The Falcons Got Vick; But Who Did the Eagles Draft in 2001?

Michael Vick was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft.

Even with his jail sentence, it doesn’t seem that long ago that Vick was a fresh faced rookie turning around a floundering Atlanta Falcons franchise.

A lot has changed since the first time I saw Vick stand on a football field in Philly—which was November of 1999, my junior year of college at Temple. I (and the 30 or 40 suckers…err, Owls supporters), who actually went to the game, saw Vick’s alma mater, Virginia Tech, roll Temple 62-7.

Vick, who was a red-shirt freshman at the time, had 134 rushing yards, 171 passing yards and four total touchdowns—one of which was a 75-yard scamper where not a soul touched him.

And to think, he left halfway through the third quarter.

I was on the sidelines, videotaping the game for highlights in that week’s edition of “Temple Update.” My roommate was on the football team, and I remember exactly what he said after the game: “(Bleep).”

Oddly enough, 1999 was the beginning of the Andy Reid era in Philly, and the 2001 season ended with the first of the Eagles’ five NFC Championship Game appearances under his watch.

There’s correlation, synergy, or some other buzzword there.

In looking back at the Eagles’ own draft that year, it turned out to be a very fruitful one.

In the first round, the Birds selected No. 25 and took one of the most bizarre characters in team history: Freddie Mitchell.

Yes, “FredEx” was a first-round draft pick.

While he’ll never be forgotten for being the receiver on the business end of  “4^th-and-26,” Mitchell’s career in Philly was otherwise a bust. From 2001-04, he recorded 90 catches for 1,263 yards and 5 TD—or roughly what DeSean Jackson has already done in one season.

Following four years of shenanigans and some harsh criticisms of the team, Mitchell was released in May 2005. He caught on in Kansas City, but was dumped before the 2005 season started, and later had failed tryouts for several other teams—including the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts.

He now owns a Bar-B-Q restaurant in Lakeland, Florida…and he has a blog. And yes, he’s still entertaining.

The middle rounds produced a quartet that sounds like it should be a Chronicles of Narnia book: The Bust, the Breakout, the Backup, and the Bengal.

The “bust” was second round pick Quinton Caver, a linebacker who had all of 19 tackles in two seasons as an Eagle, and faded away after a few more mediocre seasons in the NFL. The “Bengal” was an early fifth-round pick and former Penn State TE Tony Stewart, who caught a half-dozen balls as a rookie, but faded to the practice squad in 2002 and then spent five years in Cincinnati.

The other two are much more noteworthy.

The “breakout” was third-rounder Derrick Burgess. Before he was terrorizing AFC defenses as a Raider (and now a Patriot), Burgess was part of Jim Johnson’s famed rotation at defensive end. And as a rookie in 2001, he played in every game and had six sacks.

Then came the “break”…literally.

Burgess broke his foot in Week One of the 2002 season and missed the whole year—only to also miss 2003 because of a torn Achilles tendon. He returned in 2004 and played well, starting 12 games and recording five and a half total sacks (three of which came in the post-season).

Then he fled to Oakland, and the rest is history.

The “backup” you ask? Why, none other than fourth-round pick Correll Buckhalter.

I really have nothing snarky to say about CB. Sure, he missed three of his first five seasons, but when healthy he did a great job as a backup to/complement with/fill-in for Duce Staley and Brian Westbrook. He even holds the Eagles’ franchise record for rushing yards by a rookie (586, if you’re counting at home).

He’s great…except he’s now in Denver.

But perhaps the greatest—or at least the most ironic—pick was the Eagles’ last: Oregon QB AJ Feeley.

He’s had one heck of a career path. As a second-year man in 2002, he won four of his five starts as a fill-in for Donovan McNabb and led the Eagles to the playoffs.

He didn’t see one snap in 2003, was traded to Miami (and subsequently to San Diego), came back as a free agent in 2006 and has pretty much been Captain Clipboard ever since. Well, minus those two games in 2007 where he almost led the Eagles to wins over Seattle and then-undefeated New England—and probably would have if he didn’t throw seven total picks in the process.

It’s almost fitting that he’s the guy whose job is most in jeopardy because of Vick’s acquisition.

Weird how that works out, no?

Enjoy Michael Vick’s debut. I sure will.

A Deeper Look at Brian Westbook’s Fantasy Football Viablility

Over the weekend, Colts Featured Columnist Kyle Winslow put together a fantastic fantasy article, where a few of us B/R Featured Columnists were asked various questions about the upcoming fantasy season.

