I usually stick to writing stories about the New England Patriots, Dallas Stars, and draft content for Rant Sports. I realize that the Eagles team page is usually reserved for one of Rant Sports top NFL bloggers in Bryn Swartz.
The thing is there is a lot of speculation on what actions the Philadelphia Eagles will opt to take this offseason if the Philadelphia Eagles fail to qualify for the NFL postseason. There are too many thoughts about the different possibilities the Eagles could take this offseason racing through my head. My opinion and impressions on the Eagles will not change as long as they perform this poorly.
I will be hitting a lot of hot topics in this piece. I’ll discuss what the Eagles will do if they are lucky enough to land the top pick in 2012. I mention what direction I believe the Eagles take at this point draft wise by mentioning some potential fits for the Eagles.
There will be more in this piece than draft talk. I will discuss why the Eagles have not been the same team since General Manager Tom Heckert’s departure. Plus I will give Eagles fans my complete take on what the Eagles should do and what I believe will happen with Andy Reid and the Eagles front office.
Last night I read one of Bryn’s tweets about how the Eagles should throw the season for Andrew Luck. As cool as it would be to see the Eagles bring in a new coach with a passive maverick motivator personality as opposed to Andy Reid’s aggressive strategist personality while drafting Andrew Luck #1 overall who happens to be the best quarterback prospect since Peyton Manning after paying Michael Vick 100 million dollars I realistically cannot see Andrew Luck in a Eagles uniform.
Even if the Eagles do end up with the 1st pick by some improbable miracle their organization probably will not opt to draft Andrew Luck with the top selection. The Eagles will attempt to trade down. The problem is their organization will probably scare away other teams in trade negotiations by demanding too much in return since Luck is the best prospect to come along in 15 years.
The Eagles will have to take someone with the top pick if they cannot trade out of that #1 pick. Eagles fans are probably asking this question to their friends and family around the NFL. Who do the Eagles take if they pass on the chance to draft Andrew Luck?
The Eagles will probably opt to draft USC offensive tackle Matt Kalil with the #1 pick. Kalil is beginning to emerge as a clear cut #2 overall prospect behind the Stanford signal caller known as Andrew Luck. USC has one of the worst offensive lines in the country that is letting Trojan quarterback Matt Barkley get banged up. One player on USC’s offensive line who is giving Barkley the time he needs tofire the football is Trojans left tackle Matt Kalil.
Some draft pundits are labeling Matt Kalil as the best offensive tackle prospect since Wisconsin’s Joe Thomas who went 3rd overall to the Cleveland Browns back in 2007 or Jake Long who went #1 overall to the Miami Dolphins back in 2008.
Matt Kalil is a blue chip offensive tackle prospect who can play on either side of the offensive line. Most pundits are labeling him a blue chip left tackle prospect. I believe Kalil will succeed in this league, but he may be better suited starting out at right tackle.
Kalil would technically be Vick’s blindside if he played right tackle because Vick throws the football with his left hand. Kalil could even beat out Jason Peters for the left tackle job the same way he beat out Tyron Smith for USC’s left tackle job as a sophomore. Everyone knows that Smith went 9th overall to the Eagles division rival Dallas Cowboys. People believe Kalil will be a top 5 pick in 2012 because he beat out Tyron Smith for that left tackle job.
Plus the idea of putting two former USC offensive tackle teammates on division rival teams in the NFL is kind of appealing to a certain degree.
Since Kalil weighed less than 300 pounds at one point during the offseason he could probably kick inside to guard if he flops at offensive tackle like former top 5 pick Robert Gallery. This is good insurance for the Eagles even if Kalil flops at tackle because the interior offensive line is also a concern for the Eagles. I realize the Eagles drafted Danny Watkins in 2011. The thing is Kalil is currently 22 years old while Watkins turns 27 on November 6th which is less than a month away.
Kalil may even be able to play center too because of his family bloodlines. Matt’s older brother Ryan Kalil played for the Trojans. Ryan has been a pro bowl center for the Carolina Panthers. Matt’s father Frank Kalil was a center for the Arkansas Razorbacks before transferring to play for the Arizona Wildcats.
The point is Matt Kalil is arguably the best offensive tackle to come out in the last 5 years. The other benefit with Kalil is that he can play any of the 5 positions on the offensive line. The Eagles need an offensive lineman with that kind of versatility.
