Eagles Blog

From Gil Brandt:

“Western Kentucky defensive end Quanterus Smith has visited with the Philadelphia Eagles and will visit with the New York Giants this weekend.

Smith (6-foot-5, 250 pounds) was at the NFL Scouting Combine, but unable to do drills due to a left ACL injury. He returned to Indianapolis for further medical evaluation last week, and checked out healthy.”

Smith has the size that Chip Kelly loves.  And he was very productive, racking up 12.5 sacks in just 10 games.  He also had 3 FFs.  Smith finished his career with 24 sacks.  The question is draft value.  Coming off a torn ACL…does he go as early as the 3rd or down in the 5th/6th range.  Team doctors will really control his destiny.  A good report from them will make a huge difference.

Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze reported on Twitter that former Eagles DE Derrick Burgess lost his wife today in a car accident.  Devastating news for Burgess and his kids.

Burgess played for the Eagles from 2001-2004.  He was my favorite player in the entire 2001 draft and I was ecstatic when the Eagles chose him.  Thoughts and prayers go out to Derrick and his family.

OT Lane Johnson just had an amazing Combine performance this February.  He was fast, quick, agile, strong, and explosive.  As good as he was, Jimmy Bama did some research and found out that Evan Mathis was even more impressive back in 2005.

As Jimmy also notes, Evan is more awesome due to his beard and extensive facial hair while Johnson merely has a bit of fuzz on his chin.  Work on it, rookie.

Per Adam Schefter:

“Chip Kelly keeps remaking roster: Eagles traded RB Dion Lewis to Browns for LB Emmanuel Acho.”

Acho is a player that was drafted by Cleveland just last year.  He was picked in the 6th Round (#204 overall).  I never got fully comfortable with Acho.  He is 6-2, 238.  That’s okay size.  He had solid production at Texas.  Did some good things at the Senior Bowl.  Showed flashes of athleticism in his game tape.  The problem is that he wasn’t great at anything.

He didn’t look athletic enough for OLB in the 4-3.  He wasn’t physical enough for MLB.  It could be that his best hope in the NFL is playing ILB in the 3-4.  Eagles DC Bill Davis was the LBs coach for the Browns last year and knows Acho up close and personal.  Obviously he saw enough in Acho to approve this trade.  That doesn’t mean he loves Acho, but it is somewhat of a positive angle.

This move doesn’t say much, but it does show you that the Eagles aren’t comfortable with Casey Matthews, Jamar Chaney, or Ryan Rau as backup ILBs.  Acho will come in to battle them for a backup spot.  He’s not guaranteed making the team or anything like that, but he’s better than just adding a camp body.  It is interesting that this move came shortly after Rolando McClain signed in Baltimore.  did the Eagles make a run at him?

As for Dion Lewis, he never adjusted well to pro football.  Lewis can be a role player, but must straighten up some off-field stuff. Pro football is a business. Players are a commodity and they are replaceable.  Stars can get away with being knuckleheads, but backups are expendable.  Lewis is lucky that Andy Reid was patient with him.

The Eagles are more likely to draft a RB now.  They still could draft an ILB if the right player is on the board at the right spot.  DeMeco Ryans isn’t getting any younger.

Oregon Safety John Boyett missed almost all of his Senior season due to injury.  Aaron Wilson provides an update on his situation.

Boyett is 5-10, 204.  If healthy, he could be a target in rounds 4-6.  With his situation, he’ll either be a late pick or priority FA.  Chip Kelly might give the Eagles the inside track on signing him if he does go unpicked.

Per Aaron Wilson:

“Arkansas State safety Don Jones has private workouts with the Browns, Dolphins, Patriots and Eagles. Has 42-inch vertical leap, 4.40 speed”

Jones is small at 5-11, 191. That size makes him more of a FS type.  Probably a late round pick.

From Gil Brandt of NFL.com:

“Bobby Cowan, punter (6-foot-4 1/2, 220 pounds) — Cowan stood on his numbers from the NFL Scouting Combine, and did a positional workout that was seen by a special teams coach from the Philadelphia Eagles.”

Cowan was 24th in the nation with 43.11 yards per punt.  Keep in mind that college punting statistics don’t always translate well to telling you who will succeed or fail in the NFL.

Ravens writer and NFL insider Aaron Wilson updates the situation with the Eagles and LB Akeem Jordan.

“Eagles have made offers to LB Akeem Jordan, who’s visiting Bengals, to potentially return. Fluid situation. Multiple teams interested”

Jordan was in Cincy today to see what situation the Bengals might offer him.  He is a good STs player and can be an effective backup LB.  The problem in Philly is that Jordan isn’t a great fit for the 3-4 or 4-3 Under.  He’s better suited for a more traditional 4-3.

It is smart for the Eagles to see about bringing him back.  Jordan is good on STs and is a low maintenance, high effort veteran.  From his perspective, moving on seems to make more sense.  Good luck to him wherever he ends up.

Sheil Kapadia put up a great post on Ryans and the 3-4.  He went back and checked out some All-22 tape to get a feel for Ryans playing in the Texans 3-4 scheme back in 2011.

One of the things that Sheil talks about is a point that is overlooked by many.  The Texans play base or dime.  They don’t go nickel.  That means they were 3-4 or 4-1-6.  Ryans played in the base, but came off the field in the dime.  Brian Cushing was the ILB in that look, because he’s a better athlete.

The Texans did not get rid of Ryans.  He was just expendable because of his age and cost and the way that they did things on defense.

Great work by Sheil.

The great Tim McManus got the great Greg Cosell to offer some thoughts on potential Eagles draft targets.  Honestly, I can’t say this list of players is anything all that special.

One nugget of interest involved QB E.J. Manuel.  Cosell brought up the point that he could be a target in part due to his size.

While he listed all three signal-callers as potential fits, he gave the nod to Manuel over Scott in particular because of sheer size. Manuel is listed at 6-5, 240; Scott at 6-3, 197; and Smith at 6-3, 208.

“At the end of the day, if he’s going to run,” said Cosell, “he is going to get hit.”

Kelly never had truly big QBs at Oregon.  Was that just how things played out or was it by design?  If Kelly does want a big guy, Manuel is the way to go.  I’m just curious if that’s something Kelly does want.  I’ve never liked big QBs.  Some coaches want the guy who is 6-5, 240.  I prefer the guy who is 6-3, 225.  It will be interesting to see what Kelly does so we can get a good feel for the kind of QB he’s truly looking for.