Hall of fame Temple University basketball coach John Chaney used to have a great saying.

He would caution his players against "smelling themselves" too much.

Perhaps Chaney should have given demagogue Andy Reid, bean-counter Joe Banner, errand-boy Tom Heckert and the rest of the Eagles' brain trust a call prior to the NFL Draft this past weekend.

It would seem that the Eagles are still smelling themselves after winning the last three games of the season, all after the pressure was off and making the playoffs was off the table, to pull even at 8-8.

As it turns out, those three wins - seemingly encouraging at the time - may have been the worst thing to happen to this organization that has been prone to prolonged fits of arrogance in the past.

The Eagles went into the draft holding the No. 19 overall pick, the last of all the non-playoff teams, and needing to plug some obvious holes after finishing dead-last in a division, the NFC East, that doesn't figure to weaken in 2008.

And how did they approach the draft? Like an elite team with no immediate needs who can afford to trade out of the first round and trade for depth. A longtime draftnik who spends this weekend each year wrestling to remain objective, I can't say the Eagles didn't make some good choices over the weekend.

But they didn't come away with, barring injuries, one projected starter.

They are an 8-8 team who cockily planned for the future.

They were, in the end, smelling themselves a little too much.

Let us take a look at the Eagles' draft:

- First Round (No. 19 overall) traded to Carolina for a first-rounder next year and a second- and fourth-rounder this year.

Comment: With Virginia offensive lineman Branden Albert off the board, the trade may have been too tempting to pass up. Carolina doesn't figure to be a good team next year, meaning the extra first-round could be a top-10 choice. Still, two players I would've seriously considered - Arkansas running back Felix Jones and South Florida cornerback Mike Jenkins - were not only still on the board, but they both ended up going to the rival Dallas Cowboys. If they end up being the players I think they will, both will haunt us for a decade.

- Second Round (No. 4? overall, acquired from Carolina) was traded to Minnesota for their second- and fourth-rounders (I think the Eagles threw in a fifth, as it mysteriously disappeared and Minnesota used that pick, but that information has seemingly been declared top secret or deemed by the media as not important enough to report).

Comment: Still smelling themselves, as more players I wanted went off the board to division rivals (Kenny Phillips to the Giants; Devin Thomas to the Redskins).

- Second Round (No. 47 overall, acquired from Minnesota) arrives with a drum roll. The choice: DT Trevor Laws of Notre Dame.

Comment: I called it, did I not? Laws fits in the Eagles' scheme on the defensive interior and should work in well with former first-round choices Mike Patterson and Brodrick Bunkley in a rotation.

- Second Round (No. 49 overall). I rose to my feet in anticipation, like the 12-year-old I still am deep inside. The choice: DeSean Jackson, WR, California.

Comment: "Oh yeah," I bellowed, scaring the cats away. "That's what I'm talkin' about." Jackson, in my mind, was a first-round talent who scouts over-analyzed because he played so much - and well - in college. While the Eagles' offense is too Einsteanian for him to learn in the next seven seasons, Jackson is the first of several players who helps clear some dead wood off the roster. His arrival as a receiver and big-time returner means we can rid ourselves of both WR Greg Lewis and un-special return specialist Reno Mahe.

And that was it for Day 1. Two picks, plus the acquisition of running back Lorenzo Booker from the Miami Dolphins for a fourth-rounder. Despite seeing a lot of talent go to the very teams we need to surpass to reach the Promised Land, I slept easier that I thought I would. I liked Booker coming out of Florida State last year and he could be a steal. It also meant the Eagles didn't have to burn a pick on a running back.

At 10 a.m. Sunday, it all started up again.

I had high hopes the Eagles would deal disgruntled cornerback Lito Sheppard during the overnight hours, maybe getting a high third-rounder from the Rams, but that never happened.
The Eagles waited their turn in the chow line in the third round and ...

- Third round (No. 80 overall). And they took ... Bryan Smith of McNeese State.

