*** 1948 * 1949 * 1960 * 2017 * 2024...YOUR SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS: THE PHILADELPHIA EAGLES ***

The Juggler

That's a good way of looking at it. Kiper said the Panthers should have taken Mathews instead of Benjamin at the end of the first....

They got an udfa kicker to battle with Henery in camp too. Good move. Still can't believe they spent a 4th rounder on a kicker a few years ago...

JK_Livin

Murder Leg

http://youtu.be/OCmL4JvetG8

http://youtu.be/I1vp4IIfxwM

The Juggler

Murder Legs HAS to make this team

JK_Livin

I didn't even pay attention to how far the kickoffs were.

JK_Livin

This month is the 20th anniversary of Jeffrey Lurie buying the Eagles from Norman Braman. So let’s take stock of what Lurie’s done. He’s put his franchise in position to be a 12-time playoff team. While two teams in the NFC East, the Giants and Cowboys, have won a total of three Super Bowls in those two decades, the Eagles have won none. Lurie has hired one very good coach, Andy Reid, and positioned the franchise well by hiring a second coach, Chip Kelly, who looks like he’ll adjust to the NFL and have a good career. Let’s do a 20-year study of the NFC East during the 20 seasons since Lurie bought the team (1994-2013):


Team W-L-T Pct. Division Titles Playoff Appearances Super Bowl Wins
Philadelphia 176-142-2 .553 7 12 0
Dallas 170-150 .531 6 9 1
New York 168-151-1 .527 5 8 2
Washington 136-183-1 .427 2 4 0

A frustrated Eagles fan said to me at training camp a couple of years ago he was exasperated with the Andy Reid regime and the team’s inability to ever win the big one. I said to him that almost every July, you look at the Eagles and feel they can contend to play football in January, and there aren’t many franchises you can say that about. I understand that franchises, and ownerships, are ultimately measured by the number of titles they win. So the Eagles, obviously, need to win one to show that Lurie is making all the right calls and putting the right people in position with his franchise. But I like the consistency of the ship he runs.

The Juggler

cool wsj article on the birds philosophy of drafting players with degrees. worth a read--

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304422704579572050338722302

The Philadelphia Eagles' Personnel Strategy: Targeting College Grads

Six of the Seven Players the Team Drafted This Year Are on Track to Graduate


Philadelphia Eagles draft pick Beau Allen, a defensive tackle who made the Big Ten's all-academic team while at Wisconsin. Getty Images

The rookies whom the Philadelphia Eagles drafted this month can recall the same odd occurrence: the time an NFL team grilled them on whether they opened any books—besides their playbooks—during their years in college.


The Philadelphia Eagles want to see your college degree as well as your 40-yard dash. Six of the seven Eagles draft picks this year are on track to graduate. WSJ's Geoff Foster explains the strategy on the News Hub with Sara Murray. Photo: AP.

Armed with science and a bit of logic, the Eagles have quietly scoured the college ranks for something that has little to do with 40-yard dash times or bench-press abilities. They want players who have earned college degrees.

"When you look at people who are successful in any profession, it always goes back to college graduates," said Eagles general manager Howie Roseman. "We found NFL players are no different."

When Beau Allen, a 325-pound nose tackle from Wisconsin, toured the country before the draft to visit with teams, he got a question or two about academics. Most teams didn't ask much more than just what kind of student he was. Then he sat down with Chip Kelly, the Eagles' radical coach.

Kelly began peppering him with questions about why he chose his major (business), what his hardest class was and why ("I'm not much of an accounting guy," he said. "I always struggle with it") and how he learned in the classroom—that is, what professors needed to do to get through to him. Allen pegged himself as a visual learner, someone who likes to write everything down in a notebook to memorize it. A computer won't do.

After the Eagles drafted him in the seventh round, Allen arrived in Philadelphia to see that every player was given—uh oh—a tablet computer in which to see the playbook. Players were taking screenshots to better memorize plays. Allen was slightly panicked until he saw his stylus had a pen on the other end, and that the team gave him a notebook, too. Yes, Allen thought, the Eagles cared about how he learned.

