LJ Smith quote on negotiating with Eagles

[Munson]

Draft the TE from University of Delaware please.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

Positives: Has a thick frame with adequate muscle tone, smooth skin, good chest and arm thickness, good bubble, big shoulders and good upper body muscles with a frame that could carry at least another 10 pounds of bulk ... Compensates for a lack of speed with good balance and body control through his route progression ... Has good balance with the ball in his hands, running with a normal stride ... His body control, hand/eye coordination and large hands will generally see him catch most balls away from his frame ... His hands and size give quarterbacks a good short-area target, as he can bounce off defenders ... Knows how to use his size and reach to get a clean push off the jam and is too big for second-level defenders to attempt to try and reroute him ... Best when sitting down underneath ... Knows how to use his body to push and leverage defenders and while no explosion is evident, he does a good job of using his frame to shield the ball from defenders ... When he uses his body and squares his shoulders, Anderson is a load to bring down in isolated coverage ... Won't win any foot races, so he has to use his power base to break tackles ... Has good balance and body lean to gain valid yardage after the catch ... Too stiff to extend and reach for the ball at its high point, but does have the ability to look the ball in and catch away from the frame ... Does a good job of squaring his shoulders after the catch and has the functional flexibility (yet has stiff hips), to turn and run with the ball ... Might show some flinch working in a crowd, but he has no problems catching outside his frame ... Gets most of his separation by squaring his shoulders and generating the leg drive to break tackles.

Negatives: Methodical mover who lacks suddenness or good timed speed, but is effective getting a clean release and into his routes when working in the short area ... Despite his size, Patrick is more of a finesse type who will shy away from contact, especially when asked to block ... Has good strength, but seems to lack the desire to sustain and defenders can push him back into the pocket, making him a liability in pass protection ... Lacks the quick-twitch moves or second gear to get into his routes quickly ... Labors when running longer routes and is better served working in the short area over the middle than having him attack the second level ... Doesn't have the speed to separate or the loose hips to elude ... Has good hand/eye coordination, but seems to back off confrontations in a crowd ... Has the upper body strength to make reach blocks or neutralize linebackers at the second level, but lacks the lower body strength and hand placement to lock on and sustain when blocking along the line ... Gets too narrow in his stance and lacks good footwork in his kick slide.

Compares To: Mike Seidman-Carolina ... Patrick is a very inviting short-area target with natural hands and the size to shield the ball from defenders ... He lacks good technique and urgency as a blocker, and does not have the valid speed to be a vertical threat ... He is best when used on controlled or underneath routes, as he shows good ball security.

Who the hell is Mike Seidman?  Barf.

[ice grillin you]

its sad that a year away from it happening we are talking about how we already know that the eagles are gonna show one of their best players the door and that they should be looking to draft his replacement

is it just me or is there something disconcerting about that

[Munson]

From skimming through that, it looks like they're saying he's good at the underneath routes and has excellent hands. That's what they try and use LJ for in this offense, when they should be using his athleticism to stretch defenes and get behind the LB's/underneath the safety's. So if they're gonna keep running 4 yard turn arounds with the TE, might as well draft Patrick as LJ's replacement.

He can be coached up to block. Hell even LJ showed improvement in that as the year went on.

IGY-yeah I'm pissed about that too. LJ will probably be asking for a little more then he's worth, but at the same time, having him+Westbrook is an extremely lethal combination in the middle of the field. I'd like to see LJ Smith here for the rest of his career, but I don't know if they'll make it happen.

[PoopyfaceMcGee]

is it just me or is there something disconcerting about that

Indeed, it is disconcerting.

[Diomedes]

I stopped reading at "adequate muscle tone, smooth skin, good chest and arm thickness..."

[Rome]

its sad that a year away from it happening we are talking about how we already know that the eagles are gonna show one of their best players the door and that they should be looking to draft his replacement

is it just me or is there something disconcerting about that

It's more disconcerting to me that L.J. Smith is one of the "better" players on the team.

[General_Failure]

He's the best receiving threat after Westbrook, but he's nothing more than an average receiver and mediocre blocker. Always has been. Improve the motherfarging WRs, get a gameplan that incorporates more passes to them and more runs instead of dumpoffs to the RB and TE.

Even as the #2 option, he finished with a slightly better year than Dallas Clark and slightly worse than Desmond Clark. OMG, he's a superbowl quality TE!

[RipperEagle]

Hey what's up fellow Eagles fans?

I don't know: personally I like LJ a lot but if that's his attitude then so be it.

You never know: I remember Westbrook saying the same things and then he got a new deal so...

[ice grillin you]

He's the best receiving threat after Westbrook, but he's nothing more than an average receiver and mediocre blocker. Always has been. Improve the motherfarging WRs, get a gameplan that incorporates more passes to them and more runs instead of dumpoffs to the RB and TE.

Even as the #2 option, he finished with a slightly better year than Dallas Clark and slightly worse than

you need to realize that unless the eagles change their offensive philosophy people arent going to get huge numbers in this offense...so continously quoting how many catches stallworth or lj had means nothing

even TO was only in the 70's here

in other words if you think lj does nothing for this offense wait until matt schobel is in there

[Sgt PSN]

IGY, TO's 70 catches were also after like 13.5 games.  Give him the entire season and he's probably in the high 80's/low 90's.  Of course, that's completely irrelevant now and I could really care less.  Just wanted to point it out. 

And I do agree with the fact that the Eagles do run a "spread it around offense" (I don't think anyone would disagree) and get damn near everyone on the offensive side of the ball involved in the game so it's highly unlikely that we will ever see a reciever put up #'s like TO did in 04.  And I'm fine with that as long as the players that the Eagles are putting out on the field can actually make plays.  And LJ Smith is a playmaker.   

[ice grillin you]

TO

2000 - 14 gm - 97 catch
2002 - 14 gm - 100 catch
2004 - 14 gm - 77 catch

[Diomedes]

if you think lj does nothing for this offense ...

that is totally what he said.

[ice grillin you]

like totally dood

but he's nothing more than an average receiver


in my world (the world where people actually watch games) average receivers do nothing for an offense

[Diomedes]

yeah, I never watch the games.  that's totally what I said. 

LJ is alright, but I won't be upset if he leaves.  Average is a good way to describe his recieving abilities..maybe better than most TEs, but not in the top tier, and certainly not better than regular WRs, which is what he amounts to anyway because he can't block for shtein.