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Sunday, April 26, 2009

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.

Posted by Les Bowen @ 1:54 PM  Permalink | 57 comments
57
Comments   
Posted 01:59 PM, 04/26/2009
wondo40
Good addition. We are doing well this weekend and over the course of the offseason overall. FLY EAGLES FLY!!!!!
Posted 01:59 PM, 04/26/2009
woogie
Great trade
Posted 01:59 PM, 04/26/2009
st
I don't get it, what is the knock on Celek? Is it because he is inconsistent or can't block? I like him, he is clutch and tough..
Posted 02:00 PM, 04/26/2009
eaglebobby1
Greg Lewis and a '10 7th rounder was traded to NE for a '09 5th rounder.
Posted 02:00 PM, 04/26/2009
wkd515
Claim Lewis off waivers??? They traded a 5th to get him from us. Check your facts.
Posted 02:05 PM, 04/26/2009
BJG83
Do some research...the Pats traded away Hobbs because he's on the last year of his contract and they weren't going to pay him the free agent money, anyway. Also, the Pats have 2 CBs from last year's draft, plus the 2 free agent CBs they signed, and Darius Butler who they drafted this year. So, the Eagles essentially traded 2 5th round picks to rent a starting quality CB for a year as insurance to Shelden Brown being a cry baby for the whole year and underperforming like Lito did.
Posted 02:07 PM, 04/26/2009
sore richard
they will get a TE today or through free agency. they only have 2 on the roster. the position will be addressed. Whomever that guy is, he will be a blocker, not doubt about it.
Posted 02:11 PM, 04/26/2009
I295Dennis
That trade reunites Hobbs with Asante Samuel, his former New England teammate.
Posted 02:13 PM, 04/26/2009
PhillyTrue
I like this move. We're getting a stating quality corner in Hobbs. Getting another running back in the 5th round would be nice. Jennings is still on the board. So far so good for the Birds in this draft.
Posted 02:14 PM, 04/26/2009
Air Force Mike
This is a huge trade for the eagles, Hobbs is an exciting CB who plays hard and can make pics turn into TD, just like Samuel. I hope our starting FS can play at full potential, and this either means that Sheldon will be traded or he will be our starting FS and take over for Dawkins. I wasn't liking the Maclin pick but its working for the eagles so far, I hope they can make a trade for Scheffler and that will complete all of our huge needs.
Posted 02:19 PM, 04/26/2009
fred13
Good trade for the Eagles. This gives them depth at CB. They may need it if Brown pulls a Lito and shames himself. Celek is a good TE who is getting better,in case you didn't notice he was big in the game against the giants and bigger against the Cards.
Posted 02:20 PM, 04/26/2009
JimG
Great pick-up by the Eagles. They had the surplus 5th round picks and needed a veteran corner more than a rookie. You've gotta have 4 corners that can play nowadays with all of the 3 and 4 receiver sets. Plus, look at our return game. Our returners were a weakness for years. Now we've got Hobbs, one of the best KR guys in the game, Jackson, one of the most dangers PR guys in the game, and we added Maclin to that mix. We've got the most dangerous set of returners in the game.
Posted 02:29 PM, 04/26/2009
knighn
Message to Sheldon Brown: you are a 30 year-old CB who has NEVER been chosen for the Pro Bowl. You have gotten beaten, and beaten badly a number of times within the last few years. Your highlight real big hits don't make up for the times you've shown up on highlight reals getting beat. You are very, VERY replaceable and you're lucky if you're still actually worth the money the Eagles are currently paying you... forget about trying to get a raise, apologize and shut up!
Posted 02:30 PM, 04/26/2009
Leegles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St0ff6g8UpE
Posted 02:31 PM, 04/26/2009
notch44
read the new england blogs. they all say hobbs can't cover and won't forgive him for letting plaxico score the winning TD in the SB
About Eagletarian Blog
Les BowenLes Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News since 2002. Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.

You can now follow Les Bowen on Twitter.

Paul DomowitchPaul Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982. He has spent most of his 27 years at the paper covering the Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo came to the Daily News from the Fort Worth (Tx.) Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually wa s boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose two sports coats to blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley, a University of Oklahoma grad and very dangerous to be around following a Sooner loss, have been married 29 years and have raised 2 terrific daughters – Allison, 26, a lawyer and graduate of Boston University School of Law; and Amy, 23, who graduated from Clemson and works in marketing and sales for a professional baseball team.