The David Sims Era Begins
Posted: September 1st, 2012 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 45 Comments »Put Dawk, Reed, and Polamalu in a blender. Splash in some Kenny Easley and a dab of Jack Tatum. What do you get? One big mess, but nothing close to the greatness of David Sims, the newest Philadelphia Eagle.
The Eagles traded a conditional pick to the Browns to acquire David Sims to be a backup Safety. Sims came out of the 2011 draft class. He played at Iowa State and was a UDFA. Spent time with NYG, TB, and then CLE. Was 3rd on the Browns in tackles this summer. Led them with 2 INTs. Had a pick-6 vs us that was called back (horrible throw by Edwards in the 3rd Qtr last week).
Sims is solid, but clearly nothing to get excited about. Likes to tackle low. Does a good job of wrapping up. Had a real good tackle of McKay Jacobson on a crossing route last week. Tackled Bryce Brown on a KOR in that game. Willing to play in the box and take on blockers. Effective playing back in space. Was a good KOR in college. Dangerous when he gets his hands on the ball.
One Browns fan I know and trust said that Sims played well this summer (aside from just the stats). He did stand out to me when I watched the CLE/PHI game. I wasn’t focused on him, but #36 just kept showing up in the game.
Give credit to Geoff Mosher. He predicted Sims would be an Eagle…on Thursday. Impressive.
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In order to get Sims on the roster, Julian Vandervelde was cut. There is now a lot of speculation that the Eagles will add an OL in the next few days. We only have 8 on the roster and that’s low. 9 is the normal total.
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Adam Caplan said on Twitter that the Eagles could pursue C Chase Beeler as a practice squad target. Beeler makes sense. We don’t have a good, natural backup C. Beeler played C at Stanford. Goes about 6-3, 285. Has good lateral agility. Lacks ideal strength, power. Good on the 2nd level. Sound familiar? Kelce type. Beeler is an excellent effort blocker. Wants to lock on and sustain. Works hard to sustain his blocks even though he’s not getting great push. Tenacious.
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Jeff McLane reported that Darryl Tapp is taking a salary cut. If so, that likely mean he’s staying here for a while. We cut Antonio Dixon and now have just 4 DTs. Could we keep 6 DEs and go with just 4 DTs? Sure. That’s not ideal, but we do have 6 good DEs.
I am glad Dixon is gone. He simply didn’t deserve a roster spot. I’ve gotten a few questions about how that will impact our run defense. I’ll write about that in the coming days.
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Keep in mind that the roster is not set in stone. As players become available to us, deals can happen. As players become available to other teams, that may cause them to want to move a player of theirs.
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My wish list for the practice squad (Eagles only):
WR Marvin McNutt
TE Chase Ford
OG Julian Vandervelde
OT DJ Jones
DE Monty Taylor
DT Ollie Ogbu
LB Ryan Rau
S Phillip Thomas
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I’m writing longer columns with a more full reaction to the roster moves. Will post them or links to them on Saturday.
_
Got some feedback on Sims from some Browns fans:
This is from a site writer at Dawgs By Nature, the Browns SB Nation blog – “It was surprising to see him go. He had a very good camp, with several
interceptions and a pick six. He had one pick six called back due to a
bogus penalty (you guys should remember that play from last week). It
wasn’t just the flashy interceptions, though. He seemed to be around the
ball often and made his tackles. Out of all the Browns cuts (well, we
originally thought he was “cut” vs. traded), he was the most surprising.
This was his first attempt with the Browns. We’re not devastated
because we lost him, but it looks like you guys got a nice prospect.”
…
This is from a frequent commenter at DBN:
”
He had 4 ints in 4 games, 3 returned for TDs except 2 were
called back for really dumb penalties that had nothing to do with his
plays. He was solid on special teams. He looks a little chubby and has
been discussed, its hard to tell if he was messing up off camera, but he
definitely flashed when he wasn’t sore. I would much rather have him
than a freaking conditional pick which I can’t see being much more than a
6th. BTW, can you guys maybe loan us am effen pass rusher?”
This is from a Browns fans who contacted me on Twitter:
”
David Sims is a Baller . I think Cleveland is CRAZY for letting ‘Mr.
Pick 6’ go. Signed, his maintenance guy! Sims had a great camp. As u
playoff teams may have heard, Cleveland makes bad choices. U got a
steal.”
Nice to hear some encouraging things.
Excellent. Thanks for sharing that info.
Of course he tackles low, he is 5’9″. At least we don’t have to worry about helmet to helmet hits.
What was that about the Helmet 2 Helmet Show???
Do you ever worry that the eventual rise of your podcast will lead to an epidemic of head-banging injuries?
I would.
I worry about Jimmy and head injuries a lot. Mostly due to thinking 2 hard.
BTW – It’s MONTE Taylor. Or as I refer to him, future Eagle Hall of Famer Monte Taylor.
EDIT: He played at Cincinnati. Pro Bowl? Guaranteed.
I live in a house of shame.
(…)”horrible throw by Edwards in the 3rd Qtr last week”(…) Lol, I see what you’re doing here Tommy. You and Trent will never become best friends, won’t you?! 🙂
That was a horrible throw (and one of the reasons I wanted to go with Kafka).
