Eagles Finally Get Going

Posted: July 27th, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 16 Comments »

The big news of the day is that the Eagles signed 9 of 11 draft picks.  The only players left without a deal are 1st round OG Danny Watkins and 7th round MLB Greg Lloyd.  The Eagles and agent Joe Panos (yes, that Joe Panos) are working hard to get Watkins signed.  Not many 1st round picks have signed yet.  No one is holding out, but people are trying to adjust to the new rules and wage scale.

I have to think the Eagles decided to focus on getting the rookies signed today.  Rookies cannot practice until they are signed.  These guys haven’t had the luxury of mini-camps and passing camps.  They need every rep possible.  It is critical to get them signed and ready to go.  Great job by the Eagles, the players, and the agents today.  9 of 11 is impressive.  Jaiquawn Jarrett and Casey Matthews are going to be fighting for starting jobs from day one.  Reps are especially critical for them.  That’s also true for Watkins.  I’m really hoping his deal is finished early tomorrow.

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No real updates in the Kolb saga.  The reports make it sound like the deal will get done tomorrow or Friday, with us getting DRC and a 2nd round pick.  Can’t happen fast enough for me.  I want RCB taken care of and I’m sick of speculating about this deal.

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Sounds like there is a very real possibility that DeSean won’t report to Lehigh tomorrow.  He wants a new deal and is trying to make the Eagles realize just how serious he is about that desire.  I’m not too worried.  DeSean is underpaid.  The Eagles know that.  They know they need to work something out.  I don’t think DeSean is dumb enough to let this carry on too long.

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Word out of St. Louis is that the Rams have definite interest in Stewart Bradley.  They’ve already got a good MLB in James Laurinaitis.  Stew would be SAM out there.  Before we talk about any Stew/Spags reunions…Spags was gone when Stew got here.  Good for Stew if they’re willing to make him a big offer.  I still think Stew could come back to Philly, but only for a short, incentive laden deal.  I like the guy and hope he can find someone to pay him.

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Adam Caplan makes it sound like there is a strong chance Jason Babin will be an Eagle in a few days.  And that would be fine with me.  Jason is just what we need.  He could be our starting LDE.  He knows the Wide-Nine system from his season in Tennessee last year.  Babin would push Juqua Parker to the bench, where JP is at his best.  That’s assuming one of the young guys doesn’t beat JP out for playing time and/or a roster spot.

Babin is a former 1st round pick.  The guy has never lacked talent.  He was a 4-3 DE in college.  I watched him play and liked him quite a bit.  The Texans took him and tried to make him a 3-4 OLB.  That clearly didn’t work.  He drifted for a few years before landing here in 2009.  You could see Jason had talent.  He just wasn’t ideal for our system.  He then landed in Tennessee last year and had 12. 5 sacks.  He was terrific.

Jason can fly off the ball.  He gets down in a track stance and stays low.  Plays with excellent leverage.  He has a non-stop motor.  Several of his sacks were of the hustle variety last year.  That’s fine with me.  Part of the point is that he sealed the deal when he got a chance.  Remember Parker vs Webb and then Rodgers in the playoffs?  He had 3 to 5 sacks that he blew because he couldn’t get guys down.

Babin won’t cost a fortune so playing him in a rotational system makes sense and works well.  He played less than 60% of the snaps last year.  He understands that he’ll be on and off the field.  He has to give max effort when he is out there.  Don’t hold anything back.  His salary isn’t likely to set off Trent Cole.  If we gave Ray Edwards some huge deal, Trent would not be happy and might not be able to keep that in.  I’d like to see us re-do Trent’s deal, but we’ ll have to see how that goes.

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I’ve mentioned Jake Delhomme as a possible candidate to be our backup QB.  Some agree, while others think I’m an idiot for making that suggestion.  I understand the reluctance to buy into Delhomme.  He was bad in 2009 and then got hurt last year.  He went 2-2 as a starter, but didn’t put up good numbers.  Of course, it didn’t help that Cleveland had such poor receiving targets.

Jake is a great locker room guy.  Natural leader.  He’s very much a team guy.  He was a skilled passer until his meltdown in the 2008 playoffs.  Wow, that was awful.  He was good in the clutch for much of his career.  I think putting him on a good team and giving him the best offensive weapons of his career would bring out the best in him.

