Eagles 2024-2025 Season

[zambonir]

Of course, I'm just saying it won't be easy, even without Lamb. Atown speculated there will be garbage time. Let's hope.

[phillychuck]

I am worried about Barkley's workload myself. If the Eagles win the division and win one playoff game at the least, Barkley will be seeing 75-85 more carries, and maybe 20 more than that if they have to play full-out versus the Giants. That would put him over the 400 carry mark for the season. If they use him that hard, they'd better have a viable second back to stand in for him on occasion next season.

[Purduke]

.... But the Giants game is a W no matter what, they're playing for the ##1 pick.

Yeah, tell that to Tom Woodeshick and Ben Hawkins

[bkeich]

I am worried about Barkley's workload myself. If the Eagles win the division and win one playoff game at the least, Barkley will be seeing 75-85 more carries, and maybe 20 more than that if they have to play full-out versus the Giants. That would put him over the 400 carry mark for the season. If they use him that hard, they'd better have a viable second back to stand in for him on occasion next season.

The funny part is that Gainwell does play well every time we let him play as a second back, but the team always goes away from him. I think he is very capable of 8 carry, 2 catch games if we would kept him.

Shipley may also be a reasonable backup. I think we have the guys, but Barkley is just so much better than them.

Hopefully next year we might try to get Barkley off the field on clear passing down as that is what he is only good at and Gajnwell actually excels as a receivers.

[phillychuck]

Gainwell is a free agent at the end of this season, he might not be an option next year.

[Docs]

Going for it with two seconds left instead of kicking the FG was risky. McKee in and looks good on his first drive and three passes. Huff left the game with a shoulder injury. Eagles up by a lot in the third quarter.

[zambonir]

garbage time after all!

[xogfog]

Barkley is at 115, he needs 47 to get to 2,000, If they want him to get the all time record, he's 153 away.

[Docs]

Should the eagles let the cowboys score quickly so they can get the ball back and feed Barkley?

He is over 2000 now and 101 yards from the record.

[xogfog]

Looks like they are not going for the record. Barkley is done for the day.

[Docs]

I’m kind of hoping that getting to 2000 yards on the season was more important to them than setting the season record and Barkley will rest next week.

Tanner McKee is the greatest Eagles quarterback ever. Has there ever been somebody who has thrown touchdowns on 50% of their pass attempts? And really if Brown gets his foot and it’s 66%. Extrapolated over the entire season we’re talking Hall of Fame after one year.

[zambonir]

Vikings currently narrowing that #1 seed window further (unless Lions lose tomorrow).

[phillychuck]

The window is gone--the Lions would have to lose twice, meaning the Vikings would have to beat them next week, which would give the Vikings the #1 seed.

I want to make some points about playing Barkley next week v the Giants. First, there is no guarantee he would get the record. The Giants actually want to lose, so they can implement a defensive game plan where they play solely to stop Barkley and play man-to-man without help on all the receivers. Lots of 1-high and run blitz, etc. My guess is that no one in that organization wants Barkley setting the all-time rushing record against their team, compounding the embarrassment. Even bad NFL defenses can scheme to take one element away for a single game at the expense of giving up other things. Second is the obvious injury risk, not just to Barkley, but to the offensive line, where Becton and Dickerson are already banged up, and Lane the Elder needs the rest. You are not playing Barkley with the #2 line, and you're not playing Hurts to have him throw to Dotson, Wilson and Anias Smith, so Davonta and AJ are risking injury, too. Finally is the construction of the game-day roster. If you keep the entire first-team offense active, and then pull them after a quarter or a half, you are not going to have enough players available to rest the entire #1 offense, play special teams, and rest Slay, Sweat, and CJGJ, which they are going to want to do. Remember, you can only elevate two players from the practice squad to the 46, and one of those will be a QB (Ian Book) if Picket can't go (which is likely). You are going to have to place some of the regular offense on the inactive list for the game just to make the numbers work. It's not like a pre-season game where you have 90 guys available to play.

I selfishly want to see him try for the record, but it's a really stupid risk. Imagine how you would feel if you saw Dickerson or Becton or AJ being carted off the field. The "fun" of the record pursuit would be completely gone. Even if the OL wants to try for the record, a mature coach has to step up and say, "It just doesn't make sense to do this."

[zambonir]

Yeah I realized that once the Vikes game went final. Even if Lions lose tonight they take it with the win next week. As would Vikings. Stinks to be the loser of that game starting on the road against a team with a much worse record.