Here is what I wrote about Trent back on 4/30/12.
QB: Michael Vick, Mike Kafka, Nick Foles, Trent Edwards
Edwards is the odd man out, but could win a roster spot with a great showing. Is that possible? Sure. The guy finished the 2008 season with 5 games where his QB rating was 95 or higher. Is it likely? That’s a whole other story. No. Edwards is a lottery ticket. Maybe you get him back to what he was. This is the most talented team he’s ever been a part of, but there aren’t many guys who regain their confidence after an extended rough patch like he’s gone through. Kafka needs to play well to make sure he’s the #2 guy and to keep his roster spot.
How the mighty (Kafka) has fallen…
I really hope the Honey Badger declares for the draft next year….!!!
I like Polk, Brown, and Lewis, but why the heck are we keeping so many running backs?
That’s 3 guys to split like 6 carries a game.
…and 3 guys to split 2 screen passes a game!
The Eagles wanted 3 RBs and a FB. Polk simply played his way onto the roster. Goal wasn’t to keep him. Just happened. Still think the team might be interested in dealing him.
There’s a pretty good chance that this year’s draft class will go down as one of the best in recent Eagles history. Check this out:
1. Rd: Fletcher Cox > backup DT
2. Rd: Mychal Kendricks > starting SAM
2. Rd: Vinny Curry > backup DE
3. Rd: Nick Foles > backup QB
4. Rd: Brandon Boykin > starting nickel CB und KOR
5. Rd: Dennis Kelly > backup OT
6. Rd: Marvin McNutt > WR cut, possibly PS?!
6. Rd: Brandon Washington > OG cut, possibly PS?!
7. Rd: Bryce Brown > backup RB
UDFA: Damaris Johnson > starting PR
2002 Draft: How BWest Was Won
2003 Draft: As Bad As It Gets
2005 Draft: Get Matt McCoy and Considine and Trent Cole Will Fall
2007 Draft: Ilaoa or Kolb
2009 Draft: It’s a Shady World
2010 Draft: Don’t Know Who They Are, But There’s A Lot of Them
2012 Draft: The Morton Silencer
Nice one @ the 2012 Draft. :))
It’s probably OK to go light at DT considering both Tapp and Graham can shift inside for a handful of snaps on obvious passing downs.
True.
I’d like to see Rau, Thomas, Ford, Ogbu, Vandervelde on the PS with a couple Prospects from other teams.
Any young players that we cut that you think will get claimed? outside of Dixon I mean. Outside shot Hall gets snagged by someone? Maybe Phillip Thomas to Skins now that Tanard Jackson is suspended?
8 OL is low but at least three of the players can play multiple positions (herremans, Dunlap, and Kelly). Risky but I wonder if they just any extra linemen would be inactive anyway and none of them were in the top 53.
We would only have 7 or 8 active on game day
Mosher only got 2 wrong, including Sims over the Eagles’ safeties: Rolle over Clayton, a 4th RB over a 10th OL. He wins.
4 DTs/6DEs. I’m fine with the current configuration. Mike Patterson may come off PUP giving us 5 legit DTS in the 2nd half if no one gets hurt. Also, Graham has shown that he’s comfortable playing DT in nickle situations of we’re light on DT in games and need to give Landri/Cox/Jenkins some snaps off. Graham being able to play inside if necessary means that there’s no way Curry gets activated on game-day.
Great point about Patt.
Patterson may come off PUP, but I think AR has indicated that it is very possible if not likely that Patt will sit out this season
I think Sims was available for a simple reason, he turns 26 this season and is still raw, converted S on a small college team who bounced around last year, so right now he’s a ST guy who might be a good safety in a year when he’s 27.
For Cleveland, the draft pick will be 22-23 in 2013, more valuable than an aging fringe player. For the Eagles, Sims isn’t expected to start, he’s ST depth with the chance to develop into a solid backup for 2-3 years. So the fact he’s a bit old for a back of the roster player has less importance.
Two thoughts that made me feel good about some of the tough calls:
1. Edwards said he couldn’t sleep Thursday night hoping to win the job I wonder if Kafka would have swallowed a demotion and approached the #3 spot with the same attitude as a guy who thought his ride was over.
2. With Jacobs gone’ imagine if Polk had become the Giants bruiser for the next 8 years. How painful would that have been?
Do you think Eagles are interested in Jacob Hester? Should they be?
I’ll admit I haven’t watched him but to my knowledge he’s a FB in the mold Reid seems to like. Isn’t he also a good ST player?
Re: 2012 – best draft?
So far so good, but even the most rabid of us would say that 3 years from now is when the check comes due.
But it’ll be hard for this draft to top the Eagles’ 1973 draft:
(1) 1st Rd and No. 3 overall: Jerry Sisemore, UTexas – ROT.
An immediate starter who played 12 seasons in (kelly) green. Flourished under Dick Vermeil, making the ’79 and ’81 Pro Bowls and voted All NFC those same years. Among the Eagles greatest O-linemen. Started for the Eagles from ’73-’83, retiring after ’84. (The Eagles passed on Alabama All American Guard John Hannah to take Sisemore. Hannah went with the next pick to the Patriots . . . and eventually became, in the view of many, the greatest OG in NFL history.)
