Many people who study the draft hard were surprised when the Eagles took DE Daniel Te’o-Nesheim last year in the third round. Many thought that the Eagles reached for him and that they could have had him later if they’d have waited.
While it’s too early to judge a guy after one year, I think we all agree that reaching was a bad idea here. The team’s official website says that his contributions last year were “minimal,” but I’d like to know what less than minimal is.
Even GM Howie Roseman is acknowledging that they need more from him.
“I think with Te’o, in training camp, he got a little beat up,” Roseman said, referring to an early-season shoulder issue. “I don’t think we’ve seen the best of Te’o. He’s a hard worker, he’s really productive, he’s going to do whatever it takes and we’ll just see what he does this year. Obviously it was a disappointing year for him and we expect him to be better and he expects better of himself.
“Now, he’ll come back. He’ll be in his second year. I really think he can work. He’s a high-motor guy. He loves to play, but he has to take another step.”
That’s Eagles management speak for: “This guy is bad.”
I know Howie wants to be positive, but he keeps saying hard worker, loves to play, high-motor guy. None of that means he can be a good player in the National Football League. I love to play and I’m a hard worker, but guess what? Yeah, exactly.
The bigger point here is that these comments brought my attention back to Te’o-Nesheim and reminded me of how bad he is. (Could he improve? Certainly. In a year or two, I could have this article shoved back in my face and get laughed at. But so far, I’m just not seeing a guy that can compete at this level). It looks like another waste of a third-round pick and the Eagles need to stop with these tweeners.
I rarely get excited or irritated on draft day because no one has any clue if these guys can play or not. However, what will set me off is when the Eagles keep taking undersized guys that don’t fit their system on defense. Anyone remember Bryan Smith? 231-lb. DE out of McNeese State? Does anyone ever remember seeing him on the field? I don’t. He was woefully undersized to be a defensive end in the 4-3.
Either they are drafting guys that don’t fit their system or they seem to love drafting a guy who plays one position and then using him in another. Ricky Sapp can’t play linebacker. Did Chris Gocong ever pan out at linebacker? “Oh, you had 22 1/1 sacks your senior year playing with your hand down? How do you feel about covering tight ends?” Omar Gaither has been moved around so much I don’t even remember what his original position was supposed to be.
Sorry to go on a tangent, but Roseman’s remarks on Te’o-Nesheim made me get upset at their personnel moves all over again. Let’s hope this franchise gets serious in this year’s draft and adds players who can – or at least have a fighting chance to – help. No more Byran Smith’s. No more Daniel Te’o-Nesheim’s. No more drafting offensive tackles and asking them to be the punter. This team doesn’t have enough difference makers on defense and it’s years of drafting with this approach that’s the main culprit. Bring in guys that fit your scheme and stop trying to show everyone how smart you are.
I promise you Te’o-Nesheim isn’t making anyone look smart right now.
Eagles should have learned their lesson. Never bring in a another guy name T.O. (te’o)
actually i think teo is doing what a 5th 6th round pick should do , it isnt his fault he was taken in the third round . i feel it is rosemans job is to step up . the birds did not do there home work at all with this guy and we have seen this before. i have said this before when andy called this guy and he was sleeping during the draft i would have said forget it i have the wrong number !
The next step for this guy is to retire and stare at the cieling. What a poor choice.
Yes but he has a great motor. Thanks for the reminding of this pick.
They might want to stop picking players coming off injury too. Hasn’t worked one time. Not once.
I agree tpizza, the eagles are the definition of insanity. They do the same thing over n over again hoping for a different result knowing it isn’t the right move bc it hasn’t worked… teo is another example of that
Micah I totally forgot about bryan smith, what a bad pick. On defense its hit or miss when it comes to drafting for them. Its disappointing that they put themselves in a hole down the line bc of poor drafting.
The packers built a killer squad thru the draft tho they had a few losing seasons and picked high. But id take that process over making the playoffs every yr and not winning anything
Another team that builds a championship squad thru the draft are the steelers and for them it never matters where they pick they rarely if ever miss on the player they pick. They usually don’t get much production from there rookies but all the yrs after that they get production bc they groomed them for success. The eagles don’t do that.
