Eagles Blitz

Announcement Time

2010-05-24T12:29:00.000-04:00

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I mentioned several weeks ago that I was going to be making some changes to the site. My original goal for Eagles Blitz was to keep things simple. That changed. Readership in the last 6 months has more than tripled. Those numbers will continue to rise. With that in mind, I decided the site needed to look more professional. I talked about switching to Wordpress and started doing research on HTML, PHP, and CSS. That made May one strange month for me.

Late last week my friend Sam sent me an email. He knew I was making changes to the site and asked if I had any interest in joining another site. Sam is one of the 3 guys who runs Iggles Blog. I hadn't strongly considered anything like that recently. I sort of enjoyed the independence of doing my own thing.

I started to think about his idea. I had read something at Iggles Blog recently that really stuck with me. Derek had a blurb up about how much good Eagles coverage there is. PE.com is the best team site in the league. Blogs like Bleeding Green Nation, Iggles Blog, 700 Level, and so many more provide fans with independent opinions and analysis. The Philly media does a terrific job of covering the team. We pick on them at times for their love of controversy, but go check out how many articles are written about the Cardinals or Colts. Those fan bases have nothing to read. We're very lucky.

Back to my point. With the saturation of Eagles coverage already in place was there a good reason for me to spend time designing, working on, and expanding my blog? I'm a football guy, not a web guy. I started to think more about moving over to Iggles Blog.

Derek sent me an email and made some good points. Our sites have many of the same readers. Both sites are somewhat unusual. This isn't simplistic Eagles talk. We believe in detailed analysis (some might change that phrase to long-winded analysis). There was a lot of logic to joining forces instead of me trying to update/expand Eagles Blitz.

I talked to Derek on the phone. I threw about 1.4 million ideas at him. Strangely, he didn't hang up on me. I figure that if he can withstand that kind of barrage he might just be a good guy.

I finally decided that the prudent move would be to go over to Iggles Blog. We already have many of the same readers, so this will ease things on those people who had to keep up with both sites. There are times when Derek and I write about the same things. This will lessen the burden on us as we can now share those duties. I have tremendous respect for Sam, BountyBowl, and Derek. They built a quality site that provides outstanding content. I wouldn't go over there if I didn't personally like the site.

I will continue to post at a similar rate. We'll work to have a post up every day this spring/summer. Football isn't happening, but that hardly means there isn't anything worth writing about. I will continue my "unique" writing style. Stories will focus on the Eagles, but Buddy Ryan, Megan Fox, and Spinal Tap references will abound. I'll answer questions in the comments section as always. Everyone who comments here is encouraged to go over there and be an active participant.

Feel free to ask any questions you might have. I can't imagine there will be any serious objections, but voice them if you have them. We are Eagles fans after all.

The move will happen as of effective today. I'll stop by here to read comments on this, but my future posts will be on Iggles Blog.

Thank you for all your support in helping this blog to grow over the last couple of years. I'd especially like to thank Bill C. and Adam H. for helping me when I was making plans for a new site. Thanks guys.

Tommy
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Flexibility

2010-05-22T16:18:00.000-04:00

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A couple of days ago a reader brought up the point of how versatile the Eagles roster is. There really are a lot of guys who can do multiple things.

Start with the WRs. DeSean Jackson is a weapon, not just a WR. He's deadly as a punt returner. He's deadly on short passes and deep balls. He also is so gifted as a runner that he gets mixed into the run game on a regular basis. Jeremy Maclin showed this kind of potential in college, but we sure didn't see it last year. Now that he's got a year under his belt I'm hoping that he's more natural as a RS and when he gets to run the ball. Even Jason Avant is a bit unusual. We ran a WR screen to him against the Bears. It wasn't the usual screen. Avant came in motion to the formation. He blocked the DE, then released and caught the pass. Avant ran 13 yards for a TD. That's almost a TE kind of play. You can't use that type of screen with just any WR.

Brent Celek is a pure TE. Cornelius Ingram and Clay Harbor are athletic guys who can be moved around. Ingram can split out wide like a receiver. He lacks ideal speed, but at times will look like a WR. Harbor can be an H-back or FB as well as TE. We can get very creative with how to use him, depending on his blocking skills.

LeSean McCoy isn't Westy, but he looks like he can be an above average receiver out of the backfield. Leonard Weaver and Charles Scott can both play RB and FB. Weaver is a gifted receiver. Scott doesn't have much experience, but Dave Spadaro was impressed with his hands in the recent rookie camp.

The O-line isn't really fair to cover. Those guys have to be versatile.

We have a lot of versatile guys in the front seven on defense. Juqua Parker, probably the most underrated Eagle, can play DE, LB, and has even logged snaps at DT for us. Trent Cole can play some LB in certain sets. I think Darryl Tapp and Brandon Graham will also be guys that can move around for us. Ricky Sapp and Alex Hall are getting looked at in multiple positions as we try to figure out where to play them. Daniel Te'o-Nesheim will play as much at DT this year as he will at DE. If healthy, Victor Abiamiri's main contribution will be at DT in the Nickel/Dime.

Stewart Bradley was drafted to play SAM, but is now our MLB. Omar Gaither has started at WLB and MLB. Akeem Jordan is training to play at all 3 LB spots. Moise Fokou is our SAM, but has practiced at the other spots as well. Rookie Jamar Chaney can play MLB or WLB.

The secondary is almost too complicated to cover. I'm reminded of one of my favorite scenes from the show M*A*S*H. Klinger takes a letter to Col. Blake's office to ask to go home. His father is "dying". Then Col. Blake pulls out Klinger's file and reads previous letters. Each letter has a family member sick, pregnant, or dying and requests his return to help. Then Blake pulls out his favorite letter from the file..."half the family pregnant, half the family dying." Classic.

Half our secondary are Safeties that can play CB. The other half are CBs that can play Safety. At least that is the way it feels.

This versatility gives the coaches a lot of freedom to be creative with their schemes and gameplans. I expect Marty Mornhinweg and Sean McDermott to be very creative this year. You can argue whether that's a good or bad thing. I think some people mistake complex schemes for good schemes. Tampa won a SB with a very simple defense in 2002. Pittsburgh won with a basic offense back in 2005. They mixed in trick plays, sure, but it wasn't generally complicated. The simple runs plays lulled you to sleep and allowed the tricks to be effective. The Giants offense in 2008 wasn't exactly Martzian. Last year the Saints ran a very complex offense and did some great things. Their defense got complicated as needed and had some very effective gameplans.

As the old saying goes, to thine own self be true. Our coaches like complex concepts. We have smart and versatile players. That will allow the coaches to do the things they like. Now it is up to the coaching staff to develop good ideas and teach them during the spring and summer. Then we find out if the players can execute them during the year.

COMPETITION

There will be some really interesting camp battles this year. We're hearing a lot of good things about WR Riley Cooper. WR Chad Hall is another guy of real interest. Could they force out a veteran like Hank Baskett? You bet.

A few people have wondered about RB Mike Bell. I think he'd have to really struggle in order not to make it. Remember, the Eagles aggressively went after him. They don't cut guys like that unless the situation clearly calls for it.

We can sit here and predict cuts, but the reality is that we have to watch the players in action. Jobs will be won and lost on the field. Quintin Demps could go from zero to hero with a good showing this summer. Trevor Laws will either earn more playing time or a pink slip based on how he plays. Performance is the name of the game. Juqua Parker was brought here in 2005 as a longshot free agent. He's still here. JP earns a roster spot every year by playing his butt off up at Lehigh. One thing I love about the way the Eagles do business is that everyone is given a fair chance. Sure, I'll label some guys as camp bodies. That doesn't mean they won't be given a chance to make it. The odds are against them (limited reps and lots of good competition), but we see guys surprise us every year by earning a roster spot or Practice Squad spot. That's the beauty of Training Camp.
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Trust & Some Sixers News

2010-05-20T16:31:00.000-04:00

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Football players are liars. At least that is true much of the time. I love the game and I love players, but they are generally the worst source of info. Players exaggerate, good and bad. They tell you what they think you want to hear. Half the time I think they are trying to convince themselves that something is true.

I mention this in regard to things we'll hear this summer from players about where they are. The Eagles have several guys coming off injury. All of them are fine. Actually, awesome. They will all start and feel the best they ever have. Super Bowl, here we come.

Okay, I'm exaggerating a wee bit (I use the word wee to honor Craig Ferguson. He now has the best sidekick in late night history - Geoff Peterson). Some players are doing well. It sounds like Stewart Bradley is in excellent shape and will play at a high level. Other players I'm less certain about.

Marlin Jackson talked to the media on Wednesday about how good he felt and how well he moved. Les Bowen said that "He ran with a noticeable limp...". GCobb mentioned something very similar. Another beat writer used the words "still hobbling". Marlin feels great that he's on the field and running around. We can't confuse how he feels with how he looks.

Cornelius Ingram is back. Expect him to be a little rusty. He tore his ACL last August. That's plenty of recovery time, but the Eagles have moved him along slowly to make sure he heals right. I'm sure his body will have an adjustment period as he gets re-accustomed to running around and making football moves. Jogging is one thing. Running a pass pattern is completely different (unless your name is Moss or Owens and you decided to take the play off). Ingram said all the right things to PE.com, but he's nowhere close to 100%. I think he'll work into pretty good shape and I expect him to be the backup TE this year. He still has about 8 weeks until the pads go on at Training Camp. He'll improve quite a bit between now and then.

Very few people in society like to be critical of themselves. Football players are no different. There is no game film to study so guys can say whatever they want. Of course most will be overly positive. I'm not trying to pick on these guys, but the reality is that you can't trust what most players say to the media, especially what players say during the spring and summer. We have to listen to and read what they say because there isn't any game action and we're all dying for any decent football talk. Just keep in mind who the messenger is when taking in stories and interviews.

CAMP NOTES

* Jamar Chaney got snaps at WLB. He played there as a Sophomore so the position isn't entirely foreign to him.

* Quintin Demps spoke to the media and said all the right things yesterday. He got a big piece of humble pie last summer when Macho got his starting job. Actions speak louder than words. We need to see Q back up his talk with what he does on the field. The fact we drafted 2 Safeties tells you that the Eagles don't fully trust him. Q is a good KOR and still has the potential to be a starting S. He's got to convert talent and potential into work and production. Both Q and Max talked about their wife and family affecting their more serious approach to the game and their careers. Let's hope that is true and both players play accordingly.

* I mentioned yesterday that Nate Allen is fully healthy and practicing. This really is great news. We need him and Marlin Jackson to fight for the FS job. Allen is the complete package, but only a rookie. Marlin is the talented veteran, but has the bum knee(s). I want Nate to get as many reps as possible so that he's can win the job or at least make it tough for the coaches to choose between him and Jackson. Macho somewhat got the job by default last year. We need someone to outright win the FS spot this time around.

SIXERS TALK

The basketball gods are confused. They screwed up and somehow gave the Sixers the #2 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. This is sort of exciting, even for a passive NBA fan like myself.

My first sports love was Dr. J. I have been a Sixers fan since 1976 (ironically, I guess). That was the year that Doc moved from the Nets to Philly. Listening to Dave Zinkoff do the pre-game intro for Erving used to give me goose bumps. Still does, actually. The team added guys like Bobby Jones, Mo Cheeks, and Andrew Toney. What wasn't to love? Then came Moses Malone and a title. Life was good.

Harold Katz broke the team up quickly enough. The Sixers managed to remain pretty good in the late 80s with Charles Barkley. Once he was gone the team fell apart. I kept my interest as long as I could, but football became my passion. The team drafted Allen Iverson and things began to look up when he and Larry Brown got together. The trip to the Finals in 2001 was magical. I loved over-achievers like Aaron McKie and Eric Snow. That group fell apart quickly and the team has been pretty mediocre ever since.

I'm not going to pretend that I know a lot about the Sixers. I don't. My love for the NBA was huge in the late 70s and early 80s. That all went away in the age of Michael Jordan and NBA expansion. I never liked Mike, for a variety of reasons. The NBA watered down the product and I haven't cared a whole lot for the league in the last 25 years.

Now the Sixers have a chance to land an impact player with the #2 pick. That is part of the basic equation for turning a franchise around. You must draft a stud, sign a key FA or make a trade, and add a key foreign player in order to become a top team. The first move is getting the pick right.

Several of you want Evan Turner, the G from Ohio State. I watched him play a bit this year. He can defend really well. He looks like a solid shooter. Good size, tough guy. He hit some real clutch shots to win games or keep OSU in the mix. That sounds like a pretty good prospect to me.

I am in no way, shape, or form an NBA draft expert. I'll defer to you guys. Anyone here watch a bunch of OSU games this year? What's the book on Turner? No matter what, this is the most exciting thing to happen to the Sixers in a while. The last entry that I know of in Great 76ers Moments was the halftime booing of Destiny's Child in the 2001 Finals. Time to replace that.
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Lots of Little Things

2010-05-19T15:09:00.001-04:00

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The Eagles have a rookie camp going on this week. There isn't any huge news, but here are some nuggets of possible interest:

* Macho Harris is playing CB.

* Nate Allen is playing FS and looks healthy.

* Marlin Jackson participated. He moved well at times, but still looked tentative at other times. (updated from earlier comment)

* Max Jean-Gillis is participating. You may recall that he missed mini-camp while recovering from lap band surgery. It'll be interesting to see what Max has to say.

* LBs Moise Fokou and Joe Mays are there. Some "young vets" are allowed in so they can get extra reps.

SPRINGS A TARGET?

The Pats cut CB Shawn Springs yesterday. According to the Boston Herald, he failed a physical and that's why he was cut. The Eagles need a CB and saw him plenty in his days with Washington. Any interest? Very doubtful. Springs was brought in for a FA visit last year before he signed with New England. The Eagles didn't make him an offer. My understanding is that the Eagles were more curious than genuinely interested at that time. After a mediocre year and failed physical it isn't likely that the team will be hot on his trail. Some fans will wonder about passing on him, but really...is Springs a real answer or upgrade? He used to be a terrific CB, but that a few years back. He's now 35 years old. You can bet that Pro Personnel Director Louis Riddick and his staff evaluated Springs this year. If they truly feel he can help, the Eagles will go after him. I just don't see that happening. Springs might still be a big name, but he doesn't have the game to back it up anymore.

OL HELP?

Tim Yotter of Vikings Update has a report up about OG Chester Pitts, who is currently rehabbing from a knee injury. The Eagles are one of five teams to show interest in Pitts. He played LT in college, but spent most of his time with the Texans at LG. Solid veteran player, but nothing special. Here's the key quote:

“I originally took three trips – Detroit, San Fran and Seattle – and they’re all actually still in the mix, and then Philly and Minnesota actually called last week and said, ‘If you’re ready on the 15th, we’re going to work you out and we have a place for you,’” Pitts told Sirius. “For me, I’m 85 percent, I’m pushing at 90 but I don’t like to say I’m at 90 because I’m not quite there yet. But I’ll be 100 percent (in) probably six weeks. So I have about a two-week cushion to get it as healthy and get as strong as I can get it.”

Pitts indicated that Seattle is probably in the lead for his services. Interesting that the Eagles are checking him out. With uncertainty about Max and his surgery, the Eagles would probably like to have an insurance policy in place.

MORE CHALK TALK

Les Bowen posted some more nuggets from the recent Chalk Talk with the Eagles coaches. Some interesting stuff.
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New Addition

2010-05-18T12:11:00.000-04:00

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The Eagles added a rookie FA on Monday. They signed DT Boo Robinson from Wake Forest. Here is the PE.com blurb:

Robinson, a rookie free agent, was signed to a three-year deal today. The 6-1, 295-pound Robinson had 145 tackles and 12.5 sacks in his college career. A three-year starter, Robinson earned All-ACC honorable mention accolades following his junior year in 2008 after amassing six sacks.

A native of Monroe, La., Robinson was a three-year All-American scholar at Richwood HS and was a member of the National Society of High School scholars.

I watched Boo in several games this year. He didn't particularly impress me. There are reports that a back issue hindered his performance. With that in mind, I popped in a 2008 game tape to re-check him.

Boo might be the most unique DT in the draft class. He generally plays NT. He gets down in a 4-point stance. At the snap he comes off the ball, but very much under control. He uses his hands to engage the blocker and then Boo stops. He starts looking for the football and then takes off in pursuit. Essentially, it was like watching a LB play NT. Very odd. Boo has a medium athletic build. Heck, he almost looks skinny. He lacks the lower body size or power to effectively push the pocket. He does have a strong upper body and uses his hands well. He did 33 reps at his Pro Day, according to Gil Brandt's report. Boo has some quickness off the ball, but he really needs to time the snap right to be disruptive. He does play with good leverage. He has a good motor.

Boo is in no-man's land. He lacks the size to be a 2-gap player, but also lacks the athleticism to be an upfield, disruptive force. The Eagles likely were interested because of the way he uses his hands and shows potential at shedding blocks. I see him as a camp body with limited potential. I am curious to see how he fares in a more conventional style of DT play. It could be that he was miscast in the way that Wake Forest used him.

NEW COLUMN

Last week I wrote about Sean McDermott and the 3-4. I revisited that topic and expanded my thoughts for PE.com.

-Link-
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The Eagles Book Club

2010-05-17T02:35:00.000-04:00

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Today we veer off track a little bit. We're going to set aside the current Eagles team to talk about a book. I'm sure most of you would love to know my thoughts on the latest Danielle Steele novel, but that will have to wait. Instead we're talking about a brand new book called Bury Me In My Jersey: A Memoir of My Father, Football, And Philly. The author happens to be a friend of mine, Tom McAllister. He is a regular poster on the Eagles Message Board. You may know him there as swamistubbs.

Some of you may wonder why you should care about Tom's book. Tom is a gifted writer. I've read a couple of chapters and it is excellent. His story involves 2 of the 3 keys to a good life - family and Eagles football (PBR is #3). The book isn't about his take on the team, but rather what it is like to be an Eagles fan, something we can all relate to. There are a few long distance Eagles fans who read this blog. I'm in that category. This book offers a glimpse into what it is like to be an Eagles fan growing up in Philly. Color me green with envy. Kelly green, preferably.

As for the family aspects...that is just as interesting believe it or not. Let me tell you a quick story. I grew up watching Mazda Sports Look with Roy Firestone on ESPN in the mid-80s. Roy is the best sports interviewer I've ever seen. I loved watching his show. Back then we didn't have the glut of sports coverage that we do today. Getting to hear athletes talk was special. I absolutely loved watching Roy every chance I got.

One day in June I turned on the show and was greatly disappointed to see that his guest for the day was his dad. Father's Day was coming up that weekend and Roy wanted to honor his father. Boring. Who cares about Roy's dad? I wanted an interview with someone famous like Robin Yount, Reggie Theus, or Todd Christensen. Give me any successful athlete. I was not happy to see an episode wasted like that.

Then something funny happened. Roy started the interview and I was blown away. Listening to father and son talk about their relationship and sports was mesmerizing. They told the greatest stories. I was only a high school kid, but learned a great lesson. People are what makes sports special. That is true of the players who play the game. The people who coach the players. The people who cover the games. The fans who watch the games. If a good writer can combine family and football, I'm all ears.

I conducted a Q & A with Tom so that you can find out some more about him and his book. Here goes:

Q: Let's start with some basics so people can get a feel for you. How long have you been an Eagles fan? Who is your favorite player?

The first season I really watched was 1991, the year Bryce Paup broke Randall's leg. I'd kind of been on the periphery during previous seasons, half-watching games with my brother and my dad, but I didn't begin to understand what was happening until '91. That year wasn't bad, but the Randall injury made it feel like a bit of a lost cause from day one. The '92 season, though, is still one of my favorite seasons, since that was the first time I followed a team from preseason all the way through a playoff win. I must have watched replays of that Eagles-Saints playoff games a hundred times growing up.

Favorite players: I've always been a defense guy when it comes to favorite players. Seth Joyner is one of my favorites all-time. Loved William Thomas too. Since sometime in '04, Sheldon Brown has been my favorite Eagle; I really admired the way he carried himself on gameday, his reliability, his candidness with the media, the whole package. Now I'd say my top two are Trent Cole and Jason Avant. The perfect attitudes for football players.

Q: Your book is partially about what it meant to grow up in a family of Eagles fans. Watching games was about football, but was also a family bonding experience, whether that was good, bad, or a mixture of both. That makes me so jealous. I grew up in a family of non-sports fans or passive sports fans. Watching games was and remains an afterthought. Tell us about some of the "rites" of watching Eagles games with your family.

The routine has definitely evolved over the years. Growing up, we didn't do anything special, necessarily, but we all had our assigned seats (Dad in the recliner, me in the couch nearest him, my brother next to me, then mom next to him) and wore our Eagles gear.   But there wasn't a big production like some people do, with the home theater, the big gameday meals, and everything else. All my dad cared about was watching the game, which meant there wasn't a lot of talking, and when we did talk, it was to analyze a play. My dad was a very analytical guy, not prone to the kind of emotional outbursts that I am.

Now, I watch most of the games with my in-laws, which usually means seven or eight people, great food (we're all into cooking, so there's some competitiveness with the gameday menu), and more superstitions than I can list. Last year, my father-in-law printed up the House Rules for Eagles games, and they're on display wherever we're watching. My favorite rule: if something good happens for the Eagles when you're out of the room, you have to stay wherever you are until something goes wrong. Once, this led to someone sitting in the bathroom for about forty minutes, until Matt Bryant hit that 62 yard field goal.

Q: You have referred to yourself as "obsessed with the Eagles". Does your family think there is something strange about how much of a fan you are? What about your wife? Does she embrace your love of the Eagles or is that ever a point of contention between you two?

My wife and I have been dating since freshman year of college. Back then, we had a mutual friend whose girlfriend hated sports, to the point that the girlfriend would actively root against Philly teams because she hated him watching the games. I made it very clear to my girlfriend/wife then that I thought that was a pretty awful way to live. She didn't have to love football the way I did, but she had to at least understand and not try to undermine it.

Thankfully, she's a sports fan too-- baseball and football especially. She doesn't get nearly as intense as I do, but she watches every game as closely as everyone else in the room. She has two sports-crazy brothers, so she's had a lot of experience with the emotions of game day. In the past, we did have a few contentious moments, when I was admittedly going overboard, spending 8-10 hours a day on the Internet looking for Eagles info, breaking my toe kicking a table after the loss to Oakland in '02, leaving drunken voicemails for Drew Rosenhaus, that kind of stuff.

Q: I know that I've changed quite a bit over the years. I used to live and die with each game in a way that would dictate how I felt for the coming week. That's not healthy, but it is how strongly I felt about the Eagles. With time I've learned to "just relax" a bit more. I now see the big picture and I don't get too high or too low. Has anything like that happened with you or do you still live and die each Sunday? Have you changed at all as a fan?

Absolutely. I started to hint at this one in the last answer; through high school, college, and even grad school, I had a lot of moments that, in hindsight, are pretty embarrassing: self-inflicted injuries, holes in drywall, fights during games, hurling beer at an opposing fan. Dumb stuff. I think it would have become a big problem between me and my wife, actually, if I hadn't grown out of that a bit. But I've become much better at managing my emotion, especially on game day. A loss used to ruin me for an entire week; a losing streak made me unbearable. I still hate the losing, and some things will drive me crazy during the games, but usually I'm much better at talking myself off the ledge now.

Q: You and I first "met" on the Eagles Message Board (EMB). I've had a hard time getting friends and family to get beyond the notion that a message board is more than a chat room of devious freaks and/or venomous fans. Those types are certainly present, but there are also many good fans eager for discussion and an exchange of ideas. Have you had the same experience in terms of people wondering why you care so much about a message board?

I joined the EMB about 10 years ago on a whim, looking for rumors on free agent visits, and never had any intention of posting, let alone becoming a part of the community for a decade. But now there are people on that board who know a lot of personal details about my life (and I know about theirs), and who have been there with me through some important years in my life-- roughly age 17 to now, when I'm 28. I'm sure if you could track down my old posts, it would be a pretty good way to chart my maturation and personality changes over the years.

Still, there's that old stigma about meeting people over the Internet, and I get it, to an extent; it seems unnatural, maybe. But the EMB is a way for 100,000 like-minded people to congregate and to know that, no matter what, there are other people out there who care about the same things as you, and who understand why you feel the way you do. There's a lot of value to something like that. Everyone's looking for a place where they feel like they belong; for me, for a long time, the only place where I felt that was the EMB.

Q: Let's talk about the city of Philadelphia. Many people are shocked to learn that I'm not from Philly. Heck, I've only visited a few times. I have loved the little time that I have been up there. Tell me about Philly, as you see it.

Philly is a vastly underrated city. For much of my life, I underrated it too. It's easy to overlook its virtues, because, for such a big city Philly can really feel like a small town. At times, that small-town feeling can be charming, because you always feel like you know somebody, but it can also make you feel claustrophobic and the city can seem pretty small-minded when everyone gets tunnel vision. But that's a familiarity breeding contempt kind of situation. If you let yourself get lost in that mindset, you can miss that Philly has a great independent music scene, a thriving arts culture, a lot of excellent restaurants, and really good beer. And don't forget that fact that it's a living, evolving museum, with some of the most important landmarks in the country's history.

I'm gushing a bit. Philly's been home to me for most of my life, so I'm obviously biased on this, but I do love the city, and sometimes get irrationally defensive when people point out its flaws. The way I see it, the imperfections -- the dirty and sometimes ugly streets, the occasional overt rudeness, the weird public transportation system, the violence, etc. – make the place more authentic. There's an honesty and a shocking earnestness about this city. Philadelphia is a place that wants to be loved and respected, and when it gets spurned (through failed sports teams, the mocking of the media, the dismissive waves of New Yorkers, etc.) it reacts bitterly, with a gargantuan chip on its shoulder. I can see why people would focus on the ugliness that sometimes accompanies this attitude, but I think that's what gives us our charm.

Q: Was there any particular moment or event that led you to write the book? What was your inspiration?

Two things:

1. I went to grad school for creative writing in Iowa City, IA. One of my first nights there, I met a classmate who happened to be from central NJ and was a huge Philly sports fan. This was back in August 2004, so we spent all night drinking cheap pitchers of beer (Tommy, I know you'll like this: $1 pitchers, any beer, just about every night in Iowa City) talking about how amazing the season was going to be, how great TO was, etc. The next time I saw him, he gave me the book Fever Pitch, which is Nick Hornby's memoir about being an obsessed Arsenal soccer fan. He said something along the lines of “you should read this, and you should write your own version of this about Philly and the Eagles.” I didn't take his advice then, but he'd planted the seeds.

2. Three years later, I saw Tra Thomas buying oranges in the supermarket, and semi-stalked him through the store. Afterward, I was thinking about how weird it was that—while I was with my wife-- I followed this football player and looked into his cart to see what he was eating, then watched him to see what his car looked like. It seemed pathological and sad and disappointing. My life had come to being a part-time instructor at a couple colleges, not writing anything, and stalking football players in the produce aisle-- what a letdown. So I decided to write an essay about it. The essay was kind of a mess, but the friend who gave me Fever Pitch read it and insisted that this was exactly what I had to be doing all along. He isolated the parts about the EMB and Philly and my dad and showed me how I'd just laid the foundation for a memoir really exploring why I care so much about the Eagles and what being a fan means to me.

Q: The process of writing the book must have been one heck of a trip down memory lane. What were some of the good memories? How about the bad?

One thing I haven't really mentioned yet is that this book, in many ways, is an elegy for my dad, who died of cancer when I was 21, and who has had an enormous influence on me. One of our great bonds was watching and talking about football, and so this book evolved from a reflection on my obsessions, to trying to unravel the roots, meanings, and effects of those obsessions. All of which is a long way of saying that early in the process, I realized that this book required that I really analyze my relationship with my dad, so the most interesting part of this process was digging through family stories, photos, and documents to learn more about my dad, who he was before I was born, and how other people viewed him.

The remembering really was an act of re-learning my own history, and better understanding our relationship, so that was all very revealing and interesting and rewarding. It's impossible to undertake a project like this and not learn about yourself.

More directly, one of the best memories: going to my first game with my brother and my Dad and seeing the Eagles dismantle the John Elway Broncos, 30-0. In piecing together the details for the book, I learned that my Dad had worked a lot of overtime to be able to afford those tickets, because I'd been begging him for months to take me to a game.

Worst: the scenes where I'm in the hospital with my dad, naively thinking he's going to get better, but everyone else around us knows he's dying. Had I realized the gravity of the situation, I'm sure our last conversation would not have been about Jerome McDougle.

Q: What was your families reaction to the idea of the book? Have they read the finished product? Any reaction from them?

My wife is very reserved, and so the whole concept of being a character in a book terrified her a little bit. But she read it (she proofreads the final drafts of everything I write) and saw that she had nothing to worry about; no one looks better in the book than she does, and I'm the one who stars in the lowest points. Overall, though, she was extremely supportive. I'd gotten an MFA in creative writing, but this was the first time I wrote anything I really cared about, so she was glad to see me finally doing something, instead of just talking about how someday I'm going to be a writer.

The rest of my family hasn't read it yet, so I'm waiting now and hoping they think I did everyone justice in there. The whole family, though, has been amazingly supportive of the project from the day I started until now when we're in the promotional process.

Q: Do you consider yourself somewhat of a typical fan and thus think the book is something that the families, girlfriends, and wives of fanatical Eagles fans should read to help them understand who they are dealing with? We Eagles fans are a strange group at times. Some would argue 24/7/365.

If this book does nothing else, I hope it gives people an honest look at what it means to be a devoted fan. Sometimes it's entertaining, sometimes terribly sad, sometimes joyous, and often a mixture of all three. Writing it made me really grapple with my reasons for caring so much about the Eagles, and I hope it translates onto the page; fans should enjoy it because sometimes they might see themselves, and friends/family of fans should enjoy it because they'll get an unfiltered insight into the mind and life of someone who cares way more than he probably should about football.
______________________

You can pre-order the book if you like.

-Link-

It is due for release on Tuesday. Might make a good Father's Day gift.

I have 2 requests. First, buy a copy of Tom's book so we can show support for our fellow Eagles fan. Second, please don't start calling me Oprah. Unless I get her paycheck.

Feel free to share your own stories in the comments section. I didn't grow up in an Eagles family so all I can offer are some good sports bar tales.
_

Some Saturday Scheme Talk

2010-05-15T16:37:00.000-04:00

***

Let's talk about the 3-4 defense today. Sean McDermott said in the Eagles Chalk Talk the other day that he may use it from time to time in 2010. I don't recall us running a true 3-4 look at all last year. I could be off on that, but nothing comes to mind.

People have a habit of mistaking a 3-man defensive line for a 3-4. We use a 3-man line on a regular basis. It is part of our Nickel and Dime packages. The most common version is a 3-3-5 look we use. That is 3 linemen, 3 linebackers, and 5 defensive backs.

Why mix in some 3-4? Basically, to give opposing QBs something else to have to deal with. Throw an odd look at the QB in a key game and see if you can catch him off guard. The Saints played a lot of 3-4 in the Super Bowl. It didn't stop the Colts or Peyton Manning. He still went 31-45-333. The weird look did affect him. He only threw one TD and the Colts only scored 17 points. Clearly the Saints offense had a lot to do with that game because of their ability to sustain drives and keep Manning on the sideline. Still, that defense wasn't what Peyton had planned for. He focused on the Saints 4-3 base D. Peyton is good enough as a QB to keep the chains moving when caught off guard, but 432 yards of offense only led to 17 points. The 3-4 scheme had something to do with that.

Before you focus on the fact it was the 3-4 remember that the game before Peyton had shredded the Jets #1 defense and their 3-4 scheme. He was 26-39-377 with 3 TDs and 30 points. Peyton studied their game tape thoroughly and wasn't caught as off-guard.

The point isn't to run a 3-4 necessarily, but rather to mix up what you do. We run a base 4-3 defense. We do a lot of exotic stuff in Nickel and Dime packages. The one way left for us to get creative is to adjust the base with some 3-4 looks.

How will we line up? We can only guess at this point. Here's a possible line-up:

RE Brodrick Bunkley
NT Antonio Dixon
LE Trevor Laws
ROLB Trent Cole
RILB Moise Fokou
LILB Stewart Bradley
LOLB Juqua Parker (or Brandon Graham)

Dixon has the size and strength to be a good NT. Bunk is athletic enough to push the pocket. Laws played 3-4 DE as a Senior in college. We could use Patt or Bunk at NT if wanted. Abiamiri, if healthy, would be a good DE.

Cole, Parker, and Graham would be the primary pass rushers. They are athletic enough to drop back and cover as well. You can't have the LBs rush upfield on every play. You have to keep the QB guessing.

Bradley is clearly fine for ILB. I put Fokou in the other spot. I'm not sure Ernie Sims would be a good fit for ILB. We could also put Akeem Jordan, Omar Gaither, or Joe Mays in that spot.

