I think the Eagles made an excellent move by signing free agent safety Rodney McLeod. I’m confident that he’s going to come in here and do a good job of working with Malcolm Jenkins. All I had to do was listen to former Eagles offensive tackle Barrett Brooks on Comcast’s morning show “Breakfast On Broad”.
Brooks talked about his recent conversation with Eagles Pro Bowl safety Malcolm Jenkins. The leader of the Birds defense let it be known to Brooks that he had met and gotten to know McLeod. Jenkins said he had all the world of confidence in McLeod and was going to be able to focus on his job and his job alone because he knew McLeod would be on top of his job.
He knew when he looked for McLeod over the middle, that the little guy would be there.
There were more assurances that McLeod is going to be a big plus for the Birds defense. Former Eagles safety Quinton Mikell, who now works for the Eagles as Director of Player Engagement, enthusiastically gave his endorsement of McLeod.
“When he was a younger guy he was just flying around and just throwing his shoulder or throwing his head and hitting everybody,” said Mikell. “Well, now he’s doing the same thing, but he’s flying in and making tackles. He’s flying in and making plays on the ball. He’s put two and two together.”
“From Day 1 he will make an impression on this defense,” said Mikell. “I can’t say that about everyone that’s been here. There were guys that had little bits and pieces, but they didn’t have that fire. They didn’t have that dog in him.
“Now Malcolm has it. And, I know, Rod has it.”
He’s a hitter, who will come up and pound receivers.
McLeod is undersized and he doesn’t have the 4.4 speed, but he’s tough, smart and diligent about being prepared for each game. The young man is a pro and that gives me confidence in him.
I was hoping Karl Joseph would fall to us in round 3, but I guess now we may pass on him if he does. We really needed a physical safety to add some toughness to this defense.
That’s exactly what we’re getting in McLeod.
LA Rams lost 2 starters in their secondary ( Birds McLeod, Giants Jenkins) and franchise tagged another in CB Johnson. After McLeod signed they gave SS Mark Barron more money than the Eagles gave their former Starter McLeod. Barron played OLB after Ogletree was injured. Barron is starting with that contract wonder at which position ?
Word from LA is that Mark Barron is staying at OLB while Alec Ogletree moves inside to ILB to replace the released James Laurinitis…
Sounds good..it would be nice to see a big hit for a change!
Rodney McLeod reminds me a lot of Quinton Mikell… Nothing real Flashy, but a consistent,tough,fundamentally strong player who is always in the right position to make plays and is there for you week after week…
He and Jenkins will make a very good Safety Tandem and among the NFL’s Best….
So.. after looking at some tape and such… Im really excited about this pickup. My first reaction was one of concern over his speed. However… his hitting ability and tackling has me stoked. I do think they will need to put a CB back there in certain passing situations but… im good with this.
My concern was his size…but from what I’m hearing and seeing…I think we will be ok!
Undersized, not fast enough…I don’t give 2 shits! The dude can ball, and he can smash ass! My boy is a huge Rams fan and he was always preaching his glory. I watch him play too..we’re good
I think some of you are worrying about speed too much. Nate Allen had “speed” but no instincts. So what did is speed really mean? It didn’t help on the football field at all. Look at kam chancellor. He’s really not fast at all but his instincts are great especially for some one his size. I woulda resigned Thurman honestly because he showed speed and instincts and playmaking ability but this move really is a good move. Hope it works out for us
Nice to see DB Nolan Carroll stay with the Eagles. We now seem to have a good amount of depth at DB..
You figure Carroll, Rowe, Shepard & Brooks all Battle for the Outside CB
while McKelvin,Brooks,Rice and Watkins Battle for the Slot CB
Safety will see Jenkins,McLeod, Brooks as the Top 3 with Couplin, Maragos & Reynolds battling for a Final Spot
Didn’t Couplin play for the Detroit Lions while Schwartz was there ?
You got Brooks as a CB in one post then you have him as a safety in another he’s a CB paulman.
I think Brooks will learn all the Positions and be a Nickel CB and a Back-Up Safety and a Special Teamer and basically takes the Place of Chris Maragos who is great on Special Teams but a liability at Safety
In other news I see today that 3rd baseman Mike Olt was released from the white sox- many of you may remember he was the hot name many wanted the phillies to trade for to kick start the ‘rebuild’– he was everyones choice for the new cornerstone– as the sixers are finding out….PROSPECTS ARE JUST THAT…FREAKING PROSPECTS!!! lets hope the bounty the phils have gotten the last year or so turns out better than this turd!!
