Eagles Draft Talk

Posted: March 26th, 2013 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 73 Comments »

We had a good discussion on Howie Roseman yesterday.  If you have any follow-up questions or thoughts, post ’em here since we’re going to talk some NFL Draft and that’s central to Howie’s job.

* First, Chip Kelly is the new coach.  That means we have to un-learn everything Andy Reid taught us and start from fresh.  Since Chip hasn’t had a draft class yet, we’re going to be doing a lot of guessing.  I will tell you now that I am going to be completely wrong on a few things.  I’m studying Chip’s past and inferring things, but until we see him involved in a couple of NFL draft classes, we won’t know as much as we want to.  We’ll be guessing.

* In regard to the draft, Howie had final say last year.  He’s got it this year.  That doesn’t mean that the coaches aren’t part of the process.  Howie is finding players for Chip Kelly and the staff.  He’s trying to get their guys.  They will have some input.  That’s the way it should be.  However, you don’t want the coach forcing a player to be picked, like say… a Safety from Temple.  That’s when there is a breakdown in the process.

* The Eagles are checking out players at every position.  They’ve been at Pro Days checking out long snappers.  They’ve worked out RBs.  They’re looking at WRs.  Don’t get caught up in “We need LBs, DEs, OTs, and DBs.”  The draft is about adding talent.  These are the players you want to build around.

Right now the only thing we “need” is a backup LT and a DE.  There are a lot of positions where we want help and hope to upgrade the talent, but the active FA period filled many holes and has given us the freedom to draft who we want, for the most part.  The LT and DE can be drafted early, middle, or even late.  We can do what we want with the early picks.

* The Eagles are being thorough with talented players with medical questions.  They brought in DE/LB Tank Carradine for a visit.  He tore his ACL in November.  There are some who think he had a shot to be the #1 overall pick if healthy.  The Eagles brought in RB Marcus Lattimore.  He is very talented, but had the gruesome injury this year where his leg flailed around in the air.  The Eagles met with Jarvis Jones.  He has some back issues.  To listen to his agent, they’re nothing.  USC wouldn’t let him play due to fears about the situation so he transferred to Georgia.  The Eagles met with or worked out Star Lotulelei.  He’s got the heart issue that was discovered at the Combine.

* It sure seems like Kelly wants to draft a TE.  The Eagles have checked out a few guys that we know about.  And you can bet there are others we don’t know about.  They’ve had meetings or workouts with Gavin Escobar (2nd to 3rd Rd), Vance McDonald (2nd to 3rd Rd), Chris Gragg (mid-rounder) and Matt Furstenburg (more of a late round type).  All 4 are athletic pass catchers.

* WRs coach Bob Bicknell has been on the move and at several Pro Days.  He’s been focusing on big WRs or small, slot guy types.  I don’t anticipate the Eagles going for a WR in the first couple of rounds, but after that, nothing will shock me.  Tavon Austin, as we recently discussed, is the one wildcard.  I think he could be a target early on.

* The Eagles are all over QBs.  They have checked out Geno Smith, Zac Dysert, Matt Scott, and EJ Manuel that we know of.  We don’t know who they like (if anyone).  Right now they are doing a lot of work to try and decide if any of these guys is worth taking and in what round are they good value.  All these guys have talent.  All have NFL potential.  You just don’t take QBs casually, though.  It has to be a player you feel very confident can succeed.  If you miss on a QB, he isn’t likely to find some other way to help the team.  Guys at other positions can become role players and STers.

* The Eagles have shown a lot of interest in Syracuse OT Justin Pugh.  He played LT for the past 3 years.  Good player.  Athletic.  Good feet.  Good run blocker who will mix it up.  Looked very good at the Combine.

The problem is that he’s got short arms and struggled at the Senior Bowl.  He might not pan out at LT.  You could try him at RT and he’s tough enough to even play some OG.  Sounds like he’ll go in the 2nd round.

* Plenty of defensive players are getting checked out as well.  The Eagles seem focused on DEs and DBs.  The focus is on getting big, fast, talented players.  That meshes with Kelly’s history and the free agent moves the team made.

