No, Greene did not have less of a surrounding cast. He had a better Oline, and better receivers. During his best year Musa Smith was his RB (not as good as Knowshon, but good enough to take the same amount of pressure off the QB). On top of that, he had a redshirt year under his belt when he first started & a fourth year of playing time.
That’s not even addressing ST & D, which were both much better during Greene’s tenure.
That defense was rather good during Greene’s tenure, that’s for sure.
Greene was arguably more successful in college; he’s the SEC’s career leader for yards and wins. Anyway, the Colts aside, I do know he was cut by the Seahawks for his play on the field, not for his raw ability. That would tend to imply that his arm wasn’t the problem.
Unless the Eagles pony up the picks, I see the Giants getting him. Hell, at this point, it looks like the Giants would have made signing him during free agency a priority if they didn’t trade for him.
So his arm didn’t affect his play on the field?
Of course… but I imagine Mike Holmgren would have had a pretty good idea of what kind of arm he was drafting, so presumably it was some other aspect of his play that got him cut.
A 2nd string QB is usually expected to be able to come in and play entire games if the starter goes out. Some coaches will pick up a decent 3rd string QB in the hopes that his smarts will overcome his weak arm & not lose the game for the team in the very brief time he sees the field. I’m not trying to tell you something you probably already know, but my impression is that Greene’s arm wasn’t capable of zinging that 12-yard route, or chuncking the deep ball. In the end, he wasn’t able to overcome that.
Otherwise, his play on the field was always pretty consistent, smart, and quick to react.
To your earlier point, Greene was almost certainly the better college QB. Stafford has always been dreaming of the NFL, in my opinion. Surround him with pro talent and he could be an excellent QB at the next level.
Jerry Reese is no Jerry Jones, I doubt the Giants would do that.
Right. That would mean the Giants essentiall traded an injury-prone, declinining, whinny Jeremy Shockey for Edwards. I’ll take that.
ESPNreporting the Eagles have reached a deal in principle to acquire LT J. Peters from the Bills. Deal is for a 1st, a 4th, and an undisclosed pick in 2010, according to the report. What do you all think of the move?
I don’t know much about the guy, just that he was excellent in '07, held out in '08 for a bigger contract (I keep hearing he wants around 11 mil a year) and promptly gave up the most sacks in the NFL at the LT spot. Not exactly Tra Thomas, but he’s only 27.
This affects what the Eagles will do on draft day. They certainly won’t take an OT if the deal for Peters actually works out. It also means they almost assuredly won’t be trading for either Boldin or Edwards, which fits exactly with their philosophy anyway. That philosophy being that it’s perfectly okay to lose in the NFC championship game because you don’t have anyone you know can catch the ball on 3rd and 8.
Then again, there’s a slight possibility that Boldin being available lowers the asking price for Edwards, and the Eagles could swing a deal for a second and a later pick, like a fifth or a fifth and a pick in next year’s draft, keeping their remaining first rounder for this draft. Can’t see them being that opportunistic though.
He wasn’t supposed to be a 3rd stringer, though- they drafted him in the third round. That means he was supposed to replace Seneca Wallace, and maybe even supplant Hasselbeck in a few years.
That was the hope, but he never got past 3rd string. I maintain it was mainly due to his arm. Holmgren gave him a bit of praise after his first season, saying that he was set to be cut, but was kept on due to his high level of play towards the end of the preseason. I took that to mean that his arm was the problem.
Depending on who goes where, I might take that. But I’m not crazy about Sanchez, either. IMO there isn’t a first-round QB in this draft. I’d wait till 2 and take Pat White.
On one level, I’m okay with it. A 1 a 4 and something late is not too much for a youngish Pro Bowl LT.
On the other hand: this is a great year for tackles, and so it’s kind of a shame to be trading for one. And it does seem likely to take them out of the Boldin race.