OFFENSE

I need to write out a long post on the new offense. There is a lot to consider. We know the Eagles offense of Donovan McNabb as the QB. We've seen Andy Reid and Marty Mornhinweg mix things up with different QBs on the field. The question that we face this time around is what they will do with Kevin Kolb running the show. He's not McNabb, but he is the chosen starter. Other QBs were on the field due to injuries. That forced the offense to change. With Kolb as the starting QB by design we don't know what kind of an attack we'll see.

Anyone hoping for a significant change is going to be disappointed. Andy and Marty are passing coaches. We have a great set of pass catchers. We will throw the ball. That said, I do hold some hope that we will be more balanced. I'll get into that more in the long post.

One thing to keep in mind in regard to the upcoming season...it will be a learning experience for the players, coaches, fans, and media. The playbook will basically be the same, but the plays that we focus on will change somewhat. And Kolb's execution of a given play will be different from McNabb. Think of different musicians playing a set of notes. Each guy will put his spin on things. The sheet music doesn't change, but the music will sure sound different.

ANSWERS

RE: Vick trade?

Not likely. I"m hearing real good things about Mike. He looks completely different than he did last season. Spending a year as part of a football team is apparently a better way to prepare than being at a half-way house. We do need a quality backup QB. It sounds like Vick has that role for 2010. It is possible to deal him and then sign a vet QB to replace him. I'm not so sure that's likely. I don't think any team will give up much compensation for Vick. That could change if he looks great in the preseason, but don't count on it. Big Red loves his QBs. He's only going to deal Vick if someone makes us a strong offer. I don't anticipate that happening.

RE: 3-4 NT...have to be big?

We can be creative with our 4-3 looks. Dallas used Jay Ratliff at NT and he's nothing like most of the big guys. We could try any number of guys. The closest thing we have to Ratliff in terms of size, build, and skill set is probably Victor. And he has the mentality to be solid at NT for a limited amount of snaps per game.

I'm hearing that Daniel Te'o-Nesheim will play mostly DT this year in the Nickel and Dime. He also could maybe get NT snaps in certain looks. Teo certainly has the toughness and motor to hand the job. I know some of you will focus on the lack of size. When you mix in a special defensive package you don't need players with standard size and a normal skill set. After all, your goal is usually to do something different. Remember, we're talking about mixing in some 3-4. Could be 2 or 3 snaps or maybe 15-20. This isn't the base defense that will be on the field for 30-40 snaps.
__

Misc Stuff

2010-05-13T08:56:00.000-04:00

***

The Eagles held a Chalk Talk for local media on Tuesday evening. Les Bowen wrote a post about for his blog. It is definitely worth checking out. Les came away impressed with Marty's knowledge of a highly complex offense. He liked Bobby April. He felt that Sean McDermott was the most useful of the 3 coaches. He talked about various looks the team uses (4-3, Nickel/Dime stuff, some exotic looks and even some 3-4). Sean also talked about several of the players.

I spoke with someone else who attended and he agreed with the first assessment. He also made mention that McDermott said Asante Samuel will tackle better this year. I guess that is a point of emphasis with him this summer.

FROM THE MOTHERSHIP

Dave wrote a good column on WR Chad Hall and his situation. Chad is working his tail off for us part of the week and then flying back West to finish his obligation to the Air Force. That's a heck of a commute. I think you can see the dedication Hall has when you read the piece. I really hope he plays well this summer. I want this guy on the team, either active roster or Practice Squad.

PE.com also has a video interview with King Dunlap. He's added about 25 pounds this year, by design. Juan Castillo and King planned for the bulking up. King was thrown over to RT in the last mini-camp, but he indicated that was just done for that session. He referred to it as a "numbers thing". We'll see. Could be that the return of Max at RG will push Fenuki Tupou back out to RT and that will send King to the left side.

WESTY UPDATE

Brian Westbrook talked to the Rams. He recently visited the Redskins. Now he's on his way to Denver. I'm guessing teams are doing research more than showing specific interest. I still have torn feelings with Westy. If he's truly healthy I want him to play. I'm just not sure that's the case. And I hate the thought of seeing him on the field as a pedestrian player. Best of luck to him.
___

DeSean Speaks

2010-05-12T13:35:00.000-04:00

***

There is quite a bit of talking going on by Eagles and former Eagles. I didn't really get into the DeSean/Donovan spat because it was such a non-story. DeSean said some things to pump up his current QB and the press ran with that as insults to McNabb. Mole hill becomes mountain.

Now DeSean is claiming that Marty Mornhinweg said some things to him questioning his toughness after DeSean missed a game with a concussion. I have to believe this is a case of miscommunication. With the way the NFL was so concussion-focused last year I find it hard to imagine that Marty would try to get DeSean to play by goading him. Maybe I'm giving Marty too much credit. Who knows. Coaches can be a little insane when it comes to injured players. Bottom line...this won't happen again. You can bet someone from the league office will make a phone call or send a strong email to the Eagles to remind them how to handle concussions. Coaches have been known to push players too hard at times. There are times when they have to be reminded that players are human beings.

FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY

One of the readers yesterday posted an alternate draft to what we actually did. He based this on us staying at pick 24 and keeping our original selections. arby put some work into this so I figured I'd offer a good response.

Here the actual draft class:

1 - DE Brandon Graham
2 - FS Nate Allen
3 - DE Daniel Te'o-Nesheim
4 - CB Trevard Lindley
4 - LB Keenan Clayton
4 - QB Mike Kafka
4 - TE Clay Harbor
5 - DE/LB Ricky Sapp
5 - WR Riley Cooper
6 - RB Charles Scott
7 - DT Jeff Owens
7 - SS Kurt Coleman

Here is arby's alternate draft:

1 - CB Kyle Wilson
2 - FS Nate Allen
2 - LB Sean Lee
3 - DE Corey Wootton
3 - LB Navarro Bowman
4 - DT Geno Atkins
4 - DB A, Owusu-Ansah
6 - RB Charles Scott
7 - QB Zac Robinson
7 - SS Kurt Coleman

Here are arby's comments so that you can understand his thinking:

In my post-mock, the emphasis is on the secondary not the pass rush. I've chosen 10 players as opposed to 13. Except for the DE & QB, the mock has mostly higher ranked players at arguably greater need positions but we don't get our great pass rusher or our 5th WR or 4th TE but then I don't care about those 2 positions with what we already had. Yes, we need to rush the passer better but Atkins was giving Iupati fits during Senior week and Wooten if he returns to form was one of the top DE's of the class. DE & QB are 2 of the highest priority positions for all teams and we got quality players at those positions - hard to fault the team for that. I started to post this last week but decided not to, thinking it would be read as a complaint; now that the conversation has turned back to the draft, I thought I'd throw this out there. I understand why we did what we did - we wanted a game-changer type of player and I hope Graham is that. Then we went for quantity with the hope we get some winners and Sapp, Cooper, Scott and Coleman are all great value picks. I'm happy with our first 2 picks and happy with our last 3 rounds. But the 3rd and 4th produced some head scratchers IMHO. It seems the Eagles like to use the 3rd round for a little gambling which hasn't been very successful (except for Disco Stew). Obviously the Graham pick is key to this draft - giving up #70 & #87 and "forcing" us to trade out of #55 to "make up" for the lost picks.

I'm sure there are some of you that would prefer the 2nd group. That is a good set of players. Wilson would have pushed for the RCB job immediately. Sean Lee would give us a great insurance policy at MLB and would also challenge for the WLB spot. Wootton would give us our biggest LDE since Ray Rhodes draft bust of 1997. Lots of talent and potential in the group.

There is one slight flaw. This set of players would not have done what we set out to do. We wanted to beef up the pass rush. That was project #1. And maybe #2. We wanted to build a deep group of talented, versatile pass rushers. I've said this a few times and can't stress it enough. There were only a handful of 4-3 pass rushers available in the whole draft. There were a ton of good DTs. Great group. There were plenty of 3-4 DEs, big guys that have some athletic ability. 3-4 teams had a lot to choose from. There were quite a few good 3-4 OLBs. The one scarce DL group was 4-3 pass rushers. You had to target a few players and go after them aggressively...if that was your main focus. And it was for Howie and the Eagles.

arby made good choices in his post-draft mock draft (first time I ever typed that phrase). He took good players and got good value with his picks. The problem is that he didn't really address the area that we focused on. Wootton has struggled all year with his recovery from a nasty ACL tear. He didn't play in the Senior Bowl or workout at the Combine. There is no telling if he'll ever get back to 100%. He is a run stuffer type for now, but you can't count on him as a pass rusher.

As for Geno Atkins...he did play lights out at the Senior Bowl. You have to understand that he was firing off the ball and going against Iupati at RG. Mike played LG at Idaho and struggled all week when they moved him to the right side. Atkins looked better than he actually is. The matchup and game setting favored him heavily. Besides, Trevor Laws was a better version of Atkins a couple years back. We aren't a great fit for DTs that are 6'1, 290 anymore. Daniel Te'o-Nesheim will play a lot of DT for us this year, ala Darren Howard. We like our pass rushing DTs to be 270, not 290. If we want a guy with more size we can just use Laws in that role.

I wish we had been able to land a stud CB. I hate the fact we didn't. I did think going after the pass rushers was smart. In my final mock draft for PE.com I had us take Jerry Hughes at pick 24. I wanted a pass rusher more than anything. Those guys have a dramatic impact on games. Good CBs are important, but unless you have an elite player he isn't likely to be a game-changing force.

As for the notion that the 3rd and 4th rounds had some head scratchers...I've already talked about Teo. He will be a backup DE and will have a chance to play at lot at Nickel DT. We use that role quite a bit in our scheme. Don't think of him as just a backup DE. Teo played Nickel DT on a regular basis at Washington so it isn't as if we're asking him to do something he can't.

The 4th round featured 2 solid prospects (Lindley, Kafka) and 2 great athletes (Clayton, Harbor). Kafka wasn't a reach at all. I thought he could have gone in the 3rd. Lindley was a reach based on what I thought, but not other NFL scouts. I've heard good things about Trevard from the scouting community. Most people feel that was a very solid pick.

I had Harbor pegged as a round 5-7 guy. Going in the late 4th is hardly a major stretch. I was also hurt by the fact that I only saw him in one game and one all star game. The Eagles studied him closely and thought he was easily worth a 4th round pick. Why is Harbor here for us? The offense is going to change. We'll no longer be the mad bomber attack. RAC yards are going to be a critical part of the offense. That's an area where Harbor is very gifted. He's fast, athletic, and elusive. The other TE we really liked was Tony Moeaki, who also has great RAC ability. Both guys can block and are good athletes. Both should be good STers. We passed on Moeaki, but jumped on Harbor in the late 4th.

Keenan Clayton was the "oddest" of the 4th round picks. As I said in his write-up "projects to Nickel LB in the NFL". How do you value that role? The Eagles feared losing him and made sure to take him somewhat early in the 4th. This wasn't a player that they casually had interest in. I liked Keenan a lot. I just wasn't sure how to rate a guy that might not be starting material. He could be an outstanding role player. He's athletic and productive. I love those qualities.

arby talks about missing on some 3rd and 4th round picks. That is worth its own post or article. The one thing I'll say that I like about these particular guys is that they are being brought here to do what they do. Clayton is here to play in the Nickel defense. He excelled in coverage at OU. Harbor is here to be an athletic TE and backup. We're not asking him to be a huge part of the offense. He could grow into a role like that, but for now he should be in a good comfort zone. That will allow him to adjust to the NFL easier and find his niche. Kafka has time to develop and is in an offense that fits him. Lindley has potential, but needs coaching. We have Dick Jauron ready to teach him all spring and summer.

I've been down on some previous picks. Tony Hunt was a workhorse runner brought here to be a role player. Dumb. Max Jean-Gilles needed to go to a run offense. Here he's asked to pass block 40+ times a game. Dumb.

The value might seem off from an outside perspective, but the 2010 prospects have a good combination of skill and athletic ability and just as important...they fit what we need them to do.
___

New Column is Up

2010-05-11T13:02:00.001-04:00

***

I wrote about the LBs for PE.com.

-Link-

ANSWERS

RE: Marlin Jackson at RCB

He absolutely could be the answer. He's got good size and ability. He's been a quality starting CB in the past. I don't think we can count on him because of his knee issues. Will he be 100% for 2010? Can he stay healthy for the whole year? He started all 16 games in 2007. Since then he's only played in 11. Playing CB isn't easy. That position requires speed, quickness, skill, athleticism, and the right mentality. If Jackson has lost anything in those areas he might be ineffective. The ACLs could really affect his speed, quickness, and agility. It could also affect the confidence he has in his legs and coverage ability. We'll see how he does at Lehigh, but don't start counting chickens quite yet.

One way to look at Marlin is as a lottery ticket. If he can be a starting CB, we got a huge prize. If he can be the starting FS, we got a good prize. If he's able to be a role player, we got a prize. If he busts...we're out our money.

RE: Eagles draft board

The Eagles are too secretive to let that pictures of that thing get out. I hear some things about past draft boards and share them when I can, but info on the current board is hard to come by. The Cowboys board has gotten out a couple of times in the last few years. At some point you have to start wondering if they are letting it out intentionally for a reason.

RE: OJ Atogwe

He is not in a normal situation. He was given the Franchise Tag last offseason. That makes his situation unique. It is complicated due to all of the rules that govern RFAs, tenders, and Franchise players. Most RFAs have a simple tender situation and they must sign. Atogwe is an interesting situation. I was surprised that no one talked to him earlier in the offseason. If/when he becomes a true UFA it will be interesting to see if anyone goes after him or if there is an injury or some other issue that has scared teams away. I think he's a pretty good player.

RE: RCB

Myron suggested we could have gone after Dunta Robinson. Maybe. However, the Falcons were desperated for CB help. They overpaid to get him. We'd have had to outpay them to steal him away. Dunta was terrific early in his career, but hasn't played at the same level in recent years. I understand that the Falcons felt like they had to do something drastic and thusly went after him. I don't think we were in the same situation. Plus, as we've talked about many times in the past you want to avoid big dollar free agents as much as possible. Those guys work out probably less than 50% of the time. You need to make sure you're getting an elite player if you pay elite money.

As for staying at 24 and getting Kyle Wilson....we absolutely could have done that. What pass rushers would we have been able to bring in? There were only a handful of 4-3 pass rushers in the entire draft that were of any quality. If you pass on Graham or someone in the 1st round you are going for a project later on. I come from the school of drafting that says always take the pass rusher over the cornerback. The DE can have significant impact on any given play. He's there vs the run and pass. The CB won't have that same impact.

As for Owusu-Ansah...he is a major project. Myron says "the only thing really keeping him out of the first 2 rounds was the fact that he played in a small school against poor competition". That's HUGE. The only thing keeping Megan Fox from falling in love with me is the fact we've never hung out and listened to Jan Hammer together while drinking PBR. Okay, maybe that's a poor analogy, but you get the point. Sure AOA tested well and has a lot of potential, but he's never once in his life faced a legitimate NFL player. Had he been able to play in the Shrine Game or Senior Bowl we'd have gotten to study him. Watching him dominate at the D2 level is great, but doesn't make him a legit RCB target. I thought AOA looked more like a FS from what I saw of him.

RE: Howie's grade

I think you can give him a grade based on the moves he made. Clearly we don't know how they will work. We're judging his ability to handle the offseason and acquire players. Howie was faced with some tough situations and circumstances, but came through it well and really impressed me. We'll sit back 10 years from now and see how things worked out long term. Do any of the draft picks become regular Pro Bowlers? Does Ernie Sims thrive in our scheme? Is Alex Hall the next Carlos Emmons or is he just a short term backup? Who did we pass on in the draft? And so on.

I like the moves Howie made. We'll find out if they worked and how well they worked over time.
___

Roseman's Rookie Year

2010-05-10T18:09:00.000-04:00

***

The offseason is at that point where most of the moves have been made so we have a pretty good feel for the roster heading into Training Camp. As I look at the team and each position group, I feel pretty good. There are some questions at RCB and on the offensive line, but there are possible solutions in place at both spots. If one guy emerges at CB we're okay. If Stacy plays well at RG and either Cole or McGlynn looks good at Center, we should have a solid, if not good, O-line.

The man who guided us through the offseason is General Manager Howie Roseman. He has spent the last few years preparing for his turn at running things. You know the old saying, "be careful what you ask for because you just might get it?" Howie wanted to be GM. He got it. And he had a really complex offseason to deal with.

First, the rules of free agency changed because of the CBA situation. That limited our ability to add players. It did keep some players on our roster, which allowed us to keep them as depth or use them in trades.   Still, this was a tough offseason for finding talent. There just weren't good options on the open market. The only free agent the team missed on that they really wanted was Julius Peppers. I don't fault any one person in the Eagles front office. Chicago basically went all out for Peppers and did everything humanly possible. I'm not sure anything beyond a crazy offer was going to pry Julius away from the Bears. We did land free agents Mike Bell, Hank Baskett, and Marlin Jackson. Those guys are role players, but that is basically what was available this year because of the CBA restrictions.

Howie was given the task of adding youth, speed, and talent to the defense, but doing so with one hand tied behind his back because of the limited market. He didn't let that ruin our plans. He got creative. I thought Howie did a terrific job. He made several trades and brought in multiple players to help us. Some of the players will start. Some will be role players. Some will fail and get cut. I liked the creative, aggressive approach that Howie and Andy Reid took. We were as active as any team in the league. Here is a list of teams that we either did make a deal with or I know for a fact we talked to seriously at some point:

-deals-

Seattle
Detroit
Washington
Cleveland
Dallas
Denver
Tampa Bay
San Diego
Green Bay

-serious talks-

Oakland
Buffalo

That is more than 1/3 of the NFL (11 of 31 for those scoring at home). Not too bad when you consider the fact that Howie is new to his job and had to live with a hatchet job article by Michael Silver that labeled him as a "shakedown artist". I'd say that Howie weathered that storm well and it proved to be written based on the grumblings of someone with several axes to grind. Howie did well with trades. He got us good players and at reasonable value. Darryl Tapp could start for us if needed. He only cost a 4th rounder and Chris Clemons (who wasn't a lock to make the team). Ernie Sims cost just a 5th rounder. He has the potential to be a real good WLB. Alex Hall is a guy they like, but we're not quite sure where he'll end up (DE or SAM).

Howie also happened to take over at GM the year we decided to trade Donovan McNabb. I think Andy Reid was the front man in those talks, but Howie was key as well. You don't do a deal like that without a lot of phone calls to cover a lot of bases.

I loved what Howie did in the draft. He played the board to move up and back as it fit what we wanted to do in each round. We were aggressive and smart. We focused on certain areas and landed the players that we really wanted, with very few exceptions. Time will tell whether we made good picks. For now all we can judge is how we moved around and handled the situation. If Howie had landed us a slightly better CB I'd be ecstatic. I thought he did a very good job overall. He might have landed us a couple of starters for the 2010 season in Brandon Graham and Nate Allen.

What kind of grade do we give Howie for his first offseason? I'm going with an A-.

I'm sure some people will focus on Peppers and the inability to land a top shelf RCB. I personally wasn't completely sold on Peppers and had my doubts about going after him. I wonder if we'll regret not getting him or if this will be a blessing in disguise.

As for RCB...we've discussed that spot quite a bit in the last couple of weeks. I'm not happy with the uncertainty at the position, but I'm not sure what could have been done. There weren't good choices in free agency. There weren't any trade targets that I know of for a fact that I feel strongly that we should have gone after. The CB draft class fell apart over time. Character issues came up for some guys. Slow 40 times hurt others. Some guys showed poor COD ability. We thought there would be 10-15 really good CBs, but that group shrank down to 5. There was talent available after that, but the players each had some concern which knocked them down a notch. The Eagles decided Trevard Lindley was a player they were comfortable and went after him in the early 4th.

I'm not trying to give Howie a pass for RCB. My point is that normally I would say why I disagreed with a move and would have given an example of what I'd have done. Well, I wanted a pass rusher early in the draft. We moved up and got one. I wanted a quality FS prospect early. We took one. I also wanted a CB. This is where things got weird.

The top 5 CBs all went in the 1st round. That surprised me. I didn't see that kind of a run coming. I guess I should have realized that meant there was a real drop-off from them to the next tier. Onto the 2nd round. Minnesota took CB Chris Cook with pick 34. He was the only pure CB taken in the whole round. Javier Arenas was nabbed by the Chiefs, but his ability as a RS was a major part of his value. Think for a second about the fact that the 2nd round only had one pure CB taken. That is wild. After pick 37 our next selection was 55. We dealt out of that down to #59. We dealt out of that and into the 3rd round.

There were 3 CBs taken to open the 3rd. The Rams took Jerome Murphy, the Lions took Amari Spievey, and Tampa got Myron Lewis. I've asked around to see if we "lost" any of these guys through our trading down. I cannot confirm that any of them were on our board.   CB Kevin Thomas was taken by Indy and Brandon Ghee went to Cincy in the late 3rd. The Titans surprised me by going for Alterraun Verner of UCLA just before our 4th round pick. We got Lindley with the seventh pick of the 4th round.

Here is what we missed on between pick 37 and Lindley:

Jerome Murphy - character issues
Amari Spievey - ran a 4.56 at his Pro Day
Myron Lewis -considered a CB/FS tweener
Kevin Thomas - serious injury concerns
Brandon Ghee - character issues and lack of production (only 1 INT in 3 years as starter)
Alterraun Verner - surprising pick...I thought athletic limitations would put him in the late rounds

I liked Murphy and Spievey, but had concerns with each guy. Lewis had a down Senior year, but does have good potential. Ghee is the guy I kept thinking we'd take. I learned after the draft that there were some character issues that knocked him off a few draft boards. It looks like we were one of those teams.

On draft weekend I was frustrated by passing on Ghee. Now that I know that there were outside issues I understand passing on him. I would have preferred Walter McFadden of Auburn, but he slid all the way to the 5th round so it isn't like the Eagles passed on a slam-dunk prospect. I just happened to like Walt better than Lindley. I hope that Trevard, Dick Jauron, and Howie prove me wrong.

The point of all this CB talk is that I don't think you can point to Howie making a clear mistake in how he handled the draft and the RCB position. We all have ideas of what we might have done differently, but I didn't see anything that screamed "what the hell was he thinking???".

Someone could raise the point about the fact we traded Sheldon Brown in the first place. Trust me, that had to happen. He wasn't happy here. Sheldon has not been a happy camper since Asante landed here with his mega-deal in March 2008. Sheldon didn't rock the boat publicly (to his credit), but he made it clear to team officials that he wanted out.

Essentially I'm giving Howie an incomplete grade for RCB.   That spot is now at the top of the To Do list. He can address it this summer, wait for someone to emerge, or make it the unquestioned priority next offseason. If we have this same talk next May then Howie will have failed at RCB and I won't be a happy camper. Let's just hope that doesn't mean that I get traded to Cleveland.
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Sunday Stuff

2010-05-09T09:55:00.000-04:00

***

Here is the link to Part 2 of the podcast I did with the guys from EaglesFanCast.

-Link-

ROSTER TARGETS

There was a discussion in the last comments section about players the Eagles might like that are fringe players on other teams. You can bet the Pro Personnel Dept has a list of players that they'll watch closely this summer, but really the guys we will focus on are players who stand out in preseason games. Antonio Dixon had a great showing in Week 1 or 2 last summer and opened a lot of eyes. He tailed off and that led to his getting cut. Thank you, WAS. Pago Togafau was the same way a couple of years back. He didn't work out quite so well, but did spend a year here.

Watch the 3rd and 4th quarters of preseason games the first couple of weeks this year and you might find a guy that will be a future Eagle.
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Longshots

2010-05-07T17:14:00.000-04:00

***

Someone asked a question the other day about what longshots could surprise us and make the team. That always makes for a fun topic.

At WR we have Hank Baskett penciled in as the #4 guy. Riley Cooper impressed the coaches at the recent mini-camp. He's a virtual lock to make the team, but he could surprise people and steal that #4 WR spot and push Hank off the roster. If that happens Chad Hall could be the beneficiary.

The coaches hated to see young guys Danny Amendola and Brandon Gibson go last year. Danny they just couldn't keep on the roster because of Kevin Curtis' injury situation and not knowing how Jeremy Maclin would make the transition from Redshirt Sophomore to NFL rookie. I'm told that the coaches thought long and hard about cutting Curtis in favor of Amendola. With that in mind, you know it will be hard for them to cut Chad Hall if he has a good Training Camp and preseason.

I think Kurt Coleman has an excellent chance to make the roster. I think real highly of him. He's not the kind of guy who will wow you initially. He's a bit undersized. He's nothing special athletically. He isn't a killshot type of hitter. Kurt is just a good, solid player. He has this weird affect, though. The more you watch him, the more he will grow on you. Over time, you'll begin to appreciate how good he really is. Kurt could get caught in a numbers crunch if we go heavy with CBs and CB/S tweeners. He might be relegated to the Practice Squad. I think he'll have a good summer and impress the coaches enough that they find a way to keep him around.

OT Austin Howard is a player that I'm real curious about. He was the backup LT in this mini-camp. I don't know the full story with that. Did we move King Dunlap to the right side for a specific reason or does Juan Castillo think that highly of Howard? Relatively speaking, of course. The guy went undrafted so it isn't as if Castillo thinks he is a great player. Juan may see a player with the potential to be a LT at the NFL level. If so, those guys always have a fighting chance to make the team. I'm interested to see how Howard does in the remaining OTAs. He should get a little better each time out. He's not used to NFL coaching. He can make great strides the more he gets good reps and Castillo can work with him.

The CB that fascinates me is Josh Morris of Weber State. He was a confident, aggressive player in college. If he can play with that kind of attitude he's got a chance to make it in the NFL. CB is one of those positions where style actually has some value. Those guys have to be able to erase a mistake instantly. You need them to be somewhat delusional. Remember when Roy McAvoy kept swinging for the green in Tin Cup? He had the right mentality for CB. You could also think like the Black Knight in Holy Grail. "Come back you coward!" He shouted that after having his arms and legs cut off by King Arthur. Essentially...forget about what's happened and focus on the next play. That's a good CB. Morris looked good on tape, but that was against marginal competition. We need to see if he's got the physical ability for the NFL and the mental makeup. I think a lot of college stars get humbled in NFL camps and quickly fade away. We pick on Reno Mahe for a lot of reasons, but you have to give a guy like that credit when you see how hard he worked to keep his NFL career going. Look how easily Tony Hunt gave up.

Dimitri Patterson deserves a mention in this topic. He was on the team last year so picking him as a longshot to make the roster doesn't apply. I wonder if he's a guy to watch in terms of getting on the field in 2010. He made some nice plays at mini-camp. He played late in the Bears game and did okay. He hasn't had a ton of chances to prove himself on defense. He might get a shot at playing time this summer. I won't be shocked if he steps up. He's proven to be a good STs player. Dimitri has the right mentality. He'll battle on every practice rep and every play in a game. He's been around the league a few years. This is make or break time for him as a DB. He'll either show he deserves some playing time on defense or that he's meant to be just a STs demon, which isn't the worst thing in the world. Ask Sean Morey.

Here's the team roster. Feel free to find your own and let us know who you're watching:

http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/team/roster.asp?sort_by=3
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Focus on the Secondary

2010-05-06T09:44:00.003-04:00

***

Trying to figure out what's going on in the secondary is like trying to understand a puzzle that's wrapped inside an enigma that's wrapped inside a mystery. I'm pretty sure I just butchered that line from JFK, but that's the whole point...the secondary situation will mess with your mind.

We don't lack bodies. We've got a ton of pieces. The problem is trying to figure out who goes where. We have young guys that are unproven. We have versatile guys. We have guys coming off injuries. You name it, we got it. Still, I can't come up with a configuration that makes me comfortable.

Let's start with the Safety position. We know Quintin Mikell will be the SS. He's a lock. I think rookie Kurt Coleman will be one of his backups. I'm not sure if there is a clear cut backup to him. The Eagles have talked about Safeties being interchangeable so likely the #3 Safety will backup both spots. Of course, we still don't know who that is.

What about FS? Macho Harris is there now, but we've heard that he's likely to move back to CB. Rookie Nate Allen makes sense, but we need to see him get on the field and practice with the team before we can pencil him in and feel good about it. Free agent Marlin Jackson did some stuff at mini-camp, but isn't yet 100% in his comeback from an ACL tear (or two...or three). What about Quintin Demps? This time last year he was projected to be the starting FS. Last weekend he practiced with the 3rd string at times. Weird.

The LCB will be Asante Samuel. RCB is a major mystery. The team is really talking up Ellis Hobbs. I don't know what to make of this. Are they genuinely optimistic that he can be the answer? Hobbs was a solid starter for the Patriots for a couple of years. Maybe they expect him to play much better in his 2nd season as an Eagle.

The doubting Thomas part of me wonders if all the talk is legit. Could the Eagles be hyping him for some other reason? Maybe we're talking to other teams about veteran CBs, but we need them to think we're comfortable going into the 2010 season with Hobbs as the starter. If teams think you're desperate they will drive up the price in a trade. Unfortunately, I haven't heard any trade talk behind the scenes. There aren't a whole lot of good rumors right now.

Behind Hobbs we have a battle between Macho Harris, Trevard Lindley, and possibly Marlin Jackson. We also have holdovers from last year in Dimitri Patterson and Geoff Pope. This is going to be a battle royale. I just wish it was because we had too many guys that deserved the job. This situation is a little different. Macho lacks ideal speed. Lindley is just a rookie. Marlin isn't healthy. Pick your poison, I guess. Patterson and Pope are both mysteries.

Training Camp is going to be real interesting. We need one of these players to emerge. Normally someone does. Hobbs could be the guy because of his experience. Macho could be the guy because of his ball skills and ability to play physical press coverage. We'll see how Lindley handles NFL competition. He has the best combination of size, speed, and skills. And I don't think we can count Marlin Jackson out. He's been a good starting CB when healthy.

I haven't talked about Joselio "MmmBop" Hanson yet. I've heard from a couple of sources that he is fully healthy now and should be back to his old self. He played well in 2008 and early in '09. I don't think he is capable of starting outside, but if we can get him back to being a good slot corner we'll have a key piece in place for our defense. NFL teams use 3-WR sets a lot of the time these days.

DT

ESPN Insider reported that the Eagles might have some interest in free agent DT John Henderson. He was recently cut by the Jaguars. This would make sense, but I can't confirm that we do have interest in Big John. We didn't come away from the draft with a DT who could provide immediate impact. Henderson has been a good starter for a long time, but he might be ideal as our #3 guy. That would limit his snaps. I'd love to see us have a guy with his size to push the pocket. He goes about 6'6, 330. Have we ever had a guy like that?

Site Stuff

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm working on a few things and trying to figure out what's best. I'll keep you guys updated.

I know we're now in a quiet time of the year, but I will be posting as close to every day as possible. There is always something to talk about. We're Eagles fans. Something is very wrong if we don't over-analyze every aspect of the team.
_

More Roster Talk

2010-05-04T13:06:00.000-04:00

***

There were quite a few comments and questions about Monday's post on the roster. Let's address some of the points.

Omar Gaither --- I left him off the roster. I'm not sure what his future is. He's coming off a Lisfranc injury. He's not yet ready to practice. He could be the backup MLB, but I don't think that is a lock. I wonder if the Eagles might not reach an injury settlement with him and let Omar go elsewhere. He's really not happy on the bench and clearly isn't part of the future plans.

Joselio "MmmBop" Hanson --- I left him on the roster. I think he's very much on the bubble, though. One of the guys at PE.com, Chris McPherson I think, was saying good things about Hanson. I know some people will dismiss that as fluff, but the PE.com guys don't go out of their way to single out players on the fringe of the roster. I'm keeping an open mind on MmmBop. I want him to get back to his 2008 form. He has played well for us in the past. And I was told that an injury affected him down the stretch. We'll see what happens.

Ricky Sapp --- It sounds like most people had a 2nd round grade on him, but he still fell to the 5th round. There must be serious concerns about his knee. We're using him at SAM, somewhat of a new position. He played a hybrid LB position a lot at Clemson, but still got to rush the passer most of the time. I think the team would love to put him on IR and let him spend the year learning how to play LB. I think Sapp is battling Alex Hall for a DE/LB hybrid spot. I'm not sure we can keep both guys. Sapp will get a chance to prove himself at Lehigh. If he looks great then he will play for us this year. Don't lose sight of the fact that any of these guys can play their way on or off the roster.

DE spots --- I think Graham will be the starting LDE soon enough. I'm fine with having Tapp as his backup, but the coaches may feel like Parker is better there because he's been at LDE for several years. Tapp has started at RDE and had some success. He's more athletically gifted than Parker and therefore has a better chance of beating LTs when he's on the field. Depth and versatility...good things.

Quintin Demps --- No one is going to toss him aside. He's got a chance to win a roster spot. Heck, he could still be the starting FS. This weekend he ran with the 3rd team. Not good. He's talked a good game this offseason, but now he needs to back that up with on-field action. Demps is suddenly caught in a numbers crunch. He has to prove to the coaches that he deserves to be here. I loved him coming out of UTEP and would really like to see him turn things around. It is all up to him.

Dimitri Patterson --- The Eagles love his STs ability. They like him as a CB. He played some in the Bears game, with the game on the line. I'm not sure what his ceiling is. I don't know if he's good enough to ever be a starting CB. I do think he is a good backup and STer. Very good gunner on punts. That has value.

King Dunlap --- Someone raised the point that the Eagles could be working him on the right side so that he can be the top backup on both sides. Excellent point. That is very possible. For 2 years he was purely a LT as far as I know. I'll check into that and see if I can find anything out.

Laws / Dixon --- Trevor needs to play well to keep his job. One of the coaches (Reid maybe) talked recently about possibly playing Trevor in the Nickel. He's a good fit for that. When we go to a Nickel or Dime look we let our DTs attack up the field. Trevor can use his quickness and motor to be disruptive. Dixon is strong enough to push the pocket, but isn't a guy you want on the field in those situations with regularity. I'm fine with mixing him in to keep things interesting. Nothing is set at DT beyond the starters in the base unit.

Martin Rucker --- He's fighting a major uphill battle. We've got 3 good TEs aside from him, all drafted by us. I'm sure Rucker would need to outplay Ingram and Harbor by a wide margin to beat them out of a job. That is possible, but not likely. Rucker is talented, but isn't such a compelling player that you do anything it takes to keep him.

Cornelius Ingram --- One important thing to keep in mind when talking about him is that he didn't re-tear the ACL last year in a normal sense. The previous surgery wasn't done well. That's what caused the tear. It isn't as if he's got a degenerative knee. I think he's got a chance to be right as rain this year. The Eagles are bringing him along slowly to make sure there are no setbacks.

Marlin Jackson --- He's had multiple ACL tears in multiple years. I have no idea what shape his knees are in. He could make the team and be a starting CB or never play another snap of football. The Eagles were pretty aggressive in how they went after him so I'm wondering if that doesn't mean they felt really good about his situation. Marlin is a mystery. Let's hope I like the conclusion to his story better than I did to It.

NEW COLUMN

For PE.com I wrote about the mini-camp and some expectations for the season. I doubt there is much new to those of you who read here daily, but take a gander if you like.

-Link-
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First Stab at 53

2010-05-03T16:22:00.003-04:00

***

We now have a weekend of action in the books. Here is a guess at the 53-man roster:

WR DeSean Jackson ... Jason Avant
WR Jeremy Maclin ...... Hank Baskett .......... Riley Cooper
TE Brent Celek ........... Cornelius Ingram ...... Clay Harbor
FB Leonard Weaver
RB LeSean McCoy ....... Mike Bell ................. Charles Scott
QB Kevin Kolb ............ Mike Vick ................ Mike Kafka
LT Jason Peters
LG Todd Herremans ... Max Jean-Gilles
OC Nick Cole ............ Mike McGlynn
RG Stacy Andrews ..... Fenuki Tupou
RT Winston Justice ...... King Dunlap

RE Trent Cole ............ Darryl Tapp
DT Brodrick Bunkley ... Trevor Laws
DT Mike Patterson ..... Antonio Dixon
LE Brandon Graham ... Juqua Parker ........ Daniel Te'o-Nesheim
WB Ernie Sims ........... Akeem Jordan ....... Keenan Clayton
MB Stewart Bradley ... Jamar Chaney
SB Moise Fokou ........ Alex Hall
SS Quintin Mikell ....... Kurt Coleman
FS Nate Allen ........... Marlin Jackson
CB Ellis Hobbs ........... Trevard Lindley
CB Asante Samuel ..... Dimitri Patterson
NB Joselio Hanson ..... Macho Harris

P Sav Rocca
K David Akers
LS Jon Dorenbos

PUP List: Jamaal Jackson, Victor Abiamiri
Injured Reserve: Ricky Sapp

Practice Squad

OL Dallas Reynolds
OL Austin Howard
TE Martin Rucker
WR Kevin Jurovich
WR Chad Hall
FB Chris Zardas
CB David Pender
DT Jeff Owens

THOUGHTS

The breakdown is 24-26-3. That wasn't done intentionally. That's just how it worked out. You rotate guys on defense so you'll normally have more guys on that side of the ball.

I'm not 100% comfortable with this group. I hate cutting Quintin Demps because of his ability as a KOR. I'm obviously guessing when I take Chaney over Joe Mays. I guess I'm still scarred by how bad Mays was last summer. I listed Marlin Jackson at FS, but he could just as easily be the starting RCB. It is all about his health. If Macho is healthy and plays well then he could push one of the CBs off the roster and open up a spot for Demps or some other Safety.

I hated cutting Chad Hall. I get the feeling some crappy team would snatch him up. Danny Amendola, pt. 2. No pure LT backup? I'm projecting Todd to slide outside. We have one of our backups take his spot at LG.

I didn't know what to do with Alex Hall. We specifically asked for him in the trade with Cleveland. This isn't a casual player of interest. That said, he is a project for us. He played DE this weekend, but I think his future is at SAM. The Eagles want him to make it, but he'll have to show us something to get a spot.

Fire away and rip this things to shreds. Tell me where I'm crazy.

ANSWERS

RE: DT Anthony Montgomery

He's huge (6'6, 330) and has some ability. He's only 26-years old. The Eagles ought to take a close look at him. I haven't heard if they plan to do anything.

RE: Kelly Green Jerseys

Excellent. Glad to see we'll get to check out the team in them this year. That should be cool. I hated the black jerseys (although they look good on fans).

MISC ITEM...

I want to move this blog over to Wordpress. Does anyone have any strong objections as to why that shouldn't be done or is a bad idea? I think WP is easier to use and has a cleaner look.
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Sunday Stuff

2010-05-02T16:11:00.000-04:00

***

First, quick follow-up to yesterday. I was wrong with my comment about Drew Brees in relation to the Vikings game. I was in a rush to leave for a family get-together and checked the score (31-28), but didn't look at the stats. Drew was 17-31-197. He threw 3 TDs. Those are okay numbers, but hardly great. I should have checked the stats before making my comment that he "ate up the Vikings and their outstanding D-line".

It doesn't really change the basic point of what I wrote. The NFL is unquestionably a passing league at this point and teams are getting better at it year after year. Our defense has been adjusted during the offseason. We got younger and deeper at the DE spots. At the LB level we focused on adding speed and coverage skills. Don't expect dramatic changes, but you can see that we are adjusting our personnel to the passing attacks we'll have to go through in key games and the postseason (whether 2010 or the future).

MINI-CAMP NUGGETS

* Andy Reid said that prior to the draft he and Howie Roseman re-watched Macho Harris' college tape to compare how he looked at CB to what guys in this draft class looked like. Macho mostly played FS this weekend, but it sure sounds like he'll be playing CB down the line.

* WR Riley Cooper got some time with the 2nd string offense. He impressed the coaches.

* WR Chad Hall made a great Red Zone catch. Adam Caplan spoke highly of Hall and how he looked this weekend. Prior to the draft I saw a report on him on the Mountain West Network. Hall caught me off guard with how thick and muscular he looked. He's still very quick, has great body control, and catches the ball real well. I'm interested to see what he looks like up at Lehigh.

* MLB Stewart Bradley moved around really well and impressed everyone. Reid spoke highly of him. Caplan was very impressed by what he saw. This is great news.

* FS Nate Allen was dealing with a quad injury. That kept him from the team sessions. Nate did practice in the individual drills. I was hoping to come away from this weekend with him as the starting FS or pretty close to it. That didn't happen. Nate needs to get healthy so he can push for the job.

* Multiple players referred to strength coach Barry Rubin in interviews. He must have made a real impression this spring. I've heard good things about him from behind the scenes, but I'm encouraged when so many players have spoken about him. It isn't like they are being asked either. These guys are eager to sing his praises. Macho Harris was actually excited to have another 7 to 8 weeks to continue working out before Training Camp.

* Big Red and Sean McDermott both talked about SAM linebacker Moise Fokou. While he isn't a huge guy, Fokou does have some important physical attributes for the spot. He has long arms. That helps him to get a good jam on TEs. Fokou also has a strong punch. That allows him to really jolt TEs and it helps him to shed blocks. Reid talked about tough and physical Fokou is. That's important for someone who has to mix it up with blockers at the line of scrimmage. He might lack ideal size, but he has a strong upper body. I know plenty of fans are worried about Moise, but the Eagles really seem to be excited to see what he can do now that he's in his 2nd year. I was very encouraged by what he said in an interview. He's not taking it for granted that he's the starter. He seems focused on the fact that he must prove himself. That is what you want to hear from a young guy. Quintin Demps was just the opposite last year. He got very complacent and lost his edge.

* Brandon Graham practiced on Friday then went to his graduation ceremony at Michigan and then returned for Sunday practice. Excellent. That's the kind of dedication I want from a 1st round pick.

* Akeem Jordan took some reps as the backup SAM. That's good. We don't have a clear backup at that spot. Akeem will likely be the top backup OLB this year.

* The QB play got better each day. Kevin Kolb had a good camp. Mike Vick improved and looked like he threw the ball pretty well today. Mike Kafka opened some eyes with his Sunday performance. He did well in the Red Zone. This setup is ideal for QBs so you can't make too much of what went on, but it is still encouraging to see the backups doing their part.

* I loved McDermott's comment on Ernie Sims..."There's a shark in the water." Sims ability to run and cover ground was very obvious in this type of camp.

* Watch the Bobby April PC if you get a chance. I think I"m going to love having him as our STs coach.
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Early Thoughts on New Defense

2010-05-01T10:31:00.000-04:00

***

The Eagles traded for Ernie Sims to be the new WLB. He's 6'1, 225 and excels on the move and in coverage. In the draft they added Keenan Clayton, a very similar type of player. He was taken in the 4th round. That shows that they really valued the guy and he wasn't just a late round project. The backup MLB they took in the draft, Jamar Chaney, isn't a 260-pound run stuffer. He's 6'1, 245 and real athletic. He also is good in coverage.

The team promoted Moise Fokou to be the starting SAM linebacker. He's 6'2 and now weighs about 238 pounds. He doesn't have the bulk/power of Chris Gocong, but he's good on the move and is more natural in coverage.

What does all of this mean?

I think Sean McDermott sees the new look of the NFL. A few years back we intentionally made the defense bigger. Parcells was in Dallas and they had a power running game. Gibbs was in WAS and they were trying to build a power running game. The Giants had Brandon Jacobs running wild. Things have changed. Tony Romo is the key to the Cowboys offense. Mike Shanahan will run a lot in DC, but it isn't the traditional power rushing attack. Brandon Jacobs might be on the decline in NY.

We went 11-5 last year. Think about the losses.

NO
OAK
DAL
SD
DAL

We lost to Brees, Romo, and Rivers. The Oakland game was an anomaly, but we can even learn from that. The big play was the pass to the TE. He beat Trotter over the middle. Asante had the worst tackle attempt in NFL history. No one was able to chase him down. We needed more speed in the middle of the defense.

Who was in the Super Bowl? Brees and Manning. Elite passing QBs. You might counter that the NFL has been a passing league for a while. That's true, but things are changing. Passing attacks are getting better. 10 QBs completed 65 percent of their passes this year. Think about that. In 2002 that number was 4.

Think about Manning and Brees. Peyton beat the Ravens and their aggressive front seven in the playoffs. Then he beat the Jets. They had the best D in the league and a true shutdown type CB in Darrelle Revis. Drew ate up the Vikings and their outstanding D-line.

Those QBs get the ball out quickly. It is hard to rush them. They are deadly accurate. You can have great coverage and still not stop them. Remember the sideline throw from Brees to Devery Henderson against us? Great throw. Phenomenal catch. Sheldon Brown was all over Henderson, but it didn't make a difference.

Dallas drove us crazy with WR screens. You aren't going to stop that play with a DE or CB. You need pursuit to shut that down.

I think Sean McDermott sees all of this and is trying to change the defense up a bit. He loaded up on DEs. He wants guys who can get to the QB without blitzing. He sacrificed size at the LB level to improve our speed and coverage ability. I don't see any change at the DB level. I'm sure we wanted a top shelf CB, but weren't able to solve that situation...yet. We had to have pass rushers and LBs. We got them when they were available.

Stewart Bradley made mention in an interview that we'd be doing some new things on defense. He didn't get specific. Don't look for drastic changes, but it will be interesting to see how Sean has changed things in his 2nd year with the new personnel we've added.

I know people are worried about the D. I think we'll have a better D-line. I know the LB play will be better. 3/4 of the secondary should be better. RCB is a major hole at this point, but let's see what happens. I think we've got a chance to be pretty good.

MORE MINI-CAMP STUFF

King Dunlap was running as the backup RT yesterday. Interesting. I've always thought of him as a LT. He reportedly is now 325 pounds. He looked solid in drills, but the question for him is always live action. He's never been physical enough in the past. Maybe the new size will help.

Rookie FA Austin Howard was the backup LT. Again, interesting. He has real good potential. Juan Castillo has to coach him up.

Andy Reid made it sound in his PC like there was no competition at OC. He said Nick Cole is the Center. They are trying to see what McGlynn can do, but I found it odd that Reid didn't see a competition for that job.

Alex Hall is playing DE for now. I don't like that. He looked more like a LB to me. We'll see where he is in Training Camp.

We did find out that Victor Abiamiri had microfracture knee surgery. He'll be out for a while now. There's no guarantee he plays in 2010. This poor guy can't stay healthy. It used to be Buck. Then McDougle. Now VA. Who's next?
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Mini-Camp Stuff

2010-04-30T16:40:00.001-04:00

***

We found out quite a few interesting things after the first practice session of the 2010 season. One thing has to be stressed. Just because guys lined up somewhere today does not mean that is where they will play. The coaches are in a tough bind. They want to experiment with certain guys. They also need guys to fill some spots where we are unsure of the depth chart. For instance, LB Keenan Clayton was told last weekend that he would play the WLB position. This week he's actually at SAM. At 6'1, 225 I doubt he has a long future at SAM. Sure, we could bulk him up, but I think this is just a matter of helping practice to run smoothly. We've got a bunch of WLBs. Clayton played SAM in college so he can line up there and be functional.

Macho Harris was the starting FS. We've heard Big Red talk about the fact he'll play Cb. I'm guessing that the coaches wanted someone who knew where to be and could help the other guys to line up correctly. Using Macho at FS for the weekend makes some sense.

Joselio Hanson was the starting RCB. I said earlier today that he had zero chance of actually getting that job. I still think that is true. He just was the right fit for the weekend's practice.

We'll see guys shifted around this weekend. The coaches are experimenting and will keep an open mind about how best to use the versatile players we've amassed for the 2010 season. Some notes of interest:

* OC --- Mike McGlynn and Nick Cole split time at Center. No word on Mischa Barton. I'm happy that Mike is being given a chance. I loved him at Pitt. I have faith in Nick, but it would not shock me to see McGlynn win the job.

* DL --- First unit: Cole, Bunk, Patt, Juqua. Second unit: RE Tapp, Laws, Dixon, LE Graham. Teo was the LDE on the #3 group.

* Max Jean-Gilles is missing camp because he had Gastro-Bypass surgery. He had a band put in (or on?). Good for Max. I'm not his biggest fan, but it isn't personal. I've heard he's a pretty good guy. My beef is that he was too big and not mean enough. Guys with his natural size should be bullies. I hope Max comes out of this a lean, mean, blocking machine. From now on he is Dewey Oxberger.

* Early reports from the Eagles beat writers made it sound as if Kevin Kolb looked pretty good, but that Mike Vick was struggling. No surprise there. Vick has never been a gifted practice QB. I remember watching him in Training Camp in ATL when he would struggle at times in the 7-on-7 drills. QBs should shine when they don't face a pass rush.

* Stewart Bradley is back. He is on the field and moving around pretty well from what I gather. That is great news. Boy did we miss Disco Stew in '09.

* No word yet on whether Trevard Lindley looks like a combination of Asomugha, Revis, and Troy Vincent.

* The Eagles added a couple of newbies. Rookie FA DT Darryl Jackson is here. Greg Isdaner returned to the team. Failed physicals opened holes for them. OG Shawn Murphy and rookie Charles Alexander both failed. That sounds so harsh.

The guys are running around in shorts and shirts so you expect everyone to look pretty good. What you're hoping to see is if someone stands out. I watched a couple of practice clips and Jason Peters looked terrific in the footwork drills. He's so much more fluid and agile than the rest of the OL that it isn't funny. That is just God-given ability.

I am curious to see how the OC battle plays out. I'm happy that it is an open competition. I'm sure McGlynn has been dying to get on the field. He was a 4-year starter at Pitt. Watching games has to drive him nuts. At the same time, Cole has been a starter for the last year and a half. You can bet he doesn't want to sit.

I'm not sure what to make of Juqua Parker being the starter at LDE. Tapp said he was told by Reid that he was coming here to start. Could be Juqua is there just to help keep the practice sessions smooth. I fully expect Tapp or Graham to win that job. The x-factor here is if the team is trying to deal Juqua and wants to promote the notion that he's a projected starter. I doubt that's the case, but the Eagles are a crafty bunch when they want to be.

The battle at RCB may not happen for a while. Hanson started because Macho is still at FS and Ellis Hobbs isn't ready to go. We need those guys competing to really know what's going on.

I am curious about FS. I'm hoping Nate Allen gets that job soon. He has to earn it. Nothing is given to a rookie. I think Nate is ready to handle the job and the more reps he has, the better. Him taking that spot would free up Macho to go to the slot or RCB.

I know I said I'd talk about McDermott today. I'm going to push that off til tomorrow. I don't have time to focus on writing out my thoughts and adding the proper research today.
___

Couple of Things

2010-04-29T21:20:00.000-04:00

***

I did a post-draft podcast with the guys from EaglesFanCast. It went over an hour so Chuck split the show into a couple of segments. The first one is posted.

-Link-

HIGHLIGHT VIDEOS

One of the cool things about the internet is the ability to see highlights of draft prospects. A few years back a guy named Toby and I would scour the web in search of videos. They were hard to find. Now you just go to YouTube. Agents, schools, and fans put out some really cool vids.

Derek at IgglesBlog found a real fun video of OT Jeraill McCuller. Check it out and it will get you excited.

-Link-

The one thing you have to remember with most videos is that they are highlights. The point is to show you the player at his best. That video doesn't show McCuller in pass pro against top competition very much. Ultimately, that is what will decide whether he makes it in the NFL or not. Watching McCuller mash on undersized LBs is great fun, but doesn't really help you judge him as a prospect.

I do think Jeraill has a shot to make the team, but it will be tough because he doesn't have good feet. Pass blocking is real tough for him. We'll see how he takes to pro coaching. He played in a pro style system at NC State and got good coaching. What we see may be as good as he's gonna get. You just never know how a guy will handle the NFL. I remember watching Todd Herremans back in 2005 in the Cactus Bowl (D2 all star game). He struggled with edge rushers in that game and I gave up on him as an OT. We drafted him and Juan coached him up. I got to Training Camp and Todd was the #1 LT because Tra was having back issues. Pro coaching made a huge difference with Todd. He was nowhere near his ceiling when we got him. McCuller might be.

KOLB EXTENDED

Kevin Kolb signed a 1-year extension that keeps him here for 2010 and 2011. He wasn't due to make much money in '09 and the Eagles wanted to pay him like a starting QB. He's now making more than Mike Vick so that will eliminate some potentially annoying questions from the SalPals of the world. Kevin made a comment about "being able to put this behind us". Mike Florio of PFT instantly assumed that meant the contract had been an issue. Is everything a friggin' conspiracy? Do we really have to read into every comment, looking for the most negative possibility? Maybe Kevin hates the business side of football and is happy that he doesn't have to worry about any contract issues for 12-18 months. It doesn't necessarily mean that he was upset with the Eagles or that he was overly-focused on his deal. I love Florio and PFT, but the desire to find some hidden meaning in every set of comments does drive me a bit crazy.

McDERMOTT, SCHEME

I'll write out some thoughts on this subject on Friday.

MACHO MAN

Macho Harris will play CB this year. Is he fast enough for the outside? Maybe. Macho ran 4.68 at the Combine. That isn't fast enough for CB. However, if you remember last year all of the DBs at the Combine ran slow. It seemed like something was wrong with the timing system. At his Pro Day Macho ran better. Here's the info from Gil Brandt:

Virginia Tech CB Victor ‘Macho’ Harris (5-foot-11 1/8, 197 pounds) does not have the fastest straight-line speed of those in this year’s defensive back class, but he relies on his quickness. He posted a senstational 4.0-second short shuttle at the Hokies’ pro day on Thursday. This ran a 3.98-second short shuttle at the combine last month that placed him second among all participants. Harris’ other numbers were also solid. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.46 and 4.50 seconds, had a 34-inch vertical, a 10-foot, 1-inch broad jump and did 13 bench-press reps.

I honestly don't know what I think of Macho as a CB. I loved him at Va Tech, but he was very similar to Asante in terms of gambling. Can we afford 2 CBs that play like that? Heck, maybe that's what they want. I'm as confused as everyone when it comes to RCB and what will happen.
___

Draft Review is Finally Done

2010-04-28T14:27:00.000-04:00

***

Sorry for the long delay. I wanted to write out something after taking an extra look at a couple of players. I also wanted to include the UDFAs. The Eagles kept signing guys and that delayed things. Anyway...here goes:

2010 Draft Review

It is kinda long (about 14 Word pages) so I didn't bother posting it here. Let me know if any of the links don't work. Let me know if I made any major mistakes. I've read the thing several times and if I haven't caught the error yet, I never will.

NEW KID

The Eagles claimed OG Shawn Murphy off waivers the other day. Good. He was one of my favorite O-linemen a few drafts ago. He's likely just a camp body at this point, but we'll see. I haven't watched him in the NFL. He has good size at 6'4, 315. Played LT and G in college.

ANSWERS

RE: Tapp vs Graham

Huge difference. Graham was dominant in college. Tapp was an effort guy. Darryl is an effort guy in the NFL. Brandon is special because he combines speed/quickness, skill, and effort. You never know what happens when guys get to the league. Brandon could turn out to be a bust. He also has the potential to become a star pass rusher. Tapp could be a real solid player for us, but isn't likely to ever be a difference maker.

I'll write more about Graham in the next couple of weeks. I'll re-watch several games and we'll try to get detailed as to what he does and what he can do in the NFL.

RE: Earl Thomas vs Nate Allen

I'll be interested to see if Earl starts right away for Seattle. We needed someone ready to challenge for the FS job from day one. I think Nate has a great chance to start for us. Earl might be more of a project. He only started for 2 years and spent most of his time playing against spread teams. It will be fun to see if Nate can outdo Earl or if in fact Earl does become a special NFL player.
___

New Column is Up

2010-04-27T12:23:00.000-04:00

***

I'm still working on the long Draft Review. For now you'll have to settle for my newest PE.com piece of work.

-Link-

Man on the Corner

The Eagles added another UDFA, Arizona CB Devin Ross. I thought he looked good when I watched tape of him over the summer. I wasn't as impressed during the '09 season. He was incredibly productive. 25 pass break-ups over the last 2 years. 61 solo tackles in '09. That's a crazy amount.

LT ?

Someone asked about my comment that I wanted a player to compete with King Dunlap for the backup LT spot. I haven't heard any inside scoops on King. I only know what Andy says or Dave writes. And King is rarely a subject that gets brought up. I don't know that the Eagles had any OTs specially targeted in the draft. We know they spent time with Jared Veldheer. He doesn't have long arms, which is usually a key thing that Reid and Castillo prefer. There were a lot of comments about the quality of the OT class this year. It was a good group, but was real top heavy. Once you got past Saffold and Veldheer things started to get mediocre. It sure didn't seem like the Eagles found anyone that really interested them.

I'll be writing notes on Austin Howard in a day or two. He is likely here as the #3 LT. I want to watch more tape to offer the best opinion possible.
___

UDFAs

2010-04-26T17:41:00.000-04:00

***

The Eagles finally let PE.com post the list.

I won't go into detail now, but will mention a thing or two about some guys:

OT Austin Howard - good I-AA LT.
OT Jeraill McCuller - run blocking RT.
OG Zipp Duncan - played LG and LT.
QB Joey Elliott - showed talent, but was inconsistent.
FB Chris Zardas
WR Pat Simonds - big guy who dominated at his level.
WR Kevin Jurovich - polished receiver with great hands.
WR Blue Cooper

DT Charles Alexander
CB David Pender - up and down player with very good potential.
CB Josh Morris

Howard is the most interesting player. Here is his Pro Day info from Gil Brandt:

Offensive lineman Austin Howard (6-7 3/8, 333) ran 5.42 and 5.40 in the 40, had a 30.5-inch vertical leap, 9-1 broad jump, 4.62 short shuttle, 8.10 three-cone drill and had 19 bench press reps. His arms measured in at 34 inches.

He shows up on game tape as well. Howard has legit NFL ability. He has to learn to bend his knees and sink his butt. He bends at the waist and reaches for defenders. That will get you killed in the NFL. You must bend at the knee.

I think the best player is CB David Pender. I had him rated as worthy of at least a 6th round pick. He has good size and runs well. He was impressive at the Combine.
___

I am Still Alive

2010-04-26T17:18:00.000-04:00

***

Sunday was quiet for me. I watched several football tapes to check out our new Eagles, but did very little writing. I was in post-draft coma. I caught up on some TV (Treme is a good new show) and sorta vegged a little, but now it is back to the grindstone.

I am in the process of writing a lengthy Eagles Draft Review. I'm on page 387 right now and I haven't even covered a single pick yet. I really like to set the scene. Joking, of course. I'll hopefully have the review posted on Tuesday morning.

I do like Trevard Lindley more now than I did on Saturday. I still have some questions, but he does have good feet, hands, and instincts. That is something that a quality coach like Dick Jauron can work with.

Rather than trying to write out a specific post I'm going to answer some questions.

RE: Any interest in John Henderson

He probably expects to be a starter. I'll pass. If he was open to being a role player I'd absolutely be interested. I have wanted to see a monstrous guy in the middle (not bulky, but actually tall). I'd love to see him and Dan Klecko play DT together. They could design a stunt where Klecko ran through Henderson's legs and confused all the blockers.

RE: Brandon Graham

I think very highly of him. I had a talk with my buddy Ryan right after the Senior Bowl. I told him that the question NFL teams had to answer was whether this guy is Dwight Freeney or LaMarr Woodley. Obviously the Eagles thought he was a lot closer to Freeney.

I love Brandon because he combines skill, athleticism, and effort. Guys like that are not easy to find. Some guys are athletes. Some guys are grinders. Some guys are polished players. Very few players have all 3 traits.

Any notion that he was going to last anywhere near pick 24 is out the window. I did some checking over the weekend and there were multiple teams interested. Peter King also reported that he knew a few teams who were upset when Graham was picked by us at 13.

How does Graham compare to Trent Cole? Graham is almost 30 pounds heavier than Trent was at this time back in 2005. Graham posted near identical numbers in the 40, 3-cone, and short shuttle. That should tell you that he's a pretty darn good athlete. He doesn't have the lower body strength that Trent did. Graham dominated the Senior Bowl. Trent was "okay". Graham dominated at Michigan. Cole was productive at Cincinnati. Brandon has the higher ceiling. He could be a special pass rusher. Trent has obviously established himself as a very good NFL player while Brandon is still just a prospect.

RE: Why so many UDFA WRs?

We do this every year. Just as other readers commented, it is done to keep all the receivers fresh in the passing drills. Most of the guys are just bodies. Kevin Jurovich is a player that some scouts really like. He runs good routes, knows how to get open, and has very good hands. Pat Simonds has great size, but was very up and down at the Shrine Game.

RE: Tony Washington

Good player and prospect. His character issue is so bizarre that I don't know if you can bring him onto an NFL team. Would the media handle that well? Fans? I was told he was a good kid at Abilene-Christian, but some incidents stay with you for life.
___

7th Round - DT, S Added

2010-04-24T19:25:00.000-04:00

***

The Eagles had a pair of Comp picks at the end of the 7th round and took two players that I'm shocked were still on the board.

DT Jeff Owens
S Kurt Coleman

Jeff is 6'1, 304. He did 44 reps at the Combine and is a really powerful guy. At the Senior Bowl he was one of the best DTs at shedding blocks. Here are notes on him:

Stout, strong DT had a solid comeback in 2009 after tearing his ACL in '08. Shorter build makes him tough to block. Owens has a big upper body and plays with a lot of power. Able to stack and shed. Uses his hands well. Effective against double teams. Knows how to hold his ground. Not much of a playmaker. Only had 13 TFLs in his career. Showed some athletic ability early in his career. Ran a sub-5.00 40 at his Pro Day. That's good speed for a DT. Did 44 reps at the Combine. Barrel chest and short arms helped.

Played in the Senior Bowl.

Mid to late round prospect. Could be a real good backup. Showed starting potential prior to ACL injury.

Kurt is one of my favorite players in the whole draft. Every time I watched Ohio State to try and study someone I would see Coleman making play after play. He lacks ideal size at 5'10, 192. He isn't a great athlete. This kid is just a tremendous football player. The Eagles should be ecstatic to have him. I think Coleman will be a starting Safety in the NFL in due time. I project him to Mikell's backup for now. Notes:

3-year starter who I like more and more as I watch him. Not a great athlete. Not a physical specimen. Just a good solid Safety who got better each season and developed into a real good player. Football player, not an athlete. And I mean that as a great compliment. Finished his career with 9 INTs, 10.5 TFLs, 5 FFs, 13 PDs, and a pair of blocked kicks. Equally good against run or pass. Smart player. Knowledge, instincts allow him to jump routes. Covers the slot receiver in some sets. Not a natural centerfielder, but he can cover some ground. Made a great play in the early 4th Qtr against Michigan when he got over to the sideline and picked off a pass. Went up high for the ball and made an impressive grab. Held on as he fell to the ground. Hits with power. Solid tackler. Takes good angles in pursuit. Coleman got suspended by the Big 10 (+1) for a questionable hit on Illinois QB Eddie McGee. Didn't look like a dirty play to me.

Kurt didn't have a great postseason. He was up and down at the Senior Bowl. That game shows which players have the most pure talent and athletic ability. That's not Kurt. He did okay at the Combine. That's not his forte either. You need to see him playing for his team in a real game to appreciate what a good player he is.

I think he'll go in the 4th or 5th round.

One thing that I really love this year is that we drafted veteran Safeties. We didn't go for athletes or projects. We added guys that know how to play the position. They just have to learn our scheme.
__

Another LB in the Fold

2010-04-24T16:02:00.001-04:00

***

The Eagles traded a 2011 6th round pick to get a pick in the 7th round. They took ILB Jamar Chaney from Mississippi State. Real interesting player. Lots of ability. Could be a MLB or WLB for us. Isn't ideal at shedding blocks, but has the potential to be good at that. Just needs to do it on a consistent basis.

Notes:

3-year starter. Missed almost the entire 2008 season due to a broken leg in the season opener. Played WLB in 2006 before moving to the middle. Had a strong Senior season. Led the Bulldogs in tackles. Added 2 INTs, 2 FFs, and 4.5 TFLs. Moves well laterally. Flows to the ball. Fills well. Does a good job of scraping to the ball. Can shed blocks, but it isn't his strength. Prefers to slip blocks if he can. There are some plays when he'll throw his hands into an OL, shed the block, and get the ball. Looks like a terrific prospect on those plays. Other times you see him dipping and dodging. That's okay for the SEC, but can be deadly in the NFL. Gets through trash well. Good range. Wrap-up tackler. Takes good angles to the ball. Has some athletic ability. Agile. Gets very good depth on his pass drops.

Mid-round target.

Great value pick. That seems to be the theme for today.
_

Great Scott, Eagles Add RB in 6th Round

2010-04-24T15:11:00.000-04:00

***

Sorry for the cheesy headline. You have to be a little creative at this point in the draft. The Eagles picked LSU runner Charles Scott. I love this pick. He comes here to be our #3 RB. Short yardage situations will have a whole new look with Leonard Weaver as the lead blocker for the 5'11, 235 Scott. Notes:

Big power runner had a great year in 2008, 217-1174-18. Injuries and other issues slowed him down as a Senior and limited him to only 542 yards and 4 TDs. Played some FB as a Senior. Proved to be an effective lead blocker. Downhill runner. Has good straight-line speed. Runs with authority. . Arm tackles won't get him down. Runs over defenders when he's able to build up a head of steam. Good burst. Has okay feet. Able to make cuts on the move. Scott has good vision and is also nimble for a big guy. Those skills allow him to break off some longer runs than the normal power runner. You might want to think of him as similar to Jamal Lewis when he was at Tenneessee, although I don't think Scott has as much speed as Lewis did. Can be a workhorse runner. Okay receiver on short stuff. Missed 4 games and the Senior Bowl due to a shoulder injury late in the '09 season.

Mid-round pick could turn out to be a steal. Lots of potential.

We still have a pair of picks at the end of the 7th round. OL? CB?
___

5th Round Roundup

2010-04-24T13:41:00.000-04:00

***

The Eagles added a pair of players in the 5th round.

