Great Article on Marcus Smith...

[Wings]

Eagles' Marcus Smith answers critics, has a chip on his shoulder after disappointing rookie season | NJ.com

Hopefully it wakes the kid up.....He better slap some muscle on and get stronger a whole lot stronger this offseason.

 

[old duke]

Eagles' Marcus Smith answers critics, has a chip on his shoulder after disappointing rookie season | NJ.com

Hopefully it wakes the kid up.....He better slap some muscle on and get stronger a whole lot stronger this offseason.

Good article. Smith is a good kid, and think he will be a lot better this year. He took the high road mentioning Tra Thomas. Tra was dumped by Chip a couple weeks ago. He was a great T, but has a long way to go as a coach (read Tommy Lawlor's comments from yesterday). Hope I'm right!

In the same article, if you notice, even Mayock (as well as Didinger) thinks Chip should go after MM, if he thinks he's the franchise QB. Foles is OK, but nothing special. Just sayin'.

 

[Birds4life81]

Nice article. I've been saying it all year and now into the off-season, we have to give this kid the opportunity to grow. Yes he was a bit of a reach at #26 but at that point of the draft, a number of teams were reaching for "their guy". A number of us on the boards loved Marcus Smith as a 2nd round prospect. He's got the frame, the athleticism, the coverage ability and the work ethic. Most of us knew that he would need to get stronger and refine his pass rush moves. At the very least I expect Marcus Smith to report to camp much more rocked up with more muscle tone which will help him become stronger and an even better athlete. He'll need to work on his pass rush moves as well, and in a year or two we could have a real nice player. People labeling Smith as a bust already need to back off the ledge. Transitioning from college to the pros is not an easy task and not everyone takes the next step right off the bat, especially players we knew would take some time to develop.

 

[Screamin Eagle]

You don't reach for a player and never take a project in the 1st round. Even if he turns out to be a player there were better choices.

 

[deerpathdave]

You don't reach for a player and never take a project in the 1st round. Even if he turns out to be a player there were better choices.

You have too high an expectation for a pick outside of the top 20, and perhaps too high an expectation of any draft pick.

Grading the first round of 2014 NFL Draft (again) | NFL | Sporting News

Only one of the picks after number 20 received an "A" grade and that was a receiver (Benjamin) where the Eagles arguably did just as well in the 2nd round (Matthews).

Only three of the picks received a "B" grade.

So about two-thirds of the last dozen picks were considered average or below contributors in round one.

Some of this is adjustment time to the league, others is just there are not 32 sure fire starters in the draft, and some of it is that teams 21-32 are normally pretty good (they made the playoffs), so cracking the lineup is no small task.

 

[deerpathdave]

Its best to wait several years before evaluating a draft....

Decade in the making: the ultimate NFL draft grades

- The Eagles graded out pretty well.
- About a third of players overall never an out.

 

[Birds4life81]

You don't reach for a player and never take a project in the 1st round. Even if he turns out to be a player there were better choices.

And if he turns out to be a better player than those other choices?

 

[Los Eagles]

I hear ya but I have a hard time seeing how Smith was better than a couple of corner backs on the board. I don't think expectations were even moderately high for this kid. Screamin Eagle had a good point. You don't take a project in the first round. Teams reach all the time and I guess this would apply to all positions except quarterback because of the time they need to develop but the pick we had in round 1 this past April was inexcusable. These types of players that need that much time to develop should not see the 1st round no way no how. For him to be a reach was one thing but for him to be a project on top that made no sense at all.

 

[DaEagles]

Shitty pick then and still a shitty pick.

Only people defending it still were the ones who loved the pick.

 

[old duke]

Most of us really hope that Marcus turns things around, and becomes an excellent player. That said, we should have picked Bucannon, and we wouldn't be looking for a safety this year.

 

[deerpathdave]

You don't reach for a player and never take a project in the 1st round. Even if he turns out to be a player there were better choices.

Here is what the good teams do...

1. They are almost always drafting 20 or later as they are in the playoffs or playoff hunt.
2. They fill all their starting positions before the draft by re-signing their players or signing free agents.
3. They draft for depth and competition thinking 2-3 years in advance.

What they don't do is draft a guy and be in a depth situation where they have to hope he produces as a rookie.

 

[Screamin Eagle]

And if he turns out to be a better player than those other choices?

Then good for him but I still maintain that you do not reach for a player or take a project player in the 1st round when you have holes to fill.
I would feel much better knowing who was responsible for the past 2 drafts.
Chip's 1st draft is a prime example; with the 4th overall pick there should be a stud plug-n-play player yet they selected the 3rd OT.......really. Three players gone and 2 were OT's, really? Lane proved unworthy of the pick and once off the juice he played very average.
Chip needs to prove he is worthy of the GM position. If this draft works out then we can blame Howie and move on, if not.......?

