What I liked:
-WR additions: The Eagles added wide receiver depth with the selections of Matthews and Huff. Chip will allow the opportunity for immediate contribution with our 2014 offense by these rookies. Going into the draft, the pickings were quite slim after Maclin and Cooper, and “health concerns” still cloud the expectations of Maclin for this season. I do believe Huff was taken a bit early, and there were some more “favorable” names available for the Eagles to select, but the “Oregon” connection was a key factor with their third round choice.
-CB– Jaylen Watkins-The Eagles cornerback position is “alright” for this season, but going into 2015 the questions quickly begin to pile up. Boykins will need to get paid, Cary Williams is getting overpaid, Fletcher is a free agent and Carroll is still an unknown coming from the Dolphins organization. Watkins is fast, and has the experience playing bother cornerback and safety. A great camp and pre-season could pay huge dividends for how much playing time this rookie gets.
-NT- Beau Allen-I said I was alright with the Eagles taking a nose tackle either with their 7th round selection or signing an undrafted free agent. He is big and has the long hair flowing out the back of the helmet. Big guys have to look pretty too.
Willingness to trade- The Eagles showed once again they are willing to trade up, down and acquire future draft picks. Although some may say this maneuvering cost the Eagles players at certain points in the draft, it also allowed them to take other players in the draft they would have missed out on.
What I didn’t like:
OLB- Marcus Smith- This is not referencing the player, but rather the “non-football” position of the player. Electing to draft a player a round or two higher than their projected value is one thing. Labeling them as a 2-3 year project which will play specific defensive packages translates poorly as a franchise looking to “win now.”
The Eagles have attempted to convince those who label Smith as a “reach” as a guy they had as both their #22nd overall and then 26th overall pick in round one. The Eagles knew they needed to improve on the pass rush. They saw other first round players going to other teams. After being wrong with mapping out the path other teams would take, they convinced themselves Smith would be one of the next ones to go and would not be available when they selected 54th overall.
Marcus Smith by no doing of his own will be out under intense scrutiny due to where he was drafted and not his production on the field. If he does well, it will be “he should be; he was taken in the first round.” If Smith takes a while to develop, it will be “if the guy was taken in the first round, he should be able to learn the position and contribute.” I hope the best for the kid. He has said all of the right things with what he expects of himself, now time will tell the rest.
S- Ed Reynolds & DE Taylor Hart-This is my take on both of these guys. With Hart we are lucky that Roseman kept Kelly in check, because if you thought the 5th round was a bit of a reach for Hart, news since the draft has reported Chip wanted Hart sooner, a lot sooner. Reynolds and Hart are on this team more for their “work ethic” then their talent level.
Should we expect more than rotational depth behind our starters from 5th round selections? Chip knew one from his time coaching at Oregon and the other from his familiarity with the Pac-12. I feel there were other players with more proven track records and better upside in round 5 at both the defensive end and safety position.
Undrafted rookies- Am I nitpicking here? Look, guys go undrafted for a reason, but there were a few OLB’s like Jackson Jeffcoat and Shayne Skov and the safety out of USC that went to other teams. I know it is a free for all after “Mr. Irrelevant” is selected, but the Eagles grabbed more running backs and tight-ends then probably necessary where some good defensive help could have been the focus.
What we learned:
-Chip and Howie may not have been “quite” on the same page as what we though pre-draft versus and what we know now.
– Chip is the obvious captain of the ship, calling the final shots and willing to take on the doubters with his “wait and see” speeches.
-“In Chip we trust” will be the mindset that Eagle fans remind themselves of when the doubt creeps in about the strength of this draft class.
Conclusion:
If Chip proved one thing more than anything else in his rookie season as coach, he knows how to get the best of his players. From an individual talent level and blending them with the remaining players on the football field; Kelly will show the NFL that his is either running with the big dogs, or chasing his own tail.
I don’t understand all the negativity towards Taylor Hart and Ed Reynolds. This is the only site where those two picks are getting criticized. Both of them were taken later than their projected draft position.
