2011 NFL Draft: Eagles Offseason Needs
by JasonB on Mar 3, 2011 12:12 PM EST
in Philadelphia Eagles News
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PrintThe guys from Scouts Inc did an article for ESPN this week on the offseason needs for every team in the NFC. I figured it would be interesting to see what they had to say about the Eagles. For the most part, I think the needs are what we all might have expected.
1. Cornerback: Philadelphia's defense has always relied on man schemes behind its blitzes, and right now, the Eagles don't have the personnel to get it done. Ellis Hobbs has retired, and starter Dimitri Patterson gives up too many big plays, is a free agent and likely will not be back. The Eagles need a starter and a developmental nickel corner.
I'd say that Trevard Lindley is already that "experimental nickel corner" but I am certainly on board with adding multiple new bodies to the position next year... and yes obviously a starter is needed.
2. Offensive guard: Guard Max Jean-Gilles is a free agent, and RT Winston Justice really struggles against athletic edge rushers. Because the left-handed side is Michael Vick's blind side, the right side of the line is vital; two starters are needed here.
No doubt about the need for a RG. I'd be willing to give Justice the benefit of the doubt given his injury last year, but at the same time I certainly wouldn't have any problem if they upgraded the RT spot. But certainly, RG is just a gaping hole right now.
More after the jump.
3. Safety: Philadelphia must either pay strong safety Quintin Mikell or let him walk, and paying an aging player with only adequate production is not the Eagles' way. Rookie Nate Allen has a lot of athleticism at free safety, but Philadelphia didn't get enough game-changing plays out of the safety position last season.
While Mikell may be over 30, he doesn't look old out there and I think his production was better than "adequate." In fact, Pro Football Focus graded him out as the most productive safety in football on a play by play basis last year. Plus, I am optimistic about Kurt Coleman's prospects as a strong safety... I can see this as a need if Q walks, but frankly linebacker seems like a much greater need to me.
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I agree with you on everything. I think if Q leaves which sounds likely for some reason that I don’t understand I think we’ll add a safety in the middle rounds.
Also agree on everything
I might say that OL is the need more likely to be filled in the draft and CB by FA, especially given who’s available and since getting an NFL-ready rookie in the draft at corner is no easy shakes.
But I do think CB is the team’s greatest need.
Secretary of State for BGN aka "Most diplomatic man on this site," as appointed by Talon Talent
Still waiting for the Eagles to Bring It Home For Jerome
by D3Keith on Mar 3, 2011 9:33 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Justice
I think Justice is a good player, but probably not fast enough like you said. Is he underpaid or overpaid currently (meaning would we cut him just to save money?) If he’s not overpaid is there any chance he’d do better at RG? Then all we need is a RT…
I thought about that...
Moving Justice or Mglynn to RG and use the newbie at RT. The only problem I see with this is that it’s Vick’s blindside.
What does everyone think about this? Could Justice play RG? Would he be effective? I don’t know enough about his technical skills to make a call on it.
FLY #7 FLY !!!
I'd rather keep him outside
and get a nasty mauler to fit into RG
by corn on the kolb on Mar 3, 2011 12:29 PM EST up reply actions
Suprised we don't hear much talk about Nate Allen
I think he did a fantastic job last year. Everyone else’s thoughts?
Oof.
Twitter @benjabad
Started off really well obviously.
But like Bwest said he had some ups and downs. (see Tenn game) but he should improve on last season as long as rehab goes well. Has anyone heard how he’s doing? I haven’t seen much on him.
I think letting Q walk would be a mistake. I know he’s 30 but isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. It would suck to see him work so hard over the years to get to where he is now to just let him him walk.
"Get 'Em"
by FlyEagles15 on Mar 3, 2011 1:28 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
They didn’t mention the LBs?
AR should have to wear a Flava Flav necklace until he learns how to manage a fucking clock.
Also a need, but I think they probably got the top 3 right (if Mikell’s gone).
http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/
How? We have our starting FS for the next 10 years(hopefully), you dont need to have every position in your secondary stacked. We have Asante, Nate, Nnamdi/Draftee thats 3 of out of 4 position in the secondary filled with quality players. we dont need a stud at every position in the secondary.
LBS on the other hand isnt in pretty shape. Who knows whats the deal with Stew and if he’ll ever go back to being dominant. Fokou had his moments last year, but unless he improved greatly over the off-season i dont see him as a starter on a Superbowl winning team, Same goes with Clayton hes a 4th round special teams guy, Chaney had his moments but is he ready(or big enough) to start? Sims is gone.
