Seems like the news sources are reporting they're going to let him test the market. If they do that, I bet he's as a good as gone. I think his production is inflated due to playing across from one of the best deep threats in the NFL and having his quarterback be Aaron Fucking Rogers, but someone with cap space is going to give him a correspondingly inflated payday.
Also released Trent Cole and Cary Williams. Appears Chip is showing that this is his team and he's building it his way, which means clearing plenty of cap space for the offseason and probably a push for Mariota. Meanwhile, the PR circus continues in Chicago. Such a joke.
So, Parker... it looks like McCourty, Revis and Wilfork are all going to hit the market. Not surprised about Wilfork and Revis, kinda surprised they didn't get a deal done already with McCourty.
This off-season has already been crazy. - Suh to Dolphins - Lesean McCoy & Matt Cassel to Bills - Orange Julius to Jacksonville - Frank Gore & Byron Maxwell to Eagles Other rumors are Jeremy Maclin to the Chiefs and Kaepernick to the Eagles. Also, with Suh & Wake on the Dolphins, and the Bills planning to re-sign Hughes along with Dareus and the Buffalo Williamses, I think the AFC East might be trying to actually kill Brady.
It's amazing to me that San Francisco was one of the top 5 teams in the NFC over the last 3 years. I'll be surprised if they hit .500 this year. Speaking of ridiculous things that are happening, what the fuck, Philadelphia? How do you let Maclin walk, release DeSean Jackson and trade McCoy? That's like 85% of their production, right? And then spend $25 million guaranteed on Byron Maxwell? Maxwell's stats were inflated because nobody threw to Sherman's side. He isn't particularly good in man to man and consistently gets beat by smaller shifty receivers. I realize Philly's pass defense was bad, but Jesus. Paying Maxwell at a tier lower than Revis, Sherman, et al. seems like an overpay.
I like coach Chip Kelly, but he could blow up his career if GM Chip Kelly doesn't know what the fuck he's doing. He's trying to be the Belichick of the NFC here, not sure if it is going to work, because Bill doesn't throw guaranteed money at people like that.
Yeah, I'm a Cowboys fan and it's the same thing Dallas did with Brandon Carr. Overspend on a CB because you need one. Now they're trying to get Carr to take a pay cut. As a Cowboys fan, I like what the Eagles are doing. Overpay for Maxwell. Let Maclin walk. Trade LeSean McCoy and put Frank Gore in his place. Re-sign Mark Sanchez. Who else thinks Kelly is going to trade up and get Mariota?
Seriously, if no one threw to Sherman, then shouldn't that make Maxwell's stats look...well, worse? I think Kelly is cleaning out a locker room full of people that weren't fully on board. Riley Cooper shows promise, Foles could be trade bait and Sanchez is farily cheap for a starting vet QB. I know he was awful with the Jets, but he's proven in Philly he can win when he needs to. I think Philly has more quality for less cash in two QB's than most other teams (how much is Dalton getting next year?) and going for Mariota makes sense if he can be cheaply acquired. As for Gore: yes he's older, but he's reliable and with Sproles, it's a decent tandem to supplement with a rookie or two. Gore won't be the sole running back in Kelly's system, so his age is less of a factor? Given his "system", he can make any receiver/Rb look like a superstar so why spend the huge cash on talent like Maclin or Jackson? Draft some functional, flexible players in the 2nd-4th rounds and let Maclin get himself a payday with Andy Reid, who needs receiver so damned bad it's upsetting. It seems what Kelly is trying to build is a set of cheap, flexible and interchangeable players with a solid, gunslinger QB and a defense that doesn't give up the big play.
The Eagles had a chance to make the playoffs this year and Sanchez couldn't win a game. They were 9-3 and at least 1 game ahead of the Cowboys. They lost to the Seahawks. They lost to the Cowboys. Then they needed a win against the Redskins to stay in the hunt and they lost that game. The won a meaningless game 17 vs the Giants and missed the playoffs. I don't think Sanchez proved he can win when he needs to at all. IMO Foles is gone and Chip is going all in on Mariota.
Mark Sanchez won five games. In fact, a big part of the reason they were 9-3 after week 13 was that he won 4 of his first 5 starts. If he had played poorly after taking over, that playoff chance you speak of wouldn't have existed in the first place. So clearly he could "win a game." No one's arguing that he's Joe Montana, but he played about league average football last year (better than Foles). That, if repeated, might be enough to get you into the playoffs with an otherwise talented team. whether the Eagles qualify as that is another matter, given their free agency tomfoolery. I get not wanting to spend that kind of money on Maclin and McCoy, I guess; $11 million per year is a lot for a wideout and McCoy is an aging back who had a down year last year. But you have to spend the money somewhere; where's he spending it besides Maxwell with McCourty saying no and Gore maybe reneging? Not a lot of big cap numbers on that team: none over $10 million, only seven over $5 million.
The biggest thing is that Earl Thomas makes both the CB stats look better... but no, generally when a defense can make an offense predictable (avoiding one side of the field), it's always going to make the other defensive players look better unless the player is bad at his job. Also, if only 50% of your plays develop down field, you're going to count on those plays a lot less. An offense can "pick on" bad defensive players if they're actually bad, but great players generally improve the stats of those around them. Similar to how a good running game will often improve the stats of the receivers. He can't be. The question is only whether the Eagles will bet the farm on him or let him slide to another team.
What Binary said. If Sherman isn't being targeted, those passes have to go somewhere. Maxwell is the football version of Gilbert Arenas scoring 24 points and 7 assists on 12 of 29 shooting with 8 turnovers. These are the guys that have a cap hit of $11 million or more (courtesy of Spotrac.com). Megatron, Bowe, D Thomas, Dez, Vincent Jackson, Mike Wallace and Greg Jennings. I believe Maclin is just as good as the players on that list. Considering he'll be 27 by the start of the season, he has at least 3-5 years of top 10 WR production. Chip Kelly made a mistake letting him go. As far as McCoy goes, he's only 26 himself. According to FO, they were the 3rd worst run blocking group in the league. Despite that, he still managed to gain 1300 yards rushing. While I am somewhat reticent to call this trade a mistake (hello 600 carries in two years), Kelly went from having a guy that could get you 1000 plus yards behind a shitty O-Line to not even having a 32 year old Frank Gore.
Christ almighty. Jimmy Graham and a 4th was traded to Seattle for Max Unger and a 1st. Sam Bradford was traded to Philadelphia for Nick Foles. Haloti Ngata is now a Lion. WTF
edit: ninja'd by JJ! Seriously, what the FUCK is up with this off-season? It's barely underway and superstars are getting dealt left and right. New trades: Jimmy Graham + Saints 4th rounder to Seattle for Max Unger + Seattle's 1st rounder. Sam Bradford to Eagles for Nick Foles + undisclosed draft picks. Now the rumor is that Haloti Ngata is getting traded to the Lions. Half the 49ers are gone...