I’m not familiar with Taylor Hart as I didn’t pay him attention when I watched Oregon play. However, Ed Reynolds can play. He’s physical and has good ball skills. Sometimes, people judge players that they are not familiar with based solely on the fact that they either have not heard of them or are not familiar with their body of work. Reynolds can play and I predict he will be a starter by 2015 based on skill, not injury!
Like I always say Btc the best thing about drafts and predictions is once they start playing we’ll know the answers as to who can and cannot play.
Indeed we will Big. The past two drafts have been very solid so I trust the front office right now with talent evaluation.
The difference in opinions are crazy though the Eagles signed Taylor Martinez and will try him at WR or CB. I saw an article on NFL.com saying whoever signs him will be surprised and he’ll make a roster at QB. LOL
I am sending a “Martiniez Jersey” to Iggles27 as payment to a lost bet we had about the Drafting of QB Jeff Matthews of Cornell, who did not get Drafted at all winning the bet for Iggles27..
I’ll take it paulman! lol
Martinez just failed his physical.
You need another option Pman.
Make it a Beau Allen jersey since we are about the same size lol
What # Jersey does Beau Allen have??
That Jersey may be worth something in a few years.. Ha Ha
#94
Ultimately if you get 3 starters after 3 years, the draft is deemed a success by every standard. It’s absurd that you initially judge a draft by where a player is drafted vs where non football pundits have them ranked on a list. Isn’t it interesting that the Redskins are rumored to have valued Smith high enough to want to take him with their pick atop rd 2 – despite Mel “expert fan” Kiper ranking him so low.
I just read an article saying Jimmy Johnson did the same exact thing when he was drafting, he took guys that played for him and guys that played against him, he said h knew who had everything he was looking for in a player and it was easier for him, we all saw what that produced. Let the guy do his thing and what makes him comfortable, as of right now we have no reason to doubt any moves he’s making
Jimmy Johnson won a national championship…Chip has not. Look, count me out of the ‘in chip we trust’ club…I’ll join that club when he wins a playoff game. Its funny that he came out and said bluntly…”I dont know” how good the draft picks are!
Really Chip!
That’s just being brutally honest. No team knows how good their picks will be. If they say otherwise, they are lying!
Yep he can be honest about that but dishonest about DJax? The more he talks the more it’s apparent he doesn’t give one damn about the media or the fan base. He better win I’m telling you his act is going to wear thin. I’m already done with him. I’ll root for the team as I always do but this guy I just don’t like.
You ever think he is being kind to Djax by not telling the truth?
Maybe he feels that DJax is a TURD maybe he doesn’t. How would it help anything if he emptied DJax’s closet all over the place? If you ever got let go would you prefer your Boss to give you a second chance somewhere else or to blackball you?
Chip is a PRO Coach.
His trash other teams treasure, you choose to bow at Chip’s feet and worship his every thought. Good for you.
I’ll root for the team as I always do but this guy I just don’t like.
That’s the same feeling Chip Kelly had for DeSean Jackson…. he just didn’t like him.
If you’re a fan you get to choose whether or not to drink the Kelly Kool-aid,….. If you’re an Eagles wide receiver you either drink the Kelly Kool-aid or go play for the Redskins.
That’s a concept that is enforced by every head coach worth his salt.
No it’s not, you get paid millions to manage personalities not assemble a roster of only guys you like.
Kelly gets paid millions to assemble a TEAM… Not a TEAM plus one guy who doesn’t go with the flow..
Chip Kelly did manage DeSean’s personality… He sent him and his personality packing because he didn’t drink the Kelly Kool-aid… It happens all the time, in every business.
It happens you just better be successful because DJax is Not going to be the only player that doesn’t drink the kool aid in that locker room. This isn’t a bunch of kids he’s coaching if he can’t handle he can always go back to college.
Jimmy Johnson was a college head coach for 5 years at Oklahoma State and 4 years at Miami before he won a national championship. Chip Kelly was a head coach for only 4 years total. I have a feeling if Chip continued coaching college teams another 5 years he would also have won a national championship.