And they could still take another OT, though maybe not in the first round. They lost both starters, and Reid loves drafting linemen.
Maybe, maybe not. We’ll see if a biding war goes on, because if the Giants are going to do anything this year they NEED a stud receiver.
The Eagles have (had) two picks in the first round, the first at 21 and the second at 28. The pick being sent to Buffalo is the 28th pick. Let’s take Peters at face value here; he’s a proven mauler and an elite player at the LT spot, though unmotivated and seemingly deeply selfish. If he gets paid (and he likely will, now) and plays to his potential, he’s one of the top three in the game. Is it realistic that the Eagles could have gotten that from whomever would be available at 21 or 28? I say it’s possible, but unlikely that either Britton or Oher have that upside. From this perspective, I think it’s a fantastic move.
I really don’t like that you’re taking a guy who already has motivation problems and immediately having to pay him in order to coax motivation out of the guy, though. That’s a recipe for disaster in almost every instance.
Kidding aside, they most certainly won’t take an OL in the first now. That is, unless you count Brandon Pettigrew an OL. I definitely see the Eagles being very interested in Pettigrew, but they seem pretty pleased with Brent Celek. As much as I would like the Eagles to take Pettigrew, I doubt they would because of the way Celek emerged in the NFC Championship game (10 catches for 83 yards and 2 TDs).
They already replaced both Tackle spots in this offseason by trading for Peters and signing Stacy Andrews. And though you rightly note Reid’s penchant for drafting linemen, I doubt they take another tackle at all in the entire draft. Perhaps another center/guard in the fifth, but likely not sooner.
Boldin is not an option either. The Eagles have built primarily through the draft in recent years and they would not go without a 1st in two consecutive years. If Edwards’ price tag has dropped because of Boldin being the premier WR on the market, then possibly the Eagles move the second rounder and a fifth in a package for Edwards. Very unlikely though.
I’m pretty thrilled with the way this team is being retooled without rebuilding. The entire offensive line is under 30, and most are Pro Bowl caliber players. The defense was ranked third overall last season and the two oldest starters on the defense are both just 30. The running game should be extremely good this season with the new OL. Westbrook should be healthy (for at least the first game or two) and they brought in a real fullback in Leonard Weaver. The passing game should be really dynamic with Westbrook being the best or second best receiving back in the game, and both Weaver and backup RB Lorenzo Booker being exceptional pass catchers. They might not need another WR.
Peters is only 27. It’s a great deal. In my opinion it ties the Eagles’ hands and prevents them from doing something stupid like trading up in the first round to get a lesser player at the same position.
I seriously doubt they’d consider Pettigrew at 21, but then, given my near-perfect record of being astounded by them every offseason, that’s probably a pretty good indicator they might.
Finally, distinguishing Anquan Boldin from Braylon Edwards by calling Boldin a “complete headcase,” even after the SenorBeef Browns logical discount is applied, is pretty silly. Not silly enough to be out of place in this thread, but pretty silly.
Hey furt, what’s your baseline on bust for that Stafford bet? David Carr?
It’s a great deal if it was for the 2007 Peters. I have no fucking clue how he got into the Pro Bowl this year after being the worst LT in the NFL. Whether the deal is good or not depends on which Peters shows up. If it’s the guy who works hard, and is playing for a large contract, it’s a good deal. If it’s the whiny holdout who gives up 11.5 sacks and STILL has the balls to ask for more money, it’s not such a great deal. Personally, I’ll be interested to see which one the Eagles paid for.
Well, he got paid. 6 years, $60 million.
I heard from someone on another board that Peters’ stats in '08 were terrible because he showed up the day before the first game of the season and was completely out of shape. By the time the second half of the season rolled along, he was in shape and had regained some of his form.
I couldn’t find stats that showed how many sacks were given up each game, but I went through each game and matched up the RDE and their sack totals per game, and it was pretty evenly spread throughout the entire season. That doesn’t ease my concerns any.