#EVERY LINC NEEDS A TAYLOR AFTER ALL

[babacontainsmultitudes]

♫ you dont have to answer this especially if you already have a ton but lllllllincoln li-wilson,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, i am a simple man

SORRY I TOOK SO LONG TO GET TO THIS I WANTED TO BE REASONABLY THOROUGH (AND YES I DO HAVE TO ANSWER THIS ACTUALLY!!!)

*breathes* heh. This might be a tad long, so let's go to my super secret Lincoln Li Wilson fan club under the cut

-oh right, the password! No problem it's

SAY HI TO YOUR DAD FOR MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

HEH. WELCOME TO THE COOLEST CLUB IN THE FANDOM, POPULATION YOU AND ME.

okokokokokok so so so so well I guess what I realized is that, while I have many songs for this boy- err technically a lot of them are in a shippy sorta context?? But I don't wanna, well, I don't wanna hit you with anything that is too, like, "ship-dependent" cause I don't know what you do or don't ship!

*That said*- my fucking gothcleats playlist dude? I'm handing it to you anyways cause I have FEELINGS about every single one of these fucking songs and imo honestly you can interpret most of them in a completely non romantic context anyways also also almost all of them are from Linc's perspective for me so I think you'd genuinely still appreciate at least some of these. All *that* said, I will be picking a few from this playlist to talk about that really aren't that romance-coded if at all buuuut are gonna be about Scary to some degree.

Oh- my swiftli playlist you ask??? IT'S SO FUCKING STUPID DUDE. It's so dumb like it's so silly like it's almost purely vibes and the vibes are really really dumb but yesss I'm handing you this one as well I'm not saying the songs don't slap but they're still very stupiddddd.

OK on to some fucking songs yeah???? So I guess the first one I'll start with is:

"Angel With A Shotgun" by The Cab

Which, okay, before I even get to the lyrics like come ON am I wrong for thinking that even just that fucking name is the most Lincoln Li Wilson thing in the whole god damn world??

But yeah, I mean lyrically really this one has a lot going for it as a Lincoln song, but to point out a few particular lyrics that stand out to me:

////

If love's a fight, then I shall die With my heart on a trigger

They say before you start a war You better know what you're fighting for

If love is what you need, a soldier I will be

I'm an angel with a shotgun, fighting 'til the war's won I don't care if heaven won't take me back I'll throw away my faith, babe, just to keep you safe

Sometimes to win, you've got to sin Don't mean I'm not a believer

And I'm gonna hide, hide, hide my wings tonight

////

😤 This one really gives me extra feels after the last episode, I gotta say! :0 As far as like pure imagery goes I think some strange combination of an angel and a soldier is just *so* Lincoln. There's just these really interesting themes with Lincoln of like, devotion, and sacrifice, and perseverance, and making tough decisions! Especially to help those around you! This song really just captures that for me.

Okay, next!

"Hit The Floor" by Linkin Park (more like Lincoln Park am I right sorry sorry)

Right right, where to start with this one... This one captures two primary concepts for me. It's partially, like, confrontation between Linc and Scary, from his perspective. But actually, I think you could also interpret some of these as relating to his frustrations with Grant as well! Otherwise, I like this one cause I think it captures Linc's ability to like, totally turn the tables and flip the switch when you least expect it? Seriously, that boy is quick on his feet (heh soccer heh), and always has a trick up his sleeve. Here's a few lyrics:

////

One minute, you're on top! The next you're not, missed your shot You think you won, and then it's all gone

So many people like me put so much trust in all your lies So concerned with what you think to just say what we feel inside So many people like me walk on eggshells all day long All I know is that all I want is to feel like I'm not stepped on

What goes up will surely fall, and I'm countin' down the time 'Cause I've had so many stand-offs with you, it's about as much as I can stand So I'm waitin' until the upper hand is mine

I know I'll never trust a single thing you say You knew your lies would divide us, but you lied anyway And all the lies have got you floating up above us all But what goes up has got to fall

////

I guess Mike Shinoda is just *the* Linc artist for me, cause this next one is from him as well!

"Believe Me" by Fort Minor

:0 Also about Linc's confrontations with Scary, but with a different flavor! Here I think it's more retrospective, at least in part, in reference to how Linc used to look up to Scary in some sense, and trusted her and all that. Otherwise, there's obviously some narrative parallels going on between these two, particularly with regards to the evolution of their mental/emotional states, which I think some of these lines nod to as well:

...Yeah it's really basically the entire song for this one ahahaha what can I say it's good shit

////

You like fun and games? Keep playing 'em I'm just saying, think back then, we was like one and the same On the right track, but I was on the wrong train Just like that, now you gotta face the pain And the devil's got a fresh new place to play And in your brain, like a maze you can never escape the rain Every damn day is the same shade of grey

Hey, I used to have a little bit of plan Used to have a concept of where I stand But that concept slipped right out of my hand Now, I don't really even know who I am Yo, what do I have to say? Maybe I should do what I have to do to break free And whatever happens to you, we'll see But it's not gonna happen with me

I guess that this is where we've come to If you don't want to, then you don't have to believe me But I won't be there when you go down Just so you know now, you're on your own now, believe me

Back then, I thought you were just like me Somebody who could see all the pain I see But you proved to me unintentionally That you would self destruct eventually Now I'll be thinking like the mistake I made doesn't hurt But it's not gonna work 'cause it's really much worse Than I thought, I wished you were something you were not And now this guilt is really all that I got

////

ALRIGHT. Let me leave you with one that's just for Linc. I won't bother with specific lyrics for this one, this song slaps (I think!), you gotta give it a listen.

"Galvanize" by The Chemical Brothers

Linc calls the shots in this fucking podcast, you know this, I know this. That's what this one is about.

#“Lincoln Park” is very funny actually I should have doubled down on that #I hope you end up liking some of these!!! #IT WAS A PLEASURE BTW #SORRY I TOOK SO LONG #BUT EVEN IF I HAD A MILLION I STILL WOULDA DONE IT #EVERY LINC NEEDS A TAYLOR AFTER ALL #HEH #lincoln li wilson #dndads #dndads playlist #dungeons and daddies #feymarche #gothcleats #swiftli #scary marlowe #taylor swift #not that one #Countless yours is next I swear!!!

[duckies27]

So I finished season 2 and I cried so hard at work over it so you get POST SEASON 2 HEADCANNONS

!!Spoilers ahead, read at your own risk!!

- Terry walked Scary down the aisle. She wore a black suit while Linc wore a white suit

- Gerry was adopted when Scary and Linc were first married, similar to how Linc was adopted

- Taylor went to jail and was all tech bro for a while until Hermie basically snapped him out of it a year post epilogue. He now works alongside Heaven (run by the dolphins) and Hell (run by Jodie) to make sure the right people are in the right place. While being an anime dude

- Normal has massive PTSD, but he spends a lot of time with Hero and Henry to help when he has attacks

- Taylor and Normal end up getting married (mainly because I love that ship idea too much), around 25 years after the main story ends

- Hero and Erica start dating in college

- Normal becomes the band teacher at Chaperel out of college. The Marching Band cover is done by his students at some point

- Linc is the soccer coach and health teacher at Teen High, specializing in Urology. Never seeing the piss boy allegations.

- Taylor goes through demon puberty in senior year and it is roughhhhhhh. He changed his whole personality to pretend he didn't become an even worse Weeb

- Hermie becomes Teen High's drama teacher, their first production is the Joker

- Normal and Hero play paintball together every few months and get ice cream after

- Scary is mainly a stay at home mom, playing with her band on the weekends. They're genuinely a huge hit, probably at least in the top 50!

- Normal and Hermie dated in high school, but it never really worked out. Too much baggage. They still think very fondly of each other.

- Linc fixed with his relationship with Grant after a few years of shared therapy

- Normal and the twins come to a...settling point after he gets married. They only talk sometimes and mainly about other things.

- Taylor and Nick are more colleges then father and son but they make it work

- Scary and Terry have a sugary sweet relationship. She's constantly by his side when needed.

- Scary and Linc get a dog, name it Rouge. Just a cute little mutt vibin

- Normal gets a cute cat that is basically an emotional support animal but he isn't crazy about her. Just likes having her nearby and cuddling when things get too much

- Taylor has sharp little teethes and have to go through braces TWICE to make them straight for real. He definitely is pissed about it for about a year

- Henry keeps Oakvale going, keeps a portal open to everyone. Taylor sneaks him in to see Mercedes some times

- All the teens get tattoos of the Dood senior year

- Dood has the crest of the teens somewhere on their body. They feel safer knowing the teens are always there.

I will be writing fics coming up, I love them so much

Art of season 3 will also come once I get the energy for it!

#dungons and daddies #dndads #dungeons and daddies #dndads season 2 #dndads headcanon #dungeon and daddies headcannons #normal oak #scary marlowe #taylor swift dndads #lincon li wilson #gothcleats #cheerweeb #taylor x normal #unpopular ships? #hero x errica #henry oak #mercedes oak garcia #i'm so not okay #please i love them so much #i can't be caught up I can't

[dougtheintern]

things i think the teenagers have in their backpacks/how they’re organized

TAYLOR

-he shoves that shit in there. no regard for anything. homework? SHOVED. important papers? SHOVED.

-however, he does take time every weekend to neaten it up. because he wants to be all organized

-pastel highlighters, expensive lineart pens, crayola colored pencils, blending tools, graphite pencils

-a singular mechanical pencil he found on the ground a year ago and still has. the led has never ran out. how.

-snack bag, mainly japanese snacks

LINC

-papers are neatly tucked in, but not organized whatsoever. he spends 15 minutes finding a specific paper. everyone is PISSED.