They better had done there homework last year and this year because they are building for the future, they can’t afford to miss on players anymore. This league is flying by them so they gota keep up with the packers, falcons, saints and others.
They can’t miss on players anymore
Lol I love the cieling comment. Staring at the cieling when he was getting drafted LMAO. I say give this guy a chance one more year, with Jim Washburn, but we’ll see. I can’t kill Roseman too much because he had a decent first draft… getting Chaney, Coleman, Kafka, Cooper, Nate Allen, and we will see about Graham. It potentially could be an A plus draft.
The eagles also drafted well the two prior years. Jeremy Maclin, Mccoy, Desean.
uhhhhhhh……. YA THINK!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
I think we also have to consider that just because a player is starting for the eagles doesn’t mean he should or would be starting anywhere else. (Macho, Omar, Dimitri, Nick Cole, Max Jean-Gilles)
I also agree that we don’t really know what we have in terms of personnel or what we can get out these guys with better coaching.
I have a question for you guys. Do you think the eagles have drafted (since the andy reid era) better Offensive players or Defensive players?
@VRICCHINI — seeing as the best QB, RB and possibly WR to ever be drafted by the Eagles came from the Andy Reid era……I’d have to say offense.
He was a waste of a pick and will never pan out.
They need and i hope they’re seeing how drafting killers on d will win a title. WTF was that dude anyway in college? A sackmaster at Washington.Means nothing to me.
Paul..that list made me have reflux.Moats does have some jiggy in the return game now. Woulda been nice to see that when he got here.
To Vricchini
Not even close, its the offense by a mile during the Coach AR’s era
When Andy first took over, I believe GM Tom Modrak was still calling the shots for a couple of years and had some nice Defensive Picks with Lito Shepard,Sheldon Brown,Michael Lewis, C Simon, but once Modrak was pushed out for AR friend Tom Heckert, this is about the time the Drafts were getting sketchy on the Defensive side of the Ball…
It’s sad the second best third round over the last 7 drafts has been the no pick year. Gary is spot on with stop trying to fit square pegs in round holes. Tweeners are for rounds 6 and 7 if at all. I’de much rather have a normal or oversized guy that started in the SEC instead of these small Div II school guys picked in the third round. I have no problem handing the draft to Phil Savage again and picking all SEC players on defense. Savage did a great job og getting SEC guys with low picks.
Roseman needs to Hire Paulman to assist in Draft preparations & strategy…
Here’s my plan for this upcoming 2011 Draft (which I still feel is a pretty weak class at all outside the DL/OL)
(Original Draft Picks are #23,#54,#85,#104,#120,#149,#153,#224,#237,#240)
#1) Eagles trade out of the 1st Round and send the #23 pick to the Oakland Raiders for a 3rd Rd Selection in 2011 (#89 overall) and a 1st Round Pick in 2012 Draft (remember the Raiders have no 1st Round pick this Draft)
#2) Eagles also trade their 2011 4th Round (#120) and 5th Round (#149) to the Seattle Seahawks for their earlier 4th Rd (#98 overall)
(remember that Seahawkls only have 6 total picks in 2011 Draft and are looking for more mid-round selections)
#3) Eagles trade 3rd Round (#85) and 5th Round (#153) to the NO Saints for thier 3rd Round (#72) — (remember the Saints only have 5 Draft selections in 2011 Draft)
Now the Eagles have the following Draft Selections for 2011 Draft
(#54,#72,#79,#98,#104,#224,#237,#240)
This will give the Eagles 5 picks out of the top 100 or so and cuts down on their total Draft Picks by a couple, remeber they selected 13 last year
And here is the kicker, If the Eagles end up trading Kolb after the Draft this summer for a 1st Round pick for 2012 which many presume will be the case, this would now give the Eagles 3 Selections in the 1st Round for 2012 and chances are, there with a rookie salary cap in place.. This is right up Eagles alley and a great strategy for moving forward.. I don’t think this Draft Class is very deep and the Eagles could select the best value players in the 2nd/3rd/4th Rounds to stabilize OL/DL/OLB areas and then go out an sign a big-time CB in Free-Agency to addess the CB position and then come out a blazing for 2012 with 3 Selections in the 1st Round that won’t cost millions and millions of $$$ with a Rookie Salary Cap in place..