Jimmy Johnson also had 5 first round draft picks in his first three years at Dallas – two of those were the first pick of the first round…
I guarantee you that Taylor Hart was not brought here for his “work ethic” only. Obviously Chip really thinks this guy is a player. Smith wouldn’t have been on the board at 40 let alone 54, so the Eagles drafted the guy who they thought was the best 3-4 pass rusher remaining in the draft at 26. It really doesn’t matter what Jeff, Denny or anyone on this board says about other pass rushers who they think should have been drafted instead of Smith, because it is obvious that the Eagles thought Smith was the best of the draft board. I can easily live with that. Especially since we have Gamble and Donahoe on our staff, who know how to pick OLB. The problem is…. you guys are all thinking about Andy Reid and Banner and all these terrible picks they made. THEY ARE NOT IN CHARGE ANYMORE. We have competent men who scout for our team now, they know more than this whole website (minus Cobb) combined. It’s not a big deal if Smith isn’t a starter in 2014, we have veterans at the OLB position. But if anyone thinks they could have drafted Smith at 54 or in the 3rd rounds, then I have a bridge for you.
Then we get two impact WR’s who are perfect fits for this football team.
Going into day 3 I was hoping for a CB, S, DE/DT and a O-lineman to be drafted, I’m very happy they went CB, DE, S, DT… and got some guards as undrafted free agents.
We addressed our main needs in this draft, they were picked by top talent evaluators (not GCobb writers or posters). I’m going to laugh at all the “draft experts” when Marcus Smith is getting a dozen sacks per year.
Remember guys, Reid and Banner are no longer in charge.
Stop it…why put the pressure on these kids to be impact players at WR…it normally takes a couple of seasons for a rookie wideout to make an impack…The fact of the matter is that we saw the same reaches under Reid that we are seeing in this draft here…again, I’ll give it what most of the experts are giving the draft…a C-…not too bad…but nothing to do cartwheels. And I hope I eat the crow about Marcus Smith too antitrust…I hope that I am wrong when I say he is another Jon Harris!
But I dont think i’m wrong!
And if he brought MV7 back and declared him the starter he would be a legend to you. Stop. go root for the Jets.
It usually takes a couple seasons for a rookie D-lineman or OLB to make an impact, but young WR’s have been been doing well in recent years. You are usually wrong, koolbreeze, so that gives me more hope about Marcus Smith. lol It was a good draft (at this time, we will see in 3 years), we filled needs with talent and hard work.
Lol Koolbreeze is the Babe Ruth of being wrong.
Right on at32… and for the other posts here which showing patience and giving the coaches time to work with draftees. Thank “heavens” the Reid and Banner days are a thing of the past. A big breath of fresh air in the FO finally and a coaching staff that can honestly help players reach higher levels of play quickly.
Wait you want to see players play before you judge them? Preposterous. I admit that I wasn’t enthusiastic about Smith, because I didn’t know much about them and I thought that they would take Buchanon or trade down at that spot, but when I heard some of the analysts speak about him I felt more comfortable and then when Attachou was off the board early in the 2nd it became clear that 3-4 OLB was a hot commodity. I want to see what the kid has before I condemn them. He should contribute this year and be ready to step in when Cole is done.
Exactly 2-3 years before we can judge a draft.
It is important to keep in mind that we basically drafted Darren Sproles with our fifth round pick when you think about whether you liked the draft or not. I think people are forgetting that. Sure the guy probably has only 2-3 years left as a productive player but when you think about the fifth round in the draft, my guess is 80% of those guys are out of the league after 3 years anyway.
Funny thing is that we basically traded Bryce Brown for the pick Bills got from San Fran. We should of just traded Brown for Stevie Johnson straight up, whose left over cap hit really isn’t too bad. Im sure cap genius Howie could have made it work
All we can do now is to let them battle it out in camp and see who comes out on top. Yes I think the Eagles could have done better in certain rds, but it’s all over now. I’m excited for the season ahead
Their defensive line will be huge tho, everyone is 6’6″ or bigger.
Huge and soft…we going to get run on…we should have taken a shot at Nix from Notre Dame in the third round…he was there to anchor the defense…we took a guy in the 7th round that cant move at all…
I tried to be a little positive kool, totally agree with you on Nix. The Eagles just don’t value certain positions.
