Eagles Trade Brown and Gocong

The Eagles have made a huge trade today. And it doesn't involve Donovan McNabb, or any of the 50 QB's the Eagles have on the roster. I guess Andy Reid wants to hang onto the QB's as long as possible so he can continue to tell us all how amazing the Eagles are for having 3 quarterbacks that could start. But I digress...

We have lost one of the members of our Wolfpack today... and not because the Eagles no longer have Chris Gocong. The Eagles also traded Sheldon Brown to the Cleveland Browns, and in exchange receive the Browns 4th round pick and 5th round pick in this year's draft, and linebacker Alex Hall. The Browns picks that the Eagles receive are the 105th and 137th overall picks in the draft. Linebacker Alex Hall was a 7th round pick in 2008, and is a former Division 2 All-American at St. Augustine's. Not surprising that the Eagles wanted Hall, as Reid loves former Division 2 and Division 3 guys who dominate in college... yet they usually aren't very good in the pros. Reid goes after D-2 and D-3 guys almost as much as he goes after Mormons. The 4th round and 5th round picks are decent, but I don't have too much confidence that the Eagles will turn these into solid players, especially like Sheldon Brown was.

Chris Gocong was below average in my opinion, and was on the field way too much. He can't tackle, he can't cover. The only thing Gocong is supposed to be good at doing is rushing the passer from the outside. Unfortunately, even though this was the report on Gocong on draft day, the Eagles still picked him, and did not use him properly. So if Chris Gocong does have any skill, which I don't think he does, we wouldn't even know because he is not used to his strength. Gocong could end having success in a 3-4 defense where he can play the outside linebacker spot and rush the passer.

Sheldon Brown on the other hand is a great player, and has been so ever since the Eagles drafted him. Brown was one of the longest tenured Eagles, and was definitely a fan favorite. He is probably the hardest hitting cornerback in a league full of cornerbacks who don't even like contact, including the Eagles own Asante Samuel. Brown thrived with his physical play. Everyone remembers the famous Sheldon Brown hit on Reggie Bush on one of the first plays of the game to start a divisional playoff game. Sheldon Brown not ever being a pro-bowler so far in his NFL career is an absolute joke. Eagles fans know that Brown has been playing at a pro bowl level for a while now, and he does not get the national attention that he deserves. Brown epitomizes what Philadelphia loves in their athletes. He plays injured, he plays his hardest on every play, and one time, he came out with a Jason mask on. Even though Brown is getting older, and is probably past his prime, he is still very effective, and is better than Ellis Hobbs any day of the week. Brown will definitely be missed.

The trade overall is a bad one in my opinion. If the goal is to get rid of an older player in Brown, and an ineffective player in Gocong, then they accomplished that. But the trade makes the Eagles a much worse team. Andy Reid loves his late round draft picks, and loves to try to have the most picks of any team in the NFL every year. This doesn't seem to translate into solid draft picks, however. If the Eagles plan is to rebuild, they need to do it right - get rid of the older guys, which unfortunately includes McNabb, and spend the next year improving the defense, to hopefully go along with the young offensive playmakers this team has in a season or two.

Eagles Name Starting Free Safety

Qunitin Demps less than a week ago that the Eagles need to get it over with and name their starting free safety. Well they did, and it's rookie 5th round draft pick Macho Harris. About a week ago, no one even really knew that Harris was in line for the starting free safety job. Harris was being mixed in at safety, but also was playing cornerback. Harris obviously has some big shoes to fill as this has been the spot held down by Brian Dawkins for the past decade. Guys like Harris, and Omar Gaither will need to step up their game a lot this season to make up for the absences of Dawkins and Stewart Bradley.

Demps also will not be the main kick returner this year, as that job looks like it will belong to Ellis Hobbs. Hobbs was the kick returner last season with the Patriots and was one of the best in the league.

Also, since the Eagles made their final cuts, I still feel like a move needs to be made at wide receiver, as the Eagles kept 7. Reggie Brown seems likely to not be on the team by the start of the season, as he doesn't have much of a role on this team anymore. The Eagles need to activate Vick so he gets to practice with the team, which will also require getting rid of a player. I really want the Eagles to sign Alex Smith, the tight end who was just released by the Patriots. Smith is a good sized tight end, who is above average at both blocking and catching the ball. The latest news on Smith is that the Giants brought him in for a workout. The Eagles only kept 2 tight ends in Brent Celek, and Tony Curtis, so I anticipate something will need to be done there also.

Eagles Make More Moves on Day 2

On Day 2 of the NFL Draft today, the Eagles continued to deal, and put themselves into a better position for next season.

The Eagles traded out of the 3rd and 4th rounds, basically trying to get every single pick in the 5th round. The Eagles at one time had 6 picks in the 5th round. They traded two of those picks to the New England Patriots for cornerback Ellis Hobbs. Hobbs at one time started at the opposite corner as Asante Samuel, and has been the starting cornerback in New England the past two seasons. Hobbs is only 25 years old currently, and seems like the Eagles got a very good player for two 5th round picks. New England had actually already given the Eagles a 5th round pick earlier in the offseason for Greg Lewis. Not sure what this move means for Sheldon Brown. Brown is still an Eagle as of right now, and is not very happy about that fact. Will Hobbs replace Brown as a starter, but Brown remain on the roster? Will Hobbs play as the nickel corner at the start of the season if Brown is still on the team? The Eagles may try to move Brown in training camp for a future draft pick, much like they will probably do with Reggie Brown.

The Eagles did make some picks in the 5th round as well. They first drafted tight end Cornelius Ingram from Florida. I've already heard people say that Ingram is one of the steals of the draft at this spot. Ingram is 6'4", 245, and very athletic. From what I have been hearing, Ingram would have been a 1st or 2nd round pick if he was healthy this season. Ingram missed all of his senior season with a torn left ACL. He had a very good combine, and at times, played both wide receiver and tight end at Florida. Seems like a very good pick for the Eagles, filling a need a tight end.

The Eagles then took Victor "Macho" Harris, a cornerback from Virginia Tech. Seems like another guy the Eagles were able to pick who has a lot of skill and could have been taken higher in this draft. Harris has played both cornerback and safety, and also returned punts. Has a good eye for the ball picking off six passes this past season, and has returned four picks for touchdowns in his career. With the Sheldon Brown situation uncertain, Harris could actually step in and see some playing time, at cornerback or safety.

The Eagles next pick was also in the 5th round, and was Fenuki Tupou, and offensive lineman from Oregon. Tupou has good size, which the Eagles like, and Andy Reid always drafts an offensive lineman. In the 6th round, the Eagles took another wide receiver, Brandon Gibson from Washington State. Gibson had an amazing junior season, but his numbers fell off his senior year at Washington State. It will be interesting to see if Gibson can contribute, and what receiver make the roster for the start of the season. In the 7th round, the Eagles chose offensive guard Paul Fanaika from Arizona State, and with their final pick, they chose Moise Fokou, and outside linebacker from Maryland.

All in all, with the draft coming to an end, it looks like the Eagles have definitely address a lot of needs. It seems like Maclin, McCoy, and Ingram can come in right away and help the offense. Hobbs is a good pickup on defense, and we have to say that the Eagles did a very good job this weekend, and their roster looks better today than it did Friday.