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I watched the Okla State / Texas tape last night. I was trying to see OSU Corner Perrish Cox, a possible Eagles target. Cox played okay. He was credited with 5 tackles and a PBU. Unfortunately he mainly played off the receiver. I was hoping to see him press and jam guys. Cox has good cover skills and looks like a 2nd round prospect. Might go in the 1st. One thing to note...he already has a couple of kids. The Eagles don't have any policies against that, but it is something to consider. I need to watch the OSU/UGA tape to see Cox go up against the Bulldogs stud WR.
I watched Earl Thomas as well. I swear this kid is going to drive me crazy. I feel like the little girl with the flower "He loves me. He loves me not." Instead I'm sitting there with a can of PBR "Draft Earl. Don't draft Earl." I'll let you know how that works out.
Earl had a very interesting play in the game. He lined up in the slot, off the WR. The receiver went inside, with Earl trailing. Earl stopped. He looked at the QB as he pivoted outside in one motion. He then jumped the route of the outside receiver, who was running a slant or some kind of inside route. It totally looked like Asante Samuel. I assume Earl had a Safety behind him to take on his receiver. You could tell Earl had done his homework and knew that route was coming. He looked incredibly fast and fluid on the play. Earl ran the pick back for a TD.
Do we want a FS with those kind of skills? Earl reminds me a great deal of Asante. Earl tackles better and is faster. I guarantee you some teams will look at him as a CB. Maybe us. I love his playmaking potential, but I do have concerns about him at FS. I know many of you would love a physical guy back there. Earl hits on occasion, but is much more ballhawk than hitter. If you had to label him as an enforcer he'd be somewhere between crossing guard and rookie cop. Dawk was an angry cop. Andre and Wes were Dirty Harry, Lone Wolf McQuade, and Bud White rolled into one.
NFL STUFF
I posted some general NFL offseason thoughts.
-Link-
ANSWERS
RE: Reshad Jones
I think Jones is a solid 2nd round prospect. He's not great in any area. 1st round prospects are usually special players or guys with tremendous potential. Jones is all around good, but isn't so compelling that he goes in the top 30-40 picks. Safeties don't go as early as other positions. That means that Jones could be available at our 2nd round spot, possibly even our first 3rd round pick. Remember now, I don't know that the Eagles are interested in him. I like Jones. We'll see if the team agrees with me.
RE: Hits and Misses
I've got something written on that that I need to dig up. I'll do that and post it.
RE: Joicque Bell
He didn't stand out the way I hoped. Nice D2 player, but not a guy that grabbed your attention. I don't know that he'll be an Eagles target.
RE: J'Marcus Webb
I liked what I saw of him at the Texas vs Nation AS game. He has good size and showed some pass blocking ability. I'm not sure he's athletic enough for LT in the NFL, but he could be a G/RT target for us for sure. I have at least one WTxA&M game tape. I'll watch and post some notes.
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Friday, February 19, 2010
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One other thing I wanted to ask you, Tommy: Remember Vernon Gholston and how he put up gaudy sack totals during his time in college? And then how he completely demolished the combine that year?
The Jets drafted him with a high pick, but so far, in two years, he's seemingly been a complete non-factor in the NFL. I mean, a guy with those kinds of college stats and measurables - how does he not have even the slightest impact?
Compare this to Brian Orakpo, who was also a workout warrior, and at least put up 10+ sacks his first year. How does somebody who was as dominant as Gholston in college and at the combine not at least get even ONE sack in two years in the NFL?
The only thing that can possibly explain his lack of production is some kind of off-field issue like lack of focus, drug problems, etc.
That, or he's being misused in the 3-4 scheme Ryan runs in New York. But even if he's more comfortable as a 4-3 DE, I find it hard to believe a strong defensive mind like Ryan couldn't find a way to utilize a talented specimen like Gholston in SOME manner. Could he indeed find success in a 4-3 as a DE, perhaps?
You have any insight on the Gholston issue?
Guys,
Would you draft an athlete who had kids? His priorities have to be different? While yes he's providing for his family, I can see him less likely to push his body because he'd want to be able to provide for them in the future.