Allen, who made the Big Ten Conference's all-academic team while at Wisconsin, is one of six Eagle draftees to be on track to graduate out of the seven players they selected. In today's game, that is unusual: This year, 98 college players went pro after their junior season, a record that marks a 34% increase from 2013 and an 85% increase from 2010. (That total doesn't include players who had playing eligibility left but had already graduated.)

Philadelphia's philosophy of pursuing graduates was born when Roseman, the Eagles' general manager since 2010, and Kelly, the team's second-year coach, each discovered that teams with the most college graduates are overwhelmingly successful. Kelly learned this late in his coaching tenure at Oregon, when former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, whose son played at Oregon, mentioned in a talk to Oregon players that in the 2000s, the two teams who happened to have loads of graduates were the Colts and New England Patriots. Those teams dominated the first decade of this century.

"I didn't know he'd take it this far," Dungy said, jokingly.

In a private conversation later, Dungy, now an analyst for NBC, told Kelly that his research showed players with degrees were more likely to earn a second NFL contract and make more money. He told Kelly "the guys with degrees have what you are looking for. They are driven. If it's between two players, a degree might tip the scale. But at the time, I don't think he was even thinking of the NFL."

But before Kelly even arrived in Philadelphia, Roseman was doing his own research. Each year, Roseman and his lieutenants take the last four teams left in the playoffs and do reports on them—studying their players' height, weight, background and virtually everything else. Through those reports came evidence that the most successful teams had many college graduates on them. When Roseman and Kelly joined forces, the plan was clear.

The trends over the last five drafts are startling. Studies show that teams who select players who spent five years in college—and thus almost always have a degree—win big. Of the three teams with the most fifth-year seniors drafted, two of them met in February's Super Bowl: the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos. The Jacksonville Jaguars, who went 4-12, took the fewest.

The team that drafted the most players who stayed just three years on campus? The New York Giants, who have missed the playoffs the past two seasons. The Colts, Patriots and Washington Redskins, who have five total playoff appearances in the last two years, have taken the fewest three-year players, who rarely have college degrees.

Kelly said a degree is more than proof of intelligence. "It's also, what is their commitment?" he said. "They set goals out for themselves and can they follow through for it? A lot of people can tell you they want to do this, this and this. But look at their accomplishments."

The Eagles say they want players who are prepared, and a degree confirms that. Take wide receiver Jordan Matthews, a Vanderbilt economics major whose study habits translated perfectly to the NFL.

Before meeting with the Eagles ahead of the draft, Matthews slipped into Vanderbilt's film room and watched a few Eagles games from last season—which he did with every team he met. Matthews was able to have an informed conversation with Kelly about the intricacies of his offense, something seldom done in the slog of pre-draft interviews, where some players meet with dozens of teams. The study habits paid off: The Eagles took Matthews in the second round.

Those close to Kelly say the degree is largely valued for one reason. "Coach Kelly is an offensive genius," said former Oregon receiver Josh Huff, whom the Eagles took in the third round this month. "You have to be on the same level as him because you have to know why he's doing what he's doing."

Huff said Kelly's offense can be so complex, and understanding every nuance of it is so crucial, that uninitiated players can't be tolerated. Kelly's offense often relies on a no-huddle approach in which the ball is snapped quickly to catch the defense off guard. But it can catch the offense off guard, too.

"In this offense you have to know absolutely everything," Huff said. "If you have to think about it for a second, the ball will be snapped and you're going to be looking dumb."

No wonder the Eagles are going after the cap-and-gown crowd.

pjhawks

The Juggler said:

cool wsj article on the birds philosophy of drafting players with degrees. worth a read--

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304422704579572050338722302

The Philadelphia Eagles' Personnel Strategy: Targeting College Grads

Six of the Seven Players the Team Drafted This Year Are on Track to Graduate


Philadelphia Eagles draft pick Beau Allen, a defensive tackle who made the Big Ten's all-academic team while at Wisconsin. Getty Images

The rookies whom the Philadelphia Eagles drafted this month can recall the same odd occurrence: the time an NFL team grilled them on whether they opened any books—besides their playbooks—during their years in college.


The Philadelphia Eagles want to see your college degree as well as your 40-yard dash. Six of the seven Eagles draft picks this year are on track to graduate. WSJ's Geoff Foster explains the strategy on the News Hub with Sara Murray. Photo: AP.

