NFL Draft, the day after: So long Dhani

Sorry the posts dried up in the middle of the day yesterday. There was just a ton of stuff to do and I was one of the last ones out of there as it was. There will be plenty on those late-round guys come mini-camp.

The big news of the day is that the Eagles released strong side linebacker Dhani Jones, a move that seemed like a forgone conclusion the moment they traded for Takeo Spikes. It's interesting that they chose today, a day they also signed 11 undrafted free agents. Seems like maybe they were trying to lessen the media impact a little bit, maybe.

Incidentally, one of those 11 guys is Dereck Faulkner, a former Moorestown High School wideout by way of Hampton. I did a Varsity: Behind the Scenes story back in 2002, following the then-undefeated Woodrow Wilson football team through a game day against Moorestown, and Tennessee defensive tackle Turk McBride -- who was just drafted in the second round on Saturday -- was the big star for Wilson. Running back Albert Young was Moorestown's star, but the Quakers used him largely as a decoy and it was actually Faulkner's big-play ability that hurt Wilson. Moorestown broke the Tigers' 14-game winning streak that day, coming back from down 26-7 at halftime, and Wilson was never quite the same team.

Anyway, enough with memory lane.

Also among the Birds' 11 signees is Florida International safety Chris Smith, the guy who was kicked off the FIU squad for starting the ugly on-field brawl that ended up so besmirching the image of Miami free safety Brandon Meriweather that he ALMOST fell to the Eagles at pick No. 26 in Saturday's first round. All a guy can do is try his best, I guess.

We like C.J. Gaddis

In this job (sportwriting) it's all about the good talkers, and C.J. Gaddis is a gem.

"B-Dawk is the man!" he said early in his conference call a couple minutes ago, just seconds before breaking down in tears and telling us he hadn't cried in years. That's the kind of kid we like. I guarantee he'll get plenty written about him this season.

Here's the complete C.J. Gaddis conference call.

C.J. Gaddis is a Philadelphia Eagle

I had to take a momentary break from doing the South Jersey girls' lacrosse Top 10 to look at the TV here in the NCC media workroom.

Apparently, C.J. Gaddis is the Eagles solution at cornerback. He'll be giving Will James a push for the nickel spot this upcoming season. None of us know who the heck this guy is, but apparently he's already been drafted by the Mariners.

So he's a poor man's Deion Sanders, I guess. The word is that though he's listed as a corner, his NFL future is as a safety.

I'm done

Cooked to a crisp.

It was a bizarre first day at the 2007 Draft for nthe Eagles, in which the usually-safe Reid-era Birds went all Ray Rhodes and Rich Kotite on us, confounding the nation with their wacky moves. It was an exciting and bizarre first Draft Day for me as the Eagles writer too, and I'm very, very tired.

Tomorrow should be a little less stressful, in part because many fewer people even really care what happens, but mostly because none of those happenings will be occurring anywhere near deadline.

In any case, I bid all readers good night.

The third round

The Eagles ended up picking Nebraska linebacker Stewart Bradley and Penn State running back Tony Hunt with their two picks late in the third round.

If I had to guess, I'd say the Bradley pick will be met with derision, in large part because he's another Chris Gocong type -- big backer, small defensive end -- with an ACL tear in his not-too-distant past. Conversely, I think folks will love the Tony Hunt pick. Obviously, he's gotten a lot of loacl attention because of the Nits, and though he;s not as highly though-ot as Leionard from Rutgers, he's widely considered one of the top 10 backs in this year's draft.

A couple minutes after the Hunt pick, Andy Reid was on the NFL Network, where he uttered a truly Reid-esque sentence. Steve Mariucci asked him how he was holding up after the personal umult of this offseason, in which bhis two sons were brought up on traffic/drug/gun charges, prompting him to take a very public leave of absence.

Andy's response: "The boys are working hard at getting things right, and doing a nice job with that."

Classic.

Britt and Garrett are apparently rehabbing a couple of injuries, trying to find their way back up the Reid Family Depth Chart.

Second second rounder.....

... is Notre Dame defensive end Victor Abiamiri.

This is not such a huge surprise, except that most people who thought the Birds would take him here assumed they were going for a defensive back with their first pick.

Look out...

Eric "Eazy E" Wright is still out there, and if he gets to the Eagles, I've got to think they take him.

Ice Cube is gone, and of course Dr. Dre went off the board way early, but any member of NWA, even a dead one, is still a value pick at the end of the second round.

Another chosen one

Newest Eagles Kevin Kolb, just a few minutes ago: "God was just one my side today, and we just made it work. "

Ah, that explains it. If only God had told Mel Kiper what He was thinking, we all would have seen this coming a long way down the pike.

The question in my head now: "What does God have against Donovan McNabb that He would mess with his head in this way?"

I'm going to be out of the loop for a little while

Probably until the Eagles' next pick, at the end of the second round. it;s going to take at least that long to get the world revolving on its axis again.