If you haven’t done so, give it a read.

As one of the contributors to the piece, I was asked whether Brian Westbrook was an injury risk or a great draft value. Of course my answer was great value.

It seems as if many who read the piece—including a few Eagles fans, oddly—think I’m out of my gourd.

So let me explain quickly by saying this: Just because Brian Westbrook is now 30 and has been banged up a bit as of late (not to mention his off-season ankle surgery) doesn’t mean he’s all of a sudden a bust.

Sure, he’s not going to be Michael Turner or Adrian Peterson. Hell, he might not even be Brian Westbrook circa 2006 or so.

But he’s still Brian Westbrook, and that’s what makes him a great value.

If your friends, co-workers and other fantasy colleagues are anything like a lot of mine, they may overvalue potential and undervalue consistency. Right now, everyone who drafted LaDainian Tomlinson last year probably thinks I’m nuts.

And maybe I am, because I took him No. 3 overall in my first of many drafts this season.

But like LT, even when Westbrook is “bad,” he’s still real good.

Last season, he missed two games, didn’t play most of two others and took quite a few series off due to various maladies.

He still set a career high in touchdowns with 14.

What stat is worth the most points in fantasy football? Oh yeah, right.

What’s even funnier is many of those people will tell you that they’ll get a great value later in the draft in LenDale White, because “he scores a lot.”

White had only one more TD than Westbrook last season and barely 60 percent of the yards from scrimmage.

So yes, 2008 was a down year for Westbrook. He still racked up 1,338 yards and 14 TD. Now various leagues have various scoring policies of course, but in my three Yahoo! Leagues, Westbrook’s stats ranked him eighth, ninth and 14th overall.

But looking deeper, the latter two leagues count both receptions and return yards, which vaulted “studs” like Leon Washington, Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles, and Jerious Norwood ahead of him.  

Which means that in a standard scoring league—yards and touchdowns—he was a Top 10 running back in 2008.

Now, add in three key factors.

First, he’s “healthy.” Yes, potential for injury is always there, but he’s working with a clean slate if you will. All his previous issues are cleared up, and he says he’s 100 percent.

Second, the “running back by committee” system is becoming more and more popular. But the Eagles don’t have a LenDale White to his Chris Johnson or a Derrick Ward to his Brandon Jacobs, so to speak.

His backups are LeSean McCoy and Lorenzo Booker. The latter hasn’t shown anything at all…well, ever, and while the former is a talented back and a second-round pick, he’s also a rookie—which doesn’t always bode well in Andy Reid’s system.

Sure, DeSean Jackson’s stats last year tell a different story, but he was the top receiver by default last year so you have to remember the circumstances.

And finally, the additions of Jeremy Maclin and Michael Vick could mean a more dynamic passing offense, which means one of two things could happen.

In scenario A, Westbrook could become a more dangerous threat in that passing game, which could lead to a ton of yards and more touchdowns.

Or, in scenario B, he loses carries—but that means he’s fresher (and thus more dangerous) down the stretch…which should still bode well for his fantasy numbers.

Yes, Brian Westbrook, he’s 30 and eventually due to slow down a bit. But based his 2008 numbers and his 2009 factors, then even if everyone in your league overvalues potential and thinks WR-RB (or vice versa) is the way to go, Westbrook should be gone by the third or fourth round at the latest—so if you can get him there or later, he is a great value.

Just remember folks, for every Michael Turner there’s a LaMont Jordan, for every Matt Ryan there’s a Ryan Leaf, and for every guy who comes out of nowhere there’s six more waiting to take his job.

I’ll take consistency every time.

Eagles vs. Colts – Three Eagles who need to fly high tonight

It’s only the Philadelphia Eagles’ second pre-season game of 2009.

And it goes against just about everything I’ve said in terms of taking the pre-season seriously.

But tonight’s game against the Indianapolis Colts could be a huge indicator of things to come, specifically as it relates to three key Eagles.

Yes, you can have it both ways.

See, tonight, the Eagles will be missing a lot of key players. And while Indianapolis will too, the Colts’ big guns that will be on the field will be matched up against these three Eagles to watch.

While it might be way too early to say they will “sink or swim” this season, a solid performance tonight could boost not only their stock, but management’s (and even the fans’) confidence in them as well.

