All in....even Bunkley?

[Vote for Kalas]

Please....

The Eagles have developed PLENTY of talent on this team...geez...what other high picks on the OL/DL have not produced?

Simon did, Patterson has, Andrews has...not to mention developing guys like Cole, Thomas, Jackson, Herremanns, Walker, Rayburn etc. Some of them may be beat up and injured now, but they have played well before...

The only one I can think of is J-Mac...every team makes a mistake every now and then...

Bunkley is NOT a bust IMO....he is a freakin' ROOKIE for goodness sake...

Lets give him at least some time before we call for his head....hopefully he can bring some heat and JJ will continue to call his number this week...

[Eagle60]

Please....

The Eagles have developed PLENTY of talent on this team...geez...what other high picks on the OL/DL have not produced?

Simon did, Patterson has, Andrews has...not to mention developing guys like Cole, Thomas, Jackson, Herremanns, Walker, Rayburn etc. Some of them may be beat up and injured now, but they have played well before...

The only one I can think of is J-Mac...every team makes a mistake every now and then...

Bunkley is NOT a bust IMO....he is a freakin' ROOKIE for goodness sake...

Lets give him at least some time before we call for his head....hopefully he can bring some heat and JJ will continue to call his number this week...

Funny response there VFK. I think most people are calling for him to play-not his head. Other than Simon, these guys have pretty much missed with their D lineman though.

[Eaglebreath]

I wouldn't say they've missed totally. They missed totally on McDougle, but Burress and Cole were good picks. Simon was productive right out of the gate, etc. I think we're in a position where the McDougle pick, and not getting anything out of Bunkley sticks out like a sore thumb. If those guys were actually playing like mid to high first round picks right now, we'd have a better defense, and a better football team overall.

But they aren't, and it is what it is.

I agree that Bunkley is just a rookie, but I still find it somewhat concerning that we've gotten absolutely no contribution from him this season whatsoever. Simon was a similar player, from the same school, and he contributed right away as a rookie. Considering how badly we can use help at DT, for Bunkley to not even be able to get on the field is a concern.

[Vote for Kalas]

60, there has been plenty of people calling Bunkley a bust on the board and my response was specifically in response to nc's post before mine stating how "sad" the Eagles development record is and why so many of their high picks do not produce...

So, I looked back at our high picks on the OL/DL, which is what he appeared to be speaking about, and the only "bust" I could see was J-Mac...

Simon was a stud for several years even as a rookie which is rare...he was dominant and was let go when he finally started to regress...

Patterson performed well again even as a rookie which is rare...he led the entire DL in tackles and had 3.5 sacks...he has continued to do well this year IMO...is he a total stud? No, but again picking at #30 the Eagles were not going to get a stud IMO...

Andrews? Do I need to post much about him? Ok, good...he is a stud IMO.

Who else, besides J-Mac, was a high pick that flopped on the OL/DL? Or are we talking in general in any position? McNabb? Lito? I hope no one is that dumb...

F-Mitch? Sure, that was a bust for sure, but I am not sure it was lack of development...more like lack of character on Freddie's part IMO. He cannot even claim he was injured or shot thus missing time like J-Mac .

So, again I would love to see your evidence we have "missed with their D lineman" whenever you wish to share it....I think you are on very thin ice...the Eagles have developed guys that no one thought would play well like Rayburn, Hollis, Walker, Cole, Thomas etc. that only makes my case stronger...

[MDFAN]

Agree that we can call Bunkley a concern, but some have called him a bust which of course, is just foolish......... we just don't know yet what we have. Simon was what a # 6 pick and he was coming on a team that was ascending and had a great need at DT.... Bunkley was coming unto a squad we all thought was loaded with DL talent, I agree that we need to see what he has, but he and Simon came unto very different scenes.

Mac-doo-gal is still hard to figure out for me, soooooooooo many things have gone wrong I don't know if he was a bad pick or just snake bitten, guess we will find out about him also.

The bottom line is that trying to label FO as great or terrible based only on one or two or even a few draft picks is a wasted exercise, IMO.