I know I’ve written a lot about size in regard to FA and the draft.  Kelly is pretty specific about what he wants.  This is an area where I can still do some learning.  Kelly will make an exception at some point.  I don’t know who and where.  He likes small RBs and some WRs, but those guys are on offense and can hide from defenders.  Being small works as an advantage at times.

I am more interested to see when Kelly goes small on defense or with the OL or something like that.  That’s when we’ll learn a bit more about him and where he’s willing to bend his own rules.

* * * * *

I posted some draft notes over at ScoutsNotebook.  Some of the guys are Eagles targets, others just general prospects.

* * * * *

LB Victor Butler is visiting the Eagles today.  Here is Jimmy Bama’s take on that.

I posted some quick thoughts yesterday.

* * * * *

Speaking of the Eagles and the draft…someone did a review of teams drafting from 2000-2007.  Check out how the Eagles did and the overall study.  Interesting stuff.

_


73 Comments on “Eagles Draft Talk”

  1. 1 ACViking said at 11:41 AM on March 26th, 2013:

    Re: Roseman as the 2012 Draft Master

    T-Law:

    Any thoughts/speculation on why Lurie decided to pull the plug on whatever the draft-day arrangement was before 2012 (when Roseman, per your post, obtained final say).

    I remarked in a comment to your last post that figuring out what was going on in NovaCare pre-2013 was like figuring out what the Kremlin was up to in the Cold War.

    It looks like, whatever the Eagles’ exact draft-day decision-making was, they did pretty well with Heckert as GM, Banner as President, and Reid as the HFO (head of football ops) — the “Brain Trust Approach”.

    Heckert leaves after the 2009 draft.

    Roseman steps into Heckert’s shoes. Banner’s still President. Reid’s still the HFO.

    What follows in 2010-11 is one mediocre draft (at best) and one disaster of a draft (so far).

    After 2011, Lurie gives Roseman final say on the draft.

    What the heck happened . . . because until Heckert left, the “Brain Trust Approach” seemed to work okay. (Some ups and downs, but overall not bad.)

    Just wondering.

  2. 2 Matthew Donaldson said at 1:34 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    With regards to the “Brain Trust Approach” failing after Heckert left, IMO (whatever that is worth) they asked Roseman to start filling in the Heckert role and he just didn’t mesh with that. I have no idea exactly what they asked Heckert to do or how he balanced out the other two so to speak, but as a GM in that situation he would seem to have an atypical role. Roseman, who seems at least, to be more comfortable in a traditional structure just wasn’t able to do what Heckert did and therefore it all fell apart.

  3. 3 TommyLawlor said at 3:52 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    The Eagles always ran a very group-oriented style of business. No one person had complete control. Andy had the most power, but he, Heckert, and Banner worked together. If they came to a major impasse, it went to Lurie. Or they would decide that the three of them not agreeing on a player was evidence that the move shouldn’t be made.

    This continued up to the 2012 draft. That’s when Lurie let Howie have total control over the draft. There was still a group style of business when it came to trades and FA.

    The 2011 draft was somewhat of an anomaly. That’s when Howie got overruled on at least one major pick, maybe two. That was tied into the fact the draft came before free agency and the lockout had everyone unsure about what would happen.

    The GM or personnel guy controlled the draft most of the time since 1999, but Reid had the final say. When you only have a matter of minutes, you can’t always have a discussion. Someone must be able to make a decision. I think Reid used his power with good discretion because he and Heckert always got along and Howie and Reid grew closer the more they worked together. Banner was the one guy who got pushed to the side.

    I can’t go back and explain who wanted every single pick. Reid and the GMs share credit and blame. I do think Reid was more willing to make instinctive decisions rather than sticking strictly with the board. This is true of 99.9% of all coaches.

    Scouts spend all summer and fall writing reports and giving grades. Scouts want to stick with that. Coaches enter the process at the Senior Bowl and think a couple of months of study by them should have more weight…after all, they are coaches. That dispute takes place in every draft in every organization ever. Human nature.

