Tapp could be running out of chances to contribute.


When the Eagles traded for Darryl Tapp, I thought they overpaid big time. A fourth-round pick would have been bad enough, but including Chris Clemons in the deal sent it over the top.

Heading into Week 12, it's looking like my first reaction was right. As it stands, Tapp has two sacks, 15 tackles, and has only played in eight games, starting none of them. Clemons, on the other hand, has 7.5 sacks to go along with 34 tackles and 10 starts.

Tapp has been nearly invisible all year long with his most notable play coming against the New York Giants last week when he recovered Eli Manning's fumble to seal the win. Outside of that, the deal is looking like a total misfire.

But now, with Juqua Parker likely to miss the Bears game and the team clearly having no faith in third-round pick Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, Tapp must step up and give the team -- and the fans -- a reason to believe he was worth the hefty price the team paid.

Parker on the bench means the team will likely have four defensive ends active: Trent Cole and Brandon Graham will be the starters, Tapp will be the primary backup on both sides, and Te'o-Nesheim will likely see time on third down as an inside pass-rusher.

Tapp is going to be counted on to create a pass-rush against a weak Chicago offensive line. Cole usually plays over 90 percent of the snaps (on a bad day), but Graham is still in the learning phase and could split time with Tapp almost 50-50.

Overall, that's not an exciting prospect.

Tapp reminds me a lot of Jevon Kearse in that he's a one-trick pony. His move is usually a bull-rush, and if that doesn't work he's basically out of the play. He doesn't seem to have an overly active motor or any real ability to disengage a blocker.

Even in the "Joker" position where he stands up and is essentially an inside linebacker, he seems to get tied up very easily if there's too much movement ahead of him. He seems flustered and is usually watching guys run right past him while in coverage.

Blitzing isn't much better as he usually gets stood up by the center or guard and stopped dead in his tracks more often that not.

Hopefully his poor performances thus far mean he's due for a big game. He could get the chance to see a substantial amount of snaps and turn his season around, but to date he's shown nothing to give anyone the slightest inclination that he'll do anything but disappoint.
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Tapp has been a huge disappointment for the Eagles.


Kevin Kolb and Stewart Bradley are inactive due to injury. But Clay Harbor, Jorrick Calvin, Daniel Te'o-Nesheim, Keenan Clayton, Austin Howard, and Darryl Tapp are all healthy scratches.

Since it's clear why Kolb and Bradley aren't active, lets take a look at what being scratched means for those other six guys today and moving forward into the season.

Clay Harbor

Harbor being inactive could mean a few things. It doesn't necessarily have to be a knock on him as much as it is a compliment to Garrett Mills, a tight end/fullback the Eagles signed off their practice squad this week.

Or, it could mean the Birds don't fully trust Owen Scmitt at fullback quite yet and figure that keeping Mills active would then make more sense than Harbor because Mills can slide back and play a fullback/H-back type of role.

Harbor is still a guy the team really likes, and it seems like he just got caught in a numbers crunch. But, moving forward, he is still very much in their plans and will get his fair share of time as they try to mold him the same way they molded Brent Celek.

Jorrick Calvin

I complained about Calvin being active last week because they did not use him to return kicks or punts and just kept him on the sideline anyway. This just shows that Ellis Hobbs and DeSean Jackson are definitely the returners, so Calvin isn't much help to them.

Daniel Te'o-Nesheim

This is incredibly disappointing. TO, as he's lovingly being called, was a third-round pick expected to take over the "Darren Howard" role right away. But, instead, he's now spent his first two games inactive.

Just watching him in Training Camp and the preseason made me a bit nervous, but there was still the hope that the kid would be able to turn it around and save his rookie season. At this point, however, it's looking like it's going to be a wash.

He wasn't able to get pressure from the edge or up the middle in preseason, so barring an injury he'll stay on the inactive list all year.

Keenan Clayton

Clayton was inactive last week as well, so he's not having a great start to his rookie campaign, either. But one name that was inactive with him last week, Jamar Chaney, is active. So what does that mean for Clayton? Quite simply, it means they trust Chaney more as an emergency backup and like him better on special teams.

