A New Beginning

Lets not forget that 8 months to this day Jim Johnson, our beloved defensive coordinator and football genius, died from cancer. Therefore, this will be the first draft that Sean McDermott has a large say on who the teams picks. Seeing how the team desperately needs to draft heavily on the defensive side of the ball I think McDermott is going to be a big part of the Eagles draft plans. We all know that Jim Johnson was a phenomenal drafter. Lets see how Sean does seeing how this a very important draft for the Eagles defensive future.

Eagles Pre-Draft Rumbles

Is it possible for the Eagles to work there way into position to draft University of Tennessee safety Eric Berry? Reports note that the Eagles will most likely have Berry for a private work out. Now this does not mean they are definitely going to make a play for him but it shows their interest. Possibly a trade involving McNabb could net the Eagles a early second round pick they could use in a deal with their first round pick and other picks or possibly cornerback Sheldon Brown to get into position for Berry. Brown has voiced his displeasure with the team and tried to be traded last year. Teams have called and inquired about Brown so it could be a very real possibility that the Eagles make a deal involving him seeing how his longtime partner Lito Shepperd was shipped away already. The Eagles are looking to re-stock their secondary with youth and a new group that will lead the Eagles like Brown and Shepperd and Bobby Taylor and Troy Vincent did before.

Here We Go Again

As if the Flyers haven't had enough goaltending controversy this season yet another goalie has gone down with an injury. Early in the season it was Ray Emery that got hurt and ended his comeback year. Then, after only a few games Brian Boucher gets injured and thus entered the unknown Michael Leighton. He has done a tremendous job filling in after being picked up off of waivers from Carolina on Dec. 15. He was 16-5-2 with a 2.48 GAA and a .918 save percentage. Those are good numbers and obviously the Flyers organization agreed considering they did not pursue a goalie at the trade deadline. Unfortunately, now the injury bug has caught Leighton which leaves Boucher to start. Philadelphia called up Jeremy Duchesne to fill in as Boucher's back-up. Do these two goaltenders sound like viable options in the midst of a heated playoff push? No. The Flyers organization need to get their heads on straight and realize they will not win another Cup until they get a legitimate tender. It wasn't Clarkie that won the Cup, it was the play of Bernie Parent. Two names that are floating around in the off-season are Tomas Vokoun and Jaroslav Halak. Both are legitimate goalies and would provide the Flyers some consistency in net that they have been lacking for years.

Another QB?

The Eagles QB coach and offensive coordinator were both in attendance to watch QB John Skelton out of Fordham throw at his pro day. Its interesting that the Eagles are scouting another quarterback seeing that they already have three on their roster. Is it possible that they are eying up Skelton to be the next QB in line and they hang on to McNabb this year but trade Kolb while his value is high? It seems unlikely because the locker room prefers Kolb and the organization has been grooming him to take over for three years now. But if they decide to move Kolb and keep McNabb for one more run then eying a player that could down the road be a starter in this league and select him in the middle rounds could turn out to be a very smart decision. But there are a lot of ifs about this scenario. First, they would have to be confident Skelton will be the guy of the future. Second, they would have to have a good season next year to save face for keeping McNabb. Third, they have been grooming Kolb for three years and spent a second round pick on him. It will be very interesting to see if this interest in Skelton amounts to anything and leads to the Eagles moving one of their QBs.

A Final Encore

Domonic Brown, a 20th round pick out of high school turned down a full ride to the University of Miami for football to pursue a career in baseball. He was protected by the Phillies when they made trades for Cliff Lee and most recently, Roy Halladay. Today proved why the Phillies decided to keep him over arguably more popular Michael Taylor. (Taylor was 6'6" and had tremendous speed and batting for average ability.) But the organization favored Brown and he made them look good today against the Tigers. He was 3-3 with a walk, two home-runs and four RBIs. Ironically, after the game he was sent down to the Minor League Camp. This spring Brown didn't let any of the hype about his talent or expectations and comparisons to Darryl Strawberry get to his head. He batted an outstanding .435 with two home-runs, eight RBIs, three walks, and only five strikeouts. He displayed tremendous athleticism in the field as well tracking down fly balls and throwing out base-runners with his strong arm. Standing at 6'5" and 200 lbs. he is an athletic specimen with five-tool talent. Interestingly, since he is a lefty batter one would think he would thrive against righties and struggle against lefties. But, this spring was the exact opposite. Brown batted .583 against lefties and .250 against righties. How he fares against right handed pitchers will be something to watch as he starts in the minors this season. He will be fun to track this year and possibly even see him get a late-season call up. Let's hope the strong spring rolls over into the regular season for Brown.

Another 3rd Round Option

Besides Rolle and Ward another safety that may be available in the 3rd round for the Jags to take is from a school very close by. Major Wright (FS,Florida) is a tough, strong player that can deliver a big hit and make a play to energize the defense. That was something the Jags defense definitely lacked this past season.

Jaguars Mock Draft

Round 1: Derrick Morgan-(DE, Georgia Tech) Lets hope he is a better choice than when they traded up for Derrick Harvey.
Round 2: No pick
Round 3: Myron Rolle-(S, Florida St.)/T.J Ward (S,Oregon) Rolle might be gone by this point at the rate his stock is rising, but Ward is a pretty good consolation prize. He is a solid safety that went down with an injury this past season, but when he plays he is a solid tackler that does a good job watching the QB's eyes. He is not a wow player but the Jags need smart, athletic players that have a strong foundation of toughness and instincts.
Round 4: John Skelton-(QB, Fordham) Getting a QB in the 4th round that can develop into a NFL starter one day is a steal. The Jags have David Garrard right now. He can be sufficient for the time being, but he will never be the long-time answer nor will he ever be an elite QB. Skelton has the size and arm strength of a prototypical NFL QB. He needs to spend time learning at the pro level and develop his entire skill set instead of depending on his arm strength. But, with the time and patience he could one day take over QB there and provide a staple in their anemic pass attack.
Round 5: Eric Olsen(C, Notre Dame)/Ciron Black(OG, LSU) The "heart and sole" of the line is known for his nastiness and and versatility. I love linemen that play with a mean streak and are nasty. I'm sure NFL line coaches feel the same way. The Jags could use a player with nastiness to help inject some meanness into a lackluster line. If Olsen isn't there Black would be a solid pick and possibly even a steal in the 5th round. He is a solid pass blocker and is a massive maneater that can create space for the small MJD.
Round 6: Dexter Davis(DE/OLB, Arizona State) Had 31.0 career sacks...3rd most in school history...That says enough for a team that only had 14.0 sacks last season.