DE/LB Ricky Sapp
WR Riley Cooper

Sapp is a real interesting pick. He played DE at Clemson. I projected him as a 3-4 OLB. Sapp is 6'4, 252. That's okay size for a DE, but he always looked like more of an athlete than a physical guy. I wonder if we're bringing him in here to fill the Chris Clemons role. He would be a DE/LB/athlete and play a lot of roles. We could try him at SAM, but I think Sapp is best served as a pass rusher. Notes:

Played DE for the Tigers. Ricky is 6'4, 250. He hurt his knee at the end of the 2008 season, but played every game this year. He had 14 TFLs and a couple of FFs. He's quick off the ball. He's athletic. Gets washed out on run plays by TE. Ricky is thin and isn't a very rugged run defender. Good pass rusher. Quick. Good shoulder dip. Agile, athletic. Likes to get down in a track stance. Good COD. I have concerns about whether he could play DE in the NFL. I think he's best suited for OLB in the 3-4. That would let him attack off the edge without having to take on OTs on every single run play. Had 17.5 sacks in his career. Also had 4 FFs.

I think 3-4 OLB is where he'll end up. Probably a 2nd round pick. Could slide into the 3rd round.

Cooper gives us a big WR, something I wanted. He is 6'3, 222. Cooper can beat press coverage and catch the ball with a defender all over him. Could be a good Red Zone threat. Good STs player. NotesL:

Developed over time into a good prospect. He can beat press coverage because of his size and strength. Tough, physical WR. He knows how to get open. Occasionally will push off, but is subtle about it. Runs pretty good routes. He lacks ideal speed and quickness, but makes up for that because of his size and hands. He can pluck the ball. While he lacks ideal speed, Riley runs well enough to play in the NFL. He will drop passes on occasion and that is one of the things that will hurt his value a bit. That is a mental / concentration problem and not a physical issue. Caught a skinny post vs SoCar and took it all the way for a 68-yard TD. Has good RAC ability. Caught 30 passes in 3 years. Then caught 51 as a Senior. Averaged more than 18 yards per catch and added 9 TDs. Ran 4.56 in the 40.

Solid showing at the Senior Bowl. Good athlete. Has put aside a baseball career for now to focus on the NFL.

Should go in the 3rd or 4th round.

Both players were great value picks. They slid because of concerns, but each guy has the potential to be a good role player or possibly starter in the NFL.
_

4th Round Picks - Role Player Roundup

2010-04-24T11:53:00.000-04:00

***

The Eagles added 3 players in the late 4th round.

LB Keenan Clayton
QB Mike Kafka
TE Clay Harbor

I like these picks.

Clayton comes here to be our Nickel LB and a STer. He is 6'1, 229. He excelled in coverage for the Sooners. Think of him as an Ike Reese type, but with much better athletic ability. Here is a limited write-up I did on him:

Undersized LB, but talented and productive. 2-year starter. Good tackler. Good blitzer. Had 6 sacks in his career. Excellent athlete with good coverage skills. Picked off 3 passes in his career. Broke up 15. Had a very impressive 8 FFs. Showed really good athletic ability at his Pro Day: 4.57, 10-7 BJ, 6.85 3-cone.

Projects to Nickel LB in the NFL.

Kafka is a good QB prospect. He is the kind of player the Eagles like, from a size and skill set perspective. He lacks ideal experience, but had a real good postseason and did himself a lot of good. We need a backup to develop behind Kolb. Kafka is 6'3, 225, good size for a QB.

Real interesting prospect. Only a full time starter as a Senior. Had a few starts due to injuries prior to that, but was hardly the most experienced guy in the world. Mike had a good Senior year and showed a lot of promise. Too bad he is out of eligibility. I'm not sure he's ready for the NFL, but Mike does have potential. He had Northwestern up on Penn State when he got hurt and had to leave the game. Kafka is a leader and tough guy. He has some athletic ability. He's accurate, but I do have concerns about the fact he comes from the spread offense. Can he make pro throws? Most of his passes went to receivers that were wide open by the design of the play. That's great in college, but in the NFL a passer must be able to make a good throw to a tightly covered receiver. Had a crazy bowl game against Auburn. Kafka was 47-78-532. He threw 4 TDs and 5 INTs.

I was impressed with his Pro Day throwing. His motion looked tighter and more efficient. His passes were accurate and had good velocity. Decision-making is still a mystery because of the spread offense.

Kafka played in the Shrine Game and helped himself. He led the game-winning drive. He made some pro throws. His passes lack the kind of velocity you ideally want, but he was accurate. He did throw at least one downfield ball. You could also see his athletic ability on the play that set up the TD. Kafka responded well to the pressure of the final drive. He didn't panic at all and did a good job of running the offense.

Mid-round target. Lacks ideal experience and comes from a spread offense. I do like his potential. Might go in the 3rd, but I think of him as a 4th rounder.

Harbor, 6'3, 252, is a guy that I've followed all year. This isn't some guy who just had a good Pro Day and got scouts attention. Really good player. Here is my report on him:

Athletic small school player. Good receiver. Caught 40 or more passes each of the last 3 years. Finished with excellent numbers, 150-1906-10. Has pretty good hands. Good RAC ability. Went to the Shrine Game. Had a good catch & run on a bootleg play. Showed his agility and athleticism. The step up in competition didn't seem to bother him. Had a terrific workout at the Combine. Ran in the 4.6 range, did 30 reps, and had a VJ of 40 inches.

Late round target. Could be an H-back for some teams. I think he's best at TE. Could also get looks at FB, but that would seem to be a waste of his athletic ability.

Harbor played in the Shrine Game and showed that he can play with guys from big schools. His athleticism translates to the field. He could be a terrific STs player for us. Think of him as an insurance policy for Cornelius Ingram.
_

Early 4th - CB Trevard Lindley

2010-04-24T10:40:00.001-04:00

***

The Eagles just added a CB. They took Trevard Lindley from Kentucky. I'm not thrilled with this pick. Lindley is a little stiff in the hips. He has good feet. He has very good ball skills. Lindley had a real good Junior season and thought about coming out, but decided to stay in school. Wasn't as good in 2009.

Here are my notes:

Veteran SEC corner had a down season in 2009. Probably should have come out after his Junior year. Missed some action this season and didn't look as good. Solid cover guy. Lindley has good feet, but is a little stiff in the hips. He has great ball skills. Picked off 10 career passes and broke up 43. Had a ton of solo tackles in his first 2 seasons (92). Ran 4.50 at his Pro Day.

Went to the Senior Bowl. Looked okay. Played the same as he did during the year...up and down.

Probably a late round pick.

Odd pick in my mind. I'll watch a couple of his game tapes and see if there is something I'm missing.
__

Day 3

2010-04-24T10:00:00.000-04:00

***

Rounds 4-7 are coming up shortly. The Eagles have gotten some key players down in this part of the draft. There are good players still on the board. You can look through the rankings at ScoutsNotebook to see the overall lists.

Player Rankings

Here is a list of players that I like for the Eagles. It is based on character, talent, skill set, and value.

Players I want

QB Mike Kafka
QB Zac Robinson
QB Levi Brown

RB Charles Scott
RB James Starks

WR Carlton Mitchell
WR Riley Cooper
WR Jacoby Ford
WR Marcus Easley
WR Jeremy Williams
WR Blair White
WR Donald Jones
WR Danario Alexander

OL Selvish Capers
OL Chris Scott
OL Marshall Newhouse
OL J'Marcus Webb
OL Ramone Harewood
OL Chris Degeare
OL Reggie Stephens

DT Al Woods
DT Arthur Jones
DT Geno Atkins
DT Jeff Owens
DT Jay Ross
DT Kade Weston
DT Nate Collins

LB AJ Edds
LB Perry Riley
LB Keaston Kristick
LB Jason Beauchamp
LB Kavell Conner
LB Travis Goethel
LB Arthur Moats
LB Nathan Tripplett
LB Albert McLellan

ILB Jamar Chaney
ILB Darryl Sharpton
ILB Lee Campbell
ILB Jacob Cutrera

S Kurt Coleman
S Reshad Jones
S Matt O'Hanlon
S Quentin Scott

CB Akwasi Owusu-Ansah
CB Perrish Cox
CB Walter McFadden
CB David Pender
CB Josh Moore
CB Nolan Carroll
CB A.J. Jefferson

I'm sure Howie and Andy will make a pick or two that has me scratching my head, but they've done well so far.

If we keep all 4 of our 4th round picks here are the guys I'd prefer:

4th -WR Carlton Mitchell
4th - DT Al Woods
4th - CB Walt McFadden
4th - OL Marshall Newhouse

In the 5th give me RB Charles Scott or James Starks and then AJ Edds. We'll see who's left.
_

Another DE in the Mix

2010-04-23T22:24:00.000-04:00

***

The Eagles decided to add another DE at #86 and took Washington Huskie star Daniel Te'o Nesheim. Interesting pick. Let's start by talking about the player. Teo (for short) is a relentless pass rusher. He set the PAC-10 record for sacks. He was a very good college player.

Teo never looked like a top athlete on tape. He was more of an effort guy. He plays strong and physical. He played on both sides and sometimes slid into DT. Very fun kid to watch. Never took a down off and played like his life depended on it. The ultimate compliment I can give to a defensive prospect is that he's a Ravens kind of player. And Teo is a Ravens kind of player.

What does this mean for the Eagles? Maybe Juqua Parker becomes trade bait. I could see some 3-4 teams looking at him. Maybe Victor Abiamiri is in for a change. We could permanently make him a DT. We could trade or cut him. Hard to say not knowing his health status.

We now have 4 DEs that are in their prime or younger:

Trent Cole
Darryl Tapp
Brandon Graham
Daniel Te'o Nesheim

Add in VA and Juqua and that is a lot of depth. I like it. You want young legs on the D-line if possible.

Here is my scouting report on Teo:

Excellent effort guy. Has pretty good size and is a physical player. Good motor. Won't stay blocked. Good shoulder dip. Used a very good swim move to get sack, FF vs UCLA. Plays both sides. Lacks explosive burst. More of an effort guy. Realizes he isn't a speed demon and plays accordingly. He stays low, which makes him tough to block. He uses his arms well to keep blockers off his body. Daniel is a strong, physical player. He means business when it comes to making contact. He will catch some blockers off guard with a power move and get them on their heels. Able to overpower some big OL. Sometimes will slide in to DT. Good production, but sacks tended to come in bunches. 12 of his 29 career sacks came in 5 games. Did have 46 TFLs and 8 FFs.

Had a good showing at the Shrine Game. Had a terrific workout at the Combine. Tested better than I would have expected.

I wish that athletic ability showed up more often on game tape. I'm not sure if he is good enough to start in the NFL. I do think he could be a valuable role player and STer. He'll probably go in the 4th or 5th round.

For those who haven't read it, here is a real interesting article on pass rushers in the 2010 draft.

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/nfl-draft/2010/introducing-sackseer

I know we still need a CB. So do Howie and Andy. I have to believe they have a plan in place. I'll do some snooping and see what I can find out. I'm at a loss just like you. I like the players we took and I like the picks we have for tomorrow. I just want us to add a CB so that I can feel better about that spot. Ellis Hobbs isn't my idea of a good starter.
__

Howie the Trader

2010-04-23T20:17:00.000-04:00

Remember Michael Silver's article (i.e. hatchet job) about Howie Roseman? No one will want to trade with him because he's arrogant and hard to deal with. I guess it is a good thing no one will trade with us.

Howie has been wheeling and dealing. And wisely.

We passed on pick 55. That got us a 4th. We then moved back to 71. That got us a pair of 5th round picks. Look what we've now got to work with:

3rd
4th
4th
4th
5th
5th
6th
7th
7th

That, my friends, is beautiful. Well done Mr. Roseman. Go get me Brandon Ghee or Jerome Murphy and I'm a real happy man.
__

#37 - Nate Allen is an Eagle

2010-04-23T18:40:00.000-04:00

***

The Eagles just picked South Florida FS Nate Allen. Or is that USF FS Nate Allen?

Good pick.

Nate is what we needed. He isn't an athlete or a project or a small school guy. He is a high quality player with experience, size, skills, and production from a BCS school. He is a safe pick, in a sense.

Here are my notes on him:

Veteran FS started 39 games for the Bulls. Complete player. Good run defender. Diagnoses plays well. Can cover man or zone. Covers the slot receiver at times. Has the footwork and agility to be effective in that role. Can also be a centerfielder. Gets a good break on the ball. Good nose for the ball. Knows how to slip blocks without getting out of position. Takes good angles. Has some pop when he hits. Knocked a RB's helmet off vs Rutgers with a hit. Wrap-up tackler. Finished 2nd on the team in tackles in 2009. Solid athlete and playmaker. Broke up play-action pass in end zone in the win over FSU. Bit for 1/2 second, then turned and got into position. Got his hand up and swatted the ball down. Broke up 12 passes in his career. Picked off 9. Had 142 solo stops and 5 TFLs. Plays on STs.

Had a good showing at the Senior Bowl. Looked especially good at man coverage in the practice sessions.

Should go in the 2nd round.

We still have pick 55 in this round. We'll see about CB down there. Or elsewhere. Howie and Reid have a plan. We just have to be patient and let them execute it. Good start.
__

2nd Round Thoughts

2010-04-23T16:39:00.000-04:00

***

We have pick 37 and 55. For now. I have to believe that the Eagles are looking to pull off a trade. I'm sure Howie and Andy want to jump back and add a 3rd rounder.

If we do stay at 37 there will be some interesting players on the board. There will potentially be a lot of talent on offense:

QB Jimmy Clausen
QB Colt McCoy
RB Dexter McCluster
WR Golden Tate
WR Arrelious Benn
WR Damian Williams
TE Rob Gronkowski
OT Charles Brown
OT Rodger Saffold
OT Bruce Campbell
OT Vlad Ducasse
OL John Jerry

There will be some good defenders.

DE Sergio Kindle
DE Everson Griffen
DT Brian Price
DT Lamarr Houston
NT Terrence Cody
LB Sean Lee
LB Daryl Washington
FS Nate Allen
FS Morgan Burnett
FS Taylor Mays (if he's on our board)
CB Brandon Ghee
CB Chris Cook
CB Jerome Murphy

That is a list of 25 guys who have a chance to go in the 2nd round. Not all of these players will be on the Eagles draft board. We do stick to value, but need is part of that. You can bet we'll look CB, FS, OL, DT, and possibly RB.

The good news is that we can move down and still have good players to choose from. There is enough offensive firepower to drive down some defensive prospects. I think trading down is the smart play unless the team is enamored with someone on the board at #37. That could be an O-lineman. We'll find out just how much the Eagles believe in Stacy Andrews. If they really trust him and value him this year then going OL at 37 is strictly a luxury. If there are doubts about Stacy then going for a blocker would make total sense.

SalPal and Adam Caplan are reporting that McCluster is an Eagles target. That's a little too convenient, don't ya think? The secretive Eagles let a rumor get out to a pair of big time reporters? The Eagles are likely trying to create a trade market for pick 37. If one or two of the QBs is on the board you know teams will be interested. Talking up McCluster could be a way to get the Pats to move up for him. Dexter seems like the kind of player that Andy Reid would covet so the rumors have viability. This isn't some idiotic scenario being thrown out. McCluster to the Eagles is a good rumor. That could entice Belichick or some other coach/GM to move up and secure Dexter. Why him? McCluster is the poor man's CJ Spiller (runner/receiver/returner). Teams that love role players or need big plays should be interested in Dexter. He could be like a Darren Sproles type for someone. Think about how many teams struggle to move the ball or score points. One big play in a game from Dexter could be the difference in winning and losing.

My ideal scenario would be to move back and add a 3rd round pick. We'd then do this:

2nd - FS Nate Allen
2nd - CB Jerome Murphy
3rd - OT Jared Veldheer

Allen would give us the proven, veteran FS we'd love to have. He has size, skills, and athletic ability. Plus he started 39 games for USF. Murphy is a gifted cover guy who can press and be physical. He can play the run. He was good the last 3 years, staring for 2 of them. He played some in the slot and has KOR experience. Veldheer is our Jason Peters insurance policy.

We'll find out soon enough.
___

More on Graham

2010-04-23T02:08:00.000-04:00

***

I'll cover Friday and possible targets in a mid-afternoon post. No reason to do a ton of writing only to have us make a trade. For now let's take a look back at DE Brandon Graham and talk about that move.

Was he worth pick 13?

I wrote something in the draft preview that listed Graham as a possible "special player". I made note that the only key question was about his size. If a team could be comfortable with a guy that is 6013, 268 then that team might see Brandon as a special prospect. If he was 6'3, 275 Graham would have been taken 5th, 6th, or 7th overall. He's a tad short and that pushed him down to the 'teens.

Andy Reid pointed out in his press conference that there was a run on DEs just after Graham was taken. The Eagles coveted Brandon and didn't want to risk losing him. If you feel strongly about a prospect then you are wise to go get him. Fans may not like the pick or the player, but the logic behind the move is sound. The Eagles didn't overpay. They didn't panic. They found a trading partner that would let us keep both of our 2nd round picks.

Why DE? Didn't we get Tapp for this?

In my mock draft for PE.com I had us taking Jerry Hughes at #24. People killed me for that pick. You have to understand our roster and the draft class. This is a deep, talented group of prospects. However, there are not a lot of great pass rushers available. The 2 guys I genuinely believed in were Graham and Hughes. Kindle had production and character questions. JPP had character issues. I'm shocked the Giants took him.

What about Derrick Morgan? There must have been some questions with him that the public didn't know about. Derrick slid 5-10 picks beyond where he was expected to go. For a guy with solid production and ideal size that is pretty strange. I don't want to speculate, but it seems like something was up.

I think Hughes and Graham were the best pure pass rushers. To go land one of those guys is a good thing. Pass rushers are gold in the NFL. Right Jim Johnson? Right Buddy Ryan? Right Bud Carson?

Darryl Tapp was brought here to help us at DE. He was penciled in at the LDE spot. Graham now joins the mix. Brandon played both sides in college so he can backup Tapp and Cole. Graham also saw time at DT in the Nickel/Dime units. He can help fill the void left by the release of Darren Howard.

We now have 3 starting caliber DEs, plus Juqua Parker and Victor Abiamiri. Parker is older and never has been a stud pass rusher. He's more of an effort guy. Abiamiri is coming off surgery and should be ready by this summer. Still, he's had trouble staying healthy. You can't count on him. His best production has come from DT anyway.

We can now rotate starting DEs in Cole/Tapp with backups in Parker/Graham. That's a good thing. We also have some insurance in case anything happens to one of the starters. Good depth at DE is critical. The Colts got to the Super Bowl, but Freeney's gimpy ankle killed Indy's pass rush. Brees shredded the defense.

I know people are upset that we passed on DBs. This draft has a lot of good CBs and Safeties. There were only a couple of pass rushers to choose from. You had to aggressively go after the pass rushers. There wasn't much in the way of a good backup plan at DE. There are still plenty of options at DB.

Some people have compared Graham to former Wolverine LaMarr Woodley. They are similar. Graham is a more natural athlete. He is faster, quicker, and stronger. He was also more productive. In their final 2 seaons:

Graham ---- 71 solo tackles, 46.0 TFLs, 20.5 sacks, 4 FFs
Woodley --- 57 solo tackles, 30.5 TFLs, 18 sacks, 7 FFs

One final thing to consider is this. Think about the best defensive players that we've drafted in the Reid era (Cole, Bunk, Patt, Stew, Sheldon, Derrick Burgess, Mike Lewis). Those guys were productive Senior players that all went to the Senior Bowl and performed well. We've gone after talented underclassmen with real erratic results (Corey, Lito, Matt McCoy, CJ Gaddis, Matt Ware). We have had some Senior Bowl guys that didn't pan out, but injuries are usually involved (McDougle, Abiamiri).

Graham isn't a project. He comes to Philly having played at a big school in a football conference. He played mainly LDE, what he would play for us. There are no crazy switches or transitions for him to make. Graham is a gifted athlete, but is also a smart, highly productive pass rusher. He dominated as a Senior, leading the nation in TFLs. He then went to the Senior Bowl and dominated. He had good workouts. Graham has passed every test with flying colors. Great job.

Now comes the hard part. He gets to chase Donovan McNabb and Tony Romo around. He can either make plays or get booed relentlessly. I'm sure Graham wouldn't have it any other way.
___

Eagles Move Up - DE Brandon Graham

2010-04-22T21:05:00.000-04:00

***

The Eagles gave up 24, 70, and 87 to move up to pick 12 and take Michigan DE Brandon Graham.

This is a good move. We needed to boost the pass rush. Graham was one of the best rushers in the draft class. We were able to move up and get him without having to sacrifice our 2nd round picks. That gives us a chance to be active on Friday. We don't have a 3rd rounder now, but could easily move down and pick one up. We can play the board.

Tapp is our LDE. Cole is the man on the right side. Graham becomes a key backup. He also can move inside to DT in some passing situations.

Here is the report I wrote up for ScoutsNotebook:

Relentless and disruptive defender. Led the nation in TFLs in 2009 with 26. Finished his career with an amazing total of 56. Athletic edge rusher who is more fast than quick. Michigan moved him around to keep teams from gameplanning too much. Graham played both DE spots. Slides inside to DT at times. Fights off cut blocks. Uses his hands well. Beat Bulaga for a sack in the Iowa game. Used good dip move. Beat Bulaga to the inside for another sack. Got the RT off balance, threw him to the ground, and hit the QB. Uses his hands well. Fights to hold the point on run plays. Quick, but not explosive. Mixes in some bull rushes. There were questions about his height. Measured in at 6013. That means he's almost 6'1 1/2. That's acceptable for a 4-3 DE. There will be plenty of 3-4 teams who value him as a LB. His size and build will be perfect for some schemes. He can play in space if needed. Made a real impressive play against Terrell Pryor in the OSU game. Pryor was on the run. Graham showed great agility and COD skills to handle the fakes and still make a solid tackle in space. Graham is an athletic defende and a top flight pass rusher. His ability showed up in workouts as well. Ran a 4.71 at the Combine. Had a solid showing at the Combine. Only came up short in the VJ (31.5). Great career production. 29.5 sacks and 8 FFs.

Had a monster performance at the Senior Bowl, both practices and in the game. Looked like a dominant player.

1st round prospect. Could go real high if teams are okay with his size and build.

Good start to the 2010 draft.
___

2010 Eagles Draft Preview

2010-04-22T16:51:00.002-04:00

***

by Tommy Lawlor

PICKS

1st Round - 24

2nd Round - 37
2nd Round - 55

3rd Round - 70
3rd Round - 87

4th Round - 105
4th Round - 121

6th Round - 200

7th Round - 243
7th Round - 244

Total of 10 picks.

The key is the number of picks in the first 5 rounds. Those picks you expect to make the team or seriously challenge for a roster spot. You want 6th and 7th rounders to challenge as well, but don't have the same expectations.

Let's talk about trading up. Why do it? The Eagles believe in acquiring top flight players when possible. The thing to do is identify special players and target them. Here are the guys that I think are special:

FS Eric Berry
FS Earl Thomas
DT Ndamukong Suh
OG Mike Iupati
RB CJ Spiller

There are some fringe guys. Rolando McClain might be special to 3-4 teams. Brandon Graham could be special to teams who are okay with his size.   These won't be the top ten picks necessarily because the need for LTs and QBs can throw things off. These players all did special things during the year in terms of production and have the traits that project well to the NFL. They do have issues. Iupati isn't a gifted pass blocker. Spiller isn't a great inside runner. McClain has average speed. Graham is a bit shorter than you'd ideally like. Etc. Derrick Morgan has the measurables, but not the production to fit this category. His numbers were good, but not great. I'm not sure how that will affect his value. Is he still the #1 DE or does that lower him just a tad?

You can bet the Eagles will work the phones and try to land a pick to take one of these players. The question is how steep a price we're willing to pay. If you want to eat steak you don't expect hamburger prices. The Eagles will give value to get value, but they won't pull a Ditka and overpay.

PROBABLE DEPTH CHART

WR DeSean Jackson....Jason Avant
WR - Jeremy Maclin .... Hank Baskett ...... Chad Hall
TE - Brent Celek ......... Cornelius Ingram .. Martin Rucker
FB - Leonard Weaver
RB - LeSean McCoy .... Mike Bell ............ Eldra Buckley
QB - Kevin Kolb .......... Mike Vick
LT - Jason Peters .......... King Dunlap
LG - Todd Herremans ... Mike McGlynn
OC - Nick Cole ............ Jamaal Jackson .... Dallas Reynolds
RG - Stacy Andrews .... Max Jean-Gilles
RT - Winston Justice .... Fenuki Tupou

DE - Trent Cole ........... Juqua Parker
DT - Brod Bunkley ....... Trevor Laws
DT - Mike Patterson .... Antonio Dixon
DE - Darryl Tapp ......... Victor Abiamiri
WB - Ernie Sims ........... Akeem Jordan
MB - Stewart Bradley ... Joe Mays
SB - Moise Fokou ........ Alex Hall
SS - Quintin Mikell
FS - Quintin Demps ...... Marlin Jackson
CB - Ellis Hobbs ........... Geoffrey Pope
CB - Asante Samuel ..... Dimitri Patterson
NB - Joselio Hanson ..... Macho Harris

P - Sav Rocca
K - David Akers
LS - Jon Dorenbos

NEEDS

QB - There is a spot for a developmental prospect. Kolb is the starter now, but the Eagles would be wise to bring in someone to groom as a backup. They did that with AJ Feeley back in 2001 and it worked very well.

RB - Shady McCoy is the primary back. Mike Bell is his backup now, but is only hear on a 1-year deal. The Eagles need to find a young RB to add to the mix. Brian Westbrook was an incredibly complete player that you didn't want to take off the field. He ruined the RB-by-committee approach of the past. I'm guessing the Eagles would like to get back to that. You could see them draft a RB and sign one as a UDFA. The depth at FB is fine.

TE - I don't think the team needs to add anyone, but the class is so deep that good players may be available late. It would be great to see the Eagles add someone with a bit of size and/or blocking ability. Alex Smith did a good job in 2009.

WR - Depth. The team is set with the top four guys. There is a need for someone to become the primary backup on the outside for the next few years. Hank Baskett is in place now, but is not a long term answer. Jason Avant needs to stay in the slot. Should be a Day 3 target.

OT - King Dunlap has yet to show he can be trusted at LT. There is a need for someone to come in and challenge him. If you remember last year, any time Jason Peters got hurt it caused several players to move and the overall line struggled. Getting a reliable backup at LT would change all that.

OG/C - Jamaal is coming off an ACL tear and won't be ready until late summer at the earliest. We do seem to like Nick Cole. We have plenty of interior bodies right now. I think we'll look to add someone if a talented guy is on the board, but this class of interior linemen is weak. Adding bodies for the sake of making a move would be dumb. You can always go the UDFA route. We'd all love an upgrade if the right player is available.

DE - I've projected us going after pass rushers in a couple of mock drafts. People questioned my thinking. I know we have Trent Cole and that we added Darryl Tapp. We're still one injury away from Juqua Parker going back to a starting role. Eric DeCosta of the Ravens will tell you to always get the pass rusher when you can. Ernie Accorsi will tell you to get the pass rusher. I know we have other needs, but good depth at DE can be crucial. We're okay, but could be better.

DT - The mystery position. We like our starters, but won't rule out adding a talented player. This is a deep group of DTs and there are players of every size, shape, and skill set you want. It will be interesting to see what we do here. We could add a starting caliber player, a backup, or a role player (Nickel DT).

LB - The additions of Ernie Sims and Max Hall may have taken us out of drafting a LB in the first 4 rounds. We have 6 bodies that the coaches seem to like. Omar Gaither is coming off a foot injury. I'm not sure what his timetable is. He could be 7. We could take someone late. I think this will be a prime UDFA spot.

S - We need a talented FS. If we miss out on someone early on then we may shift our focus to SS and find a young guy to backup up Quintin Mikell. There are a handful of good FS targets, but there are quite a few SS prospects we could like.

CB - We need at least one CB. We must go get a CB early. Ellis Hobbs is penciled in at the RCB spot, but he must be challenged by a quality rookie. I think we need to either draft another CB or go after a top level UDFA.

STs - I think we're fine at P and K. Jon Dorenbos has become a good LS. We have a great PR. KOR is somewhat of a mystery. Hobbs and Demps are very good, but might be starting for us on defense. I'd like to add another KOR to the mix. We can then let the best man get the job.

PLAYERS WHO COULD GET DEALT

OG Max Jean-Gilles
DT Trevor Laws
QB Mike Vick

PROSPECTS --- VISITS / SPECIAL INTEREST

* Guys who came to Philly

QB Zac Robinson, Oklahoma State

RB Toby Gerhart, Stanford
RB Jonathan Dwyer, Ga Tech
RB James Starks, Buffalo
RB Deji Karim, Southern Illinois
RB Charles Scott, LSU

WR Danario Alexander, Missouri

TE Tony Moeaki, Iowa

OG John Jerry, Ole Miss
OT Bryan Bulaga, Iowa
OT Jared Veldheer, Hillsdale

DE Jerry Hughes, TCU
DE Chris McCoy, MTSU
DE/LB Dexter Davis, Arizona State
DE Jeff Fitzgerald, Kansas State
DE Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, Washington
DE Jamie Kirlew, Indiana
DE Eric Moncur, Miami

DT Brian Price, UCLA

LB Arthur Moats, James Madison
LB Jamar Chaney, Mississippi State
LB AJ Edds, Iowa

S Eric Berry, Tennessee

CB Kyle Wilson, Boise State
CB Joshua Moore, Kansas State
CB Walter Thurmond, Oregon
CB David Pender, Purdue
CB Javier Arenas, Alabama

PLAYERS WHO GOT VISITS FROM COACHES

QB John Skelton, Fordham
QB Armanti Edwards, Appalachian State
RB Charles Scott, LSU
RB Shawnbrey McNeal, SMU
OC Ted Larsen, N.C. State
OG Mike Iupati, Idaho
OT Jared Veldheer, Hillsdale
OT Selvish Capers, West Virginia

DE/OLB Jason Worilds, Virginia Tech
DT Linval Joseph, East Carolina
DT Jay Ross, East Carolina
CB Devin McCourty, Rutgers
RS Robert McClain, Connecticut

PLAYERS WHO WE SHOWED SPECIAL INTEREST IN

QB Tim Hiller, Western Michigan
WR Marcus Easley, Connecticut
OC Joe Hawley, UNLV
OT Rodger Saffold, Indiana
OT Ed Wang, Virginia Tech
OT Chris Campbell, Eastern Illinois
OT Anthony Davis, Rutgers
OT Jeraill McCuller, N.C. State

DE Ricky Sapp, Clemson (said we're showing the most interest of any team)
DE Sergio Kindle, Texas
DT Sean Lissemore, William & Mary
DT Earl Mitchell, Arizona

S Mike Newton, Buffalo
S Anthony Levine, Tennessee State

EAGLES VALUE BOARD

Because the Eagles are so specific I'm trying to list players that I think have a likelihood to be on the Eagles draft list. I will be omitting good players.

