Promote your business or product on 700level.com. For
more information about advertising with us CLICK HERE!

Good video of Nasti here

Like the ability to shed tacklers on this guy, but his elusiveness was pretty suprising. Granted it was against the WAC (and ASU), but the highlights in that vid seem to go along with his write up. (decent runner with size but also possible weight issues and needs to improve his pass blocking)

Could this be the beginning of the end for Blunt, Moats, and possibly even Tapeh?

if they wanted a FB/RB to replace anyone, they should have gone and picked Leonard.
pfft

I think Ilaoa's chances of making the team are fairly remote if Hunt turns out to be the RB he has the potential to be.

I don't really have a problem with keeping Tapeh at FB as he really came on as a blocker last season. I would like to think that Buckhalter's miracle recovery can last, but at the same time he blew out his knee in no contacts before, so he may be expendable. Moat's is gone IMO.

This was an interesting draft, with Reid going for size and the ability to play mulitple positions at the end. I won't be sold on Kolb until he steps up and produces, in which time I will step up and readily admit that I was wrong. Other than that pick, the rest of the draft seemed decent for a team drafting for depth.

Of course the darksider in me sees it differently:

QB who was "suprised to be drafted...*",

DE that "has a history of patellar tendonitis that warrants further medical review",

An OLB coming off of 2 knee surgeries,

A RB who fumbled 6 times last season,

A CB/FS that "struggles academically, leading to a one-game suspension, and might have problems digesting a complicated playbook",

A TE without an adequate bubble,

A CB/FS that has played one year of college ball and was a suprise to be drafted by even the stats guys (evidence by his bio only having his baseball pic and height/weight),

and a RB/FB who is the only player listed on any site that can't "add at least another 10 pounds of bulk with no loss in quickness"...

Damn these robes!

On a side note, I would love to have been the fly on the wall at the old McNabb house when the Kolb pick came out. You just know he ran in his room crying while his mother ran after him.

NTFF!!!!

Other than that pick, the rest of the draft seemed decent for a team drafting for depth.

I think that kind of thinking is how teams take a BIG fall.

For one, this team made a great run last year, but they were within a game or two of tearing the whole thing apart. You think Andy Reid would have been as inclined to return (given the family situation) if the Eagles finished 6-10 for the second year in a row? Did he even deserve to come back if they finished like it appeared they would finish?

This was a BAD, BAD, BAD football team for about a third of the season last year and they got knocked out of the playoffs after the Wild Card victory against a .500 team that had lost 6 of 8 going into that game.

Now, all of a sudden, this is (according to Reid) the most stocked team he's ever had and they had the luxury of taking "depth" players? Really?

That's disgusting arrogance and folly. They can go fuck themselves with that thinking.

Now, onto the picks:

1. Kevin Kolb

Love Kolb as a player. He is the anti-Mcnabb in a lot of ways, but he has all the tools and all the intangibles. The ONLY knock on the guy is the system he played in and the fact that he played in a spread offense in High School, too. Basically, he's been directing a run and shoot offense for 8 years and probably hasn't taken a direct snap from center since he was 13 or 14 years old.

He will probably take 2 years to learn the system, but make no mistake...the McNabb era is officially over. Unless Kolb is a complete disaster or McNabb has the best 2 years of his career, this is Kevin's Kolb's team and McNabb is just keeping his seat warm for him.

I also think McNabb's deal is up in 2010, so the plan is likely to groom Kolb to take over for the 2009 or 2010 season, with McNabb being traded, released, or allowed to walk after the final year of his deal (depending on how things go between now and then).

I hate the pick because I think it was a bit of a reach and I think planning for life after McNabb was less important than trying to draft a player than could help McNabb win a Super Bowl, but I do like the player.

I think Reid sees a Matt Hasselbeck with better tools in Kolb.


2. Abiamiri

I personally would have liked either Quentin Moses OR Charles Johnson there. Don't hate the pick. Don;t love it. I don;t think this guy is special based on when I've seen him play, but I wasn't exactly looking for him either.


3. Stewart Bradley

I like this pick quite a bit. I'm really interested to see what he looks like in training camp, but this pick (a 3rd rounder) that came right after the DE pick makes you wonder. What does this mean for Gocong? They just drafted a natural SAM in the 3rd round and drafted pass rushing DE in the 2nd. That tells me they don't have a lot of faith in Gocong to excel at either, IMO.


4. Hunt

I guess we'll see. I think he's a decent value at that point in the draft, but I never thought he'd translate well to the NFL. Michael Bush would have been a better pick at that spot, IMO. Hopefully I'll be wrong.


5. Gaddis

I don't know much about the guy, so I guess we'll see what he's all about.


6. Celek

Another guy who was just completely off the radar. I never heard his name before today. I didn't notice him at the combine. He wasn't even listed as a prospect on some of the draft sites. No clue and was VERY surprised they didn't grab Ben Patrick.


7. Barksdale

This is apparently one of those wet dream athletes they are taking a shot on. He apparently played baseball his entire life and walked on as a football player his senior year and played really well. He's supposedly got some speed and return skills, but is EXTREMELY raw and no one knows if he's a safety or corner yet.


7. Ilaoa

I LOVE this guy. He reminds me of Natrone Means and I think he'll be better in short yardage and goal line situations that Tony Hunt. Honestly.

He's not a fullback, but I think he has a real chance to make the team as a HB. Moats is now certainly gone and depending how raining camp goes, he could be a practice squad guy or an active roster guy.




All in all, I think the Eagles just tried to out-think themselves on both days. They took 2 players who are certain to be long term projects and I think they reached in a few spots.

If you want to look at a plus side, they got BIGGER. It's clear they made an effort to focus on adding size to the team as opposed to "fastballs".

The two running backs are both physical pounders. The defensive end is officially the tallest and heaviest DE on their roster. The LB is probably the biggest 4-3 linebacker in the draft. Both defensive backs are over 6' tall.

There is no mistaking two things about this draft:

- This is the end of the line for McNabb.

- They wanted to get bigger, more physical, and tougher on both sides of the ball.


I hope they can add a couple undrafted players now. Specifically, I hope they add Byron Westbrook.

Wow...gotta love how fast the Eagles start the spin cycle.

This is a little cut/paste from a Spuds article on Kolb today (includes a Kolb quote):

But when he was selected with the Eagles' first pick, the 36th overall in the second round, there were plenty of gasps from fans and media alike. What does it mean for Donovan McNabb? What about A.J. Feeley who was awarded a contract extension after this past season? Kolb sat at the table on the stage in the NovaCare Complex auditorium poised and confident as he told the members of the media gathered to have some faith in head coach Andy Reid's decision.

"I just think they (the fans) weren't expecting them to take a quarterback that high," said Kolb, who was not bothered by any boos and himself shocked at the pick. "I think they need to trust coach Reid's opinion and his decision. He senses something that will fit well. They had a plan for the future and now it's time to move ahead with that plan."

Spuds felt compelled to print the fact that Kolb is the future of the franchise AND made the special note of Kolb "not being bothered by the boos".

Huh. I do like Spuds, but he is a snake when it comes to the passive-aggressive attacks on players that are no longer needed for one reason or another.

It won't be a full-on spin mode until Spuds comments on each player's great bubble though. Everything after that is guaranteed to be a statement straight from the F.O..

Love the cannonball outta Hawaii- but disagree with FD here- I dont think he's a shoe in to excel in short ydg situations.

Watchin that tape, its as I thought, lotsa passes to get him out in space, get his feet movin under him and 'see' the field. His strength is momentum, and some nifty feet/change of direction once he gets it movin.

I dont think 3 steps behind the QB in the "I" and straight ahead to try to gain 3 yds is goin to allow him to work usin his strenths- he needs to get that bulk movin I suspect.

Either way, I can easily see him as a fan favorite.

Yes.

No doubt.

And in a draft class of largely "WHOTHEYS?", yes.

Thats not to imply that cos WE dont know every guy- they cant play. while I myself know only Hunt, and Bradley, Im sure that some of these guys can play.

The good news is, the scouting reports I've seen say he's a very good short yardage back.

Ilaoa had some crazy #'s, for the past 2 seasons the guy has averaged 7.6 yards per carry, had 67 receptions and 18 total TD's. Total yards from scrimmage was over 1700. These are probably bloated due to playing in the WAC but none the less quite impresssive.

The rest of the draft we'll have to see good size all around as mentioned earlier. The Nebraska LB is a load, can see him as a Carlos Emmons type hopefully we'll see.

Kolb I like just not where they picked him, but he probably would not have lasted much longer we'll see, McNabb has broken down a little too much and to have insurance like Kolb is definetely nice.

ND DE is a rock is already the biggest DL the birds have so I like the pick, If he can grow into a 280 lb. masher he could be special.

The TE from Cinn. was their MVP and leader not much pub on the guy but good size and an asset to have in locker room.

Tony Hunt, the big back the eagles have needed for a while, watched a good bit of him is a player and was very happy to get him. Bush was still on board so we'll have to see who is more productive.

The corner/safeties they took have good size both over 6' right there is reason to b happy but have to see how they play, who knows I just hope they got some talent.

When are the FA announced? the birds usually find a gem or two in the race to sign these players.

****"I just think they (the fans) weren't expecting them to take a quarterback that high," said Kolb, who was not bothered by any boos*****



I like this guy already

Eagles signed an UDFA - don't know who the guy is, but he's a Mormon.

WR from BYU who didn't start

So naturally he'll make the squad here.

All he needs to be now is a dishwasher at McFadden's.

This was a brief, but interesting read. Also, The Miami herald reported the Dolphins were set to pick Kolb in the second round when the Eagles grabbed him. Still think there were bigger needs, but that's further evidence that they "reached" because he was about to be taken by someone else and they knew it.

I applaud the move on one hand (if they really like him and believe he's the future of the team, you take him), but it all comes back to the same problem with the Eagles.

They are ALWAYS concerned with how they are going to win 3 Super Bowls in the next 6 years and seem to forget they have to win 1 first.