I really think our needs are as follows.
1. RT/RG
2. LB’s(Any Position really, but mainly OLB’s)
3. RCB
4. SS
and thats your opinion.
Right now there are already at least 4 LB that are signed and are good enough to start (Chaney, Fokou, Jeanty, & Clayton are good enough to start). At safety, one will be coming off injury and another is a 7th rounder who is going to be good, but he’s no superhero yet. Q is unsigned and the other Colt Andersons on this world are still only ST players. So Safety is def a concern dude.
FLY #7 FLY !!!
You think Fokou, Jeanty, and Clayton are good enough to start? You cant be serious.
Fokou’s a 7th rounder(who your basking Coleman for) who had a mediocre year last year. Jeanty didnt even play last year, and Clayton was a special teamer last year. An argument could be made for Chaney but and argument could be made against him as-well.
Theres no way that SS is a bigger need than LB’s. No way.
I don’t think so either, just for the sheer number of bodies we could use at LB. I don’t know that there’s one guy among them that I can say for sure is a good NFL starter.
Maybe Chaney will be… Bradley might be, but his health is a big factor.
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Nate’s our FS for the next 2-3(probably more) years. That position is set with a solid player whos only going to get better. I wouldve loved to tag(transition) Q but that didnt happen.
Nobody said Coleman or Colt should get the starting job. You bring a guy from FA then maybe draft a SS in the later rounds. Have em fight for the position in TC and the best performer gets the job.
Allen is coming off injury, its not even a given that he will be back to normal dude (see Bradley). And Coleman will be fine, but the depth pretty much stops there.
We can argue all day. they are all opinions. I like our LBs. Woudl I be opposed to bringing in 1 more talent, NO. But I can live with the ones who are currently on the roster.
FLY #7 FLY !!!
Ok tell me what you like about our LB’s.
Tell me how you think Fokou, Jeanty, Clayton, Chaney, Bradley(since you have doubt on injured players) can make a starting caliber LB squad for a Superbowl winning team.
They cant bro.
Look
We arent the fuckin Steelers. If you want those type of LBs then go coach the Eagles, get a job with them and change the philosophy. They just dont play that way. If the players are there and they have the money then fine. But this isnt MAdden, you cant stock up at every position with super stars. BTW I dont like Bradley as a starter.
FLY #7 FLY !!!
Who said were the Steelers? Honestly i dont know if i could find 5 teams with a worse set of LB’s than us. Maybe i could, but we wouldnt want to be associated with those teams.
Defense wins Championships, and LB’s are a HUGE part of the defense(some could argue the most important). Finding 3 starting LB’s is more important than finding one RCB specially with Asante, Nate, FA/Draftee.
again
It depends what kind of scheme you’re running. I never debated that Defense doesnt win championships dude. All I said was that I was content with the current LBs they have (with the possibility of adding another impact LB). You have to give these young guys a chance to flourish. They have already come a long way. Safety is a bit of a concern because of injuries. If Allen reinjures himself, they are pretty much screwed right now. How comfortable are you going to be with Coleman & Colt Anderson back there? I know I wont be. I would like to have another impactful player back there. Just like they need an impactful RCB, they need at least someone like Q to be there for deoth as well. If they get another LB or two that can start …GREAT ….but I dont know if they will do that (because of their past trends) or even if they can afford or find any that will start right away.
FLY #7 FLY !!!
Jeanty is just a special teamer by the way. The Eagles basically said this.
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Regarding Allen's injury
It wasn’t as bad as a torn ACL. He had a ruptured patella tendon, which has a shorter recovery time. There’s no reason to think he shouldn’t ready to go by camp.
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It kinda sucks because from Rahim Moore and to a lesser extent Ahmad Black, the safety class this year isn’t that great. Plus Rahim Moore will be gone before the 3rd for sure, and our first 2 picks should focus on the line and the rcb position. Of course things could change because of a kolb trade or the free agency (CBA), so who knows anything at this point. Hell, maybe even Mikell gets resigned (crossing fingers)
"If I can get you to think twice, I'm in your head."
-Brian Dawkins
"Yeah, I like to hit people"
-Brandon Graham
My guess
is that they will draft a late safety and maybe grab a cheap veteran for depth on the FA market.
FLY #7 FLY !!!
I like Black too, and I don’t like to put too much stock in 40 times, but he ran 40 times of 4.74 and 4.78. That’s a flag.