[Eaglebreath]

Agree that we can call Bunkley a concern, but some have called him a bust which of course, is just foolish......... we just don't know yet what we have. Simon was what a # 6 pick and he was coming on a team that was ascending and had a great need at DT.... Bunkley was coming unto a squad we all thought was loaded with DL talent, I agree that we need to see what he has, but he and Simon came unto very different scenes.

Mac-doo-gal is still hard to figure out for me, soooooooooo many things have gone wrong I don't know if he was a bad pick or just snake bitten, guess we will find out about him also.

The bottom line is that trying to label FO as great or terrible based only on one or two or even a few draft picks is a wasted exercise, IMO.

I pretty much agree here. But, Bunkley was drafted high because we had a need at DT too. And, at this point, I think we are every bit as in need of some production out of him than we were with Simon, if not more. He's had enough time to get a grip on his job. It's definitely time for him to start earning those paychecks. And, while I won't call him a bust if he fails to contribute, it's defintely going to make me consider the possibility that we might not have squat in the guy.

[Vote for Kalas]

I think we can all agree with that, EB...

I do believe we were all very happy when he was picked and had some fantasy that he would be a stud right away...

That is a very rare player who can do that; there are thousands of examples from all NFL teams and a very small number are studs right away or even during most of their rookie year...it is a large transition from college to the NFL. Simon fits here since he was dominant as a rookie and continued to be good for several years...

Less rare, but still not frequent or even half the time, is roughly what Patterson produced last season as a rookie...started right away, good performance, great attitude and several signs of superior talent...

Less rare again, but still not the majority, IMO is of guys who start to produce in their 2nd or 3rd year and become either very good, good or at least solid players at this level...guys like Walker, Hollis etc.

Then I would say IMO the majority, over half, are still guys who either only produce mediocre to poor careers or are total busts at this level...this is where the J-Mac's of the world are IMO...

I have not done any serious evidential study on these categories; just throwing it out off the top of my head, but it would be interesting to see how many picks from, say the 1st & 2nd rounds, have panned out or see if they can be slotted into one of these categories...I will start that when I get some free time after the holidays...

[MDFAN]

Agree that we can call Bunkley a concern, but some have called him a bust which of course, is just foolish......... we just don't know yet what we have. Simon was what a # 6 pick and he was coming on a team that was ascending and had a great need at DT.... Bunkley was coming unto a squad we all thought was loaded with DL talent, I agree that we need to see what he has, but he and Simon came unto very different scenes.

Mac-doo-gal is still hard to figure out for me, soooooooooo many things have gone wrong I don't know if he was a bad pick or just snake bitten, guess we will find out about him also.

The bottom line is that trying to label FO as great or terrible based only on one or two or even a few draft picks is a wasted exercise, IMO.

I pretty much agree here. But, Bunkley was drafted high because we had a need at DT too. And, at this point, I think we are every bit as in need of some production out of him than we were with Simon, if not more. He's had enough time to get a grip on his job. It's definitely time for him to start earning those paychecks. And, while I won't call him a bust if he fails to contribute, it's defintely going to make me consider the possibility that we might not have squat in the guy.

I glad we can agree for the most part. Although I still think that the need we had for Simon was much much much greater than the need we had for Bunkley, and I think that point was proven when the DL was good through the 1st 4 or 5 games. I think it has only been after that 4 and 1 start that it started to become clear that DT was an area needed to improve.

I just hope he plays well and we can see some improvement in the DL play, I just worry about thowing him out there with Tiki and his cut backs.

[Eaglebreath]

I see your point, Vote, but Bunkley was the #1 one gap DT prospect in the draft. I'd be a lot more comfortable right now if he had contributed something, anything. Heck, you'd think he could at least contribute a little bit on a porous D line on just talent alone, even as a rookie. But, to get absolutely nothing has got to be considered cause for concern.

I just hope the light goes on, and he steps up with something. We need this guy, and it looks like JJ is going to give him some snaps this week. Christ, at least flash something to indicate that you're worthy of your draft status, and all that money you got paid.