I doubt the Eagles get the top pick. If the Eagles do get the top pick by some miracle their going with Kalil not Luck #1 overall because of A. Vick’s contract status and B. Philadelphia’s woeful pass blocking on the offensive line.
The Eagles would be currently projected to pick 8th overall if the season ended today. 2012 features 3 blue collar middle linebackers with first round talent. One of those middle linebackers is Arizona State middle linebacker Vontaze Burfict who may be the best 4-3 middle linebacker draft prospect since Brian Urlacher.
I believe the Eagles will take Burfict in the top 10 if they fail to draft Matt Kalil. Then I believe the Eagles will trade a combination of their day 2 draft picks which include the Cardinals 2nd round pick from the Kolb trade in addition to the Eagles 2nd and 3rd round picks that they currently own.
I could see the Eagles drafting Burfict and packaging those picks to move back into the first round to get an offensive line prospect like Florida State offensive tackle Andrew Datko, Iowa offensive tackle Riley Reiff, or Buckeyes center Michael Brewster who is starting to convince NFL scouts that he deserves to be drafted in the same draft range as the Pouncey brothers.
The Eagles could also take Burfict 8th while keeping both of their 2nd round picks. They could use one pick on an offensive tackle in round 2 like Ohio State’s Mike Adams, BYU’s Matt Reynolds, Ole Miss right tackle Bobbie Massie, or Oklahoma State’s Levi Adcock.
One could make the argument that Vick is severely overpaid based on what they have seen from the Eagles signal caller so far this season. Another could make the argument that Vince Young and Mike Kafka are quality backups while neither is capable of helping the Eagles soar to the promise land.
If the Eagles want to bring in someone to challenge Vick for the job in 3 or 4 years from now because their organization does not believe in Vick despite paying him 100 million dollars possibilities could include bringing in Robert Griffin III, Kirk Cousins, Nick Foles, Ryan Lindley, Ryan Tannehill, or Chandler Harnish as a developmental project quarterback who could succeed Vick down the road.
The Eagles have the luxury of doing developing one of these quarterbacks taking a flyer on him because it may benefit the Eagles long term. Vick has only stayed completely healthy for one year. He only got to the NFC Championship once in his career only to lose to Donovan McNabb who was coming off 3 consecutive NFC Championship defeats.
Philadelphia groomed Kolb during the McNabb regime before dealing him to Arizona for Dominique Rodgers Cromartie and a 2012 2nd round draft pick which appears to be a pretty early day 2 pick at this point.
Your probably asking yourself who the Eagles can get at center if they opt for an offensive tackle over Brewster. Some potential Day 3 options include Baylor center Phillip Blake or Michigan center David Molk.
The 2012 NFL Draft is one of the deepest draft classes in deepest memory. Even if the Eagles miss the playoffs they can use their day 2 picks to move up addressing some critical needs.
Some people are wondering if Reid will keep his job if the Eagles end up drafting this early. This is my take on the situation.
Despite the tremendous early success Reid had in Philadelphia grooming and developing McNabb he only got the Eagles to one Super Bowl appearance.
Eagles fans may not want to hear this, but I believe former Eagles General Manager and current Browns general Manager Tom Heckert Jr. made the Eagles what they are today with his offseason moves.
Heckert made great draft picks during his tenure. Heckert may not have found first round talent every year. One thing he did well was discover hidden talent in rounds 2 through 5. Below is a list of every pro bowl player that Heckert drafted between rounds 2 through 5.
Heckert drafted Maclin with the Eagles first round pick in his last year as the Eagles GM before going to Cleveland.
Michael Lewis Safety Colorado 2002 2nd round pick
Brian Westbrook Running Back Villanova 2003 3rd round pick
Trent Cole Right End Cincinnati 2005 5th round pick
Heckert drafted Kevin Kolb a quarterback out of Houston in 2007 in the 2nd round. Kolb may be a quality starter down the road too early to tell. We won’t know how Kolb fares until the Cardinals upgrade their offensive line.
Brent Celek Tight End Cincinnati 2007 5th round pick Celek is not a pro bowler. You cannot discount the fact that he is one of the most underrated tight ends in the league when he is healthy creating opportunities with his route running.
DeSean Jackson Wide Receiver 2008 2nd round pick
LeSean McCoy Running Back 2009 2nd round pick.