THE MOMENT WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR, PART II

With the 36th pick in the 2007 Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles select....

quarterback Kevin Kolb from Houston?

Mama McNabb is blogging at this moment: "No they didn't!"

With the last pre-Birds pick of the 2007 Draft...

... the Tampa Bay Buccaneers select Arron Sears, and offensive guard from Tennessee.

My prediction for the Eagles pick is Arkansas cornerback Chris Houston, but I'm just spitting in the wind.

Let's see what's behind Door Number 36.

Alan Branch's nightmare had ended

It might have even lasted longer than Brady Quinn's, but people didn't talk as much about it.

Detroit will probably take Posluszney, to the chargin of Penn State fans everywhere.

Whoops. Nevermind. I forgot that pick was Buffalo's now. But the Bills did take Posluszny.

Now Dwayne Jarrett is the longest-falling first-round projection left. There's just one pick left before the Eagles, and there hasn't been a single defensive back picked since they traded their first rounder.

As C-P columnist said, "They're golden."

The first round ends

NFL commish Roger Goodell announced that this was the longest first round in league history, and simultaneously everyone in the media room laughed with derision. That is not a good thing for us, especially since the Birds now have two third round picks.

Paul Posluszny and Alan Branch were the most notable players to slip out of the first round. The Eagles could take either one and claim they were delighted for the honor.

Another note: now the Birds are free to take a linebacker without breaking their 28-year streak of not taking a LB in the first round.

Just five more picks until the Eagles' first second-round choice

Whoever the Birds take with the 36th overall pick, you can guarantee that they will claim to have been considering picking him with the 26th pick in the first round. Whether that's true or not, and whether that player has first-round value, that's a mystery I have no time or inclination to solve.

It looks like Greg Olsen is going to either the Bears or the Colts, since the TV showed him happy and on the phone a couple minutes ago.

*****

And it's the Bears.

And the draft marches on

Anthony Spencer goes in the Eagles spot, to Dallas. I was right about that, at least. Robert Meachum goes to New Orleans, a decent replacecment for Joe Horn opposite Marques Colston. San Fran trades up to New England's pick and takes Joe Staley, the third OT off the board.

Olsen is still there. Posluszny is still there. Alan Branch is still there. Plus corners like Chris Houston, Marcus McCauley and Eric Wright (or, as I like to call him, Eazy E).

THE MOMENT WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR

The Eagles' pick is....

Nobody.

They traded the pick to DALLAS, of all teams, for a second rounder, a third rounder and a fifth rounder. The 36th pick, the 87th pick and the 159th pick.

I don't have the point chart in front of me, but assuming Brandon Meriweather was their guy, this was a decent move. They'll probably still be able to get one of the defensive backs they want at pick No. 36.

Panthers take Jon Beason

There's one more interesting Miami player left on the board. Tight end Eric Olsen, who could make the L.J. Smith problem go away next year.

The Eagles are on the clock. We're all atwitter here at the NCC. Mockingly, but atwitter.

The Patriots draft...

Brandon Meriweather!!!

When Roger Goodell made the announcement, somebody across the room yelled out, "Suck on that." Indeed, Eagles. Indeed.

By all accounts, this was the guy the Birds wanted at No. 26, and now he's gone. At least they didn't trade up and not get him. Look out for Philly to trade down out of the first round now. If they do, then all the prognosticators were probably right.

The Panthers are now on the clock.

Kansas City takes a wideout

Dwayne Bowe. Not a player, I don't think, that the Eagles were all that interested in. But I could be dead wrong.

Tight end Eric Olsen, Paul Posluszny, Chris Houston from Arkansas. But if Alan Branch, the DT from Michigan, falls to them, I'm not sure they could resist taking him. Branch was supposed to be a Top 15 pick, and the Birds love to take linemen in the first round.

Almost there

The Eagles are just three picks from the clock. Will Meriweather make it there? And will the Eagles take him?

The club has fed us here and the food in the NovaCare Complex cafeteria was pretty decent. It's hard to tell how big an impact that makes with us sportswriters, but it's hard to overestimate the impact of free food. Providing lunch was definitely a high-value move.

The first trade and the first corner

The media room wireless connection has been down for hours, so this is a string of several posts run together. Sorry for the technical problems. Not my fault though.

I just wrote this post and lost it because the wireless went down.

In any case, the Jets traded up to snag Darelle Revis in front of the Steelers, which I thought would start the run on defensive backs that has been expected through the middle of the first round. Then Pittsburgh took Lawrence Timmons, a linebacker from Florida State that some thought would go to the Eagles 11 picks later.

So maybe that DB run won't happen. Leon Hall is still out there as one of the highest-rated corners in the draft, and there's only one of several safeties off the board so far. Maybe Reggie Nelson will fall to the Birds after all.

By the way, Brady Quinn has been ushered to a private room, where he can weep openly and throw chairs around all him likes. A few more picks go by, maybe they'll have to pad the walls and take his shoelaces. The girlfriend is already long gone.

****

The GD wireless is still down.

