I was hoping the Eagles would use a 3rd or 4th rounder on Nebraska RB Roy Helu, but the Washington Redskins nabbed him. No worries though as the Eagles add a nice backup to LeSean McCoy with another Pittsburgh product in Dion Lewis. Lewis is an incredible back and I am pumped at how the Eagles draft is shaping up.

Check out this tattoo of a dedicated Philadelphia Sports fan.  Pretty wild. Courtesy of Bar Stool Sports:

Do you think Andy Reid looks like an Angry Birds pig?

DeSean Jackson loves pulling out his best touchdown celebrations against the Dallas Cowboys. After tossing away the ball from the 1-yard line in Dallas, DeSean Jackson topped his prior stunt in Dallas. With the Eagles pinned back on their 9-yard line, Vick threw a quick pass to DeSean on an out route and DeSean danced his way past the Cowboys D, stopped at the 1-yard line, and this time got in with the football, falling backwards in the endzone. Check out this TD celebration against the Cowboys.

Give him an extension, right now!

I think naming Michael Vick the starting QB for the Eagles was the right move. Most people think he was named the starting QB just because he had a very strong performance against the Packers and followed that up with another great performance against the Lions. While Vick’s play in both of those games was phenomenal and was definitely a factor in the Eagles decision, I think there’s more to this decision than what meets the eye.

There are three additional factors that I think contributed to this decision.

First, the Eagles offensive line. The Eagles offensive line has been riddled with injuries this season. Not only have the Eagles lost their starting fullback Leonard Weaver and center Jamaal Jackson, but Jason Peters, Nick Cole, and Todd Herremans are all playing banged up. Green Bay was able to bring pressure on virtually every down whether they were bringing just 4 men or 6 men. Andy Reid knows that with all the injuries to his offensive line, he needs a mobile quarterback so his team doesn’t give up 5-6 sacks per game. Michael Vick’s ability to avoid a 10 yards loss and pick up a 10 yard gain is uncanny. He does it multiple times in a game. I think it’s quite clear that the Eagles offensive line was the #1 motivating factor for this move.

Kevin Kolb is/was supposed to be the Eagles franchise quarterback. I don’t think they would just bench him for just one poor half of football unless there were other factors present. Another reason for the move is DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin standing behind Vick and voicing their wishes to Andy Reid that they want Vick as their QB. I don’t know if anyone else picked this up, but both Maclin and Jackson gave their TD balls to Vick after they scored in the Lions game.

Lastly, Andy Reid took a lot of heat for keeping Stewart Bradley in the Packers game after he suffered a concussion. Andy can now say that he’s making this move to protect his players.

What do you think were the motives behind the decision?

As everybody knows, I mostly use this blog to talk the NFL draft and free agency. That is my bread and butter. I do believe that front offices do their  fair share of homework on the internets and it would behoove them to read www.allphiladelphiasports.com for my recommendations. We were very high on both DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy and the Eagles grabbed both of them.

The Eagles used this past draft to add several defensive pieces. In the 2011 draft, I believe the Eagles will add an offensive lineman or two in the first two rounds and target a cornerback in round 2 or 3. In round 4, I’m hoping that could add a bruising RB to backup LeSean McCoy. One player that I’m enamored with is Roy Helu, Jr. out of Nebraska. He is a 6’0″ 220 pound Polynesian bruiser. He’s currently ranked as the 8th best back in next year’s draft class according to Draft Countdown. If he’s available in round 4, I would take him. He’ll probably go in round 3 though.

Last year Helu had 1147 yards on 220 carries (5.2 YPC) and 10 TDs. Against the Huskies, Helu posted 110 yards on just 10 carries and had 2 TDs. He’s a player you’ll want to keep your eye on for the remainder of the year. He also averaged over 10 yards per carry against Idaho in week 2.

Check out these highlights below. I wish there was a better quality version, but you’ll see how this dude runs.

Roy Helu Jr. Highlights

RB was a need many of us wanted the Eagles to address.  It wasn’t a priority, especially after landing Mike Bell.  It could have waited until round 5 and that’s exactly what happened.  There’s no question that LeSean McCoy, Mike Bell, and Leonard Weaver can get the job done themselves, but you can never have enough RBs in this league. Let’s take a look at the Eagles 200th overall pick Charles Scott.

Scott is a 6’1″ 231 pound RB from LSU.  He had 542 rushing yards and 4 TDs this past season in 9 games, but he has ammassed 2,317 yards and 32 TDs over the course of his collegiate career.  2008 was Scott’s best season where he turned in 1,174 yards and 18 TDs.  (See stats)

I’m loving what I see on the tape.  He puts his head down and just trucks forward using his weight to his advantage like Beanie Wells or Shonn Greene.  The Eagles got themselves a player.  Excellent late-round steal if you ask me.  Take a look:

I blogged previously how the Eagles should think about picking up Jordan Shippley in round 3 in order to replace Kevin Curtis.  The Bengals ended up being the ones who got their hands on Shipley with the 21st pick in round 3.

It was unrealistic that the Eagles would spend a third-round pick on Shipley since the Eagles have a lot of needs other than WR, but I’m glad to see the Eagles invest a 5th-round pick in a player who can be just as good as Shipley (although totally different type of players).

Cooper is 6’3″ 222 pounds, so he has great size and can be another great possession receiver for the Eagles.  He had 51 receptions, 961 yards, and 9 TDs this past season (see stats). Cooper ran a 4.52 at the combine. He is also drawing praise for his blocking on special teams.

Take a look at Flordia WR Riley Cooper: