Get to Know the Eagles Expert Interview: Bleeding Green Nation
Up next in our series of expert interviews is Jason B of Bleeding Green Nation who took some time out of his schedule to answer a few questions for draft fans.
1.) Could you explain to the readers a little bit about how the Eagles Front office works…who calls the shots on draft day?
Andy Reid has final say on draft day, but it’s always been a collaborative effort in the war room. Team president Joe Banner was the lead guy on the trade for Jason Peters two years ago, GM Howie Roseman is the guy at the center of college scouting and is supposedly the guy behind the trade up for Brandon Graham last year, even owner Jeff Lurie has been drafted into service on draft day. He was the guy they got to call Jerry Jones to initiate the draft dray trade with Dallas a few years ago that ended up bringing Kevin Kolb to town. But in the end, Andy is the guy making the final calls and on draft day he’s the one that usually seems to be behind all the moving around the Eagles always do.
2). Would you say the Eagles have a consistent draft philosophy?
For sure, they have obvious positions that they seem to value above others and draft accordingly, they always move around and look for value. The love stockpiling extra picks in later rounds. It’s not unusual to see them take one higher pick and turn it into 3-4(sometimes more) later picks.
3). Who’s the player Eagle fans want the most in round 1 this year?
I don’t know that there’s really one player, but position wise it’s definitely a cornerback or offensive lineman.
4) how have the last two draft classes come along?
Obviously it’s very early to say from last year, but the initial returns were pretty good. We saw some good things from Brandon Graham before he got hurt, even considering he was comically misused as a DT for a lot of snaps by ex defensive coordinator Sean McDermott. Obviously we would have liked to see Graham for a full season though. 2nd round pick Nate Allen looked really good before he got hurt. The most surprising thing was the solid contributions they got from 7th rounders Jamar Chaney & Kurt Coleman who were pressed into starting jobs late last season and played well.
The 2009 is looking like a home run thanks to the top two picks Jeremy Maclin and LeSean McCoy. McCoy made a huge leap from his rookie season and has developed into one of the better young backs in football. Jeremy Maclin built on a solid rookie campaign with a really good 2010 in which he actually led the team in TD receptions. DeSean Jackson gets all the headlines, which is understandable, but on a game by game basis Maclin is the most consistent contributor amongst the WR corps. 7th round pick Moise Fokou from that year earned the starting SAM job this past year.
5) What’s the status of Brandon Graham…he had a pretty bad injury at the end of this year.
One of the things about this labor dispute is that we’re hearing even less about players from teams than usual. So really I don’t know. He’s said on twitter this offseason that he’s on schedule rehab wise and feeling better, but what player doesn’t say that? I can only go by the conventional wisdom about ACL tears that they take about a year to really get healed.
I expect him to be in camp(assuming there is one), but probably not as a full participant. He should be ready to start the season, but it may not be until later on when he really gets back to 100%.
6) What do you think, if traded, the Eagles will eventually get for Kolb and do you agree with moving Kolb (hypothetically) for said deal the Eagles are looking for.
This is a question we’ve looked at a hundred times this offseason and read a ton of varying report about what the Eagles might get for Kolb. Given the bad QB draft and the amount of teams looking for new QBs, I really do think Kolb has value. He’s only 25 & he’s won two NFC player of the week awards in his first 7 starts. How many young QBs can you say that about? He’s certainly had some growing pains, but no more than any QB will before he’s even got a full year of starts under his belt. He’s been schooled by a team well known for having successful QBs and I don’t think it’s unreasonable for the Eagles to ask for at least a first round pick in return. He was a high second round pick himself, so it’s hard to see how his value would have dropped since then.
As much as I think it’s important to have a capable backup, if the Eagles could get a first round pick plus more in return I’d be for trading him. If the market for him isn’t as great as some think, I’d be perfectly happy with holding on to him. Had he not stepped in and blown out the Falcons and beat the 49ers this past season we would never been in the playoffs. With the way Michael Vick plays, you’d have to say there’s always a chance your backup is going to be asked to step in from time to time.
7). In 2009 the Eagles and Giants were both looking for WR help the Eagles moved up a little bit to get Maclin, the Giants sat back and got Hakeem Nicks…who do you think got the better player?
I’d say at this point that neither team regrets their pick. Their numbers so far in their careers are remarkably similar, with Nicks having a slight edge. Maclin has proven to be a bit more durable, but really there’s not a whole lot of difference. You have to like Nicks’ size, but I’d say Maclin has a bit better hands… Overall I personally would give a slight edge to Nicks, but really I think we’ve got two good young WRs here that are going to be very productive in the this division for a long time.
8) Who trades more on draft day…Bill Belichek or Andy Reid?
It’s close. It really is. I don’t know the numbers, but I know it’s rare for the Eagles to ever actually make their first round pick in the actual slot they were originally place.
9) (Should have asked this up top)…What are the Eagles biggest needs to address this off-season?
Like I said earlier it’s definitely offensive line, most specifically right guard. Although I’m open to upgrading anything from center to the whole right side.
Also, definitely corner. They really have no one opposite Asante Samuel and that really was a weak spot last year. Honestly I wouldn’t rank either of these needs above the other, they’re both significant.
Otherwise, outside linebacker is a need as well.
10). What is the best and worst draft pick for the Eagles in the last 10 years?
I’d say DeSean Jackson was a steal as a late second round pick. There were several WRs taken before him that year and none are even close to the player he is.
The worst is definitely Jerome McDougle in 2003. He had actually had a short stint with the Giants after the Eagles let him go. He was the victim of an amazing amount of bad luck with injuries and the fact that he was shot one offseason, but a bust is a bust… and a first round pick that almost never played is clearly a bust.
11) Why is DeSean Jackson so annoying? (I’m just messing with that one…I’m a Giants fan had to throw it out there)
He has become quite a Giant killer hasn’t he?In fact, have the Eagles lost to the Giants since he’s been here?
I’d like to thank Bleeding Green Nation for taking time out to answer these questions about the Eagles.
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Previous interviews:
Kansas City Chiefs
St. Louis Rams 3k TurfhshowTimes
Brian Galliford of Buffalo Rumblings (Bills)
Ed Valentine of Big Blue View (New York Giants)
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Newton
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