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One draft won't solve all the Eagles ills
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P-Dub
Apr 30, 2013, 10:27:59 AM4/30/13
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http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/eagles/20130430_One_draft_won_t_solve_all_the_Eagles__ills.html
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
POSTED: Tuesday, April 30, 2013, 1:20 AM
THE EAGLES' 2013 draft seems to be generating high marks, as meaningless
a notion as that might be before any of the prospects has even been
measured for a midnight-green helmet.
But last year's record still reads 4-12. If coach Chip Kelly somehow
reverses that in 1 year, well, he'll be underpaid at $6.5 million a
year, and it might be time for some new statuary outside the Linc.
The Eagles were active in addressing gaping holes in free agency, and
they corralled some exciting prospects in the draft, but in a perfect
world, more of those exciting prospects would have been defensive backs
or linebackers. This is not to fault the Eagles for going with value at
No. 4 overall with offensive tackle Lane Johnson or even at 35th overall
with tight end Zach Ertz, but it is to point out that many of their
fundamental problems remain patched, at best, not really solved for the
long term, with the player acquisition process for 2013 pretty much
completed.
"When you're in the moment and you're in the draft and you're thinking
about what players you're going to draft and who you're going to get and
who's the best available player and who's the best available player the
next day, I haven't had a chance to sit down and take it all in," Eagles
general manager Howie Roseman said Saturday night, when asked to assess
his roster. "If you go into it saying you're going to fix every single
part of something, it's going to be impossible. If you come out of a
draft saying we've filled every need, it's probably not going to be a
good draft. I don't think that was our goal . . . to make sure we had a
perfect team in 1 year, it was to start the process of building back a
team that's going to compete every year.
This sort of talk was forbidden around the NovaCare Complex the previous
several years. After five NFC title game berths in eight seasons, only
one Super Bowl appearance and no Lombardi Trophies, the Eagles knew
during the latter part of the Andy Reid-Joe Banner era that nobody
wanted to hear about building for the future, or about any other season
beyond the one directly ahead. Fans thought that early in that regime, a
better focus on the here and now might have pushed one of those
contending teams to the top.
This was the impetus behind Banner's disastrous "all-in" chirping at
Lehigh during the free-agent-signathon of 2011. The Eagles wanted
everyone to know they were focusing on the short term, trying to bring
home that trophy.
But going 4-12 and hiring a new coach, with new systems, allows you to
start talking about the long run again, without engendering howls of
outrage.
It probably means something that the Eagles haven't posted a 2013 depth
chart yet. The one available on their website is from the end of the
2012 season. I, for one, will be surprised if Cullen Jenkins is still a
starting defensive tackle here, since he seems to have acquired another
gig with the Giants.
Kelly recently said depth charts don't mean much this early in a new
coach's regime, that his depth chart right now is "more of a seating
chart" - an organizing tool, not a final statement on who's a starter
and who's a sub. That's because Kelly has seen his team on the field,
running his new systems, for only 3 days so far. In many cases, I'm
betting he has close to no idea whether this guy is better than that guy.
At the safety position, a hotspot last season (maybe the hotspot), right
now, Kelly has Nate Allen, Colt Anderson, Patrick Chung, Kurt Coleman,
Kenny Phillips, David Sims and fifth-round draftee Earl Wolff.
As eager as fans are to erase all traces of 2012, if you had to pick two
2013 starters out of that group on April 30, I'd pick Allen as one of
them, along with the ex-Giant, Phillips. And I'd be crossing my fingers
that Phillips is all the way back from injury.
"I've really enjoyed having Nate since I've been here," Kelly said this
past weekend when asked about the 2010 second-round pick, who has shown
only flashes of the ability that got him drafted 37th overall. "He works
extremely hard, has got a skill set. He can run, change direction.
Watching film, you know he's a physical player . . . Now, it's just the
learning process of him being able to diagnose plays and make decisions
and some of those things.
"We're encouraged with Nate right now," said Kelly, who added that new
defensive coordinator Billy Davis had Allen "as a very high pick coming
out and was really intrigued with him when we got here. So far, so good
. . . I think he's got, obviously, the skill set to be a very good
safety in this league."
At cornerback, the roster right now shows Brandon Boykin, Bradley
Fletcher, Brandon Hughes, Trevard Lindley, Curtis Marsh, seventh-round
draftee Jordan Poyer, Eddie Whitley and Cary Williams. Bold prediction:
The Pro Bowl will be held next winter without an Eagles corner present.
Kelly noted Saturday that the Eagles "lost" Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
and Nnamdi Asomugha this offseason. (If that's the proper term, then I
guess I "lost" my trash when the truck came around yesterday.)
