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Let's get to the links...
Heath Evans doesn't own up to the absurdly stupid things he said about Chip Kelly last year - JimmyK, Philly.com
Heath Evans of NFL Network is the worst. Can that just be the entire article? No? OK then... Last year Evans wrote one of the dumbest columns of the year, titled "Philadelphia Eagles' hire of Chip Kelly could be NFL's worst ever." Today, he went on WIP with Michael Barkann and Ike Reese and blamed his editors for changes made to that asinine article. The article itself had three main terrible points. 1) That Chip Kelly wouldn't have the same recruiting advantage in the pros that he had in college. 2) He was outcoached in a game against Stanford. 3) QBs are exposed to injury in his system.
Heath Evans Blames Editors For His Chip Kelly Prediction - Spike Eskin, CBS Philly
Heath Evans is hilarious. There is clearly some time before we can crown Kelly the next Lombardi, but when you say the hire might be the worst of all time, and it looks like maybe that was off-base, maybe you should just come clean. We’re all wrong, all the time. If it was easy to predict these things, we’d all be millionaires. But blaming editors for the prediction is questionable.
How Important is Size? - Tommy Lawlor, Iggles Blitz
Chip Kelly’s most famous phrase as an Eagles coach is this…"Big people beat up little people." Andy Reid’s fastballs are gone. Kelly believes in size. He loves speed as well, but not enough to sacrifice size. I see nothing wrong with Kelly’s theory and it has worked pretty well so far. As the Eagles head into the offseason and prepare to bring in another set of new players, the desire for bigger guys gets more complicated.
Fan-Demonium: Scouting The Senior Bowl - Tommy Lawlor, Iggles Blitz
Inside linebacker Christian Jones - Florida State - 6-foot-3, 232 pounds: Jones intrigues the heck out of me. He was a 4-3 outside linebacker for most of his career. FSU used him as a pass rusher down the stretch this season. Jones only had two sacks, but was very disruptive off the edge and showed impressive quickness. He can really fly off the ball. Mix that in with his cover skills and ability as a run defender and you've got a complete player. The Eagles could draft Jones as a backup linebacker for now and use him for depth on the inside and outside. He could eventually replace DeMeco Ryans in the starting lineup, but be a good role player until then. You could play Jones in the nickel defense. You could use him to backup Connor Barwin. Jones would also be a good special teams player. Really intriguing guy. The Steelers drafted former Seminoles star Lawrence Timmons based on his play as an outside linebacker. He's now a star inside linebacker for them. Jones could be similar to Timmons.
Four days in Mobile: Wrapping up Senior Bowl practices - Dan Kadar, Mocking the Draft
While it doesn't totally lack merit, a week of four practices at the Senior Bowl far outweigh what will happen during Saturday's game. In front of crowds of NFL personnel executives and scouts, players had a chance to raise their NFL Draft stock in a completely new setting. Several players helped themselves, but others struggled to stand out. For many players, especially the quarterbacks in attendance, the practices affirmed what we already knew about them. The Senior Bowl is a good way to gauge and get an understanding for the exact skill set a player possesses. For some, that was beneficial. For others, not as much. Dumping everything out of my notebook, here is a breakdown of players who looked the best, helped themselves the most and some general news, notes and observations.
Eagles' CB Williams walks the talk - Paul Domowitch, Daily News
CARY WILLIAMS isn't everybody's cup of tea. The Eagles cornerback says what's on his mind, and what's on his mind isn't always what people, including his own coaches, want to hear. Remember those training-camp practices against the Patriots last summer? Remember Williams, who got tossed out of one of them for getting into a fight with Patriots wide receiver Aaron Dobson, saying that the defense needed to get tougher, needed to become feared, needed "a nasty"?
Word of Muth Wraps Up the Eagles - Ben Muth, Football Outsiders
Philadelphia fans should enter the offseason feeling good about their offensive tackles. Jason Peters returned from not one, but two torn Achilles tendons. Peters put together a fine season, one that would likely guarantee him Comeback Player of the Year honors if he played any position other than offensive line. I was surprised by how well Peters was moving by the end of the year, both in his pass set and at the second level in the running game. It didn’t seem like he had lost a step to the injuries -- I never would’ve guessed he hadn’t played at all in 2012. I still don’t think he’s the player he was before the injury. He isn’t playing with as much power in the running game, and he seems to struggle anchoring on bull rushes a little more, but he’s still a damn fine offensive tackle.
Five Eagles who may be asked to take pay cuts - Geoff Mosher, CSN Philly
The Eagles are one of the NFL’s best teams at managing the salary cap. They’re almost never pushed to the limit and always have cap flexibility to be selectively aggressive in free agency. One way they’ve maintained cap success over the years is by getting veterans to agree to pay cuts. It works for both parties. When a player accepts a pay cut, his roster spot is preserved and he doesn’t have to worry about making the team. On the flip side, the money saved through pay cuts enables the team to hand out contract extensions to young, promising talents without pushing their salary cap to the limit. Here’s a list of Eagles veterans who could be asked to reduce their salaries to ensure their place on the 2014 roster.
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