Hobbs: 'Here for a Reason'
UPDATED THROUGH LAST EAGLES PICK:
Hobbs: 'Here for a Reason'
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
UPDATED THROUGH LAST EAGLES PICK:
The Eagles finally drafted a player, in the fifth round, Florida tight end Cornelius Ingram, a former quarterback who was among a group of TEs the Eagles were said to be interested in.Spread offense guy, interesting as a receiver, missed season with ACL tear, no clue about blocking. Then they drafted a corner/safety, Virginia Tech's Victor "Macho" Harris. And it would not be an Andy Reid draft without an offensive tackle, as they added Oregon's Fenuki Topou, who started 23 games. The Eagles traded their fourth fifth-rounder to New Orleans. The Eagles had acquired that pick earlier in the day from the Giants.
In the sixth round, the Birds selected wide receiver Brandon Gibson from Washington State. The Eagles began their trio of seventh-rounders with guard Paul Fanaika, from Arizona State and then traded away a pick to the Colts. The Birds' final pick was Maryland outside linebacker Moise Fokou, with the 230th selection.
So, that's Fenuki and Fokou -- weren't they the twins in that Austin Powers movie?
Not surprisingly, as he entered the auditorium for his postdraft press conference, Reid made a joke about Fokou's name. But it wasn't the joke most of us would have made -- no, Andy joked about the first name, about "Moses parting the Red Sea."
Long before all that, they shed the first two of what had been six (!) fifth-round picks to the Pats for corner Ellis Hobbs, a New England starter. Does this portend a Sheldon Brown trade?
Sheldon, contacted Sunday afternoon out on South Carolina's Lake Wylie, said he didn't know, but he hoped so. Certainly, as Brown pointed out, this puts the Eagles in a better position to be able to trade him, should anyone inquire.Yesterday, Eagles coach Andy Reid said he thought Brown was too much a team guy to come in and cause problems.
Brown said he has heard that "the Eagles are saying no to everyone who asks" about him, but he hopes this will change things. "Over the next few months, if they got an offer, they would be in a position to trade me," he said. "It's a good thing, from that perspective."
Hobbs, who turns 26 next month, was a third-round pick in 2005. Hard to believe the Pats couldn't have gotten a little more for him. Hard to believe the Pats wanted to get rid of him, just because they drafted Darius Butler and signed Shawn Springs. Maybe they felt they owed the Birds one after getting Greg Lewis so cheaply.
Reid said Hobbs' acquisition "doesn't have anything to do with Sheldon's situation," that "you can't have enough corners in this league."
But asked about Brown's point, that the increased depth certainly made a Brown trade more possible, Reid said he "didn't want to get into all that."
On a conference call, Hobbs said that he agreed the move must be related to Brown's unhappiness with his contract.
"Obviously, you bring me in for a reason," said Hobbs, who started alongside Asante Samuel with New England until Samuel signed with the Eagles last year. "One of my former teammates is there; I'm pretty sure he's spoken well of me. I know that situation over there, dealing with Sheldon, and how that stuff is going. Like I said, you bring somebody in for a reason, but everything has to be earned out there, nothing's going to be given ... I just look forward to getting out there and showing Philadelphia and the organization what I have."
Hobbs also made reference to his own contract situation. He has one year remaining on his deal and indicated he would consider sticking around longer than that in Philadelphia.
“If we could make this my home then I would definitely love to be here," he said. "I know that it is not going to come easy. Like I said, you have to go out there and prove it. Nobody wants a paper champ. These guys have seen me and the coaches say that every time on film there I am. I’m showing up on the film and making plays. I feel I have proved myself enough in this league that I can sustain a position and do my thing in the NFL, but I definitely haven’t done enough to be out there as a player where I am that guy and that’s where I want to get to. Understanding that, I definitely want to try to make this my home.”
