This is an interesting comparison. With the #10 pick in the fourth round, the Eagles selected this guy when they could instead have had this guy.
I've never seen either one of them play, so I have no idea what they can do. But it's interesting that they took the guy who projects at guard rather than the guy who projects at tackle.
The Eagles' starting tackles for the next 10 years are already on this team.
And it's bad news for Jon Dorenbos:
Mike McGlynn, G/T, Pittsburgh
BIOGRAPHY: Four-year starter at right tackle also used as a long-snapper in the past.
POSITIVES: Hard-working college tackle who.s at his best in confined quarters. Patient, makes great use of body positioning, and seals defenders from the action. Stays square, effectively fights with his hands, and anchors at the point. Quickly gets off the line into blocks.
NEGATIVES: Lacks footwork and blocking range. Struggles to adjust and rarely moves opponents off the line.
ANALYSIS: McGlynn is an intelligent blocker who gives good effort and plays with a nasty attitude. A marginal athlete, he is better off inside at guard for a power-running offense.
PROJECTION: Middle Sixth Round
Oh, people are gonna be pissed about yet another "reach."
Projects at Guard in the pros. If he can free up a roster spot by doubling as a long-snapper st some point, that's going to be very helpful for game day roster management.
And yet they can't stop anyone.
Um, we may have a cornerback you guys could be interested in...
Pre-draft chat with Bryan Smith.
| NFL Draft Prospect Interview: Bryan Smith, DE, McNeese St. by Joey Bures, 3/10/08. Bryan Smith was the first defensive player for McNeese St. since 2001 to receive the team’s Most Valuable Player Award. He was one of the most feared pass rushers in Division 1-AA football and was the Southland Conference Player of the Year. Smith was a participant at th NFL Combine. |
||
| What is your accurate height, weight and forty time? "6’3 233 4.58-4.6" Describe your game in three words or less. "Fast" What do you feel is your greatest strength as a football player and what area do you feel you need to improve in? "My speed is my greatest asset. I do not think I have any weakness, maybe work on my ability to play the run." What NFL player do you do you think you compare favorably to? "I don’t think I can compare to him but I like the way plays. (Osi Umenyiora)." Who is the best player you have faced during your college football career? "Offensive Tackle Demetrius Bell from Northwestern St. University."
| ||
It might help some of the folks who are struggling to like this draft to go back and take a look at a piece I did near the end of last season. I didn't update it for the last couple games, but the analysis still stands.
I started with the puzzle of why the Eagles were ranked so much better in terms of offensive production than they were in points. I looked at all the different facets of the game to see where the Eagles were coming up short.
I still think the whole thing is pretty interesting (and delves much deeper into the stats), but here's the bottom line:
So how does this all net out? The Eagles are 8th in total offense and 19th in scoring, with 281 points. To have the 8th-best scoring offense they would need to have scored 334 points. If we adjust the figures based on what's discussed above:
Going by those numbers, if you're looking to parcel out blame it's about half the fault of the defense/special teams, a quarter Akers and a quarter the red zone problems.
That first bullet is exactly why the Eagles went out to get Asante Samuel -- a ball-hawking cornerback who creates turnovers -- it's why they're drafting / signing possible impact defensive linemen left and right, and it's why they've put such a priority on special teams play -- not just with DeSean Jackson, but also in the guys they've been signing as free agents.
And remember, that 25.8 non-offensive points figure is just average. If you can build some truly great special teams, that number gets even better.
It will be interesting to see what they do with bullet #2. I don't think Jackson is helping us down there. But you can make the argument that a lot of the fault on that number was on McNabb:
Why has the Eagles' offense struggled so much in the shadow of the goal posts? I think there are three reasons:
Donovan McNabb -- The Eagles' QB has traditionally been very good in the red zone (scroll to the bottom of that post). This year, not so much. I think some of that can be explained away by personnel (that's coming), but that's still an abysmal completion percentage.
The next point, though, about Brian Westbrook, still hasn't really been addressed (unless you count LJ coming back and the new TE). I'll be interested to see what more is coming there.
Round Three: Bryan Smith, McNeese State, DE / OLB
This is an interesting pick for a couple reasons. First, the bio:
BIOGRAPHY: Three-year starter named Southland Defensive Player of the Year last season when he was also awarded All-American honors. Finished the year with 60/22.5/10.5 lining up at defensive end. Junior-year totals included 68/21/13.5.
POSITIVES: Explosive college pass-rusher who projects to linebacker at the next level. Plays with excellent balance and body control. Bends off the edge and pursues laterally with speed. Quickly adjusts off the initial block, rarely off his feet, and displays great explosion in all aspects of his game. Possesses tremendous first-step quickness, fast making plays out to the sidelines, and quickly changes direction or immediately alters his angle of attack. Works hard to make plays in every direction.
NEGATIVES: Undersized, can be a liability against the run, and handled by large opponents. Rarely asked to play in space.
ANALYSIS: Smith is a terrific athlete who terrorized college quarterbacks the past two years. He must show the ability to make plays moving in reverse if he.s to be anything other than a situational pass-rusher.
PROJECTION: Undrafted Free Agent
That's a LOT of sacks, but still, even for the Eagles, 231 pounds its smallllll for a defensive end. This is the kind of pick that makes one wonder how much 3-4 is in the Eagles' future, since he's really a pass-rushing linebacker at this level.
