Last season: 11-5
2010 Preview:
In a very strong division, the Eagles are the odd team out. The decision to trade Donovan McNabb may long great in the long term for the Eagles, but in the short term, it really hurts because not only do they make themselves a little worse at the quarterback position, they make a talented division foe, which was a quarterback away from being a playoff contender, a lot better at the quarterback position. I’m not saying Kevin Kolb will be bad at all, but he won’t be McNabb, at least not this year. Kolb is essentially going to be a rookie quarterback this year. He has the experience on the bench, but there are simply some things a quarterback can’t fully learn until he’s been in an NFL game or twelve.
Not to mention, this offensive line isn’t great. They were middle of the pack in terms of sacks allowed last year, but they allowed a ton of pressures. McNabb and his ability to get the ball out in the nick of time made them look a lot better than they were. Kolb probably won’t be able to do that as well, at least not right away. They were abused by the Cowboys late last season. They have to face that time twice again this year. They also have to face the Giants twice, whose pass rush I already said should be revitalized this year, and the Redskins twice, who have a good pass rush that will be able to blitz more this year, thanks to the addition of McNabb. All this spells a rough year for Kolb behind that line and that’s not going to help the young signal caller out in his first year.
Defensively, they should be a good team. One of the three defensive ends they drafted should be able to step up across from Trent Cole this year and give them another pass rusher, but the loss of Sheldon Brown, who wasn’t really replaced, in the secondary hurts. I think those two things almost cancel each other out, unless someone like Graham has a monster 10+ sack breakout year, which is unlikely. And remember, a downgrade at quarterback hurts the whole team, including the defense. They may not be able to blitz as much as they like this year if Kolb isn’t producing like McNabb was.
Projection: 7-9 4th in NFC East
Power Ranking: 21
Draft:
#13 DE Brandon Graham (Michigan)
Brandon Graham is a fine player and a future starting left end and all that, but when the Eagles moved up to 13 from 24, I thought it would be for a player they couldn’t have gotten at 24. Earl Thomas fills a bigger hole for this team than does Graham and Graham probably would have been available all the way until to 19, if not later. The Eagles had the picks to get this done and Graham is a decent player, but they could have done something better with this pick. I don’t even think he was best available DE, that would be Derrick Morgan, and this is coming from someone who was higher on Graham than most.
Grade: B-
#37 S Nate Allen (South Florida)
I thought this pick would be Taylor Mays, but I’m so glad it wasn’t. Mays was higher rated on my board and has the speed the Eagles like, but Allen is much more of a natural fit at free safety for the Eagles. Several teams reportedly had 1st round grades on him, so this is well in his draft range and he allows the Eagles to get an upgrade at free safety despite passing on Thomas at 13. Nate Allen has a lot of pressure on him, as the free safety that has to replace Brian Dawkins, and also as the player drafted with the pick the Eagles got for Donovan McNabb, but if anyone can handle it, it’s this kid.
Grade: A
#86 DE Daniel Te’o-Neshiem (Washington)
Okay, one defensive end was a need, but not two. The Eagles have a ton of depth at defensive end now, but there’s only so many ends you can use. Te’o-Neshiem is a solid player, but a bit of a reach here as well and doesn’t fill a need.
Grade: C-
#105 CB Trevard Lindley (Kentucky)
Lindley got destroyed in the Senior Bowl, but when healthy he’s a starting caliber cornerback. However, he does lack athleticism. He fills a need, but I don’t know if he fills it in the way they needed the need filled. He’s not an immediate starter type player like they needed to replace Sheldon Brown, but he does fill a position of need and it’s better that the Eagles do that now then never.
Grade: B+
#121 OLB Keenan Clayton (Oklahoma)
I very rarely give Fs to mid-to-late round picks, but everything I saw of Clayton last year suggests that he should not be drafted. He’s not instinctual. He’s basically a big safety playing linebacker without elite speed or athleticism. If he’s anything more than a solid special teamer, I’ll be shocked.
