Combine Offers Chance To See Players

Chris Long is already considered to be one of the top five players in April's NFL Draft.

But at this week's NFL Combine, the University of Virginia defensive end has a chance to sell teams on that fact in a number of ways.

"I think he's going to light it up," NFL Network draft analyst Mike Mayock said. "He's one of my favorite players I've ever watched on tape. I think he's more athletic than people expect him to be, and I think it's going to be fun to watch him work out."

than 300 players will be running, jumping and putting themselves on display at the RCA Dome in front of NFL coaches, scouts and personnel.

The six-day event begins today.

Long will be part of the story. But so will the 46 juniors who were invited, players such as Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, or Florida defensive end Derrick Harvey. It's also where players from small schools have a chance to shine, as former Rockledge High standout Laurent Robinson did last year.

Robinson's 4.38 time in the 40-yard dash wasn't the only reason the Atlanta Falcons drafted him in the third round last season, but it certainly didn't hurt.

Tennessee State cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, for instance, can solidify himself as the third- or fourth-best player at his position with an impressive workout.

Kentucky quarterback Andre Woodson can have a great workout, too. But it won't change the fact some teams are concerned about the hitch in his throwing motion.

"You go through stages," ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. said. "You have the season, then you have the All-Star games, then you have the combine and individual workouts. It's all a process.

". . . The combine's just another stage of it. You can't overrate any particular stage. It's all encompassing."

There will be 13 different forms of evaluation going on during the combine, ranging from the 40-yard dash to the bench press, physical measurements, injury evaluation, the Wonderlic test and team interviews.

It's also a time where teams will examine a player's medical history and trying to get a short and long-term prognosis on any existing injury.

For a player like Long, it's a chance to show he has the kind of athletic skill to back up his production on the field, much like linebacker Patrick Willis did last year.

For others, who could be on the bubble between being a first- or second-day pick, an impressive showing could be the difference.

"The most important part of this equation is the underclassmen," Kiper said. "You have no (measure) on these kids until they get to the combine. So from an NFL standpoint, it's critical for those guys.

"There are 16 juniors projected as first-rounders right now. For those kids, its imperative they do well. The interview sessions are huge, from a character standpoint. Everybody's trying to get those smart, character-strong kids that New England brought in. It's a copy cat league, so whatever New England's blue print was, teams will try to follow that."

Teams will also try to copy the Super Bowl champion New York Giants, which could it a big week for pass rush specialists, particularly those that are effective not only playing defensive end in a 4-3 defense, but who are also athletic enough to play linebacker in a 3-4.

"People are going to be looking at trying to add pass rushing types of people that are athletic enough for scheme diversity," Mayock said.

He projects six defensive ends could be taken in the first round -- Long, Vernon Gholston of Ohio State, Phillip Merling of Clemson, Harvey, Calais Campbell of Miami and Lawrence Jackson of USC.

How it all plays out will have something to do with what happens over the next six days. But it won't be the determining factor.

"I think you can talk about workouts all you want, and All-Star game practices all you want, but in the end it comes to a gut feel of who you like and who you don't like," Kiper said.

"Some of these kids that didn't necessarily have great Senior Bowl weeks, or (don't have a) great combine will still go pretty high. It's not the end-all-be-all. It still has to reflect on what a player did during his career, with his team.

"You can't overreact to one stage of the process."

LINK

Eagles Final Review

Going into the season, Eagles head coach Andy Reid thought he had one of the most talented teams in his nine years in Philadelphia, even with distractions arising. First, there was the health of QB Donovan McNabb, who was coming back from ACL surgery and facing the prospect of being backed up by his future replacement, rookie Kevin Kolb. Reid also had to deal with family problems away from the field. But in the end, the reason the Eagles finished 8-8 and in last place in the NFC East was that the team didn’t make enough big plays. It was anemic in the red zone, ranked last in defensive takeaways and didn’t have a return touchdown by punt, kickoff, fumble or interception all season.

Team MVP: RB Brian Westbrook was the team’s best player, taking that title from McNabb with an even better season than his breakout effort in 2006. Westbrook has silenced critics who said he was not durable enough to be a full-time back and established himself as one of the most dangerous weapons in the NFL. He was the team’s best runner, receiver and even returner, though the team resisted giving him that duty full time.

Biggest surprise: The LB play was something of a concern entering the season, but it became a team strength by year’s end. The nicest surprise was that it was the young guys who played the best. Omar Gaither played well enough to more than justify the release of Jeremiah Trotter in training camp. But the real star of the group might be Chris Gocong, who bounced back well from a neck injury. The college D-lineman played the “Sam” spot as if he had been doing it his whole life. Stewart Bradley’s strong effort at season’s end caught some eyes, too.

