Eagles Acquire Ernie Sims from Lions

The Eagles made a trade today, just 3 days before the NFL Draft, acquiring linebacker Ernie Sims from the Lions in a 3-team deal. The Eagles will part ways with a 5th round draft pick as part of the deal – the same 5th round pick they acquired from the Browns for linebacker Chris Gocong, and Sheldon Brown a couple weeks ago. The Lions receive tight end Tony Scheffler from the Broncos and a Broncos 7th round pick, and the Broncos receive the Eagles 5th round pick this year.

This seems to be a good trade on the surface. The Eagles really didn’t part with much, just a 5th rounder, and get a guy who has a chance to be a star linebacker in the league. Ernie Sims was the 9th overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft by the Lions out of Florida State. Sims has been a stud everywhere he has been, being one of the best high school players in the country, and being a beast at Florida State. He has yet to live up to his potential in the NFL though, and suffered through an injury plagued season last year. His upside is high though, and the Eagles did need a linebacker badly. Sims is still young and is just 25 years old.

Looking ahead to next season, Stewart Bradley will obviously be back as the man in the middle. Sims played at the weak side linebacker position in his career with the Lions, so I would assume he is going to stay at that position, which was mostly Akeem Jordan’s position last season. At strong side linebacker, you are looking at either Moise Fokou or Alex Hall, who was acquired in the Brown-Gocong trade. Fokou saw time last season, and struggled for the most part, but he was a rookie 7th round draft pick. It seems like the starters right now would be Bradley, Sims, and Fokou, but obviously this could all change before the season.

If Sims doesn’t reach his potential in the NFL, it isn’t a very big deal since we only parted ways with a 5th round pick for him. But Sims could end up being a beast, which would be a great move and a great sign for the Eagles. I still think the Eagles could use one of their picks in the draft on a linebacker, but this makes it less likely that the Eagles will use one of their top ones on this position.

Eagles-Broncos Preview

The Eagles play the Denver Broncos tomorrow at 4:15 in a game that has playoff implications for both teams. The Eagles can clinch the NFC East with a win and a Cowboys loss, and stay in contention for the #2 seed by winning. The Broncos are in the playoff mix in the AFC.

This game will also feature the return of Brian Dawkins, and Correll Buckhalter. I think Buckhalter was always one of the more underrated players on the Eagles. Even though he was oft-injured, when he was healthy, he has a great burst through the hole, always did what the Eagles asked him to do, never complained, and always filled in nicely when Westbrook would get injured. In fact, you could argue that the Eagles could have used him more since he is on pace this season to have his highest rushing total of his career, which currently is his rookie season with the Eagles. Also, the leader of the defense, and basically the team for the past decade returns in Brian Dawkins. It will be very emotional before the game, and they have said that Dawkins will be announced by name before the game for an introduction. This should be an unbelievable scene, very similar to when Iverson returned. I could go on and on about Dawkins, and have in plenty of posts before, but everyone loves Dawkins, so there isn't much else to say.

As far as the actual game, it is an extremely important game for the Eagles. I personally am very scared of playing the Cowboys the final game of the season in a winner takes the NFC East situation, so I want to avoid that at all costs. The only way to avoid that scenario is to get help from the Redskins, but also take care of business against the Broncos. The Broncos has been up and down all season... mostly down after they started the season 6-0. Their defense, led by Dawkins, has been the big surprise. They were one of the worst units in the NFL last season, and now are a top 10 defense in almost every category this season. The Eagles need to continue to mix the run and the pass effectively in order to win this game. Jeremy Maclin will return, which should help the passing game, as I have to imagine the Broncos will do their best to take DeSean Jackson out of the game. McCoy and Weaver need to run the ball effectively when called upon. Along with Dawkins, the Broncos feature the leader in sacks in the NFL currently in Elvis Dumervil, so the offensive line will have their hands full to keep McNabb on his feet.

On defense, the Eagles definitely took a step forward with a good game last weekend against the 49ers, but it still wasn't great. It is week 16 and the Birds and still having trouble filling the voids created by Brian Dawkins, and the injured Stewart Bradley. At the linebacker position, the Eagles are basically shuffling guys in and out. Will Witherspoon is the only linebacker that is playing almost every snap. After that, Akeen Jordan, Jeremiah Trotter, and rookie Moses Fokou are all part of the mix. I didn't say Chris Gocong because Gocong didn't play 1 snap on defense against the 49ers, and will back up Fokou for the 2nd straight game this weekend. Also, Sean Jones is still the starting free safety, but has been doing an awful job lately, and is now splitting time with Quintin Demps, who doesn't seem to be playing much better. The defense will have to shut down Brandon Marshall, the playmaker on the Broncos offense.

The Eagles would really like to see the Cowboys, and Vikings lose, but first need to go out and take care of business at home against a team that is good, but we should beat.

Eagles Camp Battles

As training camp comes into full swing, let's take a look at some of the position battles going on at Eagles training camp.

Middle Linebacker

It is a shame that this has become a battle for the starter, as it wasn't a week ago when Stewart Bradley was healthy. Bradley is one of the best young linebackers in the league, and was probably going to make the pro bowl this season. Not only that, he was definitely one of the leaders on the defensive side of the ball, which is especially important now without Brian Dawkins, or Jim Johnson around.

Anyways, the middle linebacker battle seems to be between 2nd year player Joe Mays, Omar Gaither, and newly acquired Matt Wilhelm, who spent last season with the Chargers. Joe Mays appears to have the upper hand, as he has been taking all the reps at starting middle linebacker since Bradley got injured. Gaither has played middle linebacker for the Eagles in the past, and did a decent job there. Wilhelm also has plenty of experience, but was recently released by the Chargers. I personally am a big Joe Mays fan. The guy looks like a beast when you watch him play. He is a little undersized, but really attacks the ball and runs downhill. Mays should do a good job against the run, but needs to improve his play against the pass.

Free Safety

With Brian Dawkins no longer on the team, this position is almost impossible to fill, not only on the field, but also from a leadership standpoint. This battle appears to be very close, as is between Quintin Demps and Sean Jones. Demps started out taking all the first team reps, but Jones has been taking some of that action lately. Demps flat out was not good in the last game he played as an Eagle against the Cardinals. He got burned by Larry Fitzgerald on a long touchdown pass, and failed to wrap up Tim Hightower down at the goal line, which could have kept Hightower out of the end zone. The coaching staff has been talking about how good Demps looks, and I'm hoping he has improved. However, we give the nod at starting free safety to Sean Jones. Jones, the former starter with the Cleveland Browns has the experience, and has very good size, while still being fast. Jones also is a guy who picks off a lot of passes, something the Eagles need from their secondary.

Left Defensive End

The starting left defensive end battle includes in incumbent starter, Juqua Parker, along with Victor Abiamiri, and Chris Clemons. All three of these players contributed effectively last season, and should all see time this season. There isn't much to say about this position battle, especially since Abiamiri has been injured throughout camp. Parker has been an effective starter, but seems to wear down easily every season. Parker goes games without making a play. I was hoping that Abiamiri would come in and win the job, as there is still a lot of hype around Abiamiri. The guy is a monster out there, and can stop the run as well as get to the quarterback.

Third Running Back

The 3rd running back might not be all that important, as the Eagles rarely use two running backs during a game. This battle appears to be between Lorenzo Booker, Eldra Buckley, and Kyle Eckel. I believe that the Eagles are only going to keep 4 running backs/fullbacks. Westbrook, LeSean McCoy, and Leonard Weaver are locks. These three will see a lot of time during the regular season. Booker, and Eckel both saw time with the Eagles last season. From what I have heard and seen, neither Booker, nor Eckel have had a great camp thus far, while Buckley has been impressive. In my opinion, I like Lorenzo Booker, but he brings nothing to the team that you don't already have in Westbrook and McCoy. Booker is a smaller running back, and he is really small. He doesn't have the strength to break tackles, or pick up blitzes consistently. I thought Kyle Eckel looked very good when he played last year for the Eagles, and would have no problem with him making the team as the 3rd running back. I also am liking what I see out of Buckley, who spent last season on the Chargers practice squad. Buckley is a bigger back who runs real hard.

There is still a long way to go in training camp, and still all four preseason games to play, so these position battles should start shaping out as we get closer to the regular season.

Eagles-Giants Keys to the Game

The Eagles will travel up to New York (I mean New Jersey) to play the division rival Giants in the 2nd round of the playoffs. The Eagles were in this position two seasons ago, and were unable to stop the Saints powerful rushing attack. The Eagles will need to stop the Giants rushing attack if they want to win this game.

There are a few important keys to this game, which may be the difference between a win or loss in this game. One of the keys will be to stop the Giants rushing attack. The Giants feature two 1000 yard rushers this season, and aren’t afraid to run the ball over and over again, and dare the other team to stop them. The Giants feature a very solid offensive line, which allows Jacobs, Ward, and Bradshaw to be successful in the running game. Brandon Jacobs, the Giants feature back will pound the ball up the middle this game. The Giants know it, the Eagles know it, the Giants know the Eagles know it, it is just a matter of whether we will be able to stop it. The tackles, Patterson, Bunkley, and Laws will need to stuff the holes in the middle, and Stewart Bradley will need to come up big with a lot of tackles.

If you are able to shut down the Giants rushing attack, it makes things look good on the defensive end, because we should be able to force Eli into some 3rd and long situations. This is the situation that the Eagles defensive thrives on, because they can then get to the quarterback with some complex blitz schemes, and hopefully force Eli into throwing some interceptions. And this time, Eli does not have Plaxico Burress to throw the ball to. His safety valve will not be there, mainly because Plaxico does not know how to use a safety valve.

Another key to this game will be how the Eagles call plays. The Eagles have been successful during this late-season run, and it has mostly been due to the rushing attack. Even if the Eagles have not been able to run the ball successfully, like last week against the Vikings, they still stuck to the run. The one game Reid decided to go back to his pass-happy offense, the Eagles put up 3 points and lost to the Redskins. Brian Westbrook had 100 yards rushing in the Eagles 2nd game against the Giants, and will need to be used a lot in this game as well. Another person who Andy Reid needs to realize is on the team is Correll Buckhalter. Buckhalter has been amazing in the 2nd half of this season, and lately it seems that every time he touches the ball, he makes a big play. The Eagles have used Westbrook and Buckhalter a lot on the field together, and I hope we see that formation a lot in this game, because right now, Buckhalter is one of the best offensive playmakers on the team, no matter what position he plays.

Those are just a couple keys to what should be a very good, tough, hard fought game, as it usually is when these two teams play. The Eagles and Giants know each other well, and do not like each other, so it should be a great playoff matchup in the Meadowlands.

PREDICTION
MR. GREEN: 20-17 EAGLES

ROGET: 24-20 EAGLES