PHILADELPHIA — Almost daily we’re bombarded with ridiculous football grades attached to various NFL players by scouting services that sell subscriptions and promote the material on social media.
The reactions typically trigger arguments among readers, infuriate old school coaches and fans and turn conversations into shouting matches finalized with nasty putdowns, or worse. These so-called qualified gatherers of football intelligence boast of evaluating every play of every game. Until recent years their information was more to make a name for themselves. These days it’s combined with complex algorithms and Artificial Intelligence in a process that assigns fair market value to player contracts.
In other words, if for the sake of example, you believe Pro Football Focus (PFF) is a joke, you had to be howling at the contracts the Eagles agreed to early in free agency with running back Saquon Barkley and defensive end Bryce Huff.
Barkley got a three-year, $37.75 million pact with $26 million guaranteed while the undrafted Huff, whose next start in the league will be first, agreed to a three-year $51 million deal.
Traditionally the Eagles don’t spend a lot on running backs. They wouldn’t pay D’Andre Swift, who this week got a three-year, $24.5 million deal from the Chicago Bears, or two years ago, Miles Sanders, who got a four-year, $25.4 million pact from the Carolina Panthers. The latter was the most of any free agent running back last year. Swift and Sanders were 1,000-yard rushers.
Barkley last year rushed for 962 yards and six touchdowns and had 280 receiving yards and four scoring passes for 1,242 total yards, a significant drop from 1,650 yards from scrimmage the previous year.
How the analytics people factored in the awful offensive line of the Giants, the play of backup quarterback Tommy DeVito, who would have to compete for a job in the United Football League, and the lack of offensive threats on the roster is beyond me. Rest assured, they did. And the Eagles, in their infinite wisdom, believe Barkley is a slam dunk signing judging by how quickly they got him under contract.
Let me put that another way: The Eagles have data indicating that Barkley should be worth every penny of that contract, although I don’t understand how that could be the case for a guy with six years of taking big hits and who has been injured, on average, four games each season.
With respect to Huff (6-3, 255), who with the New York Jets last season terrorized Eagles backup right tackle Jack Driscoll for 1.5 sacks, two quarterback hits and one tackle for loss in a 20-14 win for the home team at the Meadowlands, consider him a fit for the defense of veteran Eagles coordinator Vic Fangio. Huff, 24, had 10 sacks last season … 2.5 more than in his first three seasons combined.
Pro Football Focus (PFF) by the way, has a contract with all 32 NFL teams to supply research and analytics. There’s no getting away from their spin, so look for them to provide data soon touting the effort of the Eagles to sign Barkley and Huff. Teams have been using analytics in game planning for years. What fans know about analytics, according to former NFL general manager Mike Mayock, is “Just the tip of the iceberg.”
Look for PFF to give the Eagles an A for free agency. The reality is we don’t know if that duo will bring the Eagles more victories than Swift and let’s say Josh Sweat, who on Instagram intimated he was on the trade block with a post of “I will miss you all.”
To review, football fans: It’s not simply about what the coaches, management or you have seen on the field, it’s about that and the unseen in the form of analytics that determines the prime contract market for players. A little leeway is in order even if you can’t get past Barkley’s injury history.
It’s early but Barkley has the endorsement of Eagles Pro Bowl guard Landon Dickerson, who signed a four-year, $84 million deal with a $20 million signing bonus and $50 million guaranteed. While it remains to be seen if he’s truly a three-down back (his receiving skills aren’t anything to write home about), the muscular, 6-foot, 228-pound Barkley has demonstrated that he can pick up a linebacker blitz. Such blocking assistance would help Dickerson, along with Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts.
“Obviously, I’m extremely excited to add another talented guy like that to the roster,” Dickerson said Tuesday. “Again, I’ve said this for the past three years, every team has a one-year expiration on it. So, bringing in a guy like Saquon, I think for us, is adding to the amount of talent that we have. I’m really excited to see what he does.”
Contact Bob Grotz @delcotimes.com.
Source: Berkshire mont
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