Considering Clayton was a fourth-round pick and Chaney was a seventh-round pick, the Birds probably would have liked that to be the other way around.

The Eagles knew Clayton, who played a safety/linebacker hybrid role for Oklahoma, would be a project, so there's no reason to be alarmed yet. They still view him as a guy with a great future once he really learns how to play linebacker.

Austin Howard

As an undrafted free agent, next to nothing was expected out of Howard, anyway. So this is far from a big deal. Every week he stays on the roster is just another win of him.

All this shows is that Andy Reid still trusts King Dunlap just a little bit more should something happen to Jason Peters or Winston Justice. Smart money says that is only going to last through this season at the most.

Darryl Tapp

This is by far the most disappointing guy on the team. Tapp cost the Birds a fourth-round pick and defensive end Chris Clemons, and the guy can't even hit the field. Say what you will about Clemons, but at least he was active on game day.

But like TO, Tapp has not shown that he can consistently get the pressure the team wants and needs out of him. Hopefully he's still just learning the defense and getting his feet under him and will be able to turn things around, but if he can't this is going to go down as one of the worst trades Reid has made.

I wasn't a fan of the trade when it went down as I thought the team gave up way too much, so hopefully Tapp proves me wrong in the long run.
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Graham is the Eagles' 2010 first-round draft pick.


Well, the reports of the Eagles wanting to move up were true, but the player they were targeting seemed lost to everyone.

Most people thought Earl Thomas, or perhaps Derrick Morgan or Jason Pierre-Paul, so when the Eagles traded up to the 13th overall selection with the Denver Broncos, most thought it was a done deal that Thomas was an Eagle.

In fact, I didn't even bother to pay all that close attention because I figured the pick was obvious.

But then, imagine my surprise (which should be easy since I'm figuring you all felt the same thing) when I hear Roger Goodell announce that the Eagles have drafted Michigan defensive end Brandon Graham.

Not only that, but then to hear that the Birds gave up two third-round picks was even more shocking. I wrote a couple days ago that I thought the Eagles needed to focus on getting a few impact players rather than several decent players, but this was a bit steep.

Graham should turn out to be a good player, but I'm not sure that the Birds had to move up that far to get him. It almost seems like the Eagles caught wind that another team was thinking about drafting Graham and decided not to risk it.

I knew the Eagles had their eye set on one specific player and would not stay put at 24, but I figured they would move up for Jason Pierre-Paul, Derrick Morgan, Eric Berry, Rolando McClain, or Thomas, but never would have guessed they were so high on Graham.

Graham will compete with Juqua Parker and Darryl Tapp for the privilege of starting across from Trent Cole. Graham figures to be the guy in the lead right now because Andy Reid and the rest of the coaching staff would love to see him start, but he won't be handed the job simply because he was a high draft pick.

We saw the same thing with Jeremy Maclin who, until Kevin Curtis was injured, was a backup until he proved that he was too good to keep off the field.

Graham is big, fast, and athletic, but he will have to make a quick impact if he's going to live up to the slot in which he was taken.
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Hopefully Tapp can handle Marc Colombo like this.


News came out a couple days ago that only a few hours after the trade had taken place, the Eagles and brand new acquisition Darryl Tapp had an extension in place. No one knew the numbers, but now it appears Adam Schefter (surprise, surprise) has them.

"For those scoring at home: Eagles gave newly-acquired DE Darryl Tapp a three-year, $9 million deal that includes a $3 million signing bonus," Schefter tweets. Personally, I love Schefter not only for his fantastic inside news, but his tweets are actually in English.

There's no word as to whether or not the signing bonus will be paid out this year, or whether it will be prorated through the life of the contract, but it doesn't really matter. If Tapp actually becomes an effective starter, it will be an incredible value for the Birds.

While I still believe the Eagles overpaid for Tapp, it appears as though Seahawks fans don't feel the same way. After talking to a few of them, they believe that Tapp was misused in Seattle and that Pete Carrol is actually the one who got fleeced in the move.

Reports are coming out that Tapp apparently had 18 quarterback hits, a stat unofficially kept by a few third-party organizations, so there's no way to be sure of its validity. If that is a true stat, however, it would mean that a lot of those would have been sacks were it not for poor coverage in the secondary.

