New Guys
Posted: March 27th, 2013 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 97 Comments »Someone in the comments section asked yesterday about Tom Gamble and his role. Long term, Gamble is here to be a key part of the scouting process. He’ll help scout college and pro players and build player rankings. Gamble has worked on both the college and pro personnel side of things over the years. He knows what to look for.
For right now, Gamble is an extra set of eyes. I would think his biggest contribution would be in helping the team find players that fit the 3-4. The Eagles decision makers and scouts have been finding 4-3 talent for years. Tom Donahoe knows the 3-4, but he’s a part-time adviser. That’s different than having someone in the building that can talk to scouts on a daily basis.
Gamble can also act as a cross-check scout. Teams never give one person too much power in regard to a player’s grade. The player is checked out by multiple scouts. One of them is the primary scout for that region. The other guy is a cross-check scout. If they come to the same basic conclusion, that’s where things end. If they disagree, another scout or FO member will watch tape and write a report. You always want some kind of consensus on a player.
Gamble offers a set of eyes from totally outside the organization. He’s not going to have any biases when he watches a player or reads a scout’s reports. Gamble is going to let you know what he sees and thinks. You would want him to focus on players where the team may have strong feelings for/against players that have a different reputation around the league.
What you’d look for are players that you might like too much or might have dismissed too easily. Let’s say the Eagles have Oregon LB Dion Jordan ranked as the #3 player in the entire draft. Gamble can mention that SF had him 13th, 23rd, or 33rd. If there is a serious discrepancy, let’s review things and figure out where he should be. Maybe he stays at #3. It is worth talking about.
Maybe the Eagles have Oregon ILB Kiko Alonso rated as a 4th rounder. Gamble could mention that SF had him as a 2nd rounder. Let’s go back and review things and make sure that we are really comfortable with the grade we have on him.
Not all scouts see the same things. Not all scouts think alike. Not all organizations agree on players. The more smart guys you have on your staff helping you to evaluate, the better off you should be. You do need a strong leader who can sort through different opinions and come up with a consensus evaluation of a player.
Tom Gamble is smart and experienced. He is a guy you want helping you to evaluate players and set up the draft board. I’m sure he also had a hand in the free agency moves.
* * * * *
Sheil Kapadia wrote an excellent piece this morning on what we’ve learned about Chip Kelly so far.
Sheil came to 3 primary conclusions and I agree with them.
1 – Versatility is important to Kelly
2 – He values size on defense
3 – Kelly doesn’t like labels
The one key thing not addressed is Chip’s thoughts on competition. However, we really can’t talk too much about that now because we have yet to see what he does in the NFL. Having players battle for jobs in college is fine. They aren’t being paid. There is no salary cap. And there is no GM or owner to answer to.
It is going to be interesting to see what happens the first time a scrub outplays a big name guy. Will Chip truly bench the star/veteran? That sounds good in theory, but it can be trickier in practical application.
I’m very much looking forward to see how Chip does handle situations. It will tell us a lot about him and the future of the team.
* * * * *
Victor Butler left Philly without a deal. He and the Eagles kept the lines of communication open, but nothing is happening as of now.
Butler has now visited 4 teams. That means he’s gotten 4 physicals. This led Jimmy Bama to question whether Butler just likes having doctors touch and probe him. That would be the NFL free agent version of Muchausen’s syndrome.
Seems to me that Butler is really hoping to go somewhere he’ll have a legit shot to start and make good money. For whatever reason, that’s just not happening right now.
* * * * *
MISC Q&A
* Have the Eagles shown interest in TE Nick Kasa? Yes. They are looking at basically every athletic pass catcher in this TE class. Kasa is a project, but has good size and athletic ability. He would be more of a mid-to-late round type.
* What about Safety Rontez Miles? The Eagles were at his Pro Day. I don’t know that they’ve shown special interest in Miles, but he is on their radar. He would be a late round target.
* Could this be more of an offensive draft than we thought? Possible. The Eagles need an OT. They’ve shown a lot of interest in TEs. They’ve shown a lot of interest in QBs. They’ve checked out WRs and RBs. Part of this is simply due diligence, but I think the FA moves have given them the freedom to take the best player available. And that could mean adding offensive players.
* What about trading back and adding picks for next year? If we could move back in the Top 10 or even Top 15 and add ammo for the 2014 draft, that would be tough to pass up. As we know, the top of this class isn’t great. The overall class is deep and talented, but picking at 4 vs 14 just isn’t that different.
While adding picks this year is very enticing, there is logic to adding them next year, when there should be several good QBs to choose from. I don’t think any team will give you a 1st rounder, but if you could add a 2nd and 3rd or something like that, it would give you ammo to potentially move up in 2014. That would be appealing.
The key is that we need to stay in the 1st round this year. We need to add a talented player to the mix. We’re not so set we could trade out altogether.
* How does Ziggy compare to JPP in terms of raw ability, potential, and polish entering the draft? JPP was a football player. That’s what he did in high school, junior college, and then at USF. He had 24.5 sacks in 2 years at JC. He had 6.5 sacks in his lone season for USF. This was a guy who had size, athletic ability, and a football background. He was raw in the sense that he only played one season of big time football, but there was no denying his ability. One of the reasons he slid as far as he did is that a few teams had character concerns with him. Nothing criminal, but commitment to the game vs partying too much and not working hard enough. Obviously he’s responded brilliantly to Tom Coughlin and the Giants style of doing things.
Ziggy Ansah is from Ghana. He grew up playing soccer and running track. He went to BYU to be on the track team. He joined the football program in 2010 and just became a starter this year. He is very raw. Ansah is thicker than JPP. Ansah is more physical. He’s not as natural of a pass rusher. Ansah is a better run defender. There are no character concerns with Ziggy. In a normal year, he’s a 10 to 20 guy. This year, he could go anywhere. Ansah has a lot of football left to learn. He’s not a blank slate, but he’s pretty close. That’s not the worst thing in the world for a DL. This isn’t like QB or CB or S where you need a ton of experience to know how to read formations and plays. With DL…”see ball, get ball” is the key in most situations.
_
I love raw players. They made it this far on pure talent and/or work ethic. They can go so much further with some refinement. Of course it’s not a given that the player will “get it”, some positions more than others. Great coaching really shines with these sorts of players.
i like Raw players only if they have Football Intelligence/instinct, and a love for the game, passion to be grate, gym rat, warrior, perseverance mentality. if a kid has that kind of make up, than sometimes being Raw can be a good thing, less bad habits to break. At this level, Physical ability is almost a given..Charecter, and mental make up for me, is so much more important than we talk about as fans..then again, the really isn’t much to talk about because we aren’t privy to their interviews, and anything we know about their Charecter, is basiscally third hand intel. Does a kid quit when it gets tough? Can he be broken down? Wll he play through injury? how much does he care about the game of football? how badly does he want to be great? Does his desire to be great keep him from sacrificing for the good of the team?….Without knowing these things, it makes it really hard to figure out what prospects you really want on your team…Having all these college coaches, from so many diffent programs having first hand knowledge of the Charecter, work ethic, sacrifice of so many prospects, is invaluable, and Im expecting a heckuva draft because of it
I agree with that, of course. But I’d like to add the caveat to my initial statement: the player must belong where he is drafted. It isn’t wise to draft someone who has shown nothing on tape but demonstrates enormous physical potential. Take Dantari Poe, zippo on tape, combine phenom. He was drafted where he wa sbased on projection and assumption of what he could be. Simply, he did not belong in the same conversation as the people he was drafted around. Now take Ziggy Ansah, He belongs in the same conversation as your Dion Jordan’s of the world, without projections. That’s where i like raw players like Ziggy.
Thanks for clarifying this, Tommy. Great article as usual.
One could argue that the concern over JPP’s work ethic proved to be valid when he came into camp last year over weight, and didn’t perform up to his 2011 standards.
I didn’t realize he came to camp overweight. Interesting. 2013 is huge for him. Needs a bounce-back year. If not, you do wonder.
I’d be happy if he showed up on the plus side of 350lbs
Can the Eagles just hire Jamarcus Russel to be his personal trainer?
