Eagles Notebook
Posted: February 7th, 2012 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 56 Comments »The Eagles have worked out QB Trent Edwards a couple of times in recent weeks. I don’t know any inside scoops on this, but that’s more than casual interest. He’s a free agent and the team could sign him right away. Not sure what the delay is if they really want him.
Edwards started his career in Buffalo. He was up and down as a rookie in 2007. He began the 2008 season playing well. His rating was in the 90s. He was completing 60+ percent of his passes. He only had 2 INTs. In Week 5, Edwards started off 3 for 3, but then took a big hit from SS Adrian Wilson. He suffered a concussion and missed the rest of the game. Next up was a bye week. Edwards came back for the next game and played well, but was highly inconsistent after that. Pressure seemed to be an issue (due to a mediocre OL). Edwards didn’t play very well in 2009 and then lost the job to Ryan Fitzpatrick after a couple of poor starts in 2010.
Trent went to JAX for the rest of 2010, but didn’t have success in his limited playing time. He then was a backup for the Raiders during the 2011 preseason, but got cut and remained on the market.
I have mixed feelings on Edwards. I think he is a system QB. He needs good protection and good skill players. He has had some terrific NFL games. The fact he hasn’t played well since 2009 does bug me a bit.
Adding Edwards to the QB mix does appeal to me in one sense. Let him and Mike Kafka compete for the backup job. If you go get a significant QB (ala Vince Young), that guy almost has to be the backup. I’d rather have a true competition. Mike Kafka might be ready to be the #2 guy. You can’t count on him. Letting him and Edwards battle it out should bring out the best in one of them.
Should things go horribly wrong, you can always add a veteran in August. You also have some freedom with the draft. This isn’t a good QB class, but you never know who Reid may like. What if some QB falls to the 6th round. That could be too much for Reid to pass up. Then suppose Kafka and the kid outplay Edwards. You have the option to cut him. Not a likely scenario, but I do like the freedom that adding Edwards gives you.
While I said that Edwards is a system QB, the system is the WCO. We’re a vertical version of that, but the offense can be adjusted to fit him if he needs to start a game or two. The problem with Vince was that he was also a system QB – play defense and run the ball. That’s not our system. Edwards is a much better fit.
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There is someone on Twitter named “The Time’s Ours”. His (or her) avatar is absolutely great. Kudos on that.
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Okay, most of you probably know I’m a tad insane. I look at things from about a million different perspectives when trying to figure things out. With that noted, something odd occurred to me one day.
Who are the Eagles best homegrown LBs in recent memory?
Jeremiah Trotter, William Thomas, Seth Joyner, and Byron Evans. What do they all have in common? The southwest: Stephen F. Austin, Texas A&M, UTEP, Arizona.
Does this mean we have to draft kids from Texas or TCU or Oklahoma? No. Just a weird pattern that stood out to me while trying to figure some things out.
Do think about good 4-3 LBs for a minute.
Brian Urlacher – New Mexico
Lance Briggs – Arizona
Von Miller – Texas A&M
Derrick Johnson – Texas (success in 4-3 and 3-4)
Curtis Lofton – Oklahoma
David Hawthorne – TCU
Thomas Howard – UTEP
Sean Weatherspoon – Missouri (but born in TX)
Maybe Keenan Robinson (Texas), Travis Lewis (Oklahoma), and Tank Carder (TCU) should be key targets. This is probably just me over-thinking things, but it is an interesting pattern or trend or whatever you want to call it.
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Make sure to check out Gimpy’s post-Super Bowl column. Dont’ worry. It is something you guys can stomach. And Gimp does have some good info on recent SB trends. Really has you confused on what to hope for in terms of the regular season. Is being a #1 or #2 seed really a good thing anymore.
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Want to support a fellow Eagles fan, check out this. Jason Hutt has written a sci-fi novel. I’ve often thought of trying to write a book, but I get stuck on the Table of Contents so kudos to him for pulling it off.
No word yet on if any of the characters are based on Derek Landri. If not, Jason could be saving that for the sequel.
For those who might have missed this in the past, long time Eagles fan Tom McAllister wrote a book about growing up as an Eagles fan. I have read the book and it is really good stuff. He made me want to hop in a time machine and go to Iowa and drink PBR pitchers with him. Heck, I might do that now without him.
