Will Shipley

SneakyQuick said:
Will be fun to see how much they compare Shipleys thighs with those of Barkley.

I seem to recall ((they ))were obsessed with them when he was with the giants.
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They’ll be countless times this year when the eagles do their qb sneak announcers will sound very homosexual fawning over the combined thigh strength of barkley and hurts
 
Some might regard this as a compliment but to me it shows that Sirianni has the mindset of a typical Caste coach with fossilized thinking as Woodhead and Shipley have very little in common when it comes to size, usage, running style, etc. It's a lazy rote comparison and doesn't bode well for Will:

theeagleswire.usatoday.com

Eagles HC Nick Sirianni compares rookie RB Will Shipley to Danny Woodhead

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni compares rookie running back Will Shipley to Danny Woodhead
theeagleswire.usatoday.com theeagleswire.usatoday.com
 
Don Wassall said:
Some might regard this as a compliment but to me it shows that Sirianni has the mindset of a typical Caste coach with fossilized thinking as Woodhead and Shipley have very little in common when it comes to size, usage, running style, etc. It's a lazy rote comparison and doesn't bode well for Will:

theeagleswire.usatoday.com

Eagles HC Nick Sirianni compares rookie RB Will Shipley to Danny Woodhead

Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni compares rookie running back Will Shipley to Danny Woodhead
theeagleswire.usatoday.com theeagleswire.usatoday.com
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Agreed. Not what I want to hear. He's more of another Christian McCaffrey with a little less wiggle, but possibly a little more power than CMAC, although CMAC can move the pile as well. Shipley catches the ball out of the backfield and can burn you deep if needed. Shipley a few pounds heavier, same height and same speed. CMAC 4.4 at the NFL combine. Shipley 4.39 hand timed at pro day. Almost a CMAC clone IMO if you want to compare him to another white RB. (McCaffrey).
I'll defer to someone else here if they want to compare Shipley to a black RB.
 
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Carolina Speed said:
Agreed. Not what I want to hear. He's more of another Christian McCaffrey with a little less wiggle, but possibly a little more power than CMAC, although CMAC can move the pile as well. Shipley catches the ball out of the backfield and can burn you deep if needed. Shipley a few pounds heavier, same height and same speed. CMAC 4.4 at the NFL combine. Shipley 4.39 hand timed at pro day. Almost a CMAC clone IMO if you want to compare him to another white RB. (McCaffrey).
I'll defer to someone else here if they want to compare Shipley to a black RB.
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Agreed, Shipley is very close to CMC but a hair less smooth in his cuts. For what it is worth, I have never seen a back with the smooth cutting that CMC has - at least not in decades.

Shipley also reminds me of Ahman Green in the way he moves in the field. He is very fast but not a jerky runner so moves faster than it looks.
 
He looked good! Very happy for him, and this may seem like a trivial thing but I wish he didn’t choose #39. Too much of a lunchpail number!
 
jphoss said:
He looked good! Very happy for him, and this may seem like a trivial thing but I wish he didn’t choose #39. Too much of a lunchpail number!
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Danny Woodhead was #39 for the Patriots, makes me sick that Will is ridiculously being compared to a much different running back, including by his head coach. If Will must be compared to a White running back, then Christian McCaffrey is the obvious comparison.
 
I know it's seemingly trivial but I thought the same thing. 39 is a throwaway number. I hope he gets something in the twenties.
 
Funny thing, #39 was worn by RBs with contrasting styles, Larry Csonka and Hugh McElhenny.
 
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I don’t necessarily think the Woodhead comparisons are a bad thing. He was able to carve out a very solid career as a dual purpose back. Woodhead was also a freak athlete.

I will say Shipley runs a bit more physically than Woodhead and will seek out contact. His demeanor and confidence are also positive attributes. I think the Woodhead to Shipley comparison is better than the Steele to Kyle Juzscyk one as Kyle’s role has been very much minimized.
 
An important difference is that Shipley can be a three down back in the NFL, a bellcow. Woodhead was never seen as anything more than a third down scatback because of his size, which is why the comparisons are limiting to Shipley and his proven ability and the role he played at Clemson. He may not be as good as Christian McCaffrey (but has the talent to be very, very good) but for those who are only capable of comparing White players to other White players, McCaffrey is the obvious comp. So when his head coach makes the Woodhead comparison others pick up on it and it quickly becomes the hive mind norm.

An example is Jon Ritchie, the former NFL blocking fullback, raving about Shipley -- until you go a little further down the article and find this quote: "I love the Shipley to Danny Woodhead comparison." https://www.audacy.com/94wip/sports...eagles-rookie-rb-will-shipley-reps-play-snaps Well, I don't.