"We felt like with Fletcher and Cary, we weren't going to sit here on
draft day and say, 'We have to get a corner.' We feel like we have two
guys that have played in the league and have proven they can play in the
league, so now we felt pretty good looking at our positions, so that we
don't have to reach."
Kelly was asked whether he felt, after finishing free agency and the
draft, that he has a good talent base.
"Yeah. If not, I'd be real depressed right now, to be honest with you,"
he said, laughing. "We've gone through free agency and the draft, but
it's a constant thing and you'll still look."
Birdseed
Lane Johnson was the highest-drafted Eagles offensive lineman since
Jerry Sisemore (third overall in 1973) . . . The Eagles' rookie minicamp
is scheduled for May 10-12 . . . The Eagles made official the signing of
the nine undrafted free agents listed in yesterday's Daily News. The
most intriguing might be LSU punter Brad Wing, who set the school record
with a 44.6-yard career average, but also left school after being
suspended for the Chick-fil-A Bowl, reportedly for failing a drug test.
P-Dub: It's going to be an interesting pre-season!
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
POSTED: Tuesday, April 30, 2013, 1:20 AM
THE EAGLES' 2013 draft seems to be generating high marks, as meaningless
a notion as that might be before any of the prospects has even been
measured for a midnight-green helmet.
But last year's record still reads 4-12. If coach Chip Kelly somehow
reverses that in 1 year, well, he'll be underpaid at $6.5 million a
year, and it might be time for some new statuary outside the Linc.
The Eagles were active in addressing gaping holes in free agency, and
they corralled some exciting prospects in the draft, but in a perfect
world, more of those exciting prospects would have been defensive backs
or linebackers. This is not to fault the Eagles for going with value at
No. 4 overall with offensive tackle Lane Johnson or even at 35th overall
with tight end Zach Ertz, but it is to point out that many of their
fundamental problems remain patched, at best, not really solved for the
long term, with the player acquisition process for 2013 pretty much
completed.
"When you're in the moment and you're in the draft and you're thinking
about what players you're going to draft and who you're going to get and
who's the best available player and who's the best available player the
next day, I haven't had a chance to sit down and take it all in," Eagles
general manager Howie Roseman said Saturday night, when asked to assess
his roster. "If you go into it saying you're going to fix every single
part of something, it's going to be impossible. If you come out of a
draft saying we've filled every need, it's probably not going to be a
good draft. I don't think that was our goal . . . to make sure we had a
perfect team in 1 year, it was to start the process of building back a
team that's going to compete every year.
This sort of talk was forbidden around the NovaCare Complex the previous
several years. After five NFC title game berths in eight seasons, only
one Super Bowl appearance and no Lombardi Trophies, the Eagles knew
during the latter part of the Andy Reid-Joe Banner era that nobody
wanted to hear about building for the future, or about any other season
beyond the one directly ahead. Fans thought that early in that regime, a
better focus on the here and now might have pushed one of those
contending teams to the top.
This was the impetus behind Banner's disastrous "all-in" chirping at
Lehigh during the free-agent-signathon of 2011. The Eagles wanted
everyone to know they were focusing on the short term, trying to bring
home that trophy.
But going 4-12 and hiring a new coach, with new systems, allows you to
start talking about the long run again, without engendering howls of
outrage.
It probably means something that the Eagles haven't posted a 2013 depth
chart yet. The one available on their website is from the end of the
2012 season. I, for one, will be surprised if Cullen Jenkins is still a
starting defensive tackle here, since he seems to have acquired another
gig with the Giants.
Kelly recently said depth charts don't mean much this early in a new
coach's regime, that his depth chart right now is "more of a seating
chart" - an organizing tool, not a final statement on who's a starter
and who's a sub. That's because Kelly has seen his team on the field,
running his new systems, for only 3 days so far. In many cases, I'm
betting he has close to no idea whether this guy is better than that guy.
At the safety position, a hotspot last season (maybe the hotspot), right
now, Kelly has Nate Allen, Colt Anderson, Patrick Chung, Kurt Coleman,
Kenny Phillips, David Sims and fifth-round draftee Earl Wolff.
As eager as fans are to erase all traces of 2012, if you had to pick two
2013 starters out of that group on April 30, I'd pick Allen as one of
them, along with the ex-Giant, Phillips. And I'd be crossing my fingers
that Phillips is all the way back from injury.
"I've really enjoyed having Nate since I've been here," Kelly said this
past weekend when asked about the 2010 second-round pick, who has shown
only flashes of the ability that got him drafted 37th overall. "He works
extremely hard, has got a skill set. He can run, change direction.
Watching film, you know he's a physical player . . . Now, it's just the
learning process of him being able to diagnose plays and make decisions
and some of those things.
"We're encouraged with Nate right now," said Kelly, who added that new
defensive coordinator Billy Davis had Allen "as a very high pick coming
out and was really intrigued with him when we got here. So far, so good
. . . I think he's got, obviously, the skill set to be a very good
safety in this league."