-2 folders that hold almost nothing. one is marked ‘SCIENCE’ and the other has a drawing of hatsune miku, courtesy of Taylor

-2 sharpened #2 pencils, 1 mechanical pencil that has soccer decals.

-erasers because everyone steals his

-notes that were passed around by the teens. they always end at linc and he just tucks them into the hatsune miku folder

-a packet of crackers at the very bottom of his backpack. theyre crushed to the point of it just being crumbs

NORMAL

-he has a very specific organization system. binders, folders, etc. everything has a place, a name, and a reason. if something gets messed up, he knows it in his gut

-like, 3 notebooks. everyone asks him for paper and he very freely gives it.

-huuuge bag of pencils. all pre sharpened or full of lead. everyone always steals them. theyre really generic and he gets a whole package for 1 dollar because he wants people to like him

-small individually wrapped snacks— to hand out to the teens. (scary is lactose intolerant- he accommodates :3)

-sticky notes. so many sticky notes.

-literally everything thats on a ‘what you need for school’ list. and its still there. nothings disappeared. everything is very well kept.

-phone chargers for every type of phone. adaptors. extra earbuds.

SCARY

-yea her backpack is a fucking mess

-“scary, can you give me a piece of paper?” “ugh, fine.” (6 minutes of scary pulling various bizzare things out of her backpack) “i don’t have paper.”

-fountain pen cuz she thinks its sick as hell. she used to do her homework with it but the ink spilled all over her science homework and she cried

-safety pins, sewing supplies, etc. her clothes are super ratty so they always fall apart.

-makeup bag— it says ‘NORMAL PEOPLE SCARE ME’ but with the people scratched out and an S added, so it reals ‘NORMAL SCARES ME’ courtesy of the boys

-black tape because some teachers make her cover up the swear words on her shirt

-snacks that have various ages. some are from the beginning of the year

-hair supplies— even dye. she dyed a streak of norm’s hair in the D.A.D.D.I.E.S. bathroom HQ thing.

-Kellogg’s knife. wrapped in cloth. theres a small slip of paper that says ‘JERKS AGAINST JERKING OFF’ in a sort of.. logo style. taylor drew it and scary thinks its fucking hilarious

HERMIE

-hes queer and a theater kid he has a totebag that says ‘SORRY I CANT COME I HAVE REHEARSAL’ but the ‘ome’ in come is covered, replaced with ‘UM’.

-chapstick. so much chapstick. and lipgloss. and just a rlly small tube of mascara that hes had for 7 years

-everything is in a single folder that has the joker on the front

-keychains attached to the handles. its the joker, teeny the teen (after ep. 31 it turns to the chaparral high mascot.), and a cat. specifically a custom keychain of his own cat

-some sort of balm. he literally got burned in cheese . that stuff hurts sometimes and hes got some weird aloe vera shit going on

-jewelry. he likes being able to switch jewelry on the fly

-costume changes

-at least 1 leotard

-2 pairs of tights, womens character shoes, ballet shoes, tapshoes, jazz shoes.

#dungeons and daddies #dndads #dungeons and dads #dungeons and daddies s2 #dndads s2 #taylor swift dndads #lincoln li wilson #lincoln lee wilson #normal oak #normal oak swallows garcia #scary marlowe #hermie unworthy #herman unworthy #this is purely self indulgent #i just like thinking of mundane headcanons

[ilikeboeks-blog]

I did kiddads headcanons so now i wanna do some teen headcanons!

- Taylor

Taylor posts fanfic prompts on twitter (or X depending if it will ever change back), they're abt the anime he watches but Normal finds them and uses them for his Teeny fics.

His eyes are glow in the dark, demon genes manifest in weird ways. So when the lights are turned down you'll see two yellow orbs staring back at you.

On top of his demon genes Taylor had little fangs and had a lisp bc of it.

He has anime drawing books

His closet almost entirely exists out of cargo pants bc a true survivor needs as many pockets as possible all of the time.

He bought a swiss army knife off ali express and it turned out to be a plastic toy.

- Normal

So, i dunno if this is any other country's, but im from the Netherlands and here we have friend books during elementary school. You let all your friends and some teachers write in them and you can exchange them too! I feel like Normal would do something like that, he'd keep a friend book.

Since Norm is a 16th elf he has the same trance trait a regular elf has, he is the only one in his family that can do it. So sometimes when Normal doesnt feel like sleeping he'll go into trance and meditate abt teen spirit.

Every friend normal has ever had has a friendship bracelet made by him.

Normal loves those English fish pies a weird amount probably bc theyre both stinky.

- Scary

She has done stick and poke on herself.

When she first wanted to dye her hair het mom said it was ok, but she didn't have time to take her to the salon so Terry Jr. had to come along and after that time she started giving herself botched dye jobs.

She listens to pop music from this time so ariana grande, taylor swift, little mix, justing bieber, charlie xcx. But bc it's from over 20 years ago she can convince ppl its edgy old ppl music.

She has a signed soccer ball from one of her favourite players.

- Linc

Aside from soccer i feel like Linc would have the most random hobbies, like beetle fighting. He finds two beetles and puts them in a little arena he made and makes them fight.

He writes letters to Darryl about his soccer experiences, since Grant is slightly traumatised abt soccer and Marco is gay and does not understand the sport, but always support Linc in it.

Writes in calligraphy.

Cat person.

#dndads #dungeons and daddies #head canon #teens #dndads season 2 #taylor swift #lincoln wilson #scary marlowe #normal oak #just teen things

[raemeh]

silly headcanons ummm. normals skincare routine is fucking abysmal (im talking bar soap and ceraphil lotion) and scary and hermie are like Dude. we must fix this. they get him a ton of shit (hermie knows where to get really gentle stuff bc half his face is burned off) and do facemasks together and now whenever normal is stressed he goes through his whole routine to relax

the teens have SO many sleepovers. im talking every weekend and even on school nights its not unusual for one of them to show up unexpected and crash at someone elses house. each of the teens has spare clothes and a toothbrush at each house in case they forget something/need something and sometimes they’ll wear each others clothes that they leave there. like taylor will show up to school in one of scarys skirts and she’ll be like you better fucking wash that thing before i need it again

oh and since ik youre all for genderqueer linc. after her transition she wants to play on the girls team and works REALLY hard to get on varsity so she can play on the same team as scary. she helps linc train every night in preparation for tryouts :3

sorry if these are worded weird!! i wouldnt classify them as fluff but theyre sweet ig

AWE THANK YOU I love all of these

[junker-town]

Carson Wentz has become the NFL’s biggest gamble

Carson Wentz is broken. Can he be fixed?

While much of the football world waits to see if the Texans will trade Deshaun Watson, the Eagles are still desperately trying to find a home for Carson Wentz. The Eagles are ready to go in a different direction at quarterback and need to get rid of Wentz’s $128M contract, but they also want to get value for a player who was an MVP candidate only a couple years ago. It’s a buyer’s market on the quarterback, but who wants to buy?

What began with a flurry of interest from a number of teams has now now died down. The Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts appear to the be the last teams willing to at least listen to Philadelphia’s current demands long after the rest of the league submitted offers. While we don’t know precisely what the Eagles want, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the team wants “strong compensation.” It seems like Philadelphia would want a first round pick and more for Wentz.

Could that happen? Perhaps. Should it happen? Absolutely not, unless a general manager wants to risk his reputation on a fundamentally broken player who needs to be rebuilt. If you bet wrong on Wentz your career might well be over. No general manager can conceivably take this risk, absorb Wentz’s contract, offer high draft compensation, get it wrong, and still keep their job.

If you get it right though, if you fix the problems and bring back the player who powered the Eagles’ run to the Super Bowl before Nick Foles finished the job — well, it might be the biggest bargain at the position since the Titans landed Ryan Tannehill for peanuts. That’s an enticing gamble for a lot of GMs, especially Bears GM Ryan Pace who seems to have fallen in love with the idea of trading for Wentz with his job on the line. Colts GM Chris Ballard is also looking to keep a promising team on an upward trajectory after Philip Rivers’ retirement.

What went wrong with Wentz last year? Can he be fixed? These are the things a franchise needs to weigh before trading for the QB.

Carson Wentz reportedly has an ego problem

One of the more mystifying pieces of information to come out of Philadelphia during the offseason, and subsequent firing of Doug Pederson, was that he and Wentz no longer had a good relationship. From the outside looking in Wentz seemed to have a quiet, mild-mannered demeanor about him, but behind closed doors this was anything but the case.

In a ranging breakdown of Wentz’s regression, the Philadelphia Inquirer painted the picture of a player who had greatness thrust upon him by those around him, and fell for the hype a little too much.

“Every great quarterback wants to be coached and they want to be coached hard and by the best, and it doesn’t seem like [Wentz] wants that,” one source said. “It’s kind of like whoever’s coaching him is working for him. But it can’t be that way.”

Here was a player who at 25-years-old was viewed as the catalyst in a turnaround for Philadelphia football the city had been craving for decades. Nick Foles got all the glory in the end for beating the Patriots, but inside the organization there was no mistaking who the Eagles viewed as “their guy” for the future. Foles was traded away to the Jaguars, Wentz would resume the mantle, and the assumption, at least at first, is that the team would pick up where it left off.

Obviously that didn’t happen. The team began to lose, and while it was apparent that Wentz had the relentless, Type-A personality teams look for in quarterbacks to lead them to wins, he didn’t display the same willingness to put losses on his shoulders too, even when they were his fault.

“He doesn’t understand that he lost games for us,” a veteran player said. “He will never admit that and that’s a problem because he can’t get it corrected.”

