Archive: March, 2010
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Some links to get to this evening. If you missed it earlier, we posted another entry in our Draft Diary series with South Florida wide receiver Carlton Mitchell. Mitchell gave us an inside look at the first day of the combine. We'll do the other days later this week.
Now, the links:
* Clemson LB/DE Ricky Sapp is doing his own draft diary with The Times and Democrat (S.C.). In his most recent post, Sapp said he has two workouts next week - one with the Eagles and one with the Patriots. He writes:
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Draft Diary: In this series, South Florida WR Carlton Mitchell will give us an insider’s look at the draft process. This week, he goes into great detail about what it was like to participate in the NFL scouting combine. His recap will be split up into four separate posts throughout the course of the week. For our initial entry about Mitchell, click here.
Carlton Mitchell’s alarm sounded at 3:45 a.m.
It was time.
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
I received quite a few questions on Twitter and via e-mail last week and didn't get to respond to all of them, so I thought we'd make a post out of it.
Here goes:
@babyfacejp: Do you see the Eagles going after RFA DE Ray Edwards?
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Michael Vick continued to make the rounds yesterday, speaking to FoxSports.com's Jay Glazer on the set of Spike TV's Pros vs. Joes.
But instead of discussing which team he'd like to play for next season, or what uniforms he's fond of, Vick addressed the possibility of returning to the Eagles in the same role he was in last season.
Vick has made it clear that he wants to play and wants to start.
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
A few quick links to pass along:
* Interesting piece on Michael Vick's contract by Andrew Brandt of the National Football Post. Brandt, who previously worked as a consultant for the Eagles, explains that the Eagles did not pick up Vick's option last week. They were actually just paying the $1.5M roster bonus he was due. In other words, the team did not take any action. Had they taken action and released Vick, they would not have had to pay the money.
Brandt also explains that Vick and his agent originally wanted a one-year deal last year, but the Eagles negotiated for two years:
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Running back Kevin Faulk had an offer from the Eagles before re-signing with the New England Patriots, according to multiple reports.
The National Football Post and Boston Herald both report that the Eagles and Redskins both made offers. Faulk ended up getting a one-year deal with the Patriots that could be worth up to $3 million if he reaches certain incentives.
Would Faulk have made the Eagles favorites to get to the Super Bowl? Obviously not. But he would have been a nice fit. A veteran who can block, catch the ball and carry the load when called upon. Faulk averaged over 46 catches per season since 2006. He's played in New England since 1999.
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Note: I wrote this post originally on March 11.
In the past five years, 34 defensive linemen and 18 defensive ends have been taken in the first round. Here are some numbers on how they fared:
* The average defensive lineman taken in the first round over the past five seasons had 2.69 sacks as a rookie. The average defensive end averaged 3.89 sacks. Note that we include guys described in that hybrid LB/DE role here.
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Apologies for the late post today.
Let's get caught up:
* Updated: Jeff McLane of the Inquirer reports that the Titans and Will Witherspoon have agreed to terms on a contract. ESPN's Adam Schefter says it's a three-year deal worth $11M.
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Remember back in September when the Eagles surprised us all by keeping seven wide receivers after they made final cuts?
Well, let's just say things change quickly in the NFL. Only four of the seven remain now that the team has announced that it's traded Reggie Brown to the Bucs for an undisclosed draft pick in 2011. Multiple outlets are reporting that the Eagles will get a sixth-rounder in return.
The Birds' top three receivers are set for years to come: DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Jason Avant, who signed a new deal with the team earlier today.
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Things are pretty quiet on the free-agency front today, so I wanted to take a look at the Eagles' recent moves to lock up Leonard Weaver and Jason Avant to long-term deals.
Let's get one thing out of the way: the Eagles absolutely need to address the defense if they expect to be significantly better than last year.
Many of you have voiced your frustrations -- both in the comments and in e-mails -- about the team's inactivity in free agency. Whether they should have made a bigger splash in the last few days is up for debate, but we can all agree that the defense needs to be addressed.
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