At cornerback, the roster right now shows Brandon Boykin, Bradley
Fletcher, Brandon Hughes, Trevard Lindley, Curtis Marsh, seventh-round
draftee Jordan Poyer, Eddie Whitley and Cary Williams. Bold prediction:
The Pro Bowl will be held next winter without an Eagles corner present.
Kelly noted Saturday that the Eagles "lost" Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
and Nnamdi Asomugha this offseason. (If that's the proper term, then I
guess I "lost" my trash when the truck came around yesterday.)
"We felt like with Fletcher and Cary, we weren't going to sit here on
draft day and say, 'We have to get a corner.' We feel like we have two
guys that have played in the league and have proven they can play in the
league, so now we felt pretty good looking at our positions, so that we
don't have to reach."
Kelly was asked whether he felt, after finishing free agency and the
draft, that he has a good talent base.
"Yeah. If not, I'd be real depressed right now, to be honest with you,"
he said, laughing. "We've gone through free agency and the draft, but
it's a constant thing and you'll still look."
Birdseed
Lane Johnson was the highest-drafted Eagles offensive lineman since
Jerry Sisemore (third overall in 1973) . . . The Eagles' rookie minicamp
is scheduled for May 10-12 . . . The Eagles made official the signing of
the nine undrafted free agents listed in yesterday's Daily News. The
most intriguing might be LSU punter Brad Wing, who set the school record
with a 44.6-yard career average, but also left school after being
suspended for the Chick-fil-A Bowl, reportedly for failing a drug test.
P-Dub: It's going to be an interesting pre-season!
dls...@gmail.com
May 1, 2013, 4:42:55 AM5/1/13
to
Hey baldy newsflash your team will stink for a long time as long as VIck or Foles is around.
Your wr are fast but small..
your rb runs backwards...
Your wr are fast but small..
your rb runs backwards...
P-Dub
May 1, 2013, 1:39:23 PM5/1/13
to
2. I think Vick's best days are over. I think Foles has a huge upside,
and should be given an opportunity.
3. I think our rb's are fine. They need an O-Line, and a coach who knows
how to call running plays at the right time - to succeed.
4. You need to stop sleeping with your mom. It's fairly disgusting.
Deward
May 1, 2013, 2:12:10 PM5/1/13
to
On May 1, 1:39 pm, P-Dub <pwolf...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On 5/1/2013 4:42 AM, dls...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> > Hey baldy newsflash your team will stink for a long time as long as VIck or Foles is around.
>
> On 5/1/2013 4:42 AM, dls...@gmail.com wrote:
>
> > Hey baldy newsflash your team will stink for a long time as long as VIck or Foles is around.
>
> 1. I am not bald.
> 4. You need to stop sleeping with your mom. It's fairly disgusting.
He's running out of original insults almost as fast as he has to
change identities. I wonder whose ID he stole this time.
Deward, and I am not bald either, moulie
User-69_big loser
May 1, 2013, 2:25:40 PM5/1/13
to
"P-Dub" <pwol...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:LxQft.2938$Ht....@newsfe24.iad...
drivel?
User-69_big loser
May 1, 2013, 2:28:20 PM5/1/13
to
EAGLES DRAFT=MIXED REVIEWS!!
Joe Banner
May 1, 2013, 7:15:06 PM5/1/13
to
PW, I agree about Vick but I think Foles is not a legitimate starter. While he demonstrated the ability to play backup, he didn't show any sign that he has starter potential, and how many more opportunities does he need? We learned both Kolb and Feeley weren't legitimate starters pretty quickly; why would it take longer to evaluate Foles?
I don't care who starts on opening day; I care who starts on wildcard weekend, presuming it is applicable this season. Neither Vick nor Foles will lead any team to the playoffs, therefore let's hope Barkley disproves his critics and gets his opportunity at some point this season. That way they can figure out whether or not they need a franchise QB in the 2014 draft.
I don't care who starts on opening day; I care who starts on wildcard weekend, presuming it is applicable this season. Neither Vick nor Foles will lead any team to the playoffs, therefore let's hope Barkley disproves his critics and gets his opportunity at some point this season. That way they can figure out whether or not they need a franchise QB in the 2014 draft.
P-Dub
May 2, 2013, 8:04:14 AM5/2/13
to
Oh yeah - you can't read.
David E. Powell
May 4, 2013, 12:02:17 PM5/4/13
to
Deward
May 4, 2013, 2:27:27 PM5/4/13
to
On May 4, 12:02 pm, "David E. Powell" <David_Powell3...@msn.com>
wrote:
Deward
wrote:
>
> So did Barry Sanders. Your point?
On the top of her head. obviously.
> So did Barry Sanders. Your point?
Deward
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