Offseason Upgrades

by ajay on Apr 27, 2009 4:59 PM EDT Comment 31 comments

Check out this quick and easy chart I made about our roster turnover:

Position	Departing Player	Incoming Player
Right Tackle	Jon Runyan	Stacy Andrews
Left Tackle	Tra Thomas	Jason Peters
Running Back	Correll Buckhalter	LeSean McCoy
Fullback	Dan Klecko	Leonard Weaver
Tight End	L.J. Smith	Brent Celek / Cornelius Ingram
Cornerback	Lito Sheppard	Ellis Hobbs / Jack Ikegwuonu
Wide Receiver	Greg Lewis	Jeremy Maclin / Brandon Gibson
Safety	Brian Dawkins	Sean Jones
Safety	Sean Considine	Rashad Baker / Macho Harris

Note: Not all of these players are starters. I tried to compare direct roster spots; for example, take Lito Sheppard. He was essentially our 4th CB last year. So I replaced him with whom I project to be our 4th CB this year. It doesn't always work perfectly (i.e. the Greg Lewis spot; that depends on how many WRs we dress, etc.)

When it's put out there like this, it's hard not to be really amazed with the upgrades at almost every single position. The only one that's even debatable to my mind is Sean Jones for Brian Dawkins, but Jones is probably an upgrade in coverage. Also, every single addition is younger.

It's generally pretty tough for teams to lose as many players as we did and replace them in a few offseasons. Give props to our front office for doing it in one.

Note: when googling "Eagles additions and subtractions" (I was looking for a list of outgoing and incoming players) I stumbled upon a similar post on Inside the Iggles so I must give credit where credit is due.

Thoughts? Did I miss anything? You could also argue that Nick Cole and Max Jean-Gilles are being replaced by Shawn Andrews. That makes the deal even sweeter.

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not sure about at safety

dawk is obvious and i’m no fan of sean considine, but i can’t call that one for rashad baker/ macho harris yet.

by bsencore on Apr 27, 2009 5:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

also

you forgot tight end

out: LJ Smith
in: Cornelius Ingram

by bsencore on Apr 27, 2009 5:08 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Shit!

He was on the original list; I guess I forgot him on a newer version. Thanks for the heads up.

by ajay on Apr 27, 2009 5:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, TE

was neglected, and I’d also argue that at this point Dawkins is replaced by both Demps + Jones, even though Jones was here last year. Neither is as good, but hopefully together they’ll probably almost approximate his on-field production

by Alon on Apr 27, 2009 5:09 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Even though Demps was here last year...

…you mean, right? But that’s a good point. I figured I’d put Jones on the list because he was ostensibly brought in to be the starter. At least I thought I heard that at his press conference. Could be mistaken.

by ajay on Apr 27, 2009 5:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

preeeecisely what i mean

You’re right, that IS what I meant, but being a hardheaded asshole, I stand by what I said and will now claim that Sean Jones has been an Eagle all along. F the facts.

by Alon on Apr 27, 2009 5:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

JIBTA is that you????

by Iggles Fan 4 Life on Apr 27, 2009 6:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Also

I was under the impression that the starting job is Demps’ to lose, and given the contract scenario of Jones (1 year), he’s here on a tryout basis to try and take that job out from Demps. Demps being signed longer makes me think they’ll give him every chance to blossom.

by Alon on Apr 27, 2009 5:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I heard that about Demps too ...

but in reality I think all three (Demps, Jones & Mikell) will play in certain packages. Jones in strong against the run and good in coverage for an SS, but Demps is better (supposedly) as deep FS-type coverage.

I think we’re more versatile and less susceptible to being crushed by one injury, even though Dawk is a big loss.

Still waiting for the Eagles to Bring It Home For Jerome

by D3Keith on Apr 27, 2009 10:08 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'd agree with that

by Alon on Apr 27, 2009 10:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

definitely a likely scenario

by bsencore on Apr 27, 2009 10:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

yah

I’d agree TE was neglected to an extent, but the TE we drafted has a pretty high ceiling, and the potential to be a really great pick. Much better than LJ, which obviously doesn’t say much. At the same time though, that pick that we all hoped to address TE (pettigrew) ended up going to get maclin, who is undoubtedly an upgrade (at least, one would hope based on pure potential) over the outgoing greg lewis. Also, hopefully Celek excels like he did in the playoffs (even though he’s not really a blocker at this point).

by the way, Alon, I was reading one of your other posts and I noticed a common theme where you mentioned different psych stuff…it reminded me of a book “Stumbling on Happiness” that I read. If you’re into psychology stuff, it’s a really good read. It sounds like a self help book, but it’s a book that discusses interesting psych stuff. I’d recommend it if you’re into that sort of thing.

by eagleyosh on Apr 27, 2009 5:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I only meant in the post

I love Ingram, and am a big fan of Celek. Every year during pre-season I try and pick a few players that I think will emerge as a very good Eagle. So far, my picks have been:

Jackson, Celek, Cole, Bradley, Demps, Baskett, JR Reed. Can’t win em all. I still think Reed was good, though — the guy was in and around literally every single tackle when he played, which is a good quality for a safety. If he hadn’t been injured, I think he could have been a star.

