Rastak
11-07-2007, 06:02 AM
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
BY MARK ECKEL
STAFF COLUMNIST
PHILADELPHIA -- Before the Eagles blow up their ros ter from this 2007 disaster, and you know that's inevitable, they should blow up the personnel department who put it together.
If the Eagles are going to rebuild, and that's what it looks like as the team heads into the second half of the season with more wins than just St. Louis, Atlanta and San Francisco in the NFC, are the people who brought you Darren Howard and Jevon Kearse, the ones who drafted Winston Justice, Matt McCoy and Jeremy Bloom the ones you want to do it?
It's not a coincidence that since Tom Modrak and Mike McCartney were shown the door to a Nova Care Complex they never got a chance to work in, and Andy Reid became executive in charge of everything, the personnel department has suffered.
Reid's first move, the hiring of Tom Heckert (after several people said no) was the first in the long line of bad decisions.
Since Heckert arrived from Miami, and how is that team in South Florida that he and his dad built doing these days? Winless, you say, no surprise here.
Heckert wouldn't know talent if it walked into his office, and it would have to walk into his office since he never leaves the building.
See, all the great general managers of our time, Ron Wolf, George Young, Bobby Beathard had it wrong. You don't go out to college campuses and meet players and coaches to judge talent. You stay home, watch TV and make sure the big fellow gets his lunch on time.
At least he's doing that last thing well, because the big fellow hasn't missed many lunches.
Heckert's first moves as his title climbed from director of personnel to general manager were to get rid of any scout who even knew Modrak's name.
So Marc Ross, the mastermind behind the Eagles last good draft in 2002, and who is now overseeing the Giants scouting department, was fired and replaced by one of Heckert's cronies Jason Licht. Good scouts such as Dave Boller, now with Tampa, Richard Shelton, now with Tennessee, Rashaan Curry, now with Arizona and Jim Monos, now with New Orleans, were also canned as the new guy in charge filled the spots with "his people."
And that's why the Eagles' cur rent roster the one that is 3-5 on the way to 5-11, or maybe 6-10, looks as it does.
It's why the 2003 draft produced one player -- tight end L.J. Smith, who is playing his last year with the team. It's why the 2004 draft has guard Shawn Andrews and no one else worth a darn.
The Eagles' spin doctors, those both on and off their payroll and it's hard to tell which is which sometimes, brag about all the starters from the 2005 draft (six in all). But the truth is they are start ers on a team that is 3-5 and is win less in the division.
It's too soon to judge the past two drafts, but are you confident in anything this team does anymore? Nearly half of the 2007 draft has already been cut, and the other half can't get on the field.
The pro moves have been worse, a lot worse.
And that's not easy to be.
Kearse -- and this one we think came from team president Joe Banner as well as Reid, Heckert and everyone else in the organization -- has been the most overpaid and biggest disappointment, maybe in team history.
Howard has been worse.
Stunned during the start of free agency in 2006 when center Le Charles Bentley reneged on a ver bal deal and signed with Cleveland, the Eagles felt they had to do something. Enter Howard whose best days were long behind him.
In Sunday night's nationally-televised 38-17 loss to Dallas, the third prime time humiliation this season, Kearse and Howard combined for zero tackles. That's zero.
The Cowboys ran 57 plays (and gained 434 yards) and neither Kearse nor Howard was involved in any of them.
Tight end Matt Schobel, defensive tackle Ian Scott, cornerback Will James, and even linebacker Takeo Spikes, still looking for his first play as an Eagle after being ac quired from Buffalo in a trade, are the other name free agents this personnel department has sought out and signed
Here's an exercise for you to do in your spare time. Go over the Eagles' current 53-man roster and circle the good players -- not solid players, not players the Eagles tell you are good -- the truly good players.
If you get to 10, you circled too many.
Then go over players who probably shouldn't be on the roster, or any other roster. When your hand gets tired, you're done.
Just like the Eagles.
