On The Road To Victory: The Philadelphia Eagles Blog

AU IS GOING DANCING

2008-03-15T16:46:00.000-04:00

Cross Posted at Fight Eagles Fight (how ironic).

For the first time American University is going to what is euphamistically described as "The Big Dance," the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. Of the 31 Divisions and 341 schools only 65 get to take part in the tournament. It's a big deal and American has come close so many times.

When I was a Freshman at American University we were a perenial last place team in the Colonial league. The only fans were the cheerleaders, a few proud parents and out Delta Chi Fraternity. (the year before I came to American our fraternity had the honor of having one of our Brothers be the first NCAA athlete to survive cancer while playing a Division I sport.)

So loyal we watched as AU would get beat time after time.

Then we joined the Patriot League in 2000-2001 since then we have been to 3 Championship Games losing all 3.

Twice in 2 years we lost to Holly Cross in the closing seconds of a game as I watched first hand in agony. Then I traveled home to watch us lose with time running out ont heclock to Lehigh just a few years ago.

So yesterday when we finally reached this impossible goal of going to the NCAA Tournament it was a dream come true.

Win or lose we still made it AU IS GOING TO THE BIG DANCE.

ONCE AN EAGLE ALWAYS AN EAGLE
(my brother made up that AU saying as well)

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Michigan Debacle – Coach Carr Must Go

2007-09-03T13:39:00.000-04:00

Coach Carr needs to be fired. This isn’t some bottom of the Division vs. an upstart. This IS MICHIGAN in the largest stadium in the world. Carr is a good recruiter as we continually bring in the best players, but how hard is it to sell the most winning team in NCAA history?

Carr is a bad play caller; bad manager of close games; bad motivator and consistently out coached. He was out prepared by Appalachian St.’s coach and it’s obvious every time he goes against real coaching minds like Charlie Weis or Pete Carroll.

If you have ever watched a Michigan game even ones against powerhouses like Ohio St., his play calling is painfully predictable. His QB’s are immobile, hemmed in by an unimaginative offence.

Carr defenses have never been able to compete with opponents who have any type of speed. Even with the changing dynamics of NCAA football and indeed the Big Ten adding speed at the QB position including Michigan’s biggest rivals, Carr has NEVER adjusted.

Coach Carr teams always look like slow throwbacks to the 1950’s. They win 9 Games a year because they are Michigan and not in the SEC. But any other team who could not simply overpower based on talent Carr wouldn’t be able to get one win out of them.

Yes, he has a shared national Championship from 1997, but with all the talent they have had, why does he only have 1 Championship?

Carr has skidded by a barely mediocre coach on the recruiting on Michigan’s name. This game has highlighted what has been true to any fan, CARR NEEDS TO GO.

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Why Did We Cut Trotter?

2007-08-23T16:33:00.000-04:00

Jeremiah Trotter is the heart and soul of the Philadelphia Eagles. As a fan I felt like my heart had been ripped out, I can only imagine how the team is handling it.

I understand that Trotter is the past and based on the performance of the Defense against the run, a change had to be made. The Eagles need better production from the LB position and Trotter may no longer be the best Inside LB on the team.

But I can't imagine, especially based on performance that is not the 2nd or 3rd best overall backer. I mean even if he is not on the field there are 5 or 6 LB better than Trotter on the squad?

The Eagles don't need the salary cap room, they have made most of the moves they will probably make. At least any they could make that would significantly strain their cap room.

Trotter Should have been made a backup (or given the opportunity to stay as a backup) so he could ease out of the squad. We need his leadership as the TEAM leader and his experience for these untested LB core will be sorely missed.

I hope I am wrong, Andy Reid hardly ever gets these moves wrong. But I think this could have been a mistake.

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Barry Bonds Breaks Record

2007-08-08T13:18:00.000-04:00

Cross posted at The Black Jewish Experience

It's a very sad day for America's pasttime. Known steroid user Barry Bonds broke Hall Of Famer and all around great person Hank Aaron's all time Home Run Record of 755. Barry Bonds is a disgrace, and not just because he is horrible in dealing with the fans and media that help pay his check; but because he is a clear cheater and doesn't seem to care.

Steriods don't just make you stronger, they help you get healthier quicker and stay strong longer than would be normal.

Until 2000 Bonds was a standard size, he hit home runs but he was no on pace to breakt he record and was beginning to show signs of his age. Then his lifelong friend started as his trainer. His friend admited to a federal Jury that he started giving Barry a cream with steroids in it.

Barry says he didn't know. Even if that is true, not only SHOULD he know what is going into his body, but it still proves that he cheated to get this record.

He has hit more home runs AFTER 30 then Roger Maris (once single season Homerun record for 40 plus years) did his entire career.

He hit over 350 homeruns AFTER 35. Nearly as many has he hit from 21 to 35. THAT IS ALL STEROIDS. You cannot hit that many homeruns after 35 unless your body gets illegal chemical help.

BONDS BROKE THE RECORD BECAUSE OF STEROIDS. It needs to be said because he is a cheater. He did not break the record it is a tainted record.

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Interracial Dating and Racism in Boise

2007-08-03T12:18:00.000-04:00

Cross posted at the Black Jewish Experience

Sometimes true life lives up to the fairy book stories we all love.

The best player on an over achieving team, a team that no one thought could make it. But they beat all the odds and went undefeated.

Then in a bowl game no one thought they could get to, they beat one of the historically best College Football teams in one of the most dramatic ways possible.

BOISE ST. that’s right BOISE ST. beat Oklahoma in OVERTIME 43-42 on a statue of liberty play. You know one of those things you do when you are 5 and imagining such a moment. WELL THEY DID IT.

As if this fairy tale ending was not enough, the star player who made the key play for David to beat Goliath (sounds like a Hollywood movie) proposes on the field to his long time girlfriend.

Perfect.

I love this kid, because except for the exceptional Football talent he could have been me, a footballer who knits to get by. And with one problem.

He is black, his girlfriend white.

People ask me why I am so gun-how about Interracial Dating. Because I want it to happen so often that it becomes common and acceptable so that THIS will never happen:

'It's really sad'

BSU player hires wedding security after racist threats

BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- A Boise State University running back who scored the winning points in the Fiesta Bowl, then proposed to his cheerleader girlfriend on national television, has hired security for his weekend wedding because of racial threats, a newspaper reported Tuesday.

Ian Johnson, who is black, and his fiance, Chrissy Popadics, who is white, are due to be married Saturday in Boise.

A report on the letters and phone calls that Johnson has received was carried in an Idaho Statesman sports column.

Johnson, 21, from San Dimas, Calif., ran into the end zone on a so-called "Statue of Liberty" play to score the winning two-point conversion as underdog BSU beat the Oklahoma Sooners 43-42 in overtime on Jan. 1. The Broncos ended their season 13-0 and wound up ranked No. 5 in the final AP poll.

Johnson, who will be a junior this fall, proposed to Popadics, at the time a Broncos cheerleader, on the field after time expired in the game in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Since then, Johnson said he's received phone calls, 30 letters and, in some instances, personal threats from people who objected to his plans to marry Popadics.

"You take it for what it is -- the less educated, the less willing to change," Johnson told the Statesman. "But we're not acting like we're naive to all the stuff that's going on. We know what's been said. We're going to make sure we're safe at all times. It's an amazing day for us, and we'd hate to have it ruined by someone."

"It's unfortunate that it involves a certain protocol being followed to ensure that nothing happens," Johnson said. "It's really sad because a lot of people that are probably doing it are the same people who were cheering me on."

This is still the reality in some places in America. But we could not have a better representative of what is RIGHT about America then this kid Ian Johnson and his now wife Chrissy Popadics. Measured and understanding while doing what he needs to do. I am thankful for the Ian Johnsons and the Chrissy Popadics.

Because love is beautiful. Good luck and thank you.

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Eagles Get Much Needed Return Help?

2007-08-01T20:20:00.000-04:00

The Eagles have always had problems suring up their return kicking game. Inconsistency in person and positive yards has been a reoccurring issue. Injured rookie Bloom has the opportunity to compete to fill that role.

Bloom is finally ready to return

The ex-skier is over injuries and ready to make his mark on special teams.

After being drafted in the fifth round in 2006, Bloom pulled a hamstring muscle in training camp. He tried to rush back from the injury and played in one preseason game, during which he returned two kickoffs for 45 yards against the Baltimore Ravens.

Bloom suffered a setback that landed him on IR for the season. That meant being all alone in the Eagles' indoor facility - "the bubble" - listening to a recording of the playbook on headphones and acting out the plays on the turf.

Bloom said he tried to make the most of the experience - and the Eagles' state-of-the-art facilities - during that time.

"It was disappointing at first," he said. "I went through a 24-hour period where I was really upset I couldn't compete. After that, I realized what the opportunity was. They were allowing me to do everything with the team, study the game, have access to the systems here where we can watch any team, any defense, with just the click of a button.

"It was such a great opportunity to have that year, and I'm pleased with the progression."

With as many receivers as the Eagles have, Bloom's best bet is making it as a special-teams player. The 25-year-old is expected to be a return man, an area where he excelled in college.

In two seasons at Colorado, Bloom posted two punt returns and a kick return of 75 yards or longer. In 25 career games, he caught 24 passes for 458 yards and two touchdowns. He added 93 yards on 15 carries.

The Eagles have tried a variety of returners over the last few years, but none has panned out.

In March, the Eagles signed veteran return man Bethel Johnson, but Johnson missed the first off-season minicamp with a stress fracture in his leg.

…He learned to ski as a small child and has been competing since he was 10, going on to become a two-time Olympian and three-time freestyle world champion.

Bloom became an in-demand celebrity, modeling for Tommy Hilfiger and hosting an MTV show.

When the Carolina Panthers played at Lincoln Financial Field in December, Bloom made it a point to meet Steve Smith by way of an introduction from Eagles running back Reno Mahe.

"He's become a great mentor of mine," Bloom said.

Now Bloom is just waiting to get on the field for more than practice.

Getting onto the field is the first step, the Eagles while filled at the position of WR need someone to rise up as a dominant go to receiver. Or at least one that can consistently get open. Bloom with a year off, a gifted athlete with lots of speed; maybe he could be that guy. Either way him being healthy is great for the team.

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Opening Training Camp

2007-07-31T17:17:00.000-04:00

Today is one of the most exciting days of the year, the day every team has an equal chance to be champions. For the Eagles today is even more exciting as for the first time in years there are none of the usual distractions.

No one is holding out, all the draft picks are signed and players seemingly focused on what they should be that championship.

Injury questions are still lingering about Donovan, Kearse and L.J. Smith, but except for Kearse they should all be able to go through all the drills.

Without the normal distractions, expectations are high, and they should be.

Here are some things to look for:

Dirk Johnson vs. Sav Rocca. The punting job is an open competition, with the preseason performances likely to determine who sticks around.

"I think it's going to be about consistency," Heckert said. "One guy [Rocca] has never punted in an NFL game before, so the preseason is going to be huge for him. I don't think the pressure will be a big deal because [Rocca] has played under pressure conditions in the Australian League. But he has to show he can do it in a real game with guys flying in and trying to block his punts. Right now, I think they're both punting well. It should be a good battle."

Johnson, 32, won the job in an open competition with veteran Lee Johnson back in 2003. His lack of consistency last season prompted the Eagles to sign Rocca, a strong-legged star in the Australian Rules Football League who is trying to make the transition to the NFL.

Rocca, at 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds, would be the most imposing punter in franchise history. He already has made a smooth transition as a holder for placekicker David Akers should he win the job.

Brodrick Bunkley vs. the veterans. The second-year defensive tackle has been given the responsibility of replacing the traded Darwin Walker as a starter, but the Eagles also added some insurance by signing veteran free agents Montae Reagor and Ian Scott.

Chris Gocong vs. the other young players. Like Bunkley, Gocong enters camp with a starting job. Unlike Bunkley, Gocong's competition comes from a couple of other guys with no experience at the strong-side linebacker position.

Gocong, who spent his rookie season on injured reserve, is followed by rookie third-round draft pick Stewart Bradley and Tank Daniels on the depth chart. Daniels, an undrafted free agent in his second season, is the only one of the three with any NFL experience, but that came mostly on special teams and briefly at weakside linebacker in the Eagles' regular-season finale.

Slot time. Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis are expected to be the top two wide receivers, but the Eagles must decide who will occupy the slot position when they go to a three-receiver set. Hank Baskett, coming off a strong rookie season, and fellow second-year player Jason Avant are expected to compete for the No. 3 spot.

If Baskett wins the job, Curtis could line up in the slot when the Eagles go to a three-receiver set. Avant, on the other hand, would line up in the slot if he won the No. 3 job, leaving Curtis on the outside.

Bloom vs. Sampy. The plan was for Jeremy Bloom to compete against Bethel Johnson for return duties. Johnson, however, showed up at the first minicamp injured and was later released. He has since signed with the Houston Texans, leaving the door open for Bloom to handle both punt and kick returns.

…wide receiver Bill Sampy, who had an impressive training camp as an undrafted free agent last year and spent the season on the practice squad.

McDougle, Lewis and Moats vs. the numbers. Defensive end Jerome McDougle, wide receiver Greg Lewis, and running back Ryan Moats have a combined 10 seasons with the Eagles, but all three will be hard-pressed to extend their careers.

I think losing Moats would be a HUGE mistake. Moats can perform given the chance. But I am excited about the competition.

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Tony Gwynn and Cal Ripken Inducted into the Hall

2007-07-29T17:09:00.000-04:00

This weekend 2 of the best Players to ever play the game are being inducted to the Hall of Fame. And when I say best players not with talents (although they were eilte) but in terms of how they carried and played the game.

Complete in that they were great at their positions, not greedy, but always wanting to win, dedicated to their teams, and good for the game.

Tony Gwynn spent 20 years with the Padres. In a time when people always moved around. Drafted in my year of birth 1981,

He struck out only 434 times in 9,288 career at-bats, and never batted below .309 in any full season, although he hit .289 in his rookie season.

That is simply incredible. I looked up to him because I was the same sort of player, not a power hitter, but never striking out. Big, but athletic one of the most beautiful swings, I deeply admired everything about him. And I couldn’t have had a better role model. He dedicated himself I hope we all gave back how much that meant to this great game.

During Cal Ripken’s incredible run to beat the consecutive games played streak, through all the hype, all the craziness, he would spend an hour, AN HOUR after the game signing autographs. In an age when players won’t sign autographs because of special deals for money, here is the man the center of American news and he spent an hour just to be with the fans. That is really all you need to know about Cal Ripken.

But he was also one of the best defensive Short stops the game has ever seen. Turning the position also from a small fast lead off type player to tall power hitter that paved the way for Rodriguez, Miguel Tejada, and Edgar Renteria’s, etc.

In an age with greedy cheating athletes getting the headlines its nice to see such great players rewarded. A reminder that in the end, greatness in character off the field can translate to great play on.

Congratulations and thank you for being the outstanding people and great players that inspired me when I was young. Thank you Thank you Thank you.

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10,000 Losses

2007-07-15T17:01:00.000-04:00

It really is fitting that a Philadelphia team would be the first to 10,000 loses. Let’s face it for all our passion for sports we seem to suffer from a lack of championships. While Boston did have to wait nearly 100 years for the Red Sox successive dynasties with the Celtics and Bruins had to ease the pain. Not to mention that passive football fans have been rewarded with one of the best franchises in modern history.

Philadelphia like the city has been on the edge of greatness while watching it go away. 1993 was the last time the Phils nearly won a championship, but in the strike shortened 1994 season they were the best team in the league.

The Eagles have been flirting with greatness for 6 years now, and yet nothing but disappointment. It’s a lesson on being a Philadelphia fan.

On July 15th the Phillies became the first sports team to lose 10,000 games. Sports Illustrated had a GREAT TRIBUTE.

The Beautiful Losers
An oral history of the Philadelphia Phillies

By Franz Lidz

The existentialist Samuel Beckett exhorted, "Fail better." And no professional sports team has ever failed better or with greater frequency than the Philadelphia Phillies. Failure has become synonymous with a franchise whose players have borne such nicknames as Losing Pitcher (Hugh Mulcahy) and What's the Use? (Pearce Chiles). If luck is on the Phils' side -- and over 125 seasons it rarely has been -- one day before the end of July they will record their 10,000th defeat, a milestone never before reached by any franchise in any sport. Through Sunday the tragic number stood at 9,991; the next most prolific losers, the Braves, are at 9,677.

The Phillies' lack of success has been monumental. From 1918 through '48 they had only one winning season. Between 1920 and '45 they lost 100 or more games 12 times. Over 27 seasons, from 1919 through '45, they had 16 last-place finishes. During World War II owner Bob Carpenter tried to shed the Phils' loser image by renaming his club the Blue Jays. But students at Johns Hopkins, where sports teams also use that sobriquet, objected on the grounds that the change would be demeaning to birds.

On the Phillies' lowlight tape, of course, the most phantastic phree-phall is the Phillie Phlop. Up by 2 games in 1964 with only 12 remaining, the team lost 10 in a row and the pennant. Asked in '76 what he remembered about the implosion, manager Gene Mauch muttered, "Only every pitch."

Which is not to say that skippering the Phils is a no-win situation. The franchise has won a World Series (1980) and played 57 postseason games, 35 of them losses (which, incidentally, are not counted toward the 10,000 total). As ex-Phillies infielder Solly Hemus observed in the mid-1950s, "Even monkeys fall out of trees once in a while."

Loss number 1, May 1, 1883 "I hope this doesn't start a trend."

-- Jamie Moyer, lefthanded pitcher and current Phillie, when asked what his forebear John Coleman might have said after the franchise, then named the Quakers, dropped its inaugural game 4-3 to the Providence Grays. Coleman lost that game and 47 others in '83, and the team finished 17-81.

Loss number 4,962, June 2, 1945

"Vince DiMaggio hit a pinch grand slam, yet the Phillies still got beat by the Pirates. Vince led the National League in strikeouts that season despite missing almost all of September with an injury. It figures we got Vince, and not Joe or Dom. When brothers played in the majors, the Phillies usually wound up with the one who produced less. We had Harry Coveleski instead of Stan, Irish Meusel instead of Bob, Frank Torre instead of Joe, Ken Brett instead of George, Mike Maddux instead of Greg, Rick Surhoff instead of B.J. and Jeremy Giambi instead of Jason. If there had been a Zeppo Alou, the Phillies would have signed him."

-- Harold Herman, 90-year-old fan

Loss number 5,818, April 22, 1956

"The Philadelphia fans are the worst in the world. They don't deserve a major league franchise. I wouldn't mind getting hit by a regular bottle, but when they break off the tops before throwing them, that's just too much." -- Whitey Lockman, New York Giants first baseman, after a 9-7 victory over the Phils

Losses number 6,311 through 6,333, July 29 to Aug. 20, 1961

"No matter what we tried, it didn't work. The only thing that I didn't try was suicide."

-- Gene Mauch, on the Phillies' 23-game losing streak, tied for the third-longest in baseball history

Loss number 6,333, Aug. 20, 1961

"Go in twos and threes. That way, they won't be able to get us all at once. They're selling rocks at a dollar a pail."

-- Frank Sullivan, pitcher, peering out a plane window at the hundreds of fans awaiting the team at Philadelphia Airport after a road trip

Loss number 9,481, Sept. 24, 2000

"On Fan Appreciation Day my tires were slashed." -- Terry Francona

Loss number 9,988, June 17, 2007

"A local sports-radio host wants the city to celebrate the 10,000th loss with a parade. I think that would be a disgrace. The Phils are my grandfather's team, my father's team, my team, my sons' team and my grandchildren's team. We fans will endure this humiliation, and then maybe we'll start on our second 10,000."

-- Ed Deal, 61-year-old ballpark security guard

I am actually proud to say, that’s my team. Thanks for the memories and all the heartache, I love being a Philadelphia fan.

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An End of An Era

2007-06-21T13:36:00.000-04:00

Bartrum is one of those consummate Eagles who represented the best of Philadelphia. He had a pedestrian skill for NFL standards that he perfected; he played nearly every game and occasionally excelled to brilliance catching touchdowns in short yardage.

He was one of my favorite Eagles because well, he was ALWAYS there it seemed like forever and he was so proud of being an Eagle.

Eagles long snapper Bartrum retires

When it's your time to go, it's your time to go.

Yesterday, Eagles long snapper Mike Bartrum acknowledged it was his, retiring from the NFL after 13 seasons.

"I can't say enough to show how much I appreciate being able to play in the NFL for so many years," Bartrum said in statement released by the Eagles.

"Retiring as a Philadelphia Eagle is something that is very special for me. The memories I have shared with the players, coaches and Eagles organization are some of the best memories of my life."

Bartrum, who spent the last seven seasons with the Eagles after signing as a free agent in 2000, was placed on the disabled list on Nov. 29, after hurting his neck on a punt return in the third quarter of a 45-21 loss to Indianapolis 3 days earlier. At the time, Eagles trainer Rick Burkholder said Bartrum's injuries, which consisted of a chipped vertebrae, a bulging disc and a herniated disc, were likely pre-existing conditions that could eventually be career-ending.

Bartrum hasn't seen the field since.

Bartrum, who was a quarterback at Marshall, started long snapping while rehabbing a knee injury during his sophomore year. The Kansas City Chiefs signed him as a rookie free agent in 1993 before he went to Green Bay in 1995. He then spent the next 4 years in New England before landing in Philly.

While Bartrum, 36, had appeared in the playoffs 11 of his 13 seasons including two Super Bowl appearances, it's the die-hard football fans of Philadelphia that he will miss most.

"The passion and support of the Philadelphia fans is something I will take with me wherever I go, and I feel truly blessed for having had the opportunity to play in front of them," he said.

And we will miss you, G-d speed Bartrum.

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Kelly Holcomb providing QB security

2007-06-13T11:57:00.000-04:00

Lets be honest with McNabb’s health problems and Garcia leaving we as fans are all concerned about the QB position. Kelly Holcomb is one of those NFL QB’s that showed moments of brilliance but never really panning out as a starter. It could have been his situation or talent but Holcomb has an opportunity to play here in Philadelphia.

Equally, he could be cut or moved by the Eagles after the Preseason as the Eagles did just sign AJ Feeley to an extension.

Personally I think Holcomb could be a better replacement for McNabb if he goes down again this year. Kevin Kolb Eagles Draft Pick just isn’t ready to take on his shoulders one of the best organizations in the league.

So Holcomb could be the Eagles answers, time will tell.

Journeyman QB knows he'll be fighting for a spot

Quarterback Kelly Holcomb was one of the veterans at an Eagles minicamp at the end of last month. The Eagles are his fifth NFL team since 1995.

Kelly Holcomb is happy in Philadelphia. His oldest daughter is happy in Buffalo.

Neither one figures to be staying in either place much longer.

It's guaranteed that Kellyn Holcomb, 8, is leaving Buffalo as soon as her school year ends.

…He was traded to the Eagles, along with linebacker Takeo Spikes, at the end of March for defensive tackle Darwin Walker.

