Offseason Review
it's almost football season! figured i'd start by reviewing what the eagles did in the offseason vs. what i proposed they do in the offseason.
QB
what i thought they should do - don't spend too much money on a backup. spend money on keeping mcnabb off his butt.
what they did - picked up jeff garcia here. i don't hate the move, but if he has to play the season likely isn't going anywhere, so this omIMO.
53 man roster - mcnabb, garcia, and either detmer or developmental guy
RB
what i thought they should do - draft a buckhalter replacement and wait for the steelers to cut duce. cut reno mahe, he cannot play!
what they did - no additions at running back. likely going into the season with f-ing reno mahe.
53 man roster - westbrook, moats, perry, and either mahe or buckhalter.
FB
what i thought they should do - this is a huge area of need. they *have* to upgrade this position. i don't know who will be available in free agency, but if they don't upgrade this position then mcnabb is going to get hurt again. i'd rather see warrick dunn playing fullback for the eagles than see josh parry again. at least i've never seen dunn get steamrolled on pass protection. parry spends too much time on his ass. maybe ritchie will be healthy by then? ritchie may have been the best blocking fullback the birds have had since i've been watching the team. give me a lorenzo neal type player. tony richardson may be a free agent. i'd take him in a heartbeat.
what they did - count on tapeh getting healthy and winning the job from parry. thomas, please win the job!
53 man roster - tapeh
TE
what i thought they should do - this is also an area of need. despite his ball protection issues, LJ is a serviceable pass catching tight end. he drops too many balls, but he's good enough. what they are lacking is someone who can block. LJ is a horrible blocker. chad lewis had worked himself into a decent blocker by the end. stephen spach cannot block and cannot run. i have no idea what he's doing on this roster. next season, i'd like to see LJ, bartrum, and a jason dunn type player via free agency or the draft.
what they did - pick up matt schobel. i'm ok with that, but he can't block either.
53 man roster - smith, schobel, bartrum
WR
what i thought they should do - i like reggie brown. not convinced that he's number 1 wideout material, but like his competitiveness and especially his blocking and you don't need a top tier wideout to win. you need 4 wideouts who can all play -- guys who can all get open and catch the ball. i'd have been fine if they went into the season with brown, pinky, mcmullen, while adding one guy who has a track record of being a decent nfl wideout -- antwaan randle el, david givens, joe jurevicius, or someone similar -- as long as that guy has good hands. then add another young guy with some potential -- michael robinson would be interesting in that role. whatever you do, don't break the bank for reggie wayne, unless he's going to be fine with not getting 100 catches a season.
what they did - tried hard to get joe jurevicius but had to settle for jabar gaffney, a decent possession receiver. draft jason avant a hard worker with good hands. trade mcmullen for a bus pass. draft the new white flash, jeremy bloom (i may take to just calling him beebe).
53 man roster - brown, pinkston, gaffney, avant, bloom, lewis -- doesn't seem right to be keeping 6 wideouts, but i can't see them cutting any of these guys. maybe lewis, but they just signed him to a long term deal two seasons ago.
OT
what i thought they should do - tra thomas hasn't been good in a couple of seasons, he's gone imo. however, i'd re-sign runyan. he's had one of his better seasons and shows no sign of slowing down. despite what everyone seems to think, i do not believe that shawn andrews can handle the right tackle position at this point. he's too heavy and he's getting out quicked by interior linemen right now, there's no telling what outside guys are going to do to him. i think herremans has potential and seems to be able to man left tackle competently. move artis back to tackle and have him back up the two tackle spots. artis is not physical enough to be an interior lineman. herremans, runyan, and hicks man the tackle spots.
what they did - resign runyan. have tra get surgery to fix his back and change his name to william. move herremans inside. draft the second best tackle prospect in the draft. good stuff!
53 man roster - runyan, thomas, justice
OG
what i thought they should do - shawn andrews needs to lose some weight. replace artis, who can't play.
what they did - shawn andrews lost some weight. replaced artis hicks, who can't play by moving herremans inside. draft max-jean gillies.
53 man roster - this is going to be a tough call based on the number of bodies they have at guard. andrews, herremans, gillies, scott young (potential), and adrian clarke (can play all o-line positions)
C
what i thought they should do - jamaal jackson has proven to be an upgrade over fraley. i have no problems with them going into the season with jackson as the starting center. i don't think it's worthwhile to keep fraley as a backup because he's not physical enough to play guard. since center is his only viable position, it may make sense to replace him with someone a little more versatile.
what they did - went hard after lecharles bentley but lost out on him. battle will be between jackson and fraley. i think they're giving fraley the chance out of loyalty. in my mind, he's as good as gone and is too expensive and specialized to keep around as a backup.