Not only did Wentz not accept blame, he wasn’t held accountable for making excuses for poor performance. It’s noted that Wentz would routinely be shown mistakes he made in the film room, only to shift blame to others and not accept responsibility for his own failings. To make matters worse, Press Taylor, who was the Eagles quarterback coach at the time (and only a few years Wentz’s senior) didn’t hold him accountable either, allowing the excuses to flow without correction.

“For instance, there would be a play when he didn’t throw to an open receiver. The read was drawn up as designed, the coverage played out as expected, and he would be asked why he didn’t pull the trigger.

And Wentz would say the look wasn’t there, or he would overemphasize the pass rush, and when it was suggested the play be run again in practice as to get it right, he would object.”

Wentz became conditioned to believe he was perfect, because there were a lot of voices in the organization telling him he was perfect. GM Howie Roseman reportedly has a giant Fathead of Wentz on the wall of his office, a shrine to the draft pick he thought he hit a home run on. It’s one thing to be thankful you took a player you believe to be the future, another entirely to venerate them for all to see. On some level you can’t blame Wentz for thinking he was the greatest thing to grace The Linc, because he was routinely told he was.

There’s major on-field problems too.

There’s a consistent theme to Wentz’s collapse where nothing is entirely his fault, not really. It seems hilarious to talk about him not accepting blame, then not foisting all the blame on him — but this is a nuanced situation.

The ego, the unwillingness to be coached, shifting blame. Those are symptoms of an ego run amok. Failing to deal with pass pressure on the field, making ill-advised throws, not standing tall in the pocket, well, that’s what happens when you’re sacked as often as Wentz was.

Protection became a major issue for Philadelphia. This was a unit that was never spotless, allowing 36 sacks during the 2017 Super Bowl season (16th in the league), but middling was good enough when paired with Wentz’s playmaking ability.

Injuries wrecked the left side of the line in particular, and without his blind side protected Wentz went down, a lot. Patchwork jobs on the line trying to keep Wentz up had the opposite effect, and in 2020 the team led the league in sacks allowed with a stunning 65.

The inability to protect Wentz drastically altered his play style, and suddenly the once-steady hand that led the Eagles to the Super Bowl was replaced with a completely different player. Losing faith in his protection, you could see Wentz’s eyes drop off his progression and check down the pass rush — whether it was there or not. It was an all-consuming concern for the quarterback, and often you could see him check the rush even when protection was adequate. Then he would need to return his eyes to the second level, relocate his receivers, pausing just enough for the coverage to get there if he forced an ill-advised throw. Often he would simply miss a lurking safety or dropping linebacker.

It’s not so much that Wentz was afraid to take a hit, and more that he played like he had no faith in the teammates around him. At least those responsible for pass blocking. I believe this is the true heart of his problems in 2020, and would also explain why he wouldn’t honestly answer questions about him missing reads. Nobody wants to be the guy who throws his teammates under the bus, or lose the respect of those around him. The issue is he didn’t learn how to put trust back into these players, even when they earned it.

By Week 12 the complete collapse of Wentz as an elite quarterback was seen on Monday Night Football. Wentz may have had lower points in his season than a 23-17 loss to Seattle, but after throwing 45 times for a paltry 215 yards, missing open receivers and being sacked six times it was clear he was done. The next week the Eagles made the switch to Hurts mid-game, and so ended Wentz’s season.

Can you rebuild all this?

This is a situation where we’re not just talking about a small hitch in Wentz’s game, or a minor issue that can be ironed out, but a player who needs to be broken down and built back up, both physically and mentally.

Wentz’s newfound propensity to check the pass rush needs to be erased, and he needs to be willing to trust the offensive line. That’s a difficult prospect considering this would be a new team, with a new set of players to mesh with. The saving grace, however, is that both Chicago, and Indianapolis, who are rumored to be the front-runners for Wentz, have fairly solid offensive lines. The Colts allowed 21 sacks this season, partially attributable to Philip Rivers’ unnatural release speed and feel for pressure, but also a testament to their talent. The Bears allowed 36 this season, markedly worse, but the unit seemed to improve as a whole as the season went on.

Either landing spot would give Wentz far more to work with when it comes to protection than he received from Philadelphia, but getting him to a point where he trusts standing in the pocket knowing these guys have his back, that might be another story.

This is a mechanical concern, but one I think is fixable. It’s not like Wentz is inherently scared of contact the way you saw David Carr or Jimmy Clausen become gun shy. It can be corrected with time and bonding.

The far greater concern as I see it is the ego issues. Every player should believe they’re the best, because it’s the fuel athletes need to succeed — but when that steps over the line to believing there’s nothing to learn, or everything is someone else’s fault, that’s far worse. I don’t know how a coaching staff can have a realistic expectation they can “fix” Wentz when there’s evidence from inside his current organization that he doesn’t think anything needs to be fixed. That lack of humility will not be coddled by coaches who didn’t draft him, or a general manager worshipping the ground he walks on.

This leaves us with a giant conundrum. Carson Wentz has been statistically brilliant for three solid years of his career, and a dumpster fire in 2020. Conventional wisdom would say this means last season was an outlier, and there’s something to work with — but it carries a colossal risk. Wentz is on a contract that will make him the 4th highest paid quarterback in the league in 2021, with a cap hit of $34.7M. He will make more than Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, or Russell Wilson. Framed this way the idea of taking a flier on a player who needs to be fixed is absolutely ridiculous, but the allure and the promise Wentz can return to form will be far too great for someone to pass up.

Whether that’s the Bears, the Colts, or someone else, they will be going all in on a hand without even knowing the cards they’re holding. That should absolutely terrify any fan of a team interested in making a serious run at Wentz.

[judgepaper19-blog]

The Linc - Eagles offense among most improved groups in the NFL

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

2019 NFL Draft: Most improved groups across the league - NFL.com Eagles’ offensive depth: The potential trade of slot receiver Nelson Agholor never materialized. Instead of parting ways with a piece, the Eagles only added to their offensive arsenal with second-round picks Miles Sanders (No. 53 overall), a running back, and J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (No. 57 overall), a wideout. Sanders has a chance to end March trade acquisition Jordan Howard’s run as the Eagles’ starting running back before it even begins, while Arcega-Whiteside adds another possession threat for Carson Wentz to find in tight quarters. The depth at running back, wide receiver and tight end (where Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert comprise the best duo in football) should give coach Doug Pederson a ton of play-calling options in the fall. Even the team’s first-round selection (tackle Andre Dillard, No. 22 overall) was typical of the long-term thinking the Eagles are known for because he likely will begin his career on the bench behind Jason Peters. This is a group built to withstand injuries and create matchup problems in nearly any situation.

Four thoughts on the Eagles signing Zach Brown - BGN Brown made sense as an Eagles target. Philadelphia needed more help at linebacker after losing Jordan Hicks in free agency. Brown brings plenty of experience to the table considering he has 74 career starts to his name. He also doesn’t impact their compensatory pick formula since Washington released him. Brown often caught my attention when I watched Washington’s defense. It seemed like he was always making plays. The stats back up that sentiment: in 29 games over the last two seasons, Brown has logged 153 total tackles, 22 tackles for loss, seven quarterback hits, 3.5 sacks, three passes defensed, and two forced fumbles. That’s quality production.

NFC East Draft Review - BGN Radio John Stolnis and Brandon Lee Gowton take a look around the NFC East, including further analysis of the Eagles’ selections, to give their thoughts on how the division fared in the 2019 NFL Draft PLUS an updated look on the Eagles future compensatory picks.Presented by SB Nation and Bleeding Green Nation.

Mailbag: Are the Eagles still looking for defensive ends? - PhillyVoice When you compare what the Eagles were going into the season with a year ago, and what they’re likely going into the season with in 2019, it looks something like this, assuming Chris Long doesn’t return to the team. Going from Bennett to Curry is a downgrade, and there’s no obvious “feel-good about it” candidate to take over Long’s role if indeed he’s gone. It’s pretty clear that they got worse this offseason at DE. I think they’ll still look to add someone.

More Pieces - Iggles Blitz Zach Brown is here to compete for the MLB job. He’s 29-years old and has started 74 games in his 7-year career. Brown has played for the Titans, Bills and Skins. He has played in the 3-4 and the 4-3. The Skins released him in March to save money. He may have also been let go for speaking his mind and not embracing every move and decision by the coaching staff and front office. Brown has solid size. They list him at 6-1, 250, but I’m not sure he’s that heavy. Brown is a good athlete. He is a good tackler. There are times when he does a good job of taking on blockers and getting to the ball. Brown has some playmaking ability. In the last three seasons, he has 33 TFLs, 7.5 sacks, 4 FFs and an INT.

Eagles add a productive, physical player in Zach Brown - PE.com There is the sense of the unknown, just a bit, with the linebackers, given the move in free agency of middle linebacker Jordan Hicks signing with Arizona. That opened up a job inside, and it’s still unclear how the Eagles plan to directly fill it. Having Brown on board gives the Eagles another extremely viable option. The Eagles can take a look at Brown there and they can also move Bradham into the middle and open up the competition on the strong side. Worrilow, a tough guy and a tackling machine during his days in Atlanta, can also play all three positions. The bottom line is this: The Eagles didn’t address linebacker in the draft, but as we’ve seen through the years the team is always keeping its eyes on ways to upgrade the roster, and with Brown available, Howie Roseman got a deal done that could pay serious benefits in the season ahead.