    If Reid had been pushy or consistently made bad decisions, he’d have lost power years ago. He was smart enough to listen to smart people most of the time. Reid did have guys he liked, but usually it was a Nate Illaoa type that was taken late.

    Did Andy push some early picks on Heckert? Possible. Freddie Mitchell felt like an Andy pick. So did LJ Smith. I have no proof. That is pure speculation.

  4. 4 Iskar36 said at 5:03 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    I know recently we have been on a bit of an anti-AR kick, but I’m curious if you could mention some AR guys that did work out. We have heard about Jarrett, Watkins, now Nate Illaoa, but I’m sure, given the control he had, that he must have made a bunch (if not a majority of) good decisions as well. Are there any specific examples you can share?

  5. 5 TommyLawlor said at 5:33 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Reid was the driving force behind the Donovan McNabb pick. Reid was a major supporter of Westy’s. Not sure if the scouts liked him as much as Big Red. Those are the big two that jump out.

    Most of the time, the FO agreed on players. Everybody loved Brandon Graham. And Brod Bunkley. And Kevin Kolb. And F Cox. Etc.

  6. 6 Iskar36 said at 5:44 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    I would imagine the vast majority of the time they would agree on prospects, I was just curious to hear the flip side of the coin since recently we have talked about AR’s (as opposed to the GM’s/team’s) misses, which to me suggested he must also have had hits.

    I’m surprised to hear McNabb was an AR pick in the sense that he was going against who the FO thought should be the 2nd pick in the draft (and to be clear, I assume McNabb wasn’t a guy the GM didn’t believe could be a good player, but instead that he had someone else in mind over McNabb as the #2 pick). Still, that’s a ton of trust to put into your coach in his first year and his first draft as a head coach. It would be interesting to find out if they have similar trust in CK if he pushes for a guy that is different from the guy Howie pushes for.

  7. 7 TommyLawlor said at 9:59 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Reid was a big McNabb supporter. I didn’t say Andy and Tom Modrak had a dispute. I’m not sure what Modrak wanted. I just know that Reid was pushing hard for McNabb.

  8. 8 Iskar36 said at 11:46 AM on March 27th, 2013:

    I certainly wasn’t trying to insinuate that there was a dispute in the sense that AR overruled Modrak by any means. I am just curious about players who were “AR picks” in the sense that he convinced the GM to pick a player that had AR not been persuasive, the GM would not have picked. Since you don’t know what Modrak wanted, McNabb may not be a good example.

    We have said that Jaiquawn Jarrett and Danny Watkins were “AR picks,” both players obviously having been busts (Watkins still my have a chance, but things certainly haven’t looked promising). Still, 14 years as head coach, I assume that for every Watkins and Jarrett, there had to be a handful of hits as well that either AR overruled the GM or strongly pushed for a guy and managed to get the GM to agree with him and draft a certain player.

  9. 9 wahaxwah said at 12:07 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Am beginning to be more inclined to suspect this might be more of an offensively oriented draft (began to believe this back at start of free agency.
    I figure they need 2 OT’s, a QB (wildcard) (and I say about 3 TE’s, and a WR (big size). Then as currently constituted they have 2 more picks, so they can work in a NT, and a 3/4 DE, at the justified time.

    Part of this is a belief that they might go to 4 TE’s and 4 WR’s at the receivers spot. They could leave Celek on the R side as currently used. They could put Casey in the H-Back spot on the left Then as a Left Split End (where Maclin currently lines up) they could work in another TE (who would be split off the line, a split end Then , if say the Split End is but a couple of yards off from the tackle , they could have Casey fill that space between and they’d have a spot for some runs to the left. Also have J. Peters and the LG (maybe Herremens ) over there.
    Or at times they could put Casey as that Split End, and ( if Maclin is still around ) they could put Maclin in the backfield , and he does the moving around. Either far to the left, slot left , in the middle , etc. Or he could move to the right side with Jackson.