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Eagles don’t mind small…. but we know they don’t like slow.
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sign q
i really think they should give him a 3 year deal with games played incentives near the end just to be a fill in while coleman develops.
PHI "We Know Drama"
by DaaaBirdsDaBirds on Mar 3, 2011 1:11 PM EST reply actions
I just dont see how RCB is our biggest need. Its definitely a need, but our QB’s entire blindside(RG, RT) is useless.
Right side of the line has to be priority #1.
Yeah but our defense sucks and our offense was good despite the deficiencies. Both big needs though
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I always thought with our defense that it was a bunch of little problems, not one big one.
We had so many injuries, our starting LB’s were Sims-Chaney-Fokou and continuously changed and got worse throughout the year. Nate got hurt we had to replace him with a 7th rounder. Our d-line under performed(in my opinion)…
Last in red zone defense
Last.
Dead last.
Last.
Lasty McLast.
Tom Cruise in “The LAST Samari”.
Dead last.
Boster defense, and Defense #1 need is CB.
Besides, every pundit I’ve read says this draft is DEEP on the line anyway
by corn on the kolb on Mar 3, 2011 1:35 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Funny thing is in the redzone your CB’s are the people you have to worry about the least. The middle of the field is where shit happens in the red-zone, and guess who lines up in the middle of the field? LB’s…
Ehhhh, I don’t know about that. Teams these days love splitting out wide receivers on the goal line and hitting them on the fade or the quick slant where they know they’ll have a one-on-one. A bunch of teams brutalized Patterson & Co on that this year. Personally, I think that RCB is need #1, with the right side of the line not too far behind. The offense is going to put up more points than 80% of the NFL even with a below average right side of the line, but that RCB spot is a major liability if they don’t get it fixed.
http://www.bleedinggreennation.com/
Yea but a fade route is a very low% route and it can only be run for a certain type of receiver that not every has. In regards to the slant most defenses play zone in the redzone so if a wideout is running a slant its the LB’s or Nickle corners job to read it and break on it.
I could be wrong but i remember get beat down the middle of the field on a lot of those redzone TD’s we gave up. LBs are responsible for that part of the field…
personally, i remember all of the 2 yard slants to WRs that we gave up as RZ TDs. i had the feeling that was every opponents go to play once they got ~5 yards out.
by RogerPodacter on Mar 3, 2011 1:56 PM EST up reply actions
Yea we scored a lot of points but look at how. The offense will put up a ton of points but the line in the shape that its in well have to rely on Mike Vick a lot more, and with his injury history etc i dont want that.
I want him to be a passe first, then run whenever passing isnt an option. But when you have MJG and Justice starting on your blindside in sure your thinking about running and winning the game yourself a little bit more than if you had a couple legit starters over there.
If we had a right handed QB then yea the right side of the line is doable, but its Vicks blindside.
BY the way, that slant route you’re referring to is what repeatedly killed us. I forget who did the analysis, whether it was FO or PFF, but someone looked at all the Eagles red zone TDs and often the WR slant killed us.
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Im sure it did. Slant comes across the middle of the field. Usually in the redzones the CB’s are just playing the flats on either side, so there SUPPOSED to press their receivers and then play underneath anything to that side but im guess Asante didnt do much of that, and Dimitri didnt do it well.
But still the LB’s have to be there and they weren’t.
RG, RCB yes but also new WILL, pocket-pushing DT
I consider our need at FS on a level similar to our need at C and RT: will these guys be healthy and ready to go and/or be resigned?
Yes we definitely need starting players at RG and RCB. Lindley should be the nickel. But Ernie Sims’ job should be far less tenable than Patterson’s and therefore re-filling that position should be considered a higher priority than RCB. Not that it will be. Imagine that. RG should definitely be first in line, no question. Finally, while we have a stable full of DTs good at stopping the run, none of them can push the pocket on pass rush. OK, maybe Dixon on occasion. We are not getting as many sacks as we should because the QB are given lots of room and the DEs have to travel great distances to reach them. Therefore we need a pocket-pushing stud at DT. We are at minimum 4 players and as many as 7 away from being a legit SB contender. That’s a lot of personnel needed.
Coaching...
I think with the amount of LB’s we have (granted no studs) with the proper coaching would be much more effective and I think that is why LB’s were not listed. At the LB spot we at least have bodies to coach and mold, not so much the case in secondary. Nate should (hopefully) come back 100% but we are pretty much boned at RCB and if Q leaves (even though we have Colman) I think you might be forced to go Veteran back there to anchor things a bit.