Eagles had every opportunity to take Nix, and they passed on him. That tells you more about Nix value than it does about the Eagles. I too hoped they would take Nix with that 83rd pick, but if the Birds think he’s a bum or not worth the investment, I’m not one to argue at this point with this coaching staff/front office.
And that’s how I feel about Nix, huge and soft. I was a fan of Nix at the beginning of the season based off of his 2012 campaign. In 2013 he was inconsistent, out of shape, wore down and gave up on plays when double teamed and beat up. Please stop with the Louis Nix ra ra. There’s a reason he dropped to the 3rd round, plus he has a knee issue. People hear names dropped by analyst and go with it, not knowing much about the player except what the hype machine tells you. As far as Beau Allen is concerned, he can’t be moved either, which is what you want from your NT, fact is, he’s actually more athletic than you think. Seriously, how much have you watched the two subjects of my post play, as opposed to just reading about them? If that!
Stop it. We are in a 3-4 because it is better against the pass PERIOD.
It is a passing league so we are gearing up to stop the pass. The increase in long athletes means that we will chase runs down and prevent the big gainers but probably give up 2-5 on a well executed play. Dare a coach to take 20 minutes to score 3 to 7 points against us while our O puts up 3-7 every 3 minutes.
How did that work out against the Saints?
To that i can easily say if the offense want behind all game the run defense wouldn’t have been an issue.
Bottom line I’m still pissed we lost that game, special teams and a sputtering first half offense cost us that game.
It was Year ONE with 4-3 Players moved out of position. This is another year out minimum!
Eagles would lose to Saints 7 out of 10 Times
As the Saints were clearly the better all-around Team in all facets last year, and it’s not even close..
Took me a few days to digest this draft now that the smoke has cleared I can now make an objective opinion.
I don’t like Marcus Smith as of right now bc he is another rotational player until he proves otherwise. Even if he gets a sack here or there that is no better than Brandon Graham if his play doesn’t demand he be on the field more than half of the time. we needed a stud on D and we did not get it. I could be wrong about him. I do like his size and I feel they will flip him on both sides to spell Barwin as well as Cole and maybe he can get reps that way.
Mathews is another player I thought we could do better than. I like his length and what I hear about his character. I still would like to have gotten a guy that could take over a game if needed. Mathews looks like he could be a solid piece within the system and a safe play. His playmaking ability after the catch is not that good and between Cooper Maclin and Mathews I don’t see much RAC. Cooper will get some simply bc I don’t think DB’s like tackling him.
I like Huff for what we do and he will backup several roles on special teams and Sproles insurance for whatever packages we create for him. Third 3rd was too high however.
Watkins was the third corner at Florida so how does that translate to the NFL? 5th string? w/e I guess we needed depth there. I like the rest of the defensive depth we got late but again no impact guys right away.
I think what will hurt the Eagles is not necessarily the pics they made not working out but all the good player other teams were able to pick up. Each year the NFL changes and teams come out of nowhere I won’t be surprised if teams like the Bears or Lions, Cardinals or Rams, Atlanta take major steps forward even the Giants in our division who are an every other year team anyway. Chip has his work cut out with making his puzzle come together.
Marcus Smith could be to an OLB, what Brandon Graham could be to a DE (meaning they could both have high sack totals). Graham should be a DE in a 4-3, I believe he could be very valuable and get more than 10 sacks per year. He hasnt had may opportunities in Green, and he’s had injury problems, but when given the opportunity that man just creates pressure. Both him and Curry are plain good at rushing the passer. Graham is built to be a DE, Marcus Smith is built to be an OLB. That is the major difference between the two in our Eagles 34 defense.
Smith is an actual 3-4 OLB vs an aging 4-3 convert (Trent Might have been a great 3-4 player from the jump we will never know)
We are getting bigger in the trenches and longer and faster at the LB level. Kendricks is a player but he may not be a long term fit for this 3-4 scheme.
Secondary is improved in that Jenkins and Allen is better than Allen and (anyone that played safety for us last year)
Just to be clear- I had the birds at 6-10 at most last season given all the changes. They out performed and got some breaks. This team may lead the league in points and yards per game this year and still miss the playoffs.
