Eagles trade Shady McCoy to Buffalo Bills

[Cotton]

Eagles' trade a good thing for Cowboys, right?
March, 4, 2015

By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com

IRVING, Texas – Thankfully my kids weren’t near me when I saw Adam Schefter’s tweet that the Philadelphia Eagles will trade LeSean McCoy to the Buffalo Bills for linebacker Kiko Alonso.

It was a much more adult version of "Whooaaaa."

The immediate reaction was: What is Chip Kelly thinking?

The second reaction was: The Dallas Cowboys don’t have to see McCoy twice a year anymore.

The third reaction was: But they will see him up in Buffalo this season.

The fourth reaction was: This is good for the Cowboys.

The fifth reaction was: What does this mean for DeMarco Murray?

It’s easy to say another running back has been devalued. In 2012, McCoy signed a five-year deal with nearly $21 million guaranteed. He’s scheduled to make $9.75 million this year. He ran for 2,926 yards under Kelly. He wasn’t as good last season as he was in 2013, but the Eagles weren’t as good as a team either.

So if this can happen to McCoy, what does that mean for Murray? Does it help the Cowboys in their quest to keep Murray but at their price? Maybe it does show that the market will not be as bountiful as the NFL’s rushing leader hopes it will be.

Reactions 6-50 went back to my first reaction.

Kelly has been given guru status by some prominent media members because he can be glib and he doesn’t follow the group-think that envelopes a lot of the NFL.

This trade is definitely out of the box. Kelly loves him some Oregon players, so I can see his affinity for Alonso, but the linebacker is coming back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament. It’s his second torn ACL in the last four years.

He had a terrific rookie season and made plays at all different levels. Evidently Rex Ryan didn’t think he would be a good fit for his defense. Kelly thinks otherwise, obviously, but Alonso is not as good a linebacker as McCoy is a running back.

So the 51st reaction was: Maybe Kelly knows something we all don’t, either about McCoy, Alonso, or what the Eagles are about to do this offseason.

What the Eagles have done lately is create a ton of cap space by agreeing to trade McCoy and cut Todd Herremans, Trent Cole, Cary Williams and James Casey. They can go after anybody they want in free agency, plus keep Jeremy Maclin, Brandon Graham, and anybody else they desire.

Jimmy Johnson’s big advantage early on in his tenure with the Cowboys was his knowledge of college football players. He recruited the best players at Miami and was in position to know the very best of the best as they entered the NFL.

But Kelly took Marcus Smith in the first round last year, who made no impact. Some wonder if he will ever make an impact.

So maybe Kelly is about to make a ton of free-agent moves as his way of overtaking the Cowboys in the NFC East.

But I still don’t understand what Kelly is thinking. Another AFC personnel chief I spoke with Tuesday night wasn’t so sure either.

Perhaps that’s Kelly’s genius?

 

[Carp]

They have cap space, but who are they going to spend it on? There are no FA QBs that fit their needs, but I guess they could sink some money into the lines. Pairing Alonso with Hendricks looks great, but thankfully we have 2 athletic OGs that will pancake the fuck out of them twice a year.

 

[ravidubey]

Ummmm, the Eagles don't have a QB and finished the season 1-3 thxbye.

 

[Texas Ace]

I'm just glad to see his ass go.

There just seem to be certain guys who always give us a hard time in our division and he was one of them.

Good riddance.

 

[DLK150]

So, they get out from under his contract, pick up a defender with potential on the cheap who won't be difficult to resign because of his injury history and could potentially draft McCoy's replacement if they don't sell out to draft Mariota.

I can't say this is a good move or not but I agree with Texas Ace, I'm just glad to see him go, even if we will face him against Buffalo. That's still better than twice a year for the next 3-4 years.

 

[GShock]

RBs aren't worth a bucket of warm spit anymore.

 

[Stars]

You gotta figure Kelly is trading up for Mariota. He clearly thinks of himself as a genius.
Draft picks don't mean anything to "geniuses"...

 

[boozeman]

 

[L.T. Fan]

RBs aren't worth a bucket of warm spit anymore.