(2) 1st Rd and No. 5 overall: Charles Young, USC – TE.
A huge, explosive, fast, excellent blocking and pass-catching TE — and the last Eagles TE to score a TD on a TE reverse (against the Vikings in ’73).
Young spent 4 years with the Eagles. Made All Pro his rookie year and the Pro Bowl in ’73, ’74, ’75. After a contract dispute following the ’76 season, Dick Vermeil traded Young to the Rams for Ron Jaworski — who QBd the Eagles from ’77-’86, including 4 straight playoff appearances, a SB, two Pro Bowls, and an NFL player-of-the-year award. This draft choice gave the Eagles 13 years of great production.
(3) 2nd Rd and No. 28 overall: Guy Morriss, TCU – C.
Converted from OG, Morriss became the Eagles starting center in week 6 of his rookie year (replacing the injured Mike Evans) — and Morriss kept that job for the next 11 years, missing only a single start in 1977. Voted All NFC in 1981. He anchored a great O-line for the Birds with OTs Sisemore and Stan Walters, OGs Woody Peoples, Wade Key, Petey Perot and Ron Baker. After the ’83 season, Eagles coach Marion Campbell cut Morriss to make room for someone named Mark Dennard (acquired from the Dolphins for a 3rd Rd pick in ’85 — but Dennard was gone after 2 season, with the arrival of Buddy Ryan). Morriss went on to start for the Patriots for 3 seasons, going to the 1985 Super Bowl, where the Bears’ 46 Defense put on a more entertaining show than just about any offense you’d ever see.
(4) 3rd Rd and No. 55 overall: Randy Logan, Michigan – SS
Gave the Eagles 11 years. As a rookie, joined All Pro Bill Bradley to form the Eagles’ best safety tandem until 2001 (Dawkins & Damon Moore). Logan, an immediate starter in ’73, started every game for the next 10 years and all but 4 games of his final season in ’83. Like so many Eagles, he reach his peak under Vermeil, going to the Pro Bowl and being voted second-team All Pro in ’80 and second-team All-Conference in ’81.
(5) 12th Rd and No. 286 overall: Joe “Bird” Lavender, SD State – CB.
The angular 6’4″ Lavender also started as a rookie for the Eagles and stayed in Philadelphia through the ’75 season — scoring 4 TDs on 7 TOs. Vermeil traded Lavender over a contract dispute (as he did with Young), sending him to the ‘Skins for DT Manny Sistrunk. Lavender intercepted 8 passes in his first year in Washington, eventually making himself into a Pro Bowler in ’78 and ’79 and collecting a total of 33 INTs. He won a Super Bowl in 1982 with the ‘Skins in his final season.
If the Eagles’ 2012 Rookie Class produces five players who have careers like Sisemore, Young/Jaworksi, Morriss, Logan, and Lavender, then I’d argue that this year’s group could be fairly viewed as among the best the Eagles ever had.
Fair enough!
However the Eagles had 3 picks within the top 28, let alone 2 within the top 5. It was a great and probably the best draft ever for the Eagles, but if you look at this year’s draft class potential the odds are looking promising, especially should Nick Foles turn out to be this franchise’s gold at QB for the next decade…
Looks like we’re having the first on our PS: C Beeler from the niners!
Tommy, BJ Cunningham or Marvin McNutt on PS for you?
To the best of my knowledge, Kafka cleared waivers. Could you see the Eagles trying to get him to sign onto our practice squad since he has yet to be active for 9 games? I think this would be a very wise move. Thoughts? Also, any decent O-line guys cut that could be a fit for Mudd’s system?
not eligible.
Lindley out and OT in
Good move. Lindley never really impressed me, although he improved going up to this camp and had a solid showing, but he just doesnt seem like NFL material.
I dont know this Menkin guy, but since he is going to be both the 3rd string LT, RT, LG and RG, he does show some flexability and we probably wont need him, with Bell, Kelly and Reynolds being the primary OL backups.
Get a project for a weak spot ind for a player who didnt pan out, and get some numbers at OL. Seems to me like pretty good micromanaging.
…turning garbage into gold!
So Giants claimed DJ Jones.
The Giants also announced practice-squad signees: receiver David Douglas; defensive ends Matt Broha and Craig Marshall; offensive linemen Matt McCants, Selvish Capers and Stephen Goodin; tight end Larry Donnell; and defensive back Laron Scott.
This guy says we signed McNutt, Rau, igwenagu, Ford, Chase Beeler (Luck’s center at Stanford to PS.
http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2012/9/1/3285577/eagles-practice-squad-2012-eagles-sign-5-including-marvin-mcnutt
I’m sure he’s someone we woulda wanted on our PS.
I was hoping for him on the PS.
Monte Taylor still out looking for work
Tommy, what do you think of the Eagles OL moves? Vandervelde claimed by Bucs and Reynolds has been around a while but with Kelly, Bell, Reynolds, Menkin (has to pick up our plays) the experience level seems so low especially in our offense and system.