I feel part of what makes this whole thing so interesting is the addition of the new coaches and how much this staff can get out of the current crop of players. RG is a huge need and as far as RT goes I am still on the fence about because of injury.
I think with the amount of LB’s we have (granted no studs) with the proper coaching would be much more effective and I think that is why LB’s were not listed. At the LB spot we at least have bodies to coach and mold, not so much the case in secondary.
Well our LB’s coach is one of the more inexperienced of our positional coaches so that doesnt help that. I think now and days with weight rooms, and proteins powders and etc every player that comes into the league is capable of being “molded” into a good player. But the reality is that a lot of those players wont/dont get it, it depends on who the player is.
Keenon Clayton was a 4th round draft pick, that usually means good special teamer. Hes not a starter for a SB caliber team.
Fokou was a 7th rounder physical but isnt as strong in the mental part of the game, i dont see him as a starter for a SB caliber team. Chaney had a nice run there but hes undersized and again not a SB caliber starter. Stew with the injury, and Sims was a bust.
Nate should (hopefully) come back 100% but we are pretty much boned at RCB and if Q leaves (even though we have Colman) I think you might be forced to go Veteran back there to anchor things a bit.
Asante and Nate are fine. Q is probably gone, hell be missed but Nate will be better so thatll help a bit(plus we still have Marlin Jackson). Lindley is coming along nicely as a Nickle back too.
Im assuming they sign at least one big name DB. Whether thats Nnamdi, or Joseph, or Grimes. If not then they draft a DB with their 2nd or 3rd picks. So then we have our CB’s and FS set, or Safeties and CB set. Thats a solid secondary even without a big name SS because we have every other position stacked.
But with the LB’s nobody on the roster right now is a legit starter in the NFL minus Stew but he has health problems.
I see your point about the LB's but...
Aside form Asante we really do not have any SB caliber players in the secondary either (comment contingent that Q leaves) Nate, Coleman, and Lindley all showed some flashes as did Patterson (Dimitri), Fokou, and Chaney. The same argument that is being made for the LB’s is the same one that augments the argument for DB’s. Do I think that Nate and Coleman will have bright futures is moot because I feel the same way about Fokou and Chaney.
Our LB’s have trouble in coverage yes I will agree with that, but so do our CB’s. We have some guys coming back from injury so that is also going to be a factor. Almost every spot on the defensive side of the ball can benefit from a game changing player. Same argument.
I just dont see it that way. The way i see it is we have 50% of our secondary set and im sure well be bringing in a solid CB or SS from either the draft or FA so that fixes the secondary.
But with the LB’s we have holes at every single position MLB, and both OLB positions. No argument can be made for Clayton, Sims to be a starter. Stew could start but how much can we rely on him at this point.
Fokou had his moments last year, but he had more negative moments than positive moments and basically his only strength is well his strength.
Chaney played well at times last year and he probably had more positives than negatives but hes still very young, and hes still undersized. No way he starts at MLB it has to be at OLB and again hes undersized.
So that doesnt leave anyone who we can say without a doubt “ok, he definitely the starter at this position” with our LBs. I dont see how an argument can be made that 3 out 3 positions is more important than 1/4.
Again
same argument that you are using to support the needs and holes at LB are the same in the secondary. You say Chaney is young and that makes Nate what? Fokou improved his play and no reason to think that he will stop the growth. Granted Stews health has been an issue but he came back to early. Either way we need help in more then a few areas.
I def agree we need O-line help whether thats shuffling guys around (Herremans can play OT if we trade/cut Justice) but i would focus on the interior line at the guard position. Gabe Carimi is obviously a name we r all familiar with (or at least should be by now) but he fits ours needs being a versatile player being able to play both G and T. Kolb is really the wild-card here. if we can get a top 15 pick for him n be able to snag a dropping player or trade down for more picks.. (typical eagles way cough cough…) it is a deep draft so dont be surprised. reality is we have NO BLEEPING CLUE what the eagles r gonna do. maybe theyll draft a kicker or punter ………….. lets only hope not. … oh n btw… SIGN NNAMDI !!!!!!!
Let's go EAGLES!!!
jeez...
this whole post was Kevin M. jamming his “we need linebackers” theory down our throats…i think we all get ur opinion by noww
"You tried your best and failed miserably. The lesson is: never try." Homer Simpson
by JjoneslikesbigD on Mar 4, 2011 12:26 AM EST reply actions
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