“Speaking at the NFL’s annual meetings, Coughlin revealed that
Pierre-Paul reported to training camp overweight last summer and
struggled much of the year to get rid of the extra pounds.”
http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/giants/coughlin_rips_into_overweight_pierre_lqmbgMnDkrnjmv09CHIhBO
Interesting.
In 2011 he was kinda a wuss in training camp. Always like doubling over declaring he was in pain, go on without me! In my eyes he was a faker or a medical bust, I took delight in the stories…and then the football started. Guess He got the last laugh.
Ofcourse he was out of shape, he couldn’t throw smaller people into the ice tub anymore.
The Chargers just released Jared Gaither which means if the season started today King Dunlap would be there starting LT. Hopefully they trade up with us because I doubt any of the big 3 LT’s make it to pick 11.
Great point.
Tommy,
Lets say the Charges do trade with us; what would they have to give us to make the trade “fair”, and also, whom might we target with pick #11? I know it depends on how the draft plays out, but who do you have going in the 10-20 range of round 1?
Here is the “trade value chart” that can give a reasonable expectation of trade value. It is by no means definitive and teams will vary from it often, but it’s probably the best place to start to determine trade value in the draft.
http://www.draftcountdown.com/features/Value-Chart.php
From the trade chart, moving from 4 to 11, you would expect something around their 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 7th. In this particular draft, the assumption is that the top of the draft lacks any elite prospects, but it is a deep draft beyond that. In terms of value, that means most likely, we would get a less in return for a team to trade up with us than what the trade value chart would otherwise suggest, but again, it ultimately comes down to how desperate is a team for a particular player and how willing are we to move out of that spot. My guess, unless future picks are added (which usually equate to a round lower in value), it would be around a 1st, 2nd plus a mid-late round pick.
1st, 3rd, and a 4th. Maybe throw in a late 2014 pick.
Eagles could hold firm for 1st and 2nd, but I don’t know if SD would do that.
Given this years draft class, that is certainly very possible, but the Eagles rarely get “poor” value in a trade (Asante trade being a notable exception). That certainly wouldn’t be terrible value by any means, but if they didn’t get a 2nd (which I think you are right in the sense it wouldn’t HAVE to be part of the trade), I’d be surprised if they settled for just a 3rd and 4th.
No way do you move down to 11 for a 3rd and 4th round pick, they just don’t have much value. You go down a few spots for a 3rd round pick.
In THIS draft, a 3+4 have tremendous value. It allow allows the Eagles to trade back into the 1st round from #35 OR trade their 2nd round pick for a 2014 #1 and still leave the draft with a 1-3-3-4-4 picks in the first 4 rounds while having 2 #1 in 2014, a top heavier draft.
At #11, we could draft Richardson/Lotulelei at DT, Jones for OLB, Johnson at OT, Cooper at RG, Austin at WR, etc. Lots of choices depending how the board breaks. Heck, Milliner/Jordan/Ansah may even fall if two QBs go in the top 10.
Don’t overvalue 3rd and 4th round picks moving from 4 to 11. People say the draft is great in those areas a lot and it doesn’t turn out that way.
thats true RC…but this is a draft class where I really believe in the mid round depth. I honestly can’t recall another draft where I was this excited about 4th and 5th round picks
Here are all the trades involving top 10 picks in the last 10 drafts for reference (hopefully I didn’t miss any). In addition, in parenthesis, I determined the value difference in the trade for any trade not involving players (for future picks, I used the value of the top of a round later). A negative number means that the team moving back benefited based on the draft trade value chart.
2012:
1. St. Louis -> Washington –
2nd overall for 6th and 39th overall, 2013 1st, 2014 1st (-355)
2. Minnesota -> Cleveland –
3rd overall for 4th, 139th and 211th overall (356.5)
3. Tampa Bay -> Jacksonville –
5th overall for 7th and 101st overall (104)
4. St. Louis -> Dallas –
6th overall for 14th and 45th overall (50)
2011:
1. Cleveland -> Atlanta –
6th overall for 26th, 59th, 124th overall and 2012 1st and 4th round picks (-81)
2. Washington -> Jacksonville –
10th overall for 16th and 49th overall (-110)
2010:
None in the top 10.