    I suspect they might move Maclin, per the talk of the Indianapolis Colts thing, maybe they send Maclin and a 2nd to Indy or St. Louis or another team in middle to late 1st, and then they can draft Tavon Austin. Then they would moreso have somebody to move around , opposite , or with D. Jackson in the backfield. Still think they will add more TE’s in this scenario.

  10. 10 GGeagle21 said at 3:23 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    I actually think the opposite. I could see them drafting Barrett Jones(if not wew I’ll be stuck drafting a backup center) and a TE like Kasa…and the rest of the early picks going to the defense

  11. 11 D3Center said at 4:34 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    What do you mean I’ll be stuck drafting a backup center? Are you secretlyHowie Roseman?

  12. 12 GGeagle21 said at 6:03 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Uhhh I actually tried typing We will….but thanks

  13. 13 Neil said at 6:29 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Shucks man we got Howie commenting here and you’re trying to scare him off.

  14. 14 deg0ey said at 12:34 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    “Since Chip hasn’t had a draft class yet, we’re going to be doing a lot of guessing.”

    That might also help the Eagles sell a few smokescreens that might not otherwise work, since other teams are gonna be guessing too.

    Someone I haven’t heard mentioned too often is WR Ryan Swope. Has mostly been projected as a mid-round pick because of his lack of athleticism, but he ran the 40 in the same time as Tavon and his 3-cone was better than DeSean even though he’s got two inches and 30 pounds on both of those guys. I guess that doesn’t show up on tape as much as one might expect, but he seems like he could be ideal for Chip’s system; as a former RB he’s one of the better blocking receivers in the draft and could wind up being a target if he makes it to the 3rd round.

  15. 15 D3FB said at 12:42 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    On tape he looks like a 4.55 kind of player. Put the tape on and you will see someone who profiles more similarly to a Danny Amendola type.

  16. 16 deg0ey said at 1:09 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Yeah, I get that, but I still find him intriguing. He’s obviously a fast guy and I don’t understand why it doesn’t show on tape, but maybe he can improve on that in the future?

  17. 17 RC5000 said at 2:58 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Swope is a very good player, you don’t need to make excuses for him.

  18. 18 TommyLawlor said at 1:41 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Bob Bicknell was at Swope’s Pro Day. Definitely could be a target.

  19. 19 shah8 said at 12:39 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Honestly, I’m glad Reid is gone, what with the reminder of some of his head scratcher picks. The 2010 and 2011 draft really just killed us.

  20. 20 Sb2bowl said at 3:29 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Yup. When you miss on the top 3 picks in a draft, that’s bad news (ie, Lions, 2000-2007).

  21. 21 shah8 said at 12:35 AM on March 27th, 2013:

    *three* fourth round picks. And Clay Harbour to show for it from 2010. Brandon Graham and Nate Allen should pretty much be considered misses from the standpoint of–at their best, they aren’t difference makers. Just look at Fletcher Cox or Bryce Brown at their best. Dominant play marred by inexperience. We just got motor and technique out of one and two. That’s not what should happen, and good, cheap depth got killed when we should have struck a bit more gold out of our later picks.

  22. 22 D3Center said at 7:58 AM on March 27th, 2013:

    Brandon Graham was considered one of the top DEs in the division last year when he was finally given a chance. Its not his fault he had a coach who didn’t like him and Babin blocking him. I think the jury is still out on Graham.

  23. 23 Mike said at 8:21 AM on March 27th, 2013:

    I do as well; before his (and Nate’s) knee injury, they were promising rookies. I just don’t think BG fits with what Chipper wants on his team (size, length)

  24. 24 Anders said at 5:06 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    The 2010 class was good picks, who so far has been ruined by injuries and bad coaching.

  25. 25 Mike Flick said at 1:55 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    I am amazed how much we focused on special teams this off-season. We have been using our back half of the roster for developmental projects and ignoring the ‘teams.

    Chip has been giving it a lot of attention.

  26. 26 holeplug said at 4:38 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Little different approach than the year Reid thought he could go into the season without a punt returner and stuck Greg Lewis back there week 1 against Green Bay.