[Vote for Kalas]

He was the #14 pick and like you say, considered the top one-gap DT in the draft...

Definitely, we need him to produce and hope he can do well with the chances he gets...I think it is clear, however, that he has not gotten many chances and has not shown the coaches enough during practice for him to earn more chances...

Even if the team is getting gashed on the ground, most coaches IMO are not going to throw a rookie in they do not think has earned the time and remove guys who HAVE shown the talent/production before and have the coaches trust....unless we have serious injuries and are forced to by depth issues...

He has 9 tackles, 1 pass deflection and 1 QB pressure...playing randomly in 10 games...that would not probably encourage me to give him more snaps if I was coach, but Ray-Did argues he believes Bunkley is one of those guys who needs playing time to improve and learn on the job...if true, then we could criticize JJ and Reid for not seeing that and giving him that time...

I tend to trust Reid, Jenkins and JJ who have developed alot of players over the years. So my tendency is that Bunkley simply has not shown enough yet and needs to keep working hard and learning...I trust he will improve and show us more moving forward...

[FRESH]

From G Cobb........

I just had a twenty-minute conversation with Eagles number one draft pick Broderick Bunkley. I asked him repeatedly why he wasn't playing. All he could tell me was the fact that he came in late to training camp and he missed the team plane on the way to Indianapolis. Other than that, he couldn't tell me any other reason why he wasn't playing. I asked him again and again.

I asked him if he had come across like he had a bad attitude to the coaches. He said he hadn't made that type of presentation. I asked if he was comfortable with his assignments and he assured me that he knew what to do. I asked him if any of his coaches had told him why he wasn't playing. He said they hadn't.

I told the kid about a comment that floated out of the Eagles organization that, "he didn't seem eager enough to get on the field". The kid told me he hadn't been sleeping well because he wants to play so bad. Bunkley said that after the games his teammates try to get him to go out but he doesn't because he doesn't feel like doing anything since he's not playing.

Broderick told me he talks to all of the guys in his draft class and he knows how well they're doing and how far behind he is at the moment. The youngster was very open about how he felt and our conversation just went on and on.

The number one pick just kept shaking his head in amazement that the season was nearing an end and he's still not playing. Bunkley says he doesn't understand why he was playing early in the season but that has stopped.

The problem I with all of this is, the fact that it's a coach's job to communicate with his players. A player, especially a young player should be told clearly why he's not playing. This is not college ball. You don't have guys stashed on the bench and pull them out when they're an upper classman.

The Eagles are fighting for their playoff lives and they drafted Bunkley to help them on their "D" line but he's locked on the Eagles bench. Of course, the "D" line is playing so well it's understandable that they wouldn't want to put him in there. Please.

[FRESH]

I say that this week, Bunk is gonna show us that he is NOT a bust.

Cmon, Bunk........

[FRESH]

My God. Gumble and Sanders proves that it IS possible to have a worse announcing crew that Theisman and Kornholio. RALPH!!!!!!!!

[FRESH]

Well, that should do it. I'm hoping that by the time we play Atlanta, they won't have anything to play for anymore.

[nc]

I mentioned the recent Eagles luck with high draft picks. Andrews is a stud, but he's really the only one who will be a bona fide star in this league. Brown is a serviceable WR, and Patterson is ok at best. This is not a ringing endorsement on the Eagles personal development. With the Eagles cap management system they have to hit HR's really early in the draft, and develop later picks. Seems they got this formula a little backwards.

Cole is a nice find, I really like this guy. Unless Bunkley is a dog in practice there is no way you don't find PT for a high pick under their certain circumstances. Again I think it's Reid's way of smacking the guy on the nose for whatever petty reason. This is especially so when your giving up 180+ rushing yards a game over the last 6, and are 29 th in the NFL vs the rush. It looks petty, how does such a consensus stud DT only have 1 tackle to date in this league? Easy; Piss off Reid and ride the bench.