Olt was never the same after his “Concussion” & Vision Issues” in 2014 and then it was all downhill from there as his lost his Confidence and really struggled the last couple of Years….
The %’s are not in anyone’s favor to Make it Big in the Big Leagues..
Having more Higher Rated Prospects means a better chance than more will make it but still doesn’t Guarantee Success just like a 1st Round Pick in the NBA,NFL,NHL or any Professional Sports Guarantee Success.. …
You have to be Talented, but still Work just as Hard, Catch a few Breaks with your Health and get good Coaching and hopefully Play for a Good Organization..
absolutely — its why the ‘rebuild’ is a very easy pill to swallow while commenting on a blog than it is in real life– i mean people are very critical of the hunter pence trade and we got a very highly touted catching prospect who ended up wit the same issues– so to call a trade of an established big leaguer for a prospect.a failure is a bit stupid– prospects man a lot of hype (think nba/nfl draft) is a lot of hoopla about ZERO!!
Talking about Off-Seasons … The Eagles and Roseman have really hit a Home Run, between the Coaching Staff Assembled, Locking up Core Young Players, Cleaning up some of Bad Contracts and getting the Roster to reflect more of the New Coaching Staff’s wishes…. Roseman is getting “A” Grades from everyone around the NFL which again, doesn’t mean they will win 12 Games and Win the Super Bowl, but they have really things around quickly on the Direction of the Franchise from just a mere 3 Months ago…
My Hat’s Off to Owner Lurie, GM Roseman, Front Office and Coach Pederson and His Staff…. They get this OL secure with 2 Young Guys in the Draft, a big time RB and get these current Young Receivers to grow and mature, they could be a Good Team again.They’ve loaded up so much on the Defensive Side of the Ball in Free-Agency, that they will likely load up at LB, OL, RB, QB & WR in the Draft
well we’ve ‘won’ the off season before-
the coaching staff does seem more stable certainly than what we have seen before–but solid coaching staffs have been known to struggle and take time to produce–
funny how howie is being lauded now but a year ago he was affectionately referred to as ‘weaselman’ by many on here!!
You have to admit that Howie utilized his time well over the last Season and really did his homework and had a game plan so when his opportunity came to get back in he was able to hit the ground running .. Many other People would have sulked last year after his public demotion and humiliation by many in the media.. But give the man some credit, he kept his chin up, kept working and supported the club in whatever areas he was responsible for and asked to do..
What I like about this Staff that Pederson and Co have Put together is that they are truly Teachers first and appear that they will be very supportive,flexible and learn how to utilize different skill sets which Kelly/Davis were either unable to do or didn’t want to do…
It appears this will be a more hands-on approach by the entire Coaching Staff where there be a lot of Imput and exchanging of Ideas,processes by the various Coach’s and not just from a Top Down type of atmosphere
Should be fun to see come together.. I am sure the Offense will have a longer time to get on the same page but at least many of the starting players are the same and will be learning the new system and schemes together from their Spring OTA’s.. Defense will have some new faces but most of these Players are at least familiar or played for Schwartz so they will know a lot of te schemes and what to expect from the get go…
I believe you are saying that this staff has emotional security.
maturity that should be!!!!
As for howie he took it like a man, maybe plotted his revenge and came out swinging. Sometimes in a business environment you get knocked down, how you respond is important. The way this thing shook out it really appears that lurie was livid at chip for his handling of many things and for the attitude around novacare…
We’ll see how the Draft Shapes up but I don’t think anyone can be too critical for the Moves and Position that Roseman has given the New Coaching Staff,
now what they do with the Players, and Schemes, Coaching Techniques, etc,etc is now on them, but clearly this has the makings of a better Team moving forward than the one that crashed and burned in 2015
if the eagles don’t win the division Howie accomplished nothing.
This is up to the Coah’s and Players… Howie has gien this Staff everything they wanted thus far.. Both QB’s in tow, mltiple young core players under long term deals, Free-agency additions who have worked with the Coach’s for a look of familiarity and hopefully hit the ground running ..
If Romo returns and has a MVP type of Season and Cowboys go 12-4
that’s not on Roseman, or the Giants if Eli had a MVP Season or the Redskins…. Playing the AFC North & the NFC North in 2016 will be a challenge for the NFC East Teams and whoever comes down to December with a chance to get 9-10 Wins will make the Playoffs…
Divisional Games will be the Key for 2016
That’s on the Coach’s & Players