53 man roster - jackson
DE
what i thought they should do - darren howard and kyle vandenbosch are both supposed to be free agents this season, i'd *love* to see them pick one of those guys up. kearse, mcdougle, cole, howard, and a draft pick at the defensive end position. i don't want to see them break the bank and go after john abraham. he's the same type of high reputation, inconsistent production player as kearse. he's a turd just waiting to shut himself down.
what they did - picked up darren howard.
53 man roster - kearse, howard, mcdougle, cole
DT
what i thought they should do - spend the likely top ten pick on a tommie harris/marcus stroud type player to pair up with patterson. that would give them one of the better starting tackle tandems in the league with rayburn and walker spelling them and thomas as an extra body.
what they did - drafted "the thing", a tommie harris type player. dumped hollis thomas and picked up ed jasper. drafted lajuan ramsey.
53 man roster - patterson, bunkley, walker, rayburn, and either jasper or keyonta marshall
LB
what i thought they should do - trotter is an obvious keeper. mccoy will hopefully pan out better than barry gardner and quinton caver, but he hasn't had a chance yet. dhani jones is a serviceable player, but is not suited to playing the strong side. he's a much better fit on the weak side where he won't have to take on as many blockers. simoneau is a very good backup. they need to bring in someone in the emmons mold to play the strong side. there aren't too many of those guys around, but they haven't been able to effectively replace him and covering TEs has been a problem ever since carlos left. i don't know who will be available -- julian petersen is supposed to be a free agent but san fran is expected to tag him -- but they have to upgrade the strong side linebacker position. trotter, jones, simoneau, mccoy, adams, new guy will be fine as long as new guy can really play.
what they did - draft chris gocong to be the next emmons. draft omar gaither to be the next ike reese. resign shawn barber to play nickel LB.
53 man roster - trotter, simoneau, mccoy, barber, gocong, gaither, and either jones or richmond
CB
what i thought they should do - i think they'll be ok here once they fix the pass rush issue. i'd think about replacing wynn with draft pick, but there really isn't much you can do at the corner position. lito and sheldon are your starters. hopefully ware can develop as someone who can cover the big wideouts in the league, because the rest of them are pretty damn short.
what they did - stand pat
53 man roster - sheppard, brown, hood, ware, and either strickland or wynn
S
what i thought they should do - the birds drafted sean considine to be the young free safety they're grooming to replace dawkins. ray didinger loves sean considine, so i'm hopeful that he'll become a productive player. michael lewis had his worst season by far -- he missed a lot of tackles and generally played a step too slow all season. however, since this season is his contract year i suspect he'll be better. dawkins is still dawkins. i thought quinton mikell would leave as a free agent.
what they did - retain mikell. possibly get jr reed back.
53 man roster - dawkins, lewis, considine, mikell, jr reed
KR/PR
what i thought they should do - hood is decent at best as a kick returner. dexter wynn showed promise as a kick and punt returner before he got hurt in the preseason. maybe he's the answer, but i don't think he's at jr reed's level. upgrade needed here.
what they did - draft the white flash
53 man roster - bloom already accounted for
K
what i thought they should do - akers and johnson are good. hopefully johnson comes back healthy and ready to go.
what they did - stand pat
53 man roster - akers, johnson
Summary
use the high first rounder on a stud d-tackle - check
spend money to bring in a stud defensive end - check
sign a decent wide receiver - check
sign a decent tight end - check
sign a decent fullback - nada
sign a decent strong side linebacker - gocong
sign a decent offensive guard - herremans
re-sign duce staley - hoping
consolidate their draft picks into fewer but better picks - check
53 man roster - i only have 52 men listed above, figuring someone unexpected is going to make the roster. seems good enough to win if everyone "plays to their potential"
QB
what i thought they should do - don't spend too much money on a backup. spend money on keeping mcnabb off his butt.
what they did - picked up jeff garcia here. i don't hate the move, but if he has to play the season likely isn't going anywhere, so this omIMO.
53 man roster - mcnabb, garcia, and either detmer or developmental guy
RB
what i thought they should do - draft a buckhalter replacement and wait for the steelers to cut duce. cut reno mahe, he cannot play!
what they did - no additions at running back. likely going into the season with f-ing reno mahe.
53 man roster - westbrook, moats, perry, and either mahe or buckhalter.