Armed with science and a bit of logic, the Eagles have quietly scoured the college ranks for something that has little to do with 40-yard dash times or bench-press abilities. They want players who have earned college degrees.

"When you look at people who are successful in any profession, it always goes back to college graduates," said Eagles general manager Howie Roseman. "We found NFL players are no different."

When Beau Allen, a 325-pound nose tackle from Wisconsin, toured the country before the draft to visit with teams, he got a question or two about academics. Most teams didn't ask much more than just what kind of student he was. Then he sat down with Chip Kelly, the Eagles' radical coach.

Kelly began peppering him with questions about why he chose his major (business), what his hardest class was and why ("I'm not much of an accounting guy," he said. "I always struggle with it") and how he learned in the classroom—that is, what professors needed to do to get through to him. Allen pegged himself as a visual learner, someone who likes to write everything down in a notebook to memorize it. A computer won't do.

After the Eagles drafted him in the seventh round, Allen arrived in Philadelphia to see that every player was given—uh oh—a tablet computer in which to see the playbook. Players were taking screenshots to better memorize plays. Allen was slightly panicked until he saw his stylus had a pen on the other end, and that the team gave him a notebook, too. Yes, Allen thought, the Eagles cared about how he learned.

Allen, who made the Big Ten Conference's all-academic team while at Wisconsin, is one of six Eagle draftees to be on track to graduate out of the seven players they selected. In today's game, that is unusual: This year, 98 college players went pro after their junior season, a record that marks a 34% increase from 2013 and an 85% increase from 2010. (That total doesn't include players who had playing eligibility left but had already graduated.)

Philadelphia's philosophy of pursuing graduates was born when Roseman, the Eagles' general manager since 2010, and Kelly, the team's second-year coach, each discovered that teams with the most college graduates are overwhelmingly successful. Kelly learned this late in his coaching tenure at Oregon, when former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy, whose son played at Oregon, mentioned in a talk to Oregon players that in the 2000s, the two teams who happened to have loads of graduates were the Colts and New England Patriots. Those teams dominated the first decade of this century.

"I didn't know he'd take it this far," Dungy said, jokingly.

In a private conversation later, Dungy, now an analyst for NBC, told Kelly that his research showed players with degrees were more likely to earn a second NFL contract and make more money. He told Kelly "the guys with degrees have what you are looking for. They are driven. If it's between two players, a degree might tip the scale. But at the time, I don't think he was even thinking of the NFL."

But before Kelly even arrived in Philadelphia, Roseman was doing his own research. Each year, Roseman and his lieutenants take the last four teams left in the playoffs and do reports on them—studying their players' height, weight, background and virtually everything else. Through those reports came evidence that the most successful teams had many college graduates on them. When Roseman and Kelly joined forces, the plan was clear.

The trends over the last five drafts are startling. Studies show that teams who select players who spent five years in college—and thus almost always have a degree—win big. Of the three teams with the most fifth-year seniors drafted, two of them met in February's Super Bowl: the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos. The Jacksonville Jaguars, who went 4-12, took the fewest.

The team that drafted the most players who stayed just three years on campus? The New York Giants, who have missed the playoffs the past two seasons. The Colts, Patriots and Washington Redskins, who have five total playoff appearances in the last two years, have taken the fewest three-year players, who rarely have college degrees.

Kelly said a degree is more than proof of intelligence. "It's also, what is their commitment?" he said. "They set goals out for themselves and can they follow through for it? A lot of people can tell you they want to do this, this and this. But look at their accomplishments."

The Eagles say they want players who are prepared, and a degree confirms that. Take wide receiver Jordan Matthews, a Vanderbilt economics major whose study habits translated perfectly to the NFL.

Before meeting with the Eagles ahead of the draft, Matthews slipped into Vanderbilt's film room and watched a few Eagles games from last season—which he did with every team he met. Matthews was able to have an informed conversation with Kelly about the intricacies of his offense, something seldom done in the slog of pre-draft interviews, where some players meet with dozens of teams. The study habits paid off: The Eagles took Matthews in the second round.

Those close to Kelly say the degree is largely valued for one reason. "Coach Kelly is an offensive genius," said former Oregon receiver Josh Huff, whom the Eagles took in the third round this month. "You have to be on the same level as him because you have to know why he's doing what he's doing."

Huff said Kelly's offense can be so complex, and understanding every nuance of it is so crucial, that uninitiated players can't be tolerated. Kelly's offense often relies on a no-huddle approach in which the ball is snapped quickly to catch the defense off guard. But it can catch the offense off guard, too.

"In this offense you have to know absolutely everything," Huff said. "If you have to think about it for a second, the ball will be snapped and you're going to be looking dumb."

No wonder the Eagles are going after the cap-and-gown crowd.

I like this theory although i believe Desean Jackson graduated from Cal-Berkeley. makes sense about guys who graduated from college though.

The Juggler

Desean left after his junior year

The Juggler

so the ota's are the ota's but.....damn it, it's pretty encouraging reading all the good things being said about mathews so far.

JK_Livin

I saw Barwin, Kelce and Sanchez in the pit at the Dave Matthews show on Saturday night.

Cliffy6745

JK_Livin said:

I saw Barwin, Kelce and Sanchez in the pit at the Dave Matthews show on Saturday night.

Saw Kelce at Plough on Friday. I do not typically hang out at Plough, before anyone says anything.

That show looks like it was really solid.

The Juggler

Cliffy6745 said:

JK_Livin said:

I saw Barwin, Kelce and Sanchez in the pit at the Dave Matthews show on Saturday night.

Saw Kelce at Plough on Friday. I do not typically hang out at Plough, before anyone says anything.

That show looks like it was really solid.

Jesus Christ....I didn't realize that place was still open. Haven't been there in about 11 years

Cliffy6745

The Juggler said:

Cliffy6745 said:

JK_Livin said:

I saw Barwin, Kelce and Sanchez in the pit at the Dave Matthews show on Saturday night.

Saw Kelce at Plough on Friday. I do not typically hang out at Plough, before anyone says anything.

That show looks like it was really solid.

Jesus Christ....I didn't realize that place was still open. Haven't been there in about 11 years

Ha, yes and by the look of it, it still does well for itself. It was one of my best friend's little brother's birthday, who is in his early 20's. There then Delilah's. Brought me back to when I just moved here

countonbothhands

As an Oregonian, I have to love the Eagles. Chip is the man! Things will happen for this team. They better, or I wasted money on an Eagles shirt!

JK_Livin

countonbothhands said:

As an Oregonian, I have to love the Eagles. Chip is the man! Things will happen for this team. They better, or I wasted money on an Eagles shirt!

If all it took was buying a shirt, things would've happened a long time ago.
)

I like the direction Chip's leading us though.

pjhawks

countonbothhands said:

As an Oregonian, I have to love the Eagles. Chip is the man! Things will happen for this team. They better, or I wasted money on an Eagles shirt!

well he has good press conferences so a good portion here are happy. seriously, some guys care about that here

pretty good year last year even with losing as a home favorite in the playoffs. he did cut loose the team's best receiver who was picked up by a division rival so we shall see going forward.

The Juggler

JK_Livin said:

countonbothhands said:

As an Oregonian, I have to love the Eagles. Chip is the man! Things will happen for this team. They better, or I wasted money on an Eagles shirt!

If all it took was buying a shirt, things would've happened a long time ago.
)

I like the direction Chip's leading us though.

yeah man....i'm feeling pretty good about this squad right now. camp is only a little over a month away

BIRDS!!

JK_Livin

pjhawks said:

countonbothhands said:

As an Oregonian, I have to love the Eagles. Chip is the man! Things will happen for this team. They better, or I wasted money on an Eagles shirt!

well he has good press conferences so a good portion here are happy. seriously, some guys care about that here

pretty good year last year even with losing as a home favorite in the playoffs. he did cut loose the team's best receiver who was picked up by a division rival so we shall see going forward.

That's it. I'm taping every single word Chip says this year and then I'm going to send it to you. )

The Juggler

"Invest in yourself"

JK_Livin

The Juggler said:

"Invest in yourself"

http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/article-1/Kellys-Culture-About-Investing-Not-Spending/6f85008f-dbd2-4e50-b796-8b76cfd7469e