You can say that but teams that have an effective running game are always in contention.. Teams that have an effective OL and think RBs are a dime a dozen are infor a rude awakening. You have to have both to make the running game work.

 

[Angrymesscan]

You gotta figure Kelly is trading up for Mariota. He clearly thinks of himself as a genius.
Draft picks don't mean anything to "geniuses"...

I think Bellicheat is quite fond of his...
Jimmy really liked his too...
Parcells even worked it to have 4 1st's in one draft...

 

[Genghis Khan]

You gotta figure Kelly is trading up for Mariota. He clearly thinks of himself as a genius.
Draft picks don't mean anything to "geniuses"...

Kelly has even hinted towards that, saying the typical stuff like it's a crapshoot and whatever.

It's one of the reasons I'm happy he pushed Roseman out. Roseman liked to accumulate picks and understood getting value from your selections. Kelly doesn't seem to care.

For example, supposedly Roseman talked him out of taking Josh Huff in the second, which would have been a big reach. Huff was still there for them in the 4th. I can't remember them all bit supposedly there are a few examples similar to this.

 

[Stars]

I think Bellicheat is quite fond of his...
Jimmy really liked his too...
Parcells even worked it to have 4 1st's in one draft...

Yeah I was implying Kelly wasn't a genius. Those guys are all obviously good football minds.

 

[Jiggyfly]

You can say that but teams that have an effective running game are always in contention.. Teams that have an effective OL and think RBs are a dime a dozen are infor a rude awakening. You have to have both to make the running game work.

Yeah Denver, Houston and the Giants were rudely awakened routinely.

All of those teams had productive running games with dime a dozen running backs.

 

[hstour]

 

[BipolarFuk]

Chip Kelly a genius again

Chip Kelly a genius again

What is Chip Kelly doing?

That’s a question that has been asked many times over the last week after the polarizing coach traded his starting quarterback and running back for two players coming back from ACL injuries.

Coming on the heels of the team releasing several veteran starters, the football world was starting to question the sanity (and motives) of the former Oregon coach after the trades.

Many people surmised the frantic maneuvering was part of a grand scheme to land Oregon QB Marcus Mariota, based entirely on the fact Kelly had coached him in college. One “analyst” suggested Kelly’s personnel decisions may be influenced by race, despite a wealth of evidence suggesting otherwise.

Kelly’s approach to this offseason was not based on an emotional tie to a certain player or even a staunch commitment to his offensive system. Kelly has taken a scientific approach to football. Theories are tested, and if they prove successful, Kelly implements them into his program. If something isn’t working, he cuts the cord.

The Eagles roster — before Kelly put an ax to it — was not working.

Even at 10-6, Philadelphia was a deeply flawed team. Some of those flaws were easy to diagnose. The Eagles gave up 72 passes of 20 yards or more in 2014, by far the most in the NFL. They also led the league in giveaways with quarterbacks Nick Foles and Mark Sanchez throwing a combined 21 interceptions.

Other flaws were not so obvious. Like LeSean McCoy’s league-leading 125 carries for zero yards or fewer. Or Nick Foles wayward accuracy on downfield throws limiting the offense’s big play potential.

All of these problems contributed to the Eagles’ late-season collapse. And nothing was likely to change without significant improvements.

With under $20 million in cap space heading into the offseason, the Eagles did not have the financial flexibility to address all of those issues. With about $5 million needed to sign draft picks and money needed for re-signings or in-season pickups, Philadelphia was looking at around $10 million (remember that number) to make upgrades.

So Kelly went to work.

It started with release of linebacker Trent Cole for $8.4 million in savings. Then cornerbacks Cary Williams and Bradley Fletcher were shown the door for a combined $10.2 million in cap relief. Guard Todd Herremans was next to go, providing another $2.7 million in cap space.

Then came the LeSean McCoy trade, which was painted as a my-way-or-the-highway move, like the DeSean Jackson release the year before it. But just like the decision to cut Jackson, parting ways with McCoy was a financial decision, as Kelly explained in his press conference Wednesday:

“The opportunity with LeSean came up and it was offered, you got an outstanding young linebacker at a position we have a huge need at … The result of it is the money that was freed up. They way we looked at it was we got Kiko Alonso and Byron Maxwell for LeSean McCoy. The bottom line is that every decision you have to make is governed by money.”