Grade: F
#122 QB Mike Kafka (Northwestern)
Kafka shows a lot to like, but he’s a project. Quarterback may not seem like a need for the Eagles, but Vick is a free agent next offseason and if Kolb struggles, they may want a backup plan, so taking one with one of their many mid round picks was smart. However, Kafka is a bit of a reach by my book and when are they ever going to fix that offensive line? Didn’t they learn anything when the Cowboys blew up their line last season? Having essentially a rookie signal caller in Kevin Kolb behind a bad offensive line with a coach who refuses to run the ball is a recipe for disaster.
Grade: C+
#125 TE Clay Harbor (Missouri State)
Hard to bash this pick because I like Harbor as a mid round sleeper, but they need offensive line help and Harbor doesn’t really fill a need. He’ll probably be an H-back type player for them who alternates between fullback and tight end, but they needed other things.
Grade: C
#134 DE Ricky Sapp (Clemson)
Sapp has 3rd round talent so it’s hard to argue, but seriously, another defensive end? What do they have like 8 defensive ends on the roster now? Sapp is also a bit undersized for a 4-3.
Grade: C-
#159 WR Riley Cooper (Florida)
Cooper is a solid value and fills a bit of a need as the 4th receiver, replacing Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis, albiet not much of a need, but you have to wonder when they’ll fix that offensive line. Deep threats like Cooper won’t do much if Kolb doesn’t have time in the pocket. Contrary to popular belief, Jason Peters is one of the worst left tackles in the league.
Grade: C
#200 RB Charles Scott (LSU)
Scott would be a great value and a great short down back for the Eagles if they ever ran the football on shortdowns. Still, maybe this year will be the first time.
Grade: B
#220 MLB Jamar Chaney (Mississippi State)
Chaney probably should have been drafted 3 rounds earlier, so he makes a lot of sense for the Eagles here. If he pans out as a starter, Stewart Bradley can move to the strongside and he can take over the middle. If not, he’ll still be solid depth, which is important because last year when the Eagles needed depth, they had to wake Jeremiah Trotter from the dead.
Grade: A
#243 DT Jeff Owens (Georgia)
Not a huge need, but there’s no denying Owens’ physical upside here in the 7th and for the Eagles who have a ton of picks, it’s not a bad move. Owens is one of the most physically impressive players in this entire draft class.
Grade: A-
#244 S Kurt Coleman (Ohio State)
Doesn’t fill an obvious need, but he probably should have been off the board in the 5th and he offers good safety depth, as well as leadership on special teams.
Grade: A
Overall:
The Eagles had 13 picks and didn’t take one offensive linemen? The Eagles got destroyed by the Cowboys week 17 and week 1 of the playoffs last year because they couldn’t stop the pass rush. With Kevin Kolb at quarterback, they are taking a big risk not drafting an offensive lineman. The Eagles did make some decent picks and upgrade their pass rush, albiet, a little excessively, and their last 3 picks in the 7th round were brilliant steals, but overall I think the Eagles could have done a lot more with this draft. They upgraded the safety position nicely, but not the more valuable cornerback position.
Grade: C+
Key undrafted free agents
CB David Pender (Purdue)
DT Charles Alexander (LSU)
Positions of need:
Defensive End:
Trent Cole was again among the best in the league last year, but opposite him at left end, the Eagles struggled to find consistency at the position. If they could add another pass rusher to this defense, it would make their entire unit that much better. You know this will be high on the Eagles’ list this offseason because Andy Reid likes to upgrade in the trenches. Brandon Graham, Everson Griffen, and Jason Pierre Paul could all be options at 24.
Traded for Darryl Tapp, Drafted Brandon Graham (#13)
Outside Linebacker:
The Eagles got Will Witherspoon in a midseason trade from St. Louis and Stewart Bradley will be back next season after an ACL injury to solidify the middle of the defense once again, but they need one more outside linebacker. Andy Reid doesn’t take linebacker early almost ever, but Sean Weatherspoon would be a perfect fit for his scheme and could be available at 24. Daryl Washington could make sense in the 2nd if they choose to wait.
