Eagles Make Their 1st Move: LB Sims to Philly

[EaglesPhan36]

http://www.freep.com/article/20100419/SPORTS01/100419032/1322/Report-Lions-trade-Ernie-Sims-for-tight-end

http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/TastyKakeStory.asp?story_id=20815

Philly story quotes the pick as a 5th rounder from Philly. Solid move here by the Eagles, I think.

The Lions are involved in a three-team trade that will bring tight end Tony Scheffler to Detroit, while sending linebacker Ernie Sims to Philadelphia and a draft pick to Denver, ESPN’s Adam Schefter posted on his Twitter account.


An Eagles official has confirmed Sims is heading to Philly.

Lions spokesman Bill Keenist said the team had nothing to confirm or announce at this time. But the Lions generally do not confirm trades until they are official – including the passing of physicals – and general manager Martin Mayhew has been extremely active this off-season while trying to rebuild the team’s talent base.

Scheffler, 27, played at Chelsea High and Western Michigan. He has spent four years with the Broncos and caught 31 passes for 416 yards and two touchdowns last season.

Tight end is a need because Brandon Pettigrew, the No. 20 overall pick last year, is recovering from a torn ACL and Casey Fitzsimmons retired because of concussions.

Sims, the ninth overall pick in 2006, took heat for his performance last season – in contrast to DeAndre Levy, a third-round pick last year, who drew praise.

But while there were rumblings Sims could be traded, the Lions talked as if Sims would return. And when Larry Foote left as a free agent, it looked like Sims would remain as a starter on the outside while Levy would start in the middle.

The Lions now might need to add a linebacker in the draft Thursday though Saturday.

Sims, drafted to fit the weak side in the Tampa Two defense, struggled with a new defensive scheme and a shoulder injury early in 2009. When he got more comfortable and healthy, he started to play well. Then he suffered a hamstring injury and missed four games. Sims looked strong Dec. 20 against Arizona.

“I’m back,” Sims said then. “I’m back on track. I’m ready to finish this season the way I intended to – with a big bang.”

Defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham said Sims wasn’t perfect against the Cardinals – missing a couple of tackles – but Sims and safety Louis Delmas were the best players on defense. Delmas returned an interception 101 yards for a touchdown.

[HoulihansTX]

Ernie Sims is a monster, of a LB.

I fail to realize what the Lions gain from this trade. They already used a 1st round pick on a TE last year.

Eagles are finally adding talent to their defense.

But my Cowboys still are the top shelf D. Sry

[MarlinsFan2212]

Cowboys are still going to win the NFC East. Getting rid of McNabb & Westbrook is almost like a culture change, and in 1 year its going to be hard to recover from that. There D in my opinion gets better with Sims, but they need to add more size. This D has too much speed and is tremendously undersized. But Sims is a monster. The Broncos are dumping house, and the Lions have only won 3 games in 3 years for a reason

[EaglesPhan36]

I'm just excited they might have two legit LBs on their roster with Bradley and Sims. That's the best they've had available in years. If they could add some DB help, the defense will be no worse than last season.

[Shark]

I like the move, but sims is another small player, like most of the other eagles defenders. He's 6'0 230 lbs. Detroit used him sometimes as a SS because he was smaller and can move well, but once again the eagles go for quickness over size and it will be more of the same on defense unless this changes.

[Ch3fDan]

I like the trade a lot. Sims was a beast at Florida St. and I still don't think he has performed to his potential in the NFL. A fresh start with a good organization in Philly with a good defense around him might be just the spark he needs. Good trade for the Eagles.

[clonecat]

Lions continue to make bad trades and run their team into the ground.

[Ch3fDan]

I disagree.. Yeah the Sims trade is a bit of a head scratcher, but they have become the #3 threat this year in the NFC North. Bringing in Vanden Bosch, Corey Williams, and Wesley on the denfensive side of the ball, and adding Burleson and Scheffler to the passing game under a good young qb would have me real excited about the lions. The only problem is, I'm a cheesehead. Go pack.

[dula14]

Good pick up by the Eagles. Their LB play has slipped the past couple of seasons and Sims fits their attacking, aggressive style.

[CaptainPrice]

I don't get what the broncos got out of it

[icancount2one]

Between this, the Tapp and Marlin Jackson trades, and getting more than our media reported asking price for McNabb, the Eagles are absolutely making out like bandits this offseason.

Cowboys are still going to win the NFC East. Getting rid of McNabb & Westbrook is almost like a culture change, and in 1 year its going to be hard to recover from that. There D in my opinion gets better with Sims, but they need to add more size. This D has too much speed and is tremendously undersized. But Sims is a monster. The Broncos are dumping house, and the Lions have only won 3 games in 3 years for a reason

Right, because the Eagle defense never does well with a bunch of undersized, fast, aggressive players.

http://bleacherreport.com/tb/b3K2q

I believe the culture change is an immediate benefit, and apparently so does Quentin Mikell. The defensive vets they dropped were total dead weight, with the exceptions of Brown and Gocong, and their replacements are upgrades.

[Ch3fDan]

Between this, the Tapp and Marlin Jackson trades, and getting more than our media reported asking price for McNabb, the Eagles are absolutely making out like bandits this offseason.

Absolutely. Now if all the pieces end up fitting, and the Kolb-McCoy attack ends up working, watch out.

[Ch3fDan]

I love what the Eagles are doing. Yes they need some help at safety but Brandon Graham will be an awesome addition to the defense. They have built themselves a very nice defense this off-season and a few weeks into the season they will be a force. As a Packers fan I'm happy we get the Eagles week 1, I'd be scared to play them later in the year.

[mikemca]

I thought Jason Pierre-Paul was the best DE.He is a Freak but I'll never question Andy's draft picks cause he knows what he is doing.Hope it turns out to be right because I don't want to be reminded we made the wrong pick twice a year now that Pierre-Paul went to the Giants.

[mikemca]

And whats the knock on Safety Taylor Mays from USC I thought he was the prize of the combine.

[icancount2one]

I love what the Eagles are doing. Yes they need some help at safety but Brandon Graham will be an awesome addition to the defense. They have built themselves a very nice defense this off-season and a few weeks into the season they will be a force. As a Packers fan I'm happy we get the Eagles week 1, I'd be scared to play them later in the year.

I thought Jason Pierre-Paul was the best DE.He is a Freak but I'll never question Andy's draft picks cause he knows what he is doing.Hope it turns out to be right because I don't want to be reminded we made the wrong pick twice a year now that Pierre-Paul went to the Giants.

I'm sure Graham is a great player. At this point the media analysts have proven themselves to be complete bozos, so I'll take big red's evaluation over Mel Kiper's all day.

What I don't get is why the Birds traded up for him. It seems like he was off everybody's radar, so why give up two third rounders when he was probably going to be available at 24?