The move to the Eagles was exciting for Holcomb. He had started just 21 games and played in just 34 during his previous 12 seasons.

"I'd like to stay here because we've got a good football team," said Holcomb, who has never played for a team that won a playoff game. "We've got a lot of experienced guys who've been in a lot of big games here, and it's kind of exciting to come to something like that."

That excitement could be short-lived. The quarterback with the least experience on the Eagles' roster will make it unlikely that Holcomb sticks around beyond the preseason. Holcomb, who will turn 34 next month, knew he was in trouble when the Eagles decided to use their first pick of the draft to take the University of Houston's Kevin Kolb.

The initial focus after that pick was on how starter Donovan McNabb viewed the Eagles' selection of his possible replacement. In truth, Holcomb was far more affected. (Backup A.J. Feeley is in the Eagles' mix at quarterback, too.)

"Yes, I've thought about it," Holcomb said when asked about having to join another team if he didn't make the Eagles' roster. "You have to think about it."

As I said I am not sure about AJ nor Kolb filling in for an injury prone McNabb, I like the security of Holcomb, but it may be to much to ask moving into a new team.

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L. J. Injured again?

2007-06-04T20:18:00.000-04:00

L.J. Smith is a very talented player who seems to always be injured. Just like McNabb, when he is own the field he seems like he could be one of the elite players in the league.

Maybe they should fire their strength and conditioning coach because he too missed games last year. And he too is having an offseason of surgery to repair an injury. The problem with the sports hernia is that it takes time to heal, and the Eagles need L.J.

Hopefully with it being a contract year, he will respond with a great year and staying healthy.

Eagles tight end L. J. Smith undergoes sports hernia surgery

The Eagles announced today that tight end L.J. Smith underwent surgery Wednesday to repair a sports hernia, the same injury that eventually ended quarterback Donovan McNabb’s 2005 season.

Smith, who is entering the final year of his contract, will miss the team’s final full-squad minicamp, which begins Tuesday and runs through June 14. The Eagles said his condition will be evaluated over the next several weeks to determine if he’ll be ready for training camp.

Smith and the rest of the Eagles’ veterans are scheduled to report to training camp July 30.

…That same season, punter Dirk Johnson underwent surgery before the year to repair a sports hernia and missed most of the preseason. He returned in time to open the season, but he aggravated the injury in the seventh game and missed the team’s final nine games of the year.

Injuries, Injuries, Injuries, ultimately if the Eagles can stay healthy they will be able to compete for a title, but they need all their parts to stay on the field.

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ESPN Puts the Eagles on the Clock

2007-03-22T20:19:00.000-04:00

Going into next year the defense seems the obvious place for improvement for the Eagles. Grooming LB’s keeping depth in the secondary something lost when Michael Lewis and Roderick Hood signed elsewhere. News today of the Eagles signing Montae Reagor should help the defensive line, and will be discussed later.

Signing CB William James is a step in the right direction, but not a longer term solution.

In the draft ESPN is projecting they take CB Darrelle Revis from Pittsburgh because he can contribute immediately in the secondary and for kick return. But they could also look for WR which this draft is rich in quality with. They could take Dwayne Bowe or Sidney Rice.

Many counted the Eagles out after Donovan McNabb's injury, but Philadelphia finished the season with five straight victories, won its wild-card game, then lost a tight divisional playoff game in New Orleans. The Eagles are in fine position to contend in the NFC next year and should be favorites in the competitive NFC East. They need McNabb to return to health in a timely manner, but they have an excellent quarterback, running back and offensive line. This team will score points. The Eagles are also solid on special teams, but they do have some work to do to bring their defense back to the level the Eagles' fans are accustomed to seeing. Philadelphia is a very strong franchise.

On defense, the Eagles re-signed DE Juqua Thomas and CB William James. Both are important depth players, and their familiarity with the defense has obvious value. More needs to be done on this side of the ball, but it made a lot of sense to bring these two players back. Offensively, the Eagles have signed WRs Kevin Curtis and Bethel Johnson. Johnson is a blazer with natural ability but hasn't been able to produce consistently at this level; he caught only nine passes last year. He cannot be counted on to be a major contributor but might offer some return ability. Curtis, on the other hand, is entering the prime of his career and could put up big numbers in this pass-happy system. Re-signing Correll Buckhalter was important. He gives the Eagles a physical runner to lighten the load on Brian Westbrook.

…Remaining questions

When will McNabb return, and how effective will he be by the opener? Also, can the star quarterback stay healthy for an entire season? The Eagles have some holes, but overall, are in awfully good shape for this time of year. On offense, Buckhalter was re-signed, but with his injury history, the Eagles might be wise to add one more big back in the draft. They also could still be in the market for another receiver and a developmental quarterback. On defense, they need to find a starting linebacker and possibly a second linebacker to develop. They also could use secondary depth and possibly another defensive end -- if they can find the right guy. This defense needs one more playmaker, for sure.

If McNabb stays healthy there is a real opportunity for Bethel Johnson to emerge as the talent he can be. The Eagles NEED someone to raise their game and be the dominant WR for McNabb. On defense they can use a lot of everything, a run stopper on the line, LB’s and depth in the secondary. But if the Eagles are good at anything it is improving through the draft and hopefully this year

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Cash Conscious Eagles Lose Stallworth Get Curtis

2007-03-15T18:01:00.000-04:00

I am not sure Curtis will be able to replace losing Dante Stallworth to the New England Patriots. I hope I am wrong, but Curtis has never shown the flashes of genius a healthy Stallworth has.

That being said the Eagles front office probably thought the cost of an injury prone Stallworth for $33.1 million over six years. The Eagles get Curtis for $32 million over six years with just $9.5 million guaranteed.

Stallworth said that he was dissed because the Eagles did not seem to be interested in him. I hope that’s not true because I think Stallworth long term will pan out to be a better WR.

Via Paul Domowitch at Philly.com:

It's a moot point, now that the Eagles have corralled Curtis, the speedy ex-Ram. He's already been penciled in as a season-opening starter along with Reggie Brown. Second-year men Hank Baskett and Jason Avant, both possession-type receivers, are expected to duke it out for the No. 3 slot job.

Said Curtis: "With the loss of Stallworth, they need me to come in and start for them. That's the opportunity they have for me."

… Stallworth is a little bigger and a little faster and has more NFL experience as an outside receiver than Curtis, who was the Rams' No. 3 wideout behind Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce and used primarily in the slot. Stallworth is a better deep threat, averaging 15.1 yards per catch over his career and 19.1 last year with the Eagles, compared to Curtis' 12.6. But again, Curtis primarily has been a slot receiver.

Curtis has better hands, is a better route runner, isn't so injury-prone and isn't on the NFL drug program's watch list.

While the Eagles' offense is considerably different from the one Curtis played in in St. Louis, he's a pretty smart guy and shouldn't have the kind of Mount Everest-sized learning problems that Jabar Gaffney had last summer after he signed with the Eagles. Curtis scored a 48 out of 50 in the Wonderlic test before the 2003 draft, which is the second-highest score ever.

"I guess as we get into it, I'll have a better idea of how different it is," Curtis said of Andy Reid's West Coast offense. "I had a chance during my visit to go over the offense. I don't think it will be a problem."

…Curtis said he will not have a problem adjusting to playing on the outside.

"I played outside in college [Utah State]," he said. "Actually, I was uncomfortable at first playing inside when I first came into the league. But after doing it for the last 4 years, I'm very comfortable both inside and outside."

...Curtis, who visited five teams – the Eagles, Giants, Titans, Lions and Vikings – eventually hired California-based agents Bruce and Ryan Tollner. Curtis, who visited the Eagles last week, told the Tollners that the Birds were his first choice if a fair deal could be worked out.

"From the start of the week, Philly was where I wanted to be," he said. "I didn't know how the whole business side was going to come down. But Philly was where I wanted to be if things worked out [financially]."

"He's a big-time player," Bruce Tollner said. "He'll get a chance to prove that in Philadelphia."

The Eagles are hit and miss in the free agent market, at WR it has been a struggle. One has to wonder how good Donavan would have been had he had some quality of SOME SORT at WR position. Its still a struggle and with Donavan coming off serious injury one has to hope Curtis can answer some of those questions.

The Comings And Goings Strange Moves In the Off-Season

2007-03-10T18:42:00.000-05:00

Jerry Porter may end up being a great find for the Miami Dolphins, but for a defense that is already pretty dominant does it make sense to pay $32 million toward your salary cap? A player possibly on the decline? At least the Steelers thought so when they let him go.

Equally puzzling is the Bears move to release Thomas Jones to the Jets and make Cedric Benson the only running back. While Benson was drafted high he has shown little reason to trust he can take the load, while Jones has stayed the number one running back through his talents. Just the 37th pick for the player seems an odd pick up.

The Cowboys signed Offensive Lineman Leonard Davis to a 7 year contract for $50million, while the Cowboys clearly need line help, the over No 2 Draft pick for Arizona never really because the Pro-Bowl player they hoped, which makes me hope that trend continues for the Boys and they continue to have problem across the line.

These moves may pan out and despite their success the Eagles have been iffy in the Free Agent Market. With a lean market for key positions for the Eagles and not that much room in the Salary Cap, the Eagles will probably address most of their problems in the draft.

That being said the signing of Feeley was a little strange, Feeley was not going any where and there were other options such as Stephen A. Smith’s idea of Culpepper. There was time to sign him in the end. Hopefully they will pick up some backup there in the draft as well.

Stallworth Might End Up With Eagles By Default And Other Moves

2007-03-08T19:46:00.000-05:00

The question of Stallworth is still hanging over the Eagles, but I am not sure he is really the answer to the Eagle’s needs, he has proven capable of pressuring the defense deep, but not to be a dominant Wide Receiver the Eagles have always wanted.

With no one rising to that position on the team and with a lack of depth at the position of WR in Free Agency, its hard to see how the Eagles will address the situation.

For Stallworth, drug problems, injuries and players moving quickly may end up making the Eagles the right fit for a player who liked being an Eagle.

Stallworth losing some options
New England, a team he favored, added a wide receiver yesterday. Now, he could end up re-signing with the Eagles.

The possibility that wide receiver Donté Stallworth could return to the Eagles may have been enhanced yesterday when the New England Patriots acquired wide receiver Wes Welker from the Miami Dolphins.

New England had been one of the three teams Stallworth listed as a possible landing spot last month during a television interview. The Dolphins and San Francisco 49ers were also on his list.

The 49ers already have added free-agent wide receiver Ashley Lelie, and it does not appear as if the Dolphins are interested in giving Stallworth the kind of up-front money that agent Drew Rosenhaus is seeking for his client. Given that Stallworth has said he had a wonderful experience in Philadelphia last season and would love to return to the Eagles, it may end up being his best option.

It is not known if Stallworth's placement in the NFL's substance-abuse program has hindered his free-agent status. League sources revealed that information to The Inquirer over the weekend, and there have been no reports about Stallworth making any visits to NFL teams. Rosenhaus did not return a phone call yesterday.

I can’t imagine it would have helped.

If Stallworth does not return to the Eagles, the team could go after free agent Kevin Curtis. The veteran receiver who spent his first four seasons with the St. Louis Rams has visited the Minnesota Vikings and spent yesterday with the Detroit Lions, but he left both places without a contract. The Detroit Free Press reported that the Eagles have shown interest in Curtis. Tom Condon, the agent for the receiver, did not return a phone call yesterday.

Curtis, 28, has 136 career receptions for 1,714 yards and 12 touchdowns. Last season, he caught 40 passes for 479 yards and four TDs as the Rams' No. 3 receiver. His best season was 2005 when he caught 60 passes for 801 yards and six touchdowns.

The other questions for the Eagles have been the back up for Westbrook, although there are many more options there, and Cornerback where they have to much injury and quality is in short supply.

The Eagles still have not announced a scheduled free-agent visit to the NovaCare Complex, but that figures to change at some point. The team is in search of depth at the running back and cornerback positions.

At running back, the Eagles are looking for a backup to starter Brian Westbrook, with Correll Buckhalter still a possibility. Buckhalter had been scheduled to visit the Denver Broncos but apparently never made the trip. The Broncos signed Travis Henry to a five-year deal yesterday, but they still may have interest in Buckhalter as a backup.

There's still a sizable list of running backs available on the free-agent market, with Corey Dillon, recently released by the New England Patriots, among the most intriguing names. Indianapolis' Dominic Rhodes, Tennessee's Chris Brown, Washington's T.J. Duckett and Houston's Ron Dayne are also still available.

Chris Brown or Rhodes for the right price could be interesting pick up for the Eagles who have a history of reviving careers.

Eagles Going

2007-03-06T19:13:00.000-05:00

Garcia wanted to start, in Tampa Bay he will get that, Playoff contention and the money he wanted. That is probably why the Eagles did not bother giving him an offer. Why waste your time distracted trying to sign a player you probably won’t sign? Having Garcia stay probably would have been the best thing for them.

In the end, the Jeff Garcia drama probably played out the way it was destined to play out from the beginning.

The $7 million over 2 years, including $5 million this season, that Garcia got from the Tampa Bay Bucs, is more than the Eagles were ever going to pay a backup quarterback - Garcia will make only $500,000 less than Donovan McNabb in 2007.

And the chance to start in Tampa, in a West Coast offense, for a team that certainly could be a solid NFC playoff contender, given good quarterbacking, probably would have trumped all those warm feelings Garcia had for Philadelphia and its fans after leading the team to a 6-2 record following McNabb's season-ending injury.

Just $500,000 less than Donovan, I mean the Eagles just couldn’t give that much.

You do have to wonder what Gruden hopes will be the future for the Bucs. Simms is probably always going to be a backup, and Garcia will really only have a year there 2 at best. Plummer retired instead of being traded. While Gruden is clearly an offensive genius, besides taking the defense Tony Dungy built to the Superbowl win he has sort of been a disappointment as a head coach.

Lewis is also gone as expected

The San Francisco 49ers signed former Eagles safety Michael Lewis and Buffalo cornerback Nate Clements yesterday, making two bold moves in the opening hours of free agency.

Clements agreed to an 8-year, $80 million contract. The 6-year veteran was considered one of the top prizes in free agency, and the 49ers rewarded him accordingly with what's believed to be one of the richest contracts for a defensive back in NFL history.

Lewis will become an immediate starter in the 49ers' inconsistent defensive secondary alongside Clements, coach Mike Nolan said. He started in the Pro Bowl following the Eagles' trip to the Super Bowl in the 2004 season, but was expected to leave town after losing his starting job last season. Terms of his contract were not immediately available.

The 49ers have more than $30 million in cap room to spend on free agents.

The 49ers need the help in the secondary after both safeties lost their jobs. And Lewis if he returns to form could be a great pickup. But let’s hope the Eagles who have been so right before with these sort of player moves, are right again.

Rod Hood will probably leave with Buckhalter after having a good return after being plagued with injuries uncertain.

Buckhalter and Hood to visit other teams

Two Eagles free agents are expected to meet with other NFL teams this week, according to league sources.

Running back Correll Buckhalter is expected to visit with the Denver Broncos, and cornerback Rod Hood is expected to meet with the Cleveland Browns.

Buckhalter could still hold some interest for the Eagles if they don't come to terms with another running back, but Hood is not expected to return.

The thing about Buckhalter is that the Eagles have quality back up for Brian Westbrook. So while Buckhalter played really well backing up Westbrook last year the Eagles don’t have to overpay for him.

For once at that position the Eagles at least have some options.

Big Names Released

2007-03-03T20:02:00.000-05:00

The names everyone is throwing around is Joe Horn, Porter and Bledsoe released to cut costs before free agency, but some of the others are really shocking as well. While the Eagle’s usually focus on securing young future players and improving through the draft, they have had mixed results in free agency. To be honest some of Reid’s pick ups in free agency have not panned out, but then many have.

And it’s hard not to notice that some of the released big name players are at positions of need for the Eagles. Imagine a line up with Joey Porter on defense, Joe Horn and Keenan McCardell at WR or Antonio Bryant.

Of course that won’t happen because teams will unwisely overspend for these big name players. But one key free agent may want to revive their career with an established coaching staff and compete for a championship at a reduced cost. There may be a home in Philadelphia for one of these released players and for the right price we could certainly use them.

NFL | Horn, Bledsoe, Porter cut ahead of free-agency period

NFL teams released players yesterday, trimming their payrolls in advance of the beginning of free agency today. Among the biggest names cut free were Joe Horn, Drew Bledsoe and Joey Porter.

…The New Orleans Saints released Horn, a four-time Pro Bowl receiver. Horn, 35, was due a $1 million roster bonus later this month and was to be paid about $4.45 million in the 2007 season.

The Saints also released tight end Ernie Conwell.

Porter, a vocal, pass-rushing linebacker, was released by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was to receive a $1 million bonus March 6 and was due to earn $4 million in 2007.

Bledsoe, benched during the season by Dallas, was released by the Cowboys in a move that had been expected.

Chargers. Receiver Keenan McCardell, ninth on the NFL's all-time list with 861 catches, was released by San Diego. The Chargers also got rid of linebacker Steve Foley and safety Terrence Kiel, both of whom had run-ins with the law.

Foley was shot three times on Sept. 3 by an off-duty Coronado police officer who suspected him of drunken driving. Foley missed the season and said last month that his career might be over. The outside linebacker, who had 10 sacks in 2004, forfeited $775,000 in salary.

Kiel pleaded guilty last month to felony and misdemeanor drug charges for shipping codeine-based cough syrup to Texas, part of a plea bargain that could allow him to avoid prison time.

Dolphins. Miami released offensive linemen Seth McKinney and Bennie Anderson and wide receiver Eric Kimble.

Vikings. Minnesota released three former starters: cornerback Fred Smoot, tight end Jermaine Wiggins and tackle Mike Rosenthal.

Bills. Buffalo released guard Chris Villarrial and re-signed reserve cornerback Jabari Greer to a two-year contract. The Bills also released veteran safety Matt Bowen.

49ers. San Francisco cut wide receiver Antonio Bryant and got a commitment from defensive lineman Bryant Young - the team's longest-tenured player - to return for a 14th season.

Cowboys. Coach Wade Phillips hired former San Diego assistant Brian Stewart as his defensive coordinator. Stewart, 42, spent the last three seasons coaching the Chargers' defensive backs.

Free Agency has always been up and down for the Eagles but with a few holes away from making a run, it could be the key to finally bringing them to the promise land.

2 Eagle Signings Signal Youthful Change in Struggling Defense

2007-03-01T18:21:00.000-05:00

The Eagles were the standard bearer for the league in Defense under Jim Johnson. Recently because of injury finally taking its toll on the Eagles, the defense has struggled, especially with run defense. That and the in ability to get off the field on key plays has been the mark of a defense you often feel is on the brink of greatness.

One of the surprise disappointments of that defense has been former Pro-bowler Michael Lewis who just couldn’t seem to get back in coverage. His fall opened up a spot for Sean Considine to start. Quintin Mikell showed his skills as a back up thrilling Eagles fans on a goal line stand against the hated Cowboys.

Jaqua Thomas showed his skill as a pass rusher, something he has clearly used to get him a new deal as well.

Eagles sign one of 2 key players

Safety Quintin Mikell has agreed to a 4-year contract extension. End Juqua Thomas could sign Friday.

Most of the outside attention regarding the Eagles' potential free agents has been focused on quarterback Jeff Garcia and wide receiver Donté Stallworth.

Inside the organization, the two players the Eagles have wanted to retain the most are defensive end Juqua Thomas and safety Quintin Mikell.

Half of that mission was completed yesterday when Mikell agreed to a four-year contract extension that will keep him with the Eagles through the 2010 season. Details of the deal were not released, but it is believed to be comparable to a three-year deal signed by San Francisco safety Keith Lewis earlier this month.

Lewis received a three-year contract worth just under $3.6 million, including a $650,000 signing bonus.

Barring some unforeseen circumstances, the Eagles are also expected to complete a deal with Thomas when free agency opens Friday. Even though he is one of their own free agents, the Eagles cannot re-sign Thomas until the start of free agency because of a stipulation in his contract from last season.

The Eagles figure to make some outside moves in free agency, and they still hope to re-sign cornerback Will James before the market opens Friday, but they feel it is essential to bring back Mikell and Thomas.

… Mikell led the Eagles' special teams with 35 tackles last season and also had an outstanding performance at free safety while filling in for Brian Dawkins in the team's season finale against Atlanta. Mikell registered six tackles in the win over the Falcons.

Mikell could fill the role that Lewis played on Dime as a roving linebacker.

He is a young player that Eagles coaches expect a lot out of in the future, their grading of players have generally panned out and hopefully Mikell will as well.

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Eagles Lose Bears Special Teams Coach, Pick Someone Else

2007-02-27T16:46:00.000-05:00

The Bears spent less on their coaching staff than any other team in the league. With Lovie Smith being the lowest paid coach in the league. Probably the reason the team bled coaches this off season, including Ron Rivera coordinator of the defense that got them into the superbowl.

The Eagles were counting on picking up Dave Toub Chicago Bears special teams coach who was also underpaid. But the Bears finally paid up and the Eagles were forced to go elsewhere:

Segrest to lead special teams

The Eagles' search for a special-teams coordinator ended right inside the NovaCare Complex yesterday when the team named Rory Segrest to replace John Harbaugh, who left his longtime role in that position last month to become the team's secondary coach.

Segrest, 33, was an assistant to Harbaugh last season. He is the third assistant in four years to be elevated to the position of special-teams coordinator. Dave Toub left his job as an assistant to Harbaugh to become the Chicago Bears' special-teams coordinator in 2004, and Ted Daisher vacated the same position to become the Oakland Raiders' special-teams coordinator last season.

Harbaugh had been the Eagles' special-teams coordinator since 1998, when he was hired by former head coach Ray Rhodes. He left the position and took the job as secondary coach to enhance his chances of becoming a head coach in the NFL. There had been speculation that the Eagles would bring back Toub to handle the special-teams job, but he received a three-year contract extension from the Bears last week.

Segrest, who also assisted with the defensive line last season, spent four seasons at Samford as a defensive-line coach, recruiting coordinator, and special-teams coordinator before joining the Eagles last season. He also had experience as an assistant at Southeast Missouri State and as a graduate assistant coach at Alabama and Auburn. The Georgia native played offensive tackle at Alabama and was part of the Crimson Tide's 1992 national championship team.

The Eagles also named Bill Shuey as defensive assistant/quality control coach and James Urban as offensive assistant/quality control coach. Quality control coaches analyze film of opposing teams.

Shuey spent the four previous seasons in Urban's new role and Urban spent the last three seasons as an assistant to head coach Andy Reid.

The carousel continues.

ESPN Owned by Disney, Forced to Politicizing Sports

2007-02-25T13:44:00.000-05:00

Sports is supposed to be a bastion away from politics. Although it has often led the way for social change, it has done so because of its ability to unite people beyond our intellectual differences.

But ABC just loves themselves Republicans, and Daily Kos blogger davefromqueens has this story,

ESPN FAKED STADIUM CHEERS FOR BUSH SR.

As a person who dabbled with sportscasting in college, I operated under the impression that my job was sports not politics. Sports were sports and you leave your politics off the air.

It's a very simple standard. If I want to watch football for three hours, give me football. Unfortunately, ESPN has continuously violated this concept. If ESPN is going to play phony tapes for politicians, then they need to be pressured off the air.

For several years, ESPN has been manufacturing fake cheers and fake boos for politicians. It's a very simple rule. If you are a Democrat not named Joe Lieberman, ESPN will play a tape of boos previously recorded and insert them into the audio after the Democrat is announced. If you are a Republican and ESPN is expecting boos, ESPN will play a pre-recorded tape of cheers unrelated to the Republican.

I've witnessed for years former ESPN commentator like Chris Myers call home runs to right field "a Rush Limbaugh shot, right and fair." I've seen in studio college football analysts gush over Ann Coulter. I've listened to ESPN constantly hype individuals who are well known figures in the Religious Right. I've heard a basketball commentator call Jerry Falwell a good man during a basketball game.

I have no problem with these political views being uttered during a political broadcast. I do have a problem with hearing it during a sports show from the host. (They did hire Rush Limbaugh for goodness sakes!)

When John Kerry was shown on screen at a Red Sox game in 2004, ESPN played a tape of boos. It was NOT the crowd reaction. I knew the tape was fake by that quick click that transitions from live to pre-recorded. ESPN has done this stunt of playing fake cheers and fake boos time and time again. Last night, during Monday Night Football, ESPN did it again. I heard that same click.

It started with right winger Mike Tirico announcing George Bush Sr. to the crowd. Instantaneously you could hear an echo of cheers and not a single boo from the audio. But if you listen carefully to the audio, that audio was not live. ESPN shut off the sound of the Superdome crowd for a few seconds and played this audio of fake cheers. About ten seconds later ESPN had to shut their fake tape off and go to the NFL official on the field for the coin toss. That's when you could hear the REAL crowd noise. The audio on the field was a couple of hundred feet away so ESPN was probably thinking that crowd noise could not be picked up. ESPN was wrong.

As George Bush Sr. was flipping the coin, you could hear a chorus of boos so loud that ESPN had its proverbial hand caught in the cookie jar. And remember, this was ten seconds after the announcements so imagine what the initial boos sounded like. New Orleans residents know better than anyone else how Bush 43 responded to Katrina and they know better than anyone else about Barbara Bush's comments about poor people and how sleeping in the Astrodome was "working out quite well for them."
ESPN needs to be called on the carpet for these shenanigans.

On the ESPN radio this is more obvious, as it is more opinions to fill the moments without visual highlights. What you discover is that they watch FOX news all day and that most of the broadcasters when they venture into politics are often right to far right. (Thank G-d for Keith Olbermann) Its sort of ironic and sad because of the power of politics for many of the great social progress in America from integrating Baseball to Title IX requiring equal funding for female sports.

Phillies Cocky, Phillies Phans Say “Oh Dear,”

2007-02-23T16:27:00.000-05:00

It’s sort of worrisome for Phillies fans to see the team so cocky, as one of the most heart disappointing teams of recent history. Year after year the Phillies under perform for 3/4th of the season only to perform to expectation sometime after the All Star break and fall short the last week of the season only for us fans to wonder why they didn’t play that way all season.

Lets see how it plays out, just as the ’93 team had a swagger of its own maybe this is this teams. I hope it works out.

Despite playoff drought, Phillies have swagger

Some of the Philadelphia Phillies are walking around with the same swagger Terrell Owens brought to the Eagles three years ago.

Jimmy Rollins has said for a while the Phillies are the team to beat in the NL East this season. The defending division champion New York Mets don't agree.

…"It's OK if we back up what we talk about," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said Thursday. "I don't see anything wrong with a little cockiness in yourself. But we have to deliver."

Philadelphia hasn't reached the playoffs since 1993 and fell short of a wild-card berth on the final weekend the last two seasons. But after the Phillies added Freddy Garcia and Adam Eaton to a deep rotation this winter, expectations are high. Anything
less than a trip to the playoffs would be considered a failure.

Rollins, a three-time All-Star shortstop, put pressure on himself and his teammates with bold comments last month that he reiterated when he arrived in camp this week.

"We're the team to beat. I can't put it any other way," Rollins said Monday. "Look at our team and what we're bringing. Look at the improvements we've made."

…Garcia, Brett Myers, Cole Hamels, Jamie Moyer and Eaton give Philadelphia arguably the best starting staff in the league. And, Jon Lieber, a 17-game winner two years ago, still is around for insurance or trade bait.

The Mets' rotation includes Tom Glavine, Orlando Hernandez, John Maine, Oliver Perez and Chan Ho Park. Pedro Martinez is out until at least midseason while he recovers from shoulder surgery.

Referring to Rollins' comments, the back page of Thursday's New York Daily News read: "Silly Phillie." Inside, Mets All-Star third baseman David Wright and others responded.

"The Phillies, they can come out and talk as much as they want," Wright said. "Until they prove it on the field, then it's just talk. As far as throwing out predictions and talking about it,
talk is very, very cheap."

The rivalry between the teams has often been intense. Myers said he hates to lose to New York, and joked that Mets fans shouldn't be sold tickets for games in Philadelphia.

"I don't think they have the starting pitching we have," Myers said. "It's competitive talk. We think we're good. They think they're better. It's fun."

Lets hope this year they actually back it up.

Bonds should Be Ashamed

2007-02-20T08:54:00.000-05:00

As baseball season starts up, I have been really saddened by the whole Barry Bonds thing.

Bonds has signed a new agreement with the Giants that should allow him to break the All-time Home Run record owned by Hank Aaron.

Need we forget that in Grand Jury testimony he admitted to have ointments rubbed on his body that we now know contained steroids. Bonds claims he did not know what it was. While I may not know exactly what the medicine I use does I at least KNOW WHAT IT IS. I certainly just don’t put creams on my body as Bonds says he innocently did.

Further there is no reason that BONDS of all people should not know what is being put on or in his body. His profession is being an athlete his body is his job so he has has an obligation to know what is going into it. And lets be honest, I think I would notice if I got as big as he did.

And this argument that Bonds should get into the hall of fame because people in his era also used steroids is wrong. Barry should not lose his NL MVPS or any other award that have been bestowed on him during this “era” or steroid induced numbers.

But the hall is more than that. It’s a reflection on the timelessness of the game. For the Hall you judge Bonds on his place in history. And that as are many of the other players in this era is one of steroid use.

While it is true, that this was a juiced age, Bonds should not be in the Hall because he cheated. He cheated to get the numbers he did. I am not judging him against his era, but against the timelessness of the game and that is why he should not go into the hall.

The other players who have the spot light and questions for steroid usage, have it because they were the best players. Bonds is not some random player who is being picked on. He is a player destroying Baseball’s most sacred records and doing it while getting demonstrably larger at ages that people have already stopped growing and becoming atrophied.

Palemero, McGwire, even Sosa have clouds over their heads because the broke important records. Palemero already has been proven guilty of cheating. Bonds had admitted to not knowing for sure.

Both should have no chance at ever reaching the hall…

Good Luck Andy Reid

2007-02-17T10:27:00.000-05:00

I have been hesitant to talk about Andy Reid taking a leave of absence because it is a personal issue not a football issue.

We can only imagine the strain of running the Eagles which he does so well. Plus adults will do what they want and his children are my age, I know there is only so much my parents can say to me, I am sure it is no different in his house.

I want to send out my deepest sympathy and blessings. I hope all involved can find peace and happiness.

Good luck and G-dbless your are in our prayers.

And don't hurry back.

Couple Early Off Season Moves: Australian Rules Football

2007-02-15T05:47:00.000-05:00

Just the headline for the article sounds great:

Eagles sign punter from Down Under

Dirk came through after having a bad start to the season, but the Eagles have always made each player earn their spot. And so at the very least the Eagles can find the best candidate and trade away the loser for draft pics.

Saverio Rocca, that's Australian for punter.

The Eagles officially announced today that they have signed Rocca, a 33-year-old Australian who played 15 seasons in the Australian Football League. Rocca will be in competition for the punting job with veteran Dirk Johnson, who struggled early last season after signing a six-year contract extension in late August.

Johnson, 31, finished strongly for the Eagles with a series of solid games during the team's six-game winning streak before the playoff loss in New Orleans and has to be considered the favorite to retain his job next season.

Rocca, however, makes for an interesting story just because he's from Australia and he has never played the NFL's brand of football before. He does, however, have some role models.

Darren Bennett came to the United States in 1994 from Australia and spent 10 seasons punting for the San Diego Chargers and Minnesota Vikings, and Ben Graham made the switch from Aussie football in 2005 and has been the New York Jets' punter the last two seasons.

Rocca played in 257 games and scored 748 goals during his 15-year career in Australia, while playing for the Collingwood Magpies and North Melbourne Kangaroos. He was Collingwood's top goalkicker from 1993-99 and led the Kangaroos in scoring in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

I am confident of the Eagles scouting team to find talent so I am sure he will develop into a fine player.

On other news, the Eagles kept more talent in the secondary signing Dustin Fox. Fox is young having just been drafted in 2005, and has been playing on the practice squad. I am sure they saw something during practice every day to believe he will pan out in the long run.

In other Eagles news, the team signed cornerback Dustin Fox to a one-year contract. Fox, a third-round draft choice of the Vikings in 2005, spent most of the 2006 season on the Eagles' practice squad. He did participate in one game against Green Bay, registering two special teams tackles, but was then released and re-signed to the practice squad.

Small moves but often the sort of moves that sure up seasons.

Stallworth Wants To Stay, Can the Eagles Keep Him?

2007-02-10T05:38:00.000-05:00

Donte Stallworth indicated that he wanted to stay an Eagle. After the season that would be excellent. Although injured for too much of the season, missing 4 games entirely and limited in play during others, Stallworth ended the season with 38 catches for 725 yards.

He was also a key component to the Eagles big play offense all season. If Hank Baskett or the Eagles sign a more consistant WR opposite Stallworth, the offense could be unstoppable.

But the question isn't should the Eagles sign him, but if they can. The Eagles run their opperation effeciently without spending to much, will the Eagles match a team willing to give Stallworth a big contract over a few years? And with Rosenhaus has his agent, who knews.

Stallworth says he'd like to return

Donté Stallworth didn't get to live out his Super Bowl dream this season with the Eagles, but he did make his way to Super Bowl XLI.

...The wide receiver said yesterday that he hopes the answer to that question is "back to Philadelphia."

"I hope they want me back," Stallworth said at the Miami Beach Convention Center, after he and New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees completed an interview with the VH1 network.

Stallworth is an unrestricted free agent represented by agent Drew Rosenhaus.

....The consensus among Eagles fans and players is that the team should bring back Stallworth next season. The growing belief, however, is that another NFL team will give the wide receiver a big contract that the Eagles will be unwilling to match.

Stallworth said the Eagles don't necessarily have to match the highest offer.

"I think they've talked a little bit to Drew [Rosenhaus]," Stallworth said. "I'm sure there are going to be teams that offer me more, but in my case, it's not going to be all about the money. I want to make sure I'm in a place that has a chance to win a Super Bowl year in and year out, and everything was perfect for me in Philadelphia. I've been loving it ever since I've been there... and I definitely plan on being there."

That said, Stallworth conceded that he plans to listen to offers from other teams when the free agency period begins next month.

"I think I'd be cheating myself and my family if I didn't at least see what other opportunities were out there," said Stallworth, who is 26. "But I have all intentions of being an Eagle next year."

The money, of course, surely will have a major influence on Stallworth's final decision, but he is sincere about wanting to remain with the Eagles. Stallworth said he is spending this weekend with teammate Brian Westbrook, who arrived on South Beach yesterday.

"Those are my boys," he said. "I had a good time with those guys and I loved playing with them."

I hope we find a way to sign him so he returns, he has been a great addition.

McNabb Loves Us

2007-02-06T05:21:00.000-05:00

I don’t know why the media trumps these things up. But they reported that McNabb may be traded, maybe unhappy with situation, jealous of Garcia etc. This is just silly, he clearly was supportive of the team, and I would be worried if his urge to get on the field didn’t bother him.

The sense of entitlement the media has that because he hasn’t talked to them something must be wrong is ridiculous. He was injured, no longer the QB, focusing on rehab that was his aim and not the need to answer their questions.

Donovan McNabb played offense yesterday

In his first news conference since he suffered a season-ending knee injury in mid-November, the Eagles quarterback showed up at the Miami Beach Convention Center anticipating a blitz of questions.

"Let's just start by saying that the so-called rumors that have started, they're false," McNabb said after his annual Super Bowl appearance for the Campbell's Soup "Striking Out Hunger" campaign.

Well, not all of them.

McNabb admitted that he was upset that Eagles coach Andy Reid did not let him go to New Orleans for the team's NFC divisional playoff game against the Saints, but he said he had company in that emotion.

"Yeah, I was upset that I didn't go to New Orleans," McNabb said. "But so was Jevon Kearse, Lito Sheppard, Mike Bartrum and the guys that were in that training room that were trying to get healthy. We would have enjoyed being there, but due to the rules that Andy has that he doesn't travel the injured guys, we have to accept that, and we have accepted it, and we've moved on from there."

There is a news story, McNabb cares about his teammates and wants to be there.

...There has been speculation that he might want to be traded because he was unhappy with how well teammates and fans embraced Jeff Garcia after the backup quarterback led the Eagles from a 5-6 record to the NFC East title.

"I was actually very, very happy for Jeff," McNabb said. "Before the decision was made, I talked to Andy about making sure he went with Jeff. I know the fans of Philadelphia wanted A.J. Feeley... and I continued to tell Jeff, 'You were brought in here to lead this team... and now it's time.'"

Sounds like a jealous man to me.

Though there have been mild trade rumors, McNabb said that they were unfounded and that he wanted to stay.

"I do not want to be traded," he said. "I plan on getting myself back healthy... and ready to go. I'm a Philadelphia Eagle, and I will continue to be a Philadelphia Eagle, hopefully, for years and years to come. Hopefully I'll retire as an Eagle."
McNabb said he agreed with Reid's decision to cancel the quarterback's recent news conference in Philadelphia.

"It was a situation that at that time, we both felt... that nothing good would have came out of it," McNabb said. "I know people wanted to ask me about the injuries and how the rehab was going, but at that time we wanted to focus in on trying to get healthy, and we felt it wouldn't be a good thing."

He goes on to say that he wants to win, so he wants Marty to keep calling plays and balance.

Time and time again the media has wanted to tear down this amazing person, and QB. He IS that all around good guy, competitor, Philadelphia Eagle he seems to be. They need to accept that he is that amazing.

As for trading McNabb, aside from Peyton Manning there is no other QB in the league who can compare. He is a GREAT passer, a leader and all around great guy that embraces the bubble that is Philadelphia. He is in that way irreplacable.

Former Eagles Linebacker Coordinator In Superbowl

2007-02-03T17:10:00.000-05:00

That is the mark of a great coach, they find great talent bring them into the fold and spawn that talent throughout the league. Mike Holmgren started under famed Coach Bill Walsh whose coach's went on to revolutionize the game. Mike Holmgren's coachs are making their mark across the league, and none more important than Andy Reid.

That continues as Andy Reid's coaching staff goes out throughout the league. It helps that Reid has genius Jim Johnson drawing up defenses. Jim Johnson to has to take credit for scheming and creating defenses that now land former Eagles Coach Ron Rivera in the Superbowl.

Ron Rivera used to be the Eagles Linebacker coach, he moved on to be the Bears defensive coordinator, we know how well that went. via Philly.com

...The man who drew up the defensive game plan to contain the Saints' dangerous backfield duo of Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush used to work for the Eagles. Ron Rivera, the Bears' defensive coordinator, spent five seasons as the linebackers coach under Andy Reid.

He was the man who helped turn Jeremiah Trotter into a Pro Bowl player. He was the man who helped Carlos Emmons have some of his best NFL seasons. He was the man who left for the Bears after enduring three straight losses in the NFC championship game with the Eagles.

"It's great to get over the edge," Rivera said after the game. "Philly, we were there three years in a row and lost in the NFC championship game all three times, so to get here and to get over the hump was tremendous."

Rivera said he was at the Eagles' Super Bowl loss two years ago because he still felt close to the people involved.

"My wife and I went down to that game," he said. "I was disappointed I wasn't part of it, but I was very happy for the Lurie family and Coach Reid and everybody else on that staff."

Now, he's happy for himself and the Bears, who have gone from a 5-11, last-place finish during Rivera's first season as defensive coordinator in 2004 to a 15-3 squad that has a chance to win its first Super Bowl title since the 1985 season.

Rivera, 45, played linebacker for that Bears team and even had a part in the "Super Bowl Shuffle" video that was so popular at the time.

Its a real loss for the Eagles, but great to see ex coaches do so well.

Bears Coach Could Move to Eagles

2007-02-01T17:26:00.000-05:00

Jim Harbaugh was a great change after the dismal performance of the special teams before his hire. But in the past seasons the special teams has had stagnant development. Its probably good he take on a new challange as secondary coach.

That is why the talk of Bears special-teams coach and former Eagles assistant special teams coach Dave Toub is so exciting. If you have seen the performance of the Bears special teams over this season then you know the prospects of him moving to the Eagles is exciting.

Bears' Toub may rejoin Eagles after Super Bowl
An interesting candidate for the Eagles' vacant job of special-teams coordinator could emerge after the Feb. 4 Super Bowl in Miami.

It's possible that Chicago's special-teams coordinator, Dave Toub, could rejoin the Eagles in the same position because his contract with the Bears expires after this season. Toub, 44, worked for the Eagles from 2001 to '03 as a special-teams assistant under John Harbaugh, who relinquished his job as the special-teams coordinator Tuesday to become the team's secondary coach.

The Bears had the best special teams in the NFL this season based on a ranking of all categories. Robbie Gould made the Pro Bowl, leading all kickers with 143 points, and Devin Hester returned six kicks (three punts, two kickoffs and a missed field goal) for touchdowns.

Toub helped coach the defensive line when he was with the Eagles and apparently wants to become a defensive line coach in the future. The Eagles' defensive line coach, Pete Jenkins, is 65.

Join the rising tide, Mr. Toub, the Bears are an aging team on Defense and who knows of their future, with McNabb and Reid there is a stable future. Join the great organization of the Eagles.

Eagles Linebackers Coaches Very Popular

2007-01-30T16:45:00.000-05:00

After the success of the Eagles Linebacker coach, Ron Rivera now as the Bear’s defensive coordinator, the Giants have decided to go the same direction hiring Eagles most recent Linebackers coach Steve Spagnuolo.

He was understandably elated at having been named the new defensive coordinator for the New York Giants. With that, however, came an emotional goodbye with Eagles Pro Bowl linebacker Jeremiah Trotter and the realization that he'd be leaving the Eagles after eight seasons.

"You aspire to be in certain positions, and coordinator was one I wanted," said Spagnuolo, who has been the Birds' linebacker coach for the past three seasons. "I don't think you ever say no to them.

"I was lucky to coach Jeremiah Trotter. That was a hard conversation [yesterday] morning. I won't tell you what our conversation was, but I was touched by it."

Before coaching the linebackers, Spagnuolo was a defensive assistant for 2 years and a defensive backs coach for 3 years.

Spagnuolo replaces Tim Lewis, who was fired this month after three seasons with the Giants.

It wasn't surprising the Giants looked to the Spagnuolo to help shore up their porous defense.

His association with Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, whose aggressive, blitzing defenses have confounded the Giants for years, made him an attractive candidate.

In fact, Giants coach Tom Coughlin was sufficiently impressed with the 47-year-old Spagnuolo, who has never been a defensive coordinator in the NFL, that he hired him without conducting in-person interviews with any other candidates.

It really speaks volumes to the quality of the Eagles staff. That being said, I hope nothing but the worst for him. I hope the Eagles run all over you when we play.

The Tragedy Of Genarlow Wilson's: What Modern Day Racism Looks Like

2007-01-27T16:20:00.000-05:00

Cross posted at the Black Jewish Experience:

It's near impossible to wrap your heart around the horror of the Genarlow Wilson case. ESPN, The New York Times editorial page, to a feature on Mark Cuban's Hdnet have all spoken out against this case. It's so horrible you wonder what the people involved were thinking.

When he was a senior in high school, he received oral sex from a 10th grader. He was 17. She was 15. Everyone, including the girl and the prosecution, agreed she initiated the act.

But because of an archaic Georgia law, it was a misdemeanor for teenagers less than three years apart to have sexual intercourse, but a felony for the same kids to have oral sex.

Afterward, the state legislature changed the law to include an oral sex clause, but that doesn't help Wilson. In yet another baffling twist, the law was written to not apply to cases retroactively, though another legislative solution might be in the works.

What makes this case even sader, was this kid was the success story. Successful in school, gifted athlete on the field liked by teachers and classmates he was on his way to bigger and better things.

But consensual sex among minors is destroying this kids life why, well in the south add a Black teen and the ability for the Prosecutor to pad his ego and this is the result. Make no mistake, were this a young white teen he would not be sitting in jail for 10 years.

If you don't believe me, at the end of this post is a case of a white adult in a similar situation who got 90 days, he got 10 years. And the prosecution could end the injustice this second.

Thank you to Wright Thompson for bringing us this story to the cover of ESPN's website:

DOUGLASVILLE, Ga. -- There is a cardboard box in Genarlow Wilson's old bedroom.

It rests on the floor of his empty closet, near the deflated football and basketball. It's filled with things he needed in his old life. Mostly, it's overflowing with recruiting letters, from schools big and small. A "Good luck on the SAT" postcard from the coaches at Columbia. From another Ivy League college, Brown, a note from the football coach: "You have been recommended to me as one of the top scholar-athletes in your area."

....Being Inmate No. 1187055 Genarlow Wilson is standing on a threshold all right, at the end of the last hall of Burruss Correctional Training Center, an hour and a half south of Atlanta. He's just a few feet from the mechanical door that closes with a goosebump-raising whurr and clang. Three and a half years after he received that letter, he's wearing a blue jacket with big, white block letters. They read: STATE PRISONER.

He's 20 now. Just two years into a 10-year sentence without possibility of parole, he peers through the thick glass and bars, trying to catch a glimpse of freedom.

Once, he was the homecoming king at Douglas County High. Now he's Georgia inmate No. 1187055, convicted of aggravated child molestation.

...He was a good student, with a 3.2 grade point average. He was popular, the school's homecoming king, liked by students and teachers. He never got into any trouble with the law.

He was a track and football star. His last two years, he was the defensive back assigned to cover Calvin Johnson, the former Sandy Creek High star who went on to Georgia Tech and is now projected as a top pick in the NFL draft. Wilson studied film, trying to figure out how to outsmart a better and taller athlete.

...He admits he wasn't perfect. Far from it. He drank. He smoked pot. He'd been sexually active since he was 13. And a month or so after that final playoff game, he and some buddies were plotting a New Year's Eve bash.

...Genarlow Wilson and his friends checked into the Days Inn right off Interstate 20. At some point in the night, according to court documents and evidence presented at trial, some girls came over to party with them. Bourbon and marijuana were consumed. One of the young men turned on a video camera.