As always, try to support our Eagles brethren.
Tommy,
Thanks for providing me with an NFL injection. This is the absolute hardest time for me of the year. The NFL season is finished with the Patriots and Brady getting their revenge for the lost Super Bowl in 2008, and there is absolutely nothing happening in the football world until the 22nd of February… That’s a long waiting period for someone as addicted as me!
Please keep your posts coming, as they are almost all I have to look forward to (is that sad?)
I am excited to see the weigh-inn at the Combine. Maybe Luke shows up at 6-3, 245… Does that make people suddenly think of him as elite? If so, I hope he shows up a little lighter, so he’ll last to 15…
“The NFL season is finished with the Patriots and Brady getting their revenge for the lost Super Bowl in 2008”
…wait what?
I’m thinking he is trying to block out who actually won the game. I am in favor of that.
Trent Edwards doesn’t seem like the worst idea ever, but I am not a fan of his arm strength. I think he seems really limited there. I know was super-smart coming out of college and that has never been his knock. I think he might have even aced the Wonderlic Test – although I might be confusing him and Fitzpatrick. Yeah, I think I am. Edwards seems too much like Kafka in that respect. You would think you’d rather have someone with some more physical attributes in that #2/#3 spot that maybe is a tad more raw and needs development (draft pick), and crossing my fingers on Kafka, except that we all know with Michael Vick you need 2 Qb’s that can start. At any moment your #2 can be trotting on the field needing to win you a game in the 4th quarter It’s not like other teams where your #1 Qb getting hurt is more of a rarity. People have been mentioning Jason Campbell. I never liked Campbell – seems to make too many mistakes and doesn’t seem accurate enough. The bottom line is – Vick really really needs a healthy season in 2012 because we are probably going to have less of a safety net than usual. I forgot how nice it was in 2010 that when Vick got hurt, you had Kevin Kolb ready to go in and win you a game when you needed it. He came up so big in that Atlanta game for us – you kind of took it for granted. If Kolb becomes available from Arizona do you go after him? Weird question, I know.
“I’m thinking he is trying to block out who actually won the game. I am in favor of that.”
Oh haha right — that sounds good.
After the year Kevin had…. I think he would strongly consider it if the Eagles made him an offer. It may well be his only opportunity to start games this year (assuming Vick is hurt for a couple games).
I don’t think a gain of 5-10 lbs would make people think he’s elite. His skill determines that.
Tommy, you and Gimpy are my two favorite sport writers, you always mix in well thought facts, opinions and great humor
Did Gimpy pay you to say that?
T-LAW:
Maybe Seth Joyner should get an asterisk next to his name . . . he’s from Spring Valley, New York. Not far from North Jersey. And it’s Giants territory.
The best homegrown LB the Eagles have had since Maxie Baughan, and Joyner’s a native New Yorker.
Oh, the humanity!!!
Yeah, I know he’s from the North, but there is something about playing CFB in the Southwest that seems to help LBs. I’m in search of a good theory, but don’t currently have one. I’m certainly open to ideas.
Tommy, you got me thinking about LBs and the Southwest and I recalled the LBs from Texas A&M, notably the “Wrecking Crew” defenses under R.C. Slocum. I remember a vicious hit Quentin Coryatt put on WR from TCU (who had a build similar to DJax) who crossed the middle. The force of the hit had the WR fly backwards at least 5 yds, and broke the poor guy’s jaw. Coryatt, however, did not as stellar a career in the NFL
Speaking of Seth Joyner, I remember seeing him at a party while I was Temple student, and he looked as mean in person as he did on game day. He was a great LB who could do it all (tackle, rush, cover, force fumbles). And just b/c Joyner is from NY does not mean he gets an asterick by his name. When it came time to play the Giants, Joyner was bringing the wood along with the rest “Gang Green”!!!
For the life of me I do not understand why he isn’t our LB coach. The dude knows defense well enough that he even played amazingly well as an emergency S in Arizona. Maybe he doesn’t want to do it… but damn, Castillo could at least go eat dinner with the guy and learn a thing or two.
You need four QBs in camp, so bringing in Edwards makes sense. Doesn’t preclude a late round draft pick or UDFA.