Again, who knows whether or not it's a legitimate stat, but it would certainly make Eagles fans a bit more easy.

Tapp is only 25 and will apparently be very cheap, so the move has a lot of upside, but I think I speak for most Eagles fans when I say I'm sick of the Eagles moving laterally. I have a track record of backing their decisions, but I see them only plugging holes rather than trying to solidify them.

I wouldn't go into a ship with holes fixed with scotch tape, but that's what the Eagles are doing.

Okay, perhaps with the benefit of the doubt they're using duct tape, but the point is clear. They need to make some moves in the draft and get some guys who can contribute immediately or they're looking at another early playoff exit.
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Could the Tapp trade mean the end for Abiamiri?


One second-round disappointment seems to have surpassed another second-round disappointment before he even touches to field for his new team.

Darryl Tapp, for whom the Eagles traded Tuesday evening, is a second-round pick who has not lived up to his second-round billing. But the word around town is that he will immediately step in front of Victor Abiamiri, a guy who's been even more disappointing for the Eagles than Tapp was for the Seahawks.

The fact that Abiamiri isn't even in the discussion as a possible solution across from Trent Cole shows you what the fans think of him, but trading a fourth-round pick for a guy far from worth it shows what the organization thinks about him.

Clearly the Eagles have thrown out all expectations for Abiamiri and now view any progress he makes as a bonus. The last two seasons he's been expected to come in and push Parker for the starting job, but untimely injuries prevented that from happening.

He's now an afterthought around the city and on the team, and could find himself on the way out if he's unable to make a contribution in 2010.

I've already said 2010 is a make-or-break season for Abiamiri, but all this move does is make things worse for the young defensive end. And once the Eagles draft a defensive end, things will only get worse for Abiamiri, who could wind up being a surprise training camp cut if he were to once again injure himself.

The Eagles already have Cole, Parker, Tapp, Darren Howard, and will soon have a rookie on the roster as well. The Birds carried six defensive ends in '09, so they could do it again in 2010, but Abiamiri will still have to prove that he's worthy of that sixth spot.

Simply being a high pick won't help Abiamiri anymore. Bryan Smith was a third-round pick, but Reid had no trouble cutting him loose once it became clear he wasn't going to contribute.

Smith is now out of the league, and Abiamiri might be on his way out of Philly.
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Darryl Tapp will compete with Parker to start at LDE.


On Tuesday evening, the Eagles pulled a trade for a defensive end and, they feel, addressed their most pressing need when they sent Chris Clemons and a fourth-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks for Darryl Tapp.

A fourth-round pick and Clemons? I don't say this very often, but the Eagles got royally fleeced on this deal. The only thing that might save it is that Tapp is three years younger than Clemons and has the ability to be a three-down defensive end whereas Clemons was a situational pass-rusher.

However, even as a situational guy, Clemons was able to rack up three sacks compared to Tapp's less-than-impressive two and a half. Not only that, but even a straight-up fourth-round pick might have been a bit steep for a guy who has never lived up to expectations.

He was a second-round pick back in 2006, but since then has never had more than seven sacks and has only started an entire season only once.

In fact, since 2007, he's only been getting worse. He started all 16 games in '07 and racked up seven sacks, only started 11 games in '08 with five and half sacks, and most recently only started five games with a paltry two and half sacks.

Isn't a young guy supposed to get better as the years go on, and not worse?

Usually, I'm willing to give the Eagles the benefit of the doubt. Andy Reid has shown over and over that he simply knows more than the rest of us, but he must really have some insider information to give up so much for Tapp.

The talk is that he should compete with Juqua Parker to start across from Trent Cole, but at this point, barring some sort of coming out party Tapp is not even good enough to be in the conversation.

And not only that, but Tapp is a restricted free agent. That means the Eagles are going to have to work out an extension right away and, since they overpaid to acquire him, will probably wind up overpaying to keep him.

I wanted the Eagles to make a move at defensive end as much as the next guy, but I truly hope they don't believe Tapp fixes the problem and still target one in the first or second round.

Because if they don't, it's going to be another long season for the defense.

UPDATE: Tapp has confirmed that he has signed a contract extension. Details of the deal are not yet available.
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