The horror!
Quick story about some changes in the NovaCare complex cafeteria. Chip Kelly wants his players to embrace nutrition. Andy Reid had a different take. Who would have guessed?
I’m quickly finding out that I have no chance to ever play for Kelly. My lack of size, skill, and athleticism are serious issues. My lack of proper nutrition also won’t help matters.
“But coach, pudding and Funyuns aren’t junk food”…
Jimmy Bama covers the whole NFC East, which means that he has a mixture of readers and followers on Twitter. Even some Cowboys fans. Jimmy decided to have some fun tonight.
“SHIT!” …said no Eagles, Giants, or Redskins fans when the Cowboys picked Travis Frederick.
— Jimmy Kempski (@Jimmy_Beast) May 11, 2013
“Why?” …said Travis Frederick when the Cowboys drafted him.
— Jimmy Kempski (@Jimmy_Beast) May 11, 2013
“How is Travis Frederick still available?!?!?!?” …said nobody when the Cowboys were on the clock at pick 31.
— Jimmy Kempski (@Jimmy_Beast) May 11, 2013
“Come on dude, I have a flight tomorrow morning” …said the guy timing Travis Frederick’s 40 yard dash.
— Jimmy Kempski (@Jimmy_Beast) May 11, 2013
Needless to say, Dallas fans aren’t real happy.
Good work, Mr. Bama…good work.
Nothing too groundbreaking here, but you get a written review of the draft and a video segment with Warren Sapp and Willie McGinest. I really wish the NFLN would fire Sapp and give his job to McGinest. Willie is well-spoken and offers actual insight, not just loud noise masquerading as insight.
The Eagles signed Everette Brown back in January. There was no coach at the time. There was no scheme in place. The Eagles liked Brown enough coming out of college that they wanted to bring him in and see if he could finally get his career on track.
Dave Spadaro did a nice piece on Brown. The thing I liked most is that Brown admitted he was at fault for his career struggles to this point.
“As much as I thought I was mature coming out of college and that I knew a lot, but now I realize that wasn’t the case. I’ve had to set aside my pride and I’ve had to learn how to look in the mirror and understand that I don’t have the answers. I don’t think I know everything anymore.”
and
“In college, you can run around the blocker. You can’t do that here. I feel like right now I’m playing my best football, and I’m eager to show the coaches that. I think that we have a new coaching staff and that everybody here is going to have a fair shot. That’s all I want, and that’s all any player can ask for.”
I was very high on Brown coming out, but he has been a complete bust. He still has talent. The question is if he has developed the skills you need to succeed in the NFL. As he said above, you can’t just run around blockers anymore.
Brown seems like a more natural fit in the 4-3, but he failed there. Maybe the switch to the 3-4 will bring out the best in him. Sure can’t hurt.
Some might wonder if we’re making too much of LJ because of the Senior Bowl. No. He was very good during the season as well. I know that Danny Watkins went to Mobile and really helped himself, but that was a bit different. We were still projecting Watkins from OT to OG. Johnson played OT at Oklahoma and will play that for the Eagles. He played RT at Oklahoma in 2011 and did some of that in Mobile and will play that spot for the Eagles in 2013. There is no projection. We know Johnson can play RT.
Cosell brings up a point about Johnson being raw. Compare this to kids from Iowa. Most of their OL redshirt for a year and then are backups for a season or two. They do play some in that time to get their feet wet. Then they start for 2 years and play in a pro style offense. Iowa OL are very well taught and come out of college as polished players. They have less upside. What you see is what you get.
2 years ago, Johnson was a friggin’ QB. He’s got a lot to learn, but he has the size/athleticism/skills to be a special player in the NFL. There are no guarantees that he’ll pan out, but I’ll be very surprised if he doesn’t.
“Cowboys free-agent RB Felix Jones worked out today for the Philadelphia Eagles, per league source.”
All the local beat guys have confirmed this as well.
Interesting news. There were many who thought Jones should have been the Eagles primary target in the 1st round in 2008. Ray Didinger was on the Jones bandwagon in a big way. Here’s what he had to say back then:
“Draft Felix Jones, the electrifying running back from Arkansas. I actually like him better than his more celebrated teammate Darren McFadden, who will be drafted in the top 10. Jones is 5-10, 207 pounds and unlike McFadden, who is all straight line speed, Jones has explosive lateral quickness that, in my opinion, will make him more dangerous at the next level.
Jones averaged 8.7 yards per rushing attempt last season at Arkansas, the highest average in college football in more than a decade. He outran some of the fastest defenses in the nation in the SEC and he also excelled on special teams. He set the school record for kickoff return yardage, and he tied the conference mark (previously set by Tennessee’s Willie Gault) with four kickoff returns for touchdowns.
So Jones would help the Eagles immediately as a kick returner, and, as a clone of Brian Westbrook, he could share the load in the backfield. Like Westbrook, he is almost impossible to defend in space, and although they didn’t throw the ball to the backs much in the Razorback offense, he has proven he has good hands. (He actually started several games at a wide receiver the past two seasons).
