Eagles realease Mathis

[PhillyGreen]

Yes ... because of salary and not conforming to Chip's ways. There's no way in hell anyone is going to convince me that a journeyman like Barbre's who's been passed around 5 times with 8 career starts (7 of which happened 6 years ago) is a better option day 1 for this team. Sorry, you want to sell me on a Day 2 rookie whom we're high on? ok ... I'd buy in, but Allen friggin' Barbre? I'll say again ... c'mon man'. Mathis is 33 ... OL can play at a high level well into their 30's.

The Eagles were Mathis 4th team and up until he got put between Kelce and Peters he was nothing special. Just a journeyman Guard filling a spot.

 

[PhillyGreen]

Yes he has already done it a bunch of times. He paid Cooper and cut desean. C'mon man. Chips not above making a mistake. And he's certainly not above hoping that he can get by with a lesser guy to build his team culture his way. That's what just happened. You aren't doing much observing of the situation here. I thought that was kind of your thing?

He did not have control until this year. Cooper getting paid was Roseman's decision.

 

[eaglesnut]

He did not have control until this year. Cooper getting paid was Roseman's decision.

He did not have control until this year. Cooper getting paid was Roseman's decision.

Umm they work together. Chip wants Cooper here. Chip did not want desean here.

 

[PhillyGreen]

Umm they work together. Chip wants Cooper here. Chip did not want desean here.

Roseman was the one that decided who got paid what. I am sure he never consulted with CK on how much a player got paid.

You are right he cut Djax and only a few people still think it was a bad move. Maclin put up better numbers. It was not the Eagles fault that Reid paid way too much for Maclin.

 

[eaglesnut]

Who's fault is it that the eagles had 2 pro bowl WRs and had to use a 1st round pick and a 2nd round pick in consecutive years to have any talent left at the position?

 

[PhillyGreen]

Who's fault is it that the eagles had 2 pro bowl WRs and had to use a 1st round pick and a 2nd round pick in consecutive years to have any talent left at the position?

You have not said anything different. I could just say see my previous post since it will still apply but I am bored so I will type some more.

1. DJax was a cancer and should have been cut. Very few people criticize Kelly for doing this. On top of that he knew he had Maclin that put up better numbers than Jackson.

2. The Eagles tried to resign Maclin and the Chiefs paid way too much for him. No one faults the Eagles going above the ridiculous number the Chiefs paid. It would have been stupid.

 

[Rey]

The Eagles were Mathis 4th team and up until he got put between Kelce and Peters he was nothing special. Just a journeyman Guard filling a spot.

and Tom Brady was a 6th round draft pick. Is that something you want to use as your basis for filling that position? I also don't buy that playing next to a certain player automatically makes you good either ... at least not on the OL. On the DL sure as you have players being double teamed, thus freeing up another ... but on the OL if you can't handle your own, you stick out like a sore thumb. Plus, you can also say that Kelce is as good because of having a guy like Mathis next to him if you want to use that argument. It cuts both ways.

 

[PhillyGreen]

and Tom Brady was a 6th round draft pick. Is that something you want to use as your basis for filling that position? I also don't buy that playing next to a certain player automatically makes you good either ... at least not on the OL. On the DL sure as you have players being double teamed, thus freeing up another ... but on the OL if you can't handle your own, you stick out like a sore thumb.

My point was the Eagles did the very same thing once already that you said was stupid to do. When the Eagles signed Mathis they gave him a one year deal. He did not get a long term contract until the 2012 season. He was not even a highly sought after free agent then. However he gets put next to the best LT in football and he all of a sudden is a stud. You may not buy into the fact that did not come into play but it should at least be considered because Mathis was in the NFL almost 10 years before he was considered a top guard.

Yes, Tom Brady was a 6th round pick but he is the extreme exception not the norm. I doubt there is ever another late round pick that will be considered amongst the great like he was.

Mathis missed the first 8 or 9 games last season and the Eagles still finished with one of the best offenses in the NFL.

 

[PhillyGreen]

correction since I can't edit my post.

Mathis extension came after the 2011 season of maybe some time before the season was over.

 

[Rey]

My point was the Eagles did the very same thing once already that you said was stupid to do.

It's stupid when you already have a pro bowl player under contract at the same position. Look, can Barbre come in and make us forget Mathis? Sure ... anything's possible. But he can just as easily come in and look like a bum. My point is that there is no guarantee with a guy who hasn't proven a thing in this league and hasn't been under fire since 2009. Mathis may bytch and moan all he wants, but you know when he gets in there he'll give you top level play. It's anyone's guess what happens when Barbre takes the field on opening day.

 

[L.Freamon]

There really is no sense in cutting Cooper at this point. In all probability he is one of the top 6 receivers on the team and that contract he signed essentially guaranteed his salary for this year. Plus he is a good soldier who is showing up for work and competing.

Saying "He's a top 6 WR" on any team doesn't mean much when most teams only carry 6. Sadly, he played last year as our #2.

Nothing could be further than the truth. I do not think Riley Cooper is anything special except he is a really good blocking WR. My interpretation was your mentioning of him in your post was more about the his off field issues.

Apparently you two are happy with Riley Cooper's production. I am not. I need more from my #2. He's giving us #3-4 type numbers.

The Chiefs overpaid for Maclin. He was not worth the money he got from them.

You're only saying that because he's not on our team anymore. If he was on our team you wouldn't care how much we paid him.