It does however raise the question whether the Eagles should design their offense around Vick, or have Vick adjust to an offense that can work with Kafka or another probably future QB. The odds of landing another McNabb or Vick (athletic QB with a tremendous arm) are far slimmer than landing a Brees/Brady type (smart QB with an above average but not great arm).
In that case, replacing Desean makes sense, he really only has value with a QB with a gun and great protection, because it takes 4 seconds or more for him to clear the safeties (that 4.35 speed in the 40 is without pads, from a track start and no one trying to jam you) for those deep throws. Most NFL throws are within 1-20 yards of the LOS, and even most “long throws” are 21-30 yards, as Garcia showed, a noodle arm QB who can anticipate can make “deep throws” to keep safeties honest.
If you build an offense around throws in the 1-25 yard range, your list of potential QBs grows, maybe you want a stronger arm than Orton, but you have a lot more options. As the Giants showed, having WRs who can catch in a crowd means you don’t have to wait for them to separate by two yards. So a big #2 with size and strength and hands that can snatch, along with two receiving TEs and hopefully improvement by McCoy (and maybe a H-back) would give you a more flexible offense. And one that would still operate on all cylinders if Vick goes down and Kafka’s average arm takes over. In other words, the offense AR used to run.
Maybe they should review Gruden’s offenses in Philly, Oakland and Tampa Bay, anyone who can win with Detmer, Gannon and Brad Johnson knows something.
I don’t think the offense is going to get completely overhauled, but I think DeSean is done as an Eagle and that will change things. I think we add a bigger WR in his place and become less of a dynamic attack. We’ll still be somewhat vertical. We’ll just throw 20-yard passes instead of 40-yard passes.
Which fits Mudd’s blocking scheme, because it’s more suited to preventing jailbreaks (picking up blitzes with mobile linemen) than holding Wilfork out for 5 seconds on a bull rush.
So if Vick develops a clock, he’ll rarely have pressure in the first 3-4 seconds of plays, which is enough time for a receiver to get 20 yards downfield and even make a cut or two.
With stretch runs forcing defenses to be honest horizontally, and receivers like Maclin and Cooper capable of taking it to the house if the safeties cheat up, I see no reason why this sort of offense won’t be effective. A big WR and Celek underneath for the safe throw.
Heck, if McNabb could make it work with Trash, Pinkston, Freeman/Mitchell, and Chad Lewis and his 5.0 40 (bless his heart), Vick should be able to make it work with the current personnel.
Dwayne Bowe please
T-Law:
I just read Gimpy’s SB postscript.
He mentioned (as others have) that the Giants are the first 9-win SB champion since the NFL went to the 16-game schedule in 1978.
In fact, the Giants are the first 9-win SB/NFL champ since the 1967 GB Packers were 9-4-1.
You have to go back to the penultimate year of the 12-game era to find a 9-game winner as NFL champion. In 1958 and 1959 the Baltimore Colts were 9-3. (And working back from 1958, almost every champion has less than 10 wins.)
Just another statistic about the Giants that makes me so disappointed about our Birds.
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On the plus side, Eli Manning received lots of huzzahs for his 4th Q performances this year.
Well . . . he wasn’t as good as Norm Van Brocklin in 1960, when he led the Eagles to their last World Championship.
In the 12-game era, when the Birds were 10-2, the Dutchman led the Eagles to 5 come-from-behind 4th Quarter wins.
And in the title game, Van Brocklin again led the Eagles to a late 4th Q victory over Lombardi’s soon-to-be dynastic Packers.
That’s six 4th Q wins in 13 games for the Eagles . . . .
SO TAKE THAT NEW YORK!!!!
Great history lesson. Didn’t know that about Van Brocklin. Love the history nuggets. Keep ’em coming.
T-Law:
How ’bout that Levi Mitchell (to borrow from the late, great Whitey Ashburn) — QB at Eastern Washington.
He’s about Drew Brees’ size. Same motion. Good in the pocket? Nice Jeff Garcia-esque arm.
How ’bout it?
Gotta watch some tape on him, but Bo Levi Mitchell never impressed me as a pro prospect.
I have my eye on former Tennessee QB Jim Bob Cooter. I think he’s out of prison by now. He’s my #1 target for back-up QB. Huge upside.
