Friday, March 6, 2009

Sean Jones & Other Stuff

Sean Jones is visiting the Eagles today. I watched a couple of his 2008 games last night to get a better feel for him.

SEAN JONES --- Good size. Athletic guy. Covers a lot of ground for a guy his size. Plays centerfield or a deep zone most of the time. Only comes down into the box on occasion. Solid wrap-up tackler. Doesn't show much pop in his tackles. Missed 4 games in 2008, but started the other 12. Productive playmaker in coverage. Has 14 INTs in the last 3 years. Made a beautiful INT vs Philadelphia this year. Bit on a play fake in the endzone, then reversed his course when he saw it was a pass. Was able to get back into position and make a diving grab of the ball. Showed great hands on the play. Doesn't show killer instinct as a hitter or tackler.


Jones is talented, but he is nothing like Dawkins in terms of being a physical presence on the field. Jones might be bigger, but he doesn't play with the same kind of ferocity, physicality, or power that Dawk does. Not even close. He does have good speed and range. He'd be an upgrade in that sense.

In Jones defense, he wasn't used creatively at all. He was way off the ball most of the time. That limited his tackle attempts and didn't give him a chance to do much. Jim Johnson would be a lot more aggressive and creative with Jones. Dawk was a solid young FS before JJ got here. Once JJ saw what he had to work with and turned him loose, Dawk became Weapon X. I don't think Jones is going to make that kind of transition, but I do think he'd benefit a great deal from playing in our scheme with JJ using him in multiple ways.

I am curious why a player with Jones talent wasn't getting looks from other teams. That one has me confused. Remember, we went after an old CB in Shawn Springs before we talked to Jones. I didn't see any major deficiencies in the game tape. The biggest criticism might be that for all his talent Jones didn't stand out more. Or maybe he's simply tainted by playing for the mediocre Browns defense.

It will be interesting to see what happens today. Do the Eagles sign him? Do they give him a 1-year deal? From Jones perspective a 1-year deal could make some sense. He might see that he could be a star type player in our scheme and it would be worth it to showcase his skills for a year. Or maybe the Eagles love this guy and think he'd be a great long term addition and will give him a serious deal. Keeping Demps as the #3 Safety and primary KOR isn't a bad idea.

Extra Picks

Interesting thought occurred to me last night. We now have 4 picks in the 5th round. I wonder if one possibility is signing a RFA who's compensation level is a 5th round pick. I went back to the 2006 draft to look around and see who is available that would only require that pick.

Two player stood out:

SS Dawan Landry - BAL - 6'0, 220

TE Quinn Sypniewski - BAL - 6'6, 270

Both players missed all or most of the 2008 season due to injury. That kept them from getting higher tenders. Landry had a neck/back issue, but is supposed to be fine for the upcoming season.

Sypniewski was a player on the rise after a strong '07 season, but he tore his ACL last April at a mini-camp. I haven't read an update on him, but you'd think he should be in okay shape since that was 11 months ago. He would make a lot of sense for us. He's a big TE who can block and catch. Mix him with Celek and you've got quite a 1-2 punch. Go add some athletic guy in the middle of the draft and you have a good trio.

Just a crazy theory and it's probably nothing, but I figured you guys would enjoy the ramblings of a lunatic mind. Next up...how Tommy Hutton is responsible for JFK's death. Hutton is guilty of one Dallas disaster so why not connect him to others?
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11 comments:

Mark H. said...

Interesting stuff. Maybe Jones will turn out to be a diamond in the rough. I'd rather see them sign a guy with more years left than Springs has anyway.

Love the idea of Michael Bush being available, if true. Al Davis might just be crazy enough to trade him away, too.

And that's a very interesting theory on Tommy Hutton. Did you see how the ball moved on that fateful snap in Dallas? Back...and to the left. Back...and to the left.

orangecrush007 said...

Great info about the RFAs. You were right, we love that kind of stuff!

I am curious about Tra Thomas. He is getting absolutely no attention from any NFL teams. I feel bad for him because he seems lika really cool person. Someone on the radio mentioned that his run blocking was attocious and that the Eagles couldn't run the ball to the left side because of him. Is there any truth to that from what you observe? Thansk! Keep up the GREAT work!

Tommy Lawlor said...

Tra has never been a good run blocker. He wasn't at Florida State. He wasn't early in his NFL career. And he certainly wasn't last year.

He was put on the Earth to be a pass blocker.

Tra had a solid season, but he looked really old in the playoffs. When I finished reviewing the NFC-CG I was ready to have Tra sent to a secret CIA prison for torture. He really struggled in that game. His effort wasn't even good in some situations.

I ate several bottles of pills and calmed down and got rational. Tra still is a serviceable starting LT. I was open to bringing him back, but I preferred the thought of getting some young blood out there. Plus it will help our running game to have someone who is a better run blocker. I'm excited by the thought of Todd or Shawn out there.

Unknown said...

Hmmm, if we signed Jones, gave up a 5th for the TE and a 4th for Michael Bush and it would be hard for anyone to deny that we've actively pursued areas of need.

All of those moves would make perfect sense, rather than rely on unproven players or draft picks, lets get some people who've shown they can do it. If someone beats them out or shows they're so talented we cant keep them off the field then so be it, but Its not like we dont have the money or draft picks not to let us acquire some solid people for our team.

Michael Bush I remember was an interesting guy coming into the draft because of the uncertainty surrounding his leg. I didn't get to see him at all during the season except on the last game against tampa, and I thought his leg looked fine then. I was surprised at how well he moved for a big guy.

Unknown said...

Oh, and if we can get a 5th for Greg Lewis and a 7th, what do you think we can get for Reggie Brown? A strait up 4th maybe?

frankfurtler said...

Nice work. Forgot about 'Big Sip'!. He has upside, and we have 2 TE spots to fill.

orangecrush007 said...

I remember an Eagles game in the past where they sat Runyan and Thomas because it was either a blowout or it was one of the games that didnt matter. I thought it was the 2004 Cincinatti game. Anyway I thought Andres and Herremans were the tackles at that point. I have searched up and down for the starting rosters of historic games in the NFL but I cant find it. Do you remember by any chance any of those situations and who lined up on the offensive line?

Tommy Lawlor said...

The starters played a series or two at STL late in the 2004 season. Then they hit the bench.

The OL started the Bengals game in the season finale, but didn't play the whole thing.

Tra and Jon sat for most of the 2006 finale vs ATL when we had clinched the division by Dallas losing to the Lions. That was a fun day.


RE: Reggie's value

I would hope we could get a straight up 4th for him. I'd prefer to combine him with our 2nd rounder to move up to an early 2nd round pick. I'd love to have a pick in the early 2nd. If not, an additional 4th would be fine.

shlynch said...

Funny, I had the exact same thought, and posted it on the EMB. Just read this for the first time. Great minds ...

I do like the idea of Sypniewski. He seems like the right guy. Only "downside" is that he might get buried if they take a TE early. Deep TE draft, so maybe this frees them up to get a guy who can really attack the seam but can't block yet later on.

Would eliminate the need to take a guy like Pettigrew, I'd think.

Tommy Lawlor said...

The thought off adding Syp would take TE out of the 1st round. Probably 2nd. We could then see if the right guy falls in the 3rd or 4th. I'd love Beckum. They could get another complete TE like Anthony Hill. My sleeper would be Kory Sperry in the 5th. 20 career TDs.

shlynch said...

20 TDs. Now you're speaking my language.