Tuesday, May 02, 2006

Fly, Eagles Fly…On The Road To Victory!

The Eagles had an amazing draft this past weekend, getting talent even late in the draft and executing a more complete draft than even the teams with the high picks.

Oddly enough, the player that may benefit ‘Da Birds the most was selected in the 5th round. Colorado return man Jeremy Bloom hopes to revitalize an area that was abysmal for my Eagles last year, and his blend of natural speed, ability to handle Olympic pressure, and toughness will make him a serious asset for years to come.

But having just exited the era of Terrell, is he a bit too much flash for this blue-collar team? He just may be. There are definitely question of whether he’s committed to football, and I doubt his pretty-boy status, as seen in the pic below, will do much to impress his old-school teammates. But if he becomes a real football player, he could help us better starting field position by 10-15 yards, which is a key to success.

The rest of the Eagles draft focused on the line, which is perfect to me. I believe games are won or lost in the trenches, and while se had serious injuries on both sides of the line last year, I don’t think we ever looked good against the run. Well, our top draft pick, Brodrick Bunkley, should solve many of those interior defensive line issues.  And while most think OL Winston Justice will be the man this year, I’ve been impressed with OG Max Jean-Gilles.

Plus, the eagles had some key free agent additions. Wideout Jabr Gaffney is tall, has great hands, excellent speed, and is a fearless replacement for Terrell Owens without TO’s attitude. I predict Gaffney will be an all-pro with Donovan throwing to him, you can put your money on it now.

Bringing back Roderick Hood and Shawn Barber for the Eagles D means the addition of two veterans who know the Eagles’ style of play and can jump into the action feet first. And Defensive End Darren Howard will make an excellent bookend for Jevon Kearse.

The vast majority of the Eagles team that went to the Super Bowl two years ago and has been the class of the NFC for the past five years is intact, but now we have added talent at a variety of key positions. Don’t look now, but with all the injuries behind them, it appears that the Eagles will be  headed back to the Super Bowl again this year!


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Posted by Scottage at 11:17 PM / | |