And I really, really, really want a #15 Eagles jersey that simply says “COOTER” on the back.
I Googled Jim Bob Cooter. He works for the Colts!
http://www.colts.com/team/coaches/jim-bob-cooter/fee0191f-35c0-43b4-8fb5-a2ba7520f94d
All this after facing “aggravated burglary charges after allegedly getting into bed with a woman after climbing through a window of her Fort Sanders apartment, according to an arrest warrant.”
Sign him, Howie!
Hahaha, that is incredible. Between Jim-Bob and Najeh Davenport’s B&E’s, I feel like we have enough material to make the next “The Blind Side.” Except it would be about washed up players breaking into women’s houses and sneaking into their beds/pooping in their laundry.
Title would be “Blindsided” yes?
Tommy,
Reading through the Eagles Blog v5.0 on the EMB – I saw someone mention that Adam Caplan said the Eagles are working on a long term deal for Trevor Laws? Thoughts? Would this mean not bringing back Landri?
Caplan did say that and Jeff McLane wrote it a couple of weeks back. Highly confusing. I don’t think it rules Landri out, but it doesn’t help. I’m going to write up a DL post. I’ve been watching lots of college tape on DL so I could mix in those thoughts.
If the Eagles do that deal with Laws, then I think MORTON’s theory — the Eagles don’t evaluate defensive talent well — is confirmed.
I don’t remember reading that Laws was hurt this year. And Landri completely out-played him.
I don’t get it (if true).
Do you think any decision would be made without Washburn’s advice and approval?
Given Washburn and Mudd’s track record last year (not to mention their entire careers) on personnel for their new systems, I’d relax.
If they bring Laws back, it’s because they decided that Laws, like Patterson, wasn’t able to prepare for his new role as a one gap DT due to the lockout and no communication with coaches and should be better with a full offseason to reshape his body (i.e. get lighter and quicker).
It makes no sense to do that. If Trevor Laws, not Desean, is the guy we sign out of that 2007 2nd RD this front office needs to be flushed down the toilet
Is it a long term deal where Trevor Laws fetches water for the D-line and cooks supper for the Matthew’s family for say… $35,000/yr guaranteed for 4 years?
Tommy – why do u think DeSean is done as an Eagle (do you know something we don’t)…I would assume this being Reid’s last season (unless he does very well – now that very well is subjective) I would assume the FO may just slap the franchise tag on him and give Reid that one last shot at it…(at least that’s what my thinking is)
No inside knowledge. Eagles want DeSean back, but he and Drew have a big difference in salary expectations from what Eagles think he’s worth. If the price goes down, DeSean is back. If not, don’t see how that works out.
On that note, is there a good chance we will be able to get some sort of compensation for DeSean? I’d only get rid of him if we can get a trade through
If you had asked me a few weeks ago, I felt fairly confident that the team was going in a different direction, mostly due to the unwavering contract demands of Rosenhaus.
But the closer you look at this WR market coming up, the more I’m starting to believe that the Eagles will take the “wait and see” approach and that DeSean’s demands will come back down to Earth. He is a very good playmaker to have in a dynamic, deep offense like ours, New Orleans’, or Green Bay’s. But I don’t see a team like St. Louis or Jacksonville, in desperate need of a true #1 WR, paying DeSean what he wants. Because he’s a niche player, not a #1 WR.
Mario Manningham made himself some money on Sunday. Pierre Garcon is the same age as DeSean. You can likely get a Robert Meachem for 70% of DeSean’s asking price. And then you have the big guns: Stevie J, Colston, Vincent Jackson, Dwayne Bowe.
I think we’re going to see some big offers thrown out to those guys as soon as March 14th hits. But I think March 21st, March 28th will begin to roll around… and DeSean will still be out there. A little ego-bruised, but available. And I hope thats when the Eagles strike a deal to bring him back.
Tommy, I really appreciate the shout-out for the book. Hope folks enjoy it.
Unfortunately, no Derek Landri in this version. I’ll be sure to include him as the under-appreciated hero who saves the day in the sequel.
Book sounds cool, man. I’ll have to check it out. You cite the Dark Tower saga as an influence… thats good enough for me!