Here is more on Hobbs:
Height: 5-9
Weight: 195
Age: 25
Years pro: 5
2008: Started all 16 games, with 47 tackles, 11 passes defended, three interceptions and 1.5 sacks.
2007: Started all 16 games, with 63 tackles, 12 passes defended, one interception and one sack.
2006: Played in 15 games with nine starts, with 44 tackles, four passes defended and two interceptions.
2005: Played in 16 games with eight starts, with nine passes defended and three interceptions.
Comment removed.
if it says so in the new england blogs, it must be true.— GoPhilsGo
Hey Sheldon, Fokou!- I'm ready to become a Mormon because God obviously finds favor with Andy Reid. A top ten receiver falls to number nineteen and the Patriots give away a starting cornerback just when the Eagles need one. It's supernatural.— Hikerman
- it seems like all of the sudden Andy and the eagles woke up and are no longer trading away the present for the future. good job andy. everyone, if you are reasonable fans, give credit when its due.— maximus
- Greg Lewis, the living example of Eagles personnel mismanagement was, is and always will be a stiff. The very fact that the Eagles got ANYTHING for him is incredible.— Bob1
- If the Eagles are planning to trade Brown, wouldnt they have gotten more for him prior to the draft? Now that they have Hobbs, the Eagles are backed in to a corner and other teams wont offer as much knowing that the Eagles need to trade Brown. Poor planning... just like Lito... The Eagles never learn... I hope I live long enough to see the day that Laurie sells this team and we get an owner in who really cares about winning the Super Bowl instead of setting the "gold standard" for being competitive... gimme a break...— Brauny
Does Brown think that if he gets traded it'll get him a new contract? Send him to Oakland, he'll curse the day he wanted out.— tpizza- The Eagles aren't planning on trading Brown. They made that pretty clear with their press release which was probably the strongest public statement they've ever released on a player contract situation...and they issued that statement right away. Andy reiterated today that he has no intention to trade Brown. How anyone can claim it is a bad move to obtain Hobbs is beyond me. First of all, the Eagles wanted a CB with some experience before training camp anyway. They only have Samuel, Brown and Hanson with any NFL experience. Can't do that...too many 3-4 WR sets and injuries in this league. They needed a 4th corner anyway. Plus, why on earth would they leave themselves without some insurance if Brown starts moping? They just took away Brown's leverage because they can just move him down on the depth chart like they did with Lito if he start playing poorly. Without adding a corner, Brown could have really messed them up if he wanted to. The Eagles are almost 30 million under the salary cap and Brown's only making 2.5 million per year. If he starts pouting and his play slips, they can drop him to dimeback for the next 4 years if they wanted to. He's not going anywhere. They don't want to trade him and they certainly don't need to trade him. Quit with the stupid nonsense that the Eagles don't want to win. They just added a ton of talent to this team in this off-season so far.— JimG
- It's not like Sheldon Brown ever shut down Plaxico. I can recall more than one red zone TD Plax hauled in over Sheldon. Oh well - he's not a Giant anymore. Solid two days for the Birds. Although anyone know why McCoy fell so far? After the season he was projected as a first rounder. Bad combine???— tdcuse
- Re getting Hobbs from New England.I do not think getting beaten by Burress is a big deal,when he is not being a ' dingleberry ' he is a good and dangerous player . oh well. a lot of thinking on the blogs today here. what a relief that is! do not have to agree with conclusions to recognize actual thought processes, and not just bad mouth commenting. Maybe I will go on blogs more often. I also very much like giving injured players a second shot. The motivation is obvious . I hope all those guys, on all the teams as least beat the odds enough to make it, even for a short time. [ from a guy whose knees did not ] oh well , I am not crippled or dead either ; even got to play some Aussie Rules along the way and do some coaching of school kids and young men. would not not trade that way lightly. take care, papa bear— papabearbruce
- Andy, Get the Brown Clowns, Sheldon and Reggie, out of town. Cry babies and underachievers are not wanted here.— The Marco Islander