Contact Mark Eckel at
meck el@njtimes.com
BY MARK ECKEL
STAFF COLUMNIST
PHILADELPHIA -- Before the Eagles blow up their ros ter from this 2007 disaster, and you know that's inevitable, they should blow up the personnel department who put it together.
If the Eagles are going to rebuild, and that's what it looks like as the team heads into the second half of the season with more wins than just St. Louis, Atlanta and San Francisco in the NFC, are the people who brought you Darren Howard and Jevon Kearse, the ones who drafted Winston Justice, Matt McCoy and Jeremy Bloom the ones you want to do it?
It's not a coincidence that since Tom Modrak and Mike McCartney were shown the door to a Nova Care Complex they never got a chance to work in, and Andy Reid became executive in charge of everything, the personnel department has suffered.
Reid's first move, the hiring of Tom Heckert (after several people said no) was the first in the long line of bad decisions.
Since Heckert arrived from Miami, and how is that team in South Florida that he and his dad built doing these days? Winless, you say, no surprise here.
Heckert wouldn't know talent if it walked into his office, and it would have to walk into his office since he never leaves the building.
See, all the great general managers of our time, Ron Wolf, George Young, Bobby Beathard had it wrong. You don't go out to college campuses and meet players and coaches to judge talent. You stay home, watch TV and make sure the big fellow gets his lunch on time.
At least he's doing that last thing well, because the big fellow hasn't missed many lunches.
Heckert's first moves as his title climbed from director of personnel to general manager were to get rid of any scout who even knew Modrak's name.
So Marc Ross, the mastermind behind the Eagles last good draft in 2002, and who is now overseeing the Giants scouting department, was fired and replaced by one of Heckert's cronies Jason Licht. Good scouts such as Dave Boller, now with Tampa, Richard Shelton, now with Tennessee, Rashaan Curry, now with Arizona and Jim Monos, now with New Orleans, were also canned as the new guy in charge filled the spots with "his people."
And that's why the Eagles' cur rent roster the one that is 3-5 on the way to 5-11, or maybe 6-10, looks as it does.
It's why the 2003 draft produced one player -- tight end L.J. Smith, who is playing his last year with the team. It's why the 2004 draft has guard Shawn Andrews and no one else worth a darn.
The Eagles' spin doctors, those both on and off their payroll and it's hard to tell which is which sometimes, brag about all the starters from the 2005 draft (six in all). But the truth is they are start ers on a team that is 3-5 and is win less in the division.
It's too soon to judge the past two drafts, but are you confident in anything this team does anymore? Nearly half of the 2007 draft has already been cut, and the other half can't get on the field.
The pro moves have been worse, a lot worse.
And that's not easy to be.
Kearse -- and this one we think came from team president Joe Banner as well as Reid, Heckert and everyone else in the organization -- has been the most overpaid and biggest disappointment, maybe in team history.
Howard has been worse.
Stunned during the start of free agency in 2006 when center Le Charles Bentley reneged on a ver bal deal and signed with Cleveland, the Eagles felt they had to do something. Enter Howard whose best days were long behind him.
In Sunday night's nationally-televised 38-17 loss to Dallas, the third prime time humiliation this season, Kearse and Howard combined for zero tackles. That's zero.
The Cowboys ran 57 plays (and gained 434 yards) and neither Kearse nor Howard was involved in any of them.
Tight end Matt Schobel, defensive tackle Ian Scott, cornerback Will James, and even linebacker Takeo Spikes, still looking for his first play as an Eagle after being ac quired from Buffalo in a trade, are the other name free agents this personnel department has sought out and signed
Here's an exercise for you to do in your spare time. Go over the Eagles' current 53-man roster and circle the good players -- not solid players, not players the Eagles tell you are good -- the truly good players.
If you get to 10, you circled too many.
Then go over players who probably shouldn't be on the roster, or any other roster. When your hand gets tired, you're done.
Just like the Eagles.
Contact Mark Eckel at
meck el@njtimes.com