Begin Slideshow

Eagles Fans Should See the Injury Bug As Opportunity, Not Calamity

Last week, I told Eagles fans not to panic just because Stewart Bradley tore his ACL and was lost for the year.

And even though it seems as if a rash of injuries has befallen the Eagles since then, it’s still not time to panic. Instead, look at it as an opportunity for some new faces to shine.

At tight end, the loss of Cornelius Ingram to a torn ACL hurts. Having seen him at Florida, I can tell you that he would’ve been a great weapon for Donovan McNabb.

So now, behind Brent Celek, what you might see is an injured, ineffective veteran (Matt Schobel), a second-year man coming off a major injury (Rob Myers) and a rookie trying to convert from defensive end (Eugene Bright).

You know what I see? I see a position that’s okay.

For one, Celek has emerged and is a top 15 tight end,which may not seem like much at a position where most teams are lucky to have a capable starter, but he’s an important weapon. And besides, no one knew who HE was when he was second on the depth chart behind LJ Smith.

Behind that, yes, Schobel is hurt, but he’s a former NFL starter, a good blocker and a veteran who knows how to get the job done. And sure, Bright and Myers may be raw and untested, but having to be the second on the depth chart for the first preseason game will give them more of a chance to develop than any training camp drill ever would.

They also have Leonard Weaver, a fullback, who has volunteered to take reps at tight end since the Eagles don’t use a fullback much anyway. So at tight end, the Eagles are fine.

Defensive end Trent Cole’s sprained shoulder won’t kill the Eagles, either. He’s entrenched as the starter on the right side anyway, so as long as he can work himself into game shape by Sept. 13, he’ll be fine.

What his absence will do, however, is let Chris Clemons, Juqua Parker, Bryan Smith and Darren Howard show why they belong on the team. I say those four because somehow, Victor Abiamiri is listed at the top of the official depth chart at LDE.

But all of them will see significant action in the Eagles’ defensive line rotation, so the more reps they can get now the better.

And no, Eagles fans, even Kevin Kolb’s sprained knee won’t be a death knell.

Okay, so yes, it’s humorous that the Eagles had to sign Matt Nagy—who had been working as a coaching intern—to a contract to have three QBs heading into Thursday night.

But last I checked, teams only play one QB at a time—well, most teams, anyway—and the Birds’ top signal caller is still Donovan McNabb.

Not only that, but the de facto second stringer, A.J. Feeley, is a tenured Eagles veteran who, if you want to get technical, once quarterbacked the Birds to the playoffs.

And if you didn’t do your homework, you wouldn’t know that Nagy isn’t just an intern—he’s a former Arena League QB that was a third-team All-American at the University of Delaware. Not exactly the ball boy getting thrown out there.

Yes, it hurts Kolb’s development—man, that was hard to write with a straight face—but with McNabb and Feeley on the team, he’ll have plenty of time to catch up.

So again, the Eagles will be fine. At all three positions, and at receiver (where DeSean Jackson tweaked his knee but returned to practice within a day) and on the right side of the offensive line—where Shawn Andrews has been MIA due to a pulled back muscle—because of the versatility of Stacy Andrews and the experience of Nick Cole and Max-Jean Gilles.

Remember folks, it’s still the preseason. Exhibition games haven’t even begun yet.

At least wait for someone else to tear their ACL on Thursday before you panic.

Welcome To Philly, Jason Babin and Matt Wilhelm

About 48 hours ago, Jason Babin and Matt Wilhelm were unemployed.

What a difference a day (or two) makes. And thanks to injuries, inconsistency, and indiscretions, both men could see significant time on the Birds’ defense this season.

In Wilhelm’s case, his addition is a response to the loss of Stewart Bradley—which, according to team doctors, could last into next season as well. Apparently, his ACL was completely destroyed, and it could take up to 18 months for him to be full strength.

So now, Joe Mays calls the plays, Omar Gaither works in at both the WILL and MIKE positions, and Wilhelm backs them both up.

A 2003 draft pick of the Chargers, Wilhelm worked his way up the depth chart. When Donnie Edwards left in 2007, he became the starting MLB and made 21 starts in 2007 and 2008. The former was his best year, as he recorded 97 tackles and three interceptions for the Bolts.

While he won’t come close to that as a two-position backup in Philly, what they will get out of him is a veteran who knows how to handle a defense and can make plays when called upon.