Eagles have intriguing RB tandem in Miles Sanders, Jordan Howard - ESPN “I’m used to rotating. I’m not a selfish player,” Sanders said. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help this team win. High school, I split reps with another great running back. Penn State was kind of the same thing. I’m ready. I’m willing to do whatever, as far as special teams or splitting reps, it doesn’t matter. I’m ready to do whatever to help this team win a championship.” Both could end up having solid statistical seasons, with Howard (nine rushing TDs in each of the past two seasons) getting plenty of goal-line work and Sanders having the ability to take over as the lead back eventually. It will take some time until their roles fully crystallize, but the potential is there for Sanders and Howard to do some damage together almost right away, lifting the offense up in the process.

Best-Ball QB Tiers - Rotoworld Carson Wentz (QB11) -- Scored multiple touchdowns in 8-of-11 outings last year. Eight missed games the past two seasons an obvious concern. [...] Nick Foles (QB28) -- Lack of consistency outside of miraculous playoff run remains an overshadowing question mark on ground-based offense.

Philadelphia Eagles claim former Los Angeles Rams S Blake Countess - Turf Show Times Countess became expendable when the Rams drafted two safeties this past weekend in the second round in Taylor Rapp, and seventh round in Nick Scott. Both guys have the ability to play a vital role on special teams, and that’s where majority of Countess’ contribution stemmed from. In 2018, Countess started one game at safety for the Rams, though he ultimately suffered an injury (concussion protocol) and was pulled rather quickly. On 58 defensive snaps and 356 special teams snaps, Countess produced nine total tackles, one interception, and two pass deflections.

Best & Worst Of Washington Redskins Draft Class - The Draft Network Worst Pick: Bryce Love, RB, Stanford. This isn’t even a bad pick, but one of them had to be “worst.” I was a bit lower on Love than where he was taken, but I understand the fit. With Derrius Guice able to bring the power, Love’s long speed will be the lightning to his thunder. I would’ve preferred them to take a speed running back a bit later considering positional value, and Love comes with injury and long-term concerns.

The NFL has a rule that basically turns the commissioner into God - SB Nation And as for the extraordinarily unfair act rule? Well, that’s a thing that turns the commissioner into a near-deity, which Saints fans desperately wanted to take advantage of recently ... if only they could.

...

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Source: https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2019/5/4/18529223/eagles-news-philadelphia-offense-among-most-improved-groups-nfl-doug-pederson-carson-wentz-weapons

[foreveraphillyswiftie]

@taylorswift ,

For so many years I’ve been hoping that I would be able to meet you. It’s truly incredible to think that now I have. You are the sweetest, most genuine person I have ever met. I told you there was so much I still wanted to tell you and that’s because it’s so difficult to fit 11 years of love into just a few minute.  I needed to tell how much of a big part of my life you’ve been since I was in elementary school. I’ve always been known as the “Taylor Swift Girl” at school.  

When I was seven I would sing all the wrong words to your songs and tell all my friends how much I loved them. My mom bought me the Fearless album when it came out and I was INSTANTLY in love! Shortly after that, I asked my grandmom to get me your self-titled album and realized soon after that you sang all those songs I loved on country radio and had no idea!I would listen to your music in my CD players and watch your vlogs, hang posters in my locker in middle school… I remember looking out for live streams, Having to hold on to hope when your website would go under renovations, and beg my parents to let me go to your shows! My room had walls plastered with pictures of you, album art, lyrics, and quotes from interviews.

When you came to the Wells Fargo Center for the Fearless tour, that is the first concert I had ever asked to go to, Its also the first concert I was ever told “no” to. My mom told if I wanted to go I would need to save up all my holiday money and allowance. She taught me to work for what I wanted. So sure enough, by the time you were touring the Linc in 2011 for the Speak Now tour, Isabel and I wouldn’t miss it for the world. We were 12 then and that is still one of my absolute favorite memories!

Since then, my parents and I have not missed a show! They are truly as much of swifties as my sister and me! You have been all I talk about.  you have brought my family together to bond over your music, your appearances, and tours. I told you how my mom would invite you to Thanksgiving dinner every year, and well she wanted me to tell you that she wishes she would have been able to come with us to meet you and that the offer is always open to visit! (Just Incase you’d like to make a stop in KOP to reminisce😊). I can not tell enough how supportive my mom has been over these past 11 years. She has loved you endlessly as well. She has always told me to send you messages online, whether it was through TaylorConnect or Twitter, just to tell you she says hi or to invite to something (AS IF I HAD THE AUTHORITY LOL).

Taylor, your music has always been there for me. YOU have always been there for me. We hadn’t met but as I was growing up I noticed that instead of just enjoying your music, your lyrics ended up being my stories. I was able to relate to the words you sang on a level that I wasn’t able to when I was younger. I cried with you, I hurt with you, and I healed with you. And you didn’t even know I existed. Even now, I can relate more than ever before. Reputation is about taking back what others have taken from you and showing your happiness despite others’ bitterness. Your album came out when I needed it most. I was struggling to find good friends in my first year of college and I was depressed about being away from home.  

However, it was hard to be surprised when the album came out because you had always been there for me before.In high school I didn’t have the best of friends, I didn’t have the best luck in relationships. People were mean, and I found that a majority of those people were supposed to be my friends.You told me about the story of the best day, and although you were younger then, it still meant so much to me because my “friends” would do the same to me. Like yours, my mom was always there to pick me up and we would go to Kohl’s or watch a movie. Although I was too absent-minded to tell you that when I met you, it means the world to me that you were able to tell me that story.

This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things instantly became my anthem. In January I found out the person who was supposed to be my best friend had been talking behind my back for years. She was saying things about me that weren’t true and making fun of things I did to others who were in our “friend group”. Whenever I listen to it I scream it like a chant. I am so proud of you for sticking up for yourself and staying out of drama. Not creating it, but instead purely stating your truth in a unique way. You make me feel like I can be a better person. Like I can be myself and be friends with people better than who they’ve been.You've been there for nearly as long as I can remember.

Now I'm 19, a sophomore in college. And you're the only one that's always been by my side. Thank you for giving me hope. Thank you for getting me through tough times and relationship issues and friendships that needed to end. Your personality never stops amazing me. How someone could be so classy and so proud. You have so many people by your side, Taylor. No matter how much hate you get, I will always love you and support your decisions. This fanbase is a family. We all have each others backs. We are strong because you're strong.

This tour especially has shown so much of your strength. I hope that we are did a great enough job to show your every night how proud we are of you and for you. Both nights in Philadelphia were like a dream. Night two was the best night of my life and I will never forget it. When your mom asked us if we wanted to meet you it was like every piece of hope from the last 11 years fell into my lap and finally were complete. My mom held my sister and me and we cried and cried. It didn’t feel real and still doesn’t feel real. But the fact that it is, it means the entire world to me.

I’m so excited for the next chapter and I’ll be right here next to you the whole way🦋 💕

THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

Love, Julia 💞

[gehayi]

I know Christian has committed sexual crimes and maybe murder, but can you list what in the business sphere he has done illegally or unethically? My dads a lawyer who deals with this shit, so I'm curious.

For one thing, Grey Enterprises Holdings, Inc. is, by its name, incorporated. That means that it needs a board of directors. Christian says loudly in both Fifty Shades of Grey and the un-Google-able sequel, Grey that he has no board telling him what to do. This statement could have been qualified in Grey; he could have thought that he had a one-person board and that he was it, which is possible. But his reaction in Grey is the same--that he doesn’t have a board because he doesn’t want one. That’s not how incorporation WORKS.

Second, he violates the Equal Employment Opportunity Act. All but one of the employees at Grey House, his headquarters, that we see is a white-skinned blonde woman, and that one exception is a white-skinned redheaded woman. Ana speculates that he hires women who look a certain way; in Grey, we’re given confirmation that yes, that’s exactly what he does. From where I’m sitting, he should be half-buried under anti-discrimination class action suits.

He employs a private hacker, Barney, who breaks into computer systems to illegally obtain information--like Social Security numbers, amounts of money in bank accounts, images in closed-circuit city TV cameras monitoring roads, etc. Grey also states that he uses Barney to vet all potential hires and any woman with whom Grey might get into a BDSM relationship. This should raise all sorts of questions about identity theft and violations of privacy. It doesn’t.

He ordered another employee (Jason Taylor, his chief bodyguard) to beat Jack Hyde  (the man who attempted to rape Ana shortly before this) within an inch of his life when a) Jack was unarmed,  b) he was not threatening  or endangering Grey, Ana or Taylor, and c) Ana was in a tank of a limo that resembles, in many ways, one of the cars James Bond drives. I’m pretty sure that you’re not allowed to order random assaults on despicable people who are not a clear and present danger to you or those around you...even when you have skilled bodyguards.

The chief accountant of the company (Gwen) and the the Vice-President of the company (Ros Bailey, who seems to do all the work, thanks to Grey’s ineptitude) are in a romantic and sexual relationship. To me, this indicates conflicts of interest.

The company was founded with money that Elena Lincoln stole from her husband and gave to Christian Grey. Furthermore, Grey either knew that the money was stolen when he received it or learned it shortly afterwards. I’m pretty sure that profiting from a crime is also illegal.

Grey routinely uses company resources for personal gain. He seems to feel that since it’s his company, everything belonging to the company belongs to him individually. 

At the end of Fifty Shades Freed, when we find out that Elena’s ex-husband Linc Lincoln was the Big Bad all along, Christian says this in a phone conversation:

“Ros, how much stock do we own in Lincoln Timber?”:::“So, consolidate the shares into GEH, then fire the board . . . except the CEO . . . I don’t give a fuck . . . I hear you, just do it . . . thank you . . . keep me informed.”

