January 28, 2017
Yesterday, during our weekly Eagles chat, I answered questions for two hours before the system shut off automatically. Since there were still a few dozen unanswered questions left in the queue, let's do an chat overflow mailbag post.
Q: Are Eddie Lacy or Darren McFadden good fits for the Eagles?
A: I think that if the Eagles were going to spend money on a running back free agent, they should be young, at least moderately productive as a runner, and a weapon in the passing game. I took a quick look at the running back free agent class, and nobody really stands out to me in that regard other than Le'Veon Bell, and that's not happening.
One guy who maybe makes some sense to me is the Cowboys' Lance Dunbar. He was set to break out in 2015, when he had 21 receptions through the first three games, but tore his ACL and MCL in the fourth game.
His playing time was way down in 2016, so I would imagine he'll sign elsewhere. He's still reasonably young (he just turned 27) with very little mileage, and he's a guy you can move all over the formation as a receiving threat.
If the Eagles could get him dirt cheap, I could see that, but if I were the Eagles, I'd be more inclined to pluck a back from this very deep and talented draft class.
Q from Hunter: The Eagles’ special teams units have outperformed for a few years now and my question is it because they pay more for special teams? It makes a huge difference for us every year and I feel like everyone thinks that phase of the game is luck.
A: It's definitely not luck. There are teams that are consistently good on special teams, and other teams that are consistently bad. For example, the Chicago Bears team that went to the Super Bowl with freaking Rex Grossman had outstanding special teams units for years. Conversely, the Redskins had a stretch where their special teams units were pathetic, via Football Outsiders:
| Year | Football Outsiders ranking |
| 2008 | 25th |
| 2009 | 23rd |
| 2010 | 25th |
| 2011 | 21st |
| 2012 | 28th |
| 2013 | 32nd |
| 2014 | 29th |
(They've since gotten better).
For all of his faults, one of the great things Chip Kelly did in his tenure with the Eagles was bring back great special teams play. In 2014 and 2015, the Eagles scored 10 special teams touchdowns, an absolutely ridiculous total.
Kelly's fast-paced practices emphasized special teams. While I cannot confirm this for sure, there's almost no way there was another team in the NFL that practiced special teams drills more than the Eagles did when Kelly was the head coach.
Under Doug Pederson, the Eagles' practices were more instructive in training camp, and thus, slower. There are benefits and drawbacks to that approach, and one of the drawbacks is that the Eagles are paid far less attention to special teams in practice. I wondered how much that would affect them this season. Not at all, apparently. Football Outsiders ranked their special teams units No. 1 in the NFL in 2016.
During the season, the Eagles locked up Chris Maragos, Donnie Jones, and Jon Dorenbos to long term deals. I'm sure they'll also bring back Trey Burton on his RFA tender. I think that's a sign that special teams will remain a priority from the front office perspective. And obviously, Dave Fipp looks like one hell of a special teams coach, and is even beginning to get some mentions as a potential head coach candidate.
Q from Kenny: Given the depth of this year’s draft do you expect them to possibly trade back into the 20’s and grab extra picks?
I asked Howie a similar question at the Senior Bowl. He said that the Eagles have had the most success drafting players when they've been drafting in the top 20, and he's right. Here are the guys the Eagles have drafted in the first round from 1-19 vs. 20+ over the last eight years:
| 1-19 | 20+ |
| Carson Wentz (2) | Nelson Agholor (20) |
| Lane Johnson (4) | Marcus Smith (26) |
| Fletcher Cox (12) | Danny Watkins (23) |
| Brandon Graham (13) | |
| Jeremy Maclin (19) |
Extra picks would be nice, but their focus seems to be on just taking a good player at 14/15. I think they're more likely to move up than down.
Q fro H2O: Do you really think Donnel Pumphrey can be anything more than a gadget guy at 5’8, 169? I’m not as high on him as a lot of people, but could be fine if they wanted to draft him in round 6 or 7.
A: Pumphrey's stock took a big hit when he weighed in at the Senior Bowl at 169. That is tiny. During the season, he was listed at 180, which is "only" 11 pounds heavier, but there's a much bigger difference between a RB who weighs 169 vs. 180 and, say, a tight end who weighs 249 vs. 260.
Darren Sproles is 5'6, but he weighs 190. He's thick, and his body has held up over a long NFL career despite his lack of height. There's a huge different between Pumphrey's frame and Sproles'.
Pumphrey is a really skilled player, obviously, seeing as he led the nation in rushing with 2133 yards. What he has done at his size is incredible. But I'm with you that he'd be a tough player to take a chance on earlier than the 6th round.
Q from Ross: The Eagles D-Line struggled to get to QBs for long periods of time last year. Was that mostly because Barwin could never beat a LT one on one and thus the better linemen were doubled, or did they all struggle to a certain degree?
A: Generally speaking, I thought the defensive line as a whole underachieved to some small degree, although there were certain games when they dominated, like the Vikings game, for example. That said, Barwin was a liability. In most games, opposing offenses asked their LT to handle Barwin on his own, which they were able to do.
When you have a star LT, that's a big advantage. The Eagles had one in Tra Thomas for years, and then Jason Peters. They often asked those two guys to take out the edge rusher across from them on their own. That allows for the rest of the offensive line to give help against other good defensive linemen. Barwin was invisible most of the season. It was almost like the Eagles were facing a stud LT every week, when in reality, they were not.
Barwin still has a chance to be a useful player in the NFL, but it's not in this scheme.
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