Also, thanks for the tip — I’ll check it out. I’ve taken some psych classes, but really statistics and neuroscience (and neuroeconomics) are where it’s at, I think… But neither really exist with any meaning if Psych hadn’t been there, so it’s all important.

Fans have a tendency to observe + report, w/ biased opinions. We’re no exception, and just balancing statistics w/ what we see is always a good idea (in football, baseball, basketball, anything). That’s the best way to get the truth, which is why I keep bringing it up (consciously), so as to remind people that what we see isn’t necessarily what’s going on. Our eyes deceive us, but a good statistic combined with observations is really the best way to judge the true value or nature of a player or phenomenon.

by Alon on Apr 27, 2009 5:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

whooa shield my eyes

an intellectual discussion on a football forum? gasp!

also, Brent Celek = Chad Lewis version 2.0 (in a good way)

by bsencore on Apr 27, 2009 10:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I love that comp as well

Hopefully it holds true

by Alon on Apr 27, 2009 10:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

fullback

is probably the most underrated upgrade. leonard weaver isn’t going to get on the field a lot, but having a real fb should do wonders for helping bwest.

somehow i think the Andy thought we’d have one of those “I can’t believe its not butter” moments when we saw Klecko play, but he was clearly margarine.

at best.

by bsencore on Apr 27, 2009 5:14 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Nice job on those depth charts etc

Also, my guess would be Weaver sees some packages typically reserved for TEs. He has everything necessary to be an elite TE, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we start him off in the backfield often and then move him into a TE set to create 2 TE packages that are harder to gameplan for than just running out with a normal singleback set.

by Alon on Apr 27, 2009 5:28 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Everything except another 5 inches. Doesn’t mean you can’t be right though.

by FredEx on Apr 27, 2009 5:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hah

More of a Cooley mold, then.

by Alon on Apr 27, 2009 5:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

kleinsasser is the image i'm getting from your description

but leonard weaver isn’t that player.

i really think the whole blocking TE thing is overblown. if i had a voice in the meetings, i’d do everything i could to get dunlap on the active roster on gameday as a 3rd blocking TE, and a specialist at blocking FGs. he’s big enough that he could really force other teams’ hands late in a game when a FG would either tie or win it.

plus, if he’s on the active gameday roster, that would mean they’d only have to have 2 other active linemen. either MJG or nick cole (if he’s not the starting C) would be one, and mcglynn, because of his ability to play all 5 positions on the line, would be the other.

brian mccann: derek lowe's got the best slider i've ever seen
john smoltz: yeah? and josh bard's the best catcher i've ever thrown to.

by variablesdont on Apr 27, 2009 7:07 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, I've never seen anything

to lead me to believe that Weaver would line up as a TE.

But having a capable fullback does mean that he can pick up some of the blocking assignments that a TE might pick up, either where he stands or by motioning to basically a step behind where the TE would be.

The Dunlap idea is intriguing.

What reason does everyone have to believe he’s so good though? His potential definitely stirs up imaginations …

Still waiting for the Eagles to Bring It Home For Jerome

by D3Keith on Apr 27, 2009 10:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

answer:

he’s probably no good.

there are wayyyyy more unathletic 6’8" 315 lb. guys than i ever imagined.

by bsencore on Apr 27, 2009 10:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wow

Jon Runyan, Tra Thomas, Correll Buckhalter, L.J. Smith, Lito Sheppard, Brian Dawkins, Sean Considine, Greg Lewis

"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''

by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 27, 2009 5:35 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

What do you mean?

We lost some classic Eagles there?

Those guys were all on the SB team, no? Except maybe Considine?

(I know there’s a thread here that would clear that up for me, but … )

Still waiting for the Eagles to Bring It Home For Jerome

by D3Keith on Apr 27, 2009 10:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Nah

Considine was drafted in ’05.

by ajay on Apr 27, 2009 10:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's what I thought

the rest were on the SB team though, no?

Anyway, I was just asking about the point of Sabonis’ original post.

Still waiting for the Eagles to Bring It Home For Jerome

by D3Keith on Apr 27, 2009 10:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

Amazing when you think about it…a whole generation of Eagles players gone.

by ajay on Apr 27, 2009 11:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

its amazing that they're still competitive

a complete makeover without one rebuilding season

by bsencore on Apr 28, 2009 8:35 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

Guys I grew up watching.

"The brownies,'' Fernandez said after the game. "The brownies are good for me to make three-points.''

by Sabonis4Ever on Apr 27, 2009 11:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Celek

I think Celek showed some chops last year. He can be an above average receiving TE, I believe. With the speedsters opening up the middle for him and the rookie, we should be able to get more production out of TE.

by DeafJesse on Apr 28, 2009 10:57 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

pork or lamb? mmmmmm….. lamb

"I tried to run him over but Eli had his big boy pads on and he kind of stopped me from getting in the end zone. The next time I’ll try to jump over his head.’’ - Asante Samuel

by foos05 on Apr 28, 2009 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs