tr1 Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 DEs, LBs and WRS...the Eagles FO can't draft worth a darn in those areas... http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/256-03042007-1308487.html Thoughts big and small ... The Eagles signed Juqua Thomas, their second-best defensive end last season, to a five-year contract extension on Friday, which seems a perfectly reasonable move until it hits you: Juqua Thomas was the Eagles' second-best defensive end last season. If that truth isn't a testament to the trouble coach Andy Reid and general manager Tom Heckert have had in finding players to generate a pass rush, nothing is. There was Trent Cole and his eight sacks last season, and there was Thomas and his six, and, well, everyone is still wondering what in the blazes happened to Darren Howard. This is no slight against Thomas, who played well last season, even exceeding expectations. It's just that he had all of five sacks in his previous five NFL seasons. In 2005, he played in all 16 games with the Eagles and never did tackle an opposing quarterback. As one Eagles observer put it recently, shake a tree, and out falls Juqua Thomas. The bigger point here is the Eagles' mystifying inability to acquire a top-flight pass-rushing end or, in the case of Jevon Kearse, one who performs as such. It's not that the Eagles don't try to find one. It's that they really never have, at least not yet — a strange blind spot for a team that purportedly builds its defensive strategy around rattling and pressuring quarterbacks. Consider: Kearse's 15 sacks over '04 and '05 are the most over two seasons by a Reid-acquired defensive end. (Sorry, trivia buffs: Hugh Douglas was already an Eagle when Reid arrived in 1999.) To put that number in perspective, Mike Mamula — the consummate draft-day bust, all combine and no game — had 13? sacks over his first two seasons with the Eagles, 1995-96. In fact, no Eagle has reached double digits in sacks since Douglas had 12? in 2002. That includes Kearse, Howard, first-round pick Jerome McDougle, Cole, Thomas, Corey Simon, Darwin Walker, Brandon Whiting, Derrick Burgess, N.D. Kalu, Mike Patterson, Brodrick Bunkley, Keyonta Marshall, Paul Grasmanis, Sam Rayburn, Jamaal Green and Lajuan Ramsey. See, the Eagles do try. But then, so does Charlie Brown. ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldog Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Philly doesn't seem to do well when bringing in other teams' players. Kearse and Howard were overpaid and acquired on the cusp of their primes heading past 30. Owens was brilliant on the field for one season in 2004 and then ripped the team apart in 2005. Some teams handle free agents well like New England or the Chargers. Others like the Eagles are better in the draft. Although it is interesting that the one player the Eagles gave up on, Derrick Burgess, is now a sack machine in Oakland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pocono Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 I think the Eagles were 8th in the league in sacks and 4th in sack yardage. Kearse had 3.5 sacks in 2 games before he got hurt at the end of the second game. Could have been better.....but could have been worse also. We could have been tied for last with the Skins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number5 Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Philly doesn't seem to do well when bringing in other teams' players. Kearse and Howard were overpaid and acquired on the cusp of their primes heading past 30. Owens was brilliant on the field for one season in 2004 and then ripped the team apart in 2005.Some teams handle free agents well like New England or the Chargers. Others like the Eagles are better in the draft. Although it is interesting that the one player the Eagles gave up on, Derrick Burgess, is now a sack machine in Oakland Valid points all the way. To be honest, I think they draft pretty well, at certain positions..... Derrick was often injured with the team so for him to do so well isn't a shock, he was a stud in his first season, he just has to stay healthy...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dockeryfan Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 Philly doesn't seem to do well when bringing in other teams' players. Runyan was a good acquisition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLongshot Posted March 5, 2007 Share Posted March 5, 2007 I remember all the people whining in "The Stadium" because we didn't sign Darren Howard, but what did he do? Nothing. Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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