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Howie Roseman

Birds 24/7

Despite 2011 Mistakes, Expect Eagles To Be Aggressive

When the summer of 2011 came around, the Eagles’ decision-makers felt they were close.

The team was coming off a 10-6 season in which it suffered a 21-16 loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers in the wild-card round. The previous year, the Eagles won 11 games. And in 2008, they made the NFC championship.

Major moves were made (Nnamdi Asomugha, Jason Babin, etc.) to fill in the gaps. And as we know, those moves didn’t work out. The Eagles went 12-20 the next two seasons, Andy Reid was fired, Chip Kelly was hired, and well, here we are.

Now, with free agency just six days away, the question has to be asked: How will the disastrous decisions from two summers ago affect the Eagles going forward?

“For us to not look back and see what happened at that time and why it happened… we’ve spent a lot of time doing that since Coach [Kelly] has gotten here – about where we were in our program. And it’s very different than where we’re at now,” general manager Howie Roseman said during an interview with Birds 24/7.

Birds 24/7

The Eagles’ Safety Options In Free Agency

The Eagles will have options to fill their safety needs in free agency and the draft. This year’s group of safety prospects is considered deep and talented. But as we’ve seen in years past, going into the draft searching for specific needs can lead to mistakes.

And this is not an either/or situation. The Eagles should look to identify young safety talent in free agency and address the position if possible in the draft. As we wrote about on Sunday, the Birds are in good cap shape and could be in position to take advantage of a market where the supply might very well out-weigh the demand.

Here is a look at some of the Eagles’ options.

Birds 24/7

How Eagles’ Current Pieces Fit In 3-4, 4-3 Under

Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Trent ColeHowie Roseman believes the Eagles have some pieces in place to transition to a new defensive scheme – one that will not include Cullen Jenkins or Mike Patterson.

As for the details, there’s not a whole lot we know right now. We know Chip Kelly prefers a 3-4. We know defensive coordinator Billy Davis has a background in multiple schemes, including the 4-3 under. Having spoken to Davis and some of the other assistants, I got the impression that pre-snap disguise is going to be a big part of whatever the Eagles do.

As we look ahead to free agency (March 12) and the draft (April 25), now seems like a good time to take stock of the Eagles’ defensive linemen to see how they might fit going forward.

Birds 24/7

Ball Will Likely Be In Asomugha’s Court

Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Nnamdi AsomughaHowie Roseman will meet with Nnamdi Asomugha’s agent, Ben Dogra, this morning, according to multiple reports.

The reality here is that the ball will likely be in Asomuguha’s court. The original contract he signed in the summer of 2010 calls for him to be paid more than $15 million in 2013. Anyone who watched his performance last season knows there’s no way the Eagles are paying that number.

But the key here is that the Eagles owe Asomugha $4 million if they cut him.

In other words, Asomugha will have to weigh two options from a financial perspective.

Birds 24/7

Eagles Wake-Up Call: Kelly’s Preferences Will Affect Draft Board

Chip Kelly has told Howie Roseman and the Eagles’ personnel staff exactly what kinds of players he wants on his roster.

And by all accounts, he’s been extremely specific.

We touched on the topic last month at the Senior Bowl. The gist is that Kelly has particular measurables for certain positions. He’s not quite ready to share the details with us, but they do exist.

“I’d say there’s a little bit more of a stress going forward on some height, weight, speed,” Roseman said Thursday at the Combine.

Birds 24/7

Chip Kelly: I Want To Coach Nick Foles

Chip Kelly stepped up to the podium at Lucas Oil Stadium shortly after 2:30 Thursday afternoon.

“Is there a protocol?” he asked, unsure of whether he was supposed to make some kind of opening statement in front of a roomful of reporters.

Dressed in a black Eagles wind-breaker with sleeves that came down to his elbows and his (now trademark) jeans, Kelly was about four minutes in when he fielded his first Nick Foles question. He was asked whether he had received any trade offers for the second-year quarterback.

“I haven’t, no,” Kelly said, eliciting some laughter. “Me personally? No.”

“Have the Eagles? We haven’t talked about anything like that,” Kelly continued. “I want to coach Nick, and I want to get a chance to spend time with him and see him. I’ve said it before. I was a big fan of his. The way he plays the game, his toughness, his ability to throw the ball very accurately. So I want to get a chance to hopefully get him out on the practice field and see what Nick has.”

Birds 24/7

Kelly, Roseman Offer Hints On Asomugha, Ryans

Philadelphia Eagles CB Nnamdi Asomugha.Chip Kelly was asked back-to-back questions Thursday afternoon about a pair of Eagles veterans – DeMeco Ryans and Nnamdi Asomugha.

In his first response, he offered up what seemed to be a ringing endorsement. But his second response failed to strike the same tone.

Birds 24/7

Key Questions Surround Potential Foles Trade

Eagles quarterback Nick Foles.While the NFL Combine is technically a draft event, it’s also another meeting of the different arms of the league: coaches, GMs, scouts, reporters and agents.

So you can expect to hear some some non-draft related buzz in the coming days. And that buzz could very well include Nick Foles‘ future.

We last talked about Foles when a USA Today report suggested that Andy Reid and the Chiefs would be interested in acquiring him. Soon thereafter, reports surfaced that the Eagles had no plans to trade Foles.

Ahh, the games teams play in February.

To get a firmer grasp on the potential of Foles being dealt, let’s answer some key questions.

Birds 24/7

Eagles Wake-Up Call: Cowboys Could Have Had McCoy

Philadelphia Eagles RB LeSean McCoy.In six career games against the Dallas Cowboys, LeSean McCoy has averaged 5.7 yards per carry and reached the end zone four times.

But according to a former scout, McCoy could very easily have a star on his helmet right now.

Dallas had the 51st pick (second round) in the 2009 draft, but running back wasn’t a glaring need. They had three tailbacks (all under 25) on their roster in Marion Barber, Felix Jones and Tashard Choice. So when it came time to pick, even though the Cowboys had McCoy atop their board, they decided to trade down.

Birds 24/7

Eagles Wake-Up Call: Expectations With the No. 4 Pick

Earlier this week, we rounded up a bunch of mock drafts.

Yes, it’s still relatively early in the process, but there is little consensus at the No. 4 pick, with seven different players being projected to the Birds at that spot: Alabama cornerback Dee Milliner, Texas A&M offensive tackle Luke Joeckel, Alabama guard Chance Warmack, Georgia outside linebacker Jarvis Jones, Utah defensive tackle Star Lotulelei, West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith and Texas A&M outside linebacker Damontre Moore.

The importance of nailing the pick cannot be overstated. Over 200 players will be selected in April. Only three will be off the board when it’s the Eagles’ turn to pick.

Birds 24/7

Once Again, Eagles Look To Draft For Safety Help

It seems to be a story we write pretty much every offseason around these parts: The Eagles are looking for safety help.

They’ve tried and failed in previous years to fill the gaping hole in the back end of the defense. And so, Howie Roseman will try once again this offseason to find safety help in the draft and/or free agency.

“To me, that’s the hardest position to evaluate in college football is safeties,” Roseman said last week at the Senior Bowl. “The guys that used to be the most explosive athletes and were playing in the back end, they’re going to play corner because they feel like maybe at corner, they can play 10 years. You look at the franchise tag numbers, the corner position is higher than the safety position. That is going to be the constant struggle. When you talk to people around the league, it’s hard to find safeties.”

The good news for the Eagles is that this appears to be a pretty good group of college prospects.

Birds 24/7

Five Chip Kelly Leftovers

From his thoughts on drafting a quarterback to his plans on running NFL practices, here are five Chip Kelly leftovers to chew on.

Birds 24/7

Kelly’s Roster Preferences: ‘There Are Deal-Breakers’

Chip Kelly comes to the NFL with a plan.

How much of that plan will mirror what he did at Oregon and whether it will actually work remain to be seen. But the Eagles’ new head coach knows he’ll have to make adjustments at this level. And perhaps the biggest adjustment will come in finding players and assembling a roster.

In college, Kelly never had a top-10 recruiting class, but he was still able to seek out talent without worrying about a salary cap, a 53-man roster limit or players who were past their primes. Those factors will all come in to play in the coming months.

Once the Eagles finalize their coaching staff, the next step will be putting the roster together. That’s where the relationship between Kelly and general manager Howie Roseman becomes critical.

Birds 24/7

QB EJ Manuel Wants To Play For Chip Kelly

Chip Kelly has a connection with Florida State quarterback EJ Manuel. He recruited the 6-4, 240-pound signal caller when Manuel was coming out of high school. Manuel, a Virginia native, ultimately chose FSU because it was closer to home than Oregon, but continued a relationship with Kelly.

And now, he wants to play for him.

Birds 24/7

Chip Kelly And the Speed Philosophy

Chip Kelly called himself an “equal opportunity scorer”  Thursday, explaining that he is not married to a specific scheme but is more interested in tailoring his attack to fit his personnel. The more you accentuate your players’ strengths, the thinking goes, the better chance you have of putting points on the board. There is more flexibility in his design than many would have you believe.

But surely there are some philosophies that are non-negotiable — like Kelly’s desire to operate at break-neck speed.