Eagles Fans Come On In, My Free Agent/Draft Assessment!

[DMCNABB1999]

hey, as other eagles fans or nfl fans let me know of what you think of my assessment on the team, i still see a team filled of holes, but would like to hear other opinions, here are my team needs ranked in order of priority (in my opinion):

1. Defensive End Help (i really hope the reports aren't true and Chris Clemons isn't coming for a visit tommorrow, before the report i never heard of him and he prolly had the quietest 8 sack season in the nfl, i'd rather take someone at pick #19 in the draft than overpay for another potential defensive end bust, jevon kearse & darren howard & jerome mcdougle come to mind)

2. Tall Red-Zone Wide Receiver (let's get real guys that rumor that the eagles are trying to to get larry fitz is not happening, he is getting paid way too much $ for the eagles to take on and the don't have enough bargaining chips, if Limas Sweed is still there at #19 in the draft i take him, if not i go with a defensive end, in free agency i know andy reid loves javon walker, but he cryed his way out of green bay & denver + he's got a bum knee)

3. Kick Returner/Punt Returner (how bout greg lewis and j.r. reed last year i'd love to pick up a guy in the draft who can play another position along with returning kicks, i can not go one more year with reno mahe lol)

4. Defensive Tackle (who do the eagles have besides the former first round picks in patterson & bunkley? reagor was a bust last year + ramsey & von oelhoffen aren't expected to return next year, could definently use some depth here)

5. Tacke (Runyan & W. Thomas are both aging and both of their contracts are up after 2008, i certainly don't feel comfortable with winston justice who gave up 6 sacks vs. the gaints in one game, i think we'll see a typical andy reid late draft pick on a tackle to groom for the future)

6. Safety (assuming Lito isn't traded there isn't much need here, but again if lito isn't traded i would expect sheldon to move to strong safety. now if he is traded there is an aging brian dawkins there and not much depth behind him)

7. Fullback (thomas tapeh signed with his hometown vikings, which leaves jason davis as their only fullback and he has never even played an nfl down, time for andy to use a late draft pick or sign a vet, lorenzo neal & tony richardson are both on the market)

thanks for the look guys! feel free to post your opinions!

[hagansp]

OOOO OOO and eagles discussion I am all over this. You bring up some good points and to be honest you make some points which the eagles will never do. I will touch on each. my reply is in green!

hey, as other eagles fans or nfl fans let me know of what you think of my assessment on the team, i still see a team filled of holes, but would like to hear other opinions, here are my team needs ranked in order of priority (in my opinion):

do we still have holes, yes. Are they as big as you make them to be, i say no.

1. Defensive End Help (i really hope the reports aren't true and Chris Clemons isn't coming for a visit tomorrow, before the report i never heard of him and he prolly had the quietest 8 sack season in the nfl, i'd rather take someone at pick #19 in the draft than overpay for another potential defensive end bust, jevon kearse & darren howard & jerome mcdougle come to mind)

D end is an area of concern for me, but not #1. I think Clemons would be a good fit. He will not be demanding high dollar. He is a name I saw on a lot of underrated lists for free agency. We won't be paying him more then a role player type money to fit in our system. As I am sure you know we play a lot of rotation on the Dline. Clemons will merely just be a part of that as a pass rush specialist. Trent Cole is a top line d-end, Victor Abiramiri was our 2nd round pick last year who looked very solid last season in his limited time playing. He will play in rush situations. Also add Juqua Thomas who has been very solid the past 2 seasons, contributing more then the 3 players you reference. Kearse was great his 1st season here, but since his injury in the Giants game he hasn't been the same. McDougle with all the injuries has never lived up to hype and will go down as a huge 1st round bust. Howard I never really understood in the 1st place. But, Cole, Abiarmiri, Thomas, Clemons, and a DE in round 2 or 3 is a solid 5. There is also talk of Gocong being a true tweener this year, and lining up at DE sometimes.

2. Tall Red-Zone Wide Receiver (let's get real guys that rumor that the eagles are trying to to get larry fitz is not happening, he is getting paid way too much $ for the eagles to take on and the don't have enough bargaining chips, if Limas Sweed is still there at #19 in the draft i take him, if not i go with a defensive end, in free agency i know andy reid loves javon walker, but he cryed his way out of green bay & denver + he's got a bum knee)

While I agree Larry Fitz isn't happening, everything I have heard from people inside the eagles and local sports stuff is they were on the phone with the Cards a lot yesterday and that's what delayed the Asante announcment. They were waiting to make a dual announcment similar to TO/Jevon in 2003. They are still using Lito as bait to get a WR. From what I heard on WIP, the Cards wanted Lito and 2 1's. Which is too steep. Jwalk is an option, WR at #19 WON'T HAPPEN, not even a chance. I still forsee them using Lito and a pick to trade for a WR. Otherwise, I forsee them falling back to Stallworth. They will add a WR, just a matter of who. ALSO Rumors late last night and this morning on profootballtalk, I heard Moss wanted to talk to McNabb, yes Randy Moss. McNabb made reference to a Randy in one of his 2 ESPN interviews yesterday, and then kinda smiled and did his McNabb grin. He didn't not clarify on what he was referring to. So that's out there. PFT also has a story today that Takeo is not on our Depth chart, and if we cut him we have $5 mil more in cap space, possibly bringing in Randy. Check PFT for that story. But we will add a WR through free agency or a trade.


