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May 2, 2006

Eagles' Draft Makes Me Giddy Like Schoolgirl

This looks like a crucial step towards the Birds winning the you-know-what

Hot diggity! I'm skipping the disclaimers in re: not being able to evaluate NFL drafts until five years down the road, the absurdity of draft prognosis and analysis, the draftniks, Mel Kiper Jr., etc. That's for more sober and rational NFL fans to worry about. Me? I'm happy to be a case study for the success of the NFL Draft as both a television program and an exciting date on the NFL calendar (yes, yes, it's a year-round thing, even though they only have games five months out of the year), cause I couldn't possibly be any happier about how this draft went, and I think the Eagles did an excellent job of both addressing immediate needs and building for the future.

Yup. It worked on me. And I couldn't be happier about that.

I just can't disagree with spending your first four picks on lineman (though they'll probably play Gocong at more of a linebacker/ edge rusher thing). I can't disagree with taking gigantic dudes from winning programs. I can't. I watched the Gocong video on the Birds' site and he at least seems pretty fast. And then to go for the PR glamor pick with Bloom? Totally the coup de grace of the whole affair.

My angles/ rationalizations on why this all went so well for the Birds:

They call him The Thing?: I mean, Bunkley's a pretty big dude, but I feel like the nickname might be a little bit cruel. Just a little. But this guy is huge. Seriously. He's gigantic. Also, after watching the Orange Bowl, I'm generally excited about dudes who played defense at Florida State last year. I seriously thought Penn State QB Michael Robinson wasn't going to survive to the end of the game (which might also mean that I think Robinson is a complete gamer). Those guys were nasty. Also, Bunkley wore number 52 in college. That's sneaky of him.

Offensive Line 2.0: I mean, Herremans started some games at left tackle for the Birds last year. That's not so good (short-term). But at least we're starting to turn over the offensive line. And bringing in Grade A talent all over the place? Two blue-chippers in the draft this year? What a satisfying long-term investment!

One of the most comically bad questions I can imagine being asked at the Draft, and that's saying a lot: Mike Mayock asked Andy Reid (with a straight face), "As the draft progresses are you looking to go positions of need, best available player, or a combination?" I just don't think you could write it funnier than that. You couldn't.

Andy Reid was very smug about Gocong: the Philly press were going after Tom Heckert a bit (rookie) in the press conference at the end of the first day, hassling him a bit about the Gocong pick (I-AA guy, too small, no competition). Heckert was actually getting a little animated about it. Then Andy Reid stepped in and said that they watched him at the East-West Game (or something) and he dominated there too. And don't mess with my boy! We picked him because I make the decisions around here! And I'm very confident in my decisions!

The Olympian/ The Marketing Pick: oh the Jeremy Bloom thing was perfect. Perfect. It's a complete distraction! We at least know that the kid is fast. We don't know if he can play. But he went to the Olympics and is good at something that's in the neighborhood of extreme sports! And oh so cute! And you know, YOU KNOW, that they're giving him some cute number in the teens. He scores a touchdown and they're selling his jersey for years. And you can get him out in front of the press in training camp as a smokescreen for McNabb. These aren't the droids you're looking for -- have you met our handsome young extreme athlete? Brilliant.

Also, because it's easy to forget how fun it is to watch the Birds when they're playing well, I've included the following. (Search under "Dawplex" on Youtube.) I think the best part is that it's the erstwhile Dread ESPN Sunday Night Crew doing the call. I struggle not to laugh out loud as Theismann demands a penalty ("A fifteen-yard penalty!") as Dawk is strutting and flexing his biceps. Sublime.

Go Birds.

Posted by thatkid at May 2, 2006 11:57 PM under Philly , Sports

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