Crazy game.  Montreal drew first blood to gain their first lead ever in this series.  Umberger tied it up later in the first by deflecting in his own rebound sliding on his knees — ridiculous goal.  Check out the video of the goal.  Umberger is so hot right now: that’s was his 7th goal of this series and his 8th came later!  The Canadiens then jumped to a 3-1 lead.  The Flyers then tied it with goals from Richards and Umberger.  Hartnell got the Flyers the lead before Montreal was able to tie it at 4.  With 3:04 left in the 3rd, the Flyers put the game away with a goal from Upshall.  Flyers win 6-4.  Biron was outstanding.  The Penguins, who have a 3-1 lead over the Rangers, are likely to be next.

In my prior draft article, I shared my thoughts on the Eagles’ first two draft picks.  In this article, I’ll take a look at the Eagles’ selections in rounds 3-7.

When then third round made it’s way, I was rather confident the Eagles would select Brian Dawkins’ future replacement.  Many quality safety prospects were still available.  In fact, only two safeties were drafted in the first two rounds: the Giants drafted Kenny Phillips and the Vikings drafted Tyrell Johnson.  Personally, I was pulling for the Eagles to draft Tom Zbikowski — his style of play and work ethic would surely win Eagles fans over.  I also expected that the Eagles could make a move for either DaJuan Morgan or Thomas DeCoud.  The Eagles passed on those three players to select Bryan Smith, an undersized DE from McNeese State that would be used as a pass-rush specialist in the NFL.  I was slightly disappointed with the pick, but I think the Eagles are onto something with the pick.  Shortly after this pick, Morgan, Zbikowski, and DeCoud were all taken later in third round, which had be panicking that the Eagles would be without a quality safety from this year’s draft.

I don’t know exactly how Bryan Smith fits into the Eagles plans for this team, so I’m curious to see how he performs in camp.  I thought the Eagles reached for him.  He was projected to be drafted in the later rounds, so the Eagles must really love this guy to take him in the third round.  From what I’ve read about him, he has tremendous explosiveness, speed, natural athletic ability, and the ability to change directions quickly.  His downsides are that he is undersized and doesn’t play well against the run.  My first thought was that Smith’s role would be primarily as Chris Gocong’s reserve.  He could also be brought onto the field purely for pass-rushing situations.  I was puzzled that the Eagles would draft Smith when they already went out in free agency and got pass-rush specialist Chris Clemons for that role.  This pick made more sense when I read that the Eagles may experiment with a 3-4 defense.  The Eagles’ base defense will still be a 4-3, but with the plethora of pass rushers on the roster, the Eagles could run a 3-4 in certain situations and cause nightmares for opposing offensive coordinators around the league.  Here is a great interview with Bryan Smith if you want to learn more about him.

The fourth round has come and the Eagles have a chance to pick up a lot of pieces with the four picks they have this round. The Eagles came out in the fourth round and selected Pittsburgh OL Michael McGlynn.  McGlynn played primarily at RT for Pittsburgh, but projects as an OG in the NFL since he lacks the athleticism to play as a tackle in the NFL.  He is very technically sound, has the ability to play any position on the offensive line, and his long-snapping abilities make him an intriguing prospect.  I thought that the Eagles would have used their first-round pick on an offensive linemen, but the top linemen were off the board, which prompted the Eagles to trade the pick.  Since the Eagles haven’t selected a lineman yet, this pick shouldn’t have come as a surprise.  Andy has a knack for finding solid linemen in fourth round (Herremans and Jean-Giles).  Hopefully, McGlynn will be every bit as good as those fourth-round picks.

The Eagles also made a trade with the Miami Dolphins for Lorenzo Booker.  Booker was a player that the Eagles had their eyes on in the draft last year, but Miami beat them to the punch in the 3rd round and selected him, which led to the Eagles selecting Tony Hunt later that round.  The Eagles love Booker’s ability to catch the ball out of the backfield.  I became extremely impressed with him during his days at Florida State.  He has tremendous quickness, does a tremendous job at making defenders miss, and is a superb East-West runner.  Last season, Booker had 125 rushing yards on 28 attempts and 237 receiving yards on 28 receptions.  Booker’s draft profile looks quite similar to Brian Westbrook’s, so it’s no coincidence that the Eagles wanted him last year and did what it took to get him this year.  Great pick up.

Later in the fourth round, the Eagles finally took a safety that they badly needed to get their hands on: Quintin Demps.  When I read about Demps, I became extremely impressed and intrigued.  He has great speed and is a ball hawk with ability to cover a lot of ground with his long range.  His weakness is his ability against the run.  Demps will need to add bulk and improve against the run if he wants to make it in the league.  His upside is that his skills in coverage are exceptional.  You also have to love his attitude with this quote: “I am a playmaker. If the Eagles wanted a playmaker, they got one as a steal in this draft. I am not a Pro Bowl player, I’m a Super Bowl player. I am ready to go. I am fired up.”  Hopefully, the Eagles didn’t miss with this one.  Last year, I was extremely excited about the prospect C.J. Gaddis and he didn’t make it very long before he was cut by the Eagles.  He was even getting great reviews during training camp.  The difference between Demps and Gaddis is that Gaddis was a great natural athlete with a lack of football skills and the Eagles thought that he could make it at as a safety.  With Demps, the Eagles got a player with a qualified resume at safety, but he’ll just have to improve against the run.