Later in the evening, a 17-year-old girl began to have sex with the young men, first in the bathroom, then on the bed. Genarlow is captured on tape appearing to have sex with the girl from behind. Her hand is clearly visible on the floor supporting herself. Witnesses said she was a willing participant. The next morning, the girl awoke in a stupor, wearing nothing but her socks. She called her mother and said she had been raped. Police came to the room after sunrise and took the revelers in for questioning. Genarlow had already gone home -- he didn't want to miss curfew -- but the video camera remained.

On tape, the cops saw a 15-year-old girl, a 10th-grader, performing oral sex on a partygoer and, after finishing with him, turning and performing the act on Genarlow. She was the instigator, according to her mother's testimony. Problem was, the girl was a year under the age of consent.

Local prosecutors called the act aggravated child molestation, following the letter and not the spirit of the law, which was designed to prosecute pedophiles.

...If he had accepted the plea bargain, Wilson would've had to register as a sex offender and wouldn't have been permitted to live in the same house as his younger sister.

I mean anyone with common sense and a heart could see this is wrong.

Two days later, in February 2005, Genarlow Wilson walked into a courtroom. Two charges already had been dropped, and it was clear from the first witness that the rape charge wouldn't stick either. The aggravated child molestation, though, was on tape.

The day before the trial was expected to end, in the last night he'd ever spend at his home, Wilson went to a church down the street and asked the preacher to pray with him. He awoke early the next morning. He knotted his tie carefully and went to the courthouse. The trial finished that afternoon, and the jury came back with "not guilty" on the rape but "guilty" on the aggravated child molestation.

He looked at the forewoman. She was crying, seeming to understand they'd just undone a promising future. Indeed, when the jurors found out there was a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence, several were incensed.

But hey what can you do... laws the law right?

He has followed his appeals from behind bars. He watched as the state legislature changed the law that put him there, then declined to make it retroactive, for reasons that still boggle the mind. That was a dark day.

He watched as B.J. Bernstein, his new attorney, filed a petition for writ of certiorari, asking the Georgia Supreme Court to review the case.

The first time the Supreme Court voted on Genarlow's case, it was 4-3. The four judges who voted against the black teen were white. The three judges who voted for him were black.

This is what racism looks like. What were the other judges thinking? They said they couldn't side with him because the Legislature had failed to overturn his conviction, but the law in question everyone admits was written JUST FOR HIS CASE.

...In its decision, the Supreme Court called Wilson a "promising young man," a paragraph that he has read a thousand times. All the e-mails Bernstein gets in support of him, he has those, too. He reads them over and over, reminding himself that he once had a future and, one day, might have it again. It's not easy.

Wilson sat in prison and watched Calvin Johnson, the guy he once covered, become the best college receiver in the country and a soon-to-be millionaire.

"That has made my ambitions higher," Wilson says. "That makes me want to succeed even more because I don't want to be left behind."

It's frustrating work. No one involved believes Wilson should be in jail for 10 years.
The prosecutors don't.
The Supreme Court doesn't.
The legislature doesn't.
The 15-year-old "victim" doesn't.
The forewoman of the jury doesn't.
Privately, even prison officials don't.

It truly is disgusting. So why is he in jail?

Yet no one will do anything to free him, passing responsibility around like a hot potato. The prosecutors say they were just doing their job. The Supreme Court says it couldn't free him because the state legislature decreed the new law didn't apply to old cases, even though this case was the entire reason the new law was passed.

She's still working every angle, from the capital to cookies, riding up an elevator to the 53rd floor of an Atlanta high-rise to see David Balser, the attorney who got Marcus Dixon out of jail. The Dixon case was similar: As an 18-year-old, he had sex with a 15-year-old girl and was sentenced to 10 years before the conviction was overturned.

...Barker [the prosecuter] thinks five years is fair for receiving oral sex from a schoolmate. None of the other defendants insisted on a jury trial. Wilson did. He rolled the dice, and he lost. The others, he says, "took their medicine."

Seriously how does this man sleep at night?

While Bernstein works on every possible legal solution, the Douglas County District Attorney's Office has the power to get Wilson out of prison. If the prosecution wanted, this could all end tomorrow.

The folks in Douglas County are playing god with Genarlow Wilson's life. "We can set aside his sentence," Barker says. "Legally, it's still possible for us to set aside his sentence and give him a new sentence to a lesser charge. But it's up to us. He has no control over it."

The position of Barker and the district attorney, McDade, who refused to comment, is that Wilson is guilty under the law and there is no room for mercy,

At the same time this trial was under way, a local high school teacher, a white female, was found guilty of having a sexual relationship with a student -- a true case of child molestation. The teacher received 90 days. Wilson received 3,650 days.

I think this last part is really important to point out. This is justice?

Well it is if you are a Young Black Male in America.

Why The Eagles Lost

2007-01-25T17:11:00.000-05:00

First let me say that the reason I have not been writing is because when my computer died and couldn’t post the Eagles started winning. Being the true fan that I am, I didn’t want to chance jinxing the team (not that they need my help for that).

If the Eagles were at home the NFC Championship Game would have been the Bears vs. the Eagles. But like most things in a season, a domino effect of bad events were too much for a capable Andy Reid, Jim Johnson and Garcia could overcome despite their heroic effort.

The game was a perfect example of why teams work to have home field advantaged in the playoffs. With the game on the line you could feel the crowd surging against the Eagles. And in a critical play, with Garcia stepping up to throw for a first down the play was called off as the crowd caused Young to fall start.

Despite the efforts of Westbrook and Stallworth the Eagles just came up short.

In the off season the most pressing issue is finding a way to stop the run. Because the key to the loss was the inability to stop McAllister and Bush. Repeatedly the front 4 got pushed back into the linebackers instead of allowing them to flow, getting bunched up and hit by linebackers. A good back like McAllister only needs a small seam to get his yards.

In all aspects of the game the Eagles were on the back foot. Special teams broke down repeatedly,

I think in the end the inability to stay healthy cost the season. Not McNabb, because there was not nearly the drop off from past years. But with the loss of the Freak there was no way to continue to get pressure on the pass. He also was never driven back on the run. With Howard on his opposite the line was pretty well set for pass and run.

Combine that with Safety Lewis’ inexplicable drop off in the pass and you see where the Defense let the team down.

Because offensively the Eagles could not have performed much better considering. In the end of the game their consistency did fall down, but the ability to run the ball in the future will make that better. They just often needed to get back on the field.

A Historic Moment Worth Noting

2007-01-23T16:15:00.000-05:00

In my lifetime I remember when it was thought Black people couldn’t be Quarterbacks. As archaic as it seems we were thought to not be ‘smart’ enough. Whether it be under the guise of pocket presence, football IQ’s, etc, at all levels Black football players were steered to be running backs, wide receivers.

But through the perseverance and talents of players like Doug Williams and Randall Cunningham perception of Black players changed.

Even more difficult has been the ability of Black players to move into the coaching ranks.

American Football Coaches are the most important coaches for their teams. What I mean by that, is that they control so much of the game. Unlike every other sport, each play is decided (in theory) by the coach. Preparation, game scheming, getting players in the right directions, and game time decisions all fall within the purview of a head coach.

It’s the pinnacle of coaching and the pinnacle for these coaches is the Superbowl.

This is why this is such an amazing event.

John Smallwood puts it all into perspective:

Our past always shapes how we view our present

I was born in 1965, the year the Voting Rights Act was passed and 3 years before history says the civil rights movement ended with the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1968.

While technically that meant African-American kids of my generation grew up with legal protection from discrimination, it didn't free us from experiencing prejudice.

It didn't shield us from a societal perception that we were still inferior.

It didn't stop a lot of folks from believing, preaching and reinforcing the notion that we couldn't achieve certain things because we were African-American.

And remember, two older generations of African-Americans grew up directly suffering the indignities and missed opportunities caused by segregation.

How many African-American doctors, lawyers, judges, scientists, and, yes, even NFL football coaches were simply lost because someone arbitrarily determined that a black person was not capable of performing that job?

As much as I remember being excited that Doug Williams became the first African-American quarterback selected in the first round of an NFL draft in 1978, I remember being angered and perplexed that 1978 Rose Bowl MVP Warren Moon went undrafted after 12 rounds because he wanted to remain a quarterback.

He had to go to the Canadian Football League for the first 6 years of his career before getting a shot in the NFL.

Unless you've lived through it, I'm not sure I can fully explain what it feels like to be told you are limited solely because of your race.

But I can tell you that you don't just "get over it" because things have improved in the past decade or so.

Celebrating the achievement of firsts is one of my birthrights as an African-American.

It's a historic moment worth noting.

Why Beckman Made The Right Move

2007-01-12T11:04:00.000-05:00

People have questioned why David Beckham one of soccer’s (he better get used to it calling that) biggest stars would move to the US not known for its support of the world’s sport.

But LA Galaxy offers more than just money and this could prove to be an ingenious move. LA has no American football team and an ever growing Latino community that prefers soccer anyway.

Becks will have a captive audience at the center of celebrity. LA has a population of nearly 10 million and growing every day. Another 36 million in California plus countless Latino and Soccer fans throughout the South West. In all of Metro Madrid (not just city as with LA) its only 5.5 million (3 million) in the city and Spain 40 million nearly same as California.

Becks will play over the summer with no competition from any other sports. And unlike at Real Madrid, he will be able to play and showcase his talent.

But isn’t MLS a lesser league? Far from it, last year the MLS All Stars beat Chelsea in a friendly game. And DC United competed with Chelsea just barely winning 2-1 while being played in LA.

And Victoria can now pursue options in Hollywood to top it all off.

David Beckham will leave Real Madrid and join Major League Soccer side LA Galaxy at the end of the season.

The 31-year-old former England captain will sign a five-year deal, reportedly worth £128m.

…The £128m deal is understood to comprise his salary, existing sponsorship contracts, merchandising shirt sales and a share of the club profits.

…."I am proud to have played for two of the biggest clubs in football and I look forward to the new challenge of growing the world's most popular game in a country that is as passionate about its sport as my own.

….LA Galaxy general manager Alexei Lalas believes Beckham's arrival will given worldwide exposure to the high standard of football in America.

He told BBC Five Live: "One of the interesting things that I think people are going to see, is first off, the attention he's going to bring to the sport and to American soccer.

"People are going to see the quality that exists over here, and I fully recognise that many people over in England don't have a grasp of what's going on with major league soccer on or off the field.

"But the fact is that we have competitive teams, competitive individual players and a very good and growing league. It's not that we can't get better and I would put our teams up against some Premiership teams in a second"

Exactly, being a HUGE fan of MLS soccer and DC United (sort of sorry he is not going there and losing Freddy in the off season) I think this was a good move for him.

There is a larger market and soccer is growing in popularity. With a sports craving society and ever increasing Latino community the sky is the limit in terms of exposure and quality of play.

Lloyd Carr Should Quit

2007-01-02T16:38:00.000-05:00

Time and time again when Michigan needs to make adjustments to win the game at halftime, they come up short. Lloyd Carr always seems to be out coached and in games where the team has the athletic talent to compete with Michigan it becomes very obvious.

As a Michigan fan I am tired of our team being out coached.

Maybe it’s because they had no other corner backs in the system (find it hard to believe at Michigan.) but the inability to consistently line up Hall, Michigan’s star CB against Dwayne Jarrett helped him looked like the superstar he is not.

Morgan Trent is terrible; he has been terrible all year. And yet for some reason he seemed to always be lined up against Jarrett. The obvious adjustment would have been for Hall and Trent to wait for Jarrett to get lined up and put Hall there. Steve Smith, USC’s second best WR had over 1000 yards receiving and 71 receptions this year, and yet he was practically shut out, why? Because Hall is that good.

It was an obvious adjustment never made.

Offensively USC blitzed, blitzed blitzed. The inability to adjust for the fact that they would always have more men coming then to block was never made. They didn’t use the 2 tight-end set that could have freed Mike Hart until it was too late in the second half.

But as an arm chair fan it should not be up to me to make these adjustments. It is up to the very highly paid Michigan coaches to make those adjustments.

The commentators like to make excuses pointing out how many wins Michigan has had, but this isn’t the pros with relatively equal talent levels it’s not even the ACC or SEC. While the Big Ten is a strong conference team to team, U of M can only really be matched by Ohio State.

January 1st 2004 Carr was out-coached by Pete Carroll the first time. John Navarre, who also couldn’t move in the pocket got sacked 9 times. And not as always indicated because of bad line play (although part of it) but because Carroll was able to draw up blitzes that Carr never prepared the team for, nor adjusted to.

January 1st 2005 everyone knew the key to the game was stopping Vince Youngs legs. He can’t throw in the pocket (still can’t really) so bringing everyone in the box and keeping him there should have been the focus. (And lets face is Mack Brown is a recruiter no coach had he not recruited the talent of Vince Young he would have been fired as he is not a good coach either) But again Michigan was unable to make adjustments.

Last year the team always died in the second half and December 29th against Nebraska in the Alamo Bowl was no different.

32-18 against USC is just unacceptable, especially when the better talent this time around was on the Michigan sidelines. If only it could have been matched with Coaching ability.

COMPUTER DEAD

2006-12-02T08:45:00.000-05:00

THIS WEBPAGE IS NOT DEAD. Just some technical difficulties as my computer has died in transit and is getting fixed. Please keep stopping by as it should be rectified soon and you can get back to the Black Jewish Experience.

Jordan

Keys to the Game: Eagles vs. Titans

2006-11-17T17:33:00.000-05:00

The Eagles need to rough up Vince Young. Not in an illegal way, but in the Jim Johnson way of throwing different looks and blitzes to get people in his face and Young making decisions he is not yet ready to make.

He has made great strides since starting for the Titans, hopefully this will be a different type of lesson, one on seeing great defensive looks. But Young can make plays, especially with his feet, so keeping him contained will be key to the game.

Because Young is so new, and the Eagles have given up yards against the run the Titans will look to give a heavy dose of Henry.

Being able to stop the run with 7 would be great, but I think the key will be being able to stop the pass while keeping 8 in the box. Putting in Lewis at a Linebacker spot could be a great innovation with the fast feet of Vince.

The Titans tie for the league lead in intercepted passes with 14. Creating confusion and making Vince throw in the pocket with people coming across his face will be the key to stopping the Titans on Defense.

Offensively the Eagles need to keep the Defense off the field. McNabb and Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg could get into a rhythm for calling plays, seemingly with more runs. I trust them to make the right calls with Reid making the call for big plays and decisions.

More of Westbrook early will set the tone for this game and the tough weeks to come. Winning the time of possession battle will be key to victory. With Westbrook early and putting up points making the Titans play catch up will enable Buckhalter to get the carries he needs to get into a rhythm. It seems the more Buckhalter gets to play and the more touches, the better he looks.

Westbrook early and Buckhalter late are keys to victory on offense.

Eagles Defense Turning the Corner?

2006-11-16T17:31:00.000-05:00

In all honesty the Eagles Defense has not been that bad. The Eagles have lost the Time Of Possesion battle in 7 straight games a NFL record. Banged up, losing at one point most of the secondary and their star player Kearse for the year, this has taken its toll.

Yes the Defense has not stopped teams at the ends of games when they need to, but they have been on the field so much its no wonder they falter toward the end of the game. The Eagles defensive line has had to adjust to Kearse who took on double teams and always brought pressure being on the side lines.

And despite Howard’s heroic efforts they just have not been able to recreate the pressure that made them so successful earlier in the season.

That being said, it seems they are adjusting and finding their rhythm again, I hope it continues against a tough opponent this week with the speed and growing comfort of Vince Young.

Eagles’ defense restores its reputation

The Eagles' defense has allowed a total of one touchdown in the last three games, but coordinator Jim Johnson isn't ready to proclaim the unit a finished product. Even after Sunday's 27-3 win over the Washington Redskins, arguably the best defensive effort of the season, Johnson is still looking to fix some leaks and make this the dominating unit of two years ago.

"I think we are looking for more, but we are back in that steady path where we want to be as far as keeping the points down, touchdowns and big plays," Johnson said yesterday at the NovaCare Complex. "This is all we can keep harping on."

And Johnson realizes that there is still plenty of harping to do.

"We want to be better in rush defense and have more sacks, just keep the points down, be good in the red zone, and get off the field on third down," he said. "Those are the things that we are trying to emphasize."

Watching the Eagles this bug-a-boo of not being able to stop the run is back in force. But the bend but don’t break Johnson philosophy always seems to win out in the end.

…The Redskins did rush for 146 yards and a healthy 4.7 average, but they also converted just 3 of 13 third downs.

And while some might say that the Eagles' effort came against the "lowly" Washington offense, remember that the Redskins scored 36 points on a Jacksonville team that held the Eagles without a touchdown. The Redskins were also coming off a 22-19 win over Dallas.

The Eagles seemed reenergized after the bye week, although it was difficult to look much worse than they did on offense, defense and special teams in their 13-6 home defeat to Jacksonville on Oct. 29.

In that game, Jacksonville rushed for 209 yards (4.5 average) and a touchdown. When asked if his players took that performance personally, Johnson replied, "You hope so."

Several times against Jacksonville, it appeared as if the Eagles were pushed off the ball, but Johnson says that wasn't necessarily the case. He said the Eagles fell into a pattern of poor tackling and had players who were consistently out of position in the wrong gaps.

"Against Washington, our gap control was much better," Johnson said. "We still gave up yards rushing with draws and things like that. It still comes down to being good tacklers, and I think our guys wanted to say we're better than that" against Jacksonville.

One other new wrinkle was inserting safety Michael Lewis into a linebacker-type role in the Eagles' dime defense.

The dime defense uses one linebacker and six defensive backs, although one of those defensive backs, Brian Dawkins, has often played up like a linebacker.

Johnson moved Lewis into Dawkins' up position in the dime and Dawkins lined up in deep coverage.

Lewis, who has lost playing time to Sean Considine at strong safety, had four tackles and one quarterback hurry against the Redskins.

"We just felt we wanted to get Mike on the field," Johnson said. "He's too good a football player not to be playing."

In the last three weeks, the defense has allowed a total of 25 points on six field goals and a touchdown. In the Jacksonville game, the Eagles allowed only 13 points, but with the way the offense was sputtering, there was no margin for error.

Lets hope they turned the corner.

Haynesworth Back From Suspension

2006-11-15T22:52:00.000-05:00

Albert Haynesworth who pulled the helmet off of Dallas Cowboy Center Andre Gurode and then stomped on his head is back this week. Depending on how he practices this week will determine if he plays this week against the Eagles.

I hate the Cowboys but even I had to cringe at what Haynesworth did. His absence will obviously help the Eagles during the running game. But either way in the long term I hope he finds a way to tow that line of controlled violence between the whistles and respect beyond.

The Tennessee Titans are requiring Albert Haynesworth to continue anger management counseling he started during a five-game NFL suspension for stomping the face of a Dallas opponent.

Haynesworth worked out at the team's headquarters Monday, the first day he was eligible to return. But the Titans had a few more questions they wanted to review before letting Haynesworth rejoin the team at practice Wednesday.

They finally satisfied themselves and held a news conference Tuesday afternoon detailing what coach Jeff Fisher called one of the most difficult situations the team has faced since he became coach in November 1994.

"We believe ... that Albert is prepared to put this incident behind him, move forward and play this game with the respect and the integrity with which it was designed to be played with," Fisher said.

Haynesworth started counseling six days after swiping his cleats across the unprotected face of Dallas center Andre Gurode on Oct. 1 in a loss to the Cowboys. He has had four sessions so far, and Haynesworth said he doesn't know how many he will need.

…The counseling was a key factor for the Titans. Fisher said obviously "something went wrong" when Haynesworth left Gurode needing 30 stitches to close his cuts.

Fisher credited Haynesworth with immediately recognizing after the game he had done something wrong.

"What we want to do as an organization (is) an effort to help Albert. And also the right thing to do is to do everything to ensure this kind of conduct does not happen again," Fisher said.

Owner Bud Adams has been aware of all the discussions, according to Steve Underwood, the team's chief operating officer.

"As an organization, we're satisfied the process is going to give us a great chance it'll never be repeated," Underwood said.

So Haynesworth will talk to his teammates Wednesday when he returns and practices. Whether Haynesworth plays Sunday when the Titans (2-7) visit the Philadelphia Eagles (5-4) won't be decided until Fisher sees what kind of football shape his tackle is in. Haynesworth said his weight is 335, and he has been working out and running to be ready when his suspension ended.

"Six weeks is a long time to be away from this game," Fisher said. "He hasn't had plastic on in six weeks, pads. I'm confident he's in shape. He's indicated to me he's worked very hard."

Play Calling Not in Reid’s Hands A Good Thing?

2006-11-14T22:41:00.000-05:00

All the buzz this week is over Head Coach Andy Reid’s decision to allow Offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg and QB Donovan McNabb to call the plays. After 8 years McNabb knows Reid’s offense and certainly able to call plays.

As an elite QB in the league he has the experience and intelligence to make the right call. Maybe even quicker than Reid from the sidelines ala Peyton Manning.

Marty Morninweg former head coach of the Detroit Lines and now in his 4th year with the Eagles can certainly lighting Reid’s load. I don’t know if it will be better for the team, only results will say for sure. But watching the team run the ball to end the game and have MCNabb throw less was a great success, I hope it continues.

Eagles run over Redskins
One huge play, one odd play, and a new play-caller fuel win.

Behind the scenes, though, there were some unusual forces in motion during the Eagles' lopsided win over an NFC East rival that needed a victory even more than they did. Those things weren't revealed until after the Eagles had improved to 5-4 and made themselves a viable playoff contender again.

That's when coach Andy Reid confessed that his huge color-coded play sheet had merely been a prop on this day. Reid said he left the play-calling to offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg and McNabb.

"I let Marty Mornhinweg and the quarterback take care of that, and they did a fine job," Reid said. "I let Marty take all of the no-huddle stuff, and I have a lot of confidence in him. If I'm stinking the place up, I let him take over, and he's done a nice job and he deserves the opportunity to do that."

The Eagles opened the game in the no-huddle offense and remained in it for most of the day, which meant this game had Mornhinweg's signature, with an occasional audible at the line of scrimmage from McNabb.

"We were in a rut offensively, and I was calling the plays," Reid said. "I told you it starts with me, so you take a close look at yourself and you move on. We weren't moving the football. Something needed to be taken care of."

Mornhinweg said Reid was being overly critical and didn't seem all that comfortable in taking any credit for this victory.

"All of that stuff doesn't really matter," Mornhinweg said. "The O-line did a nice job. The backs did a nice job. Donovan kind of engineered that thing. Our receivers caught the football well and made some big catches. It's about execution.”

A Needed Win

2006-11-13T13:38:00.000-05:00

Andy Reid is now 8-0 after a bye week; a telling stat to the head coaches ability to prepare and scheme especially when he has the time. The struggling Washington (I refuse to use their racist team name… disgusting) barely let out a whimper against the Eagles off of a bye.