2009:
1. Cleveland -> NYJ –
5th overall for 17th and 52nd overall plus Kenyon Coleman, Brett Ratliff, and Abram Elam
2008:
1. New England -> New Orleans –
7th and 164th overall for 10th and 78th overall (25.8)
2. Baltimore -> Jacksonville –
8th overall for 26th, 71st, 89th, and 125th overall (273)
2007:
1. Houston -> Atlanta –
8th and 39th overall plus 2008 2nd rounder for 10th overall and Matt Schaub.
2006:
None in the top 10.
2005:
1. Oakland -> Minnesota –
7th and 219th overall and Napoleon Harris for Randy Moss
2004:
1. San Diego -> NYG –
Manning (1st overall) for Rivers (4th overall) and 65 overall plus 1st and 5th round selections in 2005. (328)
2. Detroit -> Cleveland –
6th overall for 7th and 37th overall. (-430)
2003:
1. Chicago -> NYJ –
4th overall for 13th, 22nd, and 116th overall. (-192)
2. Arizona -> New Orleans –
6th, 37th, and 102 overall for 17th, 18th, and 54th overall (12)
Couple of notes from above. First off, clearly the trade value chart is not a defining chart in terms of determining trade value. Some teams seem to get very close to the values while other teams are very far off. Interestingly however, when you average all the numbers above, the difference in trade values comes to -1.6, so while it is not a great determining factor for individual trades, it seems to be a good guide for the general trends in terms of trades.
In terms of the Eagles potentially trading with the Chargers for their 1st, 3rd, and 4th, the value difference would be 266. That would “favor” the Chargers fairly significantly, but would not be absurd relative to previous trades. I’d need to look at several trades the Eagles have made in recent drafts to say this definitively, but I don’t recall them often getting “poor” value in trades in the past so I would be surprised if they settled for that large of a value difference.
Don’t forget, top picks had a much larger financial burden until they changed the CBA, that’s why they changed the draft pick chart to reflect the cap hit, now the cap hit is far smaller, so teams are more willing to trade up.
You’re right. I actually was going to mention that at the end, but forgot to.
Absolutely not.
I’d rather take a 1st and 3rd this year and a first next year.
While Tom Gamble is a solid addition, don’t forget they added Rick Mueller, who had a lot to do with building the Saints’ SB team, along with Donohue, and Riddick is an experienced pro personnel guy. So they have a solid team of “football guys” advising Howie, which attests to his emotional security, he’s not threatened by having guys with better pedigrees reporting to him.
This not only helps in cross checking college and pro players, but provides more insight into how other teams will draft.
True enough. It can be argued that Roseman’s emotionally secure becuase has “solid team of ‘football guys’ advising” him.
But Roseman’s now the guy who pulls the trigger. All the emotional security in the world won’t help him decide between, say, signing Nnamdi or passing on Nnamdi. Or choosing a B-Graham over a JPP.
We just have to trust that Roseman’s as much a “football guy” as the collection of former GM-personnel guys now advising him.
He’s not going to sign Nnamdi if there’s no desire to so do from the coaching staff. Signing players is not like a father buying his kid a gift on a business trip.
Respectfully . . . we have no idea how the Eagles decision-making works. KREMLIN.
I’m pretty sure that if Andy, Chip, or any other coach showed up for work one day with a player signed that they hadn’t ever expressed an interest in, we could classify that team as a dysfunctional organization. All indications are that despite the problems with the Eagles, they are not generally a dysfunctional organization. Based on what we do know, I would have a VERY hard time believing that Roseman would sign a player completely without a coach’s consent (or the consent from at least some others on the personnel team). That’s anti-Roseman fearmongering at its worst.
Tommy, does age concern you with draft prospects? Howie has stated in a few different interviews over the past year that one of the things they really love about Fletcher Cox is that he was only 21 when they drafted him last year. A guy I really like who also seems to fit the Eagles profile is Sheldon Richardson, who I have as my top 34DE (big reason being his 34.5 inch arms). But he’s 24 years old.
Star Lotulelei is 23. Dion Jordan is 23. Shariff Floyd is 20 (but has 31.75 inch arms). Luck Joeckel is 21. Eric Fisher 22. Lane Johnson either 23 or 24.
24 and under is fine. You prefer guys that are 22 or less. They have more time ahead of them.