Comment: Huh? What? Actually, I can't be shocked. It's like a chronic nail-biter. Sooner or later, they are going to return to the nasty habit. For the Eagles, it's drafted woefully undersized college defensive ends from small schools with the hope of making them into linebackers that will never be asked to rush the passer. Reid actually said the athletic Smith would used at defensive end. Andy? At 226 pounds? Smith has some intriguing tools and would've been a worthwhile pick later on, but these reeked as a their first of several "reach" picks. Let's just hope the kid can play special teams.


- Fourth Round (No. 109 overall, from Carolina). The Choice: Mike McGlynn, OL, Pitt.

Comment: He is the kind of guy I was afraid the Eagles would reach for the second round. In the fourth, this lunch-pale scrapper who can play anywhere on the line and will scratch and claw his way into the starting line-up within two years, was a good choice. Plus, he snaps on field goals and point-after kicks. Not sure about punts, but it can be taught. This trims total dead wood in Jon Dorenbos, the magician who serves no other purpose but snapping can now make himself disappear and leave the roster spots to real football players.

- Fourth Round (No. 117, from Minnesota). The Choice: Quintin Demps, a free safety from UTEP (University of Texas-El Paso).

Comment: When I heard this pick, I was shocked. I thought it was a mistake. I couldn't believe he was still on the board. I'm real high on this pick. Speaking of picks, he had 17 in his career. He runs a sub-4.4 40 and returns kicks. Only apparent weakness is tackling (not as glaring as Sean Considine, don't worry), but Brian Dawkins will teach his heir apparent the finer points of the art.

- Fourth Round (No. 131, compensatory). The Choice: Jack Ikegwuonu, CB, Wisconsin.

Comment: Another shocker. A guy with character issues? The Eagles not being all holier than though? Maybe Reid learned from the legal troubles of his two sons to give second chances. It doesn't help that this guy, once he spends the season rehabbing a knee injury, is a first-round talent who can supplant Sheppard and/or Sheldon Brown.

OK, the Eagles had a strong fourth round. Would they finish strong? I anxiously awaited the fifth, only to see Minnesota owned pick. On to Round 6, where one of their four picks mysteriously switched to the Cleveland (it apparently has something to do with Hank Fraley and we got a pick in 2009 out of it instead of this year ...).

As for the sixth-rounders we did keep ...

Sixth Round (No. 184). The choice: Mike Gibson, OT, California.

Comment: None, really. He sounds OK. There are other guys I would've picked - Hawaii WR Davone Bess, for example - but I was also fearing the guy who completed 108 passes and 12 touchdowns to Bess, Colt Brennan. I guess we have to trust the Eagles on this one. Gibson sounds versatile and coachable, which will help his chances.

Sixth Round (No. 200). The choice: Joe Mays, ILB, North Dakota State.

Comment: A lot like my sleeper, Steve Allen, who went undrafted. This guy will knock your head off first and ask questions later. He could, should - and probably will - stick as a special-teamer.

Sixth Round (No. 203). The choice: Andy Studebaker, DE/OLB, Wheaton

Comment: Back to nail-biting habit again with the hybrids. This small-school stud does bring more size (253 pounds) than his third-round counterpart and don't be surprised if he out-plays him in camp. This is a good pick in the sense that he could go on the practice squad for a year and it is unlikely another team would snatch him up, which they are allowed to do.

Seventh Round (No. 230 overall). The choice: King Dunlap, OT, Auburn.

Comment: He may not make it, but this was a smart choice. Going into the season, Dunlap rated as a possible first-rounder. If he had come out after last season, he would've been a second- or third-rounder. He stayed in school and failed so miserably as living up to his measurables (6-9, 310) and natural abilities that he ended up getting benched in favor of a freshman. Still, he has the tools and played a big school. You don't always find that this late in the draft and it is why I don't advise throwing away late-round picks, which the Eagles apparently did with their other seventh-rounder (it ended up with Buffalo). I guess they went back to smelling themselves again.