# Pick
to Jphalines,
I don’t think Savage is employed by the Eagles any longer..
I do not see his name anywhere on the employee,scouting dept list like it used to be last year.. I thought he was signed for 2 year contract to work for the Eagles but something could have happened.. Savage has a keen eye for talent and knows the SEC/Football in the deep South as well as anyone and a real mistake if the Eagles let him go.. (I think they used him to help get Howie up to speed last year.)
oh no, I really think Savage made the Eagles draft last year. SEC = big strong and fast, that usually works well in the NFL. That being said, I don’t have a problem with Jimmy Smith in the first round. I think the Eagles will get an offer they can’t refuse for Kolb once things are settled.
Paulman’s Draft Selections with the above picks
2nd Rd (#54) OLB Bruce Carter (UNC 6-3 235lbs)
3rd Rd (#72) OL James Carpenter (Alabama 6-5 305 lbs)
3rd Rd (#79) RB Taiwan Jones (Eastern Washington 6-1 200lbs)
4th Rd (#98) DE Greg Romeus (Pitt 6-6 270lbs)
4th Rd (#104) CB Buster Skrine (Chattanooga 5-10 185lbs)
7th Rd (#224) SS Mark Legree (Appalachian State 6-0 200lbs)
7th Rd (#237) TE Lee Smith (Marshall 6-6 265lbs)
7th Rd (#240) Kicker Kyle Forbath (UCLA)
This Draft strategy requires that the Eagles go out and Sign a Top-Notch CB in Free-Agency, since the Eagles will have no 1st Rounder in 2011, they can utilize this $$$ to sign CB Asmogoah
so what your saying paul is that the eagles are so bad at drafting 3rd rounders that you want to give them 2 this year? ugh…..
Stevo’s draft plan….
trade your #1 in 2012 to the seahawks for the #1 in 2011.
Trade both #1’s to move up and get a CB.
After the CBA- trade Kevin Kolb to the seahawks for their #1 in 2012 (the eagles pick to begin with).
Yes Stevo, but only with Paulman’s assistance (and fees)
2 #1 picks for a CB is way too much…
We will never be the same without JJ. He was not replaceable.
I can understand Roseman saying he needs to step up IF the guy actually had any NFL talent in him, but he doesnt… he was a 6th-7th round prospect that the Eagles took too early and he showed last year he is NOT an NFL player…he was a decent college player on a bad team. Another wasted pick by the brain trust they call the Eagles front office..
what is very frustrating is Tom Heckert left to be the Browns GM….there was talk of him and some of the front office execs, namely Reid not agreeing on some of the draft picks and him not having more say….well, Tom goes to Cleveland and has an excellent draft… they got 3 starters (McCoy, Ward, Haden) with almost a 4th (Hardesty) in last years draft, while we got dogsh1t and garbage! Now, we now who the smart one was and who the dumbsh1ts are in the front office.. Roseman was annointed by Reid as a wonder child… well, dude has no football background and should be auditing some company not selecting its players.. wrong job Howie!
JJ was a very good DC whose Eagles Defenses slipped a little his last couple of Seasons, but why does everyone think he was the best thing since sliced bread, because he got sick and passed away..What did he ever win, the same thing as Coach AR which is zilch
The reason this Eagles Defense is not good enough, is the overall lack of talent,size and strengh and the poor draft choices and medicore position coaches they had on the staff the last few years (Segrest/Shuey/etc)
Valid points Jott about Heckert,
But do you really think that Paul Holmgrem isn’t mostly calling the shots from Draft Slelections, to Free-Agency,to Roster management for the Browns..
Heckert is an excellent detail,information guy,interviewer, and administrative manager to head up a scouting dept.. I am not so sure about Heckert’s
eye on talent as being a strong suit of his..