You can't just say "You're fired" as if the words were magic—and that's what Christian is doing. He doesn’t OWN Lincoln Timber, not the slightest part. Elena Lincoln's ex does. And the ex doesn't like Christian at all. I can't think that he'd allow Christian to buy a controlling number of shares—and I doubt if Christian did so, especially since he mentioned earlier in Freed that he didn't even know if he'd invested any money in lumber or timber.  

Boards of directors can be changed, but not by one person hiring or firing everyone.1) Boards can be elected at the annual shareholders' meeting at the end of the year.

2) A shareholder can call a special meeting when they want to change directors before their term ends. However, this involves contacting all other shareholders and giving them notice of the place, time, date and purpose of the meeting.3) Shareholders can vote to remove directors from a board, with or without cause, unless the corporation has a staggered board. Once that is done, they can vote to replace the directors they voted out.

However, a) a meeting is required, b) a quorum of shares must be present at that meeting and c) a majority of all shares entitled to vote must participate in removing and replacing the directors. Furthermore, many by-laws translate this as "a majority of all SHAREHOLDERS" rather than "a majority of all SHARES." Which means everyone might get a vote over the dismissal of Lincoln Timber's board, even very minor investors.4) With a staggered board, only a portion of the board is elected every year—half to one third, generally. Replacement and removal of members of a staggered board are similar to what's done in the third case…but members of a staggered board can only be removed with cause. And the by-laws spell out what the causes are. Posting bail for someone that one shareholder doesn't like is not a valid cause.

Removal and replacement of boards always seem to come down to other shareholders, meetings and elections. And even if Christian could just wave a dictatorial hand and say, "Begone!", Linc could put the directors that had been removed, as well as anyone else on his side, up for election again, campaign for them, recommend that other shareholders vote for them, etc. This has been done in other companies; it's fairly routine.

As plans for vengeance go, this one is unworkable, illegal, and pretty much useless.

Christian also plans to do the following:

“But he’s seriously crossed the line with Hyde. Linc’s made this personal by going after my family. I’m going to crush him, break up his company right under his nose, and sell the pieces to the highest bidder. I am going to bankrupt him.”

Bankruptcy law has ways of fighting hostile takeovers, which is what Hellspawn is proposing. Not only that, but a Chapter 11 bankruptcy—the most typical way for businesses to go bankrupt in America—wouldn't leave Linc stony broke, which is what Fuckface wants. "A [C]hapter 11 debtor usually proposes a plan of reorganization to keep its business alive and pay creditors over time."Chapter 11 bankruptcy is REALLY common with big businesses. This not only wouldn't leave Linc broke, he might even profit from the deal. If Hellspawn wants to force Linc to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which involves liquidation of non-exempt assets and distributing the proceeds to debtors...well, first of all, Chapter 7 is generally used by individuals, not businesses or corporations (which usually file Chapter 11) or sole proprietorships and partnerships (which usually file Chapter 13). Note the word "generally." It's not impossible for a business to use Chapter 7, but Chapter 7 would involve selling a great many assets, including the business itself. So it's not common.Second, Linc himself would have to cooperate with Hellspawn's "plan." He'd have to apply for credit counseling first, because you can't petition for Chapter 7 liquidation without that. Then he'd have to file a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition with the courts, agreeing to sell almost everything he has because that's the only way to pay off his debts. Linc is a wealthy man. What's likelier—that he'll voluntarily strip himself of almost everything he owns or that he'll fight a hostile takeover? 

And that’s just the stuff I can think of right off the top of my head. I’m sure there’s more.

Does that help?  

#testingforcake23

[ballbubble3-blog]

11 things we learned from the Eagles’ disappointing loss to the Titans

The Philadelpia Eagles were defeated by the Tennessee Titans in overtime on Sunday, 26-23. Here’s a look at 11 things we learned from this frustrating game.

1 - The Eagles blew a great opportunity

Sunday had the potential to be a pretty good day. The Eagles were up 17-3 on the Titans. If they hold on to that lead, the NFC East is looking like this after four weeks:

1 - Eagles (3-1)

2 - Washington (2-1)

3 - Cowboys (2-2)

4 - Giants (1-3)

But no. The Eagles had to blow their 93.1% win probability and lose instead.

Now the NFC East looks like this:

1 - Washington (2-1)

2 - Cowboys (2-2)

3 - Eagles (2-2)

4 - Giants (1-3)

The Eagles choked on Sunday and it sucked.

2 - Jim Schwartz’s defense continues to struggle on the road

Look at the number one reason I wrote in my “Three reasons why the Eagles could lose to the Titans” for Music City Miracles last week.

1) Jim Schwartz’s defense struggles on the road. Philadelphia’s defense plays very well at the home. Since the beginning of the 2016 season, the Eagles have allowed just 13.8 points per game when playing at Lincoln Financial Field. The Eagles are 17-3 in that stretch. Playing on the road has been a different story for Schwartz’s unit, however. In that same time frame, the Eagles are allowing 24.3 points per game in away matchups. They’re 7-10 in those contests.

You asshole.

The Eagles are now 7-11 in road games.

Here’s a stat that helps put these struggles in context.

If you include the Super Bowl (neutral field site), the Eagles have allowed 29 points per game in their last six matchups away from the Linc.

It’s difficult to understand how this defense can be so good at home while also being so bad on the road.

3 - The secondary is a primary issue

Outside of Malcolm Jenkins, who had his valiant efforts spoiled, the Eagles’ secondary stunk against the Titans.

Facing a quarterback who doesn’t even have total feeling in his fingers, Philadelphia allowed Marcus Mariota to complete 70% of his attempts for 344 yards (8.0 average), two touchdowns, one interception, and a 99.4 passer rating.

The Eagles’ secondary turned out to be the remedy for the Titans’ deep passing game struggles. Corey Davis managed to log nine receptions for 161 yards in total.

Jalen Mills obviously deserves some blame for the struggles. He got beaten deep a number of times, as he often does, on double moves. Mills also got penalized to set up the Titans in goal-to-go territory on a momentum-killing drive right after the Eagles went up 17-3.

Mills is the easy target for fans to go after, but he’s hardly the only issue.

Ronald Darby gave up a number of completions. His missed tackles created YAC opportunities for Tennessee. Darby was also very lucky to get away with a pass interference penalty that wasn’t called on a deep shot early in the game.

There have been a number of calls for the Eagles to replace Mills with Sidney Jones on the outside. Perhaps that’s something the Eagles visit later on, but it seems a little naive to think that’s the instant fix. Jones gave up a touchdown to Tajae Sharpe and got flagged for pass interference that allowed the Titans to convert on 4th-and-4 in overtime. Don’t get me wrong, Jones had good moments and his potential is intriguing. But he absolutely contributed to the loss as well.

And then there’s Corey Graham. In addition to being a liability on the back end, Graham made the dumbest play of the game by failing to cover Taywan Taylor on 4th-and-15. He just left him wide open for no good reason and even admitted as much. This kind of mistake from Graham is unacceptable. It’s not like the Eagles are asking the 33-year-old to be a game-changing playmaker. They’re supposed to be able to count on him to be assignment sound and avoid mistakes that a rookie would make. He failed the team in a big way on Sunday.

Safety could continue to prove to be a real big issue with Rodney McLeod out. It’s not great that the Eagles’ best options right now are Graham and a rookie Avonte Maddox playing on the back end for the first time in his life.

4 - Carson Wentz’s progress is a big positive

One reason why I still feel relatively optimistic about this team’s outlook is because the Eagles still have one of the best quarterbacks in the league.

Overall, Wentz looked sharp on Sunday. Despite facing a ton of pressure, Wentz managed to complete 66% of his 50 attempts for 348 yards (6.96 average), two touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a 99.4 passer rating. Wentz threw with great velocity and accuracy. His numbers would look even better if he didn’t have to deal with an inordinate amount of drops.

That’s not to say Wentz was perfect. He threw a dropped interception late in the game. There was a play where he had a ton of open field in front of him to run and yet he got caught from behind after he hesitated.

It was still an encouraging outing for No. 11, especially considering it was only his second game back from injury.

There’s no denying the Eagles have a lot of issues outside of quarterback right now. But having Wentz is going to at least give the Eagles a chance to win every week.

5 - With that said, the Eagles need to protect Carson Wentz better

The Eagles’ offensive line is mightily struggling in pass protection. Jeff Stoutland’s unit ultimately allowed Wentz to get sacked four times and hit 11 times in Tennessee. As Sheil Kapadia pointed out, Wentz has been sacked the third most times since returning to the lineup last week. In that same span, only one quarterback has been hit more often.

That’s just not good enough. We know this unit is capable of being better than that. The Eagles had one of the best offensive lines in the league last year and they’re one of only a handful of teams returning all five starters, so it’s not like continuity is an issue.

Former Eagles All-Pro offensive tackle (and friend of BGN) Tra Thomas pointed out some o-line issues on Twitter.

Baldy also noted how terrible Wendell Smallwood is in pass protection. Smallwood had a good day as a runner but boy is he brutal when it comes to protecting the quarterback. This is where not having Darren Sproles and/or Corey Clement really hurt on Sunday.

6 - It’s great to have Alshon Jeffery back

Some tried to make the case last week that Jeffery returning wouldn’t help the Eagles’ offense. They were predictably wrong.

In his first game back from shoulder surgery (not to mention dealing with an illness), Jeffery logged eight receptions for 105 yards and one touchdown. Jeffery’s scoring play showed his value as a jump ball target. The way Wentz was able to connect with him on some back shoulder throws was also an encouraging sign moving forward.