ESPECIALLY because the Eagles just picked up a true 3-4 defensive end type in Laws yesterday. Hmmm.....
So is this just another "fastball" to rush the quarterback or could he be used in an evolving 3-4 package or could he even be pushing one of the other young guys at WLB in a couple years?
One things I would bet, this guy probably had some great tape on special teams.
UPDATE: Smith just called in to PE.com. He's never played linebacker. He's a defensive end, he wants to stay at defensive end.
He also sounded like a nice kid.
Punt returning seems to me like one of those things where you either have it or you don't. This kid has it.
Maybe Anonymous Dude is actually Reno Mahe?
I tihnk Merrill Reese hit the nail on the head a little bit today when he said something like: the only problem with this trading down stuff is that it's annoying to watch your division rivals picking up guys like Felix Jones who you just know are going to be tough to play against for the next few years.
I think that's exactly right. While you shouldn't just base your entire evaluation of the draft on one or two picks, it's frustrating watching a team that seems short of dynamic players pass up its pick (two years in a row) in the round most likely to yield dynamic playmakers.
The problem, though, is that criticizing the Eagles for not moving up and getting someone explosive is a little like criticizing them for not trading for Chad Johnson. It takes two to tango, and if teams aren't willing to deal at a price you can afford, there's nothing you can do.
Reid made it very clear in his remarks this afternoon that the Eagles tried to trade up. They had their eyes on a couple guys they thought could really help. The problem is that the cost was too high, so they had to stay where they were.
Once they were at #19 -- and notwithstanding my love affair with Felix Jones who's destined to kill us for the next five years -- was there really one guy who was going to make all the difference? Not one wide receiver was taken in the first round. Was every team wrong in their judgments of how good these guys were?
On the other side of the ball, are you totally bummed they didn't get Kenny Phillips? I'm not. The guy's background suggests he'll be solid, but we're not talking about the next Brian Dawkins.
Last year I was supremely pissed that the Eagles didn't draft Paul Posluszny not just because he's a great player, but because they had a clear need at his position and he would have been a great fit. I'm not sure there was one guy -- other than Jones, and he wouldn't even have started -- you could say that about this year.
Frankly, I'm just glad they didn't draft another first-round offensive lineman they could have languish on the bench for the next two years.
As for the guys they actually took ... if you had told me before the draft that the Eagles were going to trade down from #19 to #25 and pick up a guy who not only could fix the return game overnight but also provide the type of gamebreaking deep speed we haven't seen since Stallworth, I would have been very happy with that pick.
Instead, the Eagles managed to trade down much, much further, pick up an additional #1 draft choice for next year AND still get the aforementioned game-breaking guy. How is that not a huge win for this franchise? Was there some other playmaker you really had your sights set on? James Hardy? Limas Sweed? None of these guys was a sure thing at receiver, and none of them would have helped as much on special teams as Jackson does.
As for Laws, I admit that pick seems a little weird. But the Eagles did have a problem last year with their guys playing too many snaps. Johnson tried to go with a rotation, but the other guys he had to bring in (Howard, Kimo and Ramsey) really didn't get the job done. They were OK, but they didn't make plays.
This kid, who by all accounts is a quicker, penetrating type of tackle, not only helps with that rotation, but he MAY even be able to provide the kind of nickel pass rush pressure we've not seen since Darwin Walker gave a crap. You've seen how much Donovan hates pressure up the middle -- every QB in the league is like that.
Look, it was a weird first two rounds. No one will say otherwise. But in two picks you fixed the special teams, strengthened the core of the defense, and picked up another first round pick next year from a team that legitimately could be pretty bad.
In my book, that's a very good day.
Watching the Reid press conference now. They tried to move up and get someone, but that didn't work, so then they stayed put. He specifically talked about Otah, but said the offer was "too sweet" not to take it.
He wouldn't say who they wanted to move up and get, but his main point was that the draft was too strong in the third through fifth rounds to give up a bunch of picks to move up.
My guess, based on the guy they picked in the second and the people who were in front of them, the Eagles wanted Sedrick Ellis. Wild guess.
Other comments (paraphrasing in real time):
Were you surprised by some things that happened today?
"There were some moves where I said, 'Okaaayyy.'"
Can Jackson be your punt/kick returner right now?
"He's certainly good enough. He's pretty special there."
Where did you have Jackson rated and di you draft him as a WR or a returner?
"Wide receiver. I wouldn't do it that high just for return ability. We had him as a low first-round caliber player." (Ouch, Banner won't like that one)
"Need to see him play before I know how he does on special teams." (Dig at Jeremy Bloom)
First round not matter any more?
"A few guys I would have moved up for. Didn't work out." (Maybe Gholston as well as Ellis?)
How did Booker trade happen?
"I called Bill."
Finally, Andy wants to keep both his number one picks next year -- is that just so he can pick up a dozen or so later round picks after they trade out of both slots?
Imagining this kid on the outside catching bombs from McNabb.
Westbrook should be just as happy. No more of this safeties walking up to the line crap.
Um yeah, assuming he doesn't suck and can actually learn the offense. But hell, at least he can catch punts in the meantime.
Only person in Philly upset about this pick is probably Reno Mahe. Sorry man, you had a good run.
May 28, 2008
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