***
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.
__
Monday, May 10, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Sunday Stuff
***
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.
__
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.
__
Friday, May 7, 2010
Longshots
***
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
___
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
___
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Focus on the Secondary
***
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.
_
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.
_
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
More Roster Talk
***
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-
___
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-
___
Monday, May 3, 2010
First Stab at 53
***
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.
___
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.
___
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Sunday Stuff
***
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.
___
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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