Dhani Jones Finally Gone

birds finally cutting dead weight from the LB corps. good riddance.

according to bj's eagles cap page, dhani has 800k of unallocated signing bonus money, which will be dead money against the cap at some point.

Draft Grade

i don't think you can grade this draft higher than a 'C', but then again, i know little to nothing about most of the guys they drafted this year.

HOWEVER, history has shown that they know a heck of a lot more about personnel than i do, or you do, or WIP does, or many/most of the other NFL teams do. every team has draft busts. look at the analyses and you'll see that 30-50% of first round picks are busts every year. i don't recall any specific links off the top of my head, but every analysis i've seen puts the birds in the top 5 teams in drafting talent since big red took over.

do you recall that big red targeted don with the 2nd pick in the draft when all of the draft "experts" had him slated going in the 20s? like him or not, mcnabb was BY FAR the best QB to come out of that draft. if big red says this kolb guy can play, i tend to believe him. he's actually been pretty good with his first rounders.

Year	Pick	Hit/Miss	Pro-Bowl
1999	Donovan McNabb	hit	x
2000	Corey Simon	hit	x
2001	Freddie Mitchell	miss
2002	Lito Sheppard	hit	x
2003	Jerome McDougle	miss
2004	Shawn Andrews	hit	x
2005	Mike Patterson	TBD
2006	Brodrick Bunkley	TBD
2007	Kevin Kolb	TBD

i'm not saying this to indicate that i support how they went in this draft, but there's no way anyone out there -- talking head, fan, or morning idiot -- can judge this draft for several years.

at any rate, i'm certainly not upset about it. am i disappointed that they weren't able to grab one of the first round worthy safeties? yes. am i disappointed that they didn't panic and draft a jon harris-type guy because all of their targets were stolen in front of them? nope.

Kiper on Eagles Draft

kiper gives the birds a C- for their draft and writes:

First, they made a trade with the Cowboys, who used the pick on defensive end Anthony Spencer. Then, the Eagles used the 36th overall pick (their first pick in the draft) on Houston QB Kevin Kolb when QBs Drew Stanton, John Beck and Trent Edwards were all still on the board. I thought Kolb was a reach because he reminds me of Kyle Boller. Defensive end Victor Abiamiri was a good pick in the second round, and linebacker Stewart Bradley was a decent choice in the third round. Running back Tony Hunt was a good third-round pick; C.J. Gaddis, I thought, would have been a priority free agent instead of a fifth-rounder; Brent Celek is an average tight end prospect; and cornerback Rashad Barksdale will battle for roster spot.

kolb reminds kiper of kyle boller?

let's see, boller is the guy with questionable accuracy who pushed himself into the first round with a ridiculously strong arm (throwing through the uprights while down on one knee at the combine) who played himself out of a job with his inability to complete a 5 yard pass.

meanwhile, kolb is the guy with slightly above average arm strength and ridiculously good short ball accuracy who played in the all passing all the time run n' shoot offense.

yeah, i can see how one might remind you of the other.

Mike Mayock on Nate Ilaoa

mike mayock in a sportsillustrated.com interview:

There is this bowling-ball running back out of Hawaii named Nate Ilaoa. He is a 255-pound, overweight bowling ball. He didn't run well at the combine and if he gets drafted it will be probably be in the sixth or seventh round or he'll be a free agent. This kid came to Hawaii as a wide receiver and was a productive wide receiver until he stated gaining all this weight.

I put the tape on to watch a free safety from Boise State and this running back kept running people over and making people miss. I said: Who is this kid? I made a few phone calls and watched some more tapes. You don't want to buy into him because he is so out of the box, but he's just the kind of kid that has something. He intrigues me.

Eagles Day 2 Picks

a couple of athletic but raw d-backs, a tight end, and a fullback that i'm pretty darn excited about

CJ Gaddis

the eagles once drafted a little known safety out of clemson... turned out pretty well. if this guy becomes half the player that one became, we should be ok. i've never seen CJ play, but his measureables are pretty good for a safety.

College: Clemson
Height: 6-0
Weight: 210
40 Yrd Dash: 4.45
20 Yrd Dash:
10 Yrd Dash:
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 20
Vertical Jump: 36-1/2"
Broad Jump: 10' 1"
20 Yrd Shuttle:
3-Cone Drill:
Arms:
Hands:

Profiles:
nfl.com
newerascouting.com
rookiepedia.com

Comparison: Jermaine Phillips, Dwight Smith


Brent Celek

College: Cincinnati
Height: 6-4
Weight: 261
40 Yrd Dash: 4.75
20 Yrd Dash:
10 Yrd Dash:
225 Lb. Bench Reps:
Vertical Jump: 29"
Broad Jump: 9' 4"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.31
3-Cone Drill: 7.20
Arms: 31-3/8"
Hands: 10-1/8"