They should just remake “The Terminator” with Derek Landri in the lead. He was sent back in time to sack Eli Manning, who will be played by Linda Hamilton. The only thing that stands in his way is Kyle Reese, who will be played by Trevor Laws’ pending contract extension.
I definitely want to see that movie.
“Eli…consider your contract…TERMINATED.”
Jason,
Glad to do it. One of the ways I got to write a column on PE..com was my EMB readers bugging Dave Spadaro to death. That support was huge. Without them, Dave probably keeps me locked in the basement and my words fail to inspire the children of the world to rise up and fight tyranny by drinking PBR and worshiping Derek Landri.
Now that I’ve got a platform that reaches all 6.8 billion* people on Earth, I want to give back. I’m glad to help my fellow Eagles fans that have something to promote. We have to support each other.
(* margin of error is +/- 6.799999999999999 billion)
So apparently (as listed on the combine invite) our beloved Joe Adams real name is Adam Adams. His parents are horrible people.
Trevor Laws was useless this year and has been for 3 of his first 4 years. Jenkins, Patterson, Dixon, and how do you not keep Landri? Laws would make 5 DTs. No way do they invest in a DT early in the draft to battle for a low depth chart DT. Just an observation.
See my comment above for the “inside scoop” on some of the details of the deal.
Tommy,
What do you think we can get for JamJax? He’s been a good soldier, but do you think we hang on to him until at least the draft, to try and get a 5/6th rder or do we just release him? Thanks
Might get a conditional 6th or 7th, but most likely you’d have to simply cut him.
That’s kinda what I thought, nobody is really ever needy enough to trade for a backup C
Adam Caplan tosses out some unusual names as possible FA targets. For SAM: DeAndre Levy, Wesley Woodyard, and Jo Lon Dunbar. For S: Steve Gregory and Madieu Williams. The MLB names have been tossed around on this blog: Curtis Lofton, David Hawthorne and Barrett Rudd. He thinks we’ll go FA to support the LB and S position. Also speculates we tag and trade DeSean. Go to team site for the video.
He just lost all credibility.
Woodyard is fast but really undersized,
Levy has the size for SLB, fast but also a RFA
Gregory isn’t as good as Coleman,
Madieu Williams, stick a fork in him.
Rudd is 29, coming off an injury, is he that much better than Chaney?
Actually Adam was going through some of those names as just general guys of interest and not necessarily Eagles targets.
He mentioned Levy as a MLB target. Dave got confused about him as a SAM target.
Adam did say he thinks Jo Lon Dunbar is a sleeper FA. He played some MLB this year when Vilma was down, but could also be a SAM target.
I don’t think he was pushing Steve Gregory as a starter so much as someone for the 4th S spot.
He did say he liked Hawthorne, who I’ve touted all year long as a good player.
Here’s what some turkey said about Dunbar coming out of college:
Undersized MLB, but makes up for the lack of size with good agility and instincts. Somewhat of a playmaker. More than just a tackler. Not great in any one area, but solid all around. Covers well enough that Tampa 2 teams should be interested in him. Jolonn has good hips and feet. Lacks the size or strength to take on blocks. Lacks top speed. I think he a lot of teams will look at him as a weakside linebacker.
Sounds a bit undersized for what we need at MLB.
I think Grant would make more sense as a long shot MLB candidate.
Tommy: Not sure why I’m asking this very stupid question, but if Dawk is a FA… What about him at SLB and draft a potential SLB?
Dawk is likely to retire. Not in great shape. Moving to LB is last thing he’ll do.
I figured, just a crazy thought. I’m surprised with all the talk about Desean being gone this season, T.Y. Hilton’s name hasn’t been brought up. Similar skill set, and has the KR ability we need.
Hilton could be definite target.
So do you think we’ll see the Eagles sign him to a 1 day contract to retire as an Eagle? That might be one of the best things to look forward to this offseason.
Dawk still bleeds green. Loves the Eagles. Things just didn’t work out on the final deal. He knows that was just business.
Just gotta say, love the shout-out for Tom McAllister’s book. It really was fantastic; I took his class at Temple and he was an all around great guy who taught me a lot. As I told him, the least I could give him was the 12 cents or so he’d make in royalties by buying the book new.