Margus Hunt is 26 I think. That’s a red flag for me.
You mean so was Danny Watkins?!
Yes that was a blown pick from the moment it was made.
Blown pick BEFORE it was made.
What about Sharrif Floyd (about to be 21) vs Star Lotulelei (24)?
Star’s age is not a red flag to me, but I do think the difference between the two is a major factor. Star’s big advantage over Floyd is strength, but when you consider that he is close to his physical peak whe Floyd is several years away from his, it makes Floyd’s overall upside more appealing.
Don’t see Floyd’s t-rex arms growing much in 3 years.
Geno Atkins has 32″ arms.
True but none of those guys play for Kelly, who clearly has placed an emphasis on size and length in defenders. I don’t see a sub 300lb DT with short arms fitting that profile.
Kelly’s preference for length is on record, but of course he wants the best players too. Do you think his obsession with length goes to the extent he would prefer Muhammad Wilkerson (good player, very long) to Geno Atkins (great player, not long)? There are matters of absolutes, and matters of degree. If Kelly thinks Floyd is the best overall prospect at his position (as I do), would he pass over him because his arms are an inch or two short of ideal?
Re: What We’ve Learned About Chip Kelly
T-Law mentioned that one of Sheil’s observations regarding C-K is:
“Kelly doesn’t like labels.”
Honestly, I can’t think of any professional whose job is complex or part of a larger organization who likes labels.
The U.S. Supreme Court is broken down into “Liberals” and “Conservatives.”
Why? Because it’s easy for the media to tell their story to the public is we just say its Libs v. Cons . . . or Dems v. Repubs . . . or Offensive-minded head coach v. Defensive-minded head coach. [Can’t think of a single SB winner whose head coach didn’t care about all three parts of the game!]
What labels reflect, generally, is laziness by the media and a lack of critical thinking by those Americans who accept the labels without critique.
________________
Now, having said that, sometimes a label makes sense. For example, when Joe Kuharich coached the Eagles (’64-’68), the team stunk and he stunk. So the label, “Joe Sucks,” actually captured all you needed to know.
Since the beginning of mankind, we have been classifying and simplifying. Plants, animals, people, personalities, stories, history, etc. Rarely does the reality of anything fit into the nice box we make for it, but it is what it is.
Perhaps Chip is a solid defensive mind, it is just more conventional so it doesn’t stand out as much as his offensive principles, who knows. Chip needs to not worry about the labels, if people think he isn’t good at something, he needs to use that against them. Also, resenting your label can make you take opposite action, which isn’t necessarily the right action.
Kelly’s dislike of labels is above and beyond. He doesn’t even seem comfortable saying 3-4 or 4-3.
I definitely agree with your sentiments about how people try to over-categorize everything. There was a scene in Spinal Tap where they argued if something was jazz-blues or blues-jazz. Brilliant and true.
Didn’t I recall from your older piece how you expressed a slight bit of frustration when Kelly didn’t specify what kind of defensive scheme he and Davis were going to run?
Re: Tom Donahue / Geno Smith
T-Law . . .
Speaking of Donahue, why do you suppose Roseman sent the part-time Donahue to Geno’s Pro-Day, instead of Mueller or Gamble or Riddick or Lazor?
The Eagles brass had just been there 2 days earlier. No reason to send the big boys.
Donahoe may have acted as a cross-check guy. See what you think of Geno’s performance compared with how he worked out for Kelly/Howie. Also, Donahoe might have been focusing in on some other player as well.
Final point to consider…Donahoe might just live closer. Not sure where his residence is. Could be simple logistics.
Eagles bringing Shariff Floyd and Eric Fisher in for a visit
Per Jeff McLane:
@Jeff_McLane
Scratch Vinny Curry from OLB list. #Eagles intend to keep him at DE, although may require diff skill set and some extra lbs in new scheme.
At the combine last year, Curry was 266 lbs, so based on what we have discussed on here, he would need to add a significant amount of weight to be a solid 5 tech DE.
