What they're saying about the Eagles
News blogs, sports blogs, entertainment blogs, and more from Philly.com, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News.
What they're saying about the Eagles
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Here's another roundup of what the national media are saying about the Eagles. I posted one of these on Sunday, in case you missed it, but there are a lot of draft wrapup links to get to this week.
Yesterday, I posted some leftover draft notes.
Now, on to the links...
SI.com's Peter King thinks the Eagles made the best defensive pick in the draft, selecting Marshall DE Vinny Curry in the second round at No. 59:
The Eagles took a page from the Giants and improved their pass-rush with good depth in the front seven in this draft. Curry should be a 25-snap rotational rusher.
ESPN's Todd McShay thinks linebacker Mychal Kendricks will be an impact player right away for the Eagles:
He's the kind of rangy linebacker who fits perfectly in Philly. Kendricks is quick, instinctive and makes plays outside the box, and he's very good on third down with the ability to hold up in underneath zone coverage. He's also an underrated pass-rusher who will find a way to get on the field and likely end his rookie season as a productive starter.
On SportsCenter yesterday, McShay named his top five drafts and had the Eagles at No. 1.
Jason Cole of Yahoo Sports gives the Eagles an A-:
The Eagles made a wise trade to move up from No. 15 to No. 12 to nab Cox, one of the more versatile defensive linemen in the draft and a guy who automatically improves the run defense. Kendricks and Curry were taken with the same mission in mind after the Eagles defense was basically a running gag throughout the 2011 season. After dealing with those needs, the Eagles then picked up a pair of great values in Foles and Boykin. Foles has all the physical tools to be a terrific player and is going to a coach in Andy Reid who can harness those gifts. Foles should be ready to either take over for Michael Vick when Vick is done or be a good piece of trade bait in the future. Like Foles, Boykin has a lot of tools at a premium position.
Asked which team most impressed him in the draft, ESPN's Adam Schefter said the Eagles:
Philadelphia got the best defensive lineman in the draft in Fletcher Cox; a linebacker in Mychal Kendricks, who's going to really help; another good pass-rusher in Vinny Curry; a highly rated quarterback in Nick Foles; and an underrated cornerback in Brandon Boykin. How can you not be impressed with Philadelphia's take here?
Bucky Brooks of NFL.com puts the Eagles' draft in the Nailed It category:
Coach Andy Reid entered the draft intent on rebuilding his suspect defense, and his star-studded draft class will return the Eagles to their lofty perch in the NFC East. Defensive tackle Fletcher Cox, linebacker Mychal Kendricks and defensive end Vinny Curry are impressive playmakers with disruptive potential. Their collective energy and toughness will boost an underachieving, veteran-laden unit that needed more blue-chip players along the front seven. Day-3 pick Brandon Boykin is the slot corner the team desperately needed, capable of matching up with the heavyweights in the NFC.
Alex Marvez of FoxSports.com likes what the Eagles did:
After surrendering 4.4 yards a carry in 2011, the Eagles beefed up the middle of their defense by selecting Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox in the first round. Two second-round picks — California linebacker Mychal Kendricks and Marshall defensive end Vinny Curry — should immediately compete for defensive snaps as well. Iowa wide receiver Marvin McNutt and University of Miami guard Brandon Washington could become sixth-round steals. Both were expected to get chosen earlier.
Chris Burke of SI.com gives the Eagles an A- for their draft:
I’m very unconvinced that QB Nick Foles will ever be an NFL starter, so using a third-rounder (88) on him stings. Aside from that, this was gold. Philadelphia robbed the league by trading up for DT Fletcher Cox at 12, then added solid pieces in LB Mychal Kendricks (46), DE Vinny Curry (59), CB Brandon Boykin (123), WR Marvin McNutt (194) and G/T Brandon Washington (200).
Don Banks of SI.com is ready to say the Eagles will have one of the league's most improved defenses in the NFL next season:
I'm making an early call on two of the most improved defenses in the NFL this season. Philadelphia and Green Bay both focused heavily on defense after struggling mightily on the side of the ball in 2011, and look the better for it. The Eagles really helped their front seven with defensive tackle Fletcher Cox in the first round, and inside linebacker Mychal Kendricks and defensive end Vinny Curry in the second. Philly just more athletic on defense, with players who can chase and hit the ballcarrier with authority.
Wes Bunting of the National Football Post likes the Eagles' selection of Georgia cornerback Brandon Boykin:
Georgia CB Brandon Boykin is a gifted athlete who plays more physical than his frame would indicate. He isn’t the most consistent of tacklers, but he’s got a great feel in zone coverage and showcases the short area quickness to hold his own in man. He’s the type of slot guy the Eagles desperately needed to add in their secondary and they got a great value here.
Bunting also likes the Marvin McNutt pick in the sixth round:
It’s funny how despite the production of some of the taller receivers in this year’s draft, if there was any type of question about a wideout’s straight-line speed they fell on draft day. And that is exactly what happened to Iowa’s Marvin McNutt. McNutt is a big, smooth wideout who runs the vertical routes and can adjust to the football. He’s never going to separate on sharply breaking routes, but he should find a way to make the Eagles roster and contribute inside as a big slot or even as the “Z” receiver split out.