At this point in the draft, I would already conclude that the Eagles had a successful draft.  They got an extremely talented defensive lineman, an explosive kick returner and speedy receiver, a pass-rush specialist, a versatile offensive lineman, a tremendous coverage safety, and an elusive running back.  I started to think that the Eagles could use their late fourth-round pick to fill a void at FB with the departure of Thomas Tapeh.  I was hoping the Eagles would draft Owen Schmitt, the FB from West Virginia with a bad-ass mohawk who took it to the house against Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl.  However, with their final pick in the fourth round, the Eagles took Jack Ikegwuonu.  Ikegwuonu has all the things you look for in a starting CB, but injuries and character issues caused him to fall down the draft chart.  If he was able to stay healthy during college, he could have been drafted in the second or third round.  His best quality is his physical play and his ability to jam receivers at the line of scrimmage.  I think this was a solid value pick for the Eagles.  The Eagles got a guy with starter potential, but with a few injury and character concerns.

The Eagles then had four picks left in the last four rounds.  They picked up a guard (Michael Gibson), two linebackers (Joe Mays and Andy Studebacker), and another tackle (King Dunlap).

Final Thoughts: Excellent draft by the Eagles.  When I first saw that the Eagles traded their 19th pick, I, like everyone else, was pissed.  However, I was quite happy at the conclusion of the second round, especially since the Eagles were able to get DeSean Jackson, a player who the Eagles could have easily used their 19th pick on, and now they have two first-round picks next year.  The only thing I would have changed about the Eagles draft would be taking DaJuan Morgan or Tom Zbikowsk in the third round and hope that Bryan Smith would still be there in the fourth round.  I’m excited to learn more about these prospects during the mini-camps and training camp.

2008 NFL Draft Grades – NFC East [The Football Expert] — Great breakdown of the NFC East draft picks.  The author gave the Eagles the highest grade with a 89/100.  He gave the Cowboys an 86, the Giants an 86, and the Redskins a 76.

More Draft Grades [DraftSeason.com] — He gave them a B+.  Better than Kiper’s C+.  I don’t know what Kiper was thinking — the Eagles had a very solid draft.  He must have failed to take into account that the Eagles got  Carolina’s 2009 1st-round selection and Lorenzo Booker.

NFC East Draft Grades [Miami Herald] — The Miami Herlad gave the Eagles a B+.  They thought the Redskins were losers: they gave them a D+.  Washington may have picked up a lot of offense, but paying no attention to the defense will hurt them.

Which rookie receiver will have the best rookie year? [End Zone Buzz] — The consensus has DeSean Jackson as the rookie who will have the best year.   I’m going to through out some predictions for Jackson’s year.  I’ll be modest here and predict 35 receptions, 500 yards, 3 receiving TDs, and 2 kickoff returns.  Here is a quick comparison of rookie WR stats from the 2007 draft class.  [The Pass Rush]

DeSean Jackson has been working with Jerry Rice on his routes [Inside the Iggles] — Jerry Rice says don’t sweat his size.  Rice has nothing but praise for Jackson: he says he has great hands, runs great routes, has tremendous speed, and his work ethic is outstanding.  There is no reason to doubt that he can’t be the next Steve Smith.

AFC scout comes to the defense of Jackson [Delaware Online] — Some are worried about Jackson’s size, but if you see the interview with Jery Rice (above) and read this article you will realize that Jackson has the potential to be a special player in the NFL and not just as a kick returner, but as a wide receiver.

Eagles 2008 Draft Videos [Inside the Iggles] — If you missed the NFL Draft, here are the video segments from the draft that overview the selections for the Eagles first two picks: Trevor Laws and  DeSean Jackson.

Trevor Laws and DeSean Jackson get their first Philadelphia cheesesteak [PhiladelphiaEagles.com] –  After a visit to the NovaCare Complex, the Eagles top two picks got a real taste of Philly.

DeSean Jackson Highlights [PhiladelphiaEagles.com] — I’m liking the DeSean Jackson pick more and more each day.  Here is a great interview with Andy Reid and DeSean Jackson while they go through his college highlights.

Eagles Add Seven Rookie Free Agents [PhiladelphiaEagles.com] — They grabbed a handful of WRs hoping that one of them will stick.

Lito Sheppard Update [Bleeding Green Nation] — He showed up for mini-camp to avoid being fined, had a chat with Andy Reid, and stated there are still some “things” that need to be worked out.  Apparently, everything will be fine between the two parties.  If I were the Eagles, I would say “Play in more than 10 games in a season and then we’ll talk.”  If I were Lito Sheppard, I would be pissed at my agent instead of the Eagles organization.

Sheppard shares time with Brown and Samuel [Philadelphia Inquirer] — At the Eagles’ first mini-camp, Sheppard wasn’t sent to the second team.  Rather, he rotated with Samuel and Brown.

Minicamp Quotables [Bleeding Green Nation] — Dawkins, Sheldon, Asante and Lito commented on the “Lito Sheppard situation.”  Westbrook stated that his contract was fair at the time he signed it.  McNabb stated that he’s happy with the Eagles’ offseason moves.  Sheldon said he’s excited about moving to the slot at times because he’ll get more opportunities to go after the quarterback.  I’m going to say there will be a forecast of a lot of blitzes from the Eagles next year.

Day One Minicamp Observations [Dave Spadaro] — Looks like the King Dunlap pick in the seventh round was huge — literally.