FB
what i thought they should do - this is a huge area of need. they *have* to upgrade this position. i don't know who will be available in free agency, but if they don't upgrade this position then mcnabb is going to get hurt again. i'd rather see warrick dunn playing fullback for the eagles than see josh parry again. at least i've never seen dunn get steamrolled on pass protection. parry spends too much time on his ass. maybe ritchie will be healthy by then? ritchie may have been the best blocking fullback the birds have had since i've been watching the team. give me a lorenzo neal type player. tony richardson may be a free agent. i'd take him in a heartbeat.
what they did - count on tapeh getting healthy and winning the job from parry. thomas, please win the job!
53 man roster - tapeh
TE
what i thought they should do - this is also an area of need. despite his ball protection issues, LJ is a serviceable pass catching tight end. he drops too many balls, but he's good enough. what they are lacking is someone who can block. LJ is a horrible blocker. chad lewis had worked himself into a decent blocker by the end. stephen spach cannot block and cannot run. i have no idea what he's doing on this roster. next season, i'd like to see LJ, bartrum, and a jason dunn type player via free agency or the draft.
what they did - pick up matt schobel. i'm ok with that, but he can't block either.
53 man roster - smith, schobel, bartrum
WR
what i thought they should do - i like reggie brown. not convinced that he's number 1 wideout material, but like his competitiveness and especially his blocking and you don't need a top tier wideout to win. you need 4 wideouts who can all play -- guys who can all get open and catch the ball. i'd have been fine if they went into the season with brown, pinky, mcmullen, while adding one guy who has a track record of being a decent nfl wideout -- antwaan randle el, david givens, joe jurevicius, or someone similar -- as long as that guy has good hands. then add another young guy with some potential -- michael robinson would be interesting in that role. whatever you do, don't break the bank for reggie wayne, unless he's going to be fine with not getting 100 catches a season.
what they did - tried hard to get joe jurevicius but had to settle for jabar gaffney, a decent possession receiver. draft jason avant a hard worker with good hands. trade mcmullen for a bus pass. draft the new white flash, jeremy bloom (i may take to just calling him beebe).
53 man roster - brown, pinkston, gaffney, avant, bloom, lewis -- doesn't seem right to be keeping 6 wideouts, but i can't see them cutting any of these guys. maybe lewis, but they just signed him to a long term deal two seasons ago.
OT
what i thought they should do - tra thomas hasn't been good in a couple of seasons, he's gone imo. however, i'd re-sign runyan. he's had one of his better seasons and shows no sign of slowing down. despite what everyone seems to think, i do not believe that shawn andrews can handle the right tackle position at this point. he's too heavy and he's getting out quicked by interior linemen right now, there's no telling what outside guys are going to do to him. i think herremans has potential and seems to be able to man left tackle competently. move artis back to tackle and have him back up the two tackle spots. artis is not physical enough to be an interior lineman. herremans, runyan, and hicks man the tackle spots.
what they did - resign runyan. have tra get surgery to fix his back and change his name to william. move herremans inside. draft the second best tackle prospect in the draft. good stuff!
53 man roster - runyan, thomas, justice
OG
what i thought they should do - shawn andrews needs to lose some weight. replace artis, who can't play.
what they did - shawn andrews lost some weight. replaced artis hicks, who can't play by moving herremans inside. draft max-jean gillies.
53 man roster - this is going to be a tough call based on the number of bodies they have at guard. andrews, herremans, gillies, scott young (potential), and adrian clarke (can play all o-line positions)
C
what i thought they should do - jamaal jackson has proven to be an upgrade over fraley. i have no problems with them going into the season with jackson as the starting center. i don't think it's worthwhile to keep fraley as a backup because he's not physical enough to play guard. since center is his only viable position, it may make sense to replace him with someone a little more versatile.
what they did - went hard after lecharles bentley but lost out on him. battle will be between jackson and fraley. i think they're giving fraley the chance out of loyalty. in my mind, he's as good as gone and is too expensive and specialized to keep around as a backup.
53 man roster - jackson
DE
what i thought they should do - darren howard and kyle vandenbosch are both supposed to be free agents this season, i'd *love* to see them pick one of those guys up. kearse, mcdougle, cole, howard, and a draft pick at the defensive end position. i don't want to see them break the bank and go after john abraham. he's the same type of high reputation, inconsistent production player as kearse. he's a turd just waiting to shut himself down.
what they did - picked up darren howard.
53 man roster - kearse, howard, mcdougle, cole
DT
what i thought they should do - spend the likely top ten pick on a tommie harris/marcus stroud type player to pair up with patterson. that would give them one of the better starting tackle tandems in the league with rayburn and walker spelling them and thomas as an extra body.
what they did - drafted "the thing", a tommie harris type player. dumped hollis thomas and picked up ed jasper. drafted lajuan ramsey.
53 man roster - patterson, bunkley, walker, rayburn, and either jasper or keyonta marshall
LB
what i thought they should do - trotter is an obvious keeper. mccoy will hopefully pan out better than barry gardner and quinton caver, but he hasn't had a chance yet. dhani jones is a serviceable player, but is not suited to playing the strong side. he's a much better fit on the weak side where he won't have to take on as many blockers. simoneau is a very good backup. they need to bring in someone in the emmons mold to play the strong side. there aren't too many of those guys around, but they haven't been able to effectively replace him and covering TEs has been a problem ever since carlos left. i don't know who will be available -- julian petersen is supposed to be a free agent but san fran is expected to tag him -- but they have to upgrade the strong side linebacker position. trotter, jones, simoneau, mccoy, adams, new guy will be fine as long as new guy can really play.
what they did - draft chris gocong to be the next emmons. draft omar gaither to be the next ike reese. resign shawn barber to play nickel LB.
53 man roster - trotter, simoneau, mccoy, barber, gocong, gaither, and either jones or richmond
CB
what i thought they should do - i think they'll be ok here once they fix the pass rush issue. i'd think about replacing wynn with draft pick, but there really isn't much you can do at the corner position. lito and sheldon are your starters. hopefully ware can develop as someone who can cover the big wideouts in the league, because the rest of them are pretty damn short.
what they did - stand pat
53 man roster - sheppard, brown, hood, ware, and either strickland or wynn
S
what i thought they should do - the birds drafted sean considine to be the young free safety they're grooming to replace dawkins. ray didinger loves sean considine, so i'm hopeful that he'll become a productive player. michael lewis had his worst season by far -- he missed a lot of tackles and generally played a step too slow all season. however, since this season is his contract year i suspect he'll be better. dawkins is still dawkins. i thought quinton mikell would leave as a free agent.
what they did - retain mikell. possibly get jr reed back.
53 man roster - dawkins, lewis, considine, mikell, jr reed
KR/PR
what i thought they should do - hood is decent at best as a kick returner. dexter wynn showed promise as a kick and punt returner before he got hurt in the preseason. maybe he's the answer, but i don't think he's at jr reed's level. upgrade needed here.
what they did - draft the white flash
53 man roster - bloom already accounted for
K
what i thought they should do - akers and johnson are good. hopefully johnson comes back healthy and ready to go.
what they did - stand pat
53 man roster - akers, johnson
Summary
use the high first rounder on a stud d-tackle - check
spend money to bring in a stud defensive end - check
sign a decent wide receiver - check
sign a decent tight end - check
sign a decent fullback - nada
sign a decent strong side linebacker - gocong
sign a decent offensive guard - herremans
re-sign duce staley - hoping
consolidate their draft picks into fewer but better picks - check
53 man roster - i only have 52 men listed above, figuring someone unexpected is going to make the roster. seems good enough to win if everyone "plays to their potential"
posted by The Mean Guy at 9:19 AM
5 Comments:
Goooooood stuff....finally football season and Pete, your best posts are this time of year. Especially your day after game summaries. I think that you are pretty dead on. I would be surprised if they picked up a FB. Tapeh let's them have a RB at FB who can also play special teams so he is a value player. I hope that Gocong and Richmond can at least push Jones, but I expect lots of wins this year again....the first big win being home against the Giants at week 2 to put them at 2-0. How great would it be if Bloom does play like Don Beebe? Very great.
Newsflash, the Eagles just signed Jamaal Jackson to a $13 million, 5-year extension. Could this be a foreshadowing to the battle at camp?
Newsflash, the Eagles just signed Jamaal Jackson to a $13 million, 5-year extension. Could this be a foreshadowing to the battle at camp?
well that certainly puts the exclamation on it, doesn't it? wonder why they would do that now instead of further along in camp? doesn't this signal to honeybuns that there is no actual competition?
wonder if jackson's agent pushed for this more than the birds to protect jamaal in case he got hurt this camp.
wonder how much of a signing bonus he got?
Nice post. Agree with most things, although the day Reid focuses on getting a good FB is probably the day after he's seen at a strip club doing shots of Jager off a naked.
After reading this, I'm now thinking 11-5. . .
White Flash has a torn hammy and could be out a while.
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