It is indisputable that Maclin> Cooper and Djax > Cooper. Yet Cooper is still here, on a contract extension. So yes, it is clear Chip values some intangibles more than talent. It caught him with Djax in week 16 last year. I hope it doesn't catch him again, but considering the number of guys he's let go in their prime, he's increased the odds of it not working out in his favor. To me, that doesn't make sense.

 

[DaEagles]

The past is the past. What will Mathis do this year? Do you really think that Kelly is going to cut a clearly superior player? He is all about winning and if he thought he needed Mathis to do that he would be on the team.

Yes, I think he would. Yes, he just did it.

 

[djm]

So far it has been and exciting off season. I look at what we have done and I am excited about a lot things and concerned about others. I have to assume that the coaching staff knows much more about this team than I do so I am going to wait. Once the pads are on we will know if all of these moves made sense.

 

[L.Freamon]

So "retaliation" suggests a rash, emotional decision, while I think this was anything but. Kelly simply thinks that Barbre will be a better LG this year than Mathis. He has seen him working at it for the last month, while Mathis sips Pina Coladas in Arizona.

You're holding Kelly to one standard and Mathis to another. Kelly you expect total dedication to winning a Super Bowl and are miffed at one bad month. BTW, I think Kelly is even more miffed than you are.

But with Mathis, you are fine with him pocketing his $5M salary and taking an additional month of vacation (in additional to the 4 months he already gets) while his teammates are hard at work? Sure its part of his union agreement that he is entitled to, but if winning is really important to Mathis, he would be hard at work too. I have no issue with Kelly holding his players to a high standard. It's his job to prepare his players. A player making over $5M a year needs to be a team leader and set the example.

It seems obvious from his teammate's reaction that this is not a one time example. If Jason Peters thinks they can do just fine without Mathis, who are we to second guess?

I find it difficult to believe Mathis was doing nothing during OTAs. that said, i don't particularly agree with his contract squabble as he had absolutely 0 leverage. But i recognize he has a talent we could use considering our QB situation. If chip wants to play coach AND GM, he needs to learn to separate his emotions in the two jobs and act like a professional. I highly doubt that Mathis is gone if someone other than Chip was in control of the roster.

They will never be able to prove it. I am sure it has to do with his not showing up for the OTA's but they will not be able to find any shred of evidence that is why he was cut. No different than most of here speculating like we know everything we all know nothing.

I don't know if the NFLPA will win this. I'd lean towards them not winning this one. But it was worth noting they took notice to this particular cut just as i did.

 

[deerpathdave]

Yes he has already done it a bunch of times. He paid Cooper and cut desean. C'mon man. Chips not above making a mistake. And he's certainly not above hoping that he can get by with a lesser guy so that he can build his team culture his way. That's what just happened. You aren't doing much observing of the situation here. I thought that was kind of your thing?

The DJAX decision was between him and Maclin. Maclin was a FA at the time time, and would not have re-signed if he knew he would have to compete with DJAX for playing time.

 

[deerpathdave]

Yes, I think he would. Yes, he just did it.

So a coach with full access to all the tape, strength and conditioning programs, internal grading system from last year for all players makes a decision you don't understand so you assume he makes a bad decision? I take a different approach and assume he knows something I don't know.

They have several guys under contract that have been in this system for several years now. Barbre, Tobin, Kelly,.... You assume they are crap as you haven't seen them play much. Kelly knows more about their status than we do and I think the clear thing this move says is they consider at least two of them ready to contribute. You want to award guys that put in the hard work. Its good for the team, good for morale and good for the salary cap.

 

[eaglesnut]

The DJAX decision was between him and Maclin. Maclin was a FA at the time time, and would not have re-signed if he knew he would have to compete with DJAX for playing time.

Compete with desean for playing time?? Where do you come up with this stuff. Maclin has started alongside desean and when he's healthy he usually ends the year with more catches. He would have had an even bigger year if desean was there to pressure and open up defenses.

 

[eaglesnut]

So a coach with full access to all the tape, strength and conditioning programs, internal grading system from last year for all players makes a decision you don't understand so you assume he makes a bad decision? I take a different approach and assume he knows something I don't know.

They have several guys under contract that have been in this system for several years now. Barbre, Tobin, Kelly,.... You assume they are crap as you haven't seen them play much. Kelly knows more about their status than we do and I think the clear thing this move says is they consider at least two of them ready to contribute. You want to award guys that put in the hard work. Its good for the team, good for morale and good for the salary cap.

Chip got to watch those guys play. And as soon as Mathis was healthy he was Chip's starting guard. Chip's all about winning so he put his best guard in there- Mathis.

 

[Sharkonabicycle]

Saw this on the front page and decided to hop in. Agree with mostly all of you guys. This is a complete WTF move. I get what Chip is trying to do... a my way or the highway approach, but that doesn't necessarily work in the NFL. In the NFL you need talent, not a bunch of scrubs who will buy into anything just so they can make the 55 man.

Mathis was going to play, let him whine and moan. He's not going to skip a regular season at thirty freaking four years of age while still under a decent contract. Are you kidding me!? Instead Chip releases him instead of getting any sort of trade value. I guess he released him to 'stick it' to Mathis (Mathis will not get a big contract, likely a 1 year prove it deal, but then he's 35, so nobody will pay that much anyway)?

 

[old duke]

No, he wanted to trade him, but nobody was interested in paying over $5M/year, when they might get him for a lot less as a free agent. Time will tell.