  27. 27 Adam said at 2:04 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Tommy I’d love to know what Tom Gamble brings to the table on draft day. And I don’t mean that as in “what the hell is this guy doing here”,but what are his roles and responsibilities when it comes to the draft?

  28. 28 GGeagle21 said at 3:25 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    I think everyone’s roll is funnel, and stream line players to Howie…Gamble is probably the guy right before Howie…I expect him to significantly narrow down the pool of prospects, so that when it gets to howie, he only has to choose for. 5-10 players….but that’s just my guess. knowing the Eagles, I doubt we will ever know for sure, the defined and actual roles of people in our FO

  29. 29 Mike said at 12:35 AM on March 27th, 2013:

    Please leave

  30. 30 Jarred Mercado said at 11:29 AM on March 27th, 2013:

    Whats the issue here? Every post of his has received negative votes. His posts seem fine.

  31. 31 Mike said at 11:35 AM on March 27th, 2013:

    Give him time. There’s a reason he was banned from bleeding green nation; hopefully he has learned and will change. That’s the issue at hand.

  32. 32 Phils Goodman said at 6:05 PM on March 27th, 2013:

    24/7 too, but he keeps coming back with new names.

  33. 33 Phils Goodman said at 6:04 PM on March 27th, 2013:

    Brace yourself for a downpour of torrential drivel. These downvotes are just a feeble attempt at staving off the inevitable.

  34. 34 TommyLawlor said at 3:53 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    I’ll write something on that.

  35. 35 austinfan said at 2:29 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Thinking about the draft:

    QB: Vick is on a one year deal, Dixon a career scrub, Kinne a camp body, even if Chip decides to roll with Nick, he needs another young QB. Notice they’ve talked to both the mobile (Manuel, Scott) and the slow (Barkley, Dysert).

    RB: Chip seems to like scatbacks, Barner might be a target in the 5th.

    WR: Big and tough or quick slot types, I think deep speed won’t be valued as much as hands and quickly separating.

    TE: H-backs rule, again, hands are a priority

    OL: Who knows, Chip had a lot of mediocre athletes at Oregon, Stoutland has been coaching premier guys at every stop. Do they go for mobility, power or spend to get a combination of the two?

    DL: Would they be interested in a Sopoaga clone in Jessie Williams, or guys like Hankins and Short who can give you a big body that can shoot a gap. Ansah, Carradine and Jones are more like Campbell in Arizona, tall but smaller 3-4 DEs who can bring pressure from the “5” slot.

    LB: If they sign Butler, I suspect this will be a late round item, spend a year evaluating what they have on the roster before investing more resources. Would they even consider drafting an ILB, or wait a year to think about replacing Ryans.

    CB: Tall and physical, there will good choices at least through their 4th round pick, and some guys to add for depth later on, think the cutoff is probably 5’11 190 lbs.

    S:Not sure they’ll be interested in someone like Swearinger at 5-10 running a 4.64, they seem to like 6’0 210 lbs and a little better speed, safeties that are more interchangeable. Eric Reid would be a perfect fit.

  36. 36 Mac said at 3:04 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    I’ve been thinking too about what Stoutland brings to the equation on the topic of drafting O-line.

  37. 37 holeplug said at 4:46 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Bama mostly just clobbered teams with the inside zone play last year

    http://www.al.com/alabamafootball/index.ssf/2013/01/inside_zone_the_inside_story_a.html

  38. 38 Mac said at 9:46 AM on March 27th, 2013:

    Thanks for the link!

  39. 39 Anders said at 2:26 PM on March 27th, 2013:

    Great link. Very useful for when people wanna argue about Bama and Oregon running the same run plays or not.

  40. 40 Skeptic_Eagle said at 4:02 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    I think Dysert is a little more mobile than you think. He might not have blown anyone’s doors off at the combine (I’m not even sure if he ran), but he showed some good to very good functional mobility at Miami OH. Barkley’s just a wreck. I wouldn’t want him at all. Terrible fit for Kelly, and looks like a career backup in the NFL. Just to clarify, I’ve never been a fan of Barkley. My thing for QBs is they have to be able to drive the ball to the intermediate level–especially in the NFC East.

