Roseman: Eagles not done
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
Roseman: Eagles not done
Jeff McLane, Inquirer Staff Writer
ORLANDO -- General manager Howie Roseman sat down with The Inquirer today at the NFL owners' meetings to discuss the Eagles' moves thus far this off-season and what lies ahead for the team with the draft a month away. Here's an excerpt from the interview:
CAN YOU SENSE THE FRUSTRATION FROM EAGLES FANS THAT NOT ENOUGH HAS BEEN DONE TO IMPROVE THE TEAM THUS FAR?
“During the off-season, every day I think something’s going to happen. I go into the office every day thinking that. But the process just isn’t that quick on anything. I think that at some point here in the next couple of weeks we’ll have some things going on.”
HOW IMPORTANT A ROLE WILL THE DRAFT BE IN FILLING YOUR HOLES?
“I think the draft is still the biggest influx of players that we’ll have. But we are talking consistently, evaluating rosters and opportunities. I wouldn’t close the door on any of that. In terms of drastic overhaul, I think that we still have a good core of players and those are the guys that we’re really counting on to take us a step forward and be better for next season. That doesn’t mean that we don’t have errors that we have to address.”
DO YOU AGREE WITH THE ASSESSMENT THAT THE DRAFT IS DEEP?
“I would. It would probably be easier for me to not call it so deep so the expectations aren’t so high. I think it’s good at certain positions. I think if you’re looking for other things it’s not as deep. I think that the quarterbacks in this draft aren’t as deep as in recent years from top to bottom.”
YOU HAVE EIGHT PICKS NOW. DOES THAT ALLOW FOR MORE MANEUVERABLITY ON DRAFT DAY?
“It was nice to get two extra picks yesterday and hopefully we can add to that in the coming weeks. ... I think that you like to have as much ammunition on draft day as possible. Plus it will increase your odds of getting more good players on your team and also to be in position to target someone and moved up in the draft.”
WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN AT CENTER?
“I think Jamaal [Jackson] is doing a great job in trying to get back. We have Nick [Cole], who has some experience. He was thrust into that position there in Dallas. I think he did a good job and I think he can continue to do better. We also have Mike McGlynn, who does a really solid job. We drafted him. We have hopes for him.”
IS IT SAFE TO SAY THAT YOU'LL ADD ANOTHER PIECE TO THE OFFENSIVE LINE?
“Like any other position that doesn’t mean that we won’t look at all options available to us. We probably feel a little less bare than maybe the outside perception is.”
ARE YOU SATISIFED WITH YOUR LINEUP AT LINEBACKER?
“Getting Stew [Bradley] back is like getting another draft pick. Obviously we rely on Stew a lot as our middle linebacker. Akeem [Jordan] was banged up towards the end of the year, but at the beginning part of the year I think a lot of people were talking about how well Akeem was playing. Getting both those guys back healthy, ready to go next year – that’s really exciting for us.”
WHAT IF MARLIN JACKSON ISN'T THE ANSWER AT FREE SAFETY?
“We signed Marlin because we saw a lot of things on tape that made us excited, not only about his play at safety, but even also he can play some nickel, he can play in the slot. And you add that to Macho [Harris] with another year of getting bigger and stronger. Macho came in as a rookie at a position that he really hadn’t had a lot of experience at. We believe in that big jump between your first year and your second year. Macho’s been working out. At this point last year, a lot of people were excited about Quintin Demps. He should as a rookie how good he was on special teams. I think he’s going to come in with a chip on his shoulder, as well.”
HAS THERE BEEN ANY MOVEMENT IN TERMS OF A CONTRACT EXTENSION FOR DESEAN JACKSON?
“DeSean is a player that we’re all excited to have. We have a great relationship with DeSean and obviously there’s not a lot of value in talking about contracts publicly through the media.”
ARE YOU CONTENT WITH THE ROSTER AS IS?
“We’re excited about our team. We got a lot of young, hungry football players on our team. But we will add to it. We don’t have to play right now. We got another month here before the draft and then we have the draft. Right now we have eight picks, including five in the first four rounds and when you look at it those are the guys that can impact your team in the first year.”
Check tomorrow's newspaper for more on Roseman and the Eagles.
Comment removed.
Hopefully, Howie is blowing smoke, but if he thinks this is a team with a lot of good young talent like Macho and Demps, he must have been on another planet last season. This team as it is now is not a contender and I doubt the draft will make it a contender. The last two games of last season proved how far from winning a Super Bowl this team really is.— billro3- Howie, how cant the process be that quick? Teams signed players the 1st day of free agency. How slow do the Eagles have to move? If things are going to happen in the next couple of weeks, what is taking so long? Are Jeffrie and Joseph counting all the millions they are stashing away in the safe? Make sure one of them gives you a nice little pat on the head when you go into the office tomorrow expecting something to happen for these BS answers you gave to this waste of internet space of an interview.— Pat c
- Wow, i got more agrevated after each question. 10 questions, and not 1 quality answer. If you are excited to see Akeen Jordan come back, how excited do you get when you are watching the Cheerleaders? You have to be kidding me Howie. You will be dispised as much as Joe and Jeff in no time. Spadaro could not have answered these questions any more lamelessly.— Pat c
- I blame the journalist for not being able to dig deeper than the cliche answers. If we had legit journalist who didn't choke when the lights come on maybe we could get some real insight as to how the Eagles brass are thinking. Once again our journalist failed us.— Nothing but the truth
- Not sure if I read the same article as most of the previous posters. I read that Roseman is expecting to have more draft choices which indicates there are trade partners willing to give up decent picks. I read that Roseman admits the Eagles have holes to fill or, in his words, "errors that need to be addressed". I read that they are eyeing a few players worth moving up in the draft to select. Lastly, of course he's excited about his employer's team but knows they have to improve. "We don't have to play right now" folks. Relax and take another Ritalin.— vafan
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- What is he excited about ? The moves made so far are minor, if anyone is excited about what they have done so far they missed the Cowboys dismantle them twice last year. They think some how they are as good as teams like the Colts, Vikings or Saints who can just get a player here or there and still contend, they need to look in a mirror and see they need a lot more help than just some role players.— Fat-Andy
- Just for once, I want one of these suits to answer, "No, I'm not happy with this team. Did you see how we finished? Who could be happy with that? We are going to do everything in our power to field a better team in 2010." No, I don't expect this to ever happen.— kingremi
- That defense is abysmal.. they need 2 safeties a corner, 2 backers, a game changing DE and could use a DT. other than that, they r loaded— giamike
- this guy is a jagoff— larryv
- Cannot be much worse than the d bags in orange and black. -not bob levy— remyy
- Unless they do something drastic i really dont see them even making the playoffs— Joey0210
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