Jim Johnson has passed away this afternoon after a six-month battle with cancer. Jim Jonson was 68. We will all miss him. He was a special person to the fans and the organization, an excellent coach and human being. The Eagles consistently had a defense that ranked at the top of the league each and every year under his leadership and we hope that his leadership will be seen in new Eagles defensive coordinator Sean McDermott.
I’ve been busy over the last few days moving, so I haven’t been able to get into much Day 2 draft coverage, but I just wanted to post up some quick thoughts on it.
Another great day for the Eagles. As I was awaiting NFL Draft updates on the NFL Channel on Sirius Sattelite Radio, I was getting rather upset when the Eagles kept trading down in round 3 and then eventually out of it. I wanted them to grab their TE, but they kept passing. Jared Cook was the best available TE and the Eagles passed on him to trade their pick to the Giants. The Titans ended up taking Cook a few picks later. I wasn’t worried since I thought the Eagles were really going after Chase Coffman. The Eagles then traded out of the third round when Coffman was available, so it didn’t look like the Eagles wanted him. Coffman then went to the Bengals. I wasn’t going to be upset as long as the Birds landed Cook, Coffman, or Ingram and we landed Ingram in round 5. When the Eagles kept trading down, I started getting an inkling that the Eagles wanted Cornelius Ingram, but there’s no way I thought he would fall to the Eagles by the time they were on the clock again. Look at this guy, what a beast! It looks like the knee injury kept enough teams away from him. I expected Ingram to go in the 2nd round. It’s a miracle he was taken by the Eagles in the 5th round. I don’t know how they pulled that off after getting Maclin, McCoy, and Hobbs. Great job by the Birds with their draft maneuvers that will add 2010 3rd-round pick and 5th-round pick.
What were the Pats thinking getting rid of Ellis Hobbs for a mere two 5th-round picks? I don’t think this move has much to do with the Sheldon situation either. Sheldon will report to camp, he will not make much of a fuss about his contract, and he’ll play. I agree with Andy — you can never have enough good CBs in this league.
For all the fools who still don’t like the Maclin pick, I don’t know what their logic is: saying he’s nothing but another DeSean Jackson, still obsessing about trading the 21st pick pick for Anquan instead, who knows. I like Maclin in the Eagles lineup even better than Boldin. He’s faster and I think he’s a better fit for this offense. Take it from this guy. Our receivers have a ridiculous amount of speed. Plus, if the Eagles hadn’t traded up to 19. Guess who would have gotten him at 20? No, not the Lions, but the Giants, who worked out a trade with the Lions contingent on Maclin being available at 20. The Giants even rated Maclin above Crabtree as the best WR in the draft. In fact, 18 teams had Maclin as the highest rated receiver (yes, even over Crabtree). This guy is going to be amazing. I’m extremely excited about what this offense will be capable of with him in the lineup.
Oh, and if you missed Donovan’s McNabb blog, you can read that here. Looks like the “I have to wait to see what the Eagles do before I consider re-signing” won’t be an issue anymore after this offseason’s moves. Here is what McNabb had to say:
You’ll notice that I am ready to move forward. I’m the first to admit that you must learn from your failures, I also believe that you cannot change the past. It’s time to focus on the future.
As with every minicamp since I’ve been in the league, I’m excited about meeting my new teammates, getting to know them and working together on the field. We now have a lot of new, young skill position players and it will be exciting and interesting to see how they become acclimated to what we do here. If they can come in here and take their game to the next level, they will be productive pros and we can achieve great successes together. I want to welcome the new rookies and am excited to get to work with them.
I haven’t taken the time yet to welcome some of the veteran free agents to the team. I’m looking forward to working with a new set of bookends on the o-line. Stacey Andrews and Jason Peters are young, athletic and physical. They will help in both the passing and running game. The same can be said for fullback Leonard Weaver. As for the additions on defense – Ellis Hobbs, Rashad Baker, and Sean Jones – I can’t wait to see how Jim Johnson uses all the talent he has at his disposal.
I want to congratulate all the newcomers and let them know that I am excited to be working with them and taking the first step towards moving forward and getting something accomplished.
First order of business: Get well Jim Johnson! Jim was unfortunately diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer in his spine. The good news is that the treatment is going well and Jim and doctors remain optimistic.
If you’re a frequent reader of the site, you know that my bread and butter is covering free agent signings and the draft for all sports. Before I get into some draft talk, I want to give you my quick thoughts on the Arizona game.
Great second half by the Eagles, but you can’t beat a team by playing 30 minutes in a 60 minute game. After the miserable first half, I thought the game was all but over, but DeSean Jackson gave us hope by taking the lead 25-24 before the Cardinals milked the clock with a seven-minute drive to take back the lead. As usual, Philly fans start the blame game. Some people say it was Donovan’s fault for playing like crap in the first half, others want to blame the defense. Still, some want to put the blame on Reid. I say it’s no one on the Eagles sideline who is at fault. I’ll give credit where credit is due. The Cardinals are a great team. They have an incredible veteran quarterback and the best wide receiver in the league: Larry Fitzgerald, who is only 25 years old and I can guarantee you that this will not be his last Super Bowl. They also have a tremendous defense. That secondary of theirs is up there with any secondary in the league. They may have the best safety tandem next to Dawkins/Mikell with Adrian Wilson and Antrel Rolle. With corners Rod Hood and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who is coming along as a rookie, that’s about as solid a secondary that you can ask for. Well, enough about the Cardinals. The point I am trying to make is the Eagles can compete next year with the team they have. They aren’t “a player away” from being a Super Bowl team, but picking up a solid piece or two in the draft certainly won’t hurt.
OK, it’s time to talk draft. Mel Kiper released his Mock Draft v. 1.0 and if that’s how the real draft ended up, I would be 100% satisfied. If you missed it, Kiper has the Eagles taking Ohio State RB Chris “Beanie” Wells with the Eagles first, first-round pick and then just a few picks later, he has the Eagles going for OT Michael Oher. That may be a bit generous, but I love it! The Eagles need to get one amazing OT with one of their first two picks. With the other, add an offensive weapon: a RB like Wells or a TE like Pettigrew. The Pittsburgh RB, LeSean McCoy, would be a good pick too, but I would be thrilled to have Wells.
Wells is a hell of a back. I thought he was overrated until I watched the Fiesta Bowl. Wow! And he fits the Eagles need for a big back. The good news is that most teams needs at RB are set. My boy, Knowshon Moreno, Kiper has going to the San Diego Chargers. LT v. 2.0 would be a great pick for them. I can’t wait to see where he goes. Even better is that could set up the Eagles to take NFL Draft Countdown’s #1 RB in this year’s draft: Chris Wells. Wells, at 237 lbs., is a punishing back and he has some speed to boot.
I would also love it if Brandon Pettigrew, the Ohklahoma St. TE, would fall to the Eagles. Most mock drafts have Pettirgrew going to the Bills at #11. There’s a great chance of that happening, but if they pass, there’s a chance he may fall down the board since most teams after the Bills don’t have TE needs, but have other huge needs.
Another link up is coming soon. There’s lots to talk about: Jason Taylor, Lito Sheppard, Quitin Demps, T.O., Chad Johnson. There’s lots of stuff going on before training camp gets underway. Anyway, I found this piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer interesting:
After finishing last season with a league-low 19 takeaways, Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson is stressing getting to the ball in these minicamps. In fact, the defensive players are required to pick up the football and sprint with it even after incomplete passes.
“I don’t know who started that, but it’s getting on my nerves,” safety Brian Dawkins said. “No, I’m just kidding. It’s different. To me, it’s all a part of conditioning also. You get to the ball and you pick it up. It’s about practicing turnovers and picking them up and scoring. At the same time, it’s about having a good time. You’re supposed to have a good time on the defensive side of the ball.”
Asante picked off a pass from A.J. Feeley. Asante said to A.J., “Didn’t you learn last year that you couldn’t get a pass in on me?” That got the whole team laughing, including Andy Reid. — [Bleeding Green Nation]
I love DeSean Jackson’s confidence. He is so assured that he is going to make it at the next level. His attitude is quite similar to a Maurice Jones-Drew. They’re both small guys, with a lot of heart, who have a chip on their shoulder for not getting picked in the first round. Maurice Jones-Drew has one hell of a career already; hopefully, Jackson will have the same success, and I don’t doubt it for a second.
You have to love quotes from Jackson like this, “I’m very confident that I can produce and do great things for this team on offense. I know what I’m capable of doing. I just want to do anything and everything possible to help out this team. I don’t want to come in expecting to do too much or not expecting to do too much. Any way I can fit in, that’s what I’m willing to do.” With what Jerry Rice said about him, I’m confident that he’s going to be outstanding and will have a hell of a season.
Spadaro’s Camp Review Summaries:
Here’s a recap of how the Eagles camp went. Obviously, nothing but positivity from Spadaro.
Defense: The defense looks insane. Dawkins is healthy. We already know about their young linebackers, who are oustanding, and Akeem Jordan keeps improving. Bradley is ready to become the man in the middle. The Laws pick was huge: he should be able to contribute right away and will get a lot of playing time. Jim Johnson has a lot of pieces to work with: they got another outside speed rusher Byron Smith in the 3rd round, not to mention the addition of Chris Clemons. Abiamiri should push Juqua for the starting job on the left. Their rookie safety Demps had a good camp. Factor in Asante Samuel to an already outstanding cast and you get a Super Bowl defense.
I think it’s been a good offseason. If you get Asante (Samuel, cornerback) and Chris Clemons (defensive end), those are two playmakers. I told our defense that we are on a three-game winning streak. We beat Dallas and New Orleans on the road and Buffalo here (to end the 2007 season), and we didn’t really lose any players. We picked up some more players and had a good draft with what we wanted draft-wise, so you feel good and you feel positive
Offense: First, Donovan McNabb is 100%. I love the Eagles two big additions: DeSean Jackson and Lorenzo Booker, they should both have tremendous seasons. Considering the Eagles added those two players and haven’t lost anyone on offense (other than Tapeh), their offense should be outstanding once again. Those two players add a ton of speed and they will both take a lot of pressure off Westbrook. Their running back corp is as deep as ever: Westbrook, Booker, Buckhalter, Hunt, and Moats. Moats is said to be looking good and after his recovery. Moats and Hunt will be be battling hard for a roster spot. Hunt is going to have to prove to be more than just a short-yardage back. Booker has a lot of plays designed for him: he should have a large role in the offense this season. If you haven’t heard already: Jackson has been outstanding. He was given a lot of reps in at camp and responded well. Jackson is going to drive defensive coordinators nuts. They’ll have him in the slot, lined up out wide, put him in motion, and running fakes and end-arounds. He’ll definitely keep the defense on their heels and guessing. You can do a lot of things with Jackson in the slot and Westbrook and Booker in the backfield: you can flank them out to the side, and somebody will be open. McNabb should have an outstanding completion percentage and passer rating as long as the line does its job, which I’m confident it will. The linemen pick ups in the draft were wise choices: McGlynn adds a solid reserve who can take over any spot on the line and King Dunlap is a beast. Dunlap is a project, but his size and quick feet make him a promising prospect at tackle.
I’m pumped about the season, the Eagles have improved immensely.
I’ve been busy over the last few days moving, so I haven’t been able to get into much Day 2 draft coverage, but I just wanted to post up some quick thoughts on it.
Loading ...