Did the Eagles have a successful Free Agency because all the signings had "something to prove"?

[EaglesPeteC]

This has looked to be one of the best free agent crops I can ever remember the Eagles getting. So I started asking myself "why?"

To me I think it's because they all have come to Philly with "something to prove" vs coming to Philly to "cash in" 

Alshon- soft market after suspension, injuries and poor an play led to down seasons.

Torrey Smith- looking to bounce back after 2 dreadful years in SF

Jernigan- cast off by Ravens 

Robinson- injuries and poor play had mostly been his career story

Blount- virtually no market despite 18 TDs last year because of age

Long- very limited role in NE last year due to age age 

I'm sure there are others too. 

In past years, Jenkins, Bradham are also examples.

I feel like there might be something to that strategy vs going and getting guys who feel like they are the s**t and hit free agency to get a huge payday like Byron Maxwell, DeMarco Murray or "the dream team"

Although recent counters to that argument would be Brandon Brooks, Rodney McLeod and Conner Barwin.

Interested to hear thoughts. 

[Phire]

I'm not saying you're wrong but I think you can make an argument that every FA has something to prove. Did DeMarco Murray not have something to prove when Dallas thought he was expendable (though he was). I think good coaching has more to do with it.

What offseason acquisition hasn't worked this year?

We're getting contributions from every body. Typically we'd sign someone like Blount and they end up being useless. Instead he's averaging something crazy per carry. I mean hell we're even getting solid contributions out of guys like Corey Graham. I think our coaches are prepping these guys and putting them in position to make plays. I can't remember the last time we haven't had at least one FA completely fall on his face. Hell, usually half our FAs don't work out. 

Maybe the culture is making these guys hungry and not just cashing in. Because last year, with the same coaches, Rodney McLeod made a few "business decisions." Now we've got guys sacrificing their bodies to make plays. I think ultimately it's a mixture of things, but this is pretty miraculous that every acquisition pretty much is working out for us.

[EaglesPeteC]

19 minutes ago, Phire said:

I'm not saying you're wrong but

Is code for "I'm saying you're wrong" haha 

[Phire]

3 minutes ago, EaglesPeteC said:

Is code for "I'm saying you're wrong" haha 

No, because I do believe that a lot of these guys have something to prove. I feel like this squad knows it isn't getting much respect. Remember when the DL used to call themselves the "nobodies" or something like that? It's been a narrative for a while. And Bradham was going scorched Earth after the Panthers game about how the team doesn't get much respect. I think there's something there to it. I just think it's too easy to make up a reason for everyone to have a chipped shoulder. Byron Maxwell had to prove he's more than a product of Seattle's defense. Vince Young had to prove Jeff Fisher wrong. etc. etc. 

[TheRealMcCoy]

1 hour ago, EaglesPeteC said:

Alshon- soft market after suspension, injuries and poor an play led to down seasons.

Is his play really better than last year? I don't know about that.

1 hour ago, EaglesPeteC said:

Torrey Smith- looking to bounce back after 2 dreadful years in SF

He is in a better offense with a better QB. He's still had his drops.

2 hours ago, EaglesPeteC said:

Jernigan- cast off by Ravens 

He's in a defense that suits him more.

2 hours ago, EaglesPeteC said:

Long- very limited role in NE last year due to age age 

He's still not in a big role with us, but he may be playing better.

2 hours ago, EaglesPeteC said:

Blount- virtually no market despite 18 TDs last year because of age

There was a market for him. He choose us over the Giants and some others I think. He could've returned to the Patriots as they slapped a tender on him.

He's also averaging more YPC here cause our blocking has been pretty great and that's not to diminish anything Blount has done. He's been great.

[TheRealMcCoy]

2 hours ago, EaglesPeteC said:

I feel like there might be something to that strategy vs going and getting guys who feel like they are the s**t and hit free agency to get a huge payday like Byron Maxwell, DeMarco Murray or "the dream team"

Most of us were always wary of the Maxwell signing cause we thought he was overrated and getting paid based on being part of that Seattle secondary.

We really misused DeMarco Murray and he's been very good since he has joined the Titans.

Nnamdi was also misused as we made him play more in zone, plus he was older and lost a step.

[TheRealMcCoy]

These are just counters to say that it isn't that black and white. 

I don't think that you should necessarily never pay big $ for a FA, but there is more risk there.

To live up to a big contract a player needs to be great. Some will live up to those deals, but they usually don't outperform it.

Guys that are had for cheaper and bounce back after a down season entering FA have the ability to way outperform their contract.

Plus, if they suck their contract doesn't hurt you too much.

[TheRealMcCoy]

2 hours ago, Phire said:

I just think it's too easy to make up a reason for everyone to have a chipped shoulder.

Yeah, I agree. 

We can only guess if they are using those things as motivation if we hear it out of their mouth.

The one thing a lot of these guys do have that we can be sure is pushing them to be their best this year is being in a contract year.

Guys in contract years:  Blount, Jeffery, Robinson, Jernigan, Bradham

You could also say Torrey Smith is in a contract year as his multi year contract is essentially a 1 year deal.

[EaglesPeteC]

Alshon is going to be an interesting case this off-season. Unless there is a dramatic change, not huge numbers but his impact on this offense has been opening up the middle of the field and the running game. Interesting to see how he will be valued 

[TheRealMcCoy]

2 minutes ago, EaglesPeteC said:

Alshon is going to be an interesting case this off-season. Unless there is a dramatic change, not huge numbers but his impact on this offense has been opening up the middle of the field and the running game. Interesting to see how he will be valued 

Yep. Even if he doesn't have big stats I wonder what he'll do cause teams will use that against him trying to get big $.

Will he sign a multi year deal or go with another 1 year deal? He is gonna be 28 years old. I wouldn't think he would wanna do another 1 year deal, but you never know.

[Phire]

Alshon's going to have a big rally this year. Teams are trying to take him away but they're getting burned by Ertz and Agholor. I expect some attention to shift toward Ertz at least and that should get Alshon open.

[RandyMossIsBoss]

The more you're giving a player, the more likely it is they are to not give their full effort. Impossible to say how many guys actually change their mentality after getting what is often their first (and only) big payday, but I have no doubt it happens, to an extent.  Whereas nobody on a 1 year deal is going to be giving anything less than 100% unless their career is already on the downturn/wrong side of 30.

 

Ultimately don't think it's a major factor, gotta imagine most players are not thinking about their contract when they play or train. Plus they all want more money, more accolades, more wins, so taking your foot off the pedal really would only apply to the very few players who don't have a passion for the sport.

 

 

I think you might be on to something with the overall approach we took this offseason. Letting the 1st wave of FAs pass, outside of Alshon, and then grabbing players in that 2nd wave. It's in that 2nd wave that the leverage switches from FA to team, since you're not going to be in a bidding war or anything. If somebody really wanted you, they would have secured you right out of the gate. Then again just last season we saw the Giants build a great defense via big FA signings, so it's not like that can't work either, just riskier.

[ninjapirate]

I think the team has just done a good job getting guys that fit what we do. 

[ninjapirate]

4 hours ago, Phire said:

Alshon's going to have a big rally this year. Teams are trying to take him away but they're getting burned by Ertz and Agholor. I expect some attention to shift toward Ertz at least and that should get Alshon open.

I don't think a team has covered Agholor yet this season. Wentz should look his way more. 

[BAConrad]

I agree with RMIB's view mostly 

You're definitely on to something with this idea of signing guys who :

basically know that they have to have their best year possible to either get resigned for good $, or cash in somewhere else.

might be motivated because their previous teams might have undervalued them or something. for example, take a guy like Jernigan. He was a recent 1st round pick and his team traded him for practically nothing. And I can't prove It, but with social media and such, it's almost guaranteed that players who get traded make sure to find out what they were traded for. Jernigan very well may have felt like his previous team thought he wasn't any good due to how little they took in return for trading him away

    For example some of you prob don't remember, but there was an incredibly interesting segment in one of the episodes of Hard Knocks with the Dolphins..where the Phins GM sits Vontae Davis down and informs him that he had been traded to the Colts. Aside from the lolz when Davis first says "I need to call my gramma", he also immediately asked what the Dolphins received for him (A 2nd rounder). 

Anyway, I think there's way more reasons as to why our FA signings/trade acquisitions worked out incredibly well this season so far, and pretty darn good last year also (McLeod, Bradham, Brandon Brooks, Wiz) minus a few misses on guys like Mckelvin and Ron Brooks and DGB.  

First off, we aren't overpaying 28 year old FAs coming off career years while disregarding their fits on our team and such.  And we didn't way overpay a player who plays a position that we badly need out of desperation.  

We addressed a glaring need at safety in 2016 when we signed McLeod and at guard when we signed Brooks. Both of those guys at the time were only 25 years old IIRC each, with their primes still way ahead of them. And we didn't overpay them. And then we signed some very low risk high reward players on cheap and short deals like Bradham and Wiz. 

This past off-season, we had multiple things to address. We needed New WRs, OL depth, cornerbacks, runnningback, and DL.

And what happened was nothing short of amazing. Howie and co played the market as smart as anybody. They waited on that big name WR we all wanted. First signing Torrey Smith to a very fair 3 yr/15 mil deal. Hours later, we managed to steal away Alshon Jeffrey and convince him to sign with us on a 1 year deal for 9.5 million, with 4.5 more in incentives, instead of accepting one of multiple long term deals that (and this is purely speculation) would have been something like 4 years for 32 million.