Biggest disappointment: The secondary was a sore spot for most of the season. CB Lito Sheppard logged a lot of time in the trainer’s room and wasn’t always the shutdown corner he had been in the past. Fellow CB Sheldon Brown has a spot on the team, but he often gets burned and simply isn’t athletic enough. And FS Brian Dawkins, the mainstay and leader of the group, missed six games due to injury and took a big step back in his play. With the depth thin, the team needs to add multiple defensive backs.

Offseason outlook: TE L.J. Smith is expected to land elsewhere as a free agent, so tight end is a position of concern. But finding help in the secondary and getting a return specialist are more pressing needs. The Eagles aren’t flush with cap space, but they have enough to make a few key moves. Plus, there is talk that some high-priced veterans not named McNabb — Darren Howard, Jevon Kearse, Takeo Spikes and others — could be let go to free up more money. As for McNabb and his plea to add more playmakers, well, it’s on the list but not necessarily at the top.

LINK

EBG as GM of the Eagles

Since the offseason is full of speculation of trades, drafts and Free Agency signings, Chase, RipperEagle and I have put together our version of what the Eagles should do.

First, resigning some of our own Free Agents is a must. CB Joselio Hanson and S Quinton Mikell are tops on the list. As is LJ Smith since he has been franchised. Now if it were up to us, we would let LJ walk and bring in Ben Troupe or Eric Johnson at a much cheaper price and same amount of production.

Second, make some cuts to free up cap space. DE's Jevon Kearse and Jerome McDougle top the list. Other cuts include RB Ryan Moats and DT Montae Reagor.

Next up is adding some Free Agents. DE Justin Smith, DT Antwan Odom and OT Max Starks tops the list.

Draft day is now upon us so lets work some magic. With the signing of Starks, William Thomas is expendable. He goes to Detroit, along with our 4th round pick for Roy Williams.

Now for the draft itself:

Round 1....... WR Limas Sweed....... he will be the best WR we've drafted in a while. A big physical player, he makes Reggie Brown also expendable.

Round 2...... trade Brown and the current pick to move up and get best available CB. Hopefully that is Rodgers-Cromartie or Cason. This move shores up our CB position for when Lito gets hurt..... as much as I hate to say that.

Round 3....... OT Chris Williams...... we know Reid loves his OL. So drafting one here makes sense. We don't know what we have quite yet in Justice, so Williams may be able to push Justice for a backup spot.

Round 4...... we traded that pick......but fear not. We get one anyways by trading our 5th and 6th rounder for a 4th. With that pick we grab FB Owen Schmitt. One tough sunuvabitch. Could bring an aspect to the Eagles offense that is now missing which is someone that goes out there and tries to bring the pain to players trying to tackle him. Is good in pass blocking, is a bruising runner and can catch the ball out of the backfield but might need to work on it a bit. Tapeh is a FA and Davis has been hurt the past two seasons. So this move works.

After this pick, the rest of the draft is a crapshoot. We will have some comp picks for losses incurred last year to help bring players in to compete.

These moves in our opinion make the Eagles serious contenders again. The 53 man roster would look like this:

QB: McNabb, Kolb, Feeley (3)
RB: Westbrook, Buckhalter, Hunt (3)
FB: Schmitt (1)
TE: Smith, Celek, Schobel (3)
WR: Williams, Sweed, Curtis, Lewis, Avant or Baskett (5)
LT: Starks, Williams (2)
LG: Herremans, Jean-Gilles (2)
C: Jackson, Cole (2)
RG: Andrews, Young(2)
RT: Runyan, Justice(2)

LE: Thomas, Abiamiri (2)
DT: Patterson, Bunkley, Odom, Clark (4)
RE: Cole, Spicer, Howard (2)
WILL: Spikes, Jordan (2)
MIKE: Gaither, (unmentioned rookie) (2)
SAM: Gocong, Bradley (2)
CB: Sheppard, Brown, Cason/Rodgers Cromartie, Hanson, Graham (5)
FS: Dawkins, Reed (2)
SS: Mikell, Considine (2)

K: Akers (1)
P: Rocca (1)
LS: Dorenbos (1)

KR: Reed
PR: ???????

2008 Pro Bowl

The names are the same, Peyton, Terrell, Hutch, Flozell, but in between are some new faces. CB Antonio Cromartie, RB Adrian Peterson, LB DeMeco Ryans, DT Darnell Dockett. Young players and veterans get together for the Pro-Bowl.

Missing this year are Tom Brady and Randy Moss. The record setting duo are sitting out the game. Also missing is Sean Taylor, who was killed in his house during the season. Three Redskin players selected to the Pro-Bowl will be honoring him by wearing his number 21.

More Story Here:

Giants Defeat Patriots in SB

Plaxico Burress made a bold prediction. 23-17. He claimed the Giants would beat the Patriots. And he was right. He caught the game winning touchdown from Eli Manning, the MVP, to seal the win. And the Giants D came up big with a stop to seal the victory 17-14.