    I agree Kelly prefers scat backs but it seems hard to imagine the Eagles would use a valuable pick on another running back. I think Chris Polk may still have a chance to be a contributor here, and might be the best inside runner we have on the roster. I think you can add wrinkles like putting Desean or Maclin back there to take handoffs out of a triple option if you really want an explosive one-touch element in certain spots.

  41. 41 RC5000 said at 4:46 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Dysert looks like a backup with maybe an upside of a Jeff Garcia. He’s definitely mobile and good throwing on the run. I wouldn’t say Barkley is a “wreck”. Both seem more suited to a WCO or short passing offense.

  42. 42 Skeptic_Eagle said at 5:23 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Dysert’s arm is a little better than Jeff Garcia. The spread offense didn’t show it off, but he does have an NFL arm. However, if Jeff Garcia is his upside, that’s pretty good.

    If you have Matt Barkley in a 3rd and 7 situation, facing a blitz, with the defense squatting on his short routes, he’s a wreck. I’ve never been a fan. It may seem like an oversimplification, but if you can’t throw hard enough, you’re not going to make it in the NFL. Maybe Barkley improves his arm strength the way guys like Brees or Brady has, but it’s not something I’d count on. I think I said I wouldn’t draft Barkley before the 4th round about 3 months ago and folks called me nuts. I’m sure he’ll go before the fourth, but I’m not sure whoever drafts him will get more than a spot starter.

  43. 43 RC5000 said at 6:01 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    That’s different than a generalization that Barkley is a “wreck”. I really don’t see drafting him at all but then I don’t really have a QB in this draft that is a must draft QB.
    Dysert having Garcia’s upside is pretty good depending on where you get him but I don’t see him as that much different than Kinne. I don’t know if he has the NFL caliber arm of a starter. He doesn’t have velocity to make all the throws and sometimes puts his body into some of the longer throws downfield.
    Also I’m not saying he is Garcia or anything, he has a similar mental toughness I like (this QB class is a little short on mental toughness – Nassib has some) and some similarities to me. He can run with authority when needed although he isn’t as fast as Garcia and I don’t know that he has Garcia’s instincts (not many do).

  44. 44 GGeagle21 said at 6:06 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    I’m surprised that we haven’t worked out Nassib yet…I really don’t have much confidence in any of these QB prospects…but if I was forced to chose one, I wuld probably go with Nassib. he has a gun, and at the very least he won’t ever miss any intermediate throws

  45. 45 RC5000 said at 6:46 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Eagles talked to Nassib at Sr Bowl. He has some good qualities but also lacks arm strength to go real deep or make the sideline throws and his accuracy is inconsistent. A lot of different opinions on him as far as where he really should get drafted.

  46. 46 GGeagle21 said at 7:48 AM on March 27th, 2013:

    Like I said, if it were up to me, we wouldn’t touch a QB in this draft

  47. 47 ezgreene said at 2:39 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    I know everyone would easily fall back and accumulate picks to take advantage of this year’s draft. But I’m leaning towards moving back to pick up more picks for NEXT year’s draft. Given the abundance of QB prospects there.

    I generally came to this view via a series of questions predicated on the future:
    OT: Do the Eagles project to have an opportunity to replace Peters as capably with drafting positions in the future.
    OLB: Are the height/speed combinations that are available in Dion Jordan or Mingo likely to be available in future drafts?
    QB: Will the Eagles be in a position to draft a better long term solution than they currently are?

    If the Eagles can drop back and still get a Fisher or a Johnson and pick up another #1 for next year, it’s the best possible case.