1st Round

RB: CJ Spiller, Ryan Mathews

TE: Jermaine Gresham

WR: Demaryius Thomas

OT: Bryan Bulaga, Russell Okung, Trent Williams, Anthony Davis

DE: Derrick Morgan, Brandon Graham, Jerry Hughes

DT: Ndamukong Suh, Gerald McCoy, Dan Williams, Jared Odrick

LB:   Daryl Washington, Sean Weatherspoon

ILB:   Rolando McClain

S: Eric Berry, Earl Thomas

CB: Joe Haden, Kyle Wilson, Kareem Jackson

2nd Round

RB: Jahvid Best, Toby Gerhart, Montario Hardesty, Dexter McCluster

TE: Rob Gronkowski

WR: Arrelious Benn, Golden Tate

OT: Rodger Saffold, Charles Brown, Vlad Ducasse, Bruce Campbell, Jared Veldheer

OG: John Jerry, Jon Asamoah

DE: Everson Griffen, Corey Wootton, Ricky Sapp

DT: Brian Price, Lamarr Houston

LB: Sean Lee, Koa Misi

S: Nate Allen, Morgan Burnett

CB: Devin McCourty, Brandon Ghee

3rd Round

RB: Ben Tate, Jonathan Dwyer

TE: Jimmy Graham, Tony Moeaki

WR: Carlton Mitchell, Taylor Price, Riley Cooper, Jacoby Ford

OT: Zane Beadles, Selvish Capers, Marshall Newhouse

DE: Jason Worilds, Jermaine Cunningham

DT: Al Woods, Torrell Troup, Linval Joseph

LB: Navorro Bowman

ILB: Donald Butler

S: Chad Jones, Akwasi Owusu-Ansah, Major Wright, Reshad Jones

CB: Amari Spievey, Chris Cook

4th Round

RB: Charles Scott, James Starks, Deji Karim

WR: Emmanuel Sanders, Andre Roberts

OT: Chris Scott, Ramon Harewood

OC: Matt Tennant, Reggie Stephens

DE: Daniel Te'o Nesheim, Jammie Kirlew

DT: Arthur Jones, Jeff Owens, Earl Mitchell

LB: AJ Edds, Perry Riley, Travis Goethel, Jason Beauchamp

ILB:   Jamar Chaney, Lee Campbell

CB: Myron Lewis, Javier Arenas, Walter McFadden

___________________

All-Tommy Team (my favorite non-1st rounders)

WR Andre Roberts - The Citadel
WR Taylor Price - Ohio
TE Dennis Pitta - BYU
FB Matt Clapp - Oklahoma
RB Ben Tate - Auburn
QB Armanti Edwards - Appalachian State
LT Chris Scott - Tennessee
LG Shelley Smith - Colorado State
OC Matt Tennant - Boston College
RG Jon Asamoah - Illinois
RT Kyle Calloway - Iowa

DE Daniel Te'o-Nesheim - Washington
DT Lamarr Houston - Texas
DT Al Woods - LSU
DE Jammie Kirlew - Indiana
WB Sean Lee - Penn State
MB Lee Campbell - Minnesota
SB AJ Edds - Iowa
SS TJ Ward - Oregon
FS Kurt Coleman - Ohio State
CB Amari Spievey - Iowa
CB Walt McFadden - Auburn

Out of this list I want the Eagles to get 4 players...guys I covet (more or less)

RB Ben Tate
RB Charles Scott
WR Andre Roberts
TE Tony Moeaki
OT Jared Veldheer
OL Chris Scott

DE Jerry Hughes
DE Brandon Graham
DE Daniel Te'o Nesheim
DT Torrell Troup
DT Al Woods
LB Sean Lee
ILB Lee Campbell
FS Eric Berry
FS Earl Thomas
SS Kurt Coleman
CB Kyle Wilson
CB Kareem Jackson
CB Devin McCourty
_______________________________

I'm sure I've left something off so ask away. Long day and my head is really spinning. And we haven't even really started.
_

Draft Day is Upon Us

2010-04-22T14:23:00.000-04:00

***

Finally. I've waited a long time for these 3 days.

I'm in the process of finalizing a post on the Eagles and the draft. It will be done shortly. There are a ton of rumors floating in the media. Behind the scenes is basically the same talk. Teams are on lockdown. All the rumors floating around are basically speculation or generalized reports.

I don't have any inside info at this time. We're hearing the Eagles could deal up to pick

#5 KC

#7 CLE

#9 BUF

#10 JAX

#11 DEN

#12 MIA

The Chiefs make the most sense. They have a lot of holes still to fill and there isn't great value at the #5 spot. They do have extra picks already, but the more the merrier.

Buffalo could also use an extra pick or two. They are rebuilding.

The Jags don't have a 2nd rounder and would love to acquire one.

Miami traded their own 2nd round pick to Denver in the Brandon Marshall deal.

I think we'll move up if the price is right. The question is whether Eric Berry is available and just how much teams are looking for in the deal. We'll pay a good price, but won't sell our souls.

Stay tuned.
___

Eagles Draft Thoughts - Positions

2010-04-21T15:38:00.000-04:00

***

Someone recently asked what the Eagles look for in draft prospects at each position. Let's take a look.

QB --- The Eagles seem to prefer guys that are about 6'3, have a solid arm, some mobility, and a good track record. Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolb were both 4-year starters. Andy Hall had experience at Ga Tech and Delaware. He led the Blue Hens to a national title. A.J. Feeley was primarily a backup, but fit our likes in the other areas. We don't draft based on great size or a huge arm.

FB --- Let's keep this simple. We look for players who can block and catch. Any running ability is a bonus. This is a low priority position for us in the draft. We're more of a UDFA / develop guys team when it comes to FB.

RB ---We like versatile, productive RBs. Shady and Westy were above average receivers. Buck was primarily a backup at Nebraska, but finished as one of the leading rushers in Nebraska history. Ryan Moats was incredibly productive in the 2004 season. Tony Hunt was very productive at PSU. Hunt and Buck were easily the biggest of the group. We seem to prefer smaller guys that are slashers rather than downhill power runners. Once we have a player set we will look into a complementary back. With McCoy in place as the starter I think we'd prefer a bigger back. Look for someone who is a downhill runner. We need a N-S guy with McCoy already set as the starter. McCoy is the one who can dance and be elusive. If a player with terrific athletic ability, receiving skills, and return ability is available, we might not pass on him. That could be too much for AR to pass on. We have taken a couple of RB/FB tweeners in Tony Hunt and Thomas Tapeh. Both players played both spots for us.

WR --- This is somewhat of a mystery. We've taken a variety of guys. Try to find a common thread between Todd Pinkston, Freddie Mitchell, Gari Scott, Reggie Brown, Jason Avant, DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin, and Brandon Gibson. In recent years we've gone for guys with good hands. I don't know if that's by design or just what happened. DJax and Mac each had RS ability. Gibson and Avant were slower, but a bit bigger and more physical. I really focus on trying to find guys that are natural receivers early and polished receivers late. David Culley needs someone who is very gifted to work with or he needs someone who knows what they are doing and has less of a learning curve.

TE --- We like pass catchers. Reid has looked closely at some big TEs, but has yet to pull the trigger on actually taking one. LJ Smith and Cornelius Ingram were athletic pass catchers. Brent Celek was just a good receiver. Tony Stewart was more blocker than receiver, but didn't really stand out in any way.

OL --- We like OTs, especially LTs. Most of the offensive linemen we've drafted or signed as priority UDFAs played LT in college. John Welbourn, Todd Herremans, Trey Darilek, Artis Hicks, Jeremy Bridges, Jamaal Jackson, Fenuki Tupou, King Dunlap, and Calvin Armstrong all were on the left side. Shawn Andrews, Bobbie Williams, Mike McGlynn, and Winston Justice all played RT. We don't spend too much time on pure OCs and OGs. We like guys with a big, thick build. Arm length is important to Juan Castillo and Big Red. They'll take a 6'4 guy with 34 inch arms.

DE --- We like pass rushers. I generally think of Derrick Burgess as our ideal guy. He was 6'2, 260 coming out of college. He was tough and physical although not a huge guy. He was quick, but not explosive. He knew how to get to the QB, play the run, and be disruptive. We've obviously experimented with bigger guys. Victor Abiamiri is 6'3 1/2 and around 280. We had Brandon Whiting play LDE at 6'4, 285. We've also gone small with Bryan Smith at 6'3, 230. I don't know if tall guys are off the list or just hard to find. We talk about speed rushers and fastballs, but really like guys that are more quick than fast. We don't just let our DEs fly off the ball and play 100mph. Jevon Kearse remarked about how the scheme here caught him off guard at first. The Titans let him focus on getting the QB. Here, he was taught to play the run first and then get the QB.

DT --- Mystery time. We gone from smaller, quicker guys to power players. Now the question is whether we're looking to change back. I still don't have a clue.

SAM --- Another spot where we've been all over the place. The rule of thumb used to be that we liked former DEs to come in and play SAM. Carlos Emmons was a DE in college. Jason Short was a DE in college. The immortal Greg Richmond was a DE in college. No word yet on what position he'll be listed at in Canton. Then Jim Johnson threw us us a Dwight Gooden Lord Charles style curveball and went with Dhani Jones. That experiment was slightly less than awesome so we went with Chris Gocong. Now he's been replaced by the smaller Moise Fokou. I don't think we drafted Moise to play SAM. I think they liked what they saw in practice and just decided to try putting him there to see what he'd do. Now we have Alex Hall as the backup, a guy who did play DE in college.

MLB --- Odd mix. Trot was here already so it is hard to say how he's impacted things. Tyreo Harrison was 6'2, 235. Omar was 6'1, 235. Both were late round guys. Joe Mays was short, but had a thick build. Barry Gardner was 6'1, 245. Our best MLBs have been guys that played with good leverage and had lots of power, lower body strength. Think less of speed and more of power.

WLB --- We've taken all kinds of players, but there is a good link at this spot. Our best WLBs played MLB in college. Mike Caldwell, Shawn Barber, Nate Wayne, Takeo Spikes, and Akeem Jordan all played ILB in school. Omar Gaither had some experience inside. Matt McCoy spent a lot of time between the tackles. I don't remember with Quinton Caver. Look for players that are 6'1 or 6'2 and 240 or so. We like physical tacklers with some athletic ability. We'll see if Ernie Sims changes any of this.

S --- We like future All-Pro players from Clemson. Having Dawk really spoiled us. It allowed Reid to sit back and take Safeties in the mid rounds with hopes of developing someone. JR Reed showed a ton of promise, but one darn fence ruined everything. Sean Considine was a good college player, but just couldn't put it all together in the NFL. Both guys were productive players with some size and some athleticism. Quintin Demps was very productive and ran a blazing time at the Combine. He and Reed were both good KORs. We reportedly were on the phone with Brandon Meriweather when the Pats took him. That is the earliest I know of us showing interest in a Safety. Mike Lewis was a 1st round talent that slid due to a heart condition. He was a value pick as much as anything. There is no exact trend, but look for productive Seniors, possibly with RS ability. Thomas and Berry are anomalies. Owusu-Ansah could definitely be a target of ours at FS.

CB --- We've gone with a lot of veteran players at this spot. The draft picks went for Sheldon and Lito. Ikegwuounu was a value pick because of the ACL. Last year we had a pair of press corners targeted. Both got snatched before our picks in rounds 3 and 4. I'm guessing we look for a CB that can press, has a medium build, and solid ball skills. That is flexible depending on who's available. We aren't afraid to take underclassmen at this spot.

MISC NOTES

* The Eagles are very specific drafters. They find players they like and go get them. If they don't like the choices they will move back or trade for future picks. We don't take the best FS available just because we need a FS. We only take players we like. You can argue whether this is a questionable philosophy (being too choosy), but that is the way we do things.

* We have no problem with taking I-AA players. The rule of thumb is that lower level guys must have been dominant at their level.
___

Old Draft Stuff

2010-04-21T10:09:00.000-04:00

***

Just a quick morning post for now. Someone asked if I had any type of review on past drafts and what I said about players. I found something I wrote up a few years back that covers 1998-2005. I'm writing out something on the Eagles and the 2010 draft for this afternoon, but wanted to share this stuff for those who were curious. Mistakes are included. This isn't just a greatest hits compilation.

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY

(narrowly defeated The Bold and The Beautiful for the title)

1998

* I loved Purdue WR Brian Alford. I just knew he was going to surprise everyone with how good he'd be. I had him ranked 12th among WRs. The Giants agreed with me and took him in the 3rd. Complete bust. #38 in my rankings was Alvis Whitted, #41 Brian Finneran, and #50 Corey Bradford.

* Randy Moss was my #1 WR. However, I thought he'd slide due to his character issues. I had him pegged to SEA with pick 15. Instead, he went to MIN at 21.

* I had Matt Hasselbeck listed as a UDFA...and after Dave Loya of Duquesne. Who the hell is that?

* The Class of '98 may be the best collection of Centers to come out of one Draft.

1 Bob Hallen
2 Olin Kreutz
3 Jeremy Newberry
4 Todd Washington
7 Trey Teague
8 Kendyl Jacox
9 John Wade
11 Jeff Saturday
27 Cory Withrow

At least 3 of those guys have started a Pro Bowl. Kreutz and Saturday started this year's SB.

* I had Steve Foley as a 2nd Rd DE. He went to CIN as a 3rd Rd LB.

* What an awful group of DTs:

1 Vonnie Holliday
2 Jason Peter
3 Jeremy Staat
4 Leon Bender
5 Chuck Wiley
6 Mitch Marrow
7 Michael Myers
8 Julian Pittman

I'd love to tell you I missed on some guys, but the class just stunk. Aside from Holliday, there was Joe Salave'a, Brandon Whiting, and Lional Dalton.

* I had Shawn Barber rated as a 2nd Rd LB. I had Ike Reese as late 4th/early 5th.

* My #1 ILB was Takeo Spikes..."the next Ray Lewis". #5 was Jeremiah Trotter, who ran a 4.6 and did 30 reps at 6'1, 260.

1999

* The DE class featured two LB/DE tweeners...Montae Reagor at 6'2, 264 and Rod Coleman 6'3, 255. Both bulked up and became DTs.

* My #3 ILB was Barry Gardner. #4 was some guy named Al Wilson. Oops.

* I was very high on Clemson LB Rahim Abdullah. He was 6'5, 230. Could rush the passer, play the run, and showed some cover ability. Just to spite me, he forgot all that when he got to the NFL.

* The QBs:

1 Tim Couch
2 Donovan McNabb
3 Akili Smith
4 Daunte Culpepper
5 Cade McNown
- I had Peter Maas as a Day 1 pick. He was the backup at Oregon who had started in '97.
- I had Aaron Brooks rated as a late rounder.

2000

* I had Adalius Thomas ranked as the #6 DE and a Day 1 player. He fell late to the 6th Rd.

* Darwin Walker was my #5 DT. At the time, he was 6'3, 281.

* Check out these LBs:

1 LaVar Arrington
2 Brian Urlacher
3 Julian Peterson
4 John Abraham
5 Keith Bulluck
6 Na'il Diggs
7 Raynoch Thompson
8 Marcus Washington
11 Ian Gold
12 Barrett Green
13 Mark Simoneau
14 Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila
15 Dhani Jones

Very impressive group. Not all are stars, but that is a lot of talent. Quite a few NFL starts in that group. Barrett Green was a player I really enjoyed watching at WV.

* I had Tom Brady as my #3 QB...after Chad Pennington and Chris Redman. Marc Bulger was 9th.

* Ron Dayne was my #4 RB, after Thomas Jones, Shaun Alexander, and Jamal Lewis.

* I had Ron Dugans, Dez White, and Danny Farmer graded ahead of Todd Pinkston. When the Eagles spot came up, I was screaming for us to take Jerry Porter.

* WR Plaxico Burress had a huge day vs Michigan. He caught 10 passes for 255 yds in the Spartans 34-31 win over the Wolverines. Just as impressive was his blocking. He physically overwhelmed Michigan's DBs. All I could think as I watched the game was..."I want that". Between the Fall and the Spring I changed my mind and decided Corey Simon was the best player for the Eagles. Had he not been available, Burress is absolutely the guy I wanted.

2001

* Derrick Burgess was my favorite player in the whole Draft. I was ecstatic when the Eagles took him with the 1st pick of the 3rd Rd.

* I have a sheet of paper listed Interesting Players. Only 4 guys were listed. 2 of them were Correll Buckhalter and Will Peterson (now William James). Weird. I had Peterson rated as a late 2nd. He fell a bit due to character questions.

* I had LaDainian Tomlinson as the #1 RB. Pretty bold, huh? I had Mike Vick as the #1 QB. And check out this bit of special insight..."he's at his best on the run".

* I have DT Kris Jenkins listed as one of my favorite players. I have notes on him. Yet, I cannot remember a thing about him at Maryland. Most players I can picture in college and remember something.

2002

* Colorado RB cortlen Johnson is a player I really liked. Very good on screen passes. Went undrafted.

* Tennessee had a pair of great DTs. The public consensus seemed to be that Junior Albert Haynesworth was better than Senior John Henderson. I had John rated higher. He went 9th to JAX and Albert went 15 to TEN.

* I found some Wonderlic scores:

Mike Lewis - 18
Ed Reed - 14
Lito Sheppard - 20
Dwight Freeney - 35
Jeremy Shockey - 16
Donte Stallworth - 23
Javon Walker - 9

* A very early mock draft of mine had the Eagles taking C/G Andre Gurode, LB Andra Davis, and SS Jermaine Phillips. Gurode went early 2nd to DAL. The other guys went in the 5th. Ouch. At least I nailed the drafting of a SS.

* Ga Tech DB Chris Young was a player I loved. He had experience at CB and S. He was a 4.6 guy who should have never played CB. Good tackler, big hitter. I thought for sure he was a Day 1 guy. He went in the 7th and never amounted to much. Fun kid to watch.

2003

* I had Anquan Boldin rated as a 1st Rd player despite his awful 40 time at the Combine. His performance in the Sugar Bowl really blew me away. QB Chris Rix was suspended for the game and the starting QB was ineffective. Boldin moved from WR to QB and kept FSU in the game as long as he could. Georgia won, but Boldin really blew me away with his toughness and competitive spirit. He was my favorite offensive player that year.

* I had Greg Lewis projected as the #1 UDFA WR.

* S Troy Polamalu was my favorite defensive player in the Draft.

* I have some good notes on Robert Mathis, but have his measurments at 6'0, 228. He turned out to be 6'2, 235. Based on the numbers I had, he was UDFA. I noted that he was quick, athletic, and had excellent COD skills and was a disruptive defender. I left out the part about him being a starting DE on a SB winner.

* I was a big fan of ILB Gerald Hayes. He's become a solid pro for the Cardinals. I had Tully Banta-Cain as a 2nd Rd player. He slid just a tad...to the 7th.

* I had some scrub named Osi Umenyiora as a 4th Rder and another scrub named Lance Briggs as a 5th rder.

* Jason Witten was clearly the #1 TE to me. I was shocked to see Dallas Clark, Bennie Joppru, and LJ Smith go ahead of him. To this day, I don't get that.

2004

* RB Mewelde Moore of Tulane was one of my favorite players in the Draft. I loved his versatility and toughness.

* Some other non-stars I loved were DE Shaun Phillips, CB Nathan Vasher, and WR DJ Hackett.

2005

* Cincinnati LB Jamar Enzor was my favorite player in the Draft. He was a longshot type and went unpicked. He's now in NFL Europa trying to save his career. I also liked his teammate, DE Trent Cole, quite a lot.

* UVA RB Alvin Pearman was one of my favorite guys. Absolutely loved him.
___

Evaluating Ernie

2010-04-20T10:10:00.001-04:00

***

Ernie Sims
6'0, 230
born 12/23/84

Career Stats
56 starts
2.5 sacks
5 PDs
1 INT
4 FFs
17 TFLs

Best season was 2007: 97 solo tackles, 1 sack, 7 TFLs, 3 FFs, 2 PDs, 1 INT

General --- Muscular legs. Big butt. Ripped arms. Extremely athletic. Very good COD. Fast, quick, and agile. Closes to the ball really well. Light on his feet, which is good and bad. Helps him to change direction instantly and cover lots of ground, but also means a lineman can send him flying with a good block. Willing to attack lead blockers. Loves to fly upfield and attack. Shows promise as a blitzer. Has a good burst. Has outstanding cover skills. His backpedal looks better than some DBs. Has excellent speed and range. His speed also causes some problems. Overruns plays sometimes. Tackling is sloppy at times because he is out of control and will miss runners.

VS DALLAS 2007 --- Pursued well and tackled RB from behind. Got off block of Witten and slowed down Barber on run to his side. Covered Witten on a short crossing route and forced him out of bounds after a gain of 6 yards. Covered TO in the flat and forced Romo to throw elsewhere. Got in on a tackle of Witten by throwing himself on top of a small cluster of players and pulling him down. Tackled Witten after a catch over the middle late in the half. Hustled over in pursuit to force TO out of bounds. Overran Witten in space and missed the tackle. Tackled Witten after short catch over the middle. Hit a pulling linemen and helped to throw off a run play to his side. Came up on a short pass to get in on a tackle of Barber and keep him out of the endzone. Tackled RB after short catch over the middle. Got to the ball in a hurry and limited the gain.

VS GB 2007 --- Moved to his right quickly to get in on tackle of RB. Engaged an OL on an inside run, but couldn't get off the block and the RB went right by him. Ryan Grant caught a short pass over the middle and half a second after the ball arrived so did Sims. Floored the RB. Had tight coverage of Grant in the flat and forced the QB to look elsewhere. Made a good tackle of Grant after catch over the middle. Read a middle screen early and played it well. Didn't make the tackle, but impacted the play by staying in the middle and fighting a blocker, which didn't give the RB a clear lane. Got a quick hit on a WR on a catch over the middle. Tackled WR after short catch over the middle. Made a sloppy tackle attempt on a WR over the middle and gave up an extra yard on the play. Jumped a WR on a crossing route and forced Favre to go elsewhere. Took on the block of a TE and forced a run play back to the inside. Did his job, but never shed the block. Good tackle of Grant after RB screen. Got to the ball quickly. Took a good pursuit angle and helped get Grant down on a run to the outside. Was off balance when a throw to WR on crossing route came near him and couldn't make the play.

VS TEN 2008 --- Missed a tackle on WR reverse early in the game. Flew out wide to get in on a tackle on WR screen. Helped limit the play to just 5 yards. Attacked a pulling OL and clogged up a running play. Someone else made the tackle, but Sims blew up the play. Had Chris Johnson 1-on-1 on a short route. Stayed close to him and then tackled Chris when the ball did come to him. Limited the play to 5 yards and forced a punt. Took away an outside running lane for Johnson and forced him back to the middle, and other LBs. Flowed to the ball on a run to the right side and got in on a tackle of Johnson. Had tight coverage of Johnson on a pass play and forced Collins to throw the ball elsewhere.

SUMMARY --- The Eagles got a really interesting player. Ernie is probably the most athletic LB we've ever had. I don't really have good comparisons for him. We've had undersized LBs over the years (Darrin Smith, Keith Adams, Mark Simoneau, Matt McCoy), but none of them was quite like Ernie. I'm really curious to see how he plays in our system. He was a run and hit guy in Detroit. We use our guys to attack more. He instantly is one of our Nickel LBs. He could be a terrific STer. I'm not sure they'll use him there or not. Ernie plays with reckless abandon. You may want to protect him from himself by keeping him off kick coverage units. As a run defender Ernie will have to adjust to our style of play and our opponents. I'm not sure how he'll do when Madison Hedgecock is the lead blocker on an iso run to that side.

I think the Eagles made a smart gamble by going after Sims. If they can get him to improve on shedding blocks he could be a terrific WLB. Sims has the speed and range to make plays all over the field. He has the burst to be a good blitzer. He is a physical hitter and tackler. He is naturally tough and aggressive.

This move can't be fully evaluated until we see what Sims does in our system. We also need to see if he can stay healthy. He battled injuries the last 2 seasons and that affected his play. I don't think you can discount the impact that playing in a winning environment will have.

During Sims career:

record at Detroit 12- 52

defense in Pts / Yds

2006 30 / 28
2007 32 / 32
2008 32 / 32
2009 32 / 32

We had a disappointing season. We won 11 games, but failed to take the division title or win in the postseason. Our defense really struggled. We were 19th in Pts and 12 in Yds allowed. Think about that in comparison to Ernie's NFL experience. He's never played with the talent that we have (Asante Samuel, Trent Cole, Bunk & Patt, Stewart Bradley). Detroit was also dysfunctional and lacked the stability that we have. Ernie couldn't have stepped into a better situation. Let's hope it brings out the best in him. He'll also be in a contract year and that never hurts. We'll talk extension with him after we see what kind of a fit he is.

MOCK TIME

I put together an mock draft for the Eagles. It is my newest column over at PE.com.

--Link--

The comments are pretty awesome. Eagles fans don't hold back if they don't like what you have to say.

ANSWERS

RE: LB group

I'll write something on the LBs after the draft. I do now like the group we have. I doubt we'll add one unless it is late in the draft. Here's a quick depth chart:

SAM ---- Fokou .... Hall
MIKE --- Bradley ... Mays
WLB ---- Sims ....... Jordan

We also have Omar Gaither in the mix, although he's coming off injury. We do need a couple of guys to add to the group. There are some late rounders and UDFA types that I like in this class.

___

Ernie in the House

2010-04-19T13:14:00.000-04:00

***

The Eagles were part of a 3-way trade that brought WLB Ernie Sims to us. I'd heard that the Eagles were talking to some teams about linebackers, but never got any specifics. We all tended to focus on Derrick Johnson and more recently Rocky McIntosh. Sims was overlooked because of the fact he plays for a minor league team, the Detroit Lions. I kid, of course. The Lions have been awful for a while, but I do think they are starting to get things right. Sims was not an ideal fit in Jim Schwartz's defense and that made him expendable (right Rambo?). The Lions got TE Tony Scheffler and a 7th from the Broncos. We sent our 5th round pick to Denver. Good deal for us and Detroit. I'm not so sure about the Broncos.

Here is the PE.com article.

Here is his Lions bio.

Sims is 6'0, 230. He's only 25 years old, but has been in the league for 4 years. He has over 50 career starts. He has played WLB for them and will do the same for us. Ernie was a Captain in 2007 and '08. He hasn't made a ton of plays. He has 1 career INT and 4 FFs. He does have 2.5 sacks. Ernie has yet to play on a good defense. That will change when he gets here. I know our D was off last year, but still finished 12th in yards allowed. To Ernie that will be like playing on the '85 Bears. The Lions best finish in his career was 28th in yards allowed back in 2006. They've been dead last in points and yards the last 3 years.

I'll watch tape of Ernie and write up a scouting report. I know he runs really well. Ernie is a good tackler and big hitter. Physical player. My question is how he deals with NFL blockers (FBs, TEs, and OL). I'll let you know what I see. For now we'll have to stick with basic facts and info.

I do like the deal. I wasn't enamored with the LB class in the draft. There were a couple of targets I liked, but not many. Having Ernie in place allows us to concentrate on CB, FS, DE, DT, etc. This gives us some freedom. We can trade up and losing the picks won't kill us. We can sit tight and add a lot of good players. I really like our options.

Ernie will compete with Akeem Jordan for the WLB job. Good. We need competition there. Sims has excellent potential. Jordan has started for us and played well at times. We got a good player at a very good price. He's still young and could be a long term solution if things work well.

ANSWERS

RE: Reshad Jones

I just happened to see his COD drill info this weekend myself. Those are bad times. That will hurt him and it may limit him to SS.

RE: QB targets

We brought Zac Robinson to Philly for a visit. That shows serious interest. I'd like him on the team. I think a handful of guys will be drafted earlier than they should (Kafka for instance). I don't love any of the QB prospects. Take one late and see what you can do. Armanti Edwards remains a guy that fascinates the heck out of me.
___

Draft Talk

2010-04-18T18:09:00.000-04:00

***

I'm busy writing and updating Player Profiles over at ScoutsNotebook. Decided to take a quick break and share a couple of things.

People have asked about DE Jason Pierre-Paul. I doubt he'll be an Eagles target. I confirmed from someone that multiple teams have red flags on him due to behavior. He won't be on all 32 draft boards. I don't know what the Eagles actually think, but we tend to be pretty conservative when it comes to character so I'm guessing he'll go elsewhere. I'm now interested to see how far he falls.

One thing to remember about all the trade-up talk is that we're not the only team that could be looking to do that. The Pats have several 2nd round picks and could also be looking to draft early. I don't know if we'd have the same targets. They could be after an OLB, ILB, or RB. With Patrick Chung and Brandon Meriweather already in place I'm not sure they'd go for Berry or Thomas. It is possible they like Earl as a CB. I've mentioned that he reminds me of Asante Samuel. Well, who drafted Sammie? The Pats.

Rob Rang of NFLDraftScout had a report about us moving up for Rolando McClain. Rob is generally a smart guy, but I don't know who he's listening to or what he's thinking. I'd be shocked for the Eagles to deal up for McClain. Just doesn't make sense. Never say never, but....there is absolutely no way this is true. I'm 81 percent sure of that.

Let's talk about Derrick Morgan. He is 6'3, 266. That is probably our ideal size in a DE. He's big enough to play the run, but is small enough to still be a top pass rusher. Derrick is a good athlete. He has a great motor. He is pretty strong. Derrick is versatile. He played both sides and saw some snaps at DT. We love guys that can move around. Morgan is productive. He had 12.5 sacks and 2 FFs in 2009. Someone compared him to Jerome McDougle. Not exactly. Jerome was smaller at 6'1 1/2. He had 12 sacks in 2 years at Miami. Morgan had 19.5 over the last couple of years. He's a better finisher than McDougle. Morgan is more athletic. He is more relentless as a rusher. The question with Derrick is how high he goes. With McDougle we moved up to get him because we were desperate at DE. We had ND Kalu on one side and Derrick Burgess coming off an injury on the other. We reached and it blew up in our face, but it was still the right move based on circumstance.

ANSWERS

RE: Morgan Burnett vs other Safeties

Morgan is an excellent ballhawk. He has good size and athletic ability. I don't like his tackling and run defense. Morgan wouldn't be my ideal S, but the Eagles could love him. Aside from the Big 2, I'd prefer Nate Allen and Reshad Jones for sure. Taylor Mays, Chad Jones, and Burnett are similar in grade in my mind. Each guy has good and bad qualities.

RE: Sam Bradford - spread QB

Sam does catch some flak for being a spread guy. That's one reason teams were hesitant about loving him. OU does run a slightly different spread. They mix in more intermediate routes than say Missouri, Texas Tech, or Florida. Sam has the size, ability, and skill set to make you feel he could thrive in any system (except the Wishbone).

RE: rookies on the right side of the defense

Interesting catch. I hadn't thought of that. Of course, there is no guarantee the rookies will win those jobs. We could have Trent, Akeem, Ellis, and whoever at FS. Good point to consider, though. Smart observation.

RE: Value Board

It should be good for rounds 1-3. Check it out. I've also got some notes up on guys the Eagles might be interested in.

http://www.scoutsnotebook.com

RE: Bunk on the field as a pass rusher?

In the middle of 2007 we started playing almost exclusively DEs on the inside in Nickel and Dime situations. Bunk hadn't established anything, good or bad, at that point. I really think getting him off the field is more about wanting DEs than anything Bunk has or hasn't done.

___

DT Mystery

2010-04-17T14:37:00.001-04:00

***

The Eagles have a pair of good DTs in Brodrick Bunkley and Mike Patterson. Those guys do their job - they clog the middle and make it tough to run. Bunk and Patt come off the field in passing situations. They aren't asked to rush the passer a whole lot. Their numbers reflect that. Neither guy gets many sacks, hurries, or QB hits.

This has led to a lot of discussion this offseason about just how good Bunk and Patt are. I can't stress enough that they do what is asked. We want them to stuff the run first and foremost. Getting pressure on the QB is job #2.

Adam Caplan started a confusing situation recently with comments about whether we run a 1-gap or 2-gap system in our base defense. All I can tell you is that I don't see our DTs firing off the ball and trying to penetrate with any regularity. We did that in the past. Corey Simon and Darwin Walker were 1-gap players that flew off the ball. We asked them to be disruptive. I don't see Patt and Bunk doing anything like that. And it isn't for lack of ability. Bunk and Patt were extremely disruptive players in college. I think they'd welcome the chance to attack more often.

Patt has been the starting LDT for 5 years. Bunk has been the RDT for 3 years. Patt is what he is. Not much changes when you've started for 5 years. Bunk still has room to grow, believe it or not. I don't mean that he'll get bigger, but that he can still get better.

Antonio Dixon impressed as a rookie in 2009. He looks like a real good backup. Trevor Laws has not impressed so far. He shows flashes, but seems lost with the way we use our DTs. He might get on the field more this year with the release of Darren Howard. He was our Nickel DT and that job could go to Laws. Or Trevor could get traded.

The DT class is deep and talented. I think the Eagles could look to add someone. The question is what kind of a player they want. The Eagles brought Brian Price (6'1, 303) to Philly for a visit. The Eagles checked out Earl Mitchell (6'2, 295) closely. They sent the D-line coach to ECU to look at Linval Joseph (6'4, 328). The Eagles met with Dan Williams (6'2, 327) at the Senior Bowl. These players range from 1st round talent to late round guys. They range in size and style. We still don't know exactly what the Eagles are looking for in a DT. You think finding out who killed JFK was hard? Child's play compared to figuring out what we'll do at DT.

Dan Williams is the most interesting guy to me. He played both nose tackle and the 3-technique at Tennessee. That means he can eat up blocks as well as get penetration and blow up plays. Dan really stood out at the Senior Bowl. He got tremendous push on pass plays. Blockers had a hard time containing him without help. The biggest area of need for us is someone who can push the pocket. You need a guy with bulk, strength, and power to do this. Dan gets a check mark in every category. The problem with Dan is that he could go as early as pick 9 to the Bills. He won't last much past pick 15. If the Eagles are really interested, he would have to be a trade-up target.

Again, I'm not sure that the Eagles do like him enough to go after him that aggressively. We can find a good DT in the 2nd, 3rd, and even 4th rounds. Heck, someone could slide to the 5th or 6th round. I hope we don't spend pick 24 on Brian Price. I don't think he's ideal value there. I'd rather go in a different direction. If the Eagles got him at 37 I'd be okay with that. I'm still uncertain if we truly like Price or if he's just a smokescreen. He's not that much different from Patt when he got here. He's also similar to Trevor Laws. Brian is better, but not substantially. If we do take Brian I hope we mix in more 1-gap and let him attack. He is pretty darn good when flying up the field.