The mighty Patriots have fallen. a 18-1 season is nothing to be ashamed about, but they were outplayed by the same Giant team that they beat in the regular season. It was a defensive struggle all the way. The Giants used blitzes to get to Patriots QB Tom Brady, sacking him 5 times while hurrying and hitting him numerous other times. Randy Moss was pretty much shut down. The record breaking WR only had 5 catches for 62 yards but scored what looked like a game winning TD with just over 6 minutes left. Wes Welker had a Super Bowl tying 11 catches for 103 yards. It was eerily similar to Deion Branch in 2004.

Eli Manning showed his true grit in this game. He threw for 2 TD's and one INT, the first of the playoffs for him. His hail mary pass to David Tyree set up Burress' TD catch. In a play that looked doomed, Manning escaped pressure from the whole Pats DL/LB and lofted a pass that Tyree went up for and came down with. Pats S Rodney Harrison tried to knock the ball away but to no avail.

Give the Giants all the credit in the world. They went into the playoff as the number 5 seed. They beat three division winners on the road and then in the biggest game of the year against what might have been the most explosive offense in NFL history, shut them down. They were held to less than 300 total yards. Quite a feat.

Congrats to the Giants...winner of the 2008 NFL Super Bowl.

Patriots Perfect Season?

18-0....... and counting


The Patriots are one game away from history. If they beat the Giants for the second time this season, they will be the first team to go 19-0 in a season. Right now only the Dolphins can say they were perfect. But just how good are the Patriots?

They rolled against some teams like the Redskins, winning 52-7 and the Bills, winning 38-7 AND 56-10. They played well enough to beat the Colts 24-20 and Steelers 34-13. And they struggles yet pulled out wins against the Eagles 31-28, the Ravens 27-24 and the Giants 38-35. This is the same Giant team they will face this Sunday in the Super Bowl.

We all know Tom Brady is a great QB. Randy Moss is a record breaking WR. But it was the play of Wes Welker, Jabbar Gaffney and Donte Stallworth that got the Patriots where they are. Kevin Faulk in another unsung hero on the team. He has been a steady force, a reliable safety valve for Brady. The OL has been rock solid. You rarely saw Brady get sacked, or even knocked down for that matter. All this combined made for a great offense. Maybe one of the best we've ever seen.

The defense has veteran leadership. Rodney Harrison, Mike Vrable, Tedy Bruschi, Richard Seymour, Junior Seau. All of them are leaders on that defense. All of them know what it takes to win. The addition of Adalius Thomas made a good defense even better.

And the coach. Say what you want about B.B. after the "spygate" scandal, but he is still one of the top coaches in the league. He loses assistants year after year, yet the team never misses a beat. If that is not a sign of good coaching, I don't know what is.

Many people are rooting against the Patriots to lose this week. I'm on the fence about it. I would like to see perfection. It's a rarity in sports. It's history in the making. Yet these are the same Patriots that beat my Eagles a few years ago. I still remember it like yesterday. In that respect, I want them to lose. I want them to win 18 games straight only to lose the biggest one of all. But I doubt it will happen. This team is just too good not to lose...... until next year.

Super Bowl XLII

Patriots VS Giants Part Two. A few weeks ago these two teams played what might have been the best game of the season. Now they meet again in the biggest game of them all.

The Patriots are 18-0 and chasing history. Only the second team to go undefeated. Standing in their way are the Giants who barely lost last time they met. New England defeated Jacksonville and San Diego in Foxboro. While the Giants defeated Tampa Bay, Dallas and Green Bay...... all on the road. That is a feat in itself.

Eli Manning is coming out. He is finally showing to be the QB the Giants hoped he would be. He is playing the best football in his career and is one win away from a championship. He would be the second Manning in a row to win. Older brother Peyton and the Colts won last year. Meanwhile Tom Brady is trying for his fourth title. Mr MVP broke records this year, and will be trying to add SB champ to the list of accomplishments this year. By winning number four he would join Terry Bradshaw as the only QB's to win that many.

Speaking of Brady, he has an arsenal to work with. WR's Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Jabbar Gaffney and Donte Stallworth, along with RB's Lawrence Maroney and Kevin Faulk give Brady many options to go to. Add TE Ben Watson and Kyle Brady and LB Mike Vrable, and it's almost impossible to stop. The Patriots D has been solid also. Always one step ahead, they seem to make plays when they need to.

The Giants meanwhile have been playing the best football of all as of late. Beating the Bucs, Cowboys and Packers when they were underdogs was tough enough. But beating them on the road is even tougher. Losing TE Jeremy Shockey was a tough blow, but the Giants rebounded. WR Plaxico Burress has been dynamic. The RB tandem of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw has been solid. And the Defense has stepped up and made plays.

This should be a good game. If the last game was any indication of how this game might go, it will be entertaining. Patriots are already favored by 13 1/2. Can the Pats stay undefeated or will the Giants take them down and win it all? We find out in two weeks.