From profootballweekly. Very tough on Heckert -- though this run of poor-producing d-linemen taken in the 1st round raises questions in my mind. very reminiscent to the OL who were drafted by kotite in the 90s -- antone davis, lester holmes, bernard williams.
Apologies if this was already posted.
Donovan McNabb’s season-ending injury has raised some questions about the Eagles — from the front office down.
It not only puts the Eagles’ season in serious doubt, it also brings up the matter of whether the team needs to be concerned about McNabb’s long-term durability and whether it should have addressed the QB position more thoroughly given that history. This is the third season-ending injury in the past five years for McNabb, and although the ailments — a broken ankle, a sports hernia and now a torn anterior cruciate ligament — can all be put into the fluke category, the track record suggests that the Eagles should have planned for their leader going down.
As PFW has talked to different people around the league, much of the blame has fallen on Tom Heckert — named general manager in January when it was rumored he might be leaving the organization for another GM job — for not properly maintaining the roster.
Amid last season’s disaster, when the team lost 5-of-7 games after McNabb’s hernia had forced him to the sideline, the team was left to suffer with the inefficient duo of Mike McMahon and Koy Detmer at quarterback, neither of whom is currently on an NFL roster. McMahon and Detmer combined to complete 45.5 percent of their passes, with 11 interceptions and only five touchdowns.
The team declared its backup QB problems over when it signed Jeff Garcia in the offseason and was encouraged to pick up A.J. Feeley as an upgrade for the No. 3 option. Garcia was ineffective in relief of McNabb in the 31-13 home loss to the Titans, but he played better (19-of-23, 140 yards, two TDs) in a 45-21 loss to the Colts in Week 12 that dropped the Eagles’ record to 5-6.
“What I want to know: Is Tom Heckert going to take any blame for having two backup quarterbacks who have proven they cannot play in this league?” asked one personnel director, rhetorically, to PFW. “It is his team and will be his second consecutive year they don’t reach the playoffs.”
It should be noted that head coach Andy Reid held final say on personnel matters during Heckert’s tenure as director of player personnel and remains heavily involved in the process.
“Is it Andy or Heckert? The NFC is weak, and the once-dominant Philadelphia Eagles are nowhere to be found,” the personnel director said. “I think Reid has proven he can coach.”
For the time being, the team trudges forward with Garcia, though sources in Philadelphia say there could be a quick hook if things go sour.
“We feel like we can run our regular stuff with Jeff,” offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg told PFW. “He has had good practices and looks pretty confident back there. And with A.J., we have a big guy who can really throw it. So we’re protected either way.”
Mornhinweg also dismissed the notion that the team gave up against the Titans after McNabb got hurt.
“I didn’t feel that way,” he said. “We’re going to be all right here.”
Still, the personnel makeup of the team will be second-guessed by many, especially with the Heckert-Reid combo having drafted only one quarterback — Andy Hall, who never played in an NFL game, in 2004 — since Feeley joined the team out of Oregon in 2001 as a fifth-round draft choice.
“He took over a team that was already built,” added another NFL talent evaluator. “He’s living off the past and the work of all those veteran scouts. Open the media guide and look at those scouts. What is it, do you have to be 27 years old to be a scout? I am shocked.
“They have all these kids scouting for them now. (That’s a) sharp contrast from what they had when Andy started. Is it the culmination of a head coach having too much say and not wanting any competent evaluators around him? Is it a (former Packers head coach) Mike Sherman situation all over again?”
Apologies if this was already posted.
Donovan McNabb’s season-ending injury has raised some questions about the Eagles — from the front office down.
It not only puts the Eagles’ season in serious doubt, it also brings up the matter of whether the team needs to be concerned about McNabb’s long-term durability and whether it should have addressed the QB position more thoroughly given that history. This is the third season-ending injury in the past five years for McNabb, and although the ailments — a broken ankle, a sports hernia and now a torn anterior cruciate ligament — can all be put into the fluke category, the track record suggests that the Eagles should have planned for their leader going down.
As PFW has talked to different people around the league, much of the blame has fallen on Tom Heckert — named general manager in January when it was rumored he might be leaving the organization for another GM job — for not properly maintaining the roster.
Amid last season’s disaster, when the team lost 5-of-7 games after McNabb’s hernia had forced him to the sideline, the team was left to suffer with the inefficient duo of Mike McMahon and Koy Detmer at quarterback, neither of whom is currently on an NFL roster. McMahon and Detmer combined to complete 45.5 percent of their passes, with 11 interceptions and only five touchdowns.
The team declared its backup QB problems over when it signed Jeff Garcia in the offseason and was encouraged to pick up A.J. Feeley as an upgrade for the No. 3 option. Garcia was ineffective in relief of McNabb in the 31-13 home loss to the Titans, but he played better (19-of-23, 140 yards, two TDs) in a 45-21 loss to the Colts in Week 12 that dropped the Eagles’ record to 5-6.
“What I want to know: Is Tom Heckert going to take any blame for having two backup quarterbacks who have proven they cannot play in this league?” asked one personnel director, rhetorically, to PFW. “It is his team and will be his second consecutive year they don’t reach the playoffs.”
It should be noted that head coach Andy Reid held final say on personnel matters during Heckert’s tenure as director of player personnel and remains heavily involved in the process.
“Is it Andy or Heckert? The NFC is weak, and the once-dominant Philadelphia Eagles are nowhere to be found,” the personnel director said. “I think Reid has proven he can coach.”
For the time being, the team trudges forward with Garcia, though sources in Philadelphia say there could be a quick hook if things go sour.
“We feel like we can run our regular stuff with Jeff,” offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg told PFW. “He has had good practices and looks pretty confident back there. And with A.J., we have a big guy who can really throw it. So we’re protected either way.”
Mornhinweg also dismissed the notion that the team gave up against the Titans after McNabb got hurt.
“I didn’t feel that way,” he said. “We’re going to be all right here.”
Still, the personnel makeup of the team will be second-guessed by many, especially with the Heckert-Reid combo having drafted only one quarterback — Andy Hall, who never played in an NFL game, in 2004 — since Feeley joined the team out of Oregon in 2001 as a fifth-round draft choice.
“He took over a team that was already built,” added another NFL talent evaluator. “He’s living off the past and the work of all those veteran scouts. Open the media guide and look at those scouts. What is it, do you have to be 27 years old to be a scout? I am shocked.
“They have all these kids scouting for them now. (That’s a) sharp contrast from what they had when Andy started. Is it the culmination of a head coach having too much say and not wanting any competent evaluators around him? Is it a (former Packers head coach) Mike Sherman situation all over again?”
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