Eagles seek better draft

With the Eagles, along with the rest of the league, looking to close the gap between themselves and the Giants when the 2008 NFL Draft begins this afternoon, it is only fair to ask:

Was it just a coincidence that one of the most productive drafts from top to bottom for one organization in recent memory helped deliver a Super Bowl title for a wild-card team that finished the regular season 10-6?

Although the odds of eight selected players all contributing dur ing their rookie season and well into the playoffs are decidedly unfavorable, Eagles general manager Tom Heckert played down the overall impact made by the inaugural selections of his New York counterpart, Jerry Reese, in 2007.

"The Giants had a very good draft," Heckert admitted. "By the same token, you have to take it for what it's worth. I think it's a little overblown how much those guys actually played. I mean, they are talking about (fifth-round tight end) Kevin Boss, and I think even Jerry Reese came out and said he caught nine balls or something. But they make it out like he took over for (Jeremy) Shockey and was All-World. They are all good players, but if you look at the actual playing time those guys had, I don't think it was very much."

Statistically, Heckert may be right.

Cornerback Aaron Ross (first- round, 20th overall) and safety Michael Johnson (seventh round, 224th overall) accounted for 14 of the 16 games started by the class that can forever be referred to as "Reese's Pieces."

However, the fact that each of the Giants' eight picks were even on the postseason roster with some -- such as seventh-rounder and postseason rushing leader Ahmad Bradshaw -- lending a helping hand to one key victory after another down the stretch, was the bigger picture Heckert neglected to bring into focus when he met with the media this week.

"You just got to get a little lucky sometimes," Reese said dur ing Super Bowl week. "And the harder you work, the luckier you get."

Needless to say, the Eagles stuck to their offseason playbook of drafting for the future and were not nearly as fortunate.

Of the six starts made by players taken by the Birds last April, four came from fifth-round tight end Brent Celek because of injuries to L.J. Smith.

Second-round defensive end Victor Abiamiri made a token ap pearance in the starting lineup Nov. 11 at Washington, but he was rendered inactive for 10 of the team's 16 games.

The jewel of the Eagles' Class of 2007 thus far, third-round linebacker Stewart Bradley, played in all 16 games, mostly on special teams, before becoming a starter when Takeo Spikes went down with a shoulder injury against the Dallas Cowboys Dec. 16.

Three of the picks made by Heckert and head coach Andy Reid last year failed to make the roster. The only NFL team with a worse percentage was the New England Patriots, who retained only two of their nine selections.

The difference is, of those nine picks New England had just one on the first day -- safety Brandon Meriweather at No. 24 overall -- and no one could argue that it is far more difficult to make a perennial Super Bowl contender that finished 18-1, as opposed to a team that has missed the playoffs two of the past three seasons.

The Eagles' top selection, Kevin Kolb (36th overall), did not at tempt a pass all season despite Donovan McNabb missing 2 1/2 weeks due to injury. Penn State running back Tony Hunt, the fourth and final player taken on Day 1 last year, added little in the eight games he did see the field.

"Obviously you want your guys to play. That's the best-case scenario," Heckert said. "But sometimes it just doesn't happen. With rookies, it's tough to get guys on the field. You'd like it to be different, but it's such a drastic change. It's all projections. Everyone is projecting."

Some just seem to do it better than others.

[More at www.nj.com]