It may be well intentioned, but it's no different than the Carson Steele can be a fullback hive mind take. If Steele was black, no one would be advocating for him being a fullback. If Shipley was black, there would be no comparisons made to Danny Woodhead, none. They're nothing alike other than skin color and the easy, lazy comparisons based on that alone that we've been hearing and reading about forever when it comes to White RBs and WRs result from that, not an objective analysis of their respective strengths and talents.
 
Valid points for sure. I dont think Shipley is as good at McCaffery but dare I say he could be an Alvin Kamara like player. The league has really gotten away from bell cow running backs outside of McCaffery and Derrick Henry and even they are used but their respective teams in different ways.
 
Thanks for posting the articles. With so many injuries to our guys this summer & preseason we finally got some great news. Way to
go Will Shipley. Here is to him having a nice year and hopefully getting from 300 to 500 yards rushing and 100 to 200 receiving if
he gets the playing time we all hope for!
 
Leonardfan said:
Valid points for sure. I dont think Shipley is as good at McCaffery but dare I say he could be an Alvin Kamara like player. The league has really gotten away from bell cow running backs outside of McCaffery and Derrick Henry and even they are used but their respective teams in different ways.
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I know bellcows are almost extinct, but my point is that if Barkley goes down, and he has a lengthy injury history, Shipley has the ability to step in and be Philly's three down back. The fact that Will reminds Sirianni of Woodhead is not a good sign that Siranni will ever use him that way. Shipley was an excellent three down back for one of the most successful college programs in the country and is the total package when it comes to running, receiving and pass pro, which is why the Woodhead comparisons tick me off.
 
Don Wassall said:
I know bellcows are almost extinct, but my point is that if Barkley goes down, and he has a lengthy injury history, Shipley has the ability to step in and be Philly's three down back. The fact that Will reminds Sirianni of Woodhead is not a good sign that Siranni will ever use him that way. Shipley was an excellent three down back for one of the most successful college programs in the country and is the total package when it comes to running, receiving and pass pro, which is why the Woodhead comparisons tick me off.
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Right Don. No doubt about it. Shipley should in no way be compared to Danny Woodhead and that's no slight to DW. He was a good player and had an ok career despite some early injuries. Woodhead was smaller and came out of Chadron State.
With Shipley, you have a guy as Don stated competed at the highest level at Clemson, ran a 4.39 40 at 5'11 209 lbs. Can catch out of the backfield or take it long on a wheel route. He's also tough enough to run between tackles and move the pile. He has it all. The only weakness I see is, either a slight vision issue, which makes him a millisecond from reacting, so what. He'll run you over or leap over you!!
How many Alabama and other schools RB's have we seen with 4.6 speed and hands of stone go in the first 2 rounds?
Shipley is another in a long list of white RB's who have plenty of talent to be a 3 down player in the NFL!!

On another note, I'm especially pulling for Shipley as about 75% of the Clemson football board said he would never get drafted much less make it in the NFL. These are ardent Clemson fans with no faith in Shipley. It makes me sick. God bless you Will. May you have a long NFL career young man.
 
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I always had to laugh and roll my eyes (mostly roll my eyes) when lazy sportswriters kept comparing Ryan Nall, who is of course a big, bruising power back, with much smaller, different style white runners just because they were white. The correct comparison for Nall would have been Derrick Henry. But of course that's not allowed in the Caste system. You can compare white to white, black to black, black newbies to white legends, but never white newbies to black legends.
 
Don Wassall said:
An important difference is that Shipley can be a three down back in the NFL, a bellcow. Woodhead was never seen as anything more than a third down scatback because of his size, which is why the comparisons are limiting to Shipley and his proven ability and the role he played at Clemson. He may not be as good as Christian McCaffrey (but has the talent to be very, very good) but for those who are only capable of comparing White players to other White players, McCaffrey is the obvious comp. So when his head coach makes the Woodhead comparison others pick up on it and it quickly becomes the hive mind norm.

An example is Jon Ritchie, the former NFL blocking fullback, raving about Shipley -- until you go a little further down the article and find this quote: "I love the Shipley to Danny Woodhead comparison." https://www.audacy.com/94wip/sports...eagles-rookie-rb-will-shipley-reps-play-snaps Well, I don't.

It may be well intentioned, but it's no different than the Carson Steele can be a fullback hive mind take. If Steele was black, no one would be advocating for him being a fullback. If Shipley was black, there would be no comparisons made to Danny Woodhead, none. They're nothing alike other than skin color and the easy, lazy comparisons based on that alone that we've been hearing and reading about forever when it comes to White RBs and WRs result from that, not an objective analysis of their respective strengths and talents.
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I actually see - and I say this as the highest compliment - a lot of Burkhead in Shipley if we are comparing white running backs to another one. Similar running style, quick cut and huge burst to get downfield.