Remember how good Jeff Garcia was in 2006?  Check out the years before that.  He was 4-11 as a starter in CLE and DET over the 2004 and 2005 seasons.  He threw 13 TDs and 15 INTs in that span.  He got on the field for us in 2006 and played really well.  He then was solid in Tampa for a couple of years.

I think Andy and Marty could bring out the best in Jake.  I don’t see him ever starting again, but he could be a solid backukp.  He has led a team to the Super Bowl before.  And they didn’t lose because the offense sucked.  Carolina put up 29 points in that game.  I hope Vick plays 15 games and then sits the finale with the rest of the starters, but I want a veteran QB in place just in case we need him.  Delhomme would be an okay addition with me.

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There was a report on Twitter that the Eagles signed UDFA running back Derrick Locke from Kentucky.  He originally signed with the Vikings, but failed a physical with them.  Locke was terrific in the Senior Bowl and shocked people when he was unpicked.  He does have durability issues.  No official confirmation of  him yet.  I’ll save more notes/thoughts for when that happens.


16 Comments on “Eagles Finally Get Going”

  1. 1 Snoopy said at 11:27 PM on July 27th, 2011:

    It appears that the holdup of the Kolb trade is him agreeing to a contract extension and finalizing the numbers. Do you think the Eagles are requiring a contract extension with DRC before the trade is complete?

  2. 2 Jason said at 11:40 PM on July 27th, 2011:

    http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-top100-2011/09000d5d8205d2d1

  3. 3 James said at 11:42 PM on July 27th, 2011:

    @Snoopy

    I don’t think so. I believe he’s signed till 2014. I think the Eagles want to keep him on the cheap as along as possible.

  4. 4 Dan said at 11:43 PM on July 27th, 2011:

    http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-top100-2011/09000d5d8205d2d1

  5. 5 Midnight Greenville said at 11:43 PM on July 27th, 2011:

    Do you think Desean will require a 5 year 50 million dollar deal like Santonio got in order to be happy? A 10 million/year cap hit seems like a lot, even for someone as talented as him. If we only have 18 to 20 million in cap room this year, that would seem like a big chunk, although I imagine Santonio’s deal is backloaded (but still with 25 million guaranteed).

  6. 6 Iowa Eagle said at 11:44 PM on July 27th, 2011:

    Steelers cut LT Starks… would he be an upgrade over Justice?

  7. 7 Stephen said at 11:51 PM on July 27th, 2011:

    Hey how about that contract the Chargers gave Eric Weddle Tommy. I didn’t realize he was an elite safety who should be paid like one.

  8. 8 Tommy Lawlor said at 11:58 PM on July 27th, 2011:

    RE: DeSean

    He won’t get $10M per year. Not worth it. He will get a lot.

    RE: Weddle

    He got overpaid, but that’s because there aren’t enough good Safeties to go around in the NFL.

  9. 9 Tommy Lawlor said at 11:59 PM on July 27th, 2011:

    @ Dan…

    Great video. How could you not want Babin after watching that?

  10. 10 Tommy Lawlor said at 12:01 AM on July 28th, 2011:

    RE: Starks

    His weakness is pass protection. No thanks. Plus, he only played 7 games last year. He’s coming off injury.

  11. 11 Tommy Lawlor said at 12:07 AM on July 28th, 2011:

    Lions signed OLB Justin Durant. Not sure if that will affect whether they go after MLB Stephen Tulloch.

    Report today was them offering Tulloch $6M per year. Can’t imagine anyone else coming close to that. Eagles were rumored to be possibly interested. Not sure if that’s true.

  12. 12 Cafone said at 1:40 AM on July 28th, 2011:

    We should be on Babin like a chicken on a junebug.

  13. 13 Cliff said at 7:19 AM on July 28th, 2011:

    DeSean should hold out all camp long. I’d cry if he gets injured at Lehigh and misses games.

  14. 14 justrelax said at 7:19 AM on July 28th, 2011:

    I agree about Starks. He was under consideration a couple-three years ago and I didn’t like him then. He’s big and clumsy, kind of the anti-Mudd O lineman.

  15. 15 Arby said at 7:20 AM on July 28th, 2011:

    Jeff McLane reporting today that Ray Edwards said the Eagles haven’t even contacted him. Looks like Babin is our main option.

  16. 16 jgalt said at 9:37 AM on July 28th, 2011:

    Under the radar linebacker still unsigned. Ben Leber of the Vikings. Eagles should take a look at this guy. Solid veteran with no bad baggage.