August 25, 2016
Before he became head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, Brad Childress was an offensive assistant under Andy Reid on some really, really good Eagles teams.
(And a bad one, too, the year Terrell Owens “told Childress not to speak to him unless he spoke to Childress first,” an order that Childress did not obey. Those were heady times, man.)
Childress is again the offensive coordinator for Reid, this time in Kansas City after Doug Pederson was hired here. The last three seasons, the 60-year-old had a title that you simply don’t hear all that much: spread game analyst. The job description? “To study the trends popping up across all levels of football and keep Chiefs coaches and talent evaluators informed.”
As we saw in Philadelphia over the past few seasons, the spread offense has its positives (creating 1-on-1 matchups) and drawbacks (wearing out players, exposing quarterbacks) at the NFL level. According to The Ringer’s Kevin Clark, Childress thinks the Eagles might have found the perfect blend of pro-style and spread concepts in Carson Wentz:
Childress, meanwhile, believes the current holy grail is the prospect who ran spread plays at the college level that can be easily imported to the pro level. He mentioned Eagles rookie quarterback Carson Wentz, who at North Dakota State played in a multiple-style offense that incorporated spread concepts. Childress was impressed that Wentz played under center sometimes and in the shotgun at other times, and that regardless of the formation, he was adept at making various throws. He said some of the sweep plays Wentz ran were particularly impressive, and that he wants to incorporate what he saw into the Chiefs’ game plan.
Conventional wisdom has always been that spread, no-huddle quarterbacks have the toughest time adjusting to the NFL. Here’s Howie Roseman on how he evaluated Wentz:
Eagles executive vice president of football operations Howie Roseman, who took Wentz second overall in the draft, called his college system “a pro-style concept that hints at where the sport is going.” Roseman, like Spielman, said that changes in the college game have forced him to alter how he evaluates passers: Because the college game is so different from the NFL game, Roseman is forced to put less emphasis on tape and more emphasis on test scores and smarts.
If Wentz is anything approaching the holy grail, Roseman will be in Philadelphia for a long time. Trust in Chilly, Eagles fans.
1. Who’s playing? No Isaac Seumalo in Indy, which ensures the offensive line will have zero continuity for Week 1. Wendell Smallwood will see his first action, though.
2. DGB: Desperate times call for desperate measures. Dorial Green-Beckham is still trying to figure out the playbook, but he’ll get some time with the starters.
3. Teeeeeeeeeeebbooooowwwwwww!
4. Jaylen Watkins: Now playing safety, Watkins has improved his tackling.
Kirk Cousins is Ready for His Prove-It Season ... Again: Albert Breer, The MMQB
The Eagles liked Russell Wilson a lot in the 2012 draft, but they waited too long to pick him. Dougie P didn’t forget:
“If we’d have drafted Russell Wilson in 2012, we’d still be here as coaches,” Pederson said, with a smile.
The Eagles loved Wilson, but decided to wait until the third round to take their shot at him. Seattle got him 75th overall, 13 picks ahead of Philly in the round. The Eagles wound up getting Nick Foles instead, with the 88th pick, and the rest is history. But the lesson Pederson takes lives on.
Simply enough, if you like a quarterback, Pederson says, “Take him. Take him. Take the best available one. If you’re not planning for the quarterback position, you’re probably not going to win many games.”
Game Review – PS2 – PHI 17, PIT 0 – Offense: Tommy Lawlor, Iggles Blitz
Lawlor goes in-depth on every player that saw the field:
Dillon Gordon – 3rd team LT. I am simply shocked at how far he’s come. Was a marginal blocking TE at LSU and is now a good developmental LT in the NFL. Has pretty good feet. Looks like a natural pass blocker. Needs to work on run blocking. Lined up at FB in some sets and was a good lead blocker. Really intrigued by the potential he’s shown.
Week 2 preseason grades: Bucky Brooks, NFL.com
With no Carson Wentz to grade (the horror!), Brooks took a close look at Seumalo’s performance:
Lane Johnson's impending 10-game suspension has forced the Eagles to reshuffle the deck on the offensive line. With Allen Barbre vacating his normal starting spot to replace Johnson at right tackle, Seumalo started at left guard against the Steelers on Thursday with an opportunity to win the job with a strong performance. The third-round pick didn't quite seal the deal on the gig, due to a costly holding penalty and a few failed finishes, but he did flash some strength and power moving defenders off the ball. GRADE: B-
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