  48. 48 GGeagle21 said at 3:20 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Why not just play Foles this year and find out what we have in him? It will result in two things:
    1) He surprises us and leads us to a respectable 7-9, 8-8 season. In that case we would feel confident starting to build around him, and not have to be drafting QBs in rd 1 next year…
    2) He underwhelms and we only win 5 or 6 games..In that case, we would be dating high next year, so ATleast we will be in range to trade up for the Qb we covet..keep in mind, the number 1 pick will be Clowney, so the highest we would need to get to, is 2nd overall. ITs not that hard to get to two, when you only won 5 or 6 games

  49. 49 ezgreene said at 5:14 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    BEcause it’s not a binary world. You never get clear outcomes.

    What if the team goes 7-9, but many of those losses are distinct regressions by Foles. What if Foles gets injured? What if the team wins 5 games? What if McCoy, DeSean and Maclin are all hurt?

  50. 50 GGeagle21 said at 6:01 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Fair points. I just think Foles really has a chance at surprising us. I have seen some darn good NFL QBs look significantly worse than Foles did…yet none were in a worse situation than Foles. I mean, Eli was BAD, and not just the first 6games of his rookie year. Even if you are fortunate enough to land a rookie Talent like Flacco or Matty Ice, it will still take about 3-4years of game experience before he is truly ready to compete for a SB…so I don’t see how in the world we can not want to see more of Foles before we even try to judge him, after he flashed some serious intangibles last year….However, I don’t just want to hand anyone a starting spot. I want every starting spot earned. Accountability needs to be brought back, and that all starts with the QB position. I hope for a TRUE QB competition…and if that’s really the case, would anyone honestly be surprised If Foles were to take a serious leap in quality of play, and significantly outplay Vick in camp? I don’t know if that will happen, but it wouldn’t surprise me the least bit

  51. 51 A_T_G said at 8:56 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    If only we lived in a binary world, where you either won or you were a zero.

  52. 52 A_T_G said at 3:46 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    I agree I would like to add some ammo for next year. In addition to seemingly being a better draft at the top end, it will give Kelly a chance to answer some of the questions first. Can Curry or Graham succeed at SAM? Is JP truly healed? Do we have a QB? Finding out these answers and having two first rounders to answer them would be ideal.

  53. 53 GGeagle21 said at 6:12 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Very good point. I have to believe we will try and trade away some players..no? figuring out trade value for players is such a tricky task. you see guys like BOldin get traded for 6th round picks, and then you see a guy lie Tebow traded for a 3rd rounder…Curious to see what you guys think our players would fetch in a trade, if they even have any value at all:
    1) Avant (I always get the feeling he will get dealt to a contender like the patriots)..what does he fetch if BOldin went for a 6th? Does avant even get you a 7th in return?
    2) How about guys like Hunt and Coleman? Are they even worth a new cheerleader prospect lol?
    3)Cole, I’m sure could fetch something like a 5th, if we were willing to eat his dead money. But he still will have over 4mil in dead money next year…so maybe this is a good time to take a cap hit, and get something in return before he gets another year older

  54. 54 Lukekelly65 said at 8:24 AM on March 27th, 2013:

    The Idea of moving back and still being able to pick up Fisher or Johnson interest me a lot. i think if Milliner is there at 4 and hes not the guy we want i could see a team like Miami possibly being a trade partner.. i suspect Johnson would be there at 12 but he could go before that. is the value we would get back for moving down 8 spots be worth the risk of missing on Johnson or Fisher to a team like Arizona? if we could get a a first in 2014 i would say its worth the risk but for less then that im not sure. im just excited to see how the whole draft shakes out.

  55. 55 Lukekelly65 said at 8:30 AM on March 27th, 2013:

    Maybe Johnson is the highest rated tackle on our board and when we pick at 4. Fisher and Johnson are both still there when we pick. Howie works his magic and leads Arizona to believe that FIsher is our guy. if we can move back four spots and pick up some picks while still drafting our guy at 8 that would be ideal. this is extremely wishful thinking but i would be more then happy if that works out.

  56. 56 pricebe said at 2:57 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Tommy, this might be a little bit of a random question, but how do you think Lane Johnson compares to Jason Peters? Lane reminds me of Jason, someone who is uber athletic, former TE who turns into an outstnading OT

  57. 57 TommyLawlor said at 3:55 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Lane is the better athlete. Peters is more of the classic “dancing bear”. How does a man his size have feet like that? Insane. Lane has grown to be 305 or so. I doubt he ever gets to 330.