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Whatever the Eagles FO did to go from draft ineptness to draft guru I hope they keep doing it. Nice to read the almost universal praise but now it's up to the coaches to make it work. He has the coaches he wanted, he has the players he wanted...what can he use as an excuse now? The success of this off season uses up the last life from the excuse cat so now it's put up or shut up time for Andy.— tpizza- Will this defense be good enough to earn a nickname?
— Joe at the shore - We like it. The pundits like it. The beat writers like it. Should we start talking about which float king Howie gets to ride in during the parade? Or should we play a preseason game first?— dragoon6
- Last year we won the free agent free for all. This year we win the the off-season and draft. How about we win some games at HOME against GOOD teams. The window is closing, let's make a run this year. I must admit the trade for Ryans and signing of Bell addressed urgent needs before the draft. That was impressive and set the Birds up to draft well. It looks like we will start the seasons with a MLB and a return man, unlike other years. I am still very concerned about our safties. This year we will probably start the year without a FB and long snapper. Reid and Pee Wee Roseman will determine that the position value is so low in 'our' system that they dont need them. Much like a blocking tight end, which we have not had since Reid has been here and the cause of many blocking scheme breakdowns, ie, short yardage and sacks! GoBirds!— gobirds17
- In 3 years cry baby Eagles fans will whine about Andy,Banner,Roseman,and Lurie if every player doesnt make the pro bowl, so this is all irrelevant.— FABER
- This is similar praise levied in '06, when the Birds nabbed Bunkley, then found value in thought-to-be 1st rounder Winston Justice, and thougnt-to-be 2nd round Max Jean Gilles, only to have a head scratcher in 3rd rounder Gocong. Avant and Gaither were the value picks in the 4th and 5th rounds respectively. Good players on that list, just not for very productive for the Eagles. At least we'll seemingly find out if they can play due to the picks getting on the field, gettting snaps.— Murrayman
- I am not only excited about the draft picks, but also a few of their undraft free agent pick ups. The only two minor complaints that I had was that I wouldnt have picked up Foles, and I would have picked Lavonte David over Mychal Kendricks. Overall, great work by the management staff.— Bobphxville
- Nick Foles will be the starting QB next year and the FO can return Vick back to Ringling Bro's :)— osi is hurt boohoo
- Thanks for the roundup! I love coming here to see what everyone else is saying about the eagles nationally. Have the Negadelphians noticed... It is almost always good! I guess it is true about you can't be a profit in your own home town.— Commish
- "I guess it is true about you can't be a profit in your own home town." LOL
— P Even - Boykin dropped because he broke his leg in the Senior bowl. That doesn't mean they got great value.— P Even
- Eagles had a great draft, part skill and a ton of luck. I would have jumped on Boykin instead of Foles in the third and Boyken still there in fifth. Vinny still there deep in the second Seattle agrees to swap 12 and 15 for only a fourth and sixth, surly they could have demanded and gotten at least a third knowing how much Birds wanted Cox. I don't remember a draft where so many pieces fell to them, which is why they are getting universally high draft grades.
Tpizza has it right, AR has he pieces and coaches he wanted, no more lame excuses!— Z-Force - Who cares until the season starts. All of this praise is just talk. How many times are the Philly Media going to praise the Eagles before any games are played. I have seen it before, time after time. We should have no expectations for this team. They were a joke last year. Until these boys start playing real football...give me a call. The only game im interested in, is the game Dawkin's # is retired. This team plays for no one but themseleves. Ill watch on Sundays but I not buying anything Eagles related. I was a season ticket holder for the last 7 seasons and I cant do it anymore. My hard earned money is going to spent on better things.— 2legit2quit
- Realistically, this has to be viewed as another (groan) rebuilding year, because it is going to TAKE SOME TIME for this defense to gel. Lots and lots of rookies. The difference lies within this year's upgrading of real (potential, at least) talent where there were only holes last season. I would LOVE to see the Eags bust out and destroy the NFC East in 2012. About freaking time!! There's a chance of that happening if the Giants falter. Lurie will still bring back Andy Reid and his "intangibles" (yecccchh) for one more year in 2013 to fill out that contract. In spite of that, I think the team is actually getting better.— NM Eagle fan
Comment removed.- I stopped getting excited about the draft due to the Eagles' bone-head picks. If it's Howie, Andy, Howard Mudd or Jim Washburn or maybe a combination of them, this was one terrific draft. I'm looking forward to next year's already. Way to go, Eagle management!— walt1
- only thing we are missing, and i believe a vital piece. and that is a fullback. of course i am praying the safeties will be better this year, hopefully with a better rush.— wildgreenman
- "It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me." The names don't matter now. The grades don't matter. The only thing that will matter will be what the coaches plan for the players... and what the players execute on the football field. The Eagles have won the off-season once again. Go win the season and, more importantly, the post-season!! Fly Eagles, FLY!!!— knighn
- Foles in the 3rd and and Kelly in the 5th were the only questionable calls. They could have taken OT Bobbie Massie in the 3rd and QB Ryan Lindley in the 5th and it would have looked like a perfect draft.— MrMiles1
- The "D" has a nickname. They were the original "Gang Green!"— ceocreates
- Maybe change it to : "GREEN GANG"?— ol duke
- Well now that everyone said this is the DREAM TEAM now combined with Dream Draft....there is no more excuses for Reid, with all this talent and after 14 years he needs to win the SUPER BOWL this season...or Reid should be immediately fired..period.— phil500
- Nothing matters except what Count Chocula Kiper says...MEL! MEL! Nice dye job on that hair, too, Joey Buttafuco!!! BIRDS!— BirdinParadise
- Im incredibly impressed at how the FO turned this draft into something to be proud of....Looking ahead to the season!— sless1307
- Looks like a good draft but remember they are ROOKIES.Going from college to the NFL is a huge jump so everybody calm down.The fact is the QB is still vick the dog killer who has never won anything and AR is the HC who has never won anything as HC.And please don't give me conf finals as championships because there is only one CHAMPIONSHIP and that is the SB.So all you koolaid drinkers calm down and take a breath and at least wait until after the pre-season for your 14-2 and 15-1 predictions.MORONS.— sewell guy
- Fine, I'll buy in. You got it. As arrogant as this team is with their Legal Counsel GM and the O-Line Coach Defensive Coordinator and their freakin fireman Offensive Tackle AND after they bring back the same band of brothers year after year. I'll buy in this year. I'll buy all the hype. But if they aren't 11-2 after 13 weeks and DOMINATING THE NFC for once then they can take this garbage and go away forever. Why do I have a feeling we'll be 8-5 or 7-6 after losing at home to Carolina and at Dallas and sweating getting into the playoffs once again?— guyguy4
- nice draft - need a safety though...— Ed3
- Where are all of the web-page draft gurus that kept screaming to draft Burfict - in the first round, no less!? Proves how much they all knew as he went un-drafted! Every team in the league passed on him in every round! Please, let the professionals do the job - you CAN'T do better!— gdibig
- I believe some people on this board do real research on players before they comment and others have no real clue what they are talking about. If you watched any tape on Burfict...He is lazy. He showed not effort in some of his games. L David is pretty good but too small to play LB. He looks like a safety. For the most part the offense should be fine. They have a FB on the roster already so they didn't draft one, they want to give the rookies a chance before they go into FA. Dont sleep on P Thomas at Safety. There would only be 2 rookies starting on D, Boykins and Kendricks. You could say Ryans is a rookie cause he never played the wide 9 b4. They have the majority of starters returning. They should have at least 11 wins based on team chemisty. Overall this was a A+ draft to me. Has anyone givin the Eagles credit for makin the Redskins jump up to get RG3 and sacrifice some of there future?
— Rick SP 4 LIFE - Fun to read about and think about...but let's not forget that NONE of this matters a little bit, unless the picks actually perform on the field. It is fun to hope, but it is still a matter of wait-and-see.— bartfr
- Having good players and a great draft doesn't mean anything at the end of the day if your D Coordinator doesn't know what he's doing?— brinks69
- Names for defense:
MEAN GREEN MACHINE,COWBOYS AND INDIANS VS.GODZILLA, CONCRETE IN THE MIDDLE,GROUND SLAMMERS,THEY SHALL NOT PASS,
...........................OR........................
ANDY'S LAST STAND,THE DOGS OF DRAFT DAY,THE THIN GREEN LINE— Ernie Garman - No firemen. No ski jumpers. No BYU nobodies. What the heck is going on?— djack10
- Foles has a great arm which is something you cannot teach. I have watched Coach JG's Quarterback program and I developed enormous respect for this young man.
Give the kid a chance.— World 
OMG WHERE ARE THE expert HATERS at today... y'ALL KNOW the EXPERTS that spew their venom about our team. Personally I strongly support ALL here that "SPIT IT LIKE THEY SEE IT". I disagree with many of the views that post here. Those Mean Spirited self proclaimed Eagle fans hiding behind their guise as self proclaimed armchair experts... spewing their half - truths. Hmmmmmmmmm THEIR SILENCE IS DEAFENING. I would have thought the HATE Andy and Howie club would be out in full force against... The above mentioned professionally paid experts showing their respect to Andy and Howie who clearly are learning from their mistakes in their previous Drafts and may have completed their Best Draft under Reid. After three and a half decades hoping for an Eagle championship run I will steadfastly hope that Andy and our team put it all together on the field of play this year. As it appears we may have finally assembled all the pieces... Coaches and Players that may make it happen. Yea it been tough keeping the faith after three and a half decades... and the Super deed still has to be done. I can't wait to see this years product on the field... hope for good team health, some luck, and the best coaching job by Andy and his coaches... Perhaps the stars are finally lining up for my Eagles... as for the Haters I welcome u back on the Bandwagon I believe that diverse opinions must be expressed... and even the many malicious opinions spewed here has it place and will ultimately make Eagle Nation stronger for it. I believe this could be a Super year... ALL TOGETHER NOW... get on board hahahahaahahahahaa. Go Eagles
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