Jeffery wasn’t the most efficient target for the Eagles last year when you consider he only had 57 receptions on 120 total targets. On Sunday, however, Jeffery only had one target where he didn’t catch a pass. And that was when he had the ball knocked out of his hands. It’d be nice to see Jeffery improve upon his reliability this year. He’s off to a good start in that regard.

7 - Doug Pederson made a mistake that could’ve been the difference

Pederson’s biggest mistake was his decision to not take a shot into the end zone on 3rd-and-3 from the 10-yard line with 11 seconds remaining in the first half. Calling a run there instead was dumb.

After the game, Pederson said the plan was to run the ball, get the first down, and then take a shot into the end zone. The problem is that he said he felt the run play was only going to take three seconds, which would’ve left the Eagles with eight seconds.

Doug, there is no run play that lasts three seconds. That play would’ve taken at least, like, five or six seconds … at best. So even if the Eagles did get the first down there, they’d still have to settle for a field goal.

There’s no guarantee the Eagles would’ve gotten a touchdown on 3rd-and-3 if they threw it. But it’s not just about the results. It’s about the process; the thinking behind the decision-making. Pederson showed a big lapse in judgement there. James Franklin-esque.

8 - Nelson Agholor picked a terrible time to revert to pre-2017 form

I think Agholor is getting off a little too easy after this loss. Everyone’s mad at Schwartz and the secondary, and rightfully so, but four drops and a fumble is an abysmal outing. Especially when two of those drops came on potential third down conversions, with one of them happening on 3rd-and-21. Agholor wasn’t THE biggest issue, but he was a really big issue.

9 - The Eagles’ punter has a flaw

There’s no question Cameron Johnston has a strong leg. Against the Titans, Johnston punted six times for 308 yards and a 51.3 average. His longest punt was a 68-yarder.

The problem is that Johnston also had three touchbacks. Johnston didn’t even give the special teams coverage unit a chance to down the ball on those punts. Instead, the ball went straight into the end zone.

If Johnston isn’t going to give the ball a chance to be downed, it’d be nice to see him try to kick it out of bounds deep along the sideline. It just doesn’t seem like directional kicking is his strength, though. Johnston’s five touchbacks this season lead the NFL. No other punter has more than three.

In a so-called game of inches, every yard counts. Johnston gave the Titans 60 yards on Sunday instead of being able to pin their offense back deep. That surely didn’t help a struggling Eagles road defense.

10 - The Eagles should’ve traded Nick Foles

A very surprising take coming from me, I know, but I can’t help but feel frustrated with how the Eagles didn’t maximize Foles’ value this offseason.

I look at Foles’ $13.6 million cap number, second highest on the team behind Fletcher Cox, and can’t help but wonder if the Eagles could be using that cap space in a better way that helps the team win now instead of being used on a guy who ideally won’t even play again this season.

I think about how Eagles could’ve added a useful player with the No. 35 overall pick they turned down from the Browns. What if Harold Landry (who went at No. 41) was selected by the Eagles instead of strip-sacking Wentz on Sunday?

I get that the Eagles wanted to keep Foles around given the relative uncertainty about Wentz’s status. But I don’t think what the Eagles got out of two games of Foles this season is worth the opportunity cost. Is what Foles did really that much better than what, say, Nate Sudfeld could’ve provided?

I’ll always be appreciative of Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles. And who knows, maybe the Eagles need him to step in again this year and he plays great and I look dumb for saying they shouldn’t have kept him around. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time I was wrong.

For now, though, I just don’t think keeping him was the best use of resources.

It’s still possible they trade Foles before the October 30 deadline but I just don’t see the market for him at this point.

(Side note: Another frustrating waste of resources is Chance Warmack, who is carrying a $2 million cap number just to be a healthy scratch each week. These mistakes add up and ultimately hurt the team. Between Warmack and Foles combined, that’s $15.6 million of the cap — nearly 11% of the top 51 — going unused on game day. Wasteful.)

11 - We are going to find out a lot about this team next week

How the Eagles respond to this loss will be very telling. Philadelphia returns home for a Week 5 game at Lincoln Financial Field against a very desperate Minnesota Vikings team. In addition to wanting to avenge their 38-7 NFC Championship Game loss, the Vikings will be looking to avoid dropping to 1-3-1.

I don’t know about you, but I still have faith in this Eagles team. I’m not yet among who are willing to write this off as a 7-9 season.

I’ve seen a number of people say that the Eagles aren’t that far away from being 1-3. There’s some truth to that. But that’s just how the NFL works. And it goes both ways. The Eagles could easily be 3-1 if Graham doesn’t make that dumb mistake on 4th-and-15.

It’s entirely fair to be very frustrated with Sunday’s result. It’s entirely fair to point out that this team has some real issues.

But I don’t think they’re doomed just yet.

Think about where this team was last year at this time. They were 3-1 instead of 2-2, so they were in a better spot, sure. But their three wins were very close. They beat Washington in Week 1 on a controversial Kirk Cousins fumble call at the end of the game. It took a miracle 61-yard field goal to beat the Giants. Then they only beat the Chargers by two points. It wasn’t until Week 5, when the Eagles hosted the Cardinals, that they had their first blowout win and started to look dominant. What if the Vikings come to town and the Eagles stomp them again to advance to 3-2? Is the season still over then?

Obviously, there’s no guarantee that happens. Minnesota figures to be a tough challenge not only due to their desperation but how this secondary matches up against a quarterback that’s played well against the Eagles in the past, Kirk Cousins, and a dangerous wide receiver duo of Stefan Diggs and Adam Thielen. The Vikings boast another advantage since they’ll be playing on extra rest.

So, yeah, it’ll be a tough challenge for the Eagles. In some ways, it might be the perfect game for them after that Week 4 loss. It’s time to see what this 2018 team is really made of.

Source: https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2018/10/1/17923862/eagles-vs-titans-final-score-26-23-results-11-things-we-learned-philadelphia-tennessee-carson-wentz

#read more #see more #check it out #interesting #learn more

[singbox13-blog]

The Linc - Film suggests Drew Brees not the same QB now that he was in November

Let’s get to the Philadelphia Eagles links ...

The All-22: Where did Drew Brees’ game go? - TouchdownWire Brees’ Week 16 interception against the Buccaneers’ sub-par defense was another worrisome reaction to pressure. Here, he’s got openings to his left, and the design of the play implies a screen to the left side, but when Bucs end Vinny Curry goes straight at Brees after left tackle Jermon Bushrod heads out of the formation, Brees throws instead in the general direction of running back Mark Ingram. But Ingram’s head isn’t even turned around to see the pass, and linebacker Adarius Taylor is in the right place at the right time. You don’t expect a throw like this from a quarterback of Brees’ caliber and experience. There’s been a lot of talk this week about how Brees lit Philly’s defense up in November. That would be relevant if Brees was the same quarterback now that he was then, but the tape tells a different story. If he’s not able to correct some obvious mechanical flaws, and the Eagles are able to rock him off his spot as they were generally unable to before, this game could be a lot closer than the Saints would prefer.

Conflicting reports emerge regarding Jason Kelce potentially retiring after Eagles’ 2019 playoff run - BGN It’s not totally implausible that Kelce would hang ‘em up. He turned 31 in November and he’s about to wrap up his eighth NFL season. Including playoffs, he’s started and played 115 games over his career. He’s often played through nagging injuries in recent years, so maybe he just feels like his body can’t take the grind much longer. He also might feel like there’s not much more to accomplish, especially if the Eagles win their second straight Super Bowl this postseason. With that said, there are some conflicting reports about Kelce’s intentions. BGN alumnus Mike Kaye says a decision regarding Kelce’s future has not been made.

The Kist & Solak Show #69: Scoring on the Saints - BGN Radio Michael Kist and Benjamin Solak finish up their preview series of the Divisional Round by shifting their focus to the Eagles’ offense and how they match up with the Saints’ defense? Is Sproles in for a big game? Should the Eagles’ continue to supplant the running game with the quick passing game? What about some deep shots? All that and more on this preview show! Powered by SB Nation and Bleeding Green Nation

Rookie Avonte Maddox’s competitive nature helped him make immediate impact on Eagles’ defense - PhillyVoice “It’s football. You play corner, you’re not perfect. Certain things are going to happen,” Maddox said. “It’s all about how short your memory is, and mine is short. So when somebody makes a play — they’re one of the top athletes in the world, too, so they’re going to make plays — it’s about what you do the next play to make up for it. I definitely don’t dwell on it. I was definitely (too aggressive). I’m going to keep playing how I play. I know (the double moves are) coming. Copycat league. And they already ran a lot of double moves before that.” Maddox likes challenges. He’s been faced with them his whole life.

Running Men - Iggles Blitz The improvement of Nigel Bradham will help. He was outstanding last week. I don’t know what has happened to him in recent games, but Bradham suddenly looks like the stud he was last year. Maybe the training staff finally gave him the Funyuns therapy I’ve been telling them about all year. The NFL doesn’t have rules against Performance Enhancing Snacks. The Eagles played mainly dime defense last week and it worked really well. The Saints have physical RBs so I wonder if Schwartz will go with a nickel look this time out. The Saints don’t have a ton of speed on offense so there is something to be said for this. Schwartz has seen Dallas shut down the Saints. He saw the Panthers hold them to 12 points. He needs to steal an idea or two from those games. The Eagles don’t need to shut down the Saints. They need to slow them down. If you can keep to less than 24 points, the Eagles have a great chance to win this game. That’s a big if to be sure.