Kolb's tutor sees bright future for QB

By LES BOWEN
bowenl@phillynews.com

Jerry Rhome knows the knock on Houston quarterback Kevin Kolb: He played in a shotgun-spread offense system, never had to drop back, and was in that system all through high school and college, raising the possibility that it created his success.

"That is bogus," Rhome said after the Eagles surprised their fans by using their first selection in the 2007 draft on Kolb, thereby putting Donovan McNabb on the clock, even if it is unclear when the clock is set to alarm. "He can handle [dropping back]. He's 6-3 and he can run. He's a great competitor. I think it's a great pick . . . He has the ability to move around the pocket, he has a strong arm, and he's very accurate. This guy's one of the sharpest quarterbacks I've ever been around."

Will Kolb be an NFL starting QB someday?

"Without a doubt," said Rhome, the 1964 Heisman Trophy runner-up at Tulsa who later quarterbacked in the NFL before his more successful career as a QB coach for 10 NFL teams. Rhome is retired from coaching but hires on to prepare quarterbacks for the draft. This year he tutored Kolb and Ohio State's Troy Smith (who went to Baltimore with the last pick of the fifth round, 174th overall), a year after Rhome addressed many of the same "drop-back" issues with Vince Young, before Young was drafted by Tennessee.

Rhome said he tutored Kolb in the system he used, then Kolb learned a variation of that system playing for Norv Turner at the Senior Bowl. He said Kolb had no trouble adjusting. Rhome also said it was no mystery to him why the Eagles picked Kolb so high.

"This is a great kid, a lot of teams were very interested in him," Rhome said. "I think it was going to happen pretty quickly, and I think they knew that. They jumped in there and grabbed him . . . I just think this guy is very underrated, as far as his ability and the things he's done in college."

Kolb said he didn't think the Cougars' offensive philosophies were much different from what he understands of the Eagles', even if the formations were different. He noted that Young faced many of the same transition challenges and had a very strong rookie year.

"It was nice to see somebody that went shotgun all the time . . . a lot of people were saying the same things to him they were saying to me, and then to see him succeed under Jerry Rhome's wing - it was nice," Kolb said.

"I'm a student of the game," Kolb said. "If I don't know it, I'm going to sit there until I do. I think that's what [Rhome] admired the most about me, when I didn't learn something quick, I stayed in there and I grinded until I got it."


Birdseed:
This was the first time since 1992 the Eagles ended up without a first-round pick . . . Fifth-round conerback/safety C.J. Gaddis, who will start out as a safety with the Eagles, told reporters that when he first starting playing football, as a high school sophomore, "I used to be scared of getting hit. Now I love dishin' licks" . . . Sixth-round corner Rashad Barksdale, from Albany, played baseball until this past season, when he walked on as a football player, having last played in high school. Why'd he get drafted? "At my school on a rubber track, I ran a 4.38 and a 4.40. The next day, I worked out at Syracuse's Pro Day and I believe I ran a 4.43," he said . . . Today, the Eagles are expected to announce the names of several undrafted free agents they have signed.

Does anyone really plan on pronouncing his name "Cobb"?

"He will probably take 2 years to learn the system, but make no mistake...the McNabb era is officially over. "
Les Bowen had an interesting nugget. Reid has YET to talk directly to McNabb. Michael Smith of ESPN, exchanged emails with him immediately after the draft, and since than. Listening to Smith on ESPN, he has been heavily hinting on Mcnabb's displeasure. What if supa 5 turns from Lap dog to (Vick)dog. Shows his displeasure throughout the season and forces a trade/release before hits contract is up and before KoBb is ready. After all the shit the FO has forced him to eat the past 9 years, this tops the cake. If I were him, id get healthy this year, prove to the league(and the FO) that he is still a top QB) and stick it up their ass next offseason. FD, you are dead on in your articulate point about wanting to win 3 SB in the future.

Give me a break. Any inferrences or statements toward the end of McNabb is ludicrous. There's so many unforseeable IF's involved, you can't expect to be taken seriously in postulations that this is Kolb's team now. McNabb's contract goes through 2014 with the last three years voidable by McNabb making performance requirements. In any event, Kolb cannot supplant McNabb unless McNabb is hurt. You don't just bench a top 5 QB to see how the new guy works out.

In a way, I feel bad for Kolb, a year or two to develope behind a starting QB is good for a young QB entering the NFL, but even beyond that he's going to be riding pine hoping the star who's shadow he's in gets hurt or retires or something. Unless the Eagles develope, showcase (maybe when playoffs already clinched) and trade him, Kolb is going to be in the situation Aaron Rodgers is in, waiting indfeinately for their turn. Though it could potentially be worse for Kolb, at the point he joined the team, McNabb's tenure has much greater potential to be much longer than Favre's. Favre's been talking ertirement for what, three years now? McNabb's career is barely half over barring the intangible IF's. Otherwise, bassed on reports, I think Kolb has great potential to make a promising impact in the NFL. If only he were drafted by a team that had a more definate need for him.

Like him or not, Feeley would have to be the guy for a couple of years is McNabb bitches out. I could see McNabb wanting to be traded. Let's face it, he has almost always said the right things publicly, but we all know the guy really is no fan of the "fans" in Philly.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10  11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18