Before we get into the Eagles, 4and26sports.com would like give a big ol' HELL YEAH to the Flyers for stunning the Washington Ovechkins in overtime on game 7 on Tuesday in D.C. And wishing good luck to the Sixers in Detroit tonight; everywhere I go I hear the same thing: "OMG, the Sixers are better than I thought, I thought they'd get one win in the series, but not game one in Detroit!!!1!1! but we all know Detroits gonna pull it out LOLOL!!1" Garbage. Just because the talking heads tell you Detroit's going to win in 5 doesn't mean Detroit's going to win in 5. The Sixers will have to prove themselves yet again. Anyway, onto the birds...
In case you haven't heard, the NFL College Entry Draft is this this weekend. Actually, I'd be surprised if you haven't, seeing as every football webpage and sports channel has been obsessed by the subject for the past month. As we all know, the Miami Dolphins have selected Michigan tackle Jake Long. After that, who the hell knows? Chris Long, Darren McFadden, Vernon Gholston, Matt Ryan... the draft's always a spectacle. Everybody boos and cheers along with every excruciatingly long (at least they shortened the 15 minute time per pick this year to 10) selection, with the prospects sweating it out as they slide ever farther down the board (I laughed at Brady Quinn for about 3 hours last year), or unexpected picks celebrating as though they've won the lottery. And they pretty much have. NFL fans live for the one day a year Mel Kiper slobbers over young men and makes you wonder what hell he does all year outside of the draft (purchase hair grease). But the most exciting moment comes when your favorite team is on the clock.
So what of our favorite team? What do they need? Who do they want? Well, any Eagles fan who's been transfixed on GCobb, yardbarker, 610 WIP or some random Eagles blog will tell you a gamebreaking wide receiver is their biggest target. However, most football experts will tell you the Eagles need an OT. As far as I’m concerned, though, no top-tier tackle will fall to 19.
As far as receivers go, three come to mind as “gamebreaker.” Limas Sweed (6’5’’) of Texas, Devin Thomas (6’2’’) of Michigan State, and James Hardy (6’7’’!! he started on the basketball team) of Indiana. All three are big, dangerous targets that can move well on with the ball in their hands. And I had the personal (dis)pleasure to watch Thomas and Hardy absolutely EMBARRASS Penn State star cornerback Justin King. Now while at the time I wasn’t enjoying watch Hardy go for 14 catches for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns and Thomas go 7 for 139 and 3 against the Nittany Lions, the fact that they could do that against a very good corner lets me know they’re both going to be players in this league. The way they go up for the ball is their greatest trait. However, Thomas may be gone to Buffalo with the 11th pick, and even if he’s there, the man had one good season and was absolute trash before this year. I like him a lot, but I can’t trust him. And Hardy? He could easily go here. I wouldn’t be upset. But he has a tendency to disappear when his team really needs him. He had 17 yards against Wisconson and 50 yards in his bowl game, which are well below his status quo. Also keep in mind he didn’t play against Michigan or Ohio State this year; they had a very soft Big Ten slate.
I think Sweed’s the man. He has the greatest potential of the trio, his highlights are dazzling and his upside is mind-blowing. The negatives are his injury and lack of production as opposed to Thomas and Hardy. As for his injury, it was just his wrist, not a knee or ankle or back. So it’s a nonfactor. The surgery has already taken place and he’ll be fine. Something I can’t overlook is his relative lack of production to the other two. Hardy’s best year was going 79 for 1260 and 8 touchdowns, and Thomas’s best was 79 for 1125 with 16 TD’s. Sweed’s best was 46 catches for 801 yards, which pales in comparison.
The crazy thing is the sheer amount of touchdowns
Sweed produces per catch. 12 touchdowns on 46 catches his junior year? He
scored 26 % of his catches! That’s insane; Hardy’s career year was 10%, 
and
Thomas’s was 20%. Why is this relevant, you ask? Well, what was the Eagles
biggest weakness last season? The offense was ranked 6th in ypg, and
the defense was ranked 10th in ypg allowed and 9th in ppg
allowed. What’s missing? Scoring. ANYONE who watched the Eagles last year will
tell you the red zone was the biggest area of concern. The Birds scored
touchdowns on a woeful 45% mark, good for 24th in the league. So we
don’t need help between the twenties. Curtis, Westbrook, McNabb, Andrews and
the gang can navigate that territory with ease.
And as long as Buddy Ryan doesn’t rise from the grave, doing nothing but catching touchdowns will keep Sweed in Philly for a long time.
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Posted by: Mike | April 25, 2008 at 04:33 PM
Nice blog
Hey don't forget to go here:
http://theropolitans.com/
Posted by: Mike | April 25, 2008 at 04:33 PM