Profiles:
nfl.com
rookiepedia.com

Comparison: Desmond Clark


Rashad Barksdale

College: Albany
Height: 6-2
Weight: 210
40 Yrd Dash: 4.38
20 Yrd Dash:
10 Yrd Dash:
225 Lb. Bench Reps:
Vertical Jump:
Broad Jump:
20 Yrd Shuttle:
3-Cone Drill:
Arms:
Hands:

Profiles:
nfl.com
nfldraftcountdown.com
rookiepedia.com


Nate Ilaoa

a bowling ball of a fullback who not only runs a 4.66 - 40 yd dash, but is a converted wideout so he can catch the ball. can you say, perfect fullback for the worst coast offense?

College: Hawaii
Height: 5-8
Weight: 245
40 Yrd Dash: 4.66
20 Yrd Dash:
10 Yrd Dash:
225 Lb. Bench Reps:
Vertical Jump: 31-1/2"
Broad Jump:
20 Yrd Shuttle:
3-Cone Drill:
Arms: 29-3/4"
Hands: 9"

Profiles:
nfl.com
newerascouting.com
rookiepedia.com
nfldraftcountdown.com

Comparison: Samkon Gado, Patrick Pass

Eagles Day 1 Picks

Kevin Kolb

i knew very little about this guy prior to the draft other than that marty mornhinweg apparently loves him, mike mayock loves him, and he's supposed to be a terrific short to intermediate passer. after reading his profiles, i'm still a little unclear as to why they'd pick him so high. seems like they could have had him later in the second round, though there was a bit of a run on QBs immediately after the eagles picked. nevertheless, he seems like a pretty good prospect if the profiles are to be believed. i've never seen him play.

College: Houston
Height: 6-3
Weight: 218
40 Yrd Dash: 4.85
20 Yrd Dash: 2.81
10 Yrd Dash: 1.64
225 Lb. Bench Reps:
Vertical Jump: 32 1/2
Broad Jump: 9'4"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.44
3-Cone Drill: 6.94
Arms: 32-1/8"
Hands: 9-1/4"

Profiles:
nfl.com
newerascouting.com
rookiepedia.com

Comparison: Philip Rivers, Jay Cutler


Victor Abiamiri

College: Notre Dame
Height: 6-5
Weight: 271
40 Yrd Dash: 4.77
20 Yrd Dash:
10 Yrd Dash:
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 20
Vertical Jump:
Broad Jump:
20 Yrd Shuttle:
3-Cone Drill:
Arms: 32-1/2"
Hands: 10"

Profiles:
nfl.com
newerascouting.com
rookiepedia.com

Comparison: Alex Brown, Justin Tuck


Stewart Bradley

College: Nebraska
Height: 6-4
Weight: 256
40 Yrd Dash: 4.71
20 Yrd Dash:
10 Yrd Dash:
225 Lb. Bench Reps:
Vertical Jump:
Broad Jump:
20 Yrd Shuttle:
3-Cone Drill:
Arms: 32-1/8"
Hands: 9-1/4"

Profiles:
nfl.com
newerascouting.com
rookiepedia.com

Comparison: Scott Fujita


Tony Hunt

College: Penn State
Height: 6-2
Weight: 239
40 Yrd Dash: 4.55
20 Yrd Dash:
10 Yrd Dash:
225 Lb. Bench Reps:
Vertical Jump:
Broad Jump:
20 Yrd Shuttle:
3-Cone Drill:
Arms: 32"
Hands: 9"

Profiles:
nfl.com
newerascouting.com
rookiepedia.com

Comparison: Steven Jackson, Corey Dillon, Kevan Barlow

NFL Draft Day 1 Thoughts

wasn't able to follow the draft live as i normally would and haven't had the time to do the research i normally would leading into the draft so i feel rather uninformed this year. i do have a few thoughts based on the results of the first day. this was an odd draft for the eagles, in more ways than one.

- i think safety was probably what big red and heckert were targeting and having all four first round quality safeties off the board by the 24th pick threw a monkey wrench into their draft plans. personally, i would have liked to have seen brandon merriweather slip to them, but alas, the patriots grabbed him.

- wow, did the cowboys rob the browns, blind. cleveland gave the cowboys the 36th pick in this year's draft and a likely top 10 pick in next years draft for the 22nd pick. not only did they overpay for the 22nd pick, no QB was taken until the eagles picked kolb at 36! the browns could have conceivably stayed put and ended up with quinn. probably not likely, but doesn't appear to have been critical for them to move up in such a panicking fashion. of course, the only reason i care is that the eagles then traded down and gave the pick to dallas for a 2, 3, and 5. in effect, the cowboys got a top ten pick next year for dropping down 4 spots in the first round, a 3, and a 5. that's highway robbery and more importantly, next year's draft is supposed to be significantly better than this year's draft.