3. Kick Returner/Punt Returner (how bout greg lewis and j.r. reed last year i'd love to pick up a guy in the draft who can play another position along with returning kicks, i can not go one more year with reno mahe lol)

I truly believe this is on their radar, and they will be adding this in the 1st round. Despite the Asante signing, I still see them going CB 1st round. I see Lito elsewhere. (Players who complain in philly don't play in philly the next season) Lito will get us our WR. We will draft a CB who can return and play the nickel corner spot. Asante and Sheldon will be our CB's this year. Look for a player like Mike Jenkins, Aqib Talib, or Patrick Lee. Worse gets to worse we keep Lito. Go Asante, Lito, Rc CB, and Sheldon at SS. IN fact just typing that I love that if we can sign a WR. Sign Moss. and have Asante, Lito, Dawk, Sheldon...Wr's will be scared to death coming over the middle, Dawk on one side, Sheldon on another.

4. Defensive Tackle (who do the eagles have besides the former first round picks in patterson & bunkley? reagor was a bust last year + ramsey & von oelhoffen aren't expected to return next year, could definently use some depth here)

Point blank, you are right. Patterson and Bunkley are it. But how great they are. Howard will probably play a lot of DT this year. Expect DT in 2nd round. And we sign a vet DT closer to camp.

5. Tacke (Runyan & W. Thomas are both aging and both of their contracts are up after 2008, i certainly don't feel comfortable with winston justice who gave up 6 sacks vs. the gaints in one game, i think we'll see a typical andy reid late draft pick on a tackle to groom for the future)

They are aging, but we have another year or two with them. Shawn Andrews was always drafted to play Tackle, but hasn't gotten there because these 2 got the job done and Shawn is the best G in football. Herremeins played Tackle in college, so we can put Max Jean at LG, and Herremeins can play Tackle. Unlike you, I like Justice. He was thrown to the wolves that game and given no help on the best pass rushing defense in the NFL. He was never given a TE to help get a bump, and was basically thrown out there to get killed. Andy knows the Oline, and can find talent here late, expect Oline to be drafted in 2 rounds of the draft at least.


6. Safety (assuming Lito isn't traded there isn't much need here, but again if lito isn't traded i would expect sheldon to move to strong safety. now if he is traded there is an aging brian dawkins there and not much depth behind him)

This is a wildcard right now, we have set ourselves up with a lot of options. Could be Sheldon. If we deal Lito, we can draft one. Dawk is aging and next year sadly is probably the end of the run with BDawk. I will cry when he hangs them up. Quintin Mikell isn't bad. I would cut Considine and Reed now...but they won't. I like Sheldon at SS, I always have, I think he is a great CB, but is a liability against bigger WRs. At SS he is a gunner with solid coverage skills. Safety will be sured up based on what we do with Lito.


7. Fullback (thomas tapeh signed with his hometown vikings, which leaves jason davis as their only fullback and he has never even played an nfl down, time for andy to use a late draft pick or sign a vet, lorenzo neal & tony richardson are both on the market)


Jason Davis is the real deal. If you ever have had the oppurtunity to be at training camp you know this. He is sick, he just has had problems with injuries. I think we will bring in a vet to compete with him, but I think Jason Davis will surprise you and others.


The Asante signing shows me the Eagles have a plan, they have a very thought out and calculated way of handling this offseason. They wanted to strike first big, and will strike often. I forsee at least 2 more significant moves. If you watch any of Donovan's interviews, he is GIDDY with excitement. Something is up in Philly, I have a great feeling, and just think of the day in 2003 when we landed Kearse and TO. We already got Asante...this will be an offseason to remember. As Donovan says, and there is nothing else to say. "I hope everyone enjoys where we were last season cause its not happening again, Stay Tuned!"

[hagansp]

Chris Clemons in town right now, I expect him to be a Bird in a few hours

[DMCNABB1999]

hey, yup chris clemons signed a 5 year deal reported to be at about 18.5 million, now that you broke it down a little for me i don't really mind the signing, but i really hope this one pans out with all the other busts we've had lately. i still believe we need to somebody in the draft as you said. if abiamiri steps up and juqua thomas stays consistent i like the 4 and hopefully 5 we have after the draft.

as far as wr goes i really wouldn't want walker here way too much baggage. stallworth is reported to of signed with cleveland today and in my opinion he's really not what we'd be looking for. he's just another kevin curtis or reggie brown or greg lewis, a possession type receiver. yea i saw that story on spikes in my opinion he isn't going anywhere just as spadaro said spikes wasn't on there b/c he was on injured reserve. our red zone offense was pitiful last year we need a guy who can go up and get it, i'd love randy moss but i still see him signing with new england, i mean the pats would have to be nuts not to resign him.

i also see lito going elsewhere, but i honestly hope they keep him, asante lito sheldon and dawk would be absolutely sick, but there's also a ton of value for lito right now.

with the tackle situation i want prospects b/c i see the eagles wanting to move on from both runyan and thomas. both will be free agents next year although i woudn't mind seeing them both with a 1 year extension, i think we both have said that we'll see a couple late round guys taken in the draft

that being said i'm excited to see what happens in the next few days with lito and see if they bring in any other free agents or work a trade. i still think there are a hole or two we can fill before the draft, i also saw that mcnabb interview and he was hilarious as always!

[hagansp]

agree with you entirely...and where'd you find the Clemons numbers I only saw years...that number is solid about 3 mil per year

[DMCNABB1999]

hey, i tried finding where i got those numbers again and i guess i may have been mistaken b/c i did not find them, but i'm sure it's something in the 12-18 mil range, now time to see what they do with lito.

[hagansp]

you were right on the numbers.

3.2 a year or so...which is cool

[DMCNABB1999]

hey, yea a little high but not too bad, we could of paid him tommie kelly contract like numbers lol