The Eagles caught some breaks with Portis going out early with a broken hand. But in the end it was the defense that stepped up big. Although allowing 146 rushing yards, they finally looked like the Jim Johnson bend don’t break team we are used to.

Brian Dawkins made a game changing play in the back of the endzone that kept 7 points off the board and made play after play in the running game. And it appears that Lewis may be getting the message that he has to step up his play because he looked better as well.

The defense also stepped up when Sheldon Brown stepped in front of speedy WR Moss returning an interception 70 yards for a TD.

What is getting all the talk for this game was the fact that Reid gave over his play calling to offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg and McNabb. And while that is a big deal, I think the most important thing was the ability of the offensive line to reestablish itself.

The Offensive line was able to assert is dominance and at a time the Eagles have all season been unable to, when they needed to run out the clock

The Eagles ran the ball for 145 yards just a yard less than Washington. And they got the ball to their playmaker Westbrook who got 22 attempts (the most of the season for 113 yards averaging 5.1 yards every time he ran the ball. Washington was in the top half of run defense so they have been no slouch against the run.

All in all it was a must win for the season, the Eagles played well and got it done.

Washington vs. the Eagles

2006-11-11T23:41:00.000-05:00

This is an important game for the Eagles. They need this game. Coming off the bye and having NFC East rival at home this is a must win. Washington is reeling from a slower than expected start.

But the Eagles would be mistaken to take this team and game for granted. Washington’s strength is the Eagle’s weakness so far.

While he may not be performing up to his past performances, Clinton Portis is an elite running back who can pop a big game at any time. Gibbs loves to run the football especially the tackle trap. Expect him to come out pounding the ball with Portis and try to take the fans out of the game.

Also Brunell will look to play fake and give himself time with his feet to go up top against a disappointing secondary. Brunell is not what he used to be, but he can still side step rushes and make time with his feet.

Washington is ranked 30th in the league in total defense. The Eagles can and should exploit this. Giving Reid an extra week to break down this defense should be to the Eagles advantage.

It’s going to be simple this week. In the first 7 games the Eagles controlled the line of scrimmage. Beating the Redskins up front on defense will enable them to finally stop the run. Beating them on offense will give them a chance to run the ball and set up the passing game.

“The Eagles won all seven games after their bye week under Reid,” according to NFL.com look for them to be prepared to play. They need this one to get themselves back on the right track after the halfway point.

Receivers Drop Too Many Passes

2006-11-09T20:19:00.000-05:00

If you have watched the Eagles this year you know that the Eagles have dropped too many passes. Often lost because of the success of the Eagles offense, and McNabb’s great year is how much better the Eagles and McNabb’s numbers could be if wide receivers didn’t drop so many balls.

Before the bye, the Eagles had dropped a league leading 27 times. While that doesn’t sound a lot think of those all as possible 1st downs or possibly big plays.

In 8 games that’s an average of 3 1st downs lost a game.

Eagles can't quite put their fingers on why they lead NFL in bungled passes

BELIEVE IT OR NOT, seven NFL teams have attempted more passes than the Eagles this season.

Which makes it hard to understand why Birds receivers would be leading the league in drops, as they prepare for Sunday's crucial NFC East battle with the visiting Washington Redskins.

…What concerns offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg is that the drops aren't isolated at one position, or on one troublesome route that he could eliminate and fix the problem. It's the young guys, who maybe haven't worked enough yet with Donovan McNabb, and the veterans, who presumably have.

"Bye week, you study all these things,'' Mornhinweg said yesterday. "Our biggest single problem is catching the football.''

The Eagles have 27 drops through eight games, according to STATS LLC, which keeps the unofficial stat. They are trailed by the Packers (24), the Bucs (16) and the Dolphins (15). All of those teams have thrown more passes than the Eagles, who have 279 attempts through the first half of the season. For a 4-4 team that has lost three games on the final play of the day, even half a dozen fewer drops in crucial situations might have translated into a couple more victories.

Eagles second-year wideout Reggie Brown is tied for the league lead with seven drops, but it should be noted that he is tied with one of the NFL's most renowned receivers, Carolina's Steve Smith. Smith's seven drops have occurred in just six games.

Brown has 26 receptions for 502 yards and five touchdowns. He is averaging a very healthy 19.3 yards per catch.

"I think I just get ahead of myself,'' Brown said. "The kind of players we have are big-play players, and we get a little anxious sometimes and want to turn it up, and just lose focus on the ball instead of tucking it in all the way. ''

Eagles running back Brian Westbrook is tied for fifth in the league with six drops - tied, by the way, with a certain Dallas Cowboy who has trouble staying awake in meetings.

The Eagles are the only NFL team with two of the league's top 10 dropsters, and they have tight end L.J. Smith sitting at 13th, with four, and Stallworth tied for 19th with three, in just four games.

"We emphasize it, every day,'' Mornhinweg said. "The players are doing everything possible - working with the JUGS machine, staying after practice with Donovan... there's no excuses... we keep working, hard work, preparation.''

Rookie wideout Jason Avant agreed that everyone is aware of the situation, and trying to correct it.

"We're always on the JUGS machine, trying to get better,'' Avant said. "But you can offset that type of statistic. The thing that offsets it is big plays.''

Big plays, though, don't necessarily create the offensive continuity the Eagles keep saying they need for their offensive and defensive units to function in harmony. Big plays, along with drops, have played a role in giving the Birds the worst time of possession in the league, an average of 26 minutes and 42 seconds, just below such desolate teams as the Raiders, the Titans and the 49ers.

….Andy Reid was asked if the problems had anything to do with quarterback McNabb, who tends to throw short passes with a lot of mustard, and likes to keep medium-length passes low, so they won't be picked off.

"No,'' Reid elaborated.

No it’s the wide receivers and it needs to stop if the Eagles are going to get better.

Securing Brown

2006-11-08T12:14:00.000-05:00

Considering the dropped passes and inability to consistently get open it seems odd to sure up Brown. But far be it from me to question the Eagle’s front office. Brown has shown some of brilliance and hopefully he will be able to develop with this new deal locking him in as an Eagle.

Eagles throw 5-year extension to wide receiver Brown

Striking for the third time in less than two weeks to secure the services of a key, young player for the long term, the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday evening reached agreement with wide receiver Reggie Brown on a five-year contract extension.

Brown signed the contract Friday.

Last week, the Eagles signed defensive tackle Mike Patterson, their first-round choice in 2005, to a seven-year extension. On Monday, defensive end Trent Cole, a fifth-round choice in 2005, signed a five-year add-on. A second-round choice, Brown becomes the third member of the 2005 draft class to earn a new deal well in advance of his original rookie contract expiring.

The five-year extension, which runs through the 2014 season, can be worth as much as $27 million and it includes $10 million in guarantees.

As the 35th player selected overall in the 2005 draft, Brown signed a five-year, $4.77 million contract that included $2.55 million in guarantees. The long-term extension, despite coming so early in Brown's original contract, is in keeping with the Eagles' history of signing "nucleus"-type players long before they have a chance to test the free-agent market.

"We started talking two or three weeks ago and, even after Monday passed, we kept at it," agent Bill Johnson said. "The Eagles had a desire to keep Reggie a big part of their future, and it's where he wanted to be for his entire career, if possible. We're talking about a pretty modest guy here, not one who is out collecting Bentleys, and so this means lifetime security for him and for his family."

Monday was the deadline by which teams had to sign players to have what normally would be counted as signing bonus money calculated as additional base salary for 2006. The two sides negotiated right up to the Monday afternoon deadline, couldn't strike a deal, but continued the bargaining process.

Brown, 25, worked his way into the starting lineup in 2005, starting in 11 of his 16 appearances, and he had 43 receptions for 571 yards and four touchdowns. In eight games this season, he has 26 receptions for 502 yards and five touchdowns. His 19.3-yard average is the best in the NFL among players with 25 or more receptions, and his average of a touchdown catch every 5.2 receptions ranks among the best in the league.

The former University of Georgia star is considered by many teams to be a prototype No. 2 wide receiver, but he is generally viewed by the Eagles as their lead receiver. The Philadelphia coaches have consistently lauded Brown's work ethic and, while he still struggles through some stretches of inconsistency, he is held in high esteem by the organization.

I think that is a fair observation, now we just need to find that number one wide receiver. Because Brown has yet to rise to that level for the Eagles.

Eagles Do What They Do Secure Patterson

2006-11-07T22:34:00.000-05:00

The Eagles are great at identifying young talent and then securing it for the long term. The deal is probably back loaded so if he doesn’t perform the Eagles can release him before it hurts the salary cap to much. And if he performs as they hope, veterans could come and go and salary cap room made.

Mike Patterson: 7 years, $32M

That's how Mike Patterson's agent, Josh Luchs, presented a 7-year, $32 million contract extension to the 6-foot, 292-pound defensive tackle yesterday, comparing it to the popular NBC game show.

Patterson signed an extension that could keep him in an Eagles uniform through 2016.

The new deal comes with $9 million guaranteed and could reach as much as $40 million with escalators and incentives.

Just midway through his second season, Patterson - who started seven games as a rookie and has 72 tackles and five sacks in his brief career - pretty much sets himself up for the rest of his life with the deal.

"I was pretty shocked and excited at the same time," Patterson said of the deal. "If anything, it threw me off at first, but I thought about it and did what I thought was best for me and my family."

Because it's hard to tell whether Patterson will be just an average player or a Pro Bowler in 3 to 5 years, such a deal is more to the player's advantage.

The extension also puts the Eagles in a more comfortable position. With the deal, the Eagles do not have to worry about Patterson's worth in free agency at the end of his rookie contract, allowing the team to put some of that money under this year's salary cap.

Hopefully it will pan out for both.

Getting A New Cornerback

2006-11-05T22:20:00.000-05:00

Not sure how this will shake out with all pro cornerbacks Lito Sheppard, Sheldon Brown, and 3rd Cornerback Roderick Hood back healthy it seemed like an odd pick up. But with just a few let downs away from an undefeated system something definitely had to change.

Will Peterson was the Giants cornerback till they let him go.

He also got a name change, to make this story even stranger.
James gets new team, new name all in one day

Eagles signed the veteran cornerback formerly known as Will Peterson to a one-year contract.

The Eagles yesterday signed a cornerback you've never heard of even though he's a veteran and former division rival.

Yes, William James is now a member of the Eagles.

Before yesterday, James was known as Will Peterson, but after agreeing to a one-year deal at the prorated veteran minimum of $585,000, the Eagles announced his name change as well as his addition to the roster.

To make room for Peterson - sorry, James - the Eagles released cornerback Dexter Wynn, who had returned to the team after a Week 1 injury to Lito Sheppard.

The obvious first question for the Eagles' newest cornerback was: Why the name change?
The sixth-year veteran said his new name was taken from his full name of William James Peterson Jr.

"It's my middle name," he said.

James is returning after missing all but two games last season with the New York Giants because of a stress fracture in his back.

His agent, Ron Slavin, said yesterday that 12 to 14 teams had contacted him about his client in the last few weeks, but James wanted to join the Eagles because he wanted to play for a team with a chance of playing in the postseason.

When the Eagles first contacted Slavin about the cornerback, the team was 4-1. Now, of course, the team has lost three in a row and slipped to 4-4 at the halfway mark.

James, 27, said he is also healthy after resting and rehabilitating his back in Arizona.

The Giants released James, who was then Peterson, in May. He had played five seasons in New York and started 37 of 51 games with the Giants. His best season was 2004, when he started 16 games and had 68 tackles and two interceptions.

"The injury was very frustrating because I was really anticipating playing last year," James said. "I had made great strides in 2004 and felt I was among the top in the cornerback rankings. I'm a technician, and I take pride in my game. Going into 2005, I wanted to become the best corner in the league."

Instead, he got hurt.

Now, he has a new team and a new name.

Defensive Line Losing Its Luster

2006-11-04T21:56:00.000-05:00

What has happened to the Eagle’s defensive line? Not only has the sacks slowed but so has the ability to stop the run.

After a quick start, the sacks have dried up. Linemen can't stop the run, either.

during Monday's news conference when Eagles coach Andy Reid was asked whether the defensive tackles were good enough to stop the run.

After a brief deliberation, Reid responded, "Yes."

It wasn't the most overwhelming vote of confidence, nor should it have been.

The play of the entire defensive line, which was among the strengths of the Eagles early in the season, has once again become a concern.

And once again its because of injuries. Kearse was supposed to be freed up by the presence of Howard. And early on Howard was able to use the one on one to get pressure. But with Kearse out Howard has been getting double teamed. No one has been able to permanent fill that role.

The inside lineman have been unable to occupy the spot getting blown of the ball time and time again.

…When the Eagles beat Dallas, 38-24, to improve to 4-1, the defensive line had a dominant performance, sacking immobile Drew Bledsoe seven times. The defense recorded 23 in the first five games, 21 by the line. Last year's team total of 29 sacks seemed like it would be surpassed by midseason.

Instead, the only thing shattered might be the team's confidence.

During the three-game losing streak, the Eagles have recorded a total of three sacks, and one of them was followed by 30 yards in penalties for a face mask and unsportsmanlike conduct by Jerome McDougle against Tampa Bay.

…During the last two weeks, the run defense has let the Eagles down against teams that were employing conservative offenses with backup quarterbacks.

The Eagles were hurt by the second-half running of Bucs back Cadillac Williams. In the first half, Williams was held to 20 yards on 10 carries. But in the second half, he carried 13 times for 62 yards. Williams got stronger as the Eagles defensive line slightly wore down.

Things were much more pronounced in Sunday's 13-6 loss to visiting Jacksonville when the Jaguars rushed for 209 yards (4.5 average) and the game's lone touchdown.

This was a game in which the defensive line was physically pounded and dominated by the Jags' offensive line.
…Probably the most disappointing element has been the play of the tackles, the ones that Reid didn't exactly lavish with praise.

Darwin Walker and Mike Patterson had just two tackles each Sunday as Jacksonville continually ran up the middle.

Walker, who has five sacks, has played much better than expected coming off an injury-plagued season, but the last three weeks, his performance has fallen off.

First-round pick Brodrick Bunkley has been a major disappointment at tackle.

Bunkley has just seven tackles in the eight games and hasn't flashed the big-play potential that he showed after his holdout in training camp or the preseason.

Of the other linemen, tackle Sam Rayburn, who replaced rookie LaJuan Ramsey the last three games, has just three tackles. Backup defensive end Juqua Thomas has three sacks but none during the losing streak, while McDougle has yet to make a positive impact.

The line can pick up its play. Despite the comments, I think Rayburn can stop the run. Walker and Patterson better pick up their play.

Bad

2006-10-30T16:43:00.000-05:00

The Eagles did nothing right today. Their Offensive play calling was atrocious, Jim Johnson seemed completely ill prepared for the realities of the Jaguars offense, McNabb was out of sink, no one could get open and when they did they dropped the ball.

I am all for the Eagles running the ball. But the Jags were running you out of the game, running the ball was not getting first downs, the Eagles needed to put pressure on the Jags offense by putting up some points. And McNabb needed to get into a rhythm. There needed to be more 2 tight end sets with use of them going up the seems and getting Westbrook outside to exploit the Jags youth at Linebacker.

When McNabb starts to hold the ball because it is not quite open, you need to design quick timing routes and him moving out of the pocket, forcing the defense to adjust to the offense on the fly and get McNabb moving and thinking quicker.

But the play calling was just never there. To make it worse they then didn’t catch the ball.

The Eagles lead the league now with 31 dropped balls; 5 in that game alone.

The Jags were never going to pass the Eagles out of the game. You load up the line, make Lewis a 4th Linebacker and you make Garrard beat you. While I have been critical of Lewis’s play he has been great against the run.

Constantine just looked like a rookie today; missing tackles and being run over. The Eagles should have adjusted and brought Lewis into the game.

Similarly McCoy looked AWFUL against the run today. Give Gaither or Barber a chance to make a play where McCoy was not.

The Eagles were bad in all facets of the game. Special teams gave up 10 points with Johnson’s bad kick and the inability to cover kick and punt returns.

Why Reid kicked the ball with 7 minutes left needing 2 scores is beyond me. The minute he kicked that ball the game was over. That I think pissed me off more than anything else. It was obviously a bone head move.

Now they go into the bye week a mess.

Keys to the Game: Eagles vs. Jaguars

2006-10-29T09:10:00.000-05:00

This game is the definition of a must win game for both teams. After both teams lost to teams they should have beaten last week they need this game.

The Jags should not have lost against the Texans and now at .500 need this game if they have any chance of making the playoffs. Especially with Indianapolis widening its lead in the division every week.

The Eagles need to get a game before they go into the bye and the final stretch which will be brutal for them.

The key to the Game will be controlling and pressuring a young QB Garrard who makes plays with his feet to free up passing lanes. With an offensive line that is far from impressive keeping Garrard hemmed in to allow a pass rush to get to him will be key to stopping the Jags attack.

The Jags with Jones and Reggie Williams have made plays, being much taller than the Eagle’s cornerback gives them an edge, but the Eagles should finally be healthy in the secondary and hopefully will be able to stay on the receivers long enough for the rush to get to Garrard.

If they can keep 8 in the box to stop Fred Taylor which has been the Achilles heel of the Eagle’s defense. Look for the Jags to counter with rookie Maurice Jones-Drew who provides speed on the corners and will test the slower Eagle’s linebacker corp.

On offense just protecting McNabb and putting up points. The Jags Defensive line is formidable. Runyan vs. Bobby McCray on the right side could be the match up to watch. McCray is big but speedy rusher from the outside. McNabb needs to continue to use his feet to keep the Jags on the defensive.

The return of Stallworth will be a big help for McNabb. Even if they have been successful without him, McNabb needs a receiver he can count on to catch the ball in key situations. When McNabb needed a catch, to many WRs have dropped the ball.

The Jags signed Brian Williams to be a big time close down CB he hasn’t quite lived up to that billing. But they are still quality with Mathis tied for the lead in interceptions and Deon Grant and Donovin Darius being great Safeties.

Special teams for the Eagles have been the difference in the games. The Eagles kickoff allowed 27.9 yards vs. the Saints and Bucs; Maurice Jones-Drew averages 25.3 yards per return and will be a formidable opponent on the 3rd facet of the game. The Eagles need to close that down this week.

This game is going to be close, with the Jags ready to play. Hopefully the home field advantage with the powerful Eagles offense will get this team back on track.

Injuries Could Play Big Role, But Maybe Not For Eagles

2006-10-28T14:42:00.000-04:00

For once the injury report does not look as bleak for the Eagles as their opposition.

With it looking like Leftwich will not be not starting on Sunday or at best hampered by a nagging ankle injury; maybe it will finally aid in an Eagles victory as opposed to be a reason for their demise.

Also out is 3 time pro-bowl Defensive Tackle Marcus Stroud. The defensive front for the Jags is still one of the most formidable in the league and Stroud is a big part of that success. Add to that the loss in the season opener of Defensive end Reggie Hayward and their leading tackler LB Mike Peterson.

Big play maker Matt Jones is listed as Questionable but after practicing all week seems likely will play this week against the Eagles.

Donovin Darius all pro Safety played with Donovan McNabb at Syracuse and called his teammate and friend a nerd while at college. Although injuried, Darius looks like he won’t miss this game.

Brother of Jerome McDougle, tackle Stockar McDougle looks to miss this chance to line up opposite his sibling.

Also missing is Terry Cousin CB for this beat up Jaguar’s defense.

Amazingly enough all the Eagles players practiced this week. You read that right, they all practiced. Donte Stallworth’s hammy looks to finally be healing and will allow him to make it on the field just before this final stretch.

Cornerback Roderick Hood looks to make it back this week as well.

FB Thomas Tapeh who injured his groin last week is still hampered by the injury and looks to be questionable for the game.

L.J. Smith is also listed as questionable and better play as he is starting TE for my fantasy football teams.

Leftwich Out?

2006-10-27T18:38:00.000-04:00

I don’t know what it is about the Jags but for some reason every season they seemed to be injury plagued. And the great QB Byron Leftwich always seems to spend time on the bench missing games.

Apparently Jaguars Coach Jack Del Rio felt that Leftwich pressured him to let him play before he was ready last Sunday against the Houston Texans; which led to the Jaguars shocking 27-7 loss to the hapless Texans.

It looks like David Gerrard will get the start this Sunday against the Eagles.

Jaguars quarterback Byron Leftwich missed practice for the second straight day Friday because of an ankle injury, a strong indication that backup David Garrard will start at Philadelphia.

He initially hurt his left ankle Oct. 1 at Washington. It flared up nearly two weeks later. Despite missing a practice, Leftwich convinced coaches he could play last week at Houston. But he missed open receivers several times, and Del Rio considered benching him at halftime.

Leftwich shared snaps with Garrard on Wednesday, then sat out practice the last two days.

"I'm definitely preparing myself for (starting)," said Garrard, who helped the Jaguars go 4-1 when he started for the injured Leftwich last season. "Getting snaps in practice is the best way to do it."

What will the result be?

It’s really hard to say. One would think that any backup against a Jim Johnson Defense is in trouble. Johnson has a way of making season veterans look confused and while Gerrard is a talent he certainly has not seen the pressure Johnson can bring.

But Gerrard makes plays with his feet and always seems to show up for big games in relief of Leftwich. He may be too young to know that he should be scared of what the Eagle’s defense can do.

Taking chances and running the ball are the ways to crack the Jim Johnson Defense and with Gerrard the Jaguars can do it.

Plus with the Jaguars defense it is possible to make mistakes and they will cover for you.

What Its Like To Be An Eagles Fan

2006-10-24T14:56:00.000-04:00

Thought it was appropriate after being beat on a league record tieing 62 yard field goal by a guy who hadn't made one longer than 28 yards early that season.

Another Heartbreaking Loss

2006-10-23T14:55:00.000-04:00

We should be 7-0 not could be… SHOULD BE. While the offense has finally realized as the masterpiece Reid always thought it could be, the team as a whole can’t seem to get it all together at once.

A few mistakes are stopping this team from taking the next step to elite status.

That being said it is clear that the Bucs defense is in Donavan’s head. For some reason or another they just seem to always have the Eagle’s number. It’s like Barber was in the Eagle’s offensive huddle.

Defensively the inability to get off the field just continues to be the problem for the offense. Although McNabb put the defense into impossible positions that it continued to rescue him from, it also once again just could not get off the field or stop the Bucs when they needed to.

That seems to be the problem in the losses. The failure of one component of the game at the wrong times.

First McNabb and the offense kept giving up the ball and giving the Bucs touchdowns. Then when McNabb finally got back on track the defense couldn’t get the ball back to him in time. And finally when they have the lead the special teams decides to not tackle on kick off return.

On the up side, they got Westbrook the ball and ran the ball, VERY well. And once again they did not get beat but beat themselves.

Never the less it was another loss in a part of their schedule they could ill afford to give up wins.

A sad sad day in Philadelphia.

Eagles v. Bucs: Keys to the Game

2006-10-21T20:30:00.000-04:00

Not to long ago this was an intense rivalry. Former Eagles offensive coordinator bested the Eagles in the NFC Championship on the road to victory in his first year as coach. That year and the following, beating the Bucs became an intense competition against the leagues elite defenses vs. offense and two of the best coaches matching wits.

Since then the Bucs have fallen off and the Eagles have not really had to play through the Bucs to win the NFC.

Last Week I undercounted how important it was that ex-Eagles would be up to playing their spurned team. This week the Bucs need a win, and the Eagles undercount the importance of this game to the Bucs at their imperil.

The Bucs defense may be ranked only 19th, but they are a few big takeaways or a good afternoon from being better. And they will be up to stop the number one offense in the league and their old rivals.

That being said, this weeks keys to the game will once again to get pressure on the QB. Rookie QB Bruce Gradkowski needs to feel like the Defense is swirling around him and unsure of where the pressure will come from. The Eagles cannot give him the chance to pick apart an underperforming secondary.

Carnell Williams has had 215 yards in the last 2 games and the Eagles recently have looked suspect at stopping the run. Putting Gradkowski on the defensive will require the Eagles stop the run.

Offensively the same is always true, regaining control of the line of scrimmage and actually running the ball is important. The Bucs defensive line is in transition and underperforming, running it down their throats on the road will make them want to quit early.

It will also slow down a great pass rush and defensive linebackers who are fast and get into pass defense to make plays better than most teams.

Putting pressure on a young QB and commitment to getting Moats and Buckhalter a steady flow of the ball will win the game in this important NFC matchup.

Lewis Off Form

2006-10-19T15:40:00.000-04:00

I thought about mentioning it on this blog, but it just seemed impossible to say… Michael Lewis has looked awful. All year he has looked a step slow and nothing captured that problem then the touchdown that tied the game.

At the same time Sean Considine has looked excellent, it’s hard to ignore in this league of what have you done for me lately their divergent play. via philly.com

Sean Considine gamely declared that he still considers the strong safety job Mike Lewis' position, while acknowledging what Eagles coach Andy Reid made public yesterday: Considine and Lewis will split the job Sunday at Tampa, presumably with Lewis playing primarily in short-yardage, run-stopping situations.

A few stalls down the line, Lewis left no doubt that he disagreed with the move, which probably was approved by Reid after it was made by defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, since John-son handles the defense pretty much exclusively. Johnson is scheduled to speak to reporters today.

Lewis has been at ground zero of several big plays inflicted on the Birds' defense this season. He lost Saints wideout Joe Horn on a double move that let Horn romp to a 48-yard, game-tying fourth-quarter touchdown Sunday, a week after Lewis had to interfere with Terry Glenn to keep the Dallas receiver from catching a potential game-tying touchdown pass in the final minute, on fourth-and-18. Another lowlight, earlier, included the Giants' fumble Lewis couldn't recover that ended up as a New York touchdown, which was the catalyst for a Giants comeback from a 24-7 fourth-quarter deficit to win in overtime.

"We're not playing at the level we want to play at, in all three areas - linemen, linebackers and secondary," veteran linebacker Shawn Barber said. "Nobody's happy where we are as a defense right now. That's exciting to me - that means the guys are eager to make improvements. We want to hurry up and play like it's Week 15 or 16. Right now, we're still going through some of the growing pains of getting us from where we are now to where we need to be. Each game, we have the potential to go out there and play Eagles football for four quarters. Everybody in this locker room, everybody on our defense is excited to do that."

Free safety Brian Dawkins acknowledged he had spoken to Lewis about the Saints game.
"Obviously, I've been in that situation, as far as giving up some passes in key situations for touchdowns, and I know how much it hurts, because I know how much it hurt me," Dawkins said. "The thing you do as a player - and especially when you're a good player - you expect a lot of yourself, which he does. You take it hard upon yourself... The thing you have to have as a defensive back is a short memory, because things are going to happen."

Dawkins said that while he has worked with Lewis longer than with any other strong safety - Lewis became a starter late in the 2002 season, as a rookie - he feels OK about working with Considine, as well. In Johnson's system, the strong safety makes the coverage calls for the secondary.

Lewis, who played in the Pro Bowl 2 years ago, can be an unrestricted free agent this spring. The Eagles tried to get a long-term deal done with him last year, couldn't come to agreement, and haven't tried again. A push to sign Lewis before free agency now seems unlikely. But he said yesterday that his contract situation has not been bothering him.

Dawkins expressed the hope that "at some point, Mike gets his confidence where it needs to be, and it'll be back to where he's in there and making plays, like we know he can do."

I hope he gets it together because we need him for this years run.

A Little Pick Me Up

2006-10-17T15:19:00.000-04:00

After the loss I needed a litle pick me up and this video about the Eagles being a way of life made me smile

Home Field Advantage the Edge

2006-10-16T15:12:00.000-04:00

Winning on the road is hard in the NFL. It is even harder in New Orleans right now.

The difference in the game Sunday was the fact that the game was played in New Orleans had it been in Philadelphia the Eagles definitely win.

That being said, the Saints had a great game plan. The short passes to get the ball out of Brees hands and the ability to run up the middle right at Trotter is the game plan to beat the Jim Johnson Defense.

Offensively the Eagles just beat themselves. Dropped passes early in the game and the inability to use Westbrook in space started the Eagles off slow. Running Westbrook is important, but just enough to make the linebackers one step slower as they track him to the outside.

The much feared Eagles screen pass was only used once and with LJ. The success of it late in the game you thought the Eagles might go to it more. Especially late in the game when they were trying to run down the clock and score points.

Another frightening trend is the inability to finish strong in the fourth quarter. The Saints got the ball with 8 min left in the 4th and never relinquished the ball. This just cannot happen.

The Eagles did run the ball well and as I said before the game giving Buckhalter touches and using Moats produced a little. To Reid: DO IT MORE. You can get Buckhalter and Westbrook on the field at the same time. And Moats is great on the screen play get him into space.

Reid now falls to 5-6 after playing Dallas. As any Eagles fan knows the most important game of the year.

I think I personally and in the run up to the game commentators missed the importance of so many ex-Eagles playing in the game. Mark Simoneau LB clearly had a cross to bare after being sat for Trotter and then traded. And Hollis Thomas made a personal case that letting him go was a huge mistake.

The played against this offense every day for years, they know Reid, McNabb and Jim Johnson and they had something to prove.

Eagles v Saints: Keys to the Game

2006-10-15T19:12:00.000-04:00

Winning will be much like winning on the road in many games, but after the emotional return and success of the Saints taking the crowd out of the game this sunday in New Orleans becomes even more important.

The number one offense in the league needs to find a way to run the ball. The best way to take a crowd out of the game is to go on the road and run it down their throats. The Saints have given up 128.4 yards per game the third worst in the NFC. Controlling the ball and then putting up points will be key on offense.

It will also be important for the beat up secondary. Going into the game it seems everyone in the secondary has some sort of injury. The Saints saw the 7 sack game against the Cowboys so look for them to pound Deuce McAllister. And then when Brees throws look for them to have max protect and try to exploit their talent on the outside against a dilapidated Eagles’ secondary.

Stopping the run will be the number one task of the defense. Getting up on the scoreboard and making Brees pass to catch up will be the key to the game. Sustained drives that take the crowd out of the game and take the ball from McAllister will be the key to victory.

Once the Eagles are up and stopping the run they will be able to come after Brees who would be force to beat them.

On special teams the Eagles have to be better; despite the punt fumble recovery did not look good covering kick offs and punts. With Reggie Bush bringing them back, they need to be more solid on special teams.

Injuries for Eagles Saints

2006-10-14T13:48:00.000-04:00

Once again the Secondary is going to be a patchwork job. Roderick Hood is listed as Doubtful to play. Sean Considine, Brian Dawkins, Lito Sheppard, and Dexter Wynn are all injured although listed as probably for the game.

While Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush get all the attention for their ability to run the ball successfully, Drew Brees is a more than capable QB who will be able to challenge the Eagle’s beat up secondary. So once again getting pressure with the front 4 and stopping the run will be key.

Matt McCoy has been great at stopping the run, he also made the big play on the hit the forced the ball out on the muffed punt against Dallas. McCoy’s big play ability was taken out of the Cowboys game late with a hip pointer. He is listed as probably and will need to be on the field to stop Deuce. Shawn Barber is also listed as probably and is hurt with a hip injury.

Todd Herremans on the offensive line has been great, so when he went down with what could have been a serious knee injury I held my breath. But it appears he is probably for Sunday. Stallworth seems likely to sit out against his old team which is really sad because it would have been great to get him back on the field.

Jason Avant has been good on special teams and a good backup on offense, he is listed as probable as is Reno Mahe who has been great coming out of the back field.

It’s hard to know what to write about Brian Westbrook as his knee is bad, and will be a problem all year. I figure he will probably play, but hopefully the Eagle’s will have a large enough lead so that he will not be needed to carry a big load.

Better Fans in Philly

2006-10-13T19:25:00.001-04:00

[cross posted at Black Jewish Experience]

I hate to say this, but the fans in Philadelphia are better than the famous/infamous English Football fans I witnessed.

I was expecting the worst when I went to see West Ham play Aston Villa, it was an important league game with one team having European play aspirations and one squad just missing out last season.

On top of all that, two Argentine players, the cream of the new crop to come out of South America were debuting to English Football.

It should have been a ruckus affair with fans on both sides doing their all to support their squads in an important victory. Instead it was a timid crowd with the home side West Ham barely singing or cheering and Aston Villa fans although boisterous in the beginning fading as the game wore on.

In fairness part of the reason English Football fans are so subdued is that they seem to have given up their right to free speech.

(I don’t care what the English say, even if their freedoms are endowed in years of case law, there is something to actually WRITING THEM DOWN and making them intractable parts of society.)

See you can’t talk crap about the opposing team or the players. They are a few feet away and apparently all you can do is whisper sweet nothings. It’s ridiculous.

At American University College Games… COLLEGE, we used to get cheers going such as oxypads for a kid who had bad achne, a picture of a coach’s daughter with someone saying I have seen her naked, and an opposing fan once telling me they killed my mother than had sex with her.

In England the police yell at you if you stand up to long. That is how much freedom they have given up. You can’t say anything negative about opposing players in fact you can’t seem to say anything at all except a few cheers and a few go teams.

That being said there was none of the activity that made English fans infamous, certainly nothing in terms of the passion from Eagle’s fans.

While it may be true that neither West Ham nor Aston Villa have reputations for the most notorious fans. But from what I have seen living in Arsenal country and tailgating when they had a big game against Totem and watching the EPL religiously they just frankly are not that passionate about sport.

With ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNnews, ESPN Classic, FSC, CSN, I could go on, all channels dedicated to 24 hour sports. And not just one sport there are 4 major sports plus 4 or 5 more minor sports that millions also follow.

America just has more passionate fans. As a Philadelphia fan I am proud to say we are second to none…

RIP: Corey Lidle

2006-10-11T19:53:00.000-04:00

Hundreds of Thousands of people die everyday and many for far worse reasons. And yet you can't help but be effected when someone you watched play sports and cheered for, for so long dies suddenly. I will always think of him as a Philadelphia Philly. Someone took the time to say their peace in video....

Eagles Beat the Boys

2006-10-10T19:57:00.000-04:00

This was a satisfying victory there is not doubt about it. But successfully shutting down the talent of T.O. somehow fell to the very young Hanson. On so many occasions, you would look over to T.O. and see Hanson on him. It was a great performance by the young corner.

He was helped by the heroic efforts of Howard and Trent Cole. Cole has been probably the largest surprise of this new season. He has a motor that keeps running and constantly successfully brought pressure on Bledsoe.

That being said, the Cowboys were able to run the ball and control the clock. If you looked at the time of possession the Cowboys should have won this game. Jones ran the ball for 100 yards and the Cowboys were able run the ball almost 150 yards. While the Defensive line were able to get pressure on Bledsoe all game, when it came to run defense they were losing on the line of scrimmage.

The game luckily turned on big defensive stops and creating turnovers. But the Eagles cannot go back into a failure to stop the run.

On offense the inability to run the ball continues to be a problem. They ran the ball only 56 yards. Frankly Reid needs to get Moats and Buckhalter more involved in the game. Every time Moats gets the ball he makes a play. Buckhalter needs carries to get into a rhythm and Reid should give him the ball more early in the game.

The strength in past games was the Eagles third down conversion rate, one of the best in the league. But on Sunday they only converted 17% of their third down chances. In most games that is not enough to win.

But offensively the emergence of Baskett was really important and one of the best things to come out of the game. His catch and run down the sideline was one of many of his highlights that day. I hope he continues to emerge as the talent the Eagles hope he is.

All in all its hard not to focus on the key... WE BEAT THE BOYS

Eagles v Cowboys Post Game

2006-10-09T15:40:00.000-04:00

When you are a kid in Philadelphia you grow up learning to hate the cowboys before you learn to live the Eagles. We HATE the boys, to make that even better we have the return of Terrell Owens.

Something is wrong with T.O. as I said here before, anyone that gives up on a hall of fame combination for greed and selfishness should have themselves examined. While T.O. struggled to find someone to get him the ball, McNabb showed why he is in an elite class of QB in the NFL.

But after all the hype it was not either of these players who defined the game.

Trent Cole and Darren Howard have to get the game balls. They won the game for the Eagles. Darren Howard just kept making plays, it’s like he had lived in Philadelphia his whole life and understood how important that game was. He just had another gear. Whether key pressure on Bledsoe or stopping the run again and again on 3rd and short, he simply won the game for the Eagles.

Cole just made one big tackle after another. He looked like a man possessed on defense, feeding on the crowd and just kept coming.

The defensive line as a whole won the game, they just dominated on passing opportunities. The sack by Jaqua Thomas where the Bledsoe finally had time but he kept coming to get the sack really summed the drive they had.

Lito Sheppard had one less catch than TO but actually scored a touchdown on his. He even dropped a sure 3rd interception after Howard once again hit Bledsoe’s arm as he was throwing. While TO had 3 catches for 45 unimportant yards, Sheppard had 2 ints and scored a game winning touchdown on them.

While there were signs of concern we can talk about later, the failure to convert on 3rd down, the Dallas complete control time of possession, and Jones running all over the defense.

But today is the defenses day. They stepped up and won it for the Eagle’s when they needed them most.

I mean Hoslio Hanson, HOSLIO HANSON shut down the great and powerful Owens.

On offense, I don’t care what McNabb says, he wanted this game and it showed. He put in a MVP performance. While he did make some mistakes, when he made plays they were dead on.

Imagine trying to throw the ball 60 yards down the field to a man running full speed, then imagine doing it having not one but two 300 pound men aiming for your head; and yet McNabb was able to make such a throw to Basket to put the Eagles ahead.

And then with the game all tied, he does it again on a flee flicker to Brown. McNabb makes it look easy, but make no mistake, while other QBs may be able to make one or two of those throws, to make them all and be perfectly on target is the work of the NFL MVP so far.

There were signs of concern, Westbrook ran 11 times for only 33 yards and seem to not be much of a factor in the game. Moats had one good run but wasn’t given the ball enough and Buckhalter seems to need 2 or 3 runs to get into a rhythm.

That being said it was an all around amazing victory. Not perfect, but getting it done when we needed and making the plays to seal off a game. TO was not a factor, the Eagles are on top of the division and the COWBOYS go home a loser, couldn’t ask for more.

Birds v the Boys: Keys to Matchup

2006-10-08T15:01:00.000-04:00

Although the focus is on TO vs. McNabb and the Eagles, the key to the game will be Jones for the Cowboys.

On Defense stopping the run with 7 men will be the biggest key to the game. With the Cowboys, stopping the run and being able to defend Owens and Glenn with 2 Corners and 2 Safeties. With all the injuries in the secondary being able to be able to put as much into the secondary as possible. Equally controlling the line of scrimmage during the run game will be important during the passing game. Getting the imobile Bledsoe with the front 4 will be important keys to stopping TO and the Cowboys passing game.

On Offense Running the ball and establishing it from the beginning of the game will be important not just toput up points, but also to keep the Cowboys offense off the field. That is why as I said before how they score will be as important as how many times. Controlling the time of possession and then getting touchdowns will be the keys to controlling the game. Protecting McNabb will then become important to giving the WRs time to get open.

Look for a great close game, but the ability as most weeks to stop and run the ball...

Getting It Done on Monday Night; Now Onto the Circus

2006-10-03T18:40:00.000-04:00

The Eagles got it done against the Packers in their 31-9 victory on Monday Night Football. The Packers are a bad team, but even so, with Favre on Monday night and trailing at the half, the Eagles could have let this one get away; but the professionalism of Andy Reid teams was on display.

Giving away 14 points fumbling the ball twice in the Redzone and a completely horrible call for fake field goal at the end of the half, it was bad all around.

But it was obvious that the absence of Westbrook took some time to get control over. The last minute scratch of the Eagles’ best offensive weapon besides McNabb could devastate most teams. It took time to get in rhythm, but even still the Eagles had 2 effective drives which should have resulted in points let alone touchdowns.

In the first half the Eagles gave away likely 17 points.

Getting it together in the second half, we saw the professionalism. They kept Favre and the running game in check and protected McNabb better. Also running the ball more effectively enable the Eagles to put the game away.

While the Packers are weak in the secondary they have a strong front 7, so the ability to run against them was excellent, especially in the end of the game when the Eagles needed it. Although Andy Reid should have put Moats into the game sooner.

The worry for the game, besides the first half giveaways, was the inability of the Eagles’ front 4 to put pressure on Favre especially in the shotgun even with the suspect young line of the Packers. With all the injuries in the secondary they need to be able to go 2 deep and get pressure with the front 4. If the Eagle’s have to blitz, especially next week against the Cowboys to get pressure, they will be in trouble with their depleted secondary.

Also troubling with Westbrook out is the absence of Stallworth and now possibly Reggie Brown. The Eagles’ offense needs these weapons to be successful.

And yet with all the injuries and giveaways the Eagles had a decisive victory against a Favre Monday Night team. The defense gave up NO TOUCHDOWNS and the offense made the plays to seal the game.

As soon as the game was over, the circus began as the Cowboys come to town. But lets not forget the importance of this game to go 3-1 in the league. A quality victory in the face of these adversarial conditions; now on to the Game that matters.

4th and 26: Are You Ready for Some Football

2006-10-02T18:38:00.000-04:00

Its Yom Kippur, so I have to just put this up... but it should get you ready for the game....

Phillies Disappoint Again

2006-10-01T23:44:00.000-04:00

Once again the Phillies on the last day of the season have left fans disappointed. Of course this time feels a little more sour than before. After the fire sale of Phillie starters it seemed the season was over. Charlie Manuel would surely be fired and the Phillies would have to retool with their younger up in coming players.

Of course that would have been easier had the Phillies actually gotten anyone for Abreau, but lets be honest, as the losingest team in all sports around the world, there really was no hope for the future.

But of course they couldn’t leave it like that, they had to tease us, make an unpredictable run for the wild card that ended essentially on the LAST DAY OF THE SEASON.

Lets talk about the good, down the stretch, young pitching came up big; and the offense finally lived up to its potential (ironically without Abreau and David Bell at 3rd Base).

Ryan Howard made an amazing run. Not just with his league leading 149 RBIs, but also chasing down the home run record but also falling short again with 58Hrs. History may prove this run more laudable than the steroid induced chase by Bonds and McGwire.

Yes Ryan Howard is steroid free despite the obvious inability of some sports writers to do research before they speak, his run at the Home Run record was for real. While the Majors may not have a real steroid policy, the Minor Leagues have had and have a thorough testing policy. One that would have found a steroid usage by Howard.

But just as the team, he will probably fall short in MVP balloting as Pujols led his St. Louis Cardinals to the playoffs and the Phillies fell short. Also Howard will end with a 180 strikeouts, Pujols just 50 k’s and 49 Home runs.

It’s not like this team will be able to sustain this sort of pace and winning with this line up next year. No as any Phillies fan knows, this burst was the last chance for a while of Philadelphia Phillies chances of getting into the Playoffs.

No they will disappoint again, another season and another year of falling fall short of expectations. It’s like reliving the Mitch Williams pitch all over again. The Life of a Philadelphia Phillie’s fan.

Eagles v Packers: Keys to the Game

2006-09-30T17:29:00.000-04:00

The keys to beating the Packers are controlling the clock when on offense and getting pressure on Favre when on Defense.

The Packers on defense have been giving up big plays and against Detroit they gave up 424 yards. The Eagles clearly have big play potential. But with the defensive backs for the Eagle’s beat up, it will be more important to control the ball.

Running the ball effectively and sustaining long time consuming drives will be key for the Eagle’s offense. While they allow an average of 5.9 yards per play on defense most of those yards have been in the air. For Monday Nights game it may be just as important how the Eagle’s score as how many times.

The Packer’s defensive line is very good, sacking opponents 8 times this year and only allowing 3 yards per rushing carry. Protecting McNabb and opening up wholes will be the key for the Eagle’s offensively.

Defensively this game could be a struggle with Dawkins, Sheppard, and Hood all not practicing this week. Getting pressure with the front 4 will therefore be very important. And while the Packers did not let up a sack against Detroit, it was the first time in 13 games; their offensive line has given up 5 this year.

The Eagles are tied for the lead so far this year with 16 sacks.

While the media likes to focus on McNabb versus Favre the game will not be played between them. Stopping the two Quarterbacks however will be the key for each team. Look for this game to be closer than it should be. Favre on Monday Night coming off an important win against Detroit will be hungry for an upset. With quality defensive line and Favre in the backfield you can never count the Packers out.

If the League Leading offense focuses in on this game, the Eagle’s should be able to pull off a victory.

Kearse Not So Bad, Sheppard Doubtful: Injury Report

2006-09-29T14:56:00.000-04:00

Jevan Kearse will play again according to the Doctors although unfortunately his season with the Eagle’s is over. Football is a tragic sport that way, large painful looking hits do not often lead to injury where as Kearse banging his knee into team Mike Patterson almost ends his career.

Agent: Kearse surgery reveals less damage than thought

Jevon Kearse's season ended when Eagles teammate Mike Patterson banged into Kearse's left knee Sept. 17 at Lincoln Financial Field, but Kearse's career most assuredly did not, agent Drew Rosenhaus said last night.

Rosenhaus said Dr. John Uribe's surgery on Kearse yesterday found far less damage than feared. Rosenhaus said the Eagles did not err in putting Kearse on injured reserve, given the 12-to-16-week recovery period Uribe estimates, but he said the defensive end should be a full participant in minicamps and training camp next year. Previous reports, based on the Eagles' findings that three of Kearse's four knee ligaments were strained, had speculated that the injury could be career-threatening, and that Kearse faced a more lengthy rehab.

Sheppard however does not lead as much good news as it appears that he will not play Monday night against the Packers.

After practicing and being listed as probable, there was hope he would be on the field but it doesn’t look likely. According to Philly.com

"It's up in the air, but it's more 'doubtful' than 'probable,' " Sheppard said yesterday, though he held out hope for getting into a practice today or tomorrow, then playing in the game. "You never know. I don't want to put any limits on myself."