Unsung heroes are stepping up on both sides of the ball for the Eagles - PFF Just as the Eagles experienced the unthinkable a season ago under Foles, they’re now one step closer to achieving a similar fate. And a lot of that has to do with young, unheralded players making plays in pivotal moments. Treyvon Hester has quietly been having a stellar season on limited snaps — and he cemented it with a game-winning blocked kick to send his city into an all-too-familiar frenzy. While his 48.2 grade on Sunday was by far his worst grade of the season, what he did in the regular season for a team already filled with stars on the defensive line was unprecedented. His 89.7 grade ranked 14th among interior defensive linemen, and his 87.5 run defense grade ranked 10th. Hester’s grade over the last four weeks of the regular season also ranked 10th, and while the former Oakland Raiders seventh-round pick has seen only 10-20 snaps a game, he’s making the most of it. It’s hard to count anyone out on this Eagles team because as it has shown, anyone and everyone could step up when it matters most in any facet of the game.

Lawlor: How The Eagles Can Beat The Saints - PE.com The Eagles offense’ must help the defense by sustaining drives and scoring points. If the Eagles go three-and-out too often, that will put tremendous pressure on the defense. The one surefire way to stop Brees is to make him a spectator. The Eagles’ offensive line did not play well in the first meeting. Lane Johnson wasn’t completely healthy. Jason Kelce got hurt early in the game and missed some time. Jason Peters was dealing with nagging injuries. Carson Wentz was sacked three times and pressured too often. The line is healthy now and playing its best football of the year. Johnson looks like a dominant tackle once again. Peters is coming off a good game. The interior trio is clicking. The Eagles’ offense has been much better in recent weeks and one of the key reasons is the play of the guys up front.

Divisional weekend preview: Breaking down each matchup - The Athletic Saints 30, Eagles 23. At the risk of being smote for doubting Nick Foles again, I’m afraid the odds are too long this time. The Saints defense is much better than most people think, but the Eagles were able to move the ball with consistency against the best defense in the league last week. Doug Pederson will have some tricks up his sleeve, perhaps dipping back into the 12 personnel well. Without being able to run the ball consistently, the Eagles will probably need a big game from Alshon Jeffery, who has delivered them when called upon during the playoffs the past two seasons. Perhaps Brees and the Saints will come out rusty after several weeks of inaction. This is an Eagles team that wears the scar of their 41-point loss proudly as a reminder of how thirsty they are for revenge. Betting against Brees at home in the playoffs just seems foolish. But who knows, maybe the power of one Saint (Nick) is stronger than 46 combined.

Best bets for the NFL playoffs divisional round - ESPN The last two matchups between these teams are not representative of what we’ll see on Sunday afternoon. On Nov. 18, the Eagles had recently acquired Golden Tate and were trying to figure out how to incorporate him into the offense. They gave him a 76 percent snap rate against the Saints and tried to force him targets. It didn’t work. The Eagles were also without Darren Sproles and had Carson Wentz at quarterback. I expect this game will be far more competitive. Foles is getting the ball out quickly, he’s not taking sacks, he’s throwing to guys who are open, he’s making anticipation throws, he’s not dropping his head in the pocket, he’s keeping his eyes downfield and delivering and he is producing. The Eagles’ defense has not played a very strong starting quarterback since their Week 8 game over in London, though, and they will have their work cut out for them. Drew Brees is incredible at home, posting a 66 percent success rate, 9.5 yards per attempt and a 130 rating with a 21-2 TD-INT rate. Every single one of those metrics is the best in the NFL. Philadelphia will also face Ted Ginn Jr., who was worked into the lineup to close the year after missing most of the season. Ultimately, I envision this game as a back-and-forth affair that will hinge on whether or not Foles can post a clean game from a turnover perspective, because it is very likely Brees will be able to do so.

Playing Props Divisional Round - Rotoworld Darren Sproles Under 47.5 Rushing + Receiving Yards: I bet the over on Sproles’ yards from scrimmage prop last week and watched him come four yards shy of getting there. This week, they raised his line to a total that he’s hit in just one of his seven games played this season. Sproles has hit 40 yards from scrimmage just twice. His former team allows just 96.7 total yards per game to opposing backfields, which was second in the league.

Malcolm Jenkins Foundation lives on in New Orleans - 6ABC As the Eagles prepare to take on the Saints, it’s impressive that the work of Malcolm Jenkins’ foundation is still going strong in New Orleans. Of course, Jenkins used to play for the Saints, but not even the most ardent Eagles fan would begrudge his continuing commitment to the youth of the Big Easy. ”Our foundation is very much alive and active down there,” said Jenkins. “New Orleans is where I started my foundation. It’s where I got drafted. It’s where I’ve got a lot of memories and great friends that are still there.” In 2012, the Malcolm Jenkins Foundation partnered with New Orleans’ organization College Track to help students pursue their dreams of higher education.

Roob’s 10 observations: Jason Peters’ future, Nick Foles stats, give Sidney Jones a chance - NBCSP After watching Jason Peters last Sunday, I want him back at left tackle next year. I don’t care how old he is, I don’t care what his salary is, I don’t care that he left a couple games early during the regular season. The way Peters neutralized Khalil Mack, one of the NFL’s most feared pass rushers, tells me there’s plenty left in Peters’ tank. Doug Pederson has handled Peters perfectly this year, giving him plenty of time off during the week and saving him for games. And Peters has responded, playing through a couple significant injuries — a torn biceps and a nagging quad — to help the Eagles get to the conference semifinal round. At some point, it’ll be time for Peters to hang ‘em up. I don’t think he’s there yet.

NFL Conference Semifinals (Call It That!): Foles Hasn’t Been Tested Like This, Chargers’ Fatal Flaw - Sports Illustrated There’s no logical reason to think the Eagles can beat the Saints in New Orleans. But then, there was also no logical reason to think Nick Foles would have come off the bench a year ago and become Super Bowl MVP. And there was really no logical reason to think a circumstellar disc would grow out to become the planet Earth and nestle into a gravitational pull 93 million miles for the sun, allowing intelligent life to develop and, eventually, this very column to be written. Unexpected things happen. But keep a few things in mind as we suspend disbelief in regards to Nick Foles. (1) He made two crushing mistakes in the first half in Chicago last week, and a team with a more explosive offense might have left Philly in the dust. (2) Foles was good in the second half of the Bears win, though even with vintage Foles this Eagles team is not what it was a year ago. They have no run game (and the Saints have one of football’s best run defenses by any measure), and their secondary not only leans on young corners Avonte Maddox and Rasul Douglas (both of whom are improving but still shaky), but also continues to be without criminally underrated free safety Rodney McLeod playing that aggressive centerfield spot in Jim Schwartz’s single-high looks. And (3) Last week was Foles’s first true road game in the playoffs, and overall it was probably a B-minus effort. Remember, a year ago when Foles got his only postseason win outside of Philly in Super Bowl LII, that was a very suspect Patriots defense. Sunday will be Foles’s toughest test yet.

New Orleans Saints Divisional Round: Bold Predictions - Canal Street Chronicles It’s a pretty common occurrence for fans and analysts to make bold predictions about a game or season. If the prediction doesn’t come true, then that’s OK - you said it was bold! If it DOES come true, though... now you look like a genius! So in that spirit, some of the Canal Street Chronicles writers were asked to share with me a bold prediction or two for the New Orleans Saints’ first playoff round game of the NFL: a divisional round matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles. This is their chance to look brilliant!

2018 ALEX: Season Review - Football Outsiders Meanwhile, the Eagles ranked second in ALEX after finishing first in 2017, a Super Bowl year for Jim Schwartz’s defense. The Eagles have a banged-up secondary this year, but still ranked fourth in conversion rate allowed. If they can keep the play in front of them against Drew Brees this week, that could help in pulling off a huge upset.

NFL fines Michael Bennett, Adrian Amos for unnecessary roughness - PFT Michael Bennett and Adrian Amos both picked up costly penalties in the Eagles’ win over the Bears last weekend, and they picked up costly fines as well. Bennett was fined $10,026 and Amos was fined $26,739 for unnecessary roughness, the NFL confirmed today.

Cowboys magical season comes to a frustrating end at the hands of the Rams - Blogging The Boys We can feel a painful loss and have a hopeful outlook at the same time. Optimism should be a part of every Cowboys fan’s ‘basket of emotions’ after that loss. We all wanted to win that game, and there’s no excusing some of the issues that cropped up in that game. Looking at context, though, the Cowboys were on the road facing a team that went 13-3 in the regular season. A team that was among the favorites to go to the Super Bowl. There is no shame in losing to that team. It’s frustrating that as bad as the Cowboys played they were still in the game and could have won it. It makes you think that the difference between Dallas and Los Angeles isn’t as big as we, and others, might think. It may be a gap that can be closed in an offseason. This year is over, but it really feels like this edition of the Cowboys is just getting started.

Bruce Allen is here to stay with the Redskins; Dan Snyder is laughing at the #FireBruceAllen movement - Hogs Haven Dan Snyder and Bruce Allen are laughing at the fans who thought posting #FireBruceAllen a million times on social media would do a damn thing. They do not care about dwindling interest and growing apathy from a surprisingly loyal fanbase. Snyder has been bleeding fans dry for 20 years now, and still has no idea how to run a professional football organization.

BBV mailbag: Kyler Murray, a Beckham trade idea, more - Big Blue View That said, I think Dave Gettleman and Pat Shurmur are both solid, capable people. I like their approach, and I like many of the things they did in 2018. I think this is a critical offseason and 2019 a critical year. It’s often said that players often make their biggest improvements from Year 1 to Year 2 of their careers. Can that be applied to front offices and coaching staffs, too? I really don’t know, but I think the offseason will tell us a lot about the eventual success or failure of the Gettleman-Shurmur duo. I would like to see improvement in 2019. I would like to see the team in real playoff contention. I would like to have a clear idea of how they will proceed long-term at quarterback.