That would not mean this off season was a bust. It would mean that he team played more towards expectations. This is not a true playoff team. The birds enjoyed a winning season during a rebuild- and they are still rebuilding.
The Eagles draft should be simply viewed on their ability to address need and stockpile picks for next year. They turned the 22nd pick into 4 solid picks and a wildcard in Smith. Nonsense about trading up etc is just that nonsense. Once the Bills gave up the market for Watkins trading a 3rd to move up a few spots would’ve been dumb. The Smith picks looks just fine with the amount if teams reaching after 20.
I agree. Even if smith does become a Bust. We did not give up an RG3 type of future mortgage for one guy.
How good will the trade Buffalo made for Watkins be if he gets hurt in camp?
Gain picks or move up a slot or two but never mortgage the future for ONE player. See also RG3
All coaches should get at least 3 years to assemble the pieces and begin playing the game their way.
If by NEXT season (year 3 of Chip) they are not making a deep playoff run and / or challenging for a title then it becomes time to say that the plan is not working.
The plan is barely dry and people are upset about possibly whiffing on a draft pick here or there. EVERY TEAM MISSES some.
Chip has no link to Brandon Graham or Teo’neshiem. or what have you. If his picks suck in the next few years it will be the next coaches problem.
Yes sir Regal good post and this coming from a Chip Kelly better win right now guy. Great perspective. I still don’t like the Chipper. LOL
The Seahawks went 7-9 7-9 and that was off of two OUTSTANDING drafts in a row.
Real winning is long process thats built on the draft supplemented by adding key vet pieces to compliment talent youve grown and weeding out the bad from a previous regime.
Birds are on the right track.
You hope so…….
No hope GM. Looking at the draft process the last 7 years under Reid to the process under Kelly and Co I like that process even more so. The Djax decision is the polarizing move that has put people into camps but before that the Ertz pick in the 2nd and the move to lock up Jason Peters were two moves that the previous regime would have not done period.
We can disagree on picks players etc. Hindsight is 20/20 always but still doesn’t change a 10-6 winner with a team that before the season any realistic fan thought was a 4-7 win team tops and we were probably drafting our QB of the future in this draft.
People saying this is a playoff or bust year just have an agenda. So be it. To each his own. This team is working on 7 years of trickle down poor drafts and management. The notion you turn it around in 1 year is asinine.
7 years almost 30 picks in the first 3 rounds of the draft since 2005 the only McCoy is the lone pro browler on this team. Even with the gems like Kelce Cole etc they have found in later rounds those players arent game changers etc.
3-5 year plan. If you can’t stomach it watch something else.
We dealt with Andy Reid’s bullshit for 7 years after the Superbowl loss, we won’t know til year 4 about this team. Even sooner if Foles is not the guy. Without a longterm solution at QB regardless of coach you have jack shit to build on.
Are the Eagles really any good? Going over last season Im looking at the Eagles and the many breaks they got last season. The NFC East was terrible. Can we count on that next season? Can we count on Aaron Rogers being out again? Can we count on a snow storm that caused 10 turnovers, a scratched Bush, and snow neutralizing a passing teams effectiveness. Can we count on a bad call in the Arizona game to get us a win? How about Romo not being available? How about RGIII being hobbled or Eli having a repeat performance? Division rivals play each other tough no matter what the talent level. Couple that with the NFC West coming to town I just don’t know. If you truly look at it objectively this shit could go either way.
Reading Domowitch this morning an NFC scout was talking about Huff, liked him a lot but said he’s a diva and came off clownish in his one on one interviews. Stuff like that’s not an issue with me but that ought to make the holier than thou crowd cringe. LOL remember in Chip you trust.