Shipley is much faster but Burkhead, if he had been able to stay healthy and been given the opportunity, could have been a multi-year Pro Bowler.

Case in point: the only two games in his career he got 20 attempts or more he went over 120 yards.
 
From Walter football.com…

The one thing to note is that the Eagles opted to hold out Will Shipley along with the starters. This is very bullish for Shipley, as he appears to be the direct backup behind Saquon Barkley, with Kenneth Gainwell likely serving as the third-down back.
 
Looks like Barkley will not rest in their last game (smart decision, imho), will Shipley get a start or at least get to play? I'd love for Eagles to see what they got in him.
 
Will Shipley-4 carries 77 yards, and a TD. 3 kickoff returns 88 yards. Total: 7 touches-165 yards...and he made a great tackle and forced a fumble.
Outstanding game for Shipley. Hopefully we see more of him in The Super Bowl.
 
I thought Shipley might have been concussed when he made the hit to force the fumble. I didn't like he went down after the hit. He has already suffered 2 concussions, one at Clemson and one with the Eagles.
 
Booth said:
I thought Shipley might have been concussed when he made the hit to force the fumble. I didn't like he went down after the hit. He has already suffered 2 concussions, one at Clemson and one with the Eagles.
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Hopefully his time as a WSTD is short-lived. Perhaps he returns a kickoff for a TD in the Super Bowl? Or Barkley gets hurt and Shipley replicates his efforts on the biggest stage of all?

Sky is the limit for Will once he gets an opportunity.
 
Warhawk_46 said:
Hopefully his time as a WSTD is short-lived. Perhaps he returns a kickoff for a TD in the Super Bowl? Or Barkley gets hurt and Shipley replicates his efforts on the biggest stage of all?

Sky is the limit for Will once he gets an opportunity.
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As we discussed when he was drafted, Will ended up in a very good landing spot, but not right away. The Eagles have a great run blocking o-line. It propelled Barkley, an elite runner, to far and away his best season as he ended up with nearly 700 more yards than his previous career best.
Before Barkley, Philly's leading rushers had been Miles Sanders and D'Andre Swift. After leading the Eagles in rushing three different seasons, Sanders went to Carolina and quickly fell into irrelevance, gaining just 432 and 205 yards the past two years despite still being just 27 years old. Swift led the Eagles in rushing in '23 and went to Chicago this past season, where he ended up with over 900 yards but with just a 3.8 yards per carry average. Sanders and Swift are just mediocre runners who greatly benefitted from the offensive line they played behind in Philadelphia.

Shipley may not be quite as talented as Barkley, but he would be significantly better than Sanders and Swift. His big run at the end of the game introduced him to a national audience of NFL fans for the first time, and 3 kickoff returns for 88 yards didn't hurt either. So I can't wait until he gets an opportunity through injury or Barkley declining.

Fun fact: The last White running back to lead the Eagles in rushing was Tom Woodeshick, in 1967, '68 and '69. He ran for 3,577 career yards with a per carry average of 4.28.
 
Don Wassall said:
As we discussed when he was drafted, Will ended up in a very good landing spot, but not right away. The Eagles have a great run blocking o-line. It propelled Barkley, an elite runner, to far and away his best season as he ended up with nearly 700 more yards than his previous career best.
Before Barkley, Philly's leading rushers had been Miles Sanders and D'Andre Swift. After leading the Eagles in rushing three different seasons, Sanders went to Carolina and quickly fell into irrelevance, gaining just 432 and 205 yards the past two years despite still being just 27 years old. Swift led the Eagles in rushing in '23 and went to Chicago this past season, where he ended up with over 900 yards but with just a 3.8 yards per carry average. Sanders and Swift are just mediocre runners who greatly benefitted from the offensive line they played behind in Philadelphia.

Shipley may not be quite as talented as Barkley, but he would be significantly better than Sanders and Swift. His big run at the end of the game introduced him to a national audience of NFL fans for the first time, and 3 kickoff returns for 88 yards didn't hurt either. So I can't wait until he gets an opportunity through injury or Barkley declining.

Fun fact: The last White running back to lead the Eagles in rushing was Tom Woodeshick, in 1967, '68 and '69. He ran for 3,577 career yards with a per carry average of 4.28.
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I remember Tom Woodeshick. I looked him up at Wikipedia. The Eagles were a poor team in his best years 1968-69. Woodeshick gained 947 yards rushing in 1968, average 4.4 per carry, made the Pro Bowl. He had 831 yards, 4.5 per carry in 1969, tore up an ankle in week 10, never was the same after that.

Google "Tom Woodeshick youtube" and you can find a highlight film.
 
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