For Babin, it’s a tremendous case of right place, right time for the former first-round draft pick. Babin, a 265-pound hybrid LB/DE, was brought in with the idea of converting back to a full-time end.

And after the week the Eagles have had, it’s very possible he could be starting there. Trent Cole is entrenched as a speed rusher on the right side, but after that, the depth chart is a mess.

Last year’s starting LDE, Juqua Parker, was arrested early this morning for marijuana possession. He was released and attended camp today, but a possible drug conviction would lead to an instant suspension from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Directly behind him are Victor Abiamiri, who is currently on the PUP list with a strained pectoral muscle, and Chris Clemons, who could be classified as a bust in his first year in Philly—delivering only four sacks in limited action after signing a $12.6 million contract.

On the right side, Cole’s backups are Darren Howard, who is 32 and is more of a situational replacement, and Bryan Smith, a second-year man who spent all of last year on the practice squad and hasn’t really shown much so far according to Eagles insiders.

Sounds like the perfect opportunity for a guy like Babin.

At 6’4″, 265 pounds, he is bigger than Parker, Abiamiri, and Clemons. And while he’s not a menacing pass rusher, he can hold his own (15 career sacks in 54 games). He also knows how to be a starter; he spent his rookie season of 2004 as a starting OLB in Houston.

The 2008 season might not have been a banner year for Babin, as he played only nine games for two different teams, but 2009 will be a shot at redemption for the 27th overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft.

Both sound like the perfect fit for a blue-collar town like Philly.

Eagles’ D Is Now McDermott’s Domain…and They’ll Be Fine

It’s a sad week in Philadelphia as the Eagles family (and NFL fans alike) mourn the passing of former defensive coordinator Jim Johnson.

Since the day Johnson announced his sabbatical – and now-permanent replacement Sean McDermott was named interim coordinator – the big non-health question Eagles fans have been asking is “what does this mean for the defense?”

Prior to Tuesday, the task of taking over the Eagles’ defense was going to be hard enough for McDermott as it was. If his defense struggled, if he tweaked too much…really, if it didn’t run like the well-oiled machine that carried the Birds to the NFC Championship Game last year, he would be second-guessed to no end.

“Maybe he should listen to Jim,” fans might say, or the similar “maybe he should run Jim’s defense as is.” Or better yet, the old “maybe Jim will come back soon!” mantra would carry them – us, as I have to count myself as a fan – through the interim.

Let me let you in on a sad fact of life, Eagles fans: Jim Johnson was never coming back. The day he “stepped down” was always going to be his last hurrah. Of course no one knew (or wanted to admit) that, as the seriousness of Johnson’s cancer was left publicly unsaid for reasons I’m sure I don’t have to describe.

And let me tell you something else: That’s why they picked McDermott as his successor.

It would be crazy for McDermott to run the defense exactly as Johnson had. Really, even if he was the “interim” coordinator, Sean would be dumb not to add his own little tweaks. Whether they work or not, there are obviously things he sees that no one else does. It’s human nature.

But if there’s anyone who can do it with almost 100% precision, it’s McDermott.

He’s coached both the secondary and the linebackers in his five years as an Eagles assistant. In his one year as LB coach, they were the most productive that unit has been in recent memory. Brian Dawkins aside, he’s helped turn Sheldon Brown and Lito Sheppard into Pro Bowlers, developed Quentin Mikell to the point that the Birds felt they could let Dawkins walk and managed a secondary as well as you can.

McDermott knows the defense. And he knows how to “bring the pain” the way Johnson did, if you will.

So he’s going to…because he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“There is one thing I know, and that is that this system, it works,” McDermott said in his introductory press conference. “Jim (Johnson) has spent a considerable amount of time in his coaching career researching and finding things that work and finding things that didn’t work, quite frankly, and I’m going to respect that and we’re going to build on that. From there, we’ll add wrinkles.”

Now, those wrinkles will be added in memory of Johnson, not just in place of him.

But again, McDermott knows what he’s doing.

“What haven’t I learned from Jim? I don’t think it would be fair to Jim, in this setting, to try and limit in one statement, one press conference, the effect that Jim has had on my life.”

That’s more of a tribute to Jim Johnson the man, the football coach and the genius than any scribe could pump out in 500 words.

Soon, we’ll learn from McDermott. The student always becomes the teacher eventually, just not always under these circumstances.

But that’s just more motivation for the Birds’ defense…and God help the rest of the league because of it.

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