 

[Birds4life81]

Then good for him but I still maintain that you do not reach for a player or take a project player in the 1st round when you have holes to fill.
I would feel much better knowing who was responsible for the past 2 drafts.
Chip's 1st draft is a prime example; with the 4th overall pick there should be a stud plug-n-play player yet they selected the 3rd OT.......really. Three players gone and 2 were OT's, really? Lane proved unworthy of the pick and once off the juice he played very average.
Chip needs to prove he is worthy of the GM position. If this draft works out then we can blame Howie and move on, if not.......?

Your theory makes absolutely zero sense dude. If Marcus Smith turns out better than those other players then "good for him"?? So, that means the Eagles scouting would be better than yours but it wouldn't matter because you didn't like the pick.

Your logic shines oh so bright with your example of drafting Lane Johnson when 2 other OT's have been drafted before him…That's really your argument?? Look at the actual draft class and not the position you're drafting. If the draft is deep, or top heavy at a certain position and you believe he is BPA at one of the top positions of need (now or near future), why wouldn't you draft him?? Because 2 other OT's were drafted before that?

 

[Birds4life81]

Lane Johnson was a fine pick. He's outperformed the other two OTs that were drafted before him - Eric Fisher and Luke Joeckel. He's just coming into his 3rd year….Man, I swear if players aren't superstars in their first 2 years most are ready to write them off. Fletcher Cox and Mychael Kendricks are prime examples, their first two years were inconsistent. In their 3rd year, that talent showed up big. These KIDS need time to develop, as young adults and as NFL players. Not everyone jumps to stardom straight out of college.

 

[old duke]

Lane Johnson was a fine pick. He's outperformed the other two OTs that were drafted before him - Eric Fisher and Luke Joeckel. He's just coming into his 3rd year….Man, I swear if players aren't superstars in their first 2 years most are ready to write them off. Fletcher Cox and Mychael Kendricks are prime examples, their first two years were inconsistent. In their 3rd year, that talent showed up big. These KIDS need time to develop, as young adults and as NFL players. Not everyone jumps to stardom straight out of college.

You beat me to the punch! The Eagles DID pick the BPA. Miami traded up in front of them to get Dion Jordan, who so far IS a bust, although he is with the wrong system, and probably would have been good with the Birds. Lane Johnson will probably be an all-pro very soon. And, he didn't play average, but was again, real good.

 

[Screamin Eagle]

Your theory makes absolutely zero sense dude. If Marcus Smith turns out better than those other players then "good for him"?? So, that means the Eagles scouting would be better than yours but it wouldn't matter because you didn't like the pick.

Your logic shines oh so bright with your example of drafting Lane Johnson when 2 other OT's have been drafted before him…That's really your argument?? Look at the actual draft class and not the position you're drafting. If the draft is deep, or top heavy at a certain position and you believe he is BPA at one of the top positions of need (now or near future), why wouldn't you draft him?? Because 2 other OT's were drafted before that?

You see it your way and I see it my way. The great thing about America is that we are free to do that.

 

[Deano]

I'm concerned about a kid who gets drafted that high and has to be told to hit the weight room. Anybody with character and self-respect would be in there busting his ass.

 

[Los Eagles]

I'm concerned about a kid who gets drafted that high and has to be told to hit the weight room. Anybody with character and self-respect would be in there busting his ass.

I'm concerned with a lot about this pick. Reading this on Yard Barker wasn't encouraging.

"The truth behind the curtain is 2014’s #1 Eagles pick Marcus Smith admits he could not get on the field this past season because he could not beat out anyone at linebacker or special teams."

Really? From a first round pick?

 

[deerpathdave]

I'm concerned with a lot about this pick. Reading this on Yard Barker wasn't encouraging.

"The truth behind the curtain is 2014’s #1 Eagles pick Marcus Smith admits he could not get on the field this past season because he could not beat out anyone at linebacker or special teams."

Really? From a first round pick?

Is it that bad a reflection on the guy that he was not better than Trent Cole and Brandon Graham? When the Eagles drafted Marcus Smith, they had no intention of giving him significant snaps in his first year.

This is the way good teams operate. They have a all key positions already penciled in before the draft. They draft in the 20s for depth and future needs and then give the players a year to develop and learn the system.

Poor teams thrust a rookie into the lineup year one and lose alot of games.

 

[Los Eagles]

Is it that bad a reflection on the guy that he was not better than Trent Cole and Brandon Graham? When the Eagles drafted Marcus Smith, they had no intention of giving him significant snaps in his first year.

This is the way good teams operate. They have a all key positions already penciled in before the draft. They draft in the 20s for depth and future needs and then give the players a year to develop and learn the system.

Poor teams thrust a rookie into the lineup year one and lose alot of games.

Come on Dave. A first round pick doing absolutely nothing is not how good teams operate. He could have helped in some way, shape, or form. He did not. And by the way, conerback is considered a key position.