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I can't remember where, but I read/saw some scout wouldn't draft certain guys for that reason. Wish I could find that link...
I can guarantee a high percentage of pro bowl players at all positions have kids. Don't think its a factor personally. If they aren't the product of sleeping around they're a sign of maturity if anything.
Something that hasn't really come up all that much,we could really really do with a backup OT. Unless they genuinely think Dunlap can play we're relying on moving a starting guard to replace any OT injuries, certainly not ideal. In a perfect scenario we have the Andrews brothers at RT and RG with Winston as a backup but the chances of that are slim to none.
I was checking out nfllabor.com, because they list all the FAs who have >6 years experiance and was just browsing names..I have a couple names I found intriguing, and would love your insight, as I don't scout them these players beyond a little research and word of mouth. There were some obvious names like Kampman, Peppers and Dansby.
I think Dunta Robinson could be worth looking at. Sheldon isn't getting any younger and Dunta could be a solid stopgap until we groom a younger corner. Another Texan is Chester Pitts. He's started every game there, and could provide some good depth along the line, maybe even challenge if Stacy doesn't work out.
Angelo Crowell is another name. I remember hearing his name in rumors before he signed with TB. I know he has some bad injury history, but if we could get him cheap, I'd do it. He is a playmaker when healthy. Another linebacker I don't know anything about is Pisa Tinoisamoa (sp). Would he fit in? He does have 7 career INTs.
Some other depth players, maybe if we don't sign a top flight DE, Ogunleye, Chester Taylor, Leigh Bodden and the journeyman, Jeff Zgnonina.
Yeah, the kids thing is a moot point to me. I'd look to see how his mentality changed when he became a father.
From personal experience... I found out my girlfriend was pregnant the summer before my senior year in high school. If anything, it made me more focused academically because I knew I was going to be scrutinized.
Did Cox respond in a similar fashion? Obviously he kept his head screwed on because he was able to excel at a NCAA level in a high profile conference. These are things that the coaches will be able to get a feel for when they talk to him at the Combine.
On the flip side, you have guys like Marcus Vick. He didn't have kids. Marcus drove to high school in an Escalade. He was already the big man on campus at Tech because of his name alone. His aunt was a city councilwoman. Look how Marcus turned out. Fortunately, he didn't have children to take care of.
I used to like Dunta Robinson, but his numbers aren't all that great. After having 6 INT's his rookie season, he hasn't topped 2. Is that a product of QB's avoiding his coverage or just a drop in productivity?
I don't know because I rarely watch the Texans.
Interesting note on Earl Thomas. Tommy, assuming we sign a DE in Free Agency (preferably Kampman) do you think the Eagles could possibly look at picking Thomas in the 1st and have him play CB, then look to add a more traditional safety in the 2nd/3rd round? Is this overkill? I don't remember seeing it very much this year, but I know in JJ's last year we ran some defensive sets with 3 safeties (I think Demps was the 3rd?) at different times. Thomas could be a hybrid CB/S/NB type player that Sean could use all over the field and provide depth/insurance at all positions. I guess it would also depend on what the team thinks of Demps and Macho going forward.
I'm just ready for the combine to start next week and for Free Agency to get here so we can get a little bit better of an idea of the direction the team is going to go this offseason.
Interesting thing I saw:
On NationalFootballPost.com they have a prospect ranking system, and in their rankings they have "Morgan Burnett" from GaTech as the #2 free safety in the draft behind Eric Berry with a high 6.8 rating. Berry is rated as 7.5, which is .5 short of a perfect "8". Earl Thomas, on the other hand is ranked at a lowly 6.2 in the #6 slot.
Here's a link to the site: NFP Rankings
So who is this Morgan Burnett and why is he almost as good as Eric Berry according to these guys? Is he that much better than Thomas, who alot of other people think is the #2 safety on the board?
Myron-
Burnett is the ballhawking safety from GT. 14 INTs in 3 years. Tommy has talked about him before, but I don't really remember what he's said. He clearly has a nose for the ball, no idea how well he can tackle, etc.
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