Makes sense; he lacks the speed and explosion for OLB. Howie seemed to be not-so-happy with getting him last year. Kept saying that “they stuck to their board.” And if you look at that spot (#59), you can see there was a huge drop in talent right before it. It seemed at the time like they tried to trade out of the pick but couldn’t find any takers, so they went BPA and got stuck with a good player but an unnecessary one, whose physical limitations make him pretty much a waste. They’d be lucky to trade him for scraps at this point. His frame couldn’t handle the 25 extra pounds to be a 34DE.
I had a very different read on the Curry pick. I think you are right in the sense that he wasn’t a guy they targeted specifically, but I disagree that Howie wasn’t happy about getting him. I think they were really happy a guy they had highly rated on their board could be had at great value.
I also don’t think he is viewed as a wasted player. That being said, if he is indeed moving to DE, I think what we do with our early picks will strongly indicate how they view Curry. If they go after Star or Sharrif Floyd, that would tell me they don’t see Curry having long term value. If they end up challenging him with a 3rd or 4th round pick though, I think to would show trust in his ability to succeed at DE.
Or perhaps they draft Floyd and Curry’s role is more of a Joker. Keep in mind that a no-huddle offense should mean there are a lot more quality defensive snaps to go around. Floyd, Graham, Curry and Thornton would all be guys who have never played a lot of NFL snaps in a season before (and Sopoaga is just a specialist). Plus I think this scheme is going to put an emphasis on being “multiple” with the front seven. In short, there could be room for a lot of different opportunities with a lot of different players, which makes it hard to draw conclusions in the offseason. As Kelly said, the players will make the depth chart.
I couldn’t disagree more. I think they were thrilled to get him last year. HE’s a PERFECT fit for the wide-9, which is what the team was moving to.
This is exactly the Jarrett, Te’o thing over again. The Eagles drafting for a specific DC or scheme and then moving off of that paradigm.
Wasn’t curry dropping pounds and getting rocked up for the off-season in anticipation of being OLB? I’m convinced he will do whatever it takes to get a shot at getting on that field.
I certainly have no reason to question his desire to get onto the field and the effort he will put into succeeding. The question really becomes, can he add that much weight and still be effective. Tommy and others would be much better at answering that than I am.
I merely meant what sucks is I read he was dropping weight to become a linebacker, now it looks like he will have to gain weight, and functional weight at that, to play the 5 tech. It’s a pretty big set-back.
I see. Yea, if he was losing weight, that will make it that much harder to gain the necessary weight.
I guess it depends on the weight. No way he’s putting on 20 pounds of muscle in 3 months. If he just wanted to add weight so that he’d present a tougher figure to move, without worrying about BF%, I’d say it’s obviously very doable.
I thought I read that he’d maintained his weight, but dropped BF% already this offseason, which would indicate he’s put on lean mass. If that’s the case, adding some fat might not be such a negative, and even at 290, he might only be a couple % points higher of BF than he was at his playing weight of 265 last season.
If he was on the ‘Skinshe could add 20 of muscle.
Consider Curry was never a speed guy, but a guy with violent hands, it makes sense to try and convert him to a 3-4 DE where hand technique makes the difference.
He entered the combine at 266 and didnt really look maxed out, so I guess he should be in the 280-290 now where some of that is of course fat and not just pure muscle.
I have no idea what they’re doing. I don’t understand it. Not only is Curry extremely light to play Left End in a 4-3 Under front, he’s also got short-ish arms for that position. Is he going to back up Cox at Right end? Not sure if they ever rushed him from inside, but he certainly hasn’t done it much, if at all. Is he staying a “DE” in name because they only plan to put him on the field in pass rush packages? It’s hard to imagine they’ve made that decision at this early date, but you’d hope they have a tentative depth chart pulled together to help determine draft needs. Is this just a ploy to divert attention from the real LE/DT they’re looking for in the draft, in the form of Floyd or Lotulelei?
Curry was 266 at the combine. Justin Smith, one of the best 3-4 DEs was 246 at the combine
Justin Smith was not 246 at the combine, that’s just bad information.
Sorry 267, I mixed him up
I was wondering, I knew he was 260-270 and 267 is what I see also.
Curry actually has been doing some serious pumping off season, his pictures suggest he may be well into the 270s. He doesn’t really have the speed for OLB and I think Howie drafted him with the idea of play LDE down the road. If he can carry 280-285 lbs or so he’d be fine in a rotation with someone like Thornton.