Justin Harrell, a defensive tackle from Tennessee, went to the Packers, and Aaron Rodgers breathes a sigh of relief.

Another trade, the Broncos jumping up into Jacksonville's spot to take Jarvis Moss from Florida, a defensive end who some thought the Eagles would take, if her was available at 26.

And Brady waits, feeling a lot more like Jan now, than Marcia.

*****

Leon Hall goes to the Bengals. That anticipated run on DBs would start now, but the Eagles may be hoping against it.

Most likely, there is less than 150 feet between the place I'm sitting and the room in which the Eagles front office heavies are deciding who to take or whether to trade. But there could hardly be a bigger gulf in clarity. Reid, Heckert and company have been extremely successful in their disinformation campaign, because even if they take Brandon Meriweather -- the guy everybody expects them to take -- we will be surprised.

*****

The Titans took Michael Griffin, who was once the frontrunner to be the next Philadelphia Eagle. So it goes. The Giants take Aaron Ross, also from Texas, And here's the run on defensive backs. Reggie Nelson and Brandon Meriweather are still out there, with five more picks before the Birds.

*****

Reggie Nelson goes to Jacksonville. And abother DB goes to a non-Eagle team. Brandon Meriweather is still there, though. So is Chris Houston.

My bet at this very moment: Anthony Spencer, DE from Purdue. Don't put any money on it, mind you. Just a shot in the dark.

*****

Brady Quinn goes to Cleveland. At pick No. 22, just 19 picks after he thought he would go to Cleveland.

Kudos to the Browns front office, who not only got the guy they wanted (Joe Thomas), they got the guy everyone thought they wanted too. That's a pretty nice trick.

*****

Where will Brady go?

I see Brady Quinn's girlfriend has left him. I read somewhere that they've been together since high school, but even back then she figured he's go in the top 10.

We're sitting here wondering what the Eagles will do if Quinn falls to pick No. 26. I don't think they'd take him, but it would be interesting just to see him sit in the green room that long.

The biggest surprise is not Quinn's free fall, however, it's that there have been zero trades. Most (including me, but what the hell do I know) thought there would be a flurry of moves this year, and yet nothing. We'll see if, in the next several hours, any of those top picks are swapped.

The Lions take a 17th wide receiver

... to back up Charles Rogers. Seriously, though, I don't think this is as dumb as it seems. The Lions will likely trade Johnson, probably to a salivating Tampa Bay, for offensive linemand Joe Thomas, the guy they really need.

We'll see.

And the first pick of the NFL Draft is...

... Jamarcus Russell. Big freaking surprise.

We waited 15 minutes for this? After waiting four months for it? Mario Williams, the No. 1 overall pick in 2006, might turn out to be a bust, but at least it was half-interesting TV watching the Texans rob themselves of Reggie Bush.

By the way, did you see Roger Goodell stand up next to Michael Vick, the world's highest-paid dogfight promoter, and not suspend him. I wonder if that holds up, and if it does, how the NFL could possibly spin it after hammering Pacman Jones and Chris Henry with lengthy suspensions.

Greetings from 90 miles from the NFL Draft

I have arrived at the media work room at the NovaCare Complex. Just like you, I'm watching the draft on TV, and probably not as nice a TV as 85 percent of you.

I'll be popping back in every now and then to comment on what's happening at Radio City Music Hall and in NFL war rooms both here in South Philly and across the league.

By the way, it appears that Jamarcus Russell will indeed be the No. 1 pick, unless Cleveland gived the Raiders their first three 2007 picks and their first pick in 2008.

47 years and counting

The title of this post was one of the blog names names I briefly considered before settling on The Eagle Scout. Others that made unsuccessful bids:

Green Days
The Iggle-oo
Birdspin
The Bubby Brister Fan Club
Where Have You Gone Izel Jenkins?
And last but not least... Santa Was Drunk

A couple of those references, I'm guessing, would not ring a bell with every Eagles fan in the year 2007, but I think almost most can identify with the frustration that makes obscure names from the past so relevant. After all, Jenkins and Brister never won a Super Bowl either.

Maybe this is the year Eagles fans will be able to forget all that frustration.

Anyway, welcome to the Eagles 2007 season, which will ratchet up to another level during this weekend's NFL Draft, when I'll be blogging live all day from the NovaCare Complex. The draft has taken on national holiday status for NFL fans and college football fans alike. For some folks, this weekend is probably more exciting than the Super Bowl itself. It certainly lasts longer. The first three rounds will probably take about 10 hours on Saturday, and the last four will likely last six or seven on Sunday.

I'll try to post a few times between now and Saturday, as the draft approaches. The Eagles have been characteristically cagy with their intentions, but given the fact that they pick so late in the first round, I believe GM Tom Heckert when he says they don't know who that will take. Everybody will find out together. Meanwhile, I want to say how much I'm looking forward to the next several months following the Birds, and I'll do my best to offer unique angles into the most scrutinized group of people in the Philadelphia region.

Let's have some fun.