With the 2013 NFL Draft almost in the books, I think it’s safe to start diagnosing and criticizing Howie Roseman and Co.’s 2013 draft class. After all, the latter is what we do best here in Philadelphia isn’t it?
I’m not going to cover every draft pick in this article, I just want to talk about the most compelling three picks.
Let’s get right to it.
Chip Kelly has been in Mobile, Alabama for the Senior Bowl only a few days and he’s already flirting with the idea of bringing in a new quarterback.
High on Kelly’s wish list is Florida State quarterback EJ Manuel, who Kelly recruited heavily while at Oregon, narrowly losing him to Florida State (Manuel wanted to stay closer to home). The two met and discussed some things, and Manuel said the meeting was awesome.
Some may say I’m reading too far into this, and maybe I am. But, then again, maybe I’m not. The Eagles QB situation isn’t exactly stable, and there are some good reasons why Kelly should take a long gander in EJ Manuel’s direction.
Manuel, a 6’5″ 237lb specimen, has a big time arm, and maybe more importantly for Chip Kelly, he already knows the style of offense Kelly runs, as the Seminoles ran a ton of read-option plays during his time there.
As much as I like Nick Foles and think he can be developed, he did nothing that really blew you away, or got you overly excited, and the reality is, in today’s NFL, you need to have a game changer at the QB position, especially with it’s offense-first rulebook, and with more and more college style schemes being adopted each year.
EJ Manuel walks in the door with game breaking ability, with both his legs, and his arm, and let me tell you something else folks, the read-option is here to stay. This is not the wild cat. It’s a bonafide system that works. Just ask the Seahawks, Redskins, and 49ers, all who made the playoff running this type of offense.
Of course, it really only works if you have a stud at QB, and each of those teams has just that.
You know who EJ Manuel kind of reminds me of? Yes, it pains me to say, Donovan McNabb.
Manuel is a much more polished passer in my opinion than McNabb was earlier in is career, and like McNabb has the speed to blow be defenders when he needs to (although he historically didn’t run that much at Florida State)
What’s more, Manuel is considered to be a “high character” guy, and was one of the team captains and leaders for Florida State.
The Eagles of course enter the 2013 draft with the 4th overall pick, as well as two 2nd round picks, so it’s not out of the question that they draft Manuel (or another QB for that matter)
The fact that Chip Kelly already has a rapport with EJ Manuel means that if he’s still available when it’s their turn, the Eagles will have a decision to make.
Here’s some highlight footage to check out.
Just two weeks before the Super Bowl, Juan Castillo has been hired by Jim Harbaugh to be the Ravens “run game coordinator” the rest of this year, and will be retained next season as well.
Good for him. Now I have even more reason to root for the Ravens in the Super Bowl.
Excuse me Mr. Banner, step away from the hater-tots.
In a statement made to Peter King in his Monday Morning Quarterback column on SI.com, Banner says quote:
We removed ourselves from the process. We really liked Chip. He’s intriguing, a very different thinker, and very smart. But you could see he was uncertain what he wanted to do. He may be in Philadelphia 10 years or longer and have a terrific career. But the fact he committed to Tampa Bay last year, backed out, then seemed all year to be leaning toward going to the NFL, then being so uncertain with us, we just felt it was too big a gamble. If there was no ambivalence, we may have offered him the job.
Just get over it dude. Sure, Chip Kelly had a hard time making up his mind. Sure, he was wavering, but let’s get serious. Do you think any coach in their right mind would choose the Cleveland Browns over the Philadelphia Eagles?
Chip Kelly was never coming to the Browns and you know it Banner so put down the hater-aide, and come to the realization that you’ve been out-dueled by the leagues youngest GM, who oh by the way happens to be a shark at signing people, and his name is Howie.
I know Chip Kelly is a great unknown at this point, and yes, he couldn’t make up his mind, but he is innovative, and has been sought out for advice by the likes of Bill Belichick. I’ll take it over the dumb, mindless, predictable nonsense we’ve had in this town for the last 14 years, that you kept in this town for too long.
As the old saying goes, “Haters gonna hate”
With your ass ugly uniforms. Have fun with Rob Chudzinski you smug bastard.
Wait, I thought you weren’t supposed to hire position coaches before you hire a defensive coordinator. Oh well.
The Eagles will reportedly bring in Jerry Azzinaro as the new defensive line coach. Azzinaro coached defensive line at Oregon, and is a firey, passionate guy. Think of an Italian Jim Washburn, but slightly less crude.
Given the fact that Jim Herrmann (who coached in a 4-3) has withdrawn his name from consideration as the Eagles defensive coordinator, it looks more and more like the Eagles will be moving to a 3-4, with Azzinaro manning up the defense line.
Here’s a quick clip of Jerry Azzinaro mic’d up from a couple years ago. He definitely wears his heart on his sleeve and preaches “violence” to his players. Given the fact that the Eagles had one of the worst defensive lines in the league last year, Azzirno will be a great addition to a defense full of young’ish defensive lineman.
As the Eagles search continues for their next defensive coordinator, several names have been mentioned, most recently Jim Herrmann, who is currently the linebackers coach for the New York Giants.
Herrmann is known to be an “old school” defensive coach, and played and coached (defensive coordinator) under legendary Michigan head coach Bo Schembechler, who was about as “old school” as it gets. During his time as Michigan’s defensive coordinator, Michigan routinely had one of the nations best defenses, and put several players into the NFL.