The Cowboys are now at 23 straight seasons without a trip to the NFC Championship - SB Nation The Dallas Cowboys won the NFC Championship in January 1996 on their way to a win in Super Bowl 30 over the Steelers. It was the last time the Cowboys got any further than the Divisional Round. With a 30-22 loss to the Rams on Saturday, the Cowboys closed the book on a 23rd consecutive season without a return to the NFC Championship. That’s the seventh-longest active conference championship drought in the NFL: 1) Cincinnati Bengals: 30 seasons. 2) Washington: 27 seasons. 3) Detroit Lions: 27 seasons. 4) Cleveland Browns: 26 seasons. 5) Miami Dolphins: 26 seasons. 6) Buffalo Bills: 25 seasons. 7) Dallas Cowboys: 23 seasons. 8) Houston Texans: 17 seasons.

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[junker-town]

Carson Wentz has become the NFL’s biggest gamble

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Carson Wentz is broken. Can he be fixed?

While much of the football world waits to see if the Texans will trade Deshaun Watson, the Eagles are still desperately trying to find a home for Carson Wentz. The Eagles are ready to go in a different direction at quarterback and need to get rid of Wentz’s $128M contract, but they also want to get value for a player who was an MVP candidate only a couple years ago. It’s a buyer’s market on the quarterback, but who wants to buy?

What began with a flurry of interest from a number of teams has now now died down. The Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts appear to the be the last teams willing to at least listen to Philadelphia’s current demands long after the rest of the league submitted offers. While we don’t know precisely what the Eagles want, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the team wants “strong compensation.” It seems like Philadelphia would want a first round pick and more for Wentz.

Could that happen? Perhaps. Should it happen? Absolutely not, unless a general manager wants to risk his reputation on a fundamentally broken player who needs to be rebuilt. If you bet wrong on Wentz your career might well be over. No general manager can conceivably take this risk, absorb Wentz’s contract, offer high draft compensation, get it wrong, and still keep their job.

If you get it right though, if you fix the problems and bring back the player who powered the Eagles’ run to the Super Bowl before Nick Foles finished the job — well, it might be the biggest bargain at the position since the Titans landed Ryan Tannehill for peanuts. That’s an enticing gamble for a lot of GMs, especially Bears GM Ryan Pace who seems to have fallen in love with the idea of trading for Wentz with his job on the line. Colts GM Chris Ballard is also looking to keep a promising team on an upward trajectory after Philip Rivers’ retirement.

What went wrong with Wentz last year? Can he be fixed? These are the things a franchise needs to weigh before trading for the QB.

Carson Wentz reportedly has an ego problem

One of the more mystifying pieces of information to come out of Philadelphia during the offseason, and subsequent firing of Doug Pederson, was that he and Wentz no longer had a good relationship. From the outside looking in Wentz seemed to have a quiet, mild-mannered demeanor about him, but behind closed doors this was anything but the case.

In a ranging breakdown of Wentz’s regression, the Philadelphia Inquirer painted the picture of a player who had greatness thrust upon him by those around him, and fell for the hype a little too much.

“Every great quarterback wants to be coached and they want to be coached hard and by the best, and it doesn’t seem like [Wentz] wants that,” one source said. “It’s kind of like whoever’s coaching him is working for him. But it can’t be that way.”

Here was a player who at 25-years-old was viewed as the catalyst in a turnaround for Philadelphia football the city had been craving for decades. Nick Foles got all the glory in the end for beating the Patriots, but inside the organization there was no mistaking who the Eagles viewed as “their guy” for the future. Foles was traded away to the Jaguars, Wentz would resume the mantle, and the assumption, at least at first, is that the team would pick up where it left off.

Obviously that didn’t happen. The team began to lose, and while it was apparent that Wentz had the relentless, Type-A personality teams look for in quarterbacks to lead them to wins, he didn’t display the same willingness to put losses on his shoulders too, even when they were his fault.

“He doesn’t understand that he lost games for us,” a veteran player said. “He will never admit that and that’s a problem because he can’t get it corrected.”

Not only did Wentz not accept blame, he wasn’t held accountable for making excuses for poor performance. It’s noted that Wentz would routinely be shown mistakes he made in the film room, only to shift blame to others and not accept responsibility for his own failings. To make matters worse, Press Taylor, who was the Eagles quarterback coach at the time (and only a few years Wentz’s senior) didn’t hold him accountable either, allowing the excuses to flow without correction.

“For instance, there would be a play when he didn’t throw to an open receiver. The read was drawn up as designed, the coverage played out as expected, and he would be asked why he didn’t pull the trigger.

And Wentz would say the look wasn’t there, or he would overemphasize the pass rush, and when it was suggested the play be run again in practice as to get it right, he would object.”

Wentz became conditioned to believe he was perfect, because there were a lot of voices in the organization telling him he was perfect. GM Howie Roseman reportedly has a giant Fathead of Wentz on the wall of his office, a shrine to the draft pick he thought he hit a home run on. It’s one thing to be thankful you took a player you believe to be the future, another entirely to venerate them for all to see. On some level you can’t blame Wentz for thinking he was the greatest thing to grace The Linc, because he was routinely told he was.

There’s major on-field problems too.

There’s a consistent theme to Wentz’s collapse where nothing is entirely his fault, not really. It seems hilarious to talk about him not accepting blame, then not foisting all the blame on him — but this is a nuanced situation.

The ego, the unwillingness to be coached, shifting blame. Those are symptoms of an ego run amok. Failing to deal with pass pressure on the field, making ill-advised throws, not standing tall in the pocket, well, that’s what happens when you’re sacked as often as Wentz was.

Protection became a major issue for Philadelphia. This was a unit that was never spotless, allowing 36 sacks during the 2017 Super Bowl season (16th in the league), but middling was good enough when paired with Wentz’s playmaking ability.

Injuries wrecked the left side of the line in particular, and without his blind side protected Wentz went down, a lot. Patchwork jobs on the line trying to keep Wentz up had the opposite effect, and in 2020 the team led the league in sacks allowed with a stunning 65.

The inability to protect Wentz drastically altered his play style, and suddenly the once-steady hand that led the Eagles to the Super Bowl was replaced with a completely different player. Losing faith in his protection, you could see Wentz’s eyes drop off his progression and check down the pass rush — whether it was there or not. It was an all-consuming concern for the quarterback, and often you could see him check the rush even when protection was adequate. Then he would need to return his eyes to the second level, relocate his receivers, pausing just enough for the coverage to get there if he forced an ill-advised throw. Often he would simply miss a lurking safety or dropping linebacker.

It’s not so much that Wentz was afraid to take a hit, and more that he played like he had no faith in the teammates around him. At least those responsible for pass blocking. I believe this is the true heart of his problems in 2020, and would also explain why he wouldn’t honestly answer questions about him missing reads. Nobody wants to be the guy who throws his teammates under the bus, or lose the respect of those around him. The issue is he didn’t learn how to put trust back into these players, even when they earned it.

By Week 12 the complete collapse of Wentz as an elite quarterback was seen on Monday Night Football. Wentz may have had lower points in his season than a 23-17 loss to Seattle, but after throwing 45 times for a paltry 215 yards, missing open receivers and being sacked six times it was clear he was done. The next week the Eagles made the switch to Hurts mid-game, and so ended Wentz’s season.

Can you rebuild all this?

This is a situation where we’re not just talking about a small hitch in Wentz’s game, or a minor issue that can be ironed out, but a player who needs to be broken down and built back up, both physically and mentally.

Wentz’s newfound propensity to check the pass rush needs to be erased, and he needs to be willing to trust the offensive line. That’s a difficult prospect considering this would be a new team, with a new set of players to mesh with. The saving grace, however, is that both Chicago, and Indianapolis, who are rumored to be the front-runners for Wentz, have fairly solid offensive lines. The Colts allowed 21 sacks this season, partially attributable to Philip Rivers’ unnatural release speed and feel for pressure, but also a testament to their talent. The Bears allowed 36 this season, markedly worse, but the unit seemed to improve as a whole as the season went on.

Either landing spot would give Wentz far more to work with when it comes to protection than he received from Philadelphia, but getting him to a point where he trusts standing in the pocket knowing these guys have his back, that might be another story.

This is a mechanical concern, but one I think is fixable. It’s not like Wentz is inherently scared of contact the way you saw David Carr or Jimmy Clausen become gun shy. It can be corrected with time and bonding.

The far greater concern as I see it is the ego issues. Every player should believe they’re the best, because it’s the fuel athletes need to succeed — but when that steps over the line to believing there’s nothing to learn, or everything is someone else’s fault, that’s far worse. I don’t know how a coaching staff can have a realistic expectation they can “fix” Wentz when there’s evidence from inside his current organization that he doesn’t think anything needs to be fixed. That lack of humility will not be coddled by coaches who didn’t draft him, or a general manager worshipping the ground he walks on.

This leaves us with a giant conundrum. Carson Wentz has been statistically brilliant for three solid years of his career, and a dumpster fire in 2020. Conventional wisdom would say this means last season was an outlier, and there’s something to work with — but it carries a colossal risk. Wentz is on a contract that will make him the 4th highest paid quarterback in the league in 2021, with a cap hit of $34.7M. He will make more than Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, or Russell Wilson. Framed this way the idea of taking a flier on a player who needs to be fixed is absolutely ridiculous, but the allure and the promise Wentz can return to form will be far too great for someone to pass up.

Whether that’s the Bears, the Colts, or someone else, they will be going all in on a hand without even knowing the cards they’re holding. That should absolutely terrify any fan of a team interested in making a serious run at Wentz.