You can hardly blame Reid for wanting to push things a little. The Eagles gave up 44 points after halftime in their last two games, with Sheppard's replacement, Rod Hood, suffering a heel injury against the Giants and aggravating it against the 49ers. Reid seems extremely reluctant to see what a whole game's worth of Joselio Hanson on the corner would look like, with Hanson still new to the team and still learning the intricacies of Jim Johnson's defense.

Asked yesterday about Sheppard, Reid said: "He's close. He's just not quite there yet."

Dawkins after his concussion has also not been practicing and Hood, who replaced Sheppard appears to be likely scratched in the game as well.

This is all troubling for a defense that has faded in the 2nd half of games and needs all the help they can get against Green Bay in the secondary.

The last 2 weeks, with Hood limping off both times and free safety Brian Dawkins leaving the San Francisco game with a concussion, the defense has looked scrambled.

Hood, who did not practice yesterday and also is listed as "doubtful," said Wednesday he hopes to play, as he did last week after not practicing and going into game day under the same designation.

Dawkins also did not practice yesterday. He is listed as "questionable," but Reid said Dawkins would "be OK here in the next couple days."

Offensively the Eagles looked good without Stallworth in the lineup, but having him back will be a big boost for Monday night; that still looks like that could be up in the air as well. Although Philly.com columnist believes he will be on the field.

Terrell Owens and Depression

2006-09-27T14:56:00.000-04:00

The talk on ESPN which is reporting that now Dallas Cowboy and former Eagle’s headache Terrell Owens tried to commit suicide by taking to many pills.

He is of course denying such a charge saying that he had a bad reaction to the different pills he was taking for his recent surgery on his index finger.

But the story of his suicide sound like a more likely scenario then being sick from limited dosages of medication. Certainly to the extent of requiring a trip to the hospital and having a stomach pumped. (then again without Health Care, my line for going to get help is probably more than most people)

ESPN radio announcers where I first heard the breaking news, expressed shock that someone of Owens demeanor seemingly so confident like he would never do that.

But as someone who suffers from depression it seems pretty obvious to me; he had all the signs. Outwardly warm and boisterous demeanor, but in need of constant support.

But people who know him seem to say that in private he is quiet and withdrawn; completely different from his TV and sports persona. Moody and prone to withdrawal these are all common signs. Depression is not just someone who is sad, in fact most people who suffer from depression are outwardly happy and engaging (think most stand-up comics)

Reports such as ESPN the Magazine cover story Tom Friend: via Outside the Beltway who is the only one still had the story online

In a home playoff game that day against the Packers, Owens’ stone hands resurfaced. He fumbled once and dropped four balls. As he sat on the sidelines, awful childhood memories flooded back. Like when he’d fallen asleep on a high school bus with his mouth open, and a teammate spit on his tongue. Like when kids called him “Purple Pal” for being so dark-skinned. That’s how those four botched passes made him feel — angry, insecure — and he figured, that’s it, they’re not going to throw to me again. He didn’t trust them, Tuna. He doesn’t trust anybody, Tuna.

So he walked up to Young and said, “Steve, believe in me.” And Young was stunned. He told TO, “You’re one of the best in the league, and you’re only your third year in, so don’t worry about me believing in you, okay? Just catch the next one.”

The next one came with three seconds left, the 49ers trailing by four. Owens ran a route called “All Go Double Comeback,” and caught it at the goal line with two Packers aiming for his skull. He sobbed afterwards, which was an odd reaction to some, but not Derrick Deese, the 49ers left tackle who played dominos with Owens virtually every day. “TO was emotional because the touchdown signified that we knew what he knew — that we had to go back to him to win the game,” Deese says. “That meant more than the catch.

He needs this support, he needs his actions validated and he needs to be the focus of the attention. This according to this article by Friend. He has other stories about how he met his father and being locked up with his alcoholic Grandmother who only had one lamp and wouldn’t let him out.

And when he is not the center, he is willing to hurt himself; to commit professional suicide that were he not the most talented player in the league would certainly find him outside of the game.

He is willing to hurt himself professionally is it really a stretch to believe he is willing to hurt himself physically?

He will deny any sort of suicide and in truth we may never really know what happened; but considering his childhood alone and his preoccupation with himself. Considering all the symptoms he has of putting on a face in public quiet in real life he should probably consider therapy regardless.

Either way I wish him health and a quick recovery but not in time for the Eagles game.

After Effects: More Post Game Thoughts

2006-09-26T17:49:00.000-04:00

We should be worried about the Eagle’s defense especially waning in the 2nd half of games. In the first half the Eagle’s defense stopped the run, controlled the line of scrimmage and got pressure on QB Alex Smith with just 4 men.

And yet in the 3rd Quarter, when the Eagle’s offense went dry (which even for the number 1 offense will happen, the Eagle’s defense was unable to stop the 49ers.

Depth at defense seems to be the early problem for the Eagles. They need to tighten up especially late in the game, and either the veterans will have to go longer or the backups will need to improve.

McCoy looked excellent against the run although it didn’t show in final stats. Dawkins also went out of the game after single handedly stopping the 49ers from scoring and causing really the game winning score by Patterson (instead of 24-10 it made it 31-3 which would be big later on).

Michael Lewis looks a step slow in the defensive passing game, but once again came up with a big sack.

On up side as well Trent Cole gathered another sack and looks great in his backup role. Darren Howard gathered his first sack as an Eagle and played well. On the interior LaJuan Ramsey played well as a back up again and looks better than his draft position. Ramsey was the Eagle’s final pick of the draft and was a back up at USC (to Patterson of course). And yet for the Eagle’s in just his 3rd game he looks like a quality pro.

Offensively the O-line looked excellent again. They controlled the line of scrimmage and gave McNabb plenty of time to pass most of the time. But the inability to sustain the run is a problem. Besides the Westbrook breakout, the Eagle’s weren’t able to run the ball consistently half of the Eagle’s 150 rushing yards.

Other source of worry was another missed Field goal by the reliable Akers. With the changes in holding as Detmer was let go, Akers’ miss at the end of the game is worrisome. Are there still problems with the holding in the kicking game? With all the openings because of injury maybe we should pick up Detmer as a 4th QB and holder.

Getting It Done: Eagle’s v. 49ers

2006-09-25T17:06:00.000-04:00

Many bad things could have happened after the collapse against the Giant’s last week. Especially against the 49ers who are on their way to being a competitive team.

Both 1-1 coming into the game, the 49ers barely lost 34-27 to Arizona with Alex Smith’s last two passes to the end zone falling incomplete to end the game. Gore and the 49er offense looked even better against St. Louis in their home season opener. So going into the game against the Eagle’s after last week it could have been uncertain.

But the professionalism of this team showed through quickly as the Eagle’s started the game with a flee-flicker that led to Westbrook’s first touchdown on the first drive. The Eagle’s looked good in the beginning again completely dominating the first half going into halftime 24-3.

This is where the game gets sticky, and hopefully the Eagle’s will find a way to work on their inability to finish games.

The 3rd quarter the Eagle’s had -16 total offensive yards which reflected how completely ineffectual they were. Meanwhile the 49ers drove 3 consecutive times to the endzone scoring on the second one.

It was only after being bailed out by the Mike Patterson 98 yard fumble runback that the Eagle’s started their first drive of the 4th quarter up 31-17 as opposed to tied 24 to 24. Watching the game in a bar of anxious Eagle’s fans you could see the worry on the faces of not again as the 4th quarter started. I think you could feel it in the game as well.

But the Eagle’s offense quickly responded going 80 yards in just 5 plays to put the game away. Character seemed to be the theme of this game, as the Eagle’s went to work early and then in a moment when they could collapse, came to life to put the game away.

Offensively again though the Eagle’s looked very good, although the ability to run the ball when you need to still needs work. But the first half the Eagle’s offense looked like the number 1 offense in the league. Even with Stallworth on the sidelines, the McNabb was able to throw the ball around and exploit the 49ers secondary.

Defensively the Eagle’s looked excellent against the run. The again forced sacks with the just a 4 man rush meaning they were able to drop Lewis and Dawkins to help the Lito Shepard-less secondary. It showed in the 49ers’ best WR Bryant’s frustration in not getting the ball. He was held to 4 receptions for just 36 yards.

The 49er’s had effectively run the ball, but today they were able to stop Frank Gore. A problem all last year, so far the Eagle’s have been very effective against the run.

All in all a good win, a good building game after last week’s meltdown. Hopefully the jitters over blowing leads will be over and the Eagle’s can get on to the business of winning. Monday night should provide a good opportunity to do just that.

Sorry For Being Away

2006-09-23T17:39:00.000-04:00

Unfortunately my extensive staff was not able to take over as I transitioned to a new location.

I also experience something all bloggers fear most, NO INTERNET CONNECTION.

But I will do my best to still post every day...

Because the Eagle's are that important.

Letting One Get Away

2006-09-18T21:26:00.000-04:00

It’s hard to measure the level of collapse of the Eagles loss to the Giants in overtime 24-30. It wasn’t just that the Eagle’s destroyed the Giants for 3 and half quarters. It is that for through 2 games, 7and half quarters the Eagle’s were perfect, destroying the opposition.

When they needed to finish the game, to finish off an important oppositional foe, they fell apart.

The first Eagles 3 and Out was not until the 4th Quarter.
The Giants entered Eagle’s territory for ONCE until the 4th Quarter
Eagle’s had over 300 yards of total offense in the first half
At one point it was 400 to 100 in total yards.
Eli was SACKED 8 TIMES
Tiki was held to 19 yards on 11 attempts until midway through the 4th Quarter.

This was not just winning; the Eagle’s were DOMINATING the Giants. But the lucky bounce on the fumble to the endzone for the Giant’s second score should have been a warning to what was to come.

The Eagles in some ways should not worry, they looked excellent like the class of the NFC East for 3 and half Quarters. If they play that way for 4 whole Quarters a game they should be fine. On the other side the failure to close out a divisional opponent on a year where the division is so close could prove to be tragic.

Once again the offensive line made supposedly one of the best defensive lines in the league look silly.

Defensively the Eagle’s stopped the Tiki Barber, keeping him under 100 yards for the first time in many meetings. They got to Eli Manning an amazing 8 times even with constant subs to the line. Matt McCoy again looked excellent at OLB for most of the game and especially against that run.

Strangly in such a tragic loss the Eagle’s have a lot to be positive about, just correcting those mistakes will be key.

Rules Changes Making A Difference

2006-09-14T23:43:00.000-04:00

When the first rules changes to get rid of the contact during passing plays and hitting the Quarterback were put into place they played to much of an important role in defining games.

Too often games were decided by seemingly questionable pass interference calls or shots on the QB which had become routine in NFL play. While in theory I supported the moves, it sucks to see games decided by penalty as opposed to plays on the field.

But through the first weekends of College and the NFL Football, I have to say that the changes have become engrained into the game and made the game better.

No longer to Defensive Backs try to play defenders with their hands and then at the last second go up for the ball. DB’s are playing WR like positions, following the player and then looking for the ball and playing that instead of the man. It has made the game more fluid and enjoyable to watch. And the DB’s seem to be making more plays as their technique of actually looking for the ball is working better for them.

So far overall it has much improved play of the game now that players are adjusting and training for it.

Instead of QB’s who their health can decide seasons (as any Eagle’s fan knows), getting cheap hits on “follow through tackles,” Defensive players knowing they will take big penalties, are making plays for sacks and the ball and if it is not there laying up. Watching the Steelers who play defense as hard as any team run into Miami QB Dante Culpepper and barely touch him as he let go of the ball refreshing.

It keeps good players in the game and takes the game to where it should have been all along; Play hard, play to the whistle, but nothing extra is needed. The games look better, more fluid and I have totally come around on the rules changes because of it.

Effects of Sheppard Injury

2006-09-13T15:37:00.000-04:00

Its unclear how the defense will react to the loss of Sheppard who suffered a “significant right-ankle sprain.” Obviously the Birds needed a more reliable CB backup than Perry who was converting from RB.

I hope he sticks with the team as he may yet still find a home and clearly the Eagle’s were impressed with his athleticism. With Wynn, the Eagle’s know what they are getting reliable CB and possible return threat on Special Teams.

Wynn makes a long return back to Birds

"It is great being back," he says.

The Eagles made an expected move yesterday when they re-signed Dexter Wynn, a cornerback and return man, after cutting him two weeks ago.

To make room for him, the Eagles cut kickoff returner Bruce Perry, who recently was switched from running back to cornerback.

Wynn was a sixth-round draft choice from Colorado State. As an Eagles rookie in 2004, he appeared in 12 games during the regular season and in two playoff games, but was inactive for the Super Bowl.

Last season, Wynn appeared in 10 games and was inactive for six.

During his two seasons, Wynn was used primarily as a punt returner, with a 7.6-yard average on 40 runbacks. He also has a 17.9-yard average on 17 kickoff returns.

The Eagles needed a fourth cornerback after Lito Sheppard suffered what coach Andy Reid called a significant right-ankle sprain. Rod Hood, the No. 3 cornerback, will start in place of Sheppard on Sunday against the New York Giants at Lincoln Financial Field.

Joselio Hanson takes over as the No. 3 and nickel cornerback, and Wynn becomes the fourth cornerback.

Wynn gives the Eagles an option as a kickoff and punt returner.

"I like it here in Philly, and nobody wants to leave, especially when they are comfortable with a scheme," Wynn said yesterday. "I love the fans, the guys I play with and the coaches, and it is great being back."

After being cut, Wynn, 25, worked out last week with the Seattle Seahawks. He was supposed to leave Sunday night for a visit with the Detroit Lions the next day, but his agent, Kevin Robinson, called him and told him about the Eagles' situation. Wynn never got on the plane to Detroit.

It ends up working out for the Bird’s that this injury happened in week one before Wynn could be added to another team. If there has to be an injury this was the time to have a non-season ending one. It’s great that he already knows what he is getting himself into.

Epilogue: Eagles vs. Texans

2006-09-12T12:37:00.000-04:00

The Eagles are back where they belong, on top of the division. Hopefully they can stay there, next weeks game against the Giants will be the first real test towards this season.

One of the most notable differences in the Eagles offense from years past was seeing Donovan in the shotgun. Center from mainstay Hank Fraley was unable to really snap the ball from the shotgun formation. Something he tried to learn but was never really comfortable with.

With the change to Jamaal Jackson as starting center, the Eagles could effectively move the ball from the formation. A change that not only showed at the end of First Half in moving the ball 82 yards in 52 seconds, but will be invaluable later in the season.

Important besides the defensive line’s play was the backup defense’s performance against a quality Texans offense. With injuries surely coming the play of safety Sean Considine seemed to represent the trend of great play from previously unheard of players. Upstart OLB Matt McCoy seems to be settling in to Johnson’s defense.

Back up Defensive lineman Bunkley and Thomas looked excellent, bringing pressure and sacks.

It’s hard not to just talk about the line play. Defensively the line got pressure, forced sacks and stopped the run. Nothing more could have been asked of them. Offensively the EAGLES RAN THE BALL. They dominated the Texan’s D-line and gave Donovan plenty of time to pick apart the Texan’s secondary.

I am still pumped about Buckhalter’s performance. If he contributes all year to the running game and runs like he did Sunday, opposing defenses are in trouble. Westbrook spread out-wide, Stallworth in the slot with Brown on the other side and Buckhalter in the backfield; who do you stop? That is the power of the Eagle’s offense if they are clicking on all cylinders.

Fullback Thomas Tapeh staved off concerns about the letting go Josh Perry. The Eagle’s have to stay committed to the run if they are going to continue their success in the upcoming season.

The severity of Pro-bowl CB Lito Shepard’s injury is a big concern going forward, but the Eagles were able to overcome it the rest of the game. All in all a good start, and finally back on top of the division.

It’s a Good Start

2006-09-11T23:45:00.000-04:00

It’s a cliché for a reason; in controlling the line of scrimmage on offense and defense the Eagles were able to establish a run game and stop the Texans.

As you can see here, I predicted yesterday that the Eagles Would get off to a slow start offensively. With so many young players, a new center and a new commitment to the run, it would take some time to establish itself. But once the Eagle’s got their running game going it was virtually over.

It takes time for teams to believe that you will run the ball and for the play fake to be believable. Something witnessed by a wide open Stallworth on the Eagle’s first touchdown.

So far Reid’s commitment to the run doesn’t seem to just be talk. The Eagles did something I don’t think any Andy Reid team has done; they ran the ball almost as much as they passed. The pass/run ratio was 54/46.

Westbrook rushed a startling 17 times for 71 yards and probably more importantly Buckhalter made his real Eagle’s debut rushing 8 times for 50 yards. Averaging 6.3 yards every time he touched the ball.

The offensive line looked excellent especially for Jackson’s debut at center. Not only did they open up wholes, and contain the first round draft pick Williams who floated across the defense, but they also gave McNabb plenty of protection.

The improvements in offense were really on display with 9 minutes left in the game. Impressively when they needed to run out the clock, the Eagles went 16 plays for 62 yards and ran out the last 8:56 seconds of the game.

Stallworth made the Eagles front office look like geniuses with 6 catches for 124 yards; even after learning a new system in only 2 weeks. All around the offense looked great and after the first week before the Monday night games had the number one overall offense.

Defensively though the Eagle’s really shined. While the Texans showed off the future of their new offense on the first drive. The Eagle’s defense quickly took control and gave us a taste of what a healthy team could look like.

Eagle’s defense held RB’s Lundy and Morency to a combined rushing total of just 45 yards 16 attempts. Stopping the run made the Texans a one dimensional team. Which resulted in the usual effects on the Texans offense. The Defense sacked David Carr 5 times.

Jevon Kearse got off to the needed good start with his first of the season. And DEs Trent Cole & Juqua Thomas accounted for a combined 3 sacks as well.

The Texans are a young improving team, so they were no push overs. But the Eagle’s went on the road and did what they had to do. They got off to a good start which will help them for the key game against the Giants next week.

Eagles v. Houston: Keys to the Game

2006-09-10T10:41:00.000-04:00

I am not one of those people that like to make predictions for the season, I am WAY to superstitious. I also am not one of those downer Philadelphia Fans who expects the worse before the season.

If the Eagles stay healthy they can do well, McNabb is an elite QB, Reid is one of the best coaches in the league, the offense can make plays and Johnson is a Defensive genius. But to much can happen in a season to make predictions they are honestly the silliest thing commentators do in this sport. Its to violent, to unpredictable.

That being said we can gage where they will be in this upcoming games.

Houston has come off quiet improvements year to year and with new coach Greg Kubiak the offense should be able to pick up.

Just like Jake the Snake David Carr, can move out of the pocket and utilize the bootleg which gave the Eagles defense so much trouble against Kuiak’s Denver offense last year.

Houston is forced to use unproven RB’s Morendy and Lundy because of Davis’ injury. But they will try to run the ball. Stopping the run will be key to the Eagle’s success. If the Eagle’s defense is able to make Houston into a pass first team they will be able to key off on a team that has allowed David Carr to be sacked more than any other QB.

The defense will be key in the opening stages to the game as the Eagle’s offense will be integrating its younger players. While containing first round draft pick Mario Williams on the pass will be important I think the Eagle’s should be able to run at the rookie.

Over powering the Houston front Defensive line with a sustained running attack will be key to the Eagles offensive success. Running the ball will enable the younger WR’s to get open on more one on one coverage and in freezing LB’s on play action.

The Eagle’s west coast offense has historically passed to set up the run. I expect Reid to start off the game that way. But running the ball needs to be the commitment of this team. Especially in this game.

I expect the Eagle’s defense to get itself off the field quickly especially at the beginning of the game. It will be up to the Eagle’s offense to sustain drives and put pressure Houston into becoming a one deminsional catch up passing team.

If that is the case the Eagles should be able to win.

Key in a recommitment to quality special teams which could be the deciding factor in the game.

We should not overlook Houston, they will be a good test of the progress since last season’s debacle. With the challenges of the upcoming season this is an early must win, or at least must play well.

Keys in Short:

1. Commitment to run the ball,
2. Stop the run, make Houston one dimensional early
3. Make a play on Special teams

Injury Report:
DOUBTFUL - RB Reno Mahe (Ankle)
PROBABLE - DE Jerome McDougle (Rib)
FS Quintin Mikell (Thumb)
DT Darwin Walker (Rib)

BELIEVE: Remember What it Is All About

2006-09-09T22:33:00.000-04:00

I think we Eagle's fans, PHILADELPHIA fans tend to be negative cause we have been through s much.,..

But here is a little video to get us pumped for hte new season and remember what it is all about...

It makes me cry everytime I watch it:

Strange Things Happen Because of the 53-Man Roster

2006-09-08T11:51:00.000-04:00

The 53-Man Roster really is too small. The fear that teams will horde good players as in the old days really doesn’t hold water in today strict salary cap league. That is why expanding the roster to 60 players really does make some sense.

That is why you have situation like there where players such as RB Bruce Perry are forced to try out new positions such as CB in case of injury.

No offense, Eagles move Perry to cornerback

…Before he could digest finally making the Eagles' 53-man roster, Perry's itinerant career was dealt yet another twist. The running back, whose high school career included stops at three Philadelphia schools, whose college career frequently was interrupted by injuries and whose professional career consisted of a year on injured reserve and the bulk of another season on the practice squad, now is being asked to play cornerback.

…Most media folks thought Andy Reid had misspoken when he said during his morning press conference that Perry was "going to focus in on learning the defensive side."

The reality was on Monday, running backs coach Ted Williams pulled Perry aside and told him he'd no longer be wearing the green jersey of the offense. He'd be donning the defense's white jersey for practice.

The news caught everyone in the locker room off guard, no one more than Perry. Though he spouted the "whatever it takes" mantra and said rightly that a paycheck for any position beats the alternative (namely unemployment), he was clearly puzzled by the position change.

A record-setting running back at Maryland and a former offensive player of the year at George Washington High School, Perry hasn't played a lick of defense since high school.

Now he's being asked to learn the other side of the ball at the highest level of the game, a learning curve that borders on insanely overwhelming.

"It's tough," he said. "I'm in meetings and I'm supposed to be watching the defense and I'm looking at the offense thinking, 'I know what that is.' It's hard to make the transformation.

"But I'd rather be on the field, doing something, contributing rather than just being a spectator. Would I rather be a running back? Quite naturally yes, but it's a business and you've got to do what the boss says."

….Really this is just a doomsday emergency backup plan. After cutting Dexter Wynn and Matt Ware, the Eagles have just four corners. They could slide Sean Considine over in a pinch, and presumably he'd have an easier time making the switch from safety to corner than Perry from running back. But, Perry already will be activated for every game as a kickoff returner, so if the Eagles got really, truly, unbelievably desperate (as in everyone else was abducted by aliens at kickoff), they could put him in the secondary.

…Off the field, Perry still has some proving to do to his new positional teammates.

"We have to work on his attire a little bit," Brian Dawkins said. "We DBs, we look a certain way and we need to help him out there."

Dawks has also been asked to learn outside LB to. It really is silly, injuries play to much a part of the success of seasons expanding the roster could make that a little easier.

Are You Ready?