Traded for Ernie Sims, Drafted Keenan Clayton (#121)
Offensive Guard:
Shawn Andrews might not play again and given how much Andy Reid enjoys upgrade the trenches, he could look for big guards early. Mike Iupati could be an option at 24, but more likely they’ll look at guys like John Jerry in the 3rd.
Offensive Tackle:
Jason Peters and Winston Justice gave up 13 combined sacks last year. Peters has too big of a contract to be benched, but they can upgrade Justice fairly easily. A big run blocking right tackle like Ciron Black could be targeted in the 3rd round to fill this need.
Safety:
Sean Jones struggled in his first year in Philadelphia. They at least need some more young depth at the position to push for his job.
Drafted Nate Allen (#37)
Center:
Jamaal Jackson was strongly missed late in the season when he got hurt and the Eagles lost two in a row, pretty badly, to the Cowboys to eliminate themselves. In both games, they got outplayed in the trenches and in both games, Nick Cole looked really uncomfortable at center. They should take a young center to provide depth in case Jackson isn’t ready for the start of 2010.
Wide Receiver:
Seemingly always a need, the Eagles still lack that big goal line wide receiver and with guys like Danario Alexander and Seji Ajirotutu, this could be the year they address that need.
Drafted Riley Cooper (#159)
Running Back:
After cutting Brian Westbrook, they need depth at the running back position. Their name has been linked to LT.
Signed Mike Bell, Drafted Charles Scott (#200)
Free agents:
RB Brian Westbrook
FB Leonard Weaver (restricted)- resigned 3 years 11.5 million
WR Jason Avant (restricted)- resigned 5 years 18 million
WR Kevin Curtis
TE Alex Smith (restricted)
OT Shawn Andrews
G Nick Cole (restricted)- resigned 1 year 1.7 million
G Max Jean-Gilles (restricted)- resigned 1 year
G Shawn Murphy
DE Darren Howard
DE Max Hall- signed with Giants
OLB Chris Gocong (restricted)- signed 1 year 1.1 million
OLB Omar Gaither (restricted)- signed 1 year 1.1 million
OLB Will Witherspoon- signed with Tennessee 3 years 11 million
MLB Akeem Jordan (exclusive rights)- resigned 1 year 1.6 million
MLB Jeremiah Trotter
CB Ellis Hobbs (restricted)- resigned 1 year 2.8 million
S Sean Jones- signed with Buccaneers
P Sav Rocca (exclusive rights)- resigned 1 year 1.1 million
Offseason moves:
Eagles trade MLB Joe Mays from Broncos for RB J.J. Arrington and 2012 conditional pick
Eagles waive DE Alex Hall
Eagles claim OLB Simoni Lawrence
Eagles waive G Shawn Murphy
Eagles re-sign P Sav Rocca
Eagles acquire Ernie Sims (Detroit) for a 5th rounder (Denver)
Eagles re-sign G Max Jean-Gilles
Eagles Trade CB Sheldon Brown, RLB Chris Gocong to Browns for DE Alex Hall, 2010 4th, 5th rounders
Eagles re-sign OLB Omar Gaither
Eagles re-sign CB Ellis Hobbs
Eagles re-sign OLB Chris Gocong
Eagles sign RB Mike Bell
Eagles re-sign G Nick Cole
Eagles re-sign MLB Akeem Jordan
Eagles cut DE Darren Howard
Eagles cut WR Kevin Curtis
Eagles cut OT Shawn Andrews
Eagles acquire DE Darryl Tapp from Seahawks for DE Chris Clemons and a 2010 4th-round pick
Eagles sign WR Hank Baskett
Eagles sign CB Marlin Jackson
Eagles re-sign WR Jason Avant
Eagles cut MLB Will Witherspoon
Eagles re-sign FB Leonard Weaver
Eagles tender OLB Chris Gocong
Eagles tender G Max Jean-Gilles
Eagles tender P Sav Rocca
Eagles tender C Nick Cole
Eagles tender CB Ellis Hobbs
Eagles tender MLB Akeem Jordan
Eagles tender OLB Omar Gaither
Eagles cut RB Brian Westbrook
Football Fan Spot 