After the trade, the Eagles had acquired a talented young player on a modest deal and were up to nearly $50 million in cap space.

Byron Maxwell, the top corner on the market, was the first to sign at about $8.7 million a year. Next came his teammate in Seattle, Walter Thurmond, on a one-year, $3.25 million deal.

The Eagles had upgraded their secondary and filled a need at linebacker, but after losing McCoy and Jeremy Maclin, who signed with Kansas City, the offense needed attention.

Kelly’s next move took everyone by surprise: Philadelphia sent Foles and a 2016 second-round pick to St. Louis for Sam Bradford and a fourth-rounder.

The Eagles had given up a high draft pick for an injury-prone quarterback with a big cap hit. Kelly was undoubtedly taking a risk. But turn on Bradford’s tape and you see the makings of a franchise QB. Bradford has a big-time arm, good accuracy and sees the field clearly. And now he’s going from a rough situation in St. Louis to a system that made Mark Sanchez look like a competent NFL starter.

Bradford has one year left on his rookie deal, so Philadelphia isn’t making a long-term commitment unless Bradford earns it.

Worst-case scenario: The Eagles take a one-year flyer on Bradford. Best-case scenario: Kelly finds his quarterback. If he stays healthy, Bradford is, at the very least, an upgrade over Foles.

Next up was finding McCoy’s replacement. After striking out with Frank Gore, Kelly signed Ryan Mathews, a downhill runner whose value had been hurt by injury problems in San Diego.

Then out of nowhere, reports of DeMarco Murray expressing interest in Philadelphia surfaced. A day later, the NFL’s leading rusher had walked away from the Cowboys to sign with their division rivals.

Murray and Mathews will make a combined $12.5 million in 2015 — or only $1.25 million more than the Eagles were set to pay McCoy before the trade. Two good backs for the price of one.

Coming into free agency, the knocks on Murray were a heavy workload and a statline supposedly inflated by a dominant Cowboys line. But Murray has 527 fewer career carries than McCoy and has now gone from Pro Football Focus’ second-highest graded run-blocking line in Dallas to to the only line graded higher in Philadelphia.

Murray shouldn’t have a problem adapting to Kelly’s system; the Eagles and Cowboys employ a similar zone-blocking scheme in the run game. And he will do a better job of keeping the Eagles in favorable down-and-distances. McCoy had the third-highest rate of runs for zero or less yards, while Murray had the ninth-lowest rate, per ESPN Stats and Info.

Murray may not be the electrifying talent McCoy is, but his north-south style is a better fit for Kelly’s offensive philosophy. McCoy’s east-west running style had caused Kelly to sour on the 26-year-old, according to the MMQB’s Peter King.


The Eagles have yet to replace Maclin. But they have to 20th pick in a draft deep on playmaking wideouts.

Let’s say Philadelphia takes a receiver with their first-round pick. We’ll give them Oklahoma’s Dorial Green-Beckham. That gives the Eagles a skill position rotation of Green-Beckham, Riley Cooper, Jordan Matthews, Brent Celek, Zach Ertz, Murray, Mathews and Darren Sproles, with only one of those players making more than $5 million.

On the other side of the ball, the Eagles have upgraded their secondary and linebacking corps while maintaining a good defensive line.

And Kelly made all of these improvements with just an $8 million increase in payroll. Safe to say he made the most of that $10 million he had to work with at the start of the offseason.

Not to mention, the six players he sent packing were an average age of 29.5. The six he brought in average out at 26.7 years old. Fewer than two months into the offseason, Philadelphia is younger with fewer holes.

What is Chip Kelly doing?

He’s making the Eagles better. One calculated move at a time.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/chip-kellys-ingenious-offseason-plan-comes-together-with-demarco-murray-signing/ar-AA9IVVm

 

[Cotton]

Yeah, he's a genius. McCoy led the league in attempts resulting in zero yards and yet genius Kelly is shopping one of his few solid OL.

 

[dallen]

So trading away McCoy who they owed nothing to after this season and replacing him with $20+ million guaranteed to Murray was a financial decision? OK.