2006-09-08T00:00:00.000-04:00

I seriously wonder sometimes how I make it through the spring and summer without Football. Although I am not much of a fan of fall and winter, my life without football just feels incomplete. And then the season comes and everything in the world seems right again...

I am so ready for some football

NFL A Successful Business

2006-09-06T21:10:00.000-04:00

Art Model explained it best, “32 fat-cat Republicans who vote socialist” on football.

The National Football League is better than the Premiership Football League or other comparable football leagues in the world. Simply put it is better run and puts a better product on the field.

This is not because I am an American, I love sport in general in fact I actually enjoy Cricket better than Baseball.

The reason the NFL is better is because of the salary cap, keeping the league competitive and interesting. This makes more games interesting, even though the season is so much shorter, there are simply more games that will actually be competitive and thus interesting. In turn the product is more interesting and thus by in large more profitable.

Proof well according to the Economist, while the NFL shares 70% of the revenue and thus the teams and league profit with the English EPL team,

“The lack of salary cap and the fact there is little revenue sharing means that the league is dominated by the same teams, year after year, while the poorer and less successful teams lose support and flirt with bankruptcy.”

Even though the NFL competes with 3 other major American sports for attention and is not as recognizable world wide, it generates more income. This is not a mistake. It is run like a socialist economy, but in turn it wins for the sport. Not only does the system allow more competitive games and teams to not be down long, but it also helps for the portfolio. Because even if you have a bad year and lower revenue, a good year for another team will offset that cost.

Another interesting point about the business that the economist makes is that:

“the league likes to leave one prominent city without a football franchise, ‘like an empty seat in musical chairs,’ so that teams in other cities can threaten to move if they do not get their way… Los Angeles residents have been scratching their heads about why the country’s second-largest city has had no football team since 1994. Bu the NFL has made far more money from new stadiums that have been built by using LA as a threat.”

The game is run better and it reflects on the field; Forbes agrees

Forbes says Eagles are worth $1 billion

Five NFL teams, including the Eagles, have franchise values of more than $1 billion, according to Forbes magazine's annual survey.

The Washington Redskins have led the list for seven consecutive years and are worth $1.423 billion, an increase of 13 percent over last year, the magazine said. The Redskins have an operating income of $108.4 million, more than double every team except Houston and Tampa Bay.

Stadium revenues and local sponsorship deals elevate a team's value because NFL teams share television revenues, and all have the same salary cap.

The New England Patriots rank second in Forbes' calculations at $1.176 billion. They are followed by the Dallas Cowboys at $1.173 billion, the Texans at $1.043 billion, and the Eagles at $1.024 billion.

That means three of the five most valuable teams are in the NFC East. The New York Giants, the other division member, are 15th at $890 million.

At the other end of the chart are the Minnesota Vikings, who are worth only $720 million - although that would rank second in major-league baseball behind the New York Yankees.

That really proves the point doesn’t it? The Minnesota Vikings are at the end of the value and still worth so much more. That is not an accident, the league is just better run. And the NFL owners know it is benefiting them. Why other leagues have no aggressively followed suit I will never understand.

Did the Saints Make A Huge Mistake

2006-09-04T15:35:00.000-04:00

Were you to read the commentary around the league you would think the Saints just made the worst move of the season; or at least the stupidest. I really hope they are right, at the very least the Eagles seemingly didn’t have to give up much to get the potential and at least recently proven quantity of Stallworth.

Paul Domowitch thinks the Saints are idiots.

IT'S HARD to quantify stupid, but dealing away a wide receiver the caliber of Donté Stallworth for Mark Simoneau and a conditional fourth-round draft pick is a pretty good place to start.

Yeah, Stallworth still might be on the ninth-grade side of immature. Yeah, he's in the final year of his contract. Yeah, he missed most of the Saints' offseason workouts making a turtle-slow recovery from arthroscopic shoulder surgery. And, yeah, he also missed the early part of training camp with a hamstring injury.

But giving him away for a special-teams player who you think can be your starting middle linebacker and a fourth-round pick? Are you serious?

See I think all these reasons are reasons to worry for the Eagles, Yeah Simoneau was not going to start, but he was a proven back up.

If you're the Eagles, you're thanking God right now that there are people in the league as incompetent as Saints general manager Mickey Loomis and player personnel director Rick Mueller - people to whom you can turn when you realize, nearly too late, that Todd Pinkston is a wimp.

Throw in the fact that these two bozos also let Darren Howard waltz out of the Big Easy without a fight in the offseason and, well, Andy Reid and Tom Heckert might want to send them a nice thank-you gift if the Eagles make the playoffs, which is a much better possibility today than it was earlier this week.

"They just don't have a clue down there," an NFC personnel chief said. "I know they didn't think they were going to be able to re-sign him. But for crying out loud, you don't just give him away. This is a guy who caught 70 passes last season."

Two pro scouts, including one who works for another team in the NFC South and has seen plenty of Stallworth, both in person and on tape, feel he was a great pickup for the Eagles, even if they don't re-sign him beyond this season.

"I'm a big Reggie Brown fan, but they needed another legitimate guy on the other side who could keep defenses honest," the NFC South scout said. "They've got that now.

"Stallworth can run with anybody. He's a vertical receiver, a good route-runner. His hands have improved since he came in as a rookie. And I still don't think he's reached his peak yet."

Said the other scout: "Stallworth is a great yards-after-the-catch guy. He can take a 5-yard slant and turn it into a 20-yard gain. He can come underneath on a crossing route and just run away from people like they're standing still. Right now, with the exception of [Terry] Glenn and [Terrell] Owens in Dallas, they may have the best [wide receiver] tandem in the division.''

When it comes to the Eagles I am like most fans a pessimistic realist. With so much disappointment as a Philadelphia fan you can hardly afford to not be. It sometimes wrongly colors our outlook toward the negative, but you have to believe the Saints are not that stupid. Being cautiously optimistic about Stallworth is probably best. At the very least we helped fill a key role while not giving up long term security. For that reason it does seem a good deal for the Eagles.

Last Preseason Game

2006-09-02T16:53:00.000-04:00

The last preseason game does nothing to give you a feel for the upcoming season. But it is a good indication of the strength of the back ups and a fine tuning of the coaches style for the upcoming season. The game is a good way to answer some questions about who is going to make the team.

The last game against the Jets did just that. It is always hard to watch, but there were some bright spots for us Eagle’s fans.

Last impressions for Eagles

…The Eagles finished 2-3, but of far greater importance were the performances of quarterback A.J. Feeley, wide receiver Darnerien McCants, and running back Ryan Moats.

…This, on the other hand, was a brilliant performance by Feeley, who had not practiced with the team and didn't find out from coach Andy Reid until Thursday night that he was playing.

"I didn't have any reps," Feeley said after leading the Eagles to 17 second-quarter points.

"Andy told me last night that I was going to play, and I kind of got in game mode. I got up early this morning and I started working on the game plan. I spent some more time in the afternoon. It was a lot of time, but that's what you do when you play quarterback."

This is why we are all so glad to have us back. It was a stunning performance really for a QB that this preseason had spent no time under center. It certainly made the release of Detmer and Feeley’s pick up so much easier to stomach.

…Feeley, who had played well in limited preseason time with the Chargers, completed 9 of 12 passes for 131 yards and finished the preseason with 18 completions on 26 attempts for 234 yards and a touchdown.

…."Here's the thing: I'm still learning the receivers' names," he said. "So I couldn't tell you who I was throwing to and who I wasn't throwing to. I guess when I watch the film, I'll tell you who I was throwing to. They were all making plays for me tonight."

Nobody was making more than McCants. Viewed by many as being in a battle with Jabar Gaffney for the final wide receiver spot, McCants made a strong case for himself, catching three passes for 61 yards during the 17-point surge in the second quarter.

McCants, considered a valuable special-teams player, finished the game with four catches for 69 yards. Gaffney, who doesn't play on special teams, had three catches for 28 yards.

McCants' three second-quarter catches included a spectacular 23-yard grab late in the first half with cornerback Derrick Strait in his face.

Rookie Jason Avant also had a strong game with three catches for 55 yards.
Moats picked up 65 yards on 15 carries.

It looked good for the Eagles in the right places. The second string defense which allowed the lead to evaporate was worrying. But focusing on the season, the WR looked good and the RB position looked excellent. If Reid sticks to that game plan, committing safety help to the run, these young WR should be able to get open easier and make them that much more effective.

Are The Expectations Too High For This Year?

2006-09-01T11:20:00.000-04:00

I myself clearly am very up on the Eagles chances this year, but finishing up this Preseason with the first team seemingly done until the opener there are lingering questions about this coming season.

And yet its impossible not to be hopeful with Coach Reid at the helm and McNabb healthy that is why Brookover of the Inquirer asks:

Reasons to Believe

Based on what we saw last night and in the previous three exhibition games, there's plenty of reason to have confidence in the Eagles.

With Donovan McNabb at quarterback, the first-team offense has scored on six of its nine possessions in the preseason, including a couple of field goals last night during the Eagles' 16-7 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Lincoln Financial Field.

McNabb, despite being sacked three times, continued to impress by completing 7 of 9 passes for 79 yards. If, as expected, he's finished until the Sept. 10 regular-season opener in Houston, the quarterback returned from his groin surgery to complete 23 of 31 passes for 283 yards and a touchdown without throwing an interception.

"I'm looking forward to getting started," McNabb said. "We got this preseason off right and now we have to continue to stay healthy, work hard, and prepare ourselves for Houston."

The quarterback stressed the theme that if the Eagles are healthy, they are dangerous.

"I think our bodies are feeling a little different," McNabb said. "We're all healthy. If you look back to last year, we had about 19 to 22 guys on [injured reserve]. You just can't win any particular sport like that. All of us are healthy. All of us are playing well together."

Injuries will be the key to this season, with a stacked NFC East the team that gets out the healthiest will be the winner. With Garcia a quality back up concern for health focus on the RB and WR cores.

Among the most encouraging sights for the Eagles last night was the work of Correll Buckhalter. After an impressive 48-yard catch and run in his preseason debut last week against Baltimore, the oft-injured running back was given a bigger workload against the Steelers. He responded with 31 yards on seven carries and added an 11-yard reception for a first down early in the second quarter that helped set up a 49-yard field goal by David Akers. Buckhalter caught four passes for 16 yards and appeared to have some real acceleration when he got into the clear.

"I feel like I'm getting back to my old self," Buckhalter said. "I still have a lot of things I need to work on... but other than that I'm really feeling blessed. I'm just really looking forward to the season."

Though it appears as if the Eagles have every reason to believe they can count on Buckhalter, things still aren't as clear about wide receiver Todd Pinkston, who played in his first preseason game after missing the first three because of soreness in his Achilles tendons. He missed last season after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon in training camp. Pinkston caught just one pass - a quick-hitter from Jeff Garcia in the second quarter - and wasn't on the field all that much.

If Buckhalter is able to contribute that will be a huge boost for the Eagles, we all saw how good he has looked this preseason so if we can get that production when it counts, it really should be a good year.

"I felt all right," Pinkston said. "I felt real confident. I'll be ready [for opening day]."

The most impressive aspect of the Eagles' preseason by far has been the first-team defense. In four games, it has allowed just three points on 12 series and registered five sacks. That sack total did not include a 15-yard intentional-grounding penalty on quarterback Ben Roethlisberger that was forced by pressure from blitzing safety Michael Lewis.

That play took the Steelers out of field-goal range on Pittsburgh's first series of the game, which ended with a Brian Dawkins interception.

"We had a blitz on and he was trying to get outside," Lewis said. "I didn't bite on the pump fake and I was able to get good pressure on him."

The first-team defense's official sack went to defensive end Darren Howard, who appears to be a free-agent addition who could make a big difference for the Eagles.

"I am an attacking defensive lineman and that matches this type of defense," Howard said. "We are trying to increase our pressure and get more hits on the quarterback, more hands in his face and all types of pressure."

Safety J.R. Reed added another sack and forced a fumble late in the fourth quarter to end a Pittsburgh scoring threat. The Eagles have a total of 18 sacks. Reed also had an interception.

McNabb checked out of the game with the Eagles ahead by 6-0, and Pittsburgh got its only points of the game late in the first half when backup quarterback Charlie Batch found Cedrick Wilson for a 23-yard touchdown.

SO FAR so good for the Eagles, and if this is a precursor for a long season, then we have great reason to hope.

Cutting Familiar Players

2006-08-31T17:09:00.000-04:00

No Eagle’s will ever forget Koy Detmer’s Monday Night Football game against the 49ers. Down with McNabb exiting the game Detmer led the Eagle’s to a 38-17 win before having to be carted out himself due to a season ending injury.

That performance and competence with the offensive system have kept him an Eagle probably to long; but that ended as the Eagle’s picked up A.J. Feeley who was dropped by San Diego to fill the No.3 spot at QB.

Predictably Pinkston was also released. Pinkston was expendable after picking up Stallworth. While the wisdom of the move time will only tell at the moment it seems a wise choice. Pinkston has been hampered by injury and unsure of when he will make it on the field. While Pinkston is a good No 2 or No. 3 WR he just never materialized into the reliable leader at WR we needed him to be.

But with the length of stay and dedication Detmer has had with the team, I mean we have been through 2 Detmers on the team; it still is a shock.

Pinkston, Detmer released by Eagles

The Birds also brought back A.J. Feeley, recently dropped by San Diego, to be the No. 3 quarterback.
After practice ended and the news settled in, David Akers tried to put it all into some kind of perspective.

"There's a lot of new faces here," the Eagles' kicker said.

Akers proceeded to read off the list of players who remain from coach Andy Reid's first season with the team in 1999.

"Jeremiah Trotter has gone and come back, but if you take him out of the mix, there's only four of us left from when Andy first got here," he said. "That's myself, [Donovan McNabb], [Brian] Dawkins, and Tra or William [Thomas]."

Quarterback Koy Detmer became the latest player erased from Reid's original roster, but he wasn't the only veteran whose nameplate was removed from the locker room yesterday. The Eagles also released the hobbled Todd Pinkston, leaving Greg Lewis as the only remaining wide receiver from the team that played in the Super Bowl just two seasons ago.

"Both of them are great guys, and both of them did a great job for us," Reid said. "I just thought it was time to move in a little different direction."

The Eagles also restored a familiar face, re-signing quarterback A.J. Feeley two days after he was released by the San Diego Chargers. Feeley will open the season as the third quarterback behind McNabb and Jeff Garcia.

The 29-year-old Pinkston, a second-round pick in 2000, started 62 games in six seasons with the Eagles and also appeared in 12 playoff games.

…Given Pinkston's Achilles tendon problems this summer, it could be difficult for him to find work as a starter. He missed all of last season after suffering a ruptured Achilles tendon in his right foot and struggled just to get on the field this preseason. He played in his only game Friday against Pittsburgh and had one catch for 4 yards.

The Eagles decided Pinkston was not fit enough to resume his role as a starter and made a trade with New Orleans for Donte' Stallworth on Monday.

Detmer's arrival in Philadelphia actually predated Reid's. He was a seventh-round draft pick by coach Ray Rhodes in 1997 and parlayed his selection into a nine-year career with the Eagles.

Randall Cunningham and Ron Jaworski are the only quarterbacks in franchise history with longer tenures than Detmer, although his list of memorable moments is not quite as long. The 33-year-old Detmer, in fact, started just eight games during his nine seasons, although he earned a reputation as one of the best holders for placekicks in the game. That job now belongs to Dirk Johnson.

That is probably why even though we have been prepared for it, and it is a long time coming, it was so shocking that Detmer is no longer with the team’s active roster. He has been the foundation of the club, the cheerleader that we have come to expect his presence on the sidelines.

"Koy is kind of the fabric of the Eagles over the run we've had here," special-teams coach John Harbaugh said. "Emotionally, this is difficult for me. There's always an evolution in this deal. There are a lot of new faces... and yet you look at those guys and you are really excited about them. There's a lot of different flavor, but it's a good flavor."

The moves all make sense and overdue, but still is shocking to the core of the team. I mean there has been a Detmer on the team for nearly a decade.

Simoneau for Stallworth

2006-08-29T17:37:00.000-04:00

The Eagles pulled off the trade to solidify the WR position, but no the player that was expected. LB Mark Simonaeu was traded for New Orlean’s Saint Donte’ Stallworth via Philly.com

The team acquired veteran receiver Donte' Stallworth in exchange for linebacker Mark Simoneau and a conditional fourth-round pick. The Saints could get a third-round pick if Stallworth, a potential free agent after this season, signs a contract extension with the Eagles. That, of course, will be determined by how well Stallworth plays, but the initial reaction around these parts was pure excitement.

…Stallworth, 25, is a former first-round pick out of Tennessee who is coming off the best season of his career in a year when the Saints had the worst record in the NFC. He established career highs with 70 catches for 945 yards and scored seven touchdowns. Stallworth had 23 career touchdown catches in four seasons with the Saints.

It’s sort of scary that at 25 you are called a veteran. But Stallworth has been a reliable second WR, can he emerge as the leader of this very young, so far relatively ineffectual receiving core?

…Stallworth never emerged as a superstar with the Saints, playing in the shadow of Joe Horn, a four-time Pro Bowler. He also is coming off arthroscopic shoulder surgery that prevented him from participating in off-season workouts under new coach Sean Payton.

"I guess he didn't show enough to merit him staying here," Horn told the Associated Press. "He has some talent and it wouldn't shock me at all to see Donte' catching 10 or 15 passes a game from Donovan McNabb, but it didn't happen here in New Orleans and that's the sad part. They got a hell of deal."

The fifth-year receiver was also bothered by a groin injury during training camp and missed the Saints' second preseason game. Stallworth was not available for comment; he is scheduled to join the team today.

Man we need him to stay healthy, but if Howard, who is another off season addition from the Saints is right, it should really elevate the level of play and expectations for this team.

Eagles defensive end Darren Howard thinks his former Saints teammate is going to be a great fit, but it should be noted that Stallworth has a small window to pick up Reid's offensive scheme before the Sept. 10 season opener against the Houston Texans.
"He's a physical, fast, quick receiver, and he's going to plug in right away and make some things happen," Howard said. "I was ready to get out of there and move on, and I think it's the same kind of thing with him. You want to try to get to a team that can get to a Super Bowl and win some playoff games."

The addition of Stallworth will have a ripple effect on the entire receiving corps, which was unsettled at best before yesterday.

Todd Pinkston, who played in his first preseason game last week and is trying to overcome Achilles problems, declined to comment on the addition of Stallworth. This move would seem to signify that the Eagles don't think Pinkston is physically ready to start the season.

Hank Baskett's chances of becoming a rookie starter just went from slim to none, and the jobs of Jabar Gaffney and Darnerien McCants are even more in question.

Conversely, a linebacker or special-teams player who probably would not have been around after Saturday's final cut may now have a spot on the 53-man roster. Dedrick Roper and Jason Short both fit into that category.

We seem to have some depth at LB and hopefully Simoneau will flourish as starting Middle Linebacker for the Saints.

From Villain to Eagles Hero?

2006-08-28T18:51:00.000-04:00

More questions of free agents coming to the Eagles to fill much needed positions. None more tantalizing than Branch. Once the villain of the Eagle’s Superbowl aspirations Branch could be the answer the Eagles are so desperate to find. With the talent of elite WR in the game without the headache of T.O. Branch would be a huge add to the team.

Branch could fill need for receiver

Eagles fans in August are a lot like toddlers in December.

They both have long wish lists that constantly are changing.

Today's hot item is Deion Branch, the wide receiver who was granted permission by the New England Patriots yesterday to negotiate a new contract with another team for the purpose of working out a trade.

So the obvious question in these parts: Are the Eagles interested?

The answer is maybe.

I love the analogy of an Eagle’s fan on Christmas night… for me I definitely feel like the Black Jew on the day before Hanukkah. I am anticipating so much all the options the Eagles could have to improve their team. But I worry that it may turn out to be like my Hanukkah’s where I have a long list of desired gifts and I open up gifts and end up with JC Penny socks; I don’t think this deal will go through, but it would be nice to dream.

A league source said yesterday that the Eagles' interest in Branch is about the same as it was in Ashley Lelie, the wide receiver who was sent from Denver to Atlanta in a three-team trade earlier this week.

The Eagles, according to the source, believe that Branch is a better player than Lelie, but they aren't sure he's worth what he's seeking from the Patriots. The source said that Branch had rejected a five-year deal worth $33 million and a three-year deal worth $18.7 million.

Branch, 27, is in the final year of a five-year deal that he signed after New England selected him in the second round of the 2002 draft. His base salary for this season is $1.05 million.

…Any trade like this is difficult to execute because even if Branch finds a team that satisfies his demands, the same team also must satisfy the Patriots' trade demand.

This seems like a long shot, but it would be an unbelievable addition for McNabb so it’s nice to dream. We all remember what he did to us on Super Bowl day, it would be nice if he can do it for us on Super Bowl day 2007.

Another Eagle Returning Home?

2006-08-27T18:22:00.000-04:00

When Staley played for the Eagles he was my favorite player. I was often frustrated by Reid’s lack of commitment to the run because I felt it kept Staley from being the elite player his talents would have made him. He runs hard, always gaining that extra edge. While I am excited at the possibility of Davis coming to the Eagles, my heart wants to see #22 back in Green.

Staley is subject of new speculation

With wide receiver Ashley Lelie and running back T.J. Duckett off the trade market after Tuesday's three-team deal, there has to be somewhere else for Eagles fans to turn their attention.

Staley speculation started Tuesday when a story on the NFL.com Web site said that "one NFL general manager said the Pittsburgh Steelers have been shopping... Staley, trying to see if any team would be willing to trade for him before the team would have to release him."

The story then described the Eagles as a logical landing spot for Staley, but several sources said yesterday that there have been no discussions about a trade between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

This is the problem with the media, they see possible moves, openings and try to put a fit for them… Truth is this may never happen, but man I hope it does…

Staley, of course, played with the Eagles for seven seasons before leaving as a free agent and signing with Pittsburgh before the 2004 season. He is projected to be the No. 3 running back for the Steelers behind Willie Parker and Verron Haynes.

Eagles coach Andy Reid is in a wait-and-see mode at running back, with the health of Brian Westbrook and Correll Buckhalter being the biggest issue. Westbrook is recovering from a sprained foot and is expected to be ready for the start of the season. Buckhalter is trying to return from two knee surgeries that cost him the last two seasons. He will play in his second preseason game tomorrow night against the Steelers at Lincoln Financial Field.

We are having problems at running back, I hope Staley is the fit…

Preseason Game vs Steelers

2006-08-26T22:23:00.000-04:00

Buckhalter looked very promising and the defense again looked strong, there is a lot of buzz being generated by this Eagles team and I think it is warranted. Afterwards the McNabb pointed out that the only thing that will slow the Eagles this year, will be injuries. When they have been healthy under McNabb and Reid they have been good, so it’s hard to argue with that assessment.

Eagles Top Steelers, 16-7

Correll Buckhalter accounted for 47 total yards on 11 touches and the first-team defense pitched a shutout as Philadelphia improved to 2-2 for the exhibition season.

Pