta to do that job).

Barber, Willie 61 C 5 73 73 2
Hewko, Leo 63 C 2 29 53 2
Martin, Zack 68 LG 11 69 69 2
Welker, Jumbo 67 LG 3 33 46 1
Fau, Melvin 65 RG 4 64 64 5
Bishop, Gabe 79 LT 3 27 43 2
Lester, Emmanuel 75 LT 1 20 60 4
Fortmann, Andy 76 RT 6 39 39 2
Skupin, Leo 77 RT 3 60 60 2
Brooks, Martin 69 RT 1 23 44 2

The split here would normally be two centers, four guards and four tackles,
but I can live with 2/3/5 - no changes here. Left tackle is going to be a
problem spot, though...

Hawks, Anthony 5 P 10 61 61 2
Oden, Matt 2 K 15 54 54 3

Two rock-solid veterans makes the kicking specialist positions very easy to
deal with...

Hansen, Juan 90 LDE 6 50 50 2
Sanderson, Bernard 92 LDE 5 31 50 2
Salerno, Rod 91 RDE 7 90 90 5
Flannery, Spencer 94 RDE 4 42 42 1
Necaise, Reggie 97 LDT 6 46 46 4
Clayton, Toby 99 LDT 5 56 56 2
Skeen, Joel 96 RDT 2 24 37 2
Hartman, Julio 93 RDT 1 23 44 2
McNown, Scott 98 RDT 1 20 51 3

The defensive ends are set, but one DT is going to have to go. The two
rookies have decent upside, so Skeen is the odd man out here.

Robertson, Horace 50 MLB 2 62 64 3
Shannon, Erik 56 MLB 1 24 50 4
Gaines, Albert 57 MLB 1 21 41 1
Rayburn, Rickey 55 SLB 8 13 13 1
Grove, Daniel 52 SLB 7 42 42 2
Malone, Jack 53 SLB 1 30 58 3
Long, Shannon 51 WLB 10 56 56 2
Poston, Marshall 59 WLB 2 19 40 1
Small, Justin 54 WLB 2 42 61 3

Two fairly straightforward cuts here - Poston is the fifth OLB and isn't going
to contribute in any other way, while an undrafted rookie like Gaines is always
going to struggle to unseat a high-drafted rookie like Shannon.

Jordan, Jerome 25 LCB 9 80 80 3
Wynn, Thurman 29 LCB 2 41 59 3
Polamalu, Ellis 28 RCB 5 35 35 2
Linville, Grady 27 RCB 5 54 54 2
Ackerman, Matthew 24 RCB 4 39 39 3
Wilcox, Xavier 23 SS 4 75 75 4
Lynn, Kelly 26 SS 1 18 48 3
Lowe, Raymond 21 FS 3 52 52 1
McGuire, Shawn 20 FS 1 19 41 2

No changes here, as I normally carry 9 guys in the defensive secondary.



The cuts detailed above leave us with 54 players on the roster - the last cut is RB Bo Prall, a guy who would only contribute if he was getting a reasonable number of carries (the other RBs are decent special-teamers).

[MartinD]

2021 Preseason

Week 2: Jacksonville 20-6 Philadelphia
Not much offence here, but that probably shouldn't come as a shock given I was playing most of the backups, including the two young QBs.

Week 3: Philadelphia 27-17 Cleveland
Better on offence, with Monpoto running the offence better. DE Flannery had a solid game here, and was MVP after posting a sack, 4 hurries and a couple of knockdowns.

Week 4: Philadelphia 10-0 Tennessee
Tight defensive game, but the offence just about managed to put enough points on the board. Defensively, things went very well, putting consistent pressure on the Titans' QBs and giving up very little yardage.

Week 5: Cincinnati 21-3 Philadelphia
The starters go back in to shake off the rust - looks like there was plenty of rust to shake off!

A few injuries, but none to starters - backups C Hewko and CB Ackerman will miss about a month, while FL Weintraub is gone for the year after tearing a triceps.

[MartinD]

2021 Season

Week 1: Philadelphia 23-13 Washington
Good solid start to the year, with Hutchins (23/29-241-2-0) spreading the ball about with some success. On defence, the run defence wasn't as good as it could have been, but the Redskins never really looked like staying close once the Eagles went ahead.

Week 2: Philadelphia (1-0) 24-34 Denver (1-0)
Tough game on the road, with the Denver offence pretty much having its way with our defence, racking up 440 total yards, including 187 on the ground at over 6.5 yards per carry. The Eagles offence was solid (Hutchins was 33/44-241-2-0), but couldn't do enough to keep up with the Broncos.

We're starting to look a little light at receiver at this point, with SE McIndoe pretty much out for the year after needing shoulder surgery. With only 4 receivers on the roster (and Samanta playing through a thumb injury), reinforcements are required - SE Grady Sullivan (4th year, 31/31) is the guy added to the roster.

Week 3: Philadelphia (1-1) 27-3 Detroit (2-0)
The last of three straight road games to open the season goes about as well as could be expected - solid offensive performance, led by Hutchins (24/29-223-1-0) as usual, with the defence doing a good job of keeping the Lions in check.

Week 4: Atlanta (0-3) 10-17 Philadelphia (2-1)
Just a light breeze for this game - only 59mph... Unsurprisingly, it was a scrappy game, with the Falcons coming back from 10-0 behind to tie the game with 74 seconds left, then getting the ball back with a chance to win the game - Jordan's sack and forced fumble (his third of the day) took the game the other way, though, with Wilcox taking it back for the winning score.

Week 5: New Orleans (3-1) 21-27 Philadelphia (3-1)
A game with playoff implications, as the Saints are usually there or there abouts in the NFC. A big game from Keith Hutchins (22/27-261-2-0, plus a TD on the ground) was the difference, although the Saints had a couple of chances to go ahead in the last few minutes of the game.

Week 6: Philadelphia (4-1) 10-17 Carolina (3-2)
Not our best offensive game, with very little in the way of yardage or big plays - the defence played a solid game, but wasn't able to pick up the slack.

Week 7: Philadelphia (4-2) 24-34 Tampa Bay (3-3)
Another tough game, this time for the defence as the Bucs moved the ball at will both on the ground and through the air. Hutchins (21/31-252-3-1) did his best, with Samanta (8-119-1) his main target, but the offence wasn't able to keep up in a shootout.

Week 8: New York (3-3) 10-16 Philadelphia (4-3) (OT)
Big overtime win here - the Giants tied the game just after halfway through the fourth quarter, and had the better of the chances to score through the rest of the fourth quarter and for most of overtime - two interceptions kept the Eagles in it. Hutchins (33/46-335-2-0) took advantage of the reprieve by finding Oskolkoff for the winning TD with 71 seconds left of the fifth quarter.

C Willie Barber picked up an elbow injury in this game - he'll hopefully return in time for the last game or two of the regular season.

Mid-season summary


Year 2021
Record 5-3
Winning Pct. .625
All-Time 125-122-1
Winning Pct. .506
Playoffs 10-6
Playoff Visits 7
Bowl Wins 1
Head Coach Wesley Bandle
Record 102-65
Winning Pct. .610
Off. Coord. K. Ford
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 27.0 20
Rushing Yards 107.1 20
Yards Per Carry 3.97 21
Pass Attempts 35.8 5
Completions 25.0 1
Completion Pct. 69.9 3
Passing Yards 247.4 3
Yards Per Attempt 6.92 11
Yards Per Catch 9.90 24
Total Yardage Gained 349.4 5
3rd Down Conversions 39.8 18
Points Per Game 21.0 10
Pass Rush Pct. 13.5 20
Pass Defense Pct. 34.1 29
Turnovers 13 20 (T)
Turnover Margin -3 22 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 27.9 14
Rushing Yards 118.6 21
Yards Per Carry 4.26 22
Pass Attempts 32.6 19
Completions 21.6 30
Completion Pct. 66.3 28
Passing Yards 214.8 19
Yards Per Attempt 6.58 15
Yards Per Catch 9.93 6
Total Yardage Gained 315.3 17
3rd Down Conversions 41.0 18
Points Per Game 17.8 14
Pass Rush Pct. 11.8 5 (T)
Pass Defense Pct. 25.5 3
Turnovers 10 18 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 23 at WAS 13
2 24 at DEN 34
3 27 at DET 3
4 17 ATL 10
5 27 NOS 21
6 10 at CAR 17
7 24 at TBY 34
8 16 NYK 10
9 WAS
10 at DAL
12 at KCY
13 SEA
14 OAK
15 at NYK
16 SDO
17 DAL

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
18 K. Hutchins QB 286 200 1979 6.92 13 3 99.9
**Team --- 286 200 1979 6.92 13 3 99.9
$$Opp --- 261 173 1718 6.58 7 5 85.7

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
30 S. Shipman RB 83 336 4.05 1 4
32 E. McIndoe RB 65 236 3.63 2 3
33 V. Compton RB 47 225 4.79 0 2
18 K. Hutchins QB 21 60 2.86 1 3
**Team --- 216 857 3.97 4 17
$$Opp --- 223 949 4.26 9 14

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
81 K. Oskolkoff WR 76 48 565 11.77 7.43 9 6
82 A. Samanta WR 55 41 477 11.63 8.67 2 4
86 D. Burgess WR 51 27 343 12.70 6.73 7 2
88 C. Kelley TE 21 18 97 5.39 4.62 0 1
31 C. Lane FB 13 12 62 5.17 4.77 1 0
33 V. Compton RB 11 11 43 3.91 3.91 0 0
30 S. Shipman RB 12 11 80 7.27 6.67 0 0
84 F. Jurkiewicz WR 20 10 132 13.20 6.60 3 0
87 T. Korzuk TE 8 8 39 4.88 4.88 0 0

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
23 X. Wilcox S 56 15 0.0 0 0 1 76.5
50 H. Robertson ILB 49 10 1.0 1 1 1 66.2
53 J. Malone OLB 38 14 0.5 0 1 1 74.5
25 J. Jordan CB 36 2 1.0 0 0 8 76.2
21 R. Lowe S 28 5 0.0 1 0 1 71.7
27 G. Linville CB 25 5 1.0 0 0 3 74.3
51 S. Long OLB 18 12 0.0 0 0 2 79.9
99 T. Clayton DT 18 5 4.5 6 0 0 80.2
29 T. Wynn CB 18 7 0.5 0 2 1 79.0
91 R. Salerno DE 17 9 6.5 9 0 0 82.5
54 J. Small OLB 17 10 2.0 3 0 0 77.6
93 J. Hartman DT 15 7 0.5 4 0 0 81.9
90 J. Hansen DE 13 7 3.5 5 0 1 80.7
97 R. Necaise DT 11 3 1.5 0 0 0 82.5
20 S. McGuire S 11 3 0.0 0 0 0 64.5


While the offence has been pretty solid so far, the defence has struggled - both against the run and the pass. The RB by committee approach seems to be working fairly well, but all of the guys are putting the ball on the ground too often.

[MartinD]

Week 9: Washington (3-5) 10-22 Philadelphia (5-3)
Good solid performance against this year's bottom team in the NFC East. Hutchins (30/35-269-1-0) was the driving force for the offence, with CB Linville scoring on an interception return for a TD.

Week 10: Philadelphia (6-3) 21-20 Dallas (7-2)
A big game to win on the road against our biggest rival for this year's divisional title - Hutchins (28/40-245-3-0) threw his third TD pass of the day, a 17-yarder to Burgess, with 2.54 left for the go-ahead score.

Another injury this week - DE Rod Salerno will miss the next month after picking up a knee injury.

Week 11: Bye (finally!)

Week 12: Philadelphia (7-3) 18-28 Kansas City (3-7)
Not our best defensive effort, as the Chiefs were able to rack up over 200 yards on the ground. Hutchins (23/38-279-1-1) was solid as usual, but couldn't do everything by himself. Not the sort of game we needed after the big win over Dallas...

Week 13: Seattle (7-4) 10-27 Philadelphia (7-4)
This one can be described as 'the one where our running game woke up'... RBs Shipman (27-120-2) and McIndoe (10-67) provided the platform, and Hutchins (25/32-252-1-0) did the rest.

Week 14: Oakland (9-3) 14-17 Philadelphia (8-4)
Two TD passes from Hutchins (33/39-247-2-1), the second to Oskolkoff with less than 5 minutes left, gave the Eagles the lead late in the game - the defence was able to hold strong to preserve the lead, and seal a very important victory.

Starting CB Grady Linville is our latest injury victim, but should be back in time for the playoffs - now all we have to do is make sure that we have a game for him to play in!

Week 15: Philadelphia (9-4) 31-26 New York (7-6)
Not quite as close as the score may suggest, as the Giants scored a consolation TD as time expired. This game was a case of taking advantage of the opportunities that came our way - the offence put a lot of points on the board, but many of these came after taking advantage of great field position provided by the defence.

A minor emergency in the defensive backfield sees us having to pick up a guy to play corner at very short notice - Raymond Madison (8th year, 32/32) is in to cover for short-term injuries to Jordan, Linville and Ackerman.

Week 16: San Diego (5-9) 14-30 Philadelphia (10-4)
It's not a good idea to play a good passing team with a banged-up secondary, and it showed early on as the Chargers put two quick TDs on the board. The Eagles responded brilliantly to adversity, though, with Hutchins (30/40-360-1-1) and Samanta (12-209-1) leading the offence to 30 unanswered points and the defence keeping San Diego off the board the rest of the way. (Debutant CB Madison finished with 5 tackles, 1 pass defence and an interception, by the way...)

Going into week 17, the Eagles are one game up on Dallas (10-5) in the division, but play the Cowboys in week 17. We're assured of a playoff spot whatever happens, though - the second wild card is currently at 9-6, so we're going to be #5 seed at worst. A win would give us a (much-needed) week off, though...

Week 17: Dallas (10-5) 31-38 Philadelphia (11-4)
This would have been a great game for the neutral to watch... A couple of early Hutchins TD passes were offset by 17 Dallas points in the first half, with Dallas QB White also throwing two TD passes. The aerial duel continued into the second half - Hutchins to Burgess , 7 yard TD pass to put the Eagles up 21-17, Dallas reply with another White TD pass (24-21), Hutchins to Oskolkoff (28-24), White's 4th TD of the day (31-28 with less than 4 minutes left). Hutchins (27/33-315-5-0) threw his 5th TD of the game, finding Burgess with a 9-yard pass to put the Eagles ahead for good just before the two-minute warning, and Oden added an insurance field goal to complete the scoring. While Hutchins was the star, Oskolkoff also had a big day (7-105-3).

The win secures another NFC East division title, and gives us a week off as #2 seeds (San Francisco finished 13-3 to take home-field advantage) - a lot of our injured players are recovered or will be healthy after the bye, so things could be a lot worse heading into the postseason...

[MartinD]

2021 playoffs

Divisional round

Chicago, NFC North champions, win their wild-card game to earn a trip to play the Eagles in Philadelphia.

The Bears won a very weak NFC North with an 8-8 record - this was a significant improvement on previous years, though, as they drafted #2 overall last year. That pick was used on a very solid QB who is unfortunately injured - the backup, Will Sherry, is a former top-5 pick who turned into a relatively mediocre journeyman. Their top RB, Claude Donovan, missed most of the season with a knee injury, but is now healthy. On defence, the strength is the line, with four solid players fronting their 4-3.

Chicago got the ball first and put a nice drive together, but stalled in the red zone and settled for a field goal. Neither team was able to do much with the ball for the rest of the first quarter, but the Eagles got things going at the start of the second, with Hutchins leading a smooth drive downfield before finding Burgess in the endzone from 2 yards out - the point after was blocked, but the Eagles led for the first time at 6-3. Each team went three and out on their next possession, but the Bears got a big special teams play, taking Hawks' punt back 81 yards for a TD - 10-6 Chicago. Philadelphia responded in the best way possible, though, putting together a 65-yard TD drive, topped off by a 20-yard Hutchins to Burgess TD, to retake the lead at 13-10 going into the half.

Getting the ball first in the second half, the Eagles continued where they left off in the first half, driving the ball smoothly downfield, with Hutchins again finding Burgess in the endzone, this time from 4 yards out. Now up 20-10, this was more like how things were expected to go. The Bears didn't give up hope, though, putting together another decent drive deep into Eagles territory. The Philadelphia defence made a stand, though, forcing a short field goal after facing first and goal at the 2 - Chicago now within a score, but 20-13 is a lot better position than 20-17...

Into the fourth quarter, traditionally where the Eagles have been able to keep hold of leads in playoff games. Hutchins continued to spread the ball around, finding four different receivers and handing off to each of the three RBs on a time-consuming drive to open the fourth quarter. A holding penalty meant that the drive stalled in the red zone, but Oden put his field goal try through from 26 yards to extend the lead to 10. After forcing the Bears to punt, the Philadelphia offence just kept on grinding the clock, taking almost five minutes to drive for another Oden field goal, this time from 30 yards - 26-13 Eagles with less than 3 minutes to play.

Great coverage on the kickoff meant that Chicago started their next drive from their own 12 - forced into the deep pass, Sherry held the ball a little too long, and was sacked by Salerno for a safety. Now 28-13 up, the Eagles were able to run out the clock to seal the victory.

Keith Hutchins continued his strong regular season form into the playoffs, hitting on 30 of 37 passes for 221 yards and 3 TDs, although he did throw an interception. Derrick Burgess was his favourite target on the day, catching 6 balls for 64 yards and the three TDs. There were no defensive standouts (although Salerno's sack for a safety was a highlight) in a solid all-round defensive performance, with Chicago only able to gain 128 yards and 6 first downs on offence.

With the 49ers also winning, the road to the Bowl game runs through San Francisco. We'll be playing this game without leading receiver Antoine Samanta, though, as he strained his Achilles during the Chicago game.

NFC Championship Game

The Eagles travel to San Francisco to face the NFC West champion 49ers, who are the NFC's standout team this year. Their offence is normally led by QB Turnage and RB Ellis (particularly Ellis, a 3rd year back who is one of the best in the league), but both are injured - Ellis is definitely out of this game, but Turnage will probably try to play despite a thumb ligament injury. Without these guys, the 49ers will rely even more on the league's best defence (least yards allowed (255.6/game), least rushing yards (88.9), least passing yards (182.3), least points per game (14.6)), led by DEs Jacques (11 sacks) and Landrum (10.5 sacks, 28 hurries), with young CB Terrell leading a talented secondary.

Defences were definitely on top starting out in this game, with both teams going three and out on their first possession. A Necaise sack/forced fumble/recovery gave the Eagles good field position, but that 49ers defence was able to snuff out the danger, forcing another three and out. San Francisco made up for the earlier error by putting together a nice solid drive, with Turnage finishing it off on a 15-yard TD pass - 7-0 49ers late in the first quarter.

After forcing another three and out from the Eagles, the 49ers went downtown on their next drive, Turnage hitting a 61-yard TD pass to double his team's lead early in the second. A short kickoff gave the Eagles good field position, but Hutchins continued to struggle against a strong defence, throwing an interception when the Eagles looked like threatening. The rest of the quarter was about field position, with the Eagles finally managing to get on the board at the two-minute warning after forcing the 49ers back over a number of drives - Oden kicking a 42-yard field goal to make it 14-3 at the half. At this point, the Eagles had managed all of one first down and only 48 total yards - lots to think about in the locker room over the interval...

The half-time team talk seemed to pay off, as Philadelphia's offence came out with a good drive to start the second half - the 49ers defence tightened things up in the red zone, though, forcing another Oden field goal try - the veteran kicker made the kick from 31 yards to pull the Eagles back to 14-6 down. Not to be outdone by the offence, the defence came up with another turnover - a Robertson sack forced another turnover from Turnage, with Hansen recovering the fumble. That San Francisco defence held strong once again, though, pushing Philadelphia back and forcing a punt. The 49ers ended the quarter with the ball, having changed the field position by putting together a solid drive up towards midfield.

The Eagles started the fourth quarter in the shadow of their own goalposts, but were able to get out of their own end - the drive stalled near midfield, but a good Hawks punt pinned the 49ers back. The San Francisco offence sensed an opportunity, though, and drove the length of the field - backup RB Sganga scoring with a 3-yard run to put the 49ers up by two scores at 20-6 with only three minutes left. Hutchins was able to mount a scoring drive, finding Sullivan with a 14-yard TD pass with 88 seconds left, but the onside kick failed, and the 49ers ran out the clock to seal a 20-13 win.

The score may suggest that this was a close game, but the 49ers were dominant in pretty much every phase of the game - in particular, their defence made it very tough for the Eagles to move the ball on offence (Hutchins finished with 19/27-160-1-2, probably his worst stat line of the year). The Philadelphia defence tried their best to keep the Eagles in it, and made a number of big plays, but were not able to stop the 49ers offence when it mattered.

The 49ers' offensive injury problems finally caught up with them in the Bowl game, Baltimore coming out on top by a score of 23-3.

[MartinD]

2021 Season Summary


Front Office Football 2007
2021 Summary for Philadelphia Eagles

Year 2021
Record 13-5
Winning Pct. .722
All-Time 132-123-1
Winning Pct. .517
Playoffs 11-7
Playoff Visits 8
Bowl Wins 1
Head Coach Wesley Bandle
Record 110-67
Winning Pct. .621
Off. Coord. K. Ford
Def. Coord. J. Clemons

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 27.6 16
Rushing Yards 111.0 18
Yards Per Carry 4.03 19
Pass Attempts 35.6 4
Completions 26.1 1
Completion Pct. 73.2 1
Passing Yards 258.7 3
Yards Per Attempt 7.26 9
Yards Per Catch 9.93 24
Total Yardage Gained 363.2 3
3rd Down Conversions 45.0 4
Points Per Game 23.3 7
Pass Rush Pct. 13.7 18
Pass Defense Pct. 41.5 28
Turnovers 23 14 (T)
Turnover Margin 0 13 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 26.2 9
Rushing Yards 100.6 4
Yards Per Carry 3.84 8
Pass Attempts 32.1 16 (T)
Completions 20.9 24 (T)
Completion Pct. 65.2 27 (T)
Passing Yards 226.8 24
Yards Per Attempt 7.06 24
Yards Per Catch 10.83 19 (T)
Total Yardage Gained 309.8 15
3rd Down Conversions 37.3 11
Points Per Game 18.4 8
Pass Rush Pct. 11.5 3
Pass Defense Pct. 18.4 1
Turnovers 23 21 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 23 at WAS 13
2 24 at DEN 34
3 27 at DET 3
4 17 ATL 10
5 27 NOS 21
6 10 at CAR 17
7 24 at TBY 34
8 16 NYK 10
9 22 WAS 10
10 21 at DAL 20
12 18 at KCY 28
13 27 SEA 10
14 17 OAK 14
15 31 at NYK 26
16 30 SDO 14
17 38 DAL 31
$$CS 28 CHI 13
$$CF 13 at SFO 20

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
18 K. Hutchins QB 570 417 4139 7.26 29 6 105.8
**Team --- 570 417 4139 7.26 29 6 105.8
$$Opp --- 514 335 3628 7.06 21 13 88.9

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
30 S. Shipman RB 205 816 3.98 6 6
32 E. McIndoe RB 126 438 3.48 3 3
33 V. Compton RB 67 407 6.07 1 3
18 K. Hutchins QB 43 115 2.67 1 5
**Team --- 441 1776 4.03 11 27
$$Opp --- 419 1610 3.84 13 25

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
82 A. Samanta WR 118 87 1026 11.79 8.69 5 9
81 K. Oskolkoff WR 129 84 998 11.88 7.74 11 10
86 D. Burgess WR 81 50 684 13.68 8.44 9 6
88 C. Kelley TE 45 36 249 6.92 5.53 0 2
30 S. Shipman RB 35 31 182 5.87 5.20 1 0
31 C. Lane FB 38 31 165 5.32 4.34 2 0
84 F. Jurkiewicz WR 42 27 296 10.96 7.05 5 0
80 G. Sullivan WR 24 19 191 10.05 7.96 2 2

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
23 X. Wilcox S 113 32 0.0 2 0 5 76.0
50 H. Robertson ILB 90 21 1.0 1 1 3 67.7
53 J. Malone OLB 59 21 0.5 2 1 4 75.9
21 R. Lowe S 53 10 2.0 1 1 3 75.8
51 S. Long OLB 50 23 2.0 0 1 2 72.7
25 J. Jordan CB 47 6 1.0 0 0 11 77.5
29 T. Wynn CB 41 10 1.5 0 5 5 83.1
27 G. Linville CB 39 5 1.0 0 1 5 75.5
99 T. Clayton DT 33 9 6.0 7 0 0 81.4
91 R. Salerno DE 32 13 10.5 13 0 0 82.2
97 R. Necaise DT 28 11 2.0 1 0 1 82.5
54 J. Small OLB 28 13 2.0 3 1 0 78.6
90 J. Hansen DE 25 19 8.0 18 0 2 81.0
93 J. Hartman DT 22 11 1.5 6 0 0 82.2
28 E. Polamalu CB 17 5 0.0 0 0 1 72.2


This was definitely a strong offensive team, with Hutchins having his best year as a pro (and staying healthy enough to start every game, which hasn't happened all that often). Our RB by committee approach was reasonably effective, wtih Shipman in particular giving us enough of a running game to open up the pass. Samanta and Oskolkoff had big years, with Burgess also solid (despite missing a few weeks through injury). On defence, the picture is not quite as rosy - the team were able to stop the run fairly well, but struggled to consistently stop the pass - the lack of a solid pass-rush didn't help, and the team struggled to force turnovers.

(Aside: This is the first season in this career in which I've been using the 6.0e patch - I didn't make any major changes to the offensive gameplan (altered it to be slightly more biased towards the pass without changing the distribution of passes too much), but the short-passing system I had in place seemed to be more effective this season, despite not having the same amount of quality at receiver or running back as in previous seasons - Samanta was very effective as the third receiver, but is nothing like the player he was at his peak (was rated low 70s at his best, is now mid-40s).)

Unfortunately, the team now has something of an air of a team in transition - quite a few of our key players are coming to the end of their careers, particularly at wide receiver, where Samanta has just finished his 11th year, and Burgess his 9th. While the trades using next year's draft picks were fairly successful (TE Kelley, in particular, was definitely worth a second round pick despite the numbers above), it does mean that we don't have a lot to work with to try to reinvigorate this team next offseason...

2021 Awards

Otherwise known as the Keith Hutchins Appreciation section - our veteran QB was named the Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and First Team QB. RB Sammie Shipman was the only other Eagle to make the awards list, being named the Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Looking forward to next year...

The first thing here is getting past the retirements - we have a number of players who may decide to call it a day (with QB Hutchins being the most important...) After that, this may be the start of a rebuilding phase...

[Izulde]

Just wanted to say that I'm glad you brought this back. It's probably my favourite of the 2K7 dynasties on the board :)

[MartinD]

Just wanted to say that I'm glad you brought this back. It's probably my favourite of the 2K7 dynasties on the board :)

That's very good of you to say :) (particularly coming from someone who has two threads on here that I class as 'must-read' - the Park High quick-sim has been a lot of fun, and I really like 'The Beautiful Girl and the History Class' story.

I can't guarantee that I'll post regular updates, but I'll try to keep things moving...

Martin

[MartinD]

2022 season

Herb's evaluation for 2021: 83/98/16/83, for an overall score of 51.

The team made a loss of $63.87m on revenues of $264.49m last year - quite a bit better than last year, and it's only going to improve next year as the stadium upgrade has now been completed. (In other words, we're immediately going to be around $130m better off from not having to make stadium payments, and we should get more income from the improved stadium...)

Two retirements this year - TE Tony Korzuk (who was primarily a mentor for our young TEs in his time with the team) and SLB Daniel Grove, a high-profile free agent acquisition who lost his place in the starting lineup last season. This, of course, means that QB Keith Hutchins is back for another year, his 15th as a pro.

Staff Hiring

A bit of work to do here, as all of the coaching staff are out of contract this year. These guys are very good coaches, though (offensive co-ordinator Ford E/G/V/E/E/E, defensive co-ordinator Clemons (G/E/E/E/E), head coach Bandle (VG/VG/E/VG/A)), so I would be very happy to bring them all back for another 5 years. I make initial offers of $4.00m for 5 years to Ford, $4.50m for 5 years to Clemons and $9.00m for 5 years to Bandle. Bandle accepts his offer, but both Ford and Clemons receive better offers (both over $6m per year). The coaches available aren't anywhere like as good as the guys I've just lost, but I manage to find a couple of younger guys who have a chance of developing into solid assistants - Bubba Meier (36, A/A/G/G/A/G) could be a respectable defensive co-ordinator, but there aren't as many decent options on the offensive side of the ball, so I make him an offer of $2.20m for 5 years to run our offence. On defence, Emmanuel Blackburn (41, G/A/A/G/VG) is the guy I go for (at $2.00m per year) - I can see us bringing in a lot of young players over the next few years, so a guy who's good on the development side is pretty much an essential. These are both young guys (and Bandle is only 42 at this point, despite being our head coach for the last 10 years!), so should have plenty of opportunity to develop on the job.

Scout Andrew Baicy is doing a solid job, and there aren't any quality replacements out there - easy call to keep hold of the guy we have there.

A look at the team going into the offseason...

This year may be a turning point for the Eagles - do we try to squeeze one more year out of a still-solid but aging group, or do we decide to move in a different direction and start building with younger players?

At quarterback, Keith Hutchins (15th year, 83/83) has been our starter for the last nine seasons, and has been a great leader during that time. Even in his 15th year, he's still one of the league's elite QBs. Hutchins, however, is a free agent this year - the franchise tag would be a little over $13m (and signing him for the next two or three years would cost quite a bit more than that...) Behind Hutchins is veteran backup O.J. Hume (6th year, 38/45), an undrafted guy who has developed very well - unfortunately, his skillset is not a great fit for the offence I'm running (based on the short pass - Hume is a better QB in a vertical offence).

Our running back situation is fairly fluid, as it usually is - with Hutchins throwing lots of short passes, the run is used more as a diversion than as a serious threat to gain yardage. The guys we have are solid backup material, but no more (which probably explains the RB by committee approach I've used recently...)

Trading a second-round pick this year to pick up TE Charlie Kelley now looks like a very good move - Kelley (2nd year, 60/71) is already a very solid player, and should be our starter for a long time if we can keep resigning him.

Wide receiver has been pretty settled for a number of years, but I need to look at making changes this year - starting flanker Derrick Burgess (10th year, 52/52) is a free agent I don't plan on resigning, while backup flanker Antoine Samanta (12th year, 46/46) has never been a starting option, and is purely a backup and special teams guy at this point in his career. On the other side, starting split end K.C. Oskolkoff (8th year, 49/49) is a reliable target, but not a game-breaker. The remaining receivers are very much respectable backups and special teams guys, so this is a position where we really need an injection of youth.

The offensive line is fairly solid and mostly made up of younger players - the only veteran is long-term starter LG Zack Martin (12th year, 69/69). We have two young tackles in RT Leo Skupin (4th year, 60/60) and LT Emmanuel Lester (2nd year, 30/60), while the rest of the interior starters are in their prime - C Willie Barber (6th year, 73/73) and RG Melvin Fau (5th year, 64/64). The backups are fairly solid, but contracts are a bit of an issue here - only Fau and Lester from the offensive line group are signed past this year.

Our kicking specialists are veterans, but solid players - K Matt Oden (16th year, 54/54) is the only kicker we've had since I took over as GM, while P Anthony Hawks (11th year, 60/60) has done well for us since joining as a free agent a couple of seasons back.

At defensive end, we're very fortunate to have a one-man wrecking crew in Rod Salerno (8th year, 90/90) - Juan Hansen (7th year, 50/50) has been starting opposite Salerno. With pass-rush specialist Spencer Flannery (5th year, 42/42) a free agent, we need to look at finding a backup here.

Defensive tackle isn't as strong as it has been, but we're still pretty well set with Reggie Necaise (7th year, 46/46) and Toby Clayton (6th year, 56/56). Second-year guys Julio Hartman (28/44) and Scott McNown (22/51) are the backups - would be nice to bring in a top youngster here, but this is a group we can be fairly comfortable with.

Linebacker is one of our youngest positions, with Horace Robertson (3rd year, 66/66), Justin Small (3rd year, 51/62) and Jack Malone (2nd year, 40/58) looking like our starters this year. Long-time weakside starter Shannon Long (11th year, 56/56) is still playing well, but won't be around much longer. We do appear to be pretty much set here, though...

The defensive backfield is also in fairly good shape - standout corner Jerome Jordan (10th year, 80/80) isn't the player he once was, but is still a shutdown corner, while Grady Linville (6th year, 54/54) and Thurman Wynn (3rd year, 48/58) fill out a solid top three. At safety, Xavier Wilcox (5th year, 75/75) and Raymond Lowe (4th year, 52/52 - restricted free agent, but will resign him) are competent starters, although Wilcox isn't all that good against the pass. Depth is a little bit of a concern, but there aren't many teams with better situations for starting defensive backs.

Franchising Hutchins is pretty much a given - while we would probably be reasonably productive with Hume running the offence, Hutchins is a much better QB, even at this stage of his career (hardly playing in his first five years may also be a factor here - he doesn't have a lot of wear on the tyres - 127 starts for a 15th-year veteran is not all that many...) I am certainly considering making a few changes on offence, though - our starters on the offensive line are pretty much all good run blockers, so starting to move towards a more balanced offence (at least - maybe go a bit further towards a run-first offence in preparation for not having Hutchins?) makes a lot of sense, particularly when you take our relatively weak receiving corps into account.

On the other side of the ball, things are fairly settled, although there are issues with the pass rush and pass coverage - the interior line isn't as strong against the run as I'd like, either...

If we didn't have Hutchins, I would certainly be looking at starting a rebuilding project here - there are too many areas of weakness in this team, particularly on offence. With a top-quality veteran QB around for at least one more year, however, making a couple of quality additions in the right places will keep this team competitive, so I feel that I have to give it a shot this year...

Before starting free agency, I put the franchise tag on Hutchins, and select LT Emmanuel Lester for a summer trip to Europe. Ticket prices are unchanged - I suspect that we're going to make plenty of money this year whatever happens after the completion of the stadium renovation...

[MartinD]

2022 Free Agency

We start free agency with 45 players signed and $27.22m cap room free (after allowing for our five draft picks - the usual seven between 27 and 29 in the round less our second and fourth round picks). This figure allows for a franchise salary of $13.12m for Keith Hutchins - looking at his contract demands, we're looking at over $50m for the next two years to sign him long-term (which suggests that we go with the franchise tag this year, and tag him again next year if he comes back).

A few restricted free agent signings:
QB Tyrus Monpoto (4th year, 23/41) - $1.10m over 1 year
LG Jumbo Welker (4th year, 42/48) - $3.84m over 3 years
FS Raymond Lowe (4th year, 51/51) - $5.10m over 3 years

Lowe is our starter at free safety (not a star, but a good solid player), while Monpoto is a decent young QB. Welker is the first guy off the bench at guard, and has played well when required.

We also have a number of players in the last year of their current deals:
QB Keith Hutchins (15th year, 83/83, franchised) - will cost too much to sign to a long-term deal, so will not receive an offer
QB O.J. Hume (6th year, 38/44) - a guy we should be able to resign next offseason if required
FL Antoine Samanta (12th year, 46/46) - has been a cornerstone of our receiving corps, but definitely on the downside of his career - no extension here
C Willie Barber (6th year, 73/73) - looking for $12m up front and $7m per year, so we resign him for $37.6m over 4 years (a lot of money for a center, but this guy is a good one)
LG Zack Martin (12th year, 69/69) - getting towards the end of his career, but willing to sign a deal that extends his contract through the end of next season for no real change in this year's cap hit - I can live with that, so offer the $11.13m over 2 years he's looking for.
RT Leo Skupin (4th year, 58/58) - solid young player, and the contract demands aren't too onerous - he resigns for $32.6m over 5 years.
LDE Juan Hansen (7th year, 50/50) - has been a good player, but maybe more suited to a pass-rush specialist role at this point in his career - the $40m over 4 years he's looking for is a bit rich, so I'll hang back here
LDT Toby Clayton (6th year, 56/56) - solid starter on the defensive line, although isn't as strong against the run as I'd like - still worth the $22.44m over 4 years he resigns for, though.
WLB Shannon Long (11th year, 56/56) - on the downside of his career, and may no longer be the automatic starter he's been since we drafted him, but is willing to take a pay cut to extend his deal for 1 more year - $11.13m over 2 years is a lot for a guy who's going to be a backup and special teamer, but I like to treat our long-term servants well and it's good to have quality depth at any position.
RCB Grady Linville (6th year, 53/53) - has been starting for us, and doing a decent job - $19.00m over 5 years is a decent deal here.

These signings and extensions leave us with 48 players signed and $8.47m cap room left - with 5 draft picks to come, there is a bit of room to go shopping in the free agent market...

[MartinD]

Looking down the roster, we do have a few needs to fill:
QB: While Hutchins is the starter, how long does he have left? A QB of the future would be good to bring in...
RB: If we're going to shift towards the run on offence, we'll need a guy who can carry more of the load
WR: Probably the biggest need right now - we really need a new starter and an injection of quality youth here
DL: While we can get by with the guys we have, a DE and DT to develop into starters would be useful
S: The starters are decent, but there isn't anything behind them

An initial look at the draft suggests that this probably isn't the year to find a QB of the future - the receiver class has a few interesting prospects, though, and there are a few backs I see as being around in the third round who would be an improvement on the guys we have on the roster. On defence, this looks like a pretty strong class for elite defensive line prospects, although the guys further down the list aren't all that impressive, while there are some very good linebackers and defensive backs available. With only a late first-rounder to work with, at least I should get a choice of guys to try to meet one of the needs above...

In the free agent market, there is an interesting developmental QB available - Dustin Briggs (5th year, 13/53) is a former first-round pick who simply hasn't had the chance to develop. While the receiver position isn't all that strong, SE Renaldo Mori (5th year, 46/46) looks like a possible target - not going to be a starter, but would be a solid third receiver and special teamer.

I make a couple of offers in week 1:
QB Dustin Briggs: $4.35m over 3 years (signed in week 2)
SE Renaldo Mori: $5.40m over 3 years (signed in week 5)

Derrick Burgess signs with Cleveland for over $2.5m for this year - a lot of money for a receiver who's on the slippery slope already.

Looking over the younger guys available, there's a solid-looking defensive tackle available on the free agent market - LDT Don Starks (5th year, 46/46) isn't a significant improvement over Necaise and Clayton, but he's the sort of guy who would be very handy to have in the tackle rotation (particularly as he's solid against the run, which is Clayton's weak spot). I put in an offer of $5.70m over 3 years in week 3, and Starks signs in week 4.

These signings take the roster to 51 signed players (and 5 rookies to come before I even start on the rookie free agent pool) and $3.32m cap room free, and see the end of our actions in free agency (pretty much the way I like to use free agency - pick up depth and role players, and get the top-quality starters out of the draft as far as possible).

[MartinD]

2022 Draft

While signing Mori is a nice move towards adding a bit of youth at receiver, I'm really hoping to be able to pick up a quality wideout through the draft. With only pick 1.29 in the first 90 picks, however, I'm going to have to be a bit lucky to be able to do that...

There does appear to be reasonable depth in this draft, so the later picks should produce some guys who will be contributors down the line - am really looking for depth on the defensive line and in the secondary, while adding another back to our committee is definitely a possibility.

As I wait for our pick to come up, it dawns on me that very few receivers have come off the board - in fact, the top TE is picked (at 1.17) well before the first receiver (at 1.25). While this isn't the greatest year to find a receiver, there are a couple of guys that are definitely worth considering at 1.29 (as well as some players at other positions):

RB Wendell Tejada (5.0/5.3) - not a power back, but a decent runner with good hands
SE Charles Douglas (5.3/5.5) - has all the physical tools (and had a very nice combine), but may not be a clutch receiver
FL Terell Hamilton (5.0/5.2) - not as physically gifted as Douglas, but a bit more polished at this point
RT Brenden Postell (5.4/5.9) - not a need position, but a good-looking prospect who should be a starting tackle for a lot of years
RT Fernando Hawkins (5.3/5.8) - another solid tackle prospect - not quite as strong as Postell, but better technique, particularly in pass-blocking
RDE J.R. Lancaster (5.5/6.1) - solid all-round defensive end - likely to be an every-down guy
RDE Peter Bush (5.3/5.8) - undersized end who isn't going to be much use against the run, but will be a force on the pass-rush
LCB Scott Chatman (5.4/5.6) - starter-calibre corner who would be a contributor from day 1 - not a need position right now for the Eagles, though

This looks like the sort of draft where you really want to have a few high picks, as there are a lot of solid players available at this point, and quite a few of them will drop a fair way into the second round. While the guys at other positions are very tempting (particularly the defensive ends, who both look like they're going to be very good), the need at receiver is too much to ignore here (particularly as there is a fairly significant drop-off in talent after the two guys in the list above). Douglas and Hamilton are very similar receivers, but I feel that Douglas is more likely to be the better player over time - pick 1.29 is used on SE Charles Douglas. The initial rating of 31/56 is respectable - moving him to flanker does not affect that rating (with two solid SEs on the roster, he's going to get a lot more playing time if he moves to the other side - will probably get the chance to start at some point this year too...)

The guys on the list start to come off the board fairly quickly:
2.1 - DE Peter Bush (58/59) - I could see me regretting passing this guy up...
2.2 - CB Scott Chatman (37/66)
2.3 - RT Fernando Hawkins (27/61)
2.5 - DE J.R. Lancaster (31/54) - not quite as good as I had thought he might be
2.8 - RT Brenden Postell (22/56)
2.10 - FL Terrell Hamilton (30/60) - not a lot in it right now - looks like either guy would have been a decent choice
2.13 - RB Wendell Tejada (35/60)

Looks like I had a fairly good feel for value on this board - unfortunately, I don't have the picks this year to be able to take advantage...

With the need at receiver hopefully addressed through free agency and our first-round pick, I can start to look at other positions with pick 3.27. There are a number of interesting QB prospects still on the board at this point (although I haven't interviewed any of them), but the defensive line looks like a no-go area at this point, as there don't appear to be any prospects still on the board who are significantly better than the guys I already have. Guys I consider for this pick are:

QB Malcolm Walker (4.7/5.4) - will need time to develop, but a guy who looks like a good fit for the short passing scheme I run at the moment
QB Bubba Dela Cruz (4.7/5.4) - another raw guy who looks like a good fit for a short passing scheme - a bit more risk/reward here
QB Tyrone Fidrych (4.3/4.9) - a different type of QB (would be a better fit for a team that goes down the field a bit more), but a guy who looks to be potential starter material
RCB Will Harper (4.7/4.8) - while corner is not a big need position, this is a guy who looks big enough to benefit from a move to safety - solid cover guy and great special teamer
RCB Lenny Branham (4.5/4.6) - a bit of a risky pick, but this is a guy who looks to have a lot of potential (as in potential starter-quality guy)
RCB Mario Sledge (4.5/4.6) - needs time to develop, but a guy with the potential to be a solid corner - decent return skills too
SS Adam Barker (4.8/4.5) - best safety on the board, but unlikely to be more than quality depth and a stopgap starter

Looks like the QB class is a bit deeper than I originally thought... Despite that, I feel that adding a solid defensive back will be of more use to the team right now - there's also a much better chance of one of the QBs still being there for our fifth-round pick than one of the CBs. Looking ahead, Jerome Jordan doesn't have many years left (is going into his 10th year), so it's not a bad idea to start looking for good young corners now. Of the three corners above, I feel that Branham is the best prospect - while he isn't all that strong against the run, he looks like a guy who will be a solid cover corner. Pick 3.27 is used on CB Lenny Branham, who is initially rated at 24/68 - this suggests that he'll be our fourth corner (so will see a fair bit of playing time - is coming into a good situation, too, with three solid guys ahead of him and a mentor (Jordan) on the roster).

Surprisingly, the next player from my list of possibilities to be drafted is SS Barker (at 4.7 - rated at only 21/34, not a bad guy to pass on). Harper (4.9 - 22/52) and Sledge (4.11 - 28/62) go soon after. The QBs last until the 5th round, when Walker (5.18 - 15/56) and Dela Cruz (5.19 - 9/47) are taken with consecutive picks. Fidrych is still there at 5.29, though - while our QB situation is already fairly crowded, I feel that this is a guy worth taking a look at. An initial rating of 10/46 isn't as good as I had hoped, but we'll wait and see here - the initial investment wasn't all that much, so this was a risk worth taking.

Our next selection is at 6.28, and the backup safety position looks like a good candidate to address here. There are a few guys who look like they would be useful additions, but the guy I go for is FS Jumbo Page - he's raw and isn't going to be a force against the run, but has a lot of potential in coverage, and looks to be a useful special teams guy (in other words, he ticks two of the main boxes for what I'm looking for out of a backup safety - can contribute in the dime package, and can play special teams). Page is initially rated at 18/46, which is decent enough for a 6th-rounder.

Our last pick is 7.28, and is used on a defensive end (our tackle rotation looks to be fairly settled, so not much point in adding someone else there - DE, on the other hand, looks a little bit light after losing Flannery in free agency). While there are a couple of pass-rush specialist types available, we already have a few guys of that nature, so I go in a different direction. Horace Horn (initially rated 13/38) is more of a run-stopper (and so is more of a true backup than a third down guy), and does offer something a bit different at the position.

[MartinD]

2022 Late Free Agency

As we head into the late free agency period, an e-mail comes through regarding a veteran holdout - my initial reaction is that Hutchins has decided that he doesn't want to play for the mere $13m he's getting as our franchise player (when he would have been getting more than $30m this year between salary and bonus on the contract he was looking for), but opening the e-mail reveals that starting SE K.C. Oskolkoff is the unhappy player - he's looking to roughly double his income and extend his contract at the same time. While Oskolkoff is a solid player, he is a guy who we can live without - I'm also uncomfortable giving a 4-year deal to a guy in his 8th year, so we go ahead without offering an upgraded contract, and wait to see what he decides to do.

All of our rookies accept their initial contract offers, so we have 56 players signed and $5.16m cap room free at this point in the season. (The number of players signed is a bit misleading, though, as we currently have no less than 6 QBs on the roster - I somehow suspect that we won't have any problem in giving our receivers enough live catching practice in camp...)

The usual trawl through the rookie free agent pool brings up a few interesting prospects:

RB Tito Logan (26/42) - $1.27m over 2 years (looks like a third-down back, so would be a useful addition - signed week 1)
TE Cary Rose (25/43) - $1.27m over 2 years (we need a third TE, and Rose is a solid special teams guy - signed week 3)
RG Gus Alford (20/25) - $530k over 1 year (candidate for the fourth guard position - signed week 3)
RG Levon Broemer (17/35) - $530k over 1 year (another guy in the mix for fourth guard - pass-blocker who would be good for team chemistry - signed week 3)
WLB Howie Wiggins (12/50) - $530k over 1 year (backup outside linebacker is a need, and this guy is a decent fit, if a bit raw - signed week 2)
WLB Van Rabdau (10/14) - $530k over 1 year (pure special-teamer - signed week 3)
RCB Ben Hastings (24/46) - $1.27m over 2 years (not a need position, but this is a guy who should have been drafted - very good value as a UDFA - signed week 2)
SS Brady Baltzer (15/56) - $530k over 1 years (probably won't fulfil that potential, but worth taking a look at - signed week 1)

I also make an offer to veteran special-teamer SLB Rickey Rayburn (9th year, 12/12) - $1.53m over 1 year (a veteran minimum offer, so would count $880k against the cap), which he signed in week 2.

Before heading to camp, I do the usual check round the rookies to see if there is anyone that would benefit from a little change in weight - in doing so, I notice that UDFA Brady Baltzer is a perfect candidate for a switch to cornerback. While corner is not a need position, I feel that this switch is worthwhile - this changes his ratings to 17/64, which definitely suggests that it was a good move!

Rookies before and after camp

Acquired Before After Change
QB Tyrone Fidrich 5.29 10/46 10/42 0/-4
RB Tito Logan FA 26/42 26/42 0/0
TE Cary Rose FA 25/43 30/44 +5/+1
FL Charles Douglas 1.29 31/56 31/51 0/-5
RG Gus Alford FA 20/25 21/25 +1/0
RG Levon Broemer FA 17/35 17/34 0/-1
RDE Horace Horn 7.28 13/38 14/37 +1/-1
SLB Howie Wiggins FA 12/50 14/47 +2/-3
WLB Van Rabdau FA 10/14 11/14 +1/0
RCB Lenny Branham 3.27 24/68 27/60 +3/-8
RCB Ben Hastings FA 24/46 26/44 +2/-2
RCB Brady Baltzer FA 17/64 22/59 +5/-5
FS Jumbo Page 6.28 18/46 20/39 +2/-7


The usual mixed bag, but more disappointments than pleasant surprises. I suspect that I'm going to have a lot of problems making cuts at corner, as the three guys I've added all look like guys I want to keep around. TE Rose looks like a solid addition, too. On the other hand, Douglas may not be the automatic choice as our starting flanker after a poor camp.

[MartinD]

2022 Roster

K.C. Oskolkoff decides that he's happy enough to play for the money he's getting, so we come out of camp with 65 players on the roster. There will definitely be a few tough cuts here...


Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntr
Hutchins, Keith 18 QB 15 80 80 1
Hume, O.J. 15 QB 6 38 44 1
Monpoto, Tyrus 11 QB 4 23 41 1
Zaiser, Otis 16 QB 2 17 41 1
Briggs, Dustin 10 QB 5 14 52 3
Fidrych, Tyrone 17 QB 1 10 42 3

Hutchins and Hume are our #1 and #2, and Briggs has enough potential to be
worth keeping around (he'll get a good look in preseason, for sure). The
fourth guy to keep is a tough one - now that he's gone through camp, I don't
think Fidrych is going to amount to much, and I prefer Monpoto to Zaiser.

Compton, Vince 33 RB 4 31 36 1
Shipman, Sammie 30 RB 2 31 37 3
McIndoe, Earnest 32 RB 2 30 40 1
Logan, Tito 34 RB 1 26 42 2
Lane, Cris 31 FB 2 42 50 1

Fairly settled here - Lane is our fullback until a better one comes along (and
I'm not going out of my way to look!), with Shipman and McIndoe sharing the
bulk of the carries. Compton is the third-down back (and a decent kick
returner). I'd like to keep Logan around, but will need to see how things go at
other positions - I suspect that he's not going to stick, particularly with our
cornerback situation...

Kelley, Charlie 88 TE 2 65 72 2
Broderick, Sedrick 89 TE 3 31 31 1
Rose, Cary 87 TE 1 30 44 2

Happy to go with these three guys - Kelley is a solid starter, and Broderick
and Rose decent backups and special-teamers.

Samanta, Antoine 82 FL 12 38 38 1
Douglas, Charles 80 FL 1 31 51 4
Weintraub, Dominic 85 FL 2 21 44 1
Oskolkoff, K.C. 81 SE 8 46 46 2
Mori, Renaldo 86 SE 5 45 45 3
McIndoe, Orlando 83 SE 3 32 39 1
Jurkiewicz, Fred 84 SE 2 27 31 2

No standouts, but a lot of depth here. I usually go with 6 guys, and
Weintraub is the odd one out - he's the seventh-best receiver and doesn't
have any other talents to justify keeping him over one of the other guys.

Barber, Willie 61 C 6 73 73 4
Hewko, Leo 63 C 3 31 48 1
Martin, Zack 68 LG 12 68 68 2
Welker, Jumbo 67 LG 4 44 45 3
Fau, Melvin 65 RG 5 62 62 4
Alford, Gus 64 RG 1 21 25 1
Broemer, Levon 66 RG 1 17 34 1
Bishop, Gabe 79 LT 4 33 41 1
Lester, Emmanuel 75 LT 2 29 57 3
Skupin, Leo 77 RT 4 57 57 5
Fortmann, Andy 76 RT 7 37 37 1
Brooks, Martin 78 RT 2 25 38 1

No more than 10 of these guys will make the team, so a couple of cuts
needed... Barber and Hewko are safe in the middle, and starters Martin, Fau,
Lester and Skupin are also assured of roster spots. Welker and Bishop are
solid backups, which leaves only two spots (likely to be one guard and one
tackle). Fortmann is a solid backup (and a tackle mentor - useful with Lester
still learning the tricks of the trade), and I feel that Alford is worth keeping
around (he's never going to be a guy I'd want to start, but I can live with him
as a fourth guard). Broemer and Brooks are the cuts here.

Hawks, Anthony 5 P 11 59 59 1
Oden, Matt 2 K 16 49 49 2

No need to say much here - two veterans who have been solid performers for
the team. This may be Oden's last year with us, though, which would leave
us in the unusual position of having to find a new kicker...

Hansen, Juan 90 LDE 7 50 50 1
Sanderson, Bernard 92 LDE 6 33 50 1
Salerno, Rod 91 RDE 8 80 80 4
Horn, Horace 93 RDE 1 14 37 3
Clayton, Toby 99 LDT 6 56 56 4
Necaise, Reggie 97 LDT 7 46 46 3
Starks, Don 96 LDT 5 46 46 3
Hartman, Julio 95 RDT 2 29 42 1
McNown, Scott 98 RDT 2 21 45 2

The obvious cut here would be Horn, who needs a lot of development time.
I'm not keen on going with only 3 defensive ends, though, particularly as this
would leave us with Salerno and two pass-rush specialists. While McNown
looks to have decent potential, I see him as the fifth-best DT, so he's the guy
to get the axe on the defensive line.

Robertson, Horace 50 MLB 3 64 64 2
Shannon, Erik 56 MLB 2 26 45 3
Malone, Jack 53 SLB 2 39 53 2
Wiggins, Howie 52 SLB 1 14 47 1
Rayburn, Rickey 55 SLB 9 12 12 1
Long, Shannon 51 WLB 11 53 53 2
Small, Justin 54 WLB 3 53 59 2
Rabdau, Van 59 WLB 1 11 14 1

Five solid players (Robertson, Shannon, Malone, Long and Small) are all
assured of roster spots. Wiggins had a decent camp, but didn't show enough
to justify me keeping him around. The question then becomes 'do I want to
keep two pure special-teamers on the roster'? (to which the answer is 'yes, because I feel that special teams are very important (as in lots of cheap
yards over the course of a season), but only if I can afford the roster
spots'...)

Jordan, Jerome 25 LCB 10 78 78 2
Wynn, Thurman 29 LCB 3 50 59 2
Linville, Grady 27 RCB 6 54 54 5
Ackerman, Matthew 24 RCB 5 39 39 2
Polamalu, Ellis 28 RCB 6 28 28 1
Branham, Lenny 35 RCB 1 27 60 3
Hastings, Ben 36 RCB 1 26 44 2
Baltzer, Brady 45 RCB 1 22 59 1

Lots of cuts to make here, as I normally carry 5 cornerbacks on the 53-man
roster (although I may go with 6 this year, given that I managed to find quite
a few solid youngsters in the draft and rookie free agent pool). Jordan, Wynn
and Linville are the top 3 guys here. Of the other veterans, Polamalu doesn't
offer enough to keep a roster spot ahead of any of the rookies, so is cut.
Ackerman is a better cover guy right now than any of the three rookies, but
all of the rookies look like better prospects for the long term - cutting
Ackerman leaves me with 6 guys here, so I'll need to see how the overall
situation looks before checking on any further reduction here.

Wilcox, Xavier 23 SS 5 74 74 3
Lynn, Kelly 26 SS 2 19 45 2
Lowe, Raymond 21 FS 4 51 51 3
McGuire, Shawn 20 FS 2 22 39 1
Page, Jumbo 47 FS 1 20 39 3

Lowe and Wilcox are the starters, but the three other guys are much of a
muchness. Page is the best special-teamer by a distance, which is enough
for me to give him a roster spot. With six corners on the roster, I actually
feel that I could get by with three safeties, so both Lynn and McGuire fail to
make the 53-man roster.


The cuts detailed above leave the roster at 54 players, so one more cut to make. The most obvious candidates (to my eye) are RB Logan, RG Alford, DE Horn and OLBs Rayburn and Rabdau. Rayburn and Rabdau are pretty much the same player, but I'm a sucker for having great special teams and am willing to effectively use up two roster spots on guys who will contribute nothing outside of special teams. Horn is a guy I can see being a useful player to have around in years to come, so will stick on the roster this year, and Logan is a decent fourth back. Alford is very unlikely to see the field unless we have significant injuries, and I should be able to find a guard of at least equivalent quality on the free agent list if needed, so the last cut is RG Alford.

[MartinD]

With the 53-man roster set, my thoughts turn to the type of football we want to play this year. On defence, we have enough quality through the squad to continue to play the fairly conventional 4-3 defence we've been using for the last few years, so no big changes there. Offensively, this team will go as far as Keith Hutchins is able to carry it - while our receivers aren't as talented as I'd like, a QB as solid as Hutchins can make up for a lot of shortcomings in the receiving corps! It would be nice to be able to take a bit of pressure off the passing game by having a respectable running game, but I don't see this being a viable alternative - while the offensive line is good enough, this is very much a 'RB by committee' team right now.

2022 Preseason

Setting the depth charts for preseason started with a point of interest - with Hutchins inactive, the AI put Dustin Briggs as our starter ahead of O.J. Hume...

Week 2: Philadelphia 20-14 Jacksonville
Pretty comfortable win, with QB Briggs (16/22-140-1-0) looking pretty good. The Jags were able to move the ball through the air (over 300 yards passing), but didn't threaten to score outside of two long drives.

A tough game for injuries, though - three players (C Hewko, CB Branham and S Lowe) will miss the rest of preseason, with Lowe likely to be out until week 3 or so.

Week 3: Cleveland 30-7 Philadelphia
A tough game for the offence, with only 117 yards and 7 first downs (the TD came on a Wynn kickoff return for a TD), but Briggs actually came out of this game fairly well (17/25-107-0-1) - looks like I may have found a decent QB here...

The starters come in at this point to get rid of the rust before the regular season.

Week 4: Philadelphia 13-6 Indianapolis
Not a game for the fans of shootouts, but very much a vintage Eagles performance - the defence gives away very little, and the offence does just enough to win the game.

Week 5: Baltimore 7-17 Philadelphia
Another solid workmanlike performance, with the defence leading the way - DEs Salerno (3 sacks) and Hansen (2 sacks) were the star performers.

While we have a few injuries, and the offence seems to be a little short of explosiveness, the signs so far are encouraging. (Of course, every team has stories to tell about the season that follows a strong preseason...)

[MartinD]

2022 Regular Season

Week 1: Philadelphia 28-21 New York
A late TD made this one look closer than it actually was - the Eagles were in control pretty much all the way here. Hutchins (20/29-211-2-0) led the offence, with solid support from RB Logan (14-61-1) and Oskolkoff (7-76-1), with Salerno (2.0 sacks) and Hansen (2.5 sacks) continuing their pre-season pass-rush form.

Week 2: Jacksonville (0-1) 23-31 Philadelphia (1-0)
In my experience with various versions of FOF, always be wary of those games in which your team is favoured by a significant amount... Going into this game, the Eagles were favoured by the little matter of 22 points, but had to rely on a Hutchins to Oskolkoff pass with 2.42 left to win the game after a very good performance from the Jaguars. Hutchins (20/28-198-2-0) was his usual reliable self, but got good support from Tito Logan (16-117).

Week 3: Philadelphia (2-0) 14-10 New Orleans (1-1)
Two quick TDs to start the day, then a case of hanging on until the end of the game. Hutchins (24/30-200-1-2) made a couple of mistakes, but his teammates bailed him out - today's RB of choice, Sammie Shipman (16-63-1) kept things ticking over.

With a number of injuries in the defensive backfield (Linville, Branham and Lowe are all out for at least the next game, and Wilcox is doubtful), I cut LB/special-teamer Van Rabdau and sign FS Raymond Logan (3rd year, 27/41) - he won't help much in run support, but is solid in coverage and will contribute on special teams.

Week 4: Minnesota (2-1) 14-23 Philadelphia (3-0)
Another solid workmanlike performance, with the running game being surprisingly solid - Shipman (29-133) was the workhorse, with Hutchins (16/24-160-2-0) providing the cutting edge. The Vikings put up big numbers in the passing game (over 300 yards, with FL Franklin catching 11 balls for 170 yards), but could only score two TDs.

Week 5: Detroit (0-4) 6-16 Philadelphia (4-0)
Defences on top in this one, but the Eagles got enough out of their offence to take the win. DE Salerno (3 sacks) was the defensive star, while Hutchins (21/28-201-1-1) provided the impetus on offence.

Week 6: Philadelphia (5-0) 17-13 Green Bay (3-2)
Another strong defensive performance from the Eagles, led once again by veteran DE Rod Salerno, who had another 3-sack game - CB Jordan also performed well with an interception and three pass defences. On offence, Hutchins (19/27-191-2-0) and McIndoe (13-76) led the way.

Week 7: Philadelphia (6-0) 7-22 Washington (5-0)
A big game this early in the season in what looks to be a very high-quality division (the Giants have won four straight after their season-opening defeat to lie third in the division at 4-1 before the game). The Redskins dominate this game, though, with the Eagles offence struggling all day long.

Week 8: Bye

Week 9: Philadelphia (6-1) 13-14 Chicago (3-4)
One of those frustrating games where your team dominates in terms of yardage and time of possession, but can't get the points on the board... Hutchins (25/33-286-1-1) and Shipman (23-112) had big games, but the team couldn't get those points on the board. I suppose that we've been on the right side of quite a few of these games over the year's I've been in charge, so can't complain too much when one goes against us...

[MartinD]

Mid-season summary


Year 2022
Record 6-2
Winning Pct. .750
All-Time 138-125-1
Winning Pct. .524
Playoffs 11-7
Playoff Visits 8
Bowl Wins 1
Head Coach Wesley Bandle
Record 116-69
Winning Pct. .627
Off. Coord. B. Meier
Def. Coord. E. Blackburn

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 33.1 3
Rushing Yards 135.9 3
Yards Per Carry 4.10 12
Pass Attempts 28.1 27
Completions 19.8 18
Completion Pct. 70.2 1
Passing Yards 195.0 24
Yards Per Attempt 6.93 8
Yards Per Catch 9.87 24
Total Yardage Gained 324.6 9
3rd Down Conversions 41.0 10
Points Per Game 18.6 16
Pass Rush Pct. 10.5 29 (T)
Pass Defense Pct. 49.7 14 (T)
Turnovers 8 3 (T)
Turnover Margin +4 6

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 22.4 4
Rushing Yards 90.3 4
Yards Per Carry 4.03 20
Pass Attempts 33.3 17
Completions 22.3 29
Completion Pct. 66.9 25
Passing Yards 231.5 28
Yards Per Attempt 6.96 23 (T)
Yards Per Catch 10.40 16
Total Yardage Gained 302.9 15 (T)
3rd Down Conversions 36.0 12 (T)
Points Per Game 15.5 6
Pass Rush Pct. 11.1 7 (T)
Pass Defense Pct. 29.0 2
Turnovers 12 17 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 28 at NYK 21
2 31 JAX 24
3 14 at NOS 10
4 23 MIN 14
5 16 DET 6
6 17 at GBY 13
7 7 at WAS 22
9 13 at CHI 14
10 NYK
11 at DAL
12 at TEN
13 SFO
14 at HOU
15 DAL
16 IND
17 WAS

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
18 K. Hutchins QB 225 158 1560 6.93 12 6 96.2
**Team --- 225 158 1560 6.93 12 6 96.2
$$Opp --- 266 178 1852 6.96 10 8 86.8

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
30 S. Shipman RB 144 528 3.67 1 3
34 T. Logan RB 51 256 5.02 1 0
32 E. McIndoe RB 32 159 4.97 0 0
18 K. Hutchins QB 19 49 2.58 0 0
33 V. Compton RB 19 95 5.00 1 1
**Team --- 265 1087 4.10 3 7
$$Opp --- 179 722 4.03 3 12

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
81 K. Oskolkoff WR 57 44 547 12.43 9.60 3 6
80 C. Douglas WR 48 28 218 7.79 4.54 4 1
86 R. Mori WR 26 18 201 11.17 7.73 1 2
88 C. Kelley TE 24 17 186 10.94 7.75 2 2
30 S. Shipman RB 14 12 96 8.00 6.86 0 1
31 C. Lane FB 16 12 68 5.67 4.25 2 0

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
54 J. Small OLB 36 9 1.0 3 0 2 72.1
51 S. Long OLB 33 13 2.0 0 0 3 74.7
23 X. Wilcox S 27 13 0.5 0 0 7 84.0
50 H. Robertson ILB 26 7 0.0 0 0 1 73.0
25 J. Jordan CB 25 7 1.0 0 3 4 81.6
91 R. Salerno DE 22 5 8.0 8 0 0 81.6
21 R. Lowe S 22 7 0.0 0 1 2 79.8
29 T. Wynn CB 20 8 0.0 0 2 5 82.3
26 B. Hastings CB 20 3 0.0 0 0 1 74.2
20 R. Logan S 18 3 1.0 0 1 2 76.7
99 T. Clayton DT 17 5 2.0 4 0 0 82.0
28 B. Baltzer CB 15 5 0.0 0 0 1 74.2
90 J. Hansen DE 14 5 4.5 5 0 0 80.3
97 R. Necaise DT 13 8 2.0 1 0 0 80.6
53 J. Malone OLB 12 3 0.0 0 0 1 78.7
96 D. Starks DT 11 4 0.0 0 0 0 82.5
27 G. Linville CB 9 0 2.0 0 1 2 82.9
56 E. Shannon ILB 8 4 0.0 0 0 1 71.8


Not as big a season so far from a statistical point of view, but we've been winning games (at least until the last few weeks...) There has been a slight shift in emphasis towards the running game on offence, which explains Hutchins' numbers being down slightly. On defence, Salerno is the obvious standout, with Wynn and Jordan doing a good job in the defensive backfield.

One issue that needs to be addressed is starting flanker - rookie Charles Douglas has started every game so far, and has improved significantly over the season to date (is up to 39/51 at the moment, from 31/51 after camp), but he simply isn't making the big plays that I'd like to see him make. Samanta is no longer a legitimate option as a starter (if he ever was - he always seemed to be more productive as our third reciver), so the other option is to use either Oskolkoff or Mori as our starting flanker. I decide to go with Mori at flanker, with Douglas coming in as the third receiver - Samanta, who has been the backup flanker when healthy, drops to fifth receiver.

[MartinD]

Week 10: New York (5-3) 35-15 Philadelphia (6-2)
These are definitely worrying signs, as the team is looking very vulnerable right now. The Giants simply came out and dominated us after a slow start - the New York offence kept the ball moving consistently, while their defence did a very good job of stopping Philadelphia moving the ball. The only real exception was FL Douglas, who responded to his demotion to second-string flanker with a 5-catch, 126-yard performance.

Making things even worse is an injury to Keith Hutchins - our veteran QB is out for three weeks with a knee injury. With O.J. Hume also injured at this point (he's been holding for field goals), we're down to either Tyrus Monpoto (4th year, 23/41) or Dustin Briggs (5th year, 14/52). I decide to give Briggs first try at starting - this is thinking ahead of just the next few games, as I see Briggs as being a more likely prospect as the eventual replacement to Hutchins.

Week 11: Philadelphia (6-3) 13-24 Dallas (3-6)
Not a bad game to have to play a backup QB in on first glance, but Dallas simply took our defence apart with a powerful balanced offensive attack - two Cowboys' RBs gained over 100 yards, while their QB had over 200 yards passing. Briggs (5/11-62-0-0) struggled to move the team, so Monpoto (15/27-172-1-0) got a chance to play in the second half.

Hutchins is rated as probable after this game, 1 week to full recovery - there's enough of a drop-off behind him to justify taking the chance to play him at 'fairly high' performance with 'moderate' reinjury risk, so Briggs and Monpoto drop back to the bench.

Week 12: Philadelphia (6-4) 24-3 Tennessee (4-6)
Looks like the risk was worth it... At 1.50 left in the first half, leading 24-3, I make the call to pull QB Hutchins (10/12-111-2-0) to protect him from further injury, and trust that our defence can hold on. This defence seems to inspire that sort of trust, particularly when you have a guy like Jerome Jordan to work with - our top cornerback had a nice little game (4 tackles, 1 sack, an interception and a pass defence).

Looking at the injury report after this game, there is both good and bad news - the good is that Keith Hutchins is now fully healthy and ready to go, but the bad is that starting TE Charlie Kelley is out for the year with a serious hamstring injury. This means that rookie free agent Cary Rose is going to have to step up and be our starter the rest of the way...

Week 13: San Francisco (6-5) 6-24 Philadelphia (7-4)
This team may be a bit bashed-around and patched-up, but we still know how to play defence! The 49ers were held to 126 total yards and 9 first downs, while Hutchins (23/28-204-2-0) led an efficient offensive effort. Once again, DE Salerno (2.5 sacks) led the defensive effort.

Week 14: Philadelphia (8-4) 10-17 Houston (6-6)
The last-minute comeback attempt falls just short in this game - Hutchins found Oskolkoff with the deep pass, but four yards short of the endzone as time expired. Two missed field goals from veteran kicker Oden proved to be very important here.

In yet another injury update, SS Xavier Wilcox is the latest addition to our ever-increasing list - our starting strong safety is out for the year after requiring shoulder surgery. We are also without the services of starting guard Melvin Fau for a month or so due to a knee injury.

With three games left, the Eagles are outside the playoff spots looking in - the Redskins lead the NFC East at 9-4 (and would get a week off if the season ended today - 9-4 is the best record in the NFC, with only Kansas City (10-3) any better than that), with New York (8-5) holding a wild-card spot ahead of the Eagles on tiebreakers. We do have three home games to finish off the regular season, however, and still have Washington to play.

Week 15: Dallas (6-7) 3-9 Philadelphia (8-5)
Ugly, difficult to watch, but a much-needed win. Both teams ended up with only around 200 total yards of offence, and both teams turned it over several times, but the Eagles came out on top by forcing four turnovers to three, and taking advantage of their field goal opportunities. Veteran LB Shannon Long was game MVP after finishing the game with two sacks, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.

The win, coupled with a Washington loss, puts us tied at the top of the division with both New York and Washington - we're still on the outside looking in in terms of playoffs, though... (Just to keep the good news theme going, the injury list had a number of new additions this week, including starting receiver Oskolkoff, backup receiver McIndoe and backup CB Baltzer.)

Week 16: Indianapolis (4-10) 14-16 Philadelphia (9-5)
This one looked like a tough loss for a long time, as former Eagles QB Jeremy Wason threw two TD passes for the Colts, but a 71-yard drive in the last two and a half minutes led to the winning field goal. DE Rod Salerno continued his great season with another two sacks and the game MVP award.

Well, we're finally in a playoff spot - the win puts us in one of the wild-card spots (and there's only one team that can take that away from us - New York are the only other team who can go past us, but they're one game behind at 9-6.) We have a chance to earn a week off, though - our last game is against Washington, who share our 10-5 record, and are ahead of us only due to a tiebreaker.

Week 17: Washington (10-5) 11-24 Philadelphia (10-5)
With the injuries we've had this year, a week off would be very welcome. The team put in one of their more complete performances of the year, with Hutchins (17/18-196-1-0, rush TD) at his accurate best, CB Jordan making yet another pickoff, and the defence able to keep the Redskins in check for most of the day.

The win earns the Eagles another NFC East title and a first round bye, but doesn't appear to be enough to give us home-field advantage - the Bucs also finished at 11-5, but have a better conference record than Philadelphia.

Looking around the league, three teams in the AFC West made the playoffs with 10-6 records, while San Diego were the odd team out, only managing an 8-8 finish. Thirty of the thirty-two teams in the league finished between 5-11 and 11-5, with only New Orleans (3-13) and the reverse-perfection of Arizona (0-16) breaking the unrelenting spread of parity.

[MartinD]

2022 Playoffs

As the Eagles took the opportunity of enjoying a well-earned week off, the Redskins lost in the wild card round to San Francisco - the 49ers' win earned them a trip to Philadelphia in the divisional round.

The 49ers are led by 7th-year veteran QB Orlando Turnage - not a star, but a guy who managed over 3000 yards passing this season. His top receiver is SE Ronnie Sprague, a first round pick last year who was within touching distance of his first 1000-yard season this year. The ground game is in the hands of Ike Sganga, another former first-round pick. On defence, the guys to watch out for are veteran DE Dana Landrum (14.5 sacks) and CB Ernie Lofton (3 interceptions, 13 pass defences). The Eagles start out as 2-point favourites.

After winning the toss on a bright January day in Philadelphia, the Eagles took a short opening kickoff back into San Francisco territory - one Hutchins-inspired drive later, and the home team are up 7-0, the veteran QB throwing a 2-yard TD pass to Mori for the score. The 49ers came back with a good drive of their own, but stalled in the red zone and were forced to settle for a field goal to cut the lead to 7-3. Another long kickoff return from Wynn put the Eagles in good position again, and again they took advantage, Hutchins finding Douglas with a 3-yarder for his second TD pass of the day - 14-3 Philadelphia late in the first quarter.

After forcing a San Francisco punt, the Eagles were driving when McIndoe fumbled possession away - Turnage made the Eagles pay, throwing a 19-yard TD pass to Moore to get his team back within 4 once again at 14-10. CB/KR Thurman Wynn was having a great day on returns, however, and took the ensuing kickoff back the little matter of 105 yards for the TD - 21-10 Eagles. Neither team was able to get into scoring range in the remainder of the first half, so the Eagles took that 11-point lead into the locker room at half-time.

San Francisco got the ball first in the second half, knowing that they had a lot of work to do to come back against a team with a reputation for being good front-runners in the playoffs. They did not get a good start to the third quarter, though, with backup RB Fellin fumbling the ball away on their first possession - while Hutchins was unable to move the Eagles down the field for a TD, veteran K Matt Oden put his 44-yard field goal try right down the middle to extend the lead to 14 at 24-10. After forcing a three-and-out on San Francisco's next possession, the lead was extended by three more on Oden's 41-yard field goal after a short but productive drive from the Eagles offence. Now down by 17, Turnage tried to make too much happen on the 49ers' next drive, fumbling after deciding to scramble. Another short drive led to another Oden field goal - while the Philadelphia offence was unable to take advantage of starting on the San Francisco 33, Oden's third field goal of the quarter extended the lead to 30-10. With the game well in hand, the Eagles' defence emphasised that superiority by forcing another San Francisco punt to end the third quarter.

With a 20-point lead to defend, the fourth quarter was a formality for the Eagles - the defence was able to hold strong against a 49ers' offence forced to be one-dimensional, while a low-risk offensive effort was rewarded by two further Oden field goals, making the final score 36-10 Philadelphia.

While this was not a performance to make headlines, the Eagles put in a very solid showing in this game - the offence was effective (although the running game left a bit to be desired), while the defence stifled the 49ers' offence, with DE Rod Salerno leading the way with another multiple-sack showing. Special teams were also important, with both Wynn (3 kick returns for 175 yards and a TD) and Samanta (4 punt returns for 46 yards) doing their bit to change field position.