  58. 58 GGeagle21 said at 5:54 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Tom, many people believe tat Lane can’t play on the right side, even though he did for a year, before switching to the left side. Your thoughts?

  59. 59 TommyLawlor said at 10:05 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Lane can play LT or RT. Good athlete, but also a good run blocker.

  60. 60 GGeagle21 said at 7:50 AM on March 27th, 2013:

    Thanks…I too don’t buy the, “can’t play RT” label that keeps getting thrown around with hi,

  61. 61 GGeagle21 said at 3:16 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    is it true that the eagles have shown a lot of interest in:
    1) TE Nick “Do you like girls?” Kasa?
    2) My no, D2 Diamond in the rough, Safety(can play both spots), Rontez “hits like laron Landry, but can also cover” Miles?

    I don’t think we worked them out, but I hear we showed much interest in them during interview process. can anyone confirm this?

    Would also like to hear your thoughts on a 7th rounder I have a lot of belief in. the 6’4 Safety out of Tulsa, Dexter McCoil? Any tights on the kid?

  62. 62 A_T_G said at 8:51 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    I can only guess that the down votes are from people who are not aware that Nick told the media that a number of teams asked him if he likes girls when he was interviewed at the combine.

  63. 63 A_T_G said at 3:58 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    I asked late in the conversation the other day: how does Ziggy compare to JPP in terms of raw ability, potential, and polish entering the draft?

  64. 64 Anders said at 4:55 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    JPP was much more polished.

  65. 65 Justin Sengstock said at 10:12 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Considering JPP was supposed to be extremely raw, that essentially means that Ziggy is a rock still in the ground that hasn’t even been excavated yet? Or are we being revisionist about JPP’s evaluations coming out of school?

  66. 66 ICDogg said at 11:11 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    JPP was not extremely raw. But he was fairly raw. Ziggy basically has played 9 games moving all about the defensive line. He is very, very raw.

  67. 67 ICDogg said at 2:29 AM on March 27th, 2013:

    Adding to that… for a guy who has played so little, he has an awesome highlight reel.

  68. 68 A_T_G said at 8:07 AM on March 27th, 2013:

    If he gets there it means he moved in a forward direction. By definition, that is not a Marlon Favorite.

  69. 69 ICDogg said at 10:20 AM on March 27th, 2013:

    yes, but sort of…

    http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r163/InsultComicDog/ZiggyDive_zpsac6be13d.jpg

  70. 70 TommyLawlor said at 5:30 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Update from Jeff McLane:

    “Victor Butler left the NovaCare without a contract, but there is still mutual interest in signing, according to an NFL source.”

  71. 71 Lukekelly65 said at 6:56 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Tommy have you heard anything about Brandon Kaufman hes a big wide out from Eastern Washington. Hes 6’5 and 215 im not sure where hes going to get drafted if at all but he put up huge numbers and has a big frame. i think he would be a great red zone guy. From the few games i watched hes an average blocker and can go up and get the ball at its highest point.. he does make a lot of body catches which isn’t good and i know hes from a small school so the competition wasn’t the best but i think hes a great late round guy to keep an eye on

  72. 72 CalSFro said at 7:22 PM on March 26th, 2013:

    Hey, Tommy. Was checking out Jeff McClane’s little blurb on Victor Butler’s visit and subsequent departure without a deal and stumbled on this little tidbit:

    “Second-year defensive end Vinny Curry still has a ways to go before he’s assured a roster spot.”

    Anything to that? I assumed since he was young and “talented” that he was in the plans at least for the foreseeable future, but with the coaching change I guess anything is possible.

  73. 73 Eagles_Fan_in_San_Fran said at 11:30 AM on March 27th, 2013:

    “That means we have to un-learn everything Andy Reid taught us and start from fresh.”

    Aw, but I love undersized fastballs with previously torn ACLs, Daddy!