Jott – haven’t the Eagles drafted Jackson, Maclin, McCoy since Heckert left? Those three are dogsh-t and garbage compared to the browns’ 3? Just saying…that right that makes your point worthless…
And sir, you have written Roseman and Teo’ off way too soon. I’m not saying I know they’ll pan out, but it is factually too early to judge them with any reliable objectivity/reason.
schiller-
Heckert was the Eagles GM when they drafted those players… he only joined the Browns last year. get your facts right before you post.
jott, I was asking a question not stating wrong facts, relax bro
So then, if it’s just last year and the browns got 3 starters, didn’t roseman do the same? Graham, Allen, Cheney…. injuries are irrelevant…
Jott – so you are basing assumptions about Reid, Heckert, and Roseman based off of information from 1 draft, one year post that draft right? If that’s correct, and I”m pretty sure it is, than you are jumping to a conclusion. It’s common belief that judging a draft after 1 year is foolish.
Who has this team drafted since Reid entered scene who is on the name of every commentator/analyst/fan’s lips from week to week? Only McNabb, Westbrook & DJax… and nobody on defense! Surely you can’t think T. Cole has been a monster on defense. Look at Steelers, Patriots, Packers, Vikings and you can easily find several players who impact every week.
Reid has been in control (and had final say) for years during draft and we’ve had nobody on defense who has been a household name except Dawk on defense. Something’s wrong ’cause all the Ray Rhodes era guys are gone. Many critically important trades of late have been disaster except for Peters. Consider: Andrews, M. Jackson, Sims, Hobbs, etc. The 1st & 2nd round draft picks have missed the mark; a 1st rounder should be starting because that person is near NFL-ready with skills that allow him to fill a position that’s been weak. A team is built through draft; if the front office can’t succeed there, coaching is not going to make up for lesser talent and oft-injured frontline players.
Not to pile on,
But Paulman could have tried out for the Cleveland Browns last year as a DB and probably had a 50/50 Chance of making the squad.. just sayin..
Iggles – I disagree about the patriots. Other than Brady, I don’t think anybody they drafted was ‘on the lips of every commentator/anlalyst/fan’ And for the Vikings, other than AP, who else? Packers? – just Rodgers and Woodson.
And I don’t think Dawk was a household name outside of Philly to be fair.
Look, I agree the Eagles haven’t been great at drafting, but I don’t agree that there have been a bunch of other teams who have been much better. Not at all.
Vikings has had some nice Draft picks outside of AP in recent years
WR’s S Rice, P Harvin come to mind, OT B McKinnie, LB C Greenawy, B Leber and EJ Henderson as well as DE R Edwards, DT K Williams CB A Winfield. .Their problem has been in the Secondary where they have missed on some players and their inability to have a solid QB since the Culpepper Days where Farve was a short term fix.. This is why I think the will make a move/trade with the PAnthers to get the 1st Overall Pick and select QB C Newton… Vikings are built to win now, are trying to build excitement to get a new Stadium and hate to see their neighbors to their east (Green Bay) win a SB and their owner is known to take some chances like they did in getting Farve.. I think It’s a no brainer that the Vikings move up and obtain a QB
To Schiller, as far as the Packers recent Drafts,
Recent Drafts have gotten them TE J Finley, WR G Jennings, J Nelson, J Jones
OL C Clifton, B Bulaga, DT B Raji, DE C Jekins, LB’s N Barnett, C Matthews JR, LB D Bishop, AJ Hawk, Safety A Bigby,M Burnett, RB J Starks, Back-up QB T Flynn and many others..Charles Woodson was obtained via free-agency from the Oakland Raiders I believe
Onto the Patriots, they have had some misses but their Secondary of Safeties Chung, B Merriweather, CB D McCourtey , LB Banta-Cain and OLineman M Light, S Vollmer and L Mankgins are all recent draft picks and 2 young exciting TE’s in Hernandez and Grontowski, They have not done as well at WR’s, RB,s (L Maroney) and back-up QB…
Ok Paul. We all know that stuff. I was asking Iggles about his point – household names ‘on the lips of’..etc…etc…. you point out good players, but he was talking about stars, top teir big name guys. Not just good draft picks like you listed.
All of a sudden people are nostalgic for Heckert. You have short memories. He presided over the drafts that you are complaining about. But now he is a folk-hero. He sucked.
that’s a nice point you made Shill…..pointing out good players drafted by the Pats and others on defense…..Where are the Eagles “Good players” who were drafted for the defense in the last 3 years?
listening