One lesser name to remember...Torrell Troup. He went to UCF. Troup is about 315 pounds. He is athletic and big. He can eat up blocks or get by them. He could be real good value in the mid-rounds.

TRADE TALK

There is none, involving players. Behind-the-scenes chatter is quiet right now. I think the Eagles are open to dealing for a LB because the draft class isn't great, but I am not hearing any good rumors. The Skins might be dealing WLB Rocky McIntosh, but I'm not sure if we're interested. The fact he wasn't part of the McNabb deal really surprised me.

The Eagles are talking to the other 31 teams about the draft and trade scenarios. I'd love to hear one of the calls. You know these things have to be sorta weird with each guy wanting to get info without giving too much away.

DRAFT TALK

My latest HuffingtonPost draft article is up. This is just some generic stuff. I try to write for the average sports fan when I do those pieces. Here's the link for anyone interested.

NFL Draft Notes

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Play It Safe

2010-04-16T03:28:00.001-04:00

***

I had a discussion with Matt Alkire on Wednesday evening about what the Eagles could and/or should do in the 1st round. One of the points I brought out was to forget about our needs and focus on the available prospects.

We allowed 27 TDs last year. We have a hole at RCB. The initial thought is to go get the best CB available. That's logical, but not necessarily the right way to think. Joe Haden and Kyle Wilson are the top CB prospects. Both guys are good players. I'm especially fond of Wilson. Still, neither guy is special. Not even close.

Flip over to the Safety position. There are a pair of unique talents in Eric Berry and Earl Thomas. These guys aren't just the highest ranked players at Safety. They are special players. You can refer to them as playmakers, difference makers, weapons...whatever you like. Just know that Earl and Eric are off in their own category.

We've talked quite a bit on here about how much we all covet Berry. I posted some scenarios the other day for how we could get him if he slides toward the 9 or 10 spot. Unfortunately, no matter what scenario you come up with, the notion of us landing Mr. Berry is a major longshot.

Thomas is a bit of a mystery. Mike Mayock likes him more than Berry and would spend a pretty high pick on Earl. I mention that because there could easily be a team that feels the same way.

10. JAX
12. MIA
14. SEA
15. NYG
16. TEN
17. SF
20. HOU
21. CIN

Any of those teams could grab Earl. The Giants did sign Antrel Rolle, but their Safety play last year was dreadful. Kenny Phillips knee is no lock to be good in 2010. Don't rule out FS for them.

Having Earl get through that gauntlet of teams isn't real likely. The question is how much we covet him. I have no idea what the Eagles think of Earl. I haven't heard his name mentioned by anyone in the know. I'm simply making an assumption, one that seems pretty logical.

If the Eagles do in fact like Earl and see him as the kind of playmaker we desperately need in the middle of our defense, then it will be up to Andy Reid and Howie Roseman to decide how badly they want him. You can bet our guys will be working the phones.

I'm not going to get into specifics right here. We've got multiple landing spots to talk about and all kinds of tradeable picks. The point is that we've built up a deep group of picks and that gives us freedom. With multiple picks in rounds 2-4 you feel less stressed by the notion of making a move.

We have holes to fill on the roster so I don't want us putting together some massive ransom to move up. I am willing to use one of the extra picks to help us land a special talent at the FS position. I have no problem with Big Red and Howie being aggressive. I just hate the thought of overpaying with so many good players in the middle of the draft.

I've talked about Thomas quite a bit this year. His tackling against big RBs can be a major issue. That gets pushed aside because of his speed, range, instincts, hands, and athletic ability. Earl has great ball skills and simply makes a ton of plays. Putting him at FS would potentially be a great move. We had a playmaker in the middle of the secondary from 1996-2008. That spoiled us. Having JAGs in 2009 wasn't a lot of fun. I appreciate the need for a playmaker in there. Also having someone that runs well and covers ground is very appealing. Earl takes good angles in pursuit. Think how different the first Dallas game might have been if we'd tackled Miles Austin at the 20 or 10 instead of letting him go for the TD. A good FS can clean up a lot of mistakes.

We're less than a week until the action gets started. Until then we'll just keep talking, guessing, and arguing for our guy.

GINTERESTING

Worst sub-headline ever? The Dolphins traded for Brandon Marshall. That could very well make WR/KOR Ted Ginn expendable (right Rambo?). Ted could be of definite interest if the price is right. Miami doesn't seem real high on Ted. If they shop him and get poor offers, that could put him on the bargain rack. I'd love to get him with a 6th round pick or something like that. We could use a KOR and backup WR. Bobby April game-planned for how to stop Ginn for 3 years while both men were in the AFC East. I'm sure Howie and Louis Riddick will talk to Bobby to get his thoughts on whether Ginn is worth calling about.

QB

Oklahoma State QB Zac Robinson visited Philly the other day. He could be a good late round target. Earliest he goes is late 4th. Could be anywhere in rounds 5-7. He can run and throw. Has good size. Solid passer. Didn't have a great year, but a lot of his weapons were hurt or suspended. Kevin Kolb came to Philly back in 2007 for a pre-draft visit. Zac won't be taken early. He's not that good of a prospect. I do like the fact we're really checking him out. He's our type of QB and might be a great value pick.

ANSWERS

RE: what if Dez Bryant falls

Trade the pick to someone who needs a WR. Don't take a headache at a strong position. That's getting too cute with BPA.

RE: loss of Heckert on draft weekend

I think Howie has been preparing for this for a couple of years. Andy wouldn't have let Tom leave if he didn't feel we were prepared. That doesn't mean there won't be any issues. Any time you have change there will be some mistakes. Let's hope that any issues that arise are of the small variety and don't affect the overall class in any significant way.

RE: prediction about a player that is likely to become an Eagle

Tough question. Let me think about that.
___

Links Day

2010-04-14T13:12:00.000-04:00

***

You may have already seen them, but I had a few things post on PE.com yesterday.

* Thoughts on the pre-draft poker faces that teams put on

* Thoughts on the Eagles at TE

* Thoughts on CB as the biggest need vs adding a DE

I also did a podcast interview last night with the guys from EaglesFanCast. The interview lasted almost 50 minutes, but it didn't feel that long. When Chuck made that comment I figured we were about half done. We talked about McNabb, the draft, and lots of Eagles stuff. I even managed to rip SalPal before we even really got going. All in all, it was a good night.

Here is a link to their site: http://eaglesfancast.net/blog/

The podcast is at the bottom of the most recent blog entry. You can listen or download.

ANSWERS

RE: Akwasi Owusu-Ansah

Good looking prospect. Has size (6'1, 207), speed, and some skill. Could go in the 2nd round. He had a shoulder injury. As long as that checks out he'll go in the 3rd or worst case early 4th. Finding big guys who can run is hard. They don't last long. The knock on him is being a D-2 guy. That is a legit concern. We didn't get to see him in an all star game so we have to project how he'll handle good competition.

Eagles could be interested. He could be a CB or FS target. The problem is that we'll address both spots early because we need starting caliber players. AOA is somewhat of a project. Do we spend a late 2nd or early 3rd on that guy, having already taken a CB and/or FS? Maybe.

RE: bust rate at DT

I think most talented DTs thrive in college because they are simply bigger, strong, quicker, and/or faster than the guys blocking them. In the NFL these DTs face blockers that are big, strong, athletic, and skilled. All of a sudden you can't get by on physical ability. You need effort, positional ability, and a gameplan. Effort is obvious. If you aren't better than the guy across from you, try to outwork him. Positional ability is having a honed skill set. In college a guy doesn't focus on hand placement, footwork, and stuff like that. He's worried about explosion or power. Gameplan is the need to know how to use moves and countermoves. You also need to know when to do certain things. On 3rd/10 you have to be alert to screens and draws. That isn't the time to recklessly fly off the ball. Be quick, but alert.

Draft Talk - Random Stuff

2010-04-13T18:24:00.000-04:00

***

Someone asked about what the Eagles look for in a prospect. I started on that post, but got sidetracked due to a busy day. I'll get it done in the next week (hopefully day or two).

Let's answer some draft questions.

RE: how much do the Eagles value FS?

Reader mcud77 gave a pretty good answer. We were spoiled for the entire Reid era by the presence of some guy named Brian Dawkins. We could build around him and behind him. Dawk's presence meant we had the luxury of taking Safeties in the middle of the draft to develop for the future. Now that Dawk is gone, we have a hole there. I think that opens us up to aggressively pursuing a FS in the draft. I don't know that we'll break the bank for Eric Berry, but you can bet we'll look into moving up for him. The price will be pretty high and I don't know if we'll bite.

mcud77 is also right in his point that we have to be careful about taking projects. I love Earl Thomas, but he has 2 stinkin' years of college experience. Is that guy ready to run the deep middle of my secondary? I don't know. Chad Jones is Junior, but only has 19 starts. Do I trust him? Nate Allen of USF might be the guy I trust the most. He is a Senior and 3-year starter. He has size, skill, athletic ability, experience, production, and a good postseason showing. He doesn't have the ceiling of Berry or Thomas, but feels pretty safe.

RE: Eric Berry talk a waste of time?

No. Absolutely not. We rarely have a shot to get a great player. Berry feels like he will be a great one. I think the Eagles would be fools not to figure out his worth to us and just how much we're willing to pay. You don't sell out the whole draft to get him. You find a pain threshold you can live with. You make some calls. There are a handful of special players in the NFL. Berry just reeks of a guy who will be special. I won't be mad if we can't get him, but I'd be really upset if we didn't at least look into it aggressively.

RE: Darren Sharper

No thanks. Overrated. PE.com was just reporting a story by someone else. Those guys aren't hyping up Sharper as a future Eagle.

RE: JAX trade

For those who don't have the deal memorized:

The Jaguars traded their first-round pick (No. 26 overall), two third-round picks and a fourth-round pick with Baltimore for the No. 8 pick, which they used on Florida DE Derrick Harvey.

The deal didn't pan out for the Jags. So far. Harvey has been a pedestrian player. I don't think this is a lesson not to deal up. Just make sure you find the right guy and have the setting for him to succeed.

RE: trade for Glenn Dorsey?

I would take a flier on Dorsey if the price was right, but I would not give up a valuable resource for him. There is a high bust rate at DT and Glenn isn't setting the world on fire.

RE: using 2011 1st rounder

Interesting idea. Trade our 2011 pick in the 1st to move up. Then trade a 2nd this year to get back a 1st next year. I guess the question is why not just use the 2nd rounder this year to move up and cut out the shuffling around. Future picks are worth less because you have to wait to use them.   Creative thinking.

RE: Maclin type sliders

RB C.J. Spiller, maybe. We're not looking for a RB early, but he could be too good to pass up.

RE: Mayock on Thomas/Berry

Mike is great at what he does, but he's having post-concussion syndrome from a hit in Junior High when it comes to this subject. I just don't see any way Earl Thomas is a better prospect than Eric Berry. I understand his love for Thomas, but he's gone a bit overboard. I have yet to hear him acknowledge Earl's performance in the Natl Title game. He was terrible when trying to tackle Mark Ingram.

RE: building the draft board

Long subject. I'll see if I can put something together.

RE: guys who slip

The Eagles have done a good job of picking up guys who slide. I need to study the board and think about this. Good question and it deserves a quality answer.

As for the notion about the new format hurting us...I agree. Unorganized teams will now have 20 some odd hours to re-group and come up with a new plan. I don't like that at all. We went into the draft highly organized and benefited from the chaos. No more.

RE: Anthony Davis

The Eagles look at a lot of underclassmen. They believe in being super-thorough. I can't see Davis as our kind of target. I bet this is either us doing due diligence or it is a smokescreen. I'll be disappointed if Davis is a pick of ours.
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Trade Up Scenarios

2010-04-11T13:16:00.000-04:00

***

Tennessee FS Eric Berry is a player that many Eagles fans covet. Is there any chance that we can get him, considering the fact he's a Top 10 pick? Chances are that this won't happen. But...there is a glimmer of hope.

The first order of business is having Berry fall a couple of spots. Let's look at a potential draft scenario up high:

1 - STL - QB Sam Bradford
2 - DET - DT Ndamukong Suh
3 - TAM - DT Gerald McCoy
4 - WAS - OT Russell Okung
5 - KC --- OT Bryan Bulaga
6 - SEA - OT Trent Williams
7 - CLE - DE Jared Odrick
8 - OAK - someone confusing
9 - BUF -

The Bills have FS Jairus Byrd already in place. He had a great rookie year. The Bills have a lot of holes so I don't see them taking Berry. Trading back is a distinct possibility. I'm sure plenty of other teams would be calling the Bills. How many of them could offer 2 picks in the top 37?

If you go off the updated Draft Value Chart , pick #9 is worth 1350 points. 24 and 37 would combine for 1270 points. We could throw in a 4th round pick or some player to make up the difference. In a fantasy world Max Jean-Gilles would be that player.

There are a lot of moving parts to this scenario. You need KC, SEA, and CLE to pass on Berry. You need all 3 OTs off the board by 9. You also need the Bills willing to drop from 9 to 24. In other words...this isn't likely to happen. It is possible, though.

As for other targets...we could use pick 55 or 70 to move into the mid-teens to get FS Earl Thomas. There has been speculation about dealing up for CB Kyle Wilson. I'm not sure how likely that is. Good player, but I don't know that I deal up for him with a 2nd or 3rd round pick. That's costly. I guess we'll find out how much the Eagles like him soon enough.

MORE ON VICK

A few months back I raised the question of whether Mike Vick would be willing to return as a backup, especially if we dealt McNabb. It is one thing to be Donovan's caddy, but sitting behind Kevin Kolb is a whole other story. Things have changed in the last 6 weeks. Vick was interviewed several times and talked about his desire to be a starter. I think that scared off some teams that might have been interested. Mike thought playing the role of the contrite QB for a year would get him back in the good graces of the NFL world. 2010 would be his return to glory.

Not so fast.

What Vick did in 2009 isn't anything special. I hope he understands that the way he behaved is the way you're supposed to. You don't get a starting QB job for doing the right thing and not making waves. On the field he showed us some good glimpses, but hardly anything that made you feel that other teams would absolutely view him as a starter.

I think Vick was surprised to see that there was no market for his services. He got served a huge piece of humble pie. Maybe the whole thing. I think Vick has now wrapped his head around the fact he's not likely to be a starter in 2010. Reality bites.

We can still deal him between now and the season. You don't know what team will fail to land a QB in the draft and may view Vick as a stop-gap target. He could be a backup or challenge for a starting role. Or maybe the Eagles do intend to keep him.

ANSWERS

RE: Sheldon / Asante

Sean McDermott said after the one Dallas loss that Samuel did fail to play press coverage, which was the design of the play. For Sean to say that publicly tells you that he was pretty ticked off. Sheldon's comments would lead you to believe that there could have been even more problems than that. Anything is possible. I didn't catch wind of guys being disrespectful of Sean. Sheldon wasn't happy with the team because of his contract situation. It is certainly possible that his comments have an agenda. I'm sure freelancing was a problem. Part of that had to be due to the injuries and change on defense. MLB is a key position for making adjustments and calls. We had 6 starters there. FS is critical. We had 2 starters, one a rookie and the other a veteran new to our defense. I'm not too worried about Sheldon's comments. I think Sean McDermott is a good young coach who just had some real difficult circumstances to deal with.

RE: Brandon Spikes

Someone asked if we should take him in the 2nd or 3rd. No. If he's on the board in the late 4th I'm open to thinking about him. In the 5th I'm certainly open to taking Spikes. He's big, productive, and a veteran player. We do well with those guys. However, his lack of speed isn't an issue you can just dismiss.
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QB Talk

2010-04-09T21:35:00.000-04:00

***

Paul Domowitch had a piece up where he reported that the Eagles are still shopping Michael Vick. Domo said that he's heard the team doesn't trust Vick as the backup QB. Andy Reid sees him as a role player. Rather than adding a rookie to the mix with Vick and Kevin Kolb the team will pursue a veteran QB. Domo mentions Marc Bulger as a potential target. That's probably just speculation.

I cannot confirm or deny this report. I haven't heard anything about Vick in the last few weeks. I can only speculate on the situation. Frankly, I'm not sure what to think. Vick absolutely didn't show me enough to be a full-time starter in 2010. That's why teams didn't want to deal for him. The Eagles wanted compensation for a starter and no team in the NFL is ready to turn their offense over to Vick right now.

Vick did get better as the season wore on. I became comfortable with him as a role player and backup. I'd be fine with him as the backup in theory, but I would not feel good with him taking over if Kolb got hurt and was going to miss several games. Mike was 6 of 13 as a passer last year. He'll have a full offseason, but I just don't know if he'll be ready to man the helm of a passing offense.

The Eagles could deal him for a later pick and then take a QB in the draft. Obviously we'd have to add a veteran as well. There are not great options. Jeff Garcia comes to mind. Bulger isn't real appealing to me. We could trade for Tyler Thigpen. He's a player we had interest in a few drafts ago.

As for the draft class...there are no great options. There are several guys I'm interested in, but they each have major flaws. I would not be comfortable relying on any of these players any time soon. There has been talk linking us to Tim Tebow. There are a couple of things to consider. First, there is the real possibility that Big Red likes him. Tebow could replace Vick as the Wildcat QB. He could be an offensive gimmick for us to use (you know, instead of running normal plays like the rest of the NFL world). We could try to develop Tebow to deal him in a couple of years for a king's ransom.

I'm hoping that the Eagles are floating the Tebow stories so that they can convince teams in the late 1st or early 2nd to trade up for him. We may not have great options at 24, depending on how things break. There could be several offensive targets, but limited choices on defense. If so, trading back would be ideal.

BRADFORD...BLOCKED!!!

Adam Schefter reported that the Eagles dealt McNabb to WAS in order to keep the Skins from drafting QB Sam Bradford. I'm calling BS. Bradford is likely going first overall to the Rams. How exactly is McNabb stopping that? My guess is that someone with the Eagles leaked this rumor to ease the backlash from trading a star QB within the division. A for effort and creativity. F for logic.

ANSWERS

RE: Kyle Wilson and Pass Int?

He is an aggressive CB. A lot of college guys develop bad habits regarding contact. In college ball you can do anything you want to a receiver until the ball is in the air. I see lots of DBs that have to learn to play hands off.

RE: Richard Marshall

He would likely be a 2nd round player. I do think he's a solid fit for us. Check out his tackle numbers. Real aggressive run defender. Makes his share of plays. Comfortable in Cover 2 or Man. The Panthers played mostly Cover 2 last year. They may feel like he's expendable because they need front seven guys and can plug in a young corner to their system.

RE: McNabb to Redskins means a loss or 2 for us?

Let's save this discussion for after the draft. We need to talk at length on this. Please bring the question up when I can really get into it. Good subject for debate.

RE: Donovan Warren

Mid to late round guy. I never thought he was great. Underclassmen should only come out when they had a great year or are just ready for the NFL. He doesn't fit either category. I doubt he's on the Eagles draft board.

RE: big backs a decoy?

Very possible. Reid mixes in some wicked curveballs. However, I think the interest is legit. McCoy is 210 or so, but sure doesn't run like a physical back. He's a slasher. We could use a N-S guy who runs behind his pads and packs a wallop.

RE: Taylor Mays - high character?

Mays has never been in trouble. Good, clean kid. However, I don't know that I'd call him a high-character football player. Those guys are willing to do anything to win. Anything. Mays is a showboat type. I"m reminded of an exchange from the underrated Less Than Zero. "You don't look happy." "But do I look good?" I grew up watching punishers like Wes Hopkins, Andre Waters, Ronnie Lott, and Kenny Easley. The last thing I want is a FS that likes to look in the mirror and admire his body. Give me the guy who is eating a bowl of nails while sipping battery acid to make sure he's in a bad mood for the game.

Back to the point of Mays & the Eagles...I haven't heard if they like him or not. They very well could. He's not my cup of tea, but we don't yet know what Sean McDermott is really looking for.

RE: Kolb / offense changing

It will. Post-draft discussion material.

RE: Maurkice Pouncey

He will not be an Eagle. We're going with Cole/McGlynn at C.

RE: RB Toney Baker

He's got an extensive injury history. We'll trade up for him. Joking, of course. Baker is a real good RB when healthy, but I see him as probably a 7th or UDFA. We could easily add him if we do take a smaller RB earlier in the draft. Baker could be a good role player for us.

RE: John Jerry

I like him as an Eagles target. I loved him before we found out his Wonderlic was brutally low. He played RT and RG at Ole Miss. He has the size we like. He's big and strong. He would give us insurance at both spots. John has talked about being able to play LT. I'm not so sure of that. John could be a target with the late 2 or either 3rd round pick.

@ Myron ... dream draft scenario

I like your thinking. DB/Hughes/LB would be terrific in my mind.

RE: Koa Misi / Rennie Curran

Misi is a better prospect than Gocong. Koa has spent more time playing off the ball and in space. He's also used to better competition. He played at the Senior Bowl and stood out. I think he could be a terrific SAM. He probably won't be an Eagle. Koa should go in the 2nd and I think we'll look more for a WLB.

Curran is ideally suited for the Tampa 2. He could play for us. Rennie is small, but physical. He's a much better prospect than Keith Adams, who was a functional starter...at times.
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Marshall, McNabb, and More

2010-04-07T19:46:00.001-04:00

***

Matt Alkire has an interesting item for you to check out concerning CB Richard Marshall.

--Link--

DRAFT TALK

I posted some draft thoughts on PE.com.

--Link--

MORE ON DONNIE MAC

I will vote for McNabb to go to the Pro Bowl. I encourage you to do so as well. We need him in there to get the 3rd round pick next year. The conditions are simple, per Adam Schefter:

1. McNabb goes to the Pro Bowl
2. McNabb plays 70 percent of the snaps in Washington and the Redskins win at least nine games.

Option 2 will not happen. I repeat, it will not happen. The minute they get to 8 wins I call a certain phone number and say "We have tangos in the wire. Go to Emergency Plan Bravo...now." Certain people report to the Redskins training facility and begin making "adjustments". Do not be surprised if the entire offensive line dies in a bizarre gardening accident.

As far as what going to the Pro Bowl means...that is a great question. I'm going to assume it means that he gets voted in. I'm not sure if being an alternate that plays in the game because others dropped out is good enough. I'll look into that.

A couple of people wondered about what Mike Shanahan can do for McNabb. Could this be Elway, part 2? No, I sure don't think so. John Elway carried multiple Broncos teams on his back to the Super Bowl. That group was not littered with elite players. He didn't have gifted runners or receivers. Elway was so special that he willed them to the Super Bowl. The NFC got the better of him, but those were some good teams that Elway lost to. When is the last time that McNabb put the Eagles on his back and led them to a big win in the playoffs? Long time ago. Elway was better prior to his SB wins than McNabb is at this point. Donovan probably has better numbers, but a lot of that is due to the rules changes that have really opened up the passing game.

I think Mike and McNabb will work well together and have some success, but expecting Washington to immediately become a SB contender might be a bit much. Remember that those Broncos teams had multiple HOF type players (Sharpe, Zimmerman, TD, Elway). Some people believe WR Rod Smith to be a HOFer. Does McNabb have a stud LT, RB, TE, and WR in Washington? No. Not yet, anyway. If they make some big moves we'll re-visit the topic.

One anecdotal note...I think this notion of Donovan hatred in Philly gets over-played. I could be wrong, but go to The Linc and tell me how many #5 jerseys you see. Listen to the cheers for McNabb. He absoutely has his share of detractors, but I think a majority of Eagles fans love McNabb for everything he's done for us in the last 11 years. There is a real vocal minority that definitely has it out for him.

Did the Eagles play their cards right? Impossible question. What was the exact goal? To get max value? To get the deal done in early April? To appease Donovan as much as possible? This really was a complex scenario because of who was involved and the circumstances. If Donovan was signed for a few years that would have changed things. If there were more decent teams in need of a QB that would have helped. If this didn't take place under the pressure of the Philly media that would have made life easier. Honestly, I'm just glad it is done. I'm ready to focus on Kolb and the future.

ANSWERS

RE: Macho Harris

I think he has no shot at RCB. I do think he has a legit chance to be the slot corner. MmmBop didn't play well down the stretch. He has to fight for his job. Macho Man was outstanding against Atlanta in the slot and deserves a chance to play there if he's not in the lead at FS. It seems like we'd prefer him to be a backup this year.

RE: Sheldon trade

I said this before. Think of the deal as Sheldon for a 4th & 5th and Gocong for Hall straight up. The compensation isn't ideal, but you have to consider some factors. Gocong was a RFA. He wasn't an ideal fit for us anymore. You can say we traded a starting LB, but he wasn't projected to start in 2010 and that is what made him expendable. Sheldon wanted his deal adjusted. That wasn't going to happen here.

RE: mid-round OL targets

I've been working on this list. I'll save this for another day when I can address it more in-depth. Any surprise draft positions that my be targeted??? RB. I'm not sure how many people that will surprise. McCoy is young. Bell signed a 1-year deal. We love Leonard Part 6, but think of him as a FB first and foremost. DT could be an early target, but I'm not sure if that would surprise anyone.

RE: Morgan Burnett vs Nate Allen

I think Nate is absolutely the better prospect. He is a complete player. Burnett is a ball-hawk, but his tackling is very sloppy. He is not an aggressive run defender and that bugs me. We'll see if the Eagles agree or if they like Morgan for his ball skills.

RE: "do you ever think you've been 'played' by various interests to disseminate a rumor via your site here? "

Highly doubtful. You give me too much credit. I get various bits of info and piece them together, sharing what I can and sitting on other stuff. I only report info that I feel is credible. I have gotten a few things wrong, but I trusted the info that was given to me. Teams use network info guys to leak reports. Agents do the same thing. I'm certainly open to being used. Anyone have a fake report they want passed around?

RE: big backs

Gerhart I like a lot, but he won't last past our early 3rd rounder. Dwyer doesn't seem like an ideal fit. I'm not sure I really want him. Scott is a late round guy that would be good value.

RE: pre-draft visits

I'll post about this subject soon enough. That deserves a whole post.

___

Alex Hall

2010-04-07T09:07:00.000-04:00

***

It is finally time to talk about Alex Hall. I was going to post this on Monday, but the Eagles and Redskins conspired against me and let the McNabb trade go down. What jerks.

I popped in a pair of game tapes from 2008. I watched part of a game from 2009, but Hall was nowhere to be found. Apparently he got lost in the shuffle when Rob Ryan became the Defensive Coordinator. Hall's biggest advocate was GM Phil Savage, who wasn't around in '09. More on Phil later.

So let's get to Hall and what I saw. He was the backup SAM. The Browns were high on him so they got him regular playing time. He would get on the field in the late 1st quarter or early 2nd. He would play a few series and then Willie McGinest would come back on the field. The Browns let Hall play no matter the score or situation. They really wanted to develop him as a player.

Hall has a good frame. They list him at 6'5, 250. He looks a little skinny...maybe 240. Solid run defender. Fights to hold the point of attack. Does need to get stronger. Sloppy with his hands. Hall has pretty good feet. He's agile for a tall guy. There was one play that stood out. He dropped back on a pass play and started to the middle of the field, shadowing a receiver. Hall then saw the QB start to go wide. The receiver had continued crossing the field so Hall then went out wide to mirror the QB. The QB had no one open and started to run. Hall stopped, came upfield, and tackled the QB for only a minimal gain. Good play in the open field. It wasn't a great tackle, but was pretty solid. The play looked like the Wave Drill that gets done at the Scouting Combine. Teams want to see a player backpedal, then move laterally, and then finally come back up the field. Hall did all of that and looked good on the move. He's not silky smooth, but didn't look mechanical at all.

I thought Hall showed real potential as a cover guy. He's not instinctive out there, but never looked lost. He got good depth on his pass drops. With more experience he could develop solid coverage skills. He has the physical ability.

The Browns were somewhat creative with him. There were times when he lined up on the slot receiver. He was a stand-up SAM most of the time. He did play DE in the Nickel and Dime units on some plays. I didn't think he stood out as a pass rusher. Hall has some quickness off the ball, but didn't show explosion. He did have 3 sacks and 2 FFs as a rookie. Unfortunately I didn't get to see those games. Hall played on STs. He's got the length and speed to be good on coverage units. Word around the NFL campfire is that one of the concerns the Browns had is that he hadn't become a better STs player. Bobby April is the best STs coach in the league. If anyone can get him going it will be Bobby.

Let's talk about Hall vs Gocong. We drafted Chris in 2006 and wanted to convert him from DE to LB. Gocong developed into an effective 4-3 SAM, but never showed us the potential that we'd seen prior to the draft. He went from raw project to effective starter. He's now 27 years old. I'm not sure that he can change much more. I think that is why we dealt him to a 3-4 team. Hall is about to turn 25. We're getting him with some built in LB experience. With work he can easily get to the "effective starter" level. We don't know what his ceiling is. Hall looks like a more natural LB than Gocong. That's something you have or you don't. There is a definite possibility that Hall could become a good 4-3 SAM. He'll likely be a role player this year, but I'll be disappointed if he doesn't give Moise Fokou a good challenge up at Lehigh.

KING ON HALL

Peter King had some interesting stuff on Alex. He wrote this prior to the 2008 Draft.

This was crazy. Instead of huddling with his gathered scouts in Berea and massaging the draft board, Savage hopped a 10 a.m. flight to Baltimore, rented a car, drove 24 miles to Prince George's Community College, set up four orange cones on a chewed-up open field, and shook hands with one of the most marginal prospects in the 2008 draft: St. Augustine (N.C.) College outside linebacker Alex Hall.

The draft was three days away, and here was Savage, looking at a player he might take in the seventh round, or try to sign as a longshot free-agent. Why? Because Savage trusts his scouts, and one of his pups on the staff, 25-year-old scout Bobby Vega, told him this was the one second-day guy of the linebackers he scouted who could make an impact this year and eventually -- possibly -- be the bookend pass-rusher to Kamerion Wimbley the Browns needed.

Savage had watched some tape and seen production and good speed (26 sacks in three small-college seasons), but now, before committing a precious pick to Hall, needed to see him. Savage placed a football at the end of the line of cones and asked Hall to run in S-curves through the cones and back. Hall ran through the cones, and without being told scooped up the ball in full stride and ran back. The athleticism stunned Savage. He didn't need to see anything else. Vega was right. Hall had a chance to fill a Cleveland void, and he might last 'til the seventh round.

MISC

I have some follow-up thoughts on the McNabb saga, but they'll have to wait for tonight or tomorrow.

___

More on the Move

2010-04-05T16:37:00.003-04:00

***

Let's start for a minute with McNabb. This move wasn't done to get rid of a guy who couldn't play anymore. The Eagles made this move because they felt the time was right to play Kevin Kolb. Donovan put up solid numbers in 2009. He had some terrific moments. He's still a good starting QB. All the man does is win games. His only losing season as a full-time starter is 2005, the year TO went TO on us. Every other year he was .500 or better. Yes, he had good players to work with. Yes, he had a good OL. Yes, he had a good defense. You don't win like he did without being a big part of that. Donovan didn't make big mistakes and he made enough plays to move the chains and score points. When he was on, the team looked invincible. We never saw that in the postseason, but few QBs are able to pull that off.

I would love to get to talk to McNabb for 20 or 30 minutes. I hope he understands what he meant to the city of Philadelphia. Some younger fans don't realize this, but we were St. Louis, Buffalo, or Oakland following the 1998 season. We had some talent on hand, but were considered a highly dysfunctional organization that needed lots of help. Ray Rhodes won 10, 10, 6, and 3 games in his tenure. Even when we won in 1995 and '96 things felt shaky. Do you realize that Ray signed Daniel Stubbs off the street? He was out of the league in 1994. Ronnie Dixon was driving a concrete truck when we called him. Kevin Johnson was unpacking boxes at his parents liquor store when we called him.

Ray led us to a pair of good years, but the duct tape roster finally caught up to us. You can only go with Barry Wilburn, Harry Boatswain, and Nate Singleton so long. We tried to sign big time free agents in 1997 and '98. Guys were using us. We got Steve Everitt in '97. In '98 both John Randle and Dana Stubblefield talked about visiting here, only to sign deals elsewhere before ever coming to Philly. Our impact DT that year was Bill Johnson. He was a nice player, but we needed a heck of a lot more than him. You don't bring a knife to a gun fight, as the old joke goes.

All of this changed in 1999. We hired Andy Reid and he drafted McNabb. We became a respectable franchise again. We suddenly were able to win games and actually get the free agents we wanted. As Donovan won games and became a star the Eagles actually became media darlings. Imagine that. Donovan gave us a certain kind of credibility. Think about all the success that Tampa had. There was no face for the organization. How many guys ever said "I can't wait to go to Tampa so I can play with John Lynch"? McNabb would go to the Pro Bowl and other stars would gravitate to him. That's how the whole TO relationship started, if you remember.

Donovan helped lead us out of the depths of despair and into the world of Chunky Soup ads and NFC title game losses. All joking aside, he was a great player for us. We've been spoiled with winning and good QB play during his 11 years here. I hope he wins 4 games a year in DC (Dallas and the Giants). I hope he does well personally, but of course I don't want him to ever get back to the playoffs. That has nothing to do with him, but everything to do with his new uniform. Thanks for the memories, #5. Good luck.