This win was not without a cost, however - top CB Jordan is out indefinitely after suffering from a serious anxiety attack, veteran guard Zack Martin and starting MLB Robertson both suffered Achilles injuries, while K Matt Oden will miss his first game in 14 years after breaking his leg. I decide to take a chance on rookie K Johnnie Sessions as Oden's replacement for the remainder of the season, and also sign 2nd-year MLB Albert Gaines to provide depth in the middle of our defence.

[MartinD]

NFC Championship Game

As I suspected, Tampa Bay have home-field advantage in the NFC playoffs on a tiebreaker, so we have to travel to Florida for this year's NFC Championship game. The Bucs have very few standout performers, but 10th-year veteran receiver Jerry Raymond (76 catches, 1249 yards) and rookie DE Mitch Brooks (10.5 sacks) have had very good years. The Tampa Bay offence is led by Shaun Langham, a 9th-year veteran who bounced around the league for a number of years before finding a starting job in Tampa (he actually played one year in Philadelphia in 2018 before being traded to the Bucs) - while he's an effective starter, he is prone to making the big mistake.

Tampa Bay go into the game as 3-point favourites, which looks to be a reasonable line for this game.

Philadelphia got the ball first, but were unable to muster a first down - by contrast, the Bucs started the game with a 74-yard drive, resulting in the game's first points on a Langham to RB Almon 12-yard TD pass. A holding penalty on the kickoff return meant that the Eagles started their next drive on their own 9, but Hutchins found Mori then Oskolkoff in stride on consecutive plays to get his team deep into Tampa territory - the drive stalled there, but rookie kicker Sessions made no mistake from 29 yards to make it 7-3. The first quarter ended with the Bucs again on the march - penalties stalled the drive, though, but the home team added a field goal to their total, making the score 10-3 early in the second quarter.

The defences started to get a feel for what the opposing offences were trying to do in the second quarter - both teams went three and out on their next drives, but the Tampa punt put the Eagles in a hole at their own 1. One first down gave Philadelphia a bit of breathing room, but a defensive stop gave the Bucs great field position, starting their next drive at the Philly 44. The Tampa offence was able to take advantage of the field position, with Langham throwing his second TD pass of the day, a 7-yarder to Raymond. Now down 17-3, the Eagles needed to put together a solid offensive drive to get back into the game - the Tampa defence forced a fumble from Douglas, giving their offence the ball in great field position once again. This time, the Bucs were unable to take advantage - the Eagles defence forced them to try a long field goal, which was unsuccessful. This miss turned the momentum back towards the Eagles, and Hutchins went to work, driving his team down the field - the veteran QB tried to force one pass a bit too much, though, and was picked off in the end zone. Neither team threatened to score for the remainder of the half, so the Bucs went in ahead by 14 at 17-3.

Tampa got the ball first in the third quarter - a penalty on the kick return saw them start inside their own 10. A sack from Hansen and Salerno forced Langham to try to force a pass on third and long, and Wynn made the interception, returning it 12 yards for a TD that brought the Eagles back within 7 at 17-10. A Tampa three-and-out gave the Eagles the ball back, but the offence was unable to gain a first down - the Bucs took advantage of the reprieve by driving down the field for a field goal to extend their lead to 10. The Bucs' defence kept up the momentum by forcing the Eagles to go three-and-out, and Tampa's offence took full advantage - an 80-yard drive ended in another Langham to Raymond touchdown pass, this time from 10 yards. Tampa's lead was now 17, with less than 15 minutes to play.

Down three scores, the Eagles' offence knew that a scoring drive was a must at this point - knowing that the Tampa defence would expect the pass, McIndoe and Shipman had their number called several times each on the ensuing drive, which was capped by Hutchins finding Mori from 6 yards out to bring Philadelphia back within range at 27-17. The Tampa offence tried to run the clock down a bit, but were only able to gain 5 yards on three plays, and were forced to punt, giving the Eagles' offence the ball back with a little over 6 minutes left. Hutchins found Oskolkoff and Mori on consecutive plays to move his team into scoring range, but once again tried to force a pass to Douglas, and the Bucs gratefully accepted the interception and a big let-off. That effectively ended the game, as the Bucs were able to run the clock down to the two-minute warning on their next possession, then stifled any chance of a last-minute comeback with some solid defence.

A solid all-round performance from Tampa Bay earned them this win - Langham (19/29-234-3-1) was game MVP, with solid support from RBs Almon (23-85, 5 catches for 40 yards and a TD) and Straw (12-52) and FL Raymond (5-96-2). On defence, the Bucs forced Hutchins into two interceptions, and put him under constant pressure. For the Eagles, Hutchins (16/34-187-1-2) did not have his best game, but Shipman (16-75) and Oskolkoff (4-84) put in good performances.

This was a bit of a disappointing game, but we were playing a very solid team in their own stadium - I can't really have any complaints about losing to an inferior team here!

The Bucs went on to win the Bowl, beating Denver 28-23.

[MartinD]

2022 Summary


Year 2022
Record 12-6
Winning Pct. .666
All-Time 143-128-1
Winning Pct. .527
Playoffs 12-8
Playoff Visits 9
Bowl Wins 1
Head Coach Wesley Bandle
Record 122-73
Winning Pct. .625
Off. Coord. B. Meier
Def. Coord. E. Blackburn

Philadelphia Eagles Team Rank
Rushes per Game 34.3 2
Rushing Yards 129.1 6
Yards Per Carry 3.77 24 (T)
Pass Attempts 27.4 31
Completions 18.8 23
Completion Pct. 68.6 2
Passing Yards 189.6 26
Yards Per Attempt 6.91 7
Yards Per Catch 10.08 21
Total Yardage Gained 312.9 14
3rd Down Conversions 37.9 15
Points Per Game 17.8 20
Pass Rush Pct. 10.4 32
Pass Defense Pct. 51.8 13
Turnovers 17 2 (T)
Turnover Margin +11 4

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes per Game 24.1 2
Rushing Yards 100.6 8
Yards Per Carry 4.18 22
Pass Attempts 30.1 5
Completions 19.6 10 (T)
Completion Pct. 65.1 27
Passing Yards 201.4 7
Yards Per Attempt 6.70 22
Yards Per Catch 10.30 14
Total Yardage Gained 280.1 2
3rd Down Conversions 34.2 7
Points Per Game 14.8 2
Pass Rush Pct. 11.8 4 (T)
Pass Defense Pct. 34.1 2
Turnovers 28 6 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 28 at NYK 21
2 31 JAX 24
3 14 at NOS 10
4 23 MIN 14
5 16 DET 6
6 17 at GBY 13
7 7 at WAS 22
9 13 at CHI 14
10 15 NYK 35
11 13 at DAL 24
12 24 at TEN 3
13 24 SFO 6
14 10 at HOU 17
15 9 DAL 3
16 16 IND 14
17 24 WAS 11
$$CS 36 SFO 10
$$CF 17 at TBY 27

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int Rate
18 K. Hutchins QB 383 274 2735 7.14 17 7 98.6
**Team --- 439 301 3033 6.91 18 7 95.0
$$Opp --- 481 313 3223 6.70 16 16 81.5

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD Fum
30 S. Shipman RB 226 790 3.50 1 8
32 E. McIndoe RB 111 405 3.65 0 2
34 T. Logan RB 94 398 4.23 2 0
33 V. Compton RB 83 351 4.23 3 3
**Team --- 548 2065 3.77 7 24 
Front Office Football 2007
$$Opp --- 385 1609 4.18 10 29

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop TD
81 K. Oskolkoff WR 101 64 806 12.59 7.98 5 7
80 C. Douglas WR 81 51 509 9.98 6.28 5 1
86 R. Mori WR 74 50 602 12.04 8.14 2 4
88 C. Kelley TE 31 23 258 11.22 8.32 2 3
31 C. Lane FB 26 21 119 5.67 4.58 2 0
87 C. Rose TE 21 18 135 7.50 6.43 2 0

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn PDPct
54 J. Small OLB 73 20 4.5 4 1 2 71.6
50 H. Robertson ILB 71 21 1.5 0 0 2 70.4
51 S. Long OLB 63 23 4.0 0 2 4 77.5
91 R. Salerno DE 56 17 15.0 14 0 0 81.2
25 J. Jordan CB 46 13 2.0 0 6 11 84.8
21 R. Lowe S 43 13 0.0 0 1 4 79.1
99 T. Clayton DT 36 16 7.5 5 0 0 81.9
20 R. Logan S 32 12 1.0 0 2 4 79.6
27 G. Linville CB 30 8 2.0 0 2 4 78.8
29 T. Wynn CB 29 9 0.0 0 2 8 82.5
23 X. Wilcox S 27 13 0.5 0 0 7 83.8
90 J. Hansen DE 26 13 8.5 8 0 0 80.8
53 J. Malone OLB 26 10 1.0 0 0 1 77.2
26 B. Hastings CB 26 5 0.0 0 0 1 72.2
97 R. Necaise DT 24 12 2.0 1 0 0 80.2
96 D. Starks DT 24 14 0.5 0 0 0 82.5
28 B. Baltzer CB 22 8 0.0 0 0 1 76.7
24 L. Branham CB 18 6 0.5 0 0 3 76.8
56 E. Shannon ILB 16 4 0.0 0 0 1 74.1


This was a bit of a strange season - the offence wasn't quite as prolific (although this was partly due to a slight shift in emphasis towards the run - thought that this would be productive given our weakness at receiver and the strong offensive line), while the defence was solid rather than spectacular. The RB-by-committee approach was partly successful - neither Shipman or McIndoe was particularly productive, though - so this may be a sign that we need a solid starting back rather than trying to get by with lesser players. Our receivers did a reasonable job, although Douglas struggled to get downfield as much as I would have liked. On defence, the team did a good job - veterans Salerno and Jordan had good years, while Hansen and Clayton were also productive. Our kicking specialists were a bit of a disappointment, with Hawks having a poor year (36.7 yards net average) - Oden did a decent job (26/32 on field goals), but is definitely well onto the slippery slope. The return game was decent, though - first in the league in punt returns (10.7 yards/return), second on kick returns (28.8 yards/return) and best in the league for returns allowed.

2022 Season Awards

Three Eagles were mentioned in the season awards - CB Jerome Jordan was made a First Team All-Pro (for the third time, but the first time since 2016), while LG Zack Martin and DE Rod Salerno were included in the second team.

A late addition to the Eagles' contingent in the awards was head coach Wesley Bandle, who was the Coach of the Year for 2022.

Looking ahead to next season...

This may well be the season when the rebuilding project has to start - Keith Hutchins is a free agent once again, and our key defensive players (most notably Salerno and Jordan) are definitely on the downside of their careers. Our offensive line is in good shape, even with Martin's career winding down, but the offensive skill positions are definitely a bit threadbare.

Is this a team that is likely to be challenging for the Bowl next year? I suspect that this may be a bit unlikely.