I have a hard time believing they are trying to turn him to a 5tec, without seeing what he can do at OLB first…but I will say, that having two of his former college coaches on our staff, means we should be very familiar with the kid, and already know what he is capable…so while, I won’t believe it, til I see more intel than a Jeff McLane tweet confirming it, I’m sure Azzinaro and Minter know what he is capable of. I’m very excited about Curry’s future. but I would be lying if I said I believed this tweet
Ansah’s soccer and track background would also suggest he may have higher levels of stamina.
Interesting point. That could attract Chip.
Speaking of soccer, yahoo had an article on Menelik Watson today – another guy to root for but 24yrs old. What are your thoughts on him as an RT prospect Tommy?
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/world-of-sport/could-britain-next-sporting-super-star-145519962.html
Reminds; I saw some cut ups of Ansah the other day, he even tried a soccer style tackle but lucky missed.
I saw that too. I told myself he must have slipped trying to change directions, but yeah, I think he went for a slide tackle.
Tommy do you think moving Curry to DE signals that we’re probably going OL at #4?
Obviously I’m not Tommy, but who knows what the eagles mindset is in this upcoming draft. They have a lot of routes to go and have not left us any clues to follow.
I’m sure if Tommy knew who the Eagles were taking he’d tell us. I’m merely speculating, just like everyone else does up until the end of April. I’m just asking for his opinion.
I believe Tommy had said we have two position that we really *must* address, and that was the 5 tech DE and a tackle. If the coaching staff feels Curry can start at DE then that would take away one immediate need. That would leave one “must have” position left, and that would be an OT. Hence my question.
The Eagles are now — and have been, like pretty much every other NFL club — “The Kremlin.”
Alternative news: Happy 50th to Randall Cunningham. Lots of great memories about him. Can’t believe he’s 50. Jeff Darlington did a piece on him, great interview, solid article. Randall really matured into a humble guy.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000154103/article/randall-cunningham-at-50-reflections-on-career-new-qbs-more
In the unforgettable words of MNF’s Howard Cosell: “Too Little, Too Late . . . “
Too late and not enough for the Eagles anyway. Too many pro athletes turn into sad stories after the game. So Kudos to him for being able to move on from the game and be something.
tommy, what do you think of San Fran as a tradedown partner, especially with gamble connection. they have more picks than they’ll ever use or sign. i’d like a top 5 stud player, but switching 4 to 31 (that part is hard) since they have couple 2nds, couple 3rds, or look at next yrs 1st so packaging to get 2nd pick (future qb)wouldnt be as harsh. to sweeten deal, like him, but foles would work well as their backup-some experience and cheap- and no one in top 10 can offer anything like that, maybe squeeze more picks. just keep hearing how deep this draft is.
I don’t know about you guys, but I am fucking excited that Chip Kelly is our HC.
Philadelphia just about held a parade on Broad Street for former coach Mike McCormack when the Eagles hired him.
Just saying.
Yeah… I was excited about it too at the time.
Re: Vinny Curry . . .
First, here’s an observation about VC during the Eagles 2012 training camp, made by a well known NFL insider:
“What stood out on tape . . . rushers, was his quick, active and violent hands. That attribute reminded me of San Francisco 49ers first-rounder Aldon Smith when he
came out of Missouri last year, and we all know the success Smith had as a sub-package rusher with 14 sacks.”
The insider? One Greg Cosell (a favorite of many who read T-Law’s blog, whose main qualification is, like Howie Rosweman, he watches lots of tape.)
It seems, the way things are shaping up, that Vinny needs to show something this TC or he’s gone. He certainly wasn’t Aldon Smith last year. And he didn’t show anything last season that would make you think he’ll be like AS this year.
On the other hand, Chipper’s D-line coach likes players who show violence. Maybe they see what Cosell saw.
Or not.
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A commenter remarked that in the 2012 draft, the talent dropped off right around Pick No. 59: VC’s spot.
The Eagles — read, Roseman — had the Cardinals’ 2nd Rd pick at No. 51 but elected to trade out of it down to No. 59 to acquire a 4th Rd pick (having used their own to move up 2 places in Rd 1 for Flecther Cox . . . a trade that may not even have been necessary).