Very interesting,I will read that as soon as I bounce off of GCOBB. I was listening to WIP this morning. A sports reporter from Philadelphia, who now covers the Atlanta Falcons stated that the Atlanta Falcon GM (Thomas) said that the Falcons was trying to trade back up into the 26 spot to draft Marcus Smith. (It’s a fact that the Falconswanted a pass rusher because they were trying to get Clowney and Mack were gone and Barr was gone by pick 9. Obviously they felt that Smith was the 4th best pass rushing OLB in the draft as well as the Redskins).The Eagles didn’t want to do it because they believed that by the time they picked again Smith would be gone. It’s also known that the Redskins wanted him at 34. The reporter also stated that quite a few NFL teams had Smith as a first rounder on their board as well. The talking heads have their draft projections, NFL GM’s have their’s.
I’ve read that the 49ers and Patriots were very interested in Marcus Smith
as both Teams have needs at OLB with the 49ers Aldon Smith in limbo and the Patriots always liking those OLB’s who can get after the QB.
This kid is going to work out fine and will need a Season of experience, better technique, get strong and learn how to use his hands to shed would be blockers, but all Rookies are in the same boat where they leanr the tricks of the trade so to speak.. Trent Cole has been playing for almost 10 years and still needs to work on using his hands better…
I’ve stated this a few times this off-season
That they Eagles could very well be a “better team”
In 2015 but not Win 10 Games…
Every Year is unique to itself and what happened last Season has very little bearing on what happens this year for a host of Reasons
Expect about 12-15 New Players on the Roster with
3-4 Veterans from current roster not to make it as Kelly & Co continue to transform the Roster in his likeness..
A new Season, new Opponents, actual expectations that were not there last Season but a Coach in his 2nd Season to build upon last Season’s
2nd half Success.. A real positive to me is that the Eagles as a Team played better as the Season went on and now with more experience of all the Pkaters in Kelky’s System , many should improve
Key will be health of OL & DL which miracously last year didn’t have a single Player go down which is almost unheard of..
The Depth and quality of Players will be tested
But when looking around the NFC, most Teams have issues
Whether it’s new Coach’s,Schemes & New a Players
Guants have 4-5 New Starters on Defense,
A new OC & Eli had recent Surgery
Redskins have new Coach, New System and basically the same Defense
Cowboys have almost a new Def Line & Sexondary
Panthers have new OL, WR & Cam Newton had Surgery recently
Saints lost a lot of key Veterans in a salary purge to be able to sign Safety Byrd,
An unhappy Jimmy Graham..
49ers have age & injuries on Defense, the Aldon Smith issues,
Bowman a serious knee injury from late January
A Coach unhappy about his own Contract Status
Seahawks are Super Bowl Champs, and lost 4-5 Quality Players to Fre-Agency
Lions have a New Coaching Staff & System
2 Teams that look really solid on Paper are the
Packers & Cardinals
The Bears has rebuilt their Defense with 3-4 new Free-Agents and first 4 Draft a Picks on that side of the ball..
This is what makes the NFL Great that the competitiveness is so
Close that a lot can happen with any Team
To me it always gets back to Coaching..
Game Planning, Preparation and utilizing your Roster
And yes gm game management & adjustments and the Teams who do this better, usually win..
Health & Turnovers are the key to the Eagles just like most Teams.
And a few fortunate bounces, calls helps also.,
Meant to say for 2014 Season and not 2015..
You never know how the schedule plays out I think they have the same exact record and get no worse then a wildcard spot. Nobody in the division has jumped over them talent wise.
One injury can change everything. McCoy gets hurt forget about it. Foles forget about it.
Plus Father Time has a strange way of touching cats on the shoulder and the fall apart. Especially in football.
The beginning part of their schedule favors them. Blind homer says 5-1 is a possibility. Smart mark says 4-2 is realistic and chicken Littles can easily say 3-3.
If they are 4-2 at the break and can survive the middle part of their season being above .500 they can win the division again because the end of the season schedule is division heavy and they would control their own destiny.
I think the Giants will be better and the Cowboys will be in it til their eventual choke job at the end. To many things have to go right in Washington IMO for it to week and if you think our defense sucks well Washingtons secondary makes ours look like the 02-05 Eagles lol.
On Injuries, You can say that about Every Team
Just look at Last Season
The Packers were sunk without Aaron Rodgers
Texans were sunk without RB Arian Foster
Falcons without WR Julio Jones
I do believe the Eagles are better positioned than most Teams if & when injuries occur by developing and having Depth..