One other thing: If the Eagles can’t acquire another wide receiver, either via trade or draft, drafting Jones could help fill that void. How? Put together an offensive package with Jones lined up in the backfield and Westbrook at wide receiver. I’m not suggesting that should be the base offense, you wouldn’t want to put that much pressure on a rookie, but you could certainly design a set of plays with both of them on the field, and it would be a nightmare for a defensive coordinator.”
Jones had an up and down career with Dallas. There were times when he looked special, but he could never play to that level on a consistent basis. The Eagles would look at Jones as a role player and possible KOR.
Jones is an odd player. He had big time speed and made some explosive runs, but has only scored 11 rushing TDs in 5 years. Think of him as the anti-Emmitt Smith I guess. Smith lacked top speed, but was a TD machine and workhorse back. Jones has 569 career carries. Smith would hit that total in 1.5 years.
The other interesting note is that despite having 5 years of experience, Jones is just getting ready to turn 26 on Wednesday. He’s not a guy that has been over-used, but wear and tear has affected Jones. His yards per carry and yards per KOR were the lowest totals of his career in 2012.
Jones would be a nice signing for depth purposes, but at this point he would be battling Chris Polk more than Shady McCoy or Bryce Brown.
If we read anything into this, it might be that the Eagles aren’t so sure that UDFAs Miguel Maysonet and Matthew Tucker can seriously challenge for roster spots.
_
by AC Viking
(AC Viking is a regular commenter on Iggles Blitz. Not everyone reads the comments section and his info is too interesting not to share)
In the 47 common drafts since the NFL/AFL merger in 1967, the Eagles have drafted QBs in back-to-back drafts three times.
The first pair were the ’91-’92 drafts.
In 1991, Kotite used a 5th Rd pick on U-Miami QB Craig Erickson — who refused to sign a contract and went back into the ’92 draft (can you really blame him though?). The Bucs used a 4th Rd pick on Erickson, who became their starter for two seasons before being replaced by Trent Dilfer and drifting out of the NFL after the ’97 season.
In 1992, Kotite drafted Florida State QB Casey Weldon — who, like Erickson, never played a down for the Eagles. Weldon made the team in ’92. But was cut at the end of training camp in ’93 . . . after which he joined the Bucs and former Eagles’ pick Craig Erickson. Weldon finished his six-year career with 1 TD pass.
The next set of back-to-back picks were actually back-to-back-to-back picks in’95, ’96 and ’97.
In Rd 4 of the 1995 draft, Ray Rhodes picked Dave Barr from Cal. This was a completely wasted pick. Barr didn’t even make the Eagles. He spent some time with the Rams, but wasn’t even on a roster in 1996.
In Rd 3 of the 1996 draft, Rhodes selected the Eagles QB of the future, Bobby Hoying from Ohio State. He sat on the pine in ’96. Started 6 games in ’97. Earned the opening-day nod in ’98 and had a diastrous run of 7 games — throwing ZERO touchdowns and 9 INTS. Hoying moved onto Oakland, rejoining his former Eagles OC and then-Raiders HC John Gruden. Out of football after the 2000 season.
In the 1997 draft, in Rd 7, the Eagles stole U-Colorado’s Koy Detmer. He may have been the best holder in NFL history. Worth noting, he had a stronger arm than ’92 pick Casey Weldon — which tells you even more about Kotite that you don’t want to know. Detmer lasted 9 years with the Eagles (and had that great start in ’02 on MNF against the 49ers before dislocating his elbow and giving way to 2nd-year QB AJ Feeley).
The final pair of back-to-back drafts . . . . 2012 and 2013.
Nick Foles and Matt Barkley.
They have to be better than Erickson and Weldon; and Barr, Hoying and Detmer. They just have to be.
Here is an article on Earl Wolff from a NC newspaper right before his final bowl game. There are a few good nuggets in the article. I found this interesting about how he ended up at NC State:
Wolff was a two-way star for the Bucks, rushing for 997 yard and nine touchdowns as a running back and making 89 tackles and 12 tackles for loss as a senior. He earned all-conference and All-Cape Fear region honors, but had received only light attention in recruiting. O’Brien and the Wolfpack staff saw something special in Wolff when he came to their camp during the summer before his senior year.
“Coming out of high school I wasn’t ranked high,” Wolff said. “N.C. State was really my only offer. They gave me the opportunity and God has blessed me to be where I am.”
I wrote about comments by Howie Roseman that the Eagles had targeted Earl Wolff as a possible 4th round pick and Joe Kruger and Jordan Poyer in the 5th round. More than a few fans were skeptical, wondering how likely it really was for those guys to fall.
OG Larry Warford was a 1st round target of the Rams when they traded back. They instead passed on him and went with LB Alec Ogletree. Warford became an afterthought. The Rams didn’t have a 2nd round pick and knew he would be long gone by the time the 3rd round came along.
But…Warford actually slid to the 3rd round. The Lions took him at pick #65. The Rams were down at #71. I’m sure that was tough, seeing a player they targeted fall that far and get taken so close to them.
Andy Reid was an assistant coach at the University of Missouri back in the late 1980s. Marty Mornhinweg was also there.
Check this pic out to see Andy in good shape and Marty looking…creepy and bizarre.