The question you are raising there is really about Hurts as much as Barkley. Barkley should not play unless the entire first team does. And the entire first team shouldn't play if Hurts can't (or just doesn't) go. They won't prioritize the record, though I'm still not sure he couldn't break it in one quarter. The way the Giants played yesterday who the heck knows what they will do/be like. Clearly the players are not thinking about the draft,

[saycheese]

I think the starting offense sans Lane and the starting defense sans Slay should all play 3 series. The reasons is to prevent rust build up. Presumably Jalen should clear concussion protocol . He needs to get the rust off before the 1st playoff game. We start games slow enough as it is, having to have him play after being out darn near a month if you hold him out would be a risk.
As far as Barkley goes, Give him the same three series. If he can get close then maybe give him a 4th. Otherwise, shut it down.
The Eagles backups and 3rd stringers can beat the Giants with one hand tied behind their backs. I really want the Eagles to lose to the Giants but get their work in. That puts the Giants further back in a draft where the QB depth isn't the greatest. Might force them to have to give up a huge amount of resources to get up to number 1 to a QB. They will be desperate for sure.

[Squire]

As a guy who could not care less about individual achievements or awards at all I would like the Eagles to be as healthy and fresh as possible for the playoffs. I'm sitting everyone I can. I think Jurgens probably has to play but I'm going with the backups and third stringers from the jump next Sunday against the Giants.

[phillychuck]

It doesn't work to play the first string for a few series and then rest them with a 46 man active roster. If you rest 22 starters and count the 3 specialists (to say nothing of specialists like the fullback we are carrying or the extra linebackers), you only have 21 guys left and you don't cover all the positions correctly with those guys unless Chuck Bednarik is going to play both ways next Sunday. You do not have the numbers to keep the entire first-string offense active and then rest them all if you want to rest any of the defensive unit. Even if you manage to work something out, you are going to have players who have never played punt or kick coverage learning a new job for one game.

Pick the guys you want to rest and rest them. Inactive players should come from Barkley, Hurts, Johnson, Becton, Dickerson, AJ, Davonte, Slay, Sweat, Dean, and CJGJ. You can dress and rest a few of those guys who are not inactive. But you can't dress and then rest the entire first string offense, you just don't have enough players to finish the game.

[zambonir]

Presumably Jalen should clear concussion protocol .

This is the real issue here. We just don't know that. Have there even been any reports of Hurts going into steps 1-2 (non football activity)?

Tua - who, granted has a longer history and suffered a more dramatic hit - was out for six weeks.

Even if he clears I'd say it's a toss-up whether it's more important to get him some action vs. not exposing him to anything in a game that doesn't count. And that's even more true if the back-up's own health is in question.

[phillychuck]

There aren't enough active roster spots during the regular season to let the first string offense play a quarter or a half and then rest them. You run out of players pretty quick. Let's try an exercise:

Assuming these Inactives (7)
Slay
Pickett (rib)
CJGJ
Sweat
Book (QB3)
Shipley (for example)
Dean (recovering from injury)

First team players resting later in game:

Hurts
Barkley
Mailata
Dickerson
Jurgens
Becton
L.Johnson
AJ
Davonta
Goedert

Available offensive players:

Driscoll
Keegan
Gates
Steen
F.Johnson
Kinnard
McKee
Gainwell
Davis-Price (elevated)
Calcaterra
Jenkins
Uzomah (injured-abdomen)
Dotson
A.Smith
Wilson
Blasinggame (elevated)

Specialists
Eliot
Mann
Lovato

That's 29 active players, leaving 17 defensive players to play the whole game. And you can't put any of them on the inactive list, it's full.

Maddox
Ricks
Mitchell (who you might not want to play)
Ringo
Rodgers
DeJean
Huff
N.Smith
Hunt
Booker
Carter (who you might not want to play)
Davis (who is dinged up and you might want to rest)
Ojomo
Williams
Baun
Burks
Trotter
Blankenship
S.Brown (who might be suspended)
McCollum

That's an active roster of 49, three over the limit. You have to get rid of three of those guys (cut them, there is no room on the inactive list), and you don't even have enough flexibility to rotate on the D-line after doing that. I just don't know how you manage the roster if you have 8 or 9 guys on "half-game rest." If anyone gets hurt on defense you are going to run out of players. If anyone gets hurt on offense starters will have to re-enter. And who are you going to cut? One of the back-up O-lineman will have to be cut, probably a tight end, and ???.

I just don't understand how you keep the entire first string offense active and then rest them and still have enough guys to play special teams and account for inevitable sprained ankles, twisted knees, and other short-term absences for rest or soft tissue injuries.

[LegoDoom]

You play the backups and the starters play only if it's necessary. It doesn't require any roster gymnastics.