Some players selected from 51-58 whom Roseman could have chosen: Packers DT Jerrel Worthy, Mich State; Titans LB Zach Brown, NC; Falcons G Peter Konz, Wisc; Bucs LB Lavonte David, Nebraska.
AFTER the Eagles picked VC at 58, players Roseman passed on were: Ravens G Kelichi Osemele, Iowa State; Packers CB Casey Hayward, Vanderbilt; Giants long, tall WR Reuben Randle, LSU; Colts big, fast TE Dwayne Allen, Clemson; Vikings CB Josh Robinson, Central FL . . .
And, of course, Seahawks QB Russell Wilson.
It’s possible that Curry could be gone (a la Jarrett) after 1 season. And while the Eagles will still have Boykin . . . all things considered, I’d rather have Russell Wilson.
Curry was a steal in the end of the 2nd round. No need to use the revisionist goggles because with them Wilson would have been a 1st round pick.
Also Curry never got the chance to show what he could do because of Washburn playing favorites.
I”m not sure if you saw this article on Curry but it has some good stuff
http://www.phillymag.com/eagles/2013/03/06/eagles-wake-up-call-47/
I’m unsure if i see curry making the roster this year but maybe some of the connections he has with the new coaches from his time in college can help him… I really like Vinny Curry i hope Chip finds a role for him on the team the guy seems willing to do whatever it takes i just hope he gets a shot
Curry not making the roster??? Huh? As in cutting Vinny Curry? Or trading him? After like 30 snaps in a rookie year? I don’t see any way that Curry isn’t on our roster in September. he is actually someone I am very excited about this year. Out of all our DE’s, Curry is probably the one I have the most faith in to make the transition to OLB….I have a very difficult time believing that they will try and make him a 5tec, and I even have a harder time believing that his roster spot is in Jeapordy…but I guess we only have to wait a couple weeks to find out
Sorry, but you’re using hindsight here. By your logic, Urlacher was a terrible pick because he could have been Brady. It’s a bit early to be writing Curry off, I think.
Tommy i saw your post on eaglesblog about Goodwin and how some of the Eagles scouts were paying close attention to him.. i think he would be a great KR option but we do have a lot of the smaller type of WRs on the roster already could we maybe try to trade Avant for a late round pick maybe a 6? im not sure what his value would be but if Chip really likes big frame wide outs or smaller quick guys would he really be a fit? i really think at some point in the draft they will add someone one to compete for KR position because of Kellys emphasis on ST and i see Goodwin as a great fit for that.
Add another Workout to the list.
Per Rob Rang, USC’s Khaled Holmes (C) has a workout on campus Friday with the Eagles. Star abused him in the Utah game.
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/blog/rob-rang/21960061/pro-days-barkley-gets-passing-grade-but-others-steal-the-show
I would so much rather get Barrett Jones, so we don’t need to draft a backup center, while also pushing Wtkns for the starting RG spot.
Barrett Jones and Herremans on the same team, means that with two players, you have a backup at all 5 spots on the line. Rocket scientist intelligence, with a Runyan-like Nasty streak? YES PLEASE!
Unrelated but does anybody know how this cap rollover thing works? ProFootballTalk just posted that we still have 26.3 mil in cap space. If we don’t use that are we allowed to roll that over into the next season? Also does anyone know what the salary cap floor number is and if we have exceeded it yet?
Yes and Yes.
We can roll that money over and we’ll spend the salary minimum after we sign our rookies.
Remember, most FA salaries are for multiple years, right now we’re fairly close to next year’s cap level so the only extra money may be what we roll over if we sign one or two (Butler, Winston) guys.
They also have $10M in deadly money this year that counts against the cap. Not having that much next ye.ar should free up several mil more
The salary floor is 89% of avg. cap over the next four years. This year the cap is 123 mill and it remain around that the next couple seasons, so if we just spend around 112 mill each year we should be save.
Also yes we can roll any unused cap space over to the next year.
http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r163/InsultComicDog/ZiggyDive_zpsac6be13d.jpg
TY-Law: Thanks for answering a few of my questions. Much appreciated