Since Heckert left the Eagles have drafted the injury prone Brandon Graham and the aging guard Danny Watkins with their 2 first round picks. At this point it looks pretty obvious the Eagles front office has made some lopsided decisions after Heckert’s departure. Graham and Watkins could be quality players who hit their peak next season, but is either player a long term answer at this point?
I feel like the Eagles and Andy Reid should go their separate ways at the end of the regular season unless the Eagles turn things around this season. The Eagles need to set an example by making a bold move when you spend so much money in free agency hoping to buy your franchise a Super Bowl.
The Eagles would be wise to do this before either party from a front office standpoint decides to burn bridges in 2012 leaving Philly on a sour note. The Eagles front office will be pointing fingers at each other asking questions like. Why did we pay Vick 100 million dollars? How will we resign young players with expiring contracts after spending all that money on free agents in 2011 to long term deals? Why did Andy Reid not deliver enough wins in 2011? Why did we let Andy Reid make a former offensive line coach our defensive coordinator? People in the Eagles front office will be asking these questions instead of searching for new talent that could benefit the team long term if the Eagles have a losing season. I realize the new coach could suck compared to Reid. The problem is that is the risk your franchise is taking when handing Reid the pink slip.
As an owner of an NFL organization the last thing you can do is stand by and watch a bunch of overpaid suits rabble on about a bunch of non sense by asking stupid questions and throwing each other under the bus in a feeble attempt to keep their jobs safe when these NFL executives could be discovering more innovative solutions to bring the team more wins. Philadelphia sports fans may get cocky and obnoxious at times. That doesn’t change the fact that the Eagles organization has one of the strongest fan bases in the entire NFL.
Some Eagles fans may be more annoying than Michael Vick’s inmate during his prison sentence. Or maybe I am just referring to the Eagles fans who decide to make fools of themselves by getting drunk at the games. I wouldn’t know because I am not a die hard Eagles fan. Who am I to judge decisions that Eagles fans make when I never even went to an Eagles game to begin with? Regardless, that does not discount the fact that these Eagles fans are highly passionate about their team winning on Sundays.
When your team isn’t winning you have to take decisive action by bringing in new faces. When your team gets as much hype and publicity as the Philadelphia Eagles after an offseason where they spend boatloads of salary cap money on free agents and does not deliver at this point you have to make a bold move that could potentially benefit the organization long term.
You have to make these bold transactions even if some Eagles fans are skeptical about your moves by questioning and second guessing your decisions on message board forums. There will always be doubters, critics, and neigh sayers who question what the new regime does when a head coach like Reid leaves after coaching with the same team for such a long period.
There will always be conflict and controversy when your team has a losing record. I respect someone in the front office who wants to make a major game changing statement once the offseason begins by taking a huge risk putting their job on the line when your team has a losing record. That kind of moxy illustrates that you realize your departure may be inevitable. At the same time you go out on a bang by making a bold gamble even if you lose your job.
I cannot respect a team that gives the front office advisors and coaching staff the benefit of the doubt when that team’s front office is just as accountable for the teams misfortunes as the players. When your team gets as much hype as the Eagles while failing to meet expectations you need to bring a new sheriff to town by hiring a new head coach. The reason I cannot respect that team is because their organization is holding the teams fan base hostage by keeping the team from maximizing their potential.
A San Jose State athletic director who teaches Sports Management at San Jose State stated it best in a youtube piece. I completely agree with his quote.
“You have to let people in the Sports Management industry make their own choices. The only way people learn from their mistakes is by making their own decisions and finding out whether they help or hurt the program long term.”
Just look at that quote above and reflect your thoughts on that message for a second before making a final decision.
I may be a Patriots who cannot stand the Eagles. Even though my Patriots won 3 Super Bowls as a critic and a fan I do feel some sort of sympathy for die hard NFL fan bases like Philadelphia, Detroit, and Buffalo who have yet to witness their hometown city carry the Vince Lombardi Trophy downtown in an epic Super Bowl Parade starring the teams key athletes who stepped up on Super Bowl Sunday. The feeling is beyond magic if your franchise earns this prestigious honor.
The Eagles will earn this honor at some point. Its not a matter of if it happens its a matter of when it happens. Only time will tell when the city of Philadelphia is handsomely rewarded for their effort as an NFL franchise.
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