- not sure why QB was the top pick. i wish i had a window into big red's head. likely reason is the birds had kolb with a first round grade and since it takes QB's more time to learn this infernal offense than it takes to get a college degree no reason not to start grooming don's successor if he falls to you. i heard or read somewhere that mornhinweg thinks kolb is the best worst coast offense QB in the draft.

- overall, i have no problems with the players the birds drafted but i think the giants had the best first day netting a top caliber corner, a playmaking WR, and jay alford. can't discount the cowboys, who stole a top ten pick. redskins stink on the field and getting just laron landry in the first day of the draft must be making their fans sick.

Even Screamin' A Sees the Obvious

egad. it's so obvious what the right move was, even screamin' a gets this one right:

The New York Knicks didn't share King's thinking when they drafted Patrick Ewing in 1985. The San Antonio Spurs didn't, either, when they practically threw their season to get David Robinson in the 1987 draft. The same could be said for the Orlando Magic with Shaquille O'Neal in 1992 and the Spurs again with Tim Duncan in 1997, essentially because they all picked the better of two choices:

Keep trying to win now and stay mediocre.

Or sacrifice a season to ensure more fruitful ones to come.

from bumble:

see your point, but tough to root against this team. they are playing better team ball. At 7-8 they should still get an athlete. Not a dominant center, but a solid athlete. I cannot ever root for my team to lose. Why watch?

i'd just like to point out the sixers sit at 11th, not 7-8. 11th!

here are some of the players picked at 11:

- 2006 - jj redick
- 2005 - fran vazquez
- 2004 - andris biedrins
- 2003 - mickael pietrus
- 2002 - jared jeffries
- 2001 - kedrick brown
- 2000 - jerome moiso
- 1999 - trajan langdon
- 1998 - bonzi wells
- 1997 - olivier st-jean
- 1996 - todd fuller
- 1995 - gary trent

this is the type of player we're likely to get by winning those meaningless games. i hate to hear "there's no guarantees" as a counter argument. then you might as well not even play the games. of course there are no guarantees. you work to put yourself in the best position to win a title. winning those meaningless games reduces our chances of seeing the sixers win meaningful games down the line.

Phillies Win!

phillies win... yet still make us sweat. the phils left 14 men on base yesterday. 14! gadzooks.

what this team needs to do is start acting like dave hollins at the plate. start turning into rather than jumping away from pitches.

Eagles 2007 Schedule

schedule is out

Sun., Sept. 9 @ Green Bay 1 p.m. FOX
Mon., Sept. 17 Washington 8:30 p.m. ESPN
Sun., Sept. 23 Detroit 1 p.m. FOX
Sun., Sept. 30 @ Giants 8:15 p.m. NBC
Sun., Oct. 7 Bye
Sun., Oct. 14 @ Jets 1 p.m. FOX
Sun., Oct. 21 Chicago 4:15 p.m. FOX
Sun., Oct. 28 @ Minnesota 1 p.m. FOX
Sun., Nov. 4 Dallas 8:15 p.m. NBC
Sun., Nov. 11 @ Washington 1 p.m. FOX
Sun., Nov. 18 Miami 1 p.m. CBS
Sun., Nov. 25 @ New England 8:15 p.m. NBC
Sun., Dec. 2 Seattle 1 p.m. FOX
Sun., Dec. 9 Giants 1 p.m. FOX
Sun., Dec. 16 @ Dallas 4:15 p.m. FOX
Sun., Dec. 23 @ New Orleans 1 p.m. FOX
Sun., Dec. 30 Buffalo 1 p.m. CBS

i'm thinking - W - W - W - L - bye - W - W - W - L - L - W - L - L - W - W - L - W

10 - 6

Congratulations Ed Snider and Billy King!

by focusing on short-term winning rather than long-term strategy, you've succeeded in your attempt to eliminate the possibility that the sixers will get greg oden. with last night's unfortunate win, the sixers now have less than a 1% chance to win the top pick in the draft.

congrats again on your continuing quest to run the franchise into the ground. job well done.

rat bastards.

Miscellaneous Items

- i don't have much to say about the phils' rough start but i do have a couple of thoughts. most people are focused on the bullpen, but i think the biggest problem is once again their lack of clutch/timely hitting. leading the league in men left on base is not a good thing. it's a tough way to start the season, but the team has too many good players not to turn it around and at least be competitive. it's frustrating, i know, but it's still early.

- for any NFL draftniks out there, rookiepedia is a great site for draft prospects. they've consolidated scouting reports from a number of sources and have links to all the major draft sites.