While I was initially very suprised by the Smith pick, the more I read, the more I think it was fine. No one knows what any of these guys are going to do anyway, he’s got as good a chance as any, and it was a position of need.
I love that every pick was a senior college graduate.
I love the 2 WRs. At least one will work out and I think both have a good chance. I am especially excited about the way Matthews presents himself, and I like vids of Huff blocking guys all over the field.
Think about going into next season (2015). Birds will potentially have a very explosive and powerful young core with 2nd and 3rd year starters at QB, TE, 3 wr positions (Cooper, Matthews, Huff), Tackle, Centre…..I think it could be a very exciting offense for a long time.
I was a little suprised they didn’t draft any OL to replace the guards, but Roseman said after the draft they wanted them, but it didn’t work out. They did go heavy on OL post draft and I’m sure there will be at least 2 new OL starters in 2015. The O will be set for a long time.
Still clear to me, as it was a year ago, that the Eagles’ brass are in for a complete rebuild over the first couple of years. In 2 years of the new regime they will have replaced 9 of 11 starters on O and that they’re looking at taking a serious run from 2015-2018 or so.
I think the Eagles’ are better right now than they were last year, but a SB run? Not yet. Still a lot more work to do on the D.
Oh, and use a 5th on Sproles, then trade Brown for a 4th? Nicely done.
That could become a third, brilliant trade. Vinnie the only issue I have with the Smith pick is if he doesn’t get on the field and he’s groomed to replace Cole and doesn’t in 2015 we’re still looking for a pass rusher. You never know with these guys but even Charlie Strong knew they had to move him around to find a mismatch because he had a problem getting off blocks.
Well maybe Charlie Strong moved him around for it showcased his skills and versatility and gave him an advantage as a Defensive Planner and Coach…
Marcus Smith will see the field a lot rotating in for Trent Cole and even Connor Barwin on occasion and getting his 20-25 Snaps a game which will increase as the Season evolves..
He moved him around because he looked for advantages he could exploit great concept for a college coach but he was a liability in one on one situations I have watched his games going back a year they stood him up last year because he couldn’t hold up at the point of attack when he played with his hand in the dirt. That’s why he had 14.5 sacks last year most of them were because he had a free run at the QB, don’t believe look at the game tape.
Chip Kelly’s entire coaching philosophy is about exploiting advantages, it could work out just fine. Plus we drafted him to stand up, not have his hand in the dirt.
You still have to be able to set the edge it’s part of an OLB’s job. And Kelly doesn’t coach the defense so what will he be exploiting with Smith?
Biggie, that is a true assessment of the game tape I saw of Smith also. A number of those sack were free runs at the QB. I believe that our coaching staff will do a lot to get the most out of him, but I would not look for much earlier.
It’s too early… simple as that.
Looking at the off-season moves as a whole is more important than the players they picked…. they are building a core. A young, smart, athletic, team first core. They are building this thing for the long haul. I will be the first to admit that i am impatient… i wanted them to sign a play making S.. I wanted a pass rusher….. I wanted a better return for Desean. BUT….. Kelly and Co. are pumping the breaks and giving this team an identity. Will it pay off? None of us know. This D blows…. and I haven’t seen much thats going to change that. BUT….. this draft… this offseason all together…. can be judged in 1 years time.
Hey Vinnie gotta bust your stones, how did that addition by subtraction work out for your Bruins? Hahahahaha.
Bad draw against the stupid frenchies who they always have problems with.
Just opens the door to whoever comes out of the west.
Yes, that was not a good match up and Carey Price came up big for the Habs.
I HAVE A QUESTION!
Why team’s like the seahawks come out of nowhere and build from scratch and win it all in a few years, while our “Golden Standard” seems to continually run in place, going no where?
I seen the Saints do it…The woeful Bucs do it…. Even the Rvens after expansion.
What is different with our organization compared to those who come out of no where to win the Big One?
Or is it just bad luck?
It’s Philadelphia Songs. Nothing ever comes easy or soon enough
in the City of Brotherly Love… C’Mon Man…