Now to Kolb. I like where his head is at. You can read some of the quotes from his press conference here.

Kevin understands this is his team and his time. He also understands that he's not Donovan McNabb. He has no track record to lean on. Donovan could train in Arizona if he wanted. He could do things his own way to a certain extent. Kevin will be in Philly, at the NovaCare complex. He is focused on being the leader of the team and winning games. He has a tremendous desire to prove himself, both to his teammates and to the outside world. Kevin knows that 2 starts last year don't mean squat. He'll be judged on 2010.

I think he has the right mentality. I think he has enough talent around him to win. Donovan was asked to put the franchise on his shoulders in 2000 and carry the team. He did. Donnie was throwing to Charles Johnson, Torrance Small, and Na Brown. He was handing the ball to Darnell Autry. McNabb finished 2nd in the MVP balloting that year because he played so well and we won games. Kevin steps into a whole different situation. He simply has to run the offense and be the leader. Kevin won't try to be Superman. He will just play QB and do his job. That's fine for us.

I don't have the time right now to talk at length about how the offense might change. I'll mention the two areas that stand out. First, RAC yards. We've always done well in this category, but most of that was due to screen passes. Kevin will be an upgrade at hitting receivers on the move so that our guys can use their speed and elusiveness to make plays. Slant passes could be more common now. Second, Red Zone offense should be improved. One of Donovan's main weaknesses is that he didn't anticipate plays. He waited for a player to come open and then threw him the ball. That wasn't effective in the Red Zone. And it really showed the last few years. Kolb should be better in this regard. People love to point out his 2 Red Zone picks, but think about those for a moment. Kevin was picked off by Ed Reed and Darren Sharper, a couple of the best ball hawks in the history of the NFL. The Reed pick was a dumb pass by a QB in his first extended game action. The Sharper pick came late in a game when we trailed 41-22 and Kevin was trying to make something happen. That was also Kevin's first NFL start. I think he'll do a good job in the Red Zone due to his accuracy and ability to anticipate routes. He learned the hard way that DBs can also anticipate. That's a lesson you can only really learn on the field. Thankfully, neither mistake cost us a game.

My expectations for 2010 are to have a winning season and challenge for a playoff spot. I don't see us winning 12 or 13 games and being great. Kevin will have some hiccups. No one expects him to be perfect or a major star right away. At the same time, this notion that he's a scrub or some idiot rookie and we'll only win a couple of games seems ludicrous to me. Big Red hand-picked Kevin to be McNabb's successor. This isn't an accident.

Again, and I can't stress this enough, the organization is behind Kevin. I'm not talking about Joe Banner and some PR interns. Most of the Personnel Dept, coaching staff, and team is for the move. Donovan only had a year left on his deal. People knew he was gone this year or the next. Kevin has won a ton of people over with how he's quietly prepared for this time. He never went to the media and griped. He never tried to cause a rift in the locker room. He just sat and waited, focusing on being ready when his name finally did get called.

I understand that not every fan, analyst, and media member will embrace Kevin. That's okay. There is nothing wrong with being a Doubting Thomas. I think you should at least keep an open mind. I think Kevin will surprise some people with how well he plays and how well he handles being the Eagles starting QB. Give the man a chance.

We now have an opening for a QB. I think we'll probably add a QB in the draft and stick with Mike Vick as the primary backup. We could call Jeff Garcia or someone like that, but I doubt it. I don't see us going for Marc Bulger or any recently released players.

SO MUCH FOR SIMS

OG Rob Sims finally was dealt. He is now a Lion. There were multiple rumors linking him to us and none of them made sense to me. I'm glad he's gone. We've got Todd Herremans at LG and Stacy Andrews at RG. I think the team is fine with both.
____

McDone!!!

2010-04-05T00:58:00.000-04:00

***

Donovan McNabb is a Washington Redskin. How bizarre does that sound?

We got the 37th overall pick and a conditional pick in 2011 (3rd or 4th round). This was not the best offer. I was told a couple weeks back that Andy Reid was genuinely concerned about Donovan and his future. Andy became coach of the Eagles in January 1999. He picked Donovan 3 months later and the two have been together ever since. Donnie isn't just "another guy". Apparently Andy wasn't going to ship McNabb to the highest bidder, but rather to a team that Donovan was comfortable with, at a price we could be comfortable with.

I have mixed feelings about this line of thinking. Andy's got to be focused on what is best for the organization, first and foremost. At the same time, I've always appreciated the fact that Andy does have good relationships with his players. And Donovan is special to us. This organization was down in the dumps when he arrived. He brought us success on the field and credibility off it. I don't think we "owed" Donovan anything, but I won't argue with Andy doing right by his guy.

I know one team we talked to was so confused by Andy's demands that they came away wondering if we actually had any interest in dealing Donovan. Another team was prepared to offer a good player, but neither of these situations was going to be ideal for Donovan. Andy passed. We settled for an acceptable offer, but it was hardly ideal.

In the end I'm very excited. We now have resolution to the McNabb saga. We also now officially begin the Kolb era. There will be some ups and downs, but I believe in Kevin Kolb, just as I believed in McNabb over a decade ago. I think we go from one good starting QB to another. I think we'll win a lot of games with Kevin. We can only hope we have the same level of success as the past decade.

As for the angle of dealing Donovan to a division rival...I'm okay with that. There are only 31 other NFL teams. I would have objected if I thought Washington was a QB away from being a Super Bowl team. McNabb makes them better, but that is a team in transition and will likely need at least a year to get things together. At that point Donovan will be 34 going on 35.

I won't get into the pick and what it means too much. We now have 8 picks in the first 5 rounds. We can add some young talent and fill some holes. I'll write more later.

Crazy night.
___

Misc Update

2010-04-03T18:43:00.000-04:00

***

I've been watching college tape all day. There's more to go. I'll post the notes on Alex Hall on Monday morning. Let's talk about a variety of topics.

* Jay Glazer said some interesting things in a recent interview. Listen to Jay. He's very well connected and what he said goes along well with some things I've heard. The Eagles are getting good offers. The Eagles are trying to find the right deal. Also, Andy Reid is trying to do what he can for Donovan. Andy genuinely has close ties to the players. That's why guys like Trot and Hugh came back after leaving. We make fun of Big Red for plenty of things, but his players do care for him. Even guys like John Welbourn who burn bridges often end up regretting that. Reid wants to put Donovan in a favorable situation, if that is possible.

* There is no timetable for the McNabb deal. PFT will run a zillion stories. Most are full of baloney. Jamie Dukes of the NFL Network and local columnist Bob Ford think McNabb is sticking around. I don't know why it is so hard for people to accept that Kevin Kolb will be the starting QB in 2010.

* Howie Roseman made a recent comment that indicated more trades are possible. Any more Eagles players on the block? Complicated subject. Forget the rumors about Asante Samuel. He's here for the next few years. I know other teams have inquired about DTs Mike Patterson and Trevor Laws. The only way Patt goes is if the team gets a strong offer and covets some DT in the draft. The Eagles are not shopping him. Laws could easily be trade bait.

We still could be looking to deal picks for players. I continue to wonder if the team has any interest in LBs Derrick Johnson or Rocky McIntosh. I have asked around about Rob Sims and if the rumors are true. No one seems to know anything about this.
___________________________

ANSWERS

RE: Hypothetically speaking, let's say you knew you could have one of the following: Eric Berry and a 2nd/3rd round type CB or Earl Thomas and Kyle Wilson. Which combo would you rather have?

That's a really tough question. I'd take Berry and the CB. I see Eric as a great player. The other names involved are very good, but not great. Getting Thomas and Wilson would be really hard to do. You'd need a couple of 1st round picks, one of them in the Top 20 (or higher).

RE: Interest in RB Jonathan Dwyer?

Legit interest. We've looked at him, Toby Gerhart, and Charles Scott. All 3 guys are in the 230-pound range. Reid would probably like a big back to pair with Shady McCoy. Bell is here on a 1-year deal. Gerhart is the best of the trio. Good athlete. Very good feet for a big back. I just don't know if we'd spend an early pick to get him.

RE: Ellis Hobbs?

I'm not sure what to say about Ellis. He didn't really impress me last year. I think the rookie we take in the 1st or 2nd will have every chance in the world to win the RCB job. I'll talk about CBs in an upcoming post.

RE: Safety?

I have not heard a thing about FS. No one is talking about Atogwe. There isn't much chatter about the RFAs around the league. I'm guessing we take someone in the draft.

RE: AQ Shipley

He is here as a camp body, for the most part. Nick Cole and Mike McGlynn will fight for the C job. Dallas Reynolds is next up. Shipley is behind them.

RE: rose colored glasses with Sheldon

Spuds was talking him up at times this year. I don't think you'll find that I was that high on him. I've had concerns the last couple of seasons. I know I've talked on the phone with some people and sounded my worries. Sheldon's speed has been more of an issue the last 2 years. He hasn't gotten beat a ton, but the opportunities have been there.

I wrote this back in February:

* CB

The Eagles gave up 27 passing TDs last year. Unacceptable. FS is part of the problem, but CB is even bigger. Sheldon had his struggles. Joselio was shredded by Dallas late in the year. We need to get younger and faster. It won't surprise me to see the Eagles add a pair of CBs. They might even go for one in FA.

RE: LB talk

Am I excited about Fokou? No. I'm curious. He showed promise last year, but I am hardly his biggest advocate. I don't think the Eagles are dumb for penciling him in as the SAM. Fokou is a player I did like coming out of Maryland. I'm just unsure about him as the starting SAM. The Eagles have been impressed with him in practice and on the field. I'm glad we have Hall here to push him. I like competition. Young guys need to know they can't be complacent.

Stew is coming off a torn ACL, but remember that it happened in early August. He'll have 13 months from injury to opening week. I don't see any problem with counting on him to be a key part of the defense. Had he been hurt in October I would be concerned. Guys need as close to a full year as possible to get right. Also, Stew's game was never built on speed/athleticism.

We are more uncertain right now than last year. But that argument works against itself. We thought we had a terrific crew last May and look how things fell apart. The Eagles will add talent to the position. McDermott will want to get better there. The LB play in 2009 was a problem.
___

Friday Evening Update

2010-04-02T21:30:00.000-04:00

***

THE TRADE

Hopefully the CLE/PHI trade has had time to sink in by this point. Quite a few Eagles fans are up in arms about this move. That's understandable to a certain extent, but let's get a few things straight.

* The Eagles did not trade their best CB. Sheldon is a guy that we all loved because of his toughness and ability as a hitter/tackler. That's great, but it doesn't make him a better CB than Asante Samuel.

* This move wasn't done in order to save money. I have given you hints about this move for a while now. Older players who did little in the late season losses to Dallas are getting the boot. Sheldon was targeted by Romo quite a few times in those games. He was called for a penalty on an early 3rd down in the first of the two losses. The Eagles were going to draft Sheldon's replacement no matter what. The fact that he wanted his deal re-done sealed the fact that he was let go. The Eagles were fine with paying him his salary, but were not about to give a raise to a 31-year old CB who lacks ideal size and speed,

* The Eagles are not rebuilding. I don't think people understand what this word means in relation to a team and its roster. Rebuilding is when you basically strip things bare and start over. Nothing close to that his happening here. We are adding new and/or younger pieces around our core players.

Trent Cole
Brodrick Bunkley
Mike Patterson
Stewart Bradley
Quintin Mikell
Asante Samuel

That is the core of the defense. Add in new/young players we want on the field.

Darryl Tapp
Moise Fokou

That ties up 8 of 11 starting spots. WLB, FS, and RCB are all up in the air. We have experienced starters at each spot. The question is whether we can bring in upgrades.

There is a lot of change. We are letting go of veterans in most cases. None of these guys was an elite player or anything close to it. They were all descending players or role players. We saw "rebuilding" back in the early 90s. We let multiple Pro Bowl players walk in the middle of their careers. Nothing remotely close to that is happening at this point. The names are big in some cases, but again...these are descending players.

Think about Sheldon for a minute. He's got a terrific reputation in the locker room. Players and coaches love him. He's the anti-Lito Sheppard. Sheldon has been on the market for a month. John Harbaugh, Ron Rivera, Leslie Frazier, and Steve Spagnuolo all coached or were involved with Sheldon while here. 3 of those guys need a CB. Rivera might, depending on what they think of Cason. Did any of them make a move? No. Sheldon went to the Browns for a 4th and 5th, hardly a king's ransom. Cleveland was desperate and that is why they made the deal. I'm not trying to insult Sheldon and say he's a bad player, but he's a band-aid...an old and expensive band-aid.

Should we have made the move without more of an ideal solution in place? That would have been nice, but you can't always do things like that. Remember, Sheldon was taken in the 2nd. This is a deep group of CBs. We can get our guy in the 1st or 2nd round for sure. We also have the pick in the early 3rd round.

The Eagles had targeted some CBs last year. The Redskins and Vikings took the players we really wanted. The Eagles didn't panic. They traded for Hobbs and decided to go get a CB in the 2010 draft. This is a much better crop of players to choose from.

This move could blow up in our face. I absolutely acknowledge that. Sheldon could play for 3 or 4 more years. Our side of things could fall completely apart. I have no problems with what the Eagles did. We needed to get better at CB. Keeping Sheldon would have meant at best status quo, plus some aging. If we can get the right young guy in there, we could be just as good. Remember, we're not replacing 2009 Sheldon, but 2010 Sheldon. We don't know what level he'll play at. Remember how quickly Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor went from outstanding to pedestrian? Simply put, it sucks when star players and fan favorites start to show their age. That's a side of sports we all hate.

HALL BALL

I will watch some tape of Alex Hall and post notes. Haven't had a chance to do that yet. PE.com reports that he will play SAM for us. He can also be a situational rusher. He did have 3 sacks back in 2008. Hall's biggest advocate in Cleveland was a guy named...Phil Savage. He was GM at the time. He's now a draft advisor for us. You can bet Howie Roseman talked to Phil about Hall and what kind of player he is.
___

Trade Done

2010-04-02T12:32:00.000-04:00

***

Sheldon Brown and Chris Gocong have been traded to the Cleveland Browns for a 4th round pick, a 5th round pick, and LB/DE Alex Hall.

That isn't a huge bounty for a pair of starting defensive players. Contracts played a big part in this. We all love Sheldon for everything he's done in his career as an Eagle. Unfortunately he wants a big pay raise. One of the delays in this deal getting pushed back 7 to 10 days is Sheldon's demands. The Browns had to figure out how much they're willing to pay a CB who lacks ideal size, ideal speed, and just turned 31. That generally isn't a player you want to throw money at. Gocong is a RFA. They need to figure out what they want to do with him.

I was really hoping to net a 3rd round pick from this deal, but I'm hearing the Eagles really wanted Hall. He is 6'5, 250 and they want him to work in at the SAM spot. We needed depth there with Gocong on the way out. I'll need to watch tape to give you specifics about Hall. He had a good rookie year, collecting 3 sacks and a pair of FFs in 2008. He got lost in the shuffle last year and didn't play as much. He's talented, but will need some work.

Essentially the trade is Gocong for Hall and Sheldon for a 4th and 5th. The value isn't great, but most teams are being stingy with picks this year. This is a real good draft class and no one wants to give up good picks if they can help. I am glad we added a 4th and 5th to what we had. We've now got some good ammunition to work with on draft weekend.

1st
2nd
3rd
3rd
4th
4th
5th
6th
7th
7th

I know there are some rumors about the Eagles being interested in OG Rob Sims, but I can't get that confirmed from any Eagles sources. For now, I'm not buying those rumors as legit. I'll keep checking and let you know if I stumble across new info.
___

Some OL Talk

2010-04-01T17:10:00.000-04:00

***

Here is the current depth chart:

LT - Jason Peters .......... King Dunlap
LG - Todd Herremans ... Mike McGlynn
OC - Nick Cole ............ Jamaal Jackson ....... Dallas Reynolds
RG - Stacy Andrews ..... Max Jean-Gilles
RT - Winston Justice ..... Fenuki Tupo

There are some questions and concerns with the group, but the Eagles like this O-line and think it has the potential to be pretty darn good.

Jason Peters was called "the worst LT in the NFL" by a website recently. They had some statistical data to back up their claim. That's all well and good, but clearly Peters isn't a bad player, let alone the worst. They used some stats that a guy would only accumulate if he in fact played the whole year. And obviously if Peters was a bad player he wouldn't have stayed on the field.

Jason was inconsistent in 2009. He had some terrific games and some downers. He does need to get better. Andy Reid refers to him as the best LT in football, but that's not true either. Jason has the potential to be among the best, but he has got some work to do. He has a full offseason with us this year. He knows the scheme and blocking techniques we use. He's healthy. There are no excuses right now. Jason needs to play at a high level in 2010.

Todd Herremans is a player the team has mixed feelings about. He looks like a Pro Bowl player at times, but must be more consistent. I think he could be a star for a team that ran the ball more than we do. Todd was sloppy down the stretch last year. I hope to see him break through this year and play well the whole season.

Nick Cole is the front runner for C. He didn't play well there in the final couple of games, but I think a whole offseason spent practicing in the middle will make a huge difference. Playing C for us is different than other teams. We ask the C to do a lot. That's one of the reasons we won't be taking Maurkice Pouncey at #24. Taking that guy and throwing him in as our starter just isn't the way we do things. The Eagles like someone to come in and learn the scheme so that he can handle blitz calls and line adjustments. We throw a lot of passes. We do a lot of shotgun. We run a lot of screens. All of those things put added pressure on the C.

Nick will be challenged for the job by Mike McGlynn. I listed him at G on the depth chart, but Mike will get a chance to compete for the C spot. He's had a quiet 2 years, but has learned well and is now ready to show what he can do.

Stacy Andrews should be light years better than 2009. He's healthy and in good shape (334 pounds). He knows the offense and the blocking scheme. He will have a full spring and summer of reps. Expect him to look like a completely changed man this year. I'm not telling you he'll be a Pro Bowl type, but he should be a solid starter, or better.

The question with Winston is how good he can be. He made giant strides last year. Can he get even better now that he's got experience and confidence? Maybe. I don't want to falsely build up expectations that he can develop into a force at RT. Winston's track record is so weird that I'll be happy to see him as an effective starter in consecutive seasons. Winston is still a young guy. The light went on for him last year. I hope he's able to take things up a notch, but I'm just not sure that I should expect that to happen. There isn't a clear line of progress and development with him.

The backups are a mixed bag. Dunlap has done enough to make you think he could still turn into a player, but I don't trust him. We need a LT to challenge him for the backup spot. Dallas Reynolds did some good things last summer. I think he's a better player than the average fan realizes. I've never been a fan of Max. He was an underachiever at UGA and is the same type guy here. Tupo is an interesting guy. He spent the year on IR so that meant no practice time. He was still able to sit in on film sessions and classroom stuff. He should know the playbook inside out and be ready to show what he can do. Tupo could be a backup at G and T.

We need a backup who can play LT. The guy should be versatile, though. Peters and Justice are capable of starting for the next 4-5 years. We don't need anyone at C, unless he's a clear upgrade over what we have. The draft class is weak so I think we'll stick with what we have. I'd love a mid to late round player brought in to challenge Max for a backup G spot. Or we could add another OT and make Tupo's primary position G. We need help with depth on the O-line, but we do have some good pieces in place. Injuries really hurt in 2009. We also struggled with all the change. Too much shuffling and too many guys new to our offense.

I know I've talked about Mike Iupati quite a bit. He has special potential. If he's on the board at 24 that could be a guy we grab and find a spot for. You never want to pass on talent if you can help it. Also, I say this every year, but it bears repeating. We don't like pure Gs or Cs. We prefer to take guys that played OT and move them inside. John Welbourn, Hank Fraley, Jamaal Jackson, Todd H., Shawn Andrews, Nick Cole, and Mike McGlynn all played OT in college. Most played LT. Keep this in mind as we talk about prospects.

ANSWERS

RE: Alex Brown

I've not heard a thing about him as a target. I think the Eagles would like to add a young DE to the mix.

RE: LB Eric Norwood

I've got notes to post on him for ScoutsNotebook. Check there on Thursday evening.

RE: Shaun Rogers

I've wondered if he could be a player the Eagles might target to add to the DT mix. He's huge, but also quick and disruptive. Those guys aren't easy to find. He has character issues, but has also played on some terrible teams. That has to affect a guy. Shaun just go arrested today for a gun incident at the airport, but I think that is more stupidity than any type of violence type issues. He was caught with a loaded gun in a bag. He says he forgot it was there and I can believe that.

RE: Earl Thomas / FS

Eric Berry and Earl are 1 and 2. Big drop-off after that. I think Nate Allen is 3. I see him going in the early 2nd. Eric and Earl are special. Nate and the rest of the S prospects are good, but each has some question marks.

RE: hindsight on QB situation

The Eagles may have misplayed the Mike Vick situation. He has too much baggage to demand a high price. You have to negotiate differently with him than McNabb. I really can't comment on Donovan until a deal goes down or doesn't go down. If we land a high price, then they did things right.

This is a complex situation. Warren Moon is all up in arms about the way we handled it. Gimme a break. The minute we tell Donovan he's out of here and start aggressively shopping him the price drops. Teams know we have to move him. As dumb as it sounds, you have to play the "He's our #1 QB" card and act like there is a plan for keeping him. That puts the pressure on teams to pry him away from you.

The Eagles are catching a lot of flak right now, but that's because people don't know what is happening. If the deal isn't going down it must be because Howie Roseman is an idiot and Andy Reid lost control of the team, right? Gimme a break. Roseman and Reid are talking to teams. They are figuring out what is best for us. Trading Donovan is complicated. He's a star, but an older one in the final year of his deal. This is a deep draft. People don't want to give up picks.

My calendar says April 1st. If Donovan is here on May 1st then I will probably change my tune and say that Howie and Andy did screw up. Let's see what happens. There is more going on behind the scenes than people know.

RE: Gocong to CLE

This trade has been talked about for a few weeks. It could go down anyday or drag on for a while. I wonder if we're shopping Chris with McNabb as a package for some teams. The Browns aren't in the McNabb hunt anymore. Chris is being shopped.

RE: Sheldon

I am not sure what teams are interested in him. I think he's worth a 3rd round pick. I wonder if CLE might not take a look. They could use CB help. The Texans could also use help at CB. I haven't heard a word about them dealing with anyone, but that could change.

RE: The Unit

I never watched the show when it was on CBS despite the fact I loved Shawn Ryan's work on The Shield and that I think David Mamet is a genius. I am a huge fan of his style of dialogue. The Unit has a simplified version. It isn't as repetitive as most Mamet stuff, but has the same tone and style of delivery. The show airs on Sleuth Network on Mondays and Saturday mornings. I'm absolutely in love with the show. Dennis Haysbert is brilliant as Master Sargent Jonas Blane. Any time a military show is on broadcast TV there will be some cheesy moments and awkward action sequences, but I'm more interested in the characters and their interactions than anything else. Very good writing and acting.
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Couple of Draft Thoughts

2010-04-01T10:12:00.000-04:00

***

I wrote a short piece on some prospects for PE.com.

--Link--

I'll be putting up another post here in a few hours. I'll also answer some questions from the last set of comments. Lots of good discussions going on.
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The Chosen Position

2010-03-30T16:26:00.000-04:00

***

I wrote about Moise Fokou at SAM for PE.com.

--Link--

MCNABB MUST GO?

There are some people who now say that McNabb has to be dealt. There is no going back. In as sense, I agree. When the team and players have to deal with the Philly media you are asking for trouble by having a delicate, but complex QB situation. The Eagles should aggressively seek a deal for McNabb. They need to be careful about trying to get max value in this situation. The best solution for everyone involved is a trade.

That said...you cannot give him away. Get a good offer. Franchise QBs are too valuable. This is a game of chicken and you must be willing to lose in order to really win. Favre could always flip on the Vikes in July. What happens if Drew Brees or Peyton Manning gets hurt in TC with no legit backup? What if Matt Leinart and Derek Anderson are god awful for the Cards? And so on. You can trade McNabb prior to the draft. You can do it in June, July, August, or even September.

We all want this situation resolved ASAP. I think we're all tired of talking about it and thinking about it. This just isn't a situation that we control, in a manner of speaking. We must have a good offer. If not, then holding onto McNabb is the prudent thing to do, despite the media circus that would ensue.

Before everyone goes to jump off the roof at the notion of this thing dragging on or not happening at all...relax. The Raiders are talking to the Eagles. Trust me on that. There are multiple team involved and they all legitimately want McNabb. The teams are making plans at this point. The only point in dealing for McNabb is if you have some pieces in place and a good plan on how to use him. Teams are trying to come up with a good draft strategy. Can they deal a 1st to us and still get a LT in the 2nd round? Can they find a WR in the 3rd? Is there a young QB to develop in the mid rounds? And so on.

I really think that a trade will go down and it is just a matter of time. Let's not get too fired up on what to do if McNabb returns until that is a pertinent scenario. Focus on something relevant...like what Kevin Kolb will say when he's giving his HOF acceptance speech.

COMMENTS / ANSWERS

RE: Raiders LBs as targets

Kirk Morrison is a MLB. I don't see him being a WLB target for us. Thomas Howard? More of a finesse guy, but he is a good athlete with coverage skills. I would be interested. The catch is that he's a RFA and we'd have to make some plans to sign him to an extension. What kind of salary demands is he going to have? If reasonable, then I'm interested. If he's looking for a mega-deal...he isn't worth it.

RE: Asante Samuel

He is not on the trade block. Asante is simply spending time with his kids. He will be an Eagle in 2010.

RE: ProFootballTalk

It is one of my favorite sites to visit and it is the very first thing I click on in the morning and the last thing I click on at night. Great site. Mike Florio does a terrific job of providing all kinds of info. However...the key part of his site is called "The Rumor Mill" for a reason. It is rumors. Conjecture. Hearsay. Florio at time gets sloppy by reporting some nuggets of info that don't make sense. You do have to understand that he's not an Eagles fan. He doesn't know the ins and outs of our team. Mike also has lousy sources in Philly. He actually seems to think Sal Paolantonio knows the Eagles and has a feel for things. Mike has great sources in certain towns, not so in others. Don't focus too much on what he says about the Eagles.

RE: Eric Berry

I've asked around to see if the Eagles are interested or just curious. No answers yet. I'm sure they like him. The question is whether they covet him and will do whatever it takes to get him. Personally I think we send Jonas Blane and his team into Tennessee to extract Eric and bring him to Philly where he will be free to live a life of religious fulfillment. I'll let you guys know if I get wind that the Eagles are really hot for Berry. Trust me. I'd be like a kid in a candy store if I got that news.

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Monday Thoughts

2010-03-29T22:58:00.001-04:00

***

Sorry for the late update. Busy day. I did a lot of checking, but didn't come up with many good answers. With Reid and Banner out of the office* there isn't much going on in terms of negotiations. The rumor mill is in full force. The feeling in NFL circles is that the Raiders are still the team to beat. I'm still hearing that Jacksonville and Buffalo are in the mix. No real updates on offers. The same names are still being thrown around. I'll keep checking and will let you know when I get wind of something new or really interesting.

* UPDATE --- Banner / Reid might be back in Philly by now.

ANSWERING QUESTIONS

RE: 1-gap / 2-gap

There is still a lot of confusion on this issue. Adam Caplan continues to say we're a 1-gap team and have always been one. I think he is confused on this issue. Dave Spadaro is going to interview Sean McDermott on this issue at some point.

RE: depth at RDE

Juqua Parker becomes the top backup on both sides. We have Abiamiri, who is recovering from knee surgery, to play on the left side. There is a hole to be filled in the draft. There is always the possibility of adding a veteran FA. I don't think we'll go this route, but it will depend on how the draft goes. I'll post a list of mid-round targets in a day or two. We all know the names at the top of the draft.

RE: timing of QB trade

I think the Eagles would like to get something done in the next 10-14 days. The key is the other teams. They have to put the right offer on the table. As soon as that happens, the deal can go down.

RE: Berry early / Kyle at 24?

That is a distinct possibility. We allowed 27 TD passes last year. That is completely unacceptable. The pass rush wasn't great, but we had serious coverage issues. We're not one player away from fixing this. We could easily go DB-DB in the 1st with a trade or DB-DB in the first couple of rounds without a trade.

RE: Daniel Teo'Nesheim

There is a lot to like, but he's not a great pass rusher. He was real athletic at the Combine, but that doesn't show up on game tape. Good role player, but I see him more as a LDE than a pass rusher on the right side.

RE: compensation

I think a lot of people will be surprised with what we get when the deal goes down. There will be no yard sales with our franchise QB. He stays or we get a good deal.
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Draft Talk

2010-03-27T14:26:00.000-04:00

***

It is a quiet Saturday so I thought we'd talk a little NFL draft. I'm just going to address various players and/or topics.

* Top 10 targets --- It the Eagles do somehow land a high pick, who are we going after? S Eric Berry is the obvious answer. Macho, Marlin, and Demps notwithstanding, we do have a hole at FS. Berry is a great prospect. The Eagles may have some other ideas. We could also go after:

DT Dan Williams
DE Derrick Morgan
CB Joe Haden
FS Earl Thomas

Williams would be brought here to give us a big, athletic DT. Morgan is a good pass rusher who has excellent potential. Haden is the top CB. Thomas is a rare ballhawk.

Forget about Rolando McClain. That won't happen. The Eagles love Stewart Bradley...at MLB. There is virtually no chance of moving him. A wildcard target could be OL Mike Iupati.

Back to Berry for a second. The Eagles are bringing him to Philly for a visit. This could be a sign of significant interest. If so, the Eagles could try to move up after him even if the McNabb trade doesn't help us with resources. One of the reasons you spend a lot of time with certain guys is to find out just how much you like them. Is this a guy we covet and go after even with a high price tag? This is a deep draft. If you are going to use up multiple resources on a player he better be someone you think is absolutely worth the price.

* WLB --- We all are curious about LB. Moise Fokou will be the starter at SAM. Stew is the man in the middle. Akeem Jordan has the lead at WIL, but I've heard that the team would ideally like him to be the backup. Reid said at his breakfast that Joe Mays was the backup inside and that Gaither would be the backup WIL. The team must really feel that the light went on for Mays last year with his development on STs. He was terrific for us. Gaither is coming off an injury and can't be counted on. We need a WIL.

My preference is Sean Lee of Penn State. He played inside and outside at PSU. He is a physical player with good instincts. He has no problem with shedding blocks. Sean isn't a great athlete, but he's good enough. I also like Navorro Bowman of PSU. I don't think we'll spend pick 24 on a LB so forget about Weatherspoon and Washington. I'm still watching tape on Perry Riley of LSU and Dekoda Watson of FSU.

* CJ Spiller --- Is there a chance the Eagles could take him, whether trading up or if he somehow slides? I haven't heard a word about whether the Eagles have any interest. Spiller is our type of RB. He is a big play guy with tremendous receiving skills. He's also a dynamic return specialist. Back in 2006 the Eagles had Reggie Bush #1 on the overall draft board. Spiller is a similar player. CJ is the better straight-line runner. Bush was a more dynamic guy. His moves had moves. It would be hard to pass on a talent like Spiller, but that would also be a big investment for a team that doesn't run the ball enough and has a couple of RBs already in place. I certainly wouldn't be mad at them for taking Spiller. I think CJ is a tremendous player. Just don't count on that happening.

* Targets at 24 --- Tom Heckert always said the Eagles liked to have 5 names in place when their pick was coming up. Sometimes there would be an obvious choice, but other times guys had similar grades and there might be some discussion. We're still weeks away, but here is my preliminary list of 5 names for pick 24:

CB Kyle Wilson
OG Mike Iupati
DE Jerry Hughes
DE Brandon Graham
FS Earl Thomas

Wilson is the only CB I think that will be available and is worth the pick. Iupati might be available at 24. He's the kind of big, dominant run blocker we love to grab and then turn into a pass blocker. Hughes is a guy that I can't get a read on. Will he go in the Top 20 or last to the 2nd round? I like Jerry a lot and think he'd be a good target for us. Graham doesn't seem likely to make it to 24, but if he does we could use a pass rusher like him coming off the bench. I feel pretty certain that Earl Thomas will be long gone by 24, but there is a hint of doubt. He's not a strong tackler. He only played 2 years. The draft is pretty deep at Safety so teams may pass on him and focus on the lines. There is still a bias against Safeties by NFL coaches, GMs and scouts. We'll see if that changes this year.

Back to the grindstone now. I've got to watch more tape so that I can find us some good mid and late round targets.
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No New News

2010-03-26T03:56:00.000-04:00

***

I don't have an update at this point. I'm assuming that negotiations are ongoing. The Eagles have been talking to multiple teams. You have picks and possibly multiple players involved. This quickly becomes a complicated scenario. One of the keys is that one or more players will need to talk to their new team about a contract extension or a raise. As much as we all want this over now, we have to be patient. There are a lot of moving parts to the deals being looked at.

Let's talk about a few things. ProFootballTalk had several posts on the McNabb situation. One report they posted had us sending McNabb and Asante Samuel to the Raiders for CB Nnamdi Asomugha. Don't worry. That won't happen. I don't doubt that someone told Mike Florio this was on the table. All that means is that the Raiders said it as one of their offers. The Eagles wouldn't touch a move like that. Now, Sheldon Brown and McNabb for Asomugha? That is a different story. That could be talked about. I haven't heard that as a definite proposal. I'm simply speculating.

PFT also talked about an AP report that the Eagles were requiring at least a top 42 pick. I don't doubt this is true. PFT focused on the fact that the article involved picks as low as 42. Their conclusion was that the Eagles weren't getting 1st round offers and would have to settle for a 2nd round pick. The actual AP article got the key point right. The Eagles will only accept a pick in the 2nd round if the other teams is also adding veteran players to the deal. There is no way that McNabb is dealt straight up for a 2nd round pick.

I'm still hearing that teams are willing to give up 1st round picks. I could be getting bad information, but I trust the sources. Hopefully we'll get a deal done soon and we can find out who really knew what was going on. As Tom Petty said, the waiting is the hardest part.

33 TALK

A lot of people have made one big false conclusion regarding Andy Reid and the McNabb trade. He was talking to reporters at the coaches breakfast the other day when someone asked him about the new draft format. Big Red said that the new set-up is going to be interesting. He said that he'd love to have pick 33. That is the first pick of the 2nd round. The 1st round is Thursday night. Whoever has pick 33 then gets a whole day to look at the situation. They can shop the pick. They can rshuffle the board if they want. They can make a pro move to fill a hole and then draft some player who has slid out of the 1st round. There are lots of options. This is why Reid said he wanted pick 33.

All kinds of people assumed that Andy said this because he wanted the Rams #33 pick in a McNabb trade. No. Andy was giving a generic answer about the format.

BERRY IS GOD

Eric Berry is my favorite player in the upcoming draft class. He was a star Safety at the University of Tennessee. He's expected to be a Top 10 pick. The Eagles are bringing him in for a visit prior to the draft. Great news, right? Sort of.

The Eagles are arguably the most thorough team in the league when it comes to pre-draft preparation. They look under every rock in hopes of finding a hidden gem. The Eagles will bring some guys to Philly that don't always make sense. They bring in underclassmen to get a better feel for them. Scouts spend all summer and fall studying Senior prospects. Underclassmen don't get really looked at until they declare in January. Berry is a player I'm sure the Eagles like, but don't read too much into the visit. The Eagles are trying to figure out how much they like him. Is he worth trading up for? How big a price should we be willing to pay?

The Eagles also use visits to Philly as a smokescreen. They know that other teams around the league track who goes where. The Eagles bring in a few guys every year that they have no interest in. Zero. Guys not on the draft board at all. The goal is to make the other 31 teams unsure about what we really want to do.

If we do land a Top 10 pick in a trade, the Eagles had better not pass on Eric Berry if he's available. I'm prepared to lead the Eagles Fan Militia to storm the gates of the NovaCare Complex. Hopefully bringing Eric to Philly is a sign of genuine interest and not just a smokescreen. Berry would be an ideal FS for us.
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Oakland in the Lead

2010-03-25T16:59:00.000-04:00

***

The latest reports I'm getting are that the Raiders are the frontrunners. ProFootballTalk is saying the same thing. The Jaguars remain interested, but it seems as if the Raiders are being more aggressive with their offer. I don't have any firm details, but the 8th overall pick in the 2010 draft is being talked about. Jacksonville may try to come up with a counter-offer, but it doesn't seem like they want to get into a bidding war.

The Buffalo Bills were the primary focus in yesterday's talks. I don't know what is happening with them. Maybe McNabb refused to sign an extension. Maybe the Bills and Eagles couldn't agree on compensation. I don't have good info on this angle right now. Don't count Buffalo out, but they are no longer in the lead.

As for Donovan going to the Raiders...this move makes some sense when you think about it. They have a pair of talented RBs in Darren McFadden and Michael Bush. They have a good TE in Zach Miller. They have 3 talented young WRs - Chaz Schilens, Louis Murphy, and Darrius Heyward-Bey. DHB could turn out to be a Sidney Rice type player with McNabb throwing him the ball instead of Bruce Gradkowski or JaMarcus Russell.

Also, wearing the Silver and Black doesn't mean much to younger people, but those of us who watched football in the 70s and 80s loved the Raiders. They won games, played a wild brand of football, and were a lot of fun to watch. Being a Raider still means something to people over the age of 30. Since 2003 the organization has fallen on hard times. Adding a Pro Bowl QB might be a great way to change that.

I think McNabb might be more open to going to Oakland than many people think. It would give him a great opportunity to prove how good he can be. Kurt Warner solidified himself as a Hall of Fame player by leading the Cardinals to consecutive division titles and the Super Bowl. McNabb could do a similar thing if he could restore the Raiders to glory.

Stay tuned.
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McNabb Talks Getting Serious

2010-03-25T03:02:00.000-04:00

***

Here's the latest on the QB situation. The Eagles are talking to 3 teams. Buffalo, Oakland, and Jacksonville have all made serious inquiries into trading for McNabb. The Eagles are trying to see who will make the best offer. All 3 teams have shown some willingness to deal their 1st round pick. There is a lot of talking going on. The Eagles are also exploring scenarios where a lesser pick and veteran player would be the compensation.

This is all good news. The Bills, Raiders, and Jags are aware of each others interest. The situation has gone from the Eagles hoping for a suitor to the Eagles being able to negotiate with multiple teams. I don't think anyone is going to put together a blockbuster offer. While all 3 teams are interested, none of them "must get" McNabb. The Bills need a QB, but just got a new coach and know that 2010 isn't likely to be their year. The Raiders are growing weary of JaMarcus Russell, but Al Davis might not be willing to completely give up on him yet. The Jags have a solid QB in David Garrard. They would make the deal in order to add a marquee name improve the QB situation. They are open to dealing their pick in part because they've had such miserable luck with recent 1st rounders.

This situation is pretty complicated. The Eagles have to settle on an offer from one of the teams. Then that team will certainly want to talk to McNabb to see what he thinks about playing there and signing an extension. His contract does run out at the end of 2010. There have been reports that Donovan won't sign with some of these teams. I'm not so sure. He doesn't have a lot of bargaining power right now. If one of those teams makes the right contract offer that may be good enough.

What kind of a timeline are we looking at? Believe it or not, this could all get done in the next day or two. Or it could drag on for a couple of weeks. The sooner the better, obviously. Even McNabb said that. Nothing good happens from letting this situation linger.

As encouraged as many of us are by the last 24 hours, there is still stuff to be nervous about. The Eagles had a similar situation with Corey Simon that ended up in disaster. They had a good offer from the Ravens, but Corey's contract demands were too much. Same thing with Lito. The Eagles had worked out a good deal, but then Lito made his contract demands and that deal fell apart. The Eagles need to be careful about trying to hold out for the best possible offer. If things go too long that can drive teams out of the negotiations and then all it takes is McNabb being difficult to completely wreck the situation. There is a big difference this time around. McNabb is still a good player. Lito and Corey were inconsistent players who focused more on money than anything else. Plus, McNabb is a quality available QB in a year when there isn't much to choose from.

Be patient, but you can be optimistic. Things are heating up and heading in the right direction.
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QB Update

2010-03-24T17:57:00.000-04:00

***

I'm hearing that something could be going on with the Bills. The info comes from a new source so I don't know how well connected he is. He feels strongly that the Bills are going to land McNabb for a few reasons. First, they have very little at QB. Trent Edwards flat-lined after suffering a nasty concussion vs Arizona in 2008. Yes, 2008. Despite this fact, the Bills did not try to sign any free agent QB. They didn't try to trade for anyone. Not a peep. Either they love Jimmy Clausen at pick 9, think that Tim Tebow is the answer in the 2nd round, or they have something else lined up. McNabb would make sense.

The Bills have not made the playoffs since the Music City Miracle. That was back in the 1999 season. Owner Ralph Wilson is in his 90s and is desperate to see the team get back to winning. Finally, while Bills fans are as rabid as any in the league, the organization has to fight the battle of people becoming apathetic about the team. They signed TO last year partially for the allure he brings and the extra media attention. McNabb would give them immediate star power and would help with maintaining good will with the fanbase. The team is coming off another losing year. The team hired Buddy Nix as GM and Chan Gailey as coach. Neither guy is "exciting". Buffalo is in the same division as Bill Belichick, the Tuna, and Rex Ryan. The Bills might feel the need to do something in order to make the fans feel like the organization truly is committed to winning.

What kind of trade could we be looking at? I guarantee you that pick #9 is being talked about. I do wonder if we would settle for their 2nd round pick if the Bills included FS Jairus Byrd, who had 9 INTs as a rookie in 2009 and looks like a star in the making. Stay tuned...

OTHER TEAMS?

There is a ton of talk about the Rams. I just don't buy it. Pick 33? The Eagles want more. The Rams could toss in the rights to O.J. Atogwe, but he doesn't require compensation as it is. I think STL is going to take Sam Bradford with the #1 overall pick. Adding him and McNabb makes some sense, but probably isn't likely.

Oakland is a wildcard. I'm looking into that situation, but don't have anything to pass on right now. Owner Al Davis will do anything it takes to get a player he wants. We could talk to them about pick #8 or we could see if Namdi Asomugha is available in a deal.
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Big Red Opens Up

2010-03-24T14:58:00.000-04:00

***

The big news of the day is Andy Reid finally admitting (be brave, Big Red...be brave!) that our QBs just might be available in a trade. No confirmation from him on whether water is wet or if the Pope wears a funny hat. All jokes aside, this is a big step.

Publicly admitting that the team is "entertaining offers" doesn't mean that a deal is imminent or even that a deal is guaranteed to happen. It does spare us the horror that Andy was in denial and genuinely expected all 3 QBs to return. He still says that is possible, but it no longer seems like his main goal. Thankfully.

You can read the full intereview in the Daily News blog here.

Now that Reid has acknowledged that a trade is real and being talked about we have to jump on the rumor mill and deal with all kinds of crazy reports.

Ashley Fox of the Inquirer has an article up that has some interesting nuggets. She says one "source with ties to the team" thinks we'll deal Kolb and keep McNabb. My reaction? No way. There is virtually no chance that happens. The Eagles did talk to at least one team about Kolb. They told the other team what the asking price is and the conversation quickly shifted over to McNabb. Nobody wants to give up a pair of 1st round picks for Kolb.

There are a few people reporting that the Eagles have lowered their asking price and now will settle for less than a 1st rounder. I'm highly skeptical of this. I doesn't jibe with what I've heard and some of the other offers that the Eagles have already had thrown their way. The Eagles asking price in one potential deal was a 1st and a 3rd round pick. Obviously compensation changes from team to team because of where the trade partner may fall in the draft. There is a huge difference in a Top 10 pick and a pick in the late 20s or early 30s.

Comcast has a good report up. Derrick Gunn heard from one source that the Eagles would settle for as little as a 3rd round pick. Impossible. Reid will keep Donovan another year before he deals him for that low an offer.

Reid also acknowledged that the team is getting trade offers for Sheldon Brown. I mentioned the other day that there was some likelihood to a deal involving him. I think it is a matter of who and when, not if.

FOR WHOM THE BELL PLAYS

RB Mike Bell is officially an Eagle. The Saints decided not to match his offer. I can say without hyperbole that we now have the deepest, most talented stable of running backs in the history of football. Give or take. I do like the addition of Bell and think he's what we need. The last thing I wanted was another scatback with great hands. We don't want to give Andy or Marty any extra reasons to throw the ball.

COMP PICKS

The NFL awarded us a pair of Compensatory picks in the 7th round. This isn't much to get excited about, but every pick helps in a deep draft. One reminder...Comp picks cannot be traded. We have to use them.

NICKEL DT

One good bit of info in the Reid interview is the fact that Trevor Laws will be given a chance to play DT in the Nickel/Dime defensive units. Darren Howard had that main role the last two years. He had a variety of guys play alongside him. I hated the fact that we didn't put Laws out there. He is the kind of upfield attacking DT that I want out there on 3rd/long. Laws is big and strong enough to play the run (draw plays), but has the quickness and penetrating ability to get in the backfield and be disruptive. Trevor has battled small injuries the last couple of years at Training Camp and they've slowed his progress. He needs to have a strong summer and take advantage of the opportunity in front of him.
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Gap Talk and Some Loose Ends

2010-03-22T17:00:00.000-04:00

***

Adam Caplan of Scout.com has opened up a can of confusion via Twitter. Someone asked about us cutting Darren Howard. Here was Caplan's response:

They need a one-gap disruptive DL that's younger. RT @bleedeaglesfan: @caplannfl Howard was not in a decline.

Later on that led to these Tweets:

Yep, Reid confirmed it. Actually asked him yesterday. 90% 1-gap. RT @NFLGoEagles: @caplannfl Sure about your one gap DT idea?

Nope, said they have been mostly one-gap. RT @eaglesnut: @caplannfl - Did Reid say the Eagles are going back to 1-gap?

Honestly, I'm not sure what to make of all this. Caplan is a pretty bright guy when it comes to football. I feel safe that he knows the difference in 1-gap and 2-gap. However, there are some real mixed areas being covered.

The initial question was about Darren Howard being cut. Darren played DT in the Nickel/Dime units. That group does play 1-gap. Our base defense is the group that would play 2-gap. Howard wasn't part of that group.

The key point then becomes what Caplan asked Reid. If he asked about finding a replacement for Howard that would be a 1-gap DT. That's what Darren was. If Caplan asked Reid about the base defense and was told that we played 90% 1-gap then I am highly confused. That wasn't the case in 2008. That group did play 2-gap. Watch the tape and you'll see it. Pete Jenkins was the D-line coach and that is his specialty.

Could there have been a change last year that I missed? Possible, I guess. The tape sure didn't look to me like we were playing 1-gap. Our guys weren't firing off the ball and trying to get penetration on a consistent basis. Bunk and Patt are more athletic than you might think. They would make more plays if allowed to attack upfield consistently.

We did play 1-gap for most of the Reid era. Maybe Caplan asked and Reid responded along those lines. The final possibility is that we'll be playing a 1-gap system in 2010 and there was just mis-communication about that.

I'm trying to find out a good answer, but haven't gotten anything concrete so far. I'll continue to check into this. Could be a really interesting change if we do play 1-gap in 2010. Trevor Laws would be a very happy man.

ANSWERS TO COMMENTS

RE: Fokou at SAM

That is where he played last year. That is where the Eagles want him. Moise wasn't physically overmatched last year. His mistakes were due to inexperience, not a lack of size or talent. He's now up to 236 pounds. That added bulk will help him anchor vs the run. He's still athletic enough to cover plenty of ground and be an effective pass defender.

RE: covering TEs

We've done that in a variety of ways the last few years. In 2008 we had Akeem Jordan and Quintin Mikell focus on TEs in the last 6 or 8 games. They did a good job and the defense was terrific. In 2009 we struggled mightily until Will Witherspoon was given that task. He did a good job on TEs. I'm not sure how McDermott wants to handle them this year.

RE: Sheldon

I love what he's done for the Eagles in his time here, but there is a real strong chance he's played his last game for us. He was a good soldier last year and didn't complain publicly, but he wants more money and the Eagles just don't think he's worth it. The best thing for both sides is probably to part ways. We'll get younger at RCB and he might get someone to pony up some extra dough. No matter what, Sheldon wasn't going to be here long. He's a bit short, lacks ideal speed, and is on the wrong side of 30. At some point he'll go over the cliff. I'd love to move him to FS, but Sheldon is a proud man and I don't think he wants to do that.

RE: Plan B at SAM?

If the team trades Gocong you can bet they'll add someone in the draft for depth. We all love AJ Edds from Iowa. He's a very talented guy with size and coverage ability.

RE: McNabb to SF

I've sniffed around on this issue, but I've always heard that Mike Singletary was truly committed to Alex Smith as his QB. I think SF is an ideal spot for McNabb and he's just what that team needs. They have a good D, but scoring points is a major challenge. The NFC West is wide open right now. Why not make the deal and make a push for the playoffs? I haven't heard anything that makes me think a deal is likely. My fingers are crossed, though.

RE: Jim Johnson adjusting in division games / in the season

There are various reasons why the defense went down hill and McDermott's lack of experience I'm sure didn't help matters. Still, the biggest problems we had were personnel issues. Go back and watch the games. There was poor tackling. Players took bad angles and missed assignments. And on and on and on. The struggles were more about the guys on the field than the man on the sideline. I wish that wasn't true. It would be easier to train a coach than replace players.

RE: Jerry Hughes at LB?

The Eagles could try to use him ala Brian Orakpo. Hughes is shorter, but has a similar build. He is a terrific athlete. This is an idea that I'm sure the coaches and FO are talking about, even if it isn't likely.
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Offseason and What is Going On

2010-03-21T19:18:00.000-04:00

***

In 2008 the Eagles defense was sensational. They finished in the Top 5 in virtually every category and Top 3 in a lot of them. The stars played like stars and the role players did a terrific job as well. In 2009 the defense fell to 12th in yards allowed and 20th in points allowed. There was a real mixture of problems.

Before we talk about the problems, let's look at a trend

10
48
14
14
13
17
17
20
---
31
20
24
7
38
13
27
24
---
34

That is the point total allowed in the first 8 games, the second 8 games, and the playoffs. Notice how the numbers went up? Anything we can read into that?

We had some veteran players who either wore down or just weren't getting the job done. We had role players who had shone in '08 disappear down the stretch in '09.

* Chris Clemons started slow in 2008, but played well late in the year and got our hopes up that he was going to be a good player in 2009. That never happened. He was credited with only 4 solo tackles and 3 sacks this year.

* Joselio Hanson got off to a good start in '09. He picked off a pass and had 3 PBUs in the season opener. That was far and away his best game of the year. MmmBop was solid for the first 7 games, but then got suspended for a month. He returned and got hurt. At the end of the year he was a liability in coverage. Tony Romo was targeting him with regularity in the last 2 games.

* Will Witherspoon was great upon arrival. He had a sack, INT, and FF in his first game here. He ended the season with... 1 sack, 1 INT, and 1 FF. The playmaking ability disappeared instantly, for some odd reason. He did cover well throughout the year, but his run defense was very inconsistent. I'm not knocking the guy falsely since he's been cut. Go back and read my Game Reviews. Down the stretch I was writing "Up and down game" in regard to Will more often than not.

* Sean Jones never showed that he could handle playing FS. He wanted to come up and play in the box. The Eagles took a chance because of his potential, but it didn't work out.

* Chris Gocong was a 2-down run stuffer. He is good at that role. The problem is that he's only made small strides as a pass defender. He isn't terrible, but after 2 1/2 years of starting it is disappointing not to see more progress. The Eagles gave him some snaps at MLB. If he was versatile, that might make him worth keeping around. Chris was completely lost in the middle. One of the problems Chris had is that teams figured out the way to run on us was to go to a 3-WR set. That took Gocong and the DTs off the field. Draw plays out of the shotgun killed us. The team obviously feels that committing to a 2-down run stuffer isn't the smart way to go.

* Darren Howard is a tricky subject. You look and see 6.5 sacks and 2 FFs and think that he was a valuable reserve. 2 of those sacks came in the season opener. 2 came late in the year against the Giants. The rest of the year he was pretty quiet. The problem with Darren is that he's not a guy that gets regular pressure. Mike Mamula got good pressure on QBs, but had trouble getting sacks. Let's use a baseball analogy. Howard isn't a guy that hits mostly doubles, but gets the occasional homer. He is a guy that strikes out or hits a home run. The simple case against him is this...his sack total dropped from 10 to 65...he's about to turn 34 this fall...and he didn't have so much as one solo tackle in any of the games against Dallas. He's an aging player who's play is declining and who failed to show up in 3 huge losses to our biggest rival.

* Sheldon Brown played well early in the 2009 season. He got burned for the go-ahead TD in the first Dallas loss and that seemed to be the beginning of the end. He struggled the next week at SD. He hurt his hamstring and struggled at Chicago. Dallas ate him alive in the last couple of games. Multiple guys got the best of Sheldon. Sheldon was very up and down in the 2nd half of the season. Injuries hurt him to be sure. Still, he's going to turn 31. He wasn't a fast corner even in his younger days. Is Sheldon a top shelf CB when healthy or a player who will begin to decline? Playing well against a pedestrian passing attack like SF is fine, but we can't have a CB who struggles when we face a good passing attack (DAL, SD).

Sheldon and Joselio are the only players on this list who are still Eagles. The question is whether that is true at the end of this week, this spring, or this summer. At the very least, Hanson will be challenged for his spot. Brown is probably headed in a different direction. He wants a raise. That won't happen. I've heard rumblings that the Eagles will shop him around.

So what are the Eagles thinking? Why make these moves now?

The point is to find players you are committed to. The defense was very good in 2008 so the team brought back those guys for 2009. Things didn't work out so well. You decide who the building blocks are and then make that the foundation. For us that is the DTs, Trent Cole, Stewart Bradley, Asante Samuel, and Quintin Mikell. Moise Fokou and Darryl Tapp will join them as starters. We have other players to mix in with them: Juqua Parker, Antonio Dixon, Akeem Jordan, Macho Harris, Quintin Demps. There are still holes to fill.

The Eagles could have kept Spoon and Howard around, but simply didn't see either guy fitting in to the long term plans. Spoon only had a year left on his deal. Howard was a player on the decline. Keeping them around would have been the band-aid solution we talk about. Howard's role can be taken by Juqua and/or Victor Abiamiri this year. Both guys have played DT in the Nickel. VA actually does it quite well. WLB is still a mystery to me. I have to believe the Eagles have some plan in place.

There are still moves to be made. GM Howie Roseman was interviewed by PE.com this week and made mention that moves would take place between now and the draft. Dave Spadaro had this blurb in a recent column:

League meetings in Orlando straight ahead. This is the time when the talks really heat up and trades and deals are made. Why do I have the feeling that this week is going to be very, very interesting?

The moves could just be trades involving Gocong and Sheldon. That would likely net us some draft picks, which is a good thing with such a deep draft. Maybe the Eagles have been talking to teams about player-for-player swaps. Those aren't all that common in the NFL, but this is an odd year. I wish a QB move would happen, but don't hold your breath. I'm still hearing mixed things about what exactly is going on.

There are some pro targets we could still look at.

* S Donte Whitner
* S O.J. Atogwe

* DL Anthony Hargrove
* DL Jimmy Wilkerson

* LB Derrick Johnson
* LB Rocky McIntosh
* LB Nick Roach
* LB Clint Ingram
* LB Thomas Howard

* CB Richard Marshall
* CB Carlos Rogers

I've talked about many of these guys already. Some are UFAs and other RFAs. One of the things to keep in mind is that we might gain picks if we do trade Gocong or Sheldon. If so, we might turn around and use a pick to deal for an RFA. Say we get a 3rd rounder for Sheldon. Could we turn that into CB Richard Marshall or LB Derrick Johnson? That's an intriguing thought.

I haven't heard any good rumors about these players. This is pure speculation. I listed Hargrove and Wilkerson as DL because they are the kind of guys that came into the league as DEs, but have really made their mark as Nickel DTs. We just cut Darren Howard and that could possibly make them attractive targets. Each guy has issues and that may be enough to keep them off our wish list.

I didn't list any guys that play C or TE. It sounds like Nick Cole is going to get a chance to be the C. We also have a few other guys behind him with some potential. TE is a solid position in my mind. Brent Celek is a terrific young player. Cornelius Ingram is a player the team is excited about. He is coming off a torn ACL, but that happened last summer so he should be ready by May. The team is also optimistic about Martin Rucker. They like what they've seen in practice. The only problem I have with this group is that all 3 are pass catchers. I'd love to have a blocker or at least a blocker/catcher among the group. Alex Smith did well in that roll for us last year. There is a real deep group of TEs in the draft. We could find a blocker or big guy to challenge for a roster spot without having to use a high pick.

The Eagles may not like any of the players I listed above, due to their talent evaluation, baggage, or the compensation required to get them. Again, I'm just speculating. You can bet the Eagles are talking to the other 31 teams about all kinds of players. You want to feel teams out to see who is available and at what price. One guy that a lot of fans have asked me about is Browns ILB D'Qwell Jackson. I don't think he is going anywhere. Cleveland knows how good he is. Plus, we're set at MLB with Stewart Bradley. There is virtually no chance that Bradley is moved from the middle. A guy as talented as Jackson could move to WLB for us, but I don't think we're giving up a 1st for him and then moving him to a spot he's never played. I know the Eagles like to be creative, but not so much when 1st round picks are involved. One thing to keep in mind to the RFA situation...the compensation asking price for players may have been higher in early March. With so little action in the RFA market you may see teams lowering their demands as they realize that something is better than nothing.

I do think the Eagles will add a player or two between now and draft weekend, if for nothing other than depth/competition. The recent cuts have opened some spots on the roster.

These cuts are not about saving money. The Eagles would gladly pay Darren Howard if he was consistently disruptive. The Eagles would absolutely have kept Will Witherspoon if he was a playmaker in multiple games. Instead, the Eagles saw a pair of older players who didn't play well in consecutive losses to Dallas at the end of the year. You can argue that there is a youth movement going on. We have a strong defensive core in place. Let's surround them with ascending players or guys in their prime so that the defense can get back to championship level by 2011 or 2012.

I know some people think I'm being too optimistic in regard to Darryl Tapp. That's a possibility. He could turn out to be a lesser version of Juqua Parker. I don't think that is the case. The arguments against Tapp are the fact that he's coming off a 2.5 sack season and that Seattle was so willing to let him go.

The Seahawks would like to transition to a 3-4 defense. Pete Carroll obviously doesn't see Tapp as the guy he wants for OLB. Plus, that franchise is in the middle of rebuilding. Take the draft pick and go add a young player who is a better fit for the team. Tapp wasn't available because he was a lousy player or someone the 'Hawks were looking to dump.

As for his performance in 2008...Tapp was pushed back to being the #3 DE. The coaching staff had Patrick Kerney at LDE and 1st round pick Lawrence Jackson at RDE. The fact that Tapp was benched in favor of a 1st round pick hardly makes him unique. As for the notion of only having 2.5 sacks...ever hear of Derrick Burgess? He was our starting RDE for all of 2004 and had 2.5 sacks. He went to Oakland the next year and got to spend a lot of time at LDE and posted 16 sacks. Burgess was able to play a lot on the left side, which is where he's most comfortable. He had played RDE opposite of Kearse for us in '04 and struggled to beat LTs. Tapp is more natural at LDE. Am I saying he'll turn into Derrick Burgess? No way. I do think he can be a solid 8-sack guy on the left side. For some players there is a huge difference in playing LDE and RDE.

The return of Stewart Bradley to MLB will give the D a huge boost. He played very well in 2008, especially late in the year. Moise Fokou will have a whole offseason to practice at SAM. I know many are concerned about his size. He's up to 236 pounds already.

We do have holes at FS, WLB, and very possibly CB. Those areas must be addressed. Draft picks can contribute in the secondary. LB is more of a mystery. I'm just not sure what the Eagles want to do.

The offseason is 2 1/2 weeks old. Things started quiet, but we've seen the action pick up in the last 10 days. That trend could continue with some wheeling and dealing at the owners meetings. Stay tuned and keep your fingers crossed for some QB action.
___

Off You Go

2010-03-20T21:32:00.001-04:00

***

Back in April of 2004 some kid sent me a message on the Eagles Message Board. "What's going on? Who are we going to pick?" Here was my answer:

"Could be Shawn Andrews. He would fit the profile. Big OL. Dominant run blocker. He could be the RG or RT of the future. I have no sources. I just "read the tea leaves" and make my guesses. Again, let's keep this talk between us til Sat. afternoon."

Why the hell I wanted that kept a secret I have no idea. Everyone else was screaming for Steven Jackson. I would have looked kinda smart. Oh well. I also wondered if WR Roy Williams was a potential target. We had just landed TO so that likely would have been overkill, but coming off the 2003 title game loss to Carolina that might not have been a bad thing.

Back to Andrews. He was a dominant RT at Arkansas. He had some weight problems and that made a lot of people wonder if he could play on the edge or if he'd have to move inside to G. No matter what, he was so dominant that you felt like he was worth a pretty high pick. Here was a quick blurb I wrote on him prior to the draft:

Dominant drive blocker. The best I've seen in college football. Pass blocking will be a bit of an adventure, but this guy could be special in the right situation.

We traded up on draft day and took Shawn with the 16th overall pick. The next weekend was the post-draft mini-camp. Shawn was the starting RG by the end of that camp. He had a great spring and summer. We were all excited by our new stud O-lineman. He then broke his leg in the season opener with the Giants. That should have been an omen for us. Shawn missed the rest of the year.

He returned in 2005 and played pretty well. He was terrific in 2006 and looked like one of the best Guards in the entire league. Shawn and the O-line were dominant down the stretch with Garcia at QB and more of an emphasis on the run game.

The summer of 2007 is when the train started to go off the tracks. Shawn suffered a high ankle sprain. He then told the media that he feared it could be career threatening. Everyone wondered what the heck that meant. Careers rarely end due to an ankle injury. Shawn later said it was a joke and that he was just having fun with the media. Uhh, okay. I don't think any of us were concerned at the time, but in hindsight that is a huge red flag. Stalin and Chairman Mao would have been proud of the size of that red flag.

The next summer Shawn didn't show for Training Camp. I was told by a source that Reid was absolutely furious. He thought Shawn was holding out for more money. Reid let cooler heads prevail and we found out that Shawn was battling depression. The Eagles gave him space and were supportive, publicly and in the locker room. Everyone knew how good Shawn was and wanted to do anything to keep him around.

He was on the field for the first couple of games, but hurt his back against Dallas. Max Jean-Gilles replaced him. That was Shawn's last ever game as an Eagle. And it may be the end of his NFL career. The Eagles didn't put Shawn on IR immediately. They kept him part of the roster. Players on IR are treated differently than guys that are just injured, believe it or not. Someone still on the roster remains part of the team. Guys on IR are ghosts of Christmas past or future, but they don't exist in the current time continuum.

The Eagles hoped that keeping Shawn on the roster would keep his spirits up and that it would keep him interactive with his teammates. Camaraderie on a football team can have a major impact on some guys. Shawn's back didn't get better. The Eagles eventually put him on IR.

The 2009 offseason brought about new hope. Shawn talked a great game. He was going go move to RT and seemed fired up about being healthy and getting back on the field. All that positivity ended when Training Camp rolled around and he was once again hurt. The Eagles didn't hesitate to put him on IR this year.

The Shawn Andrews who was a dominant blocker in 2006 is long since gone. That guy seemed to enjoy football. He was very good at it. Something happened between then and now. Forget about the back and depression. There was a personality shift. Shawn decided that he wanted to be a "star", not just a football player. That is against the laws of the offensive line universe.

Linemen are allowed to have some personality. They are allowed to enjoy occasionally being in the limelight. Still, they must remember that they are first and foremost football players. And amongst players they are the ones who do the thankless dirty work. Most linemen not only know this but they love it. They wear that as a badge of honor. Not Shawn.

He was busy on YouTube and Twitter and any other media source that would let him get the word out about what was going on in his world. He was excited to talk about his rapping career or how loud his neighbors were when they had sex. Football was just a subject that got mixed in occasionally. There was no real passion for it.

An offensive linemen who's heart isn't in football is done. Done. You have to want to play. Being part of 50 to 70 car wrecks per game isn't something for people to approach casually. Being a blocker isn't easy. It isn't "fun" in the traditional sense of the word. You need to have a mean streak and a high tolerance for discomfort (pain just doesn't seem like the right word). Jon Runyan loved being a lineman. He played with a broken tailbone late in his career. Sitting down hurt, but he didn't miss a game. Jon's consecutive games streak meant a lot to him. That gave him the kind of pride and joy that apparently Shawn got from one of his own YouTube clips. Shawn is off in his own little world. As Captain Willard might say of the situation, "He broke from them, and then he broke from himself".

That is why I'm fine with the Eagles cutting Shawn. He's not an NFL guy who can't stay healthy (see Jerome McDougle for example). Shawn is a guy who loves being an NFL celebrity, but not an NFL player. He's not committed to the game. In my opinion (and that's all it is), the depression is partially due to the fact that he doesn't like football, but knows he needs it for the money and attention it brings him.

The best thing for Shawn to do is give up on the NFL and go be the quirky guy that he wants to be. There is nothing wrong with his desires. It just happens to be torturous to us Eagles fans because Shawn has Hall of Fame football ability. It does feel at times as if the Football Gods are out to get us. Why can't we put Nick Cole's personality in Shawn's body?

Letting go of Shawn was the right thing to do. Keeping him around was a distraction. Best to send him on his way and focus on players who are committed to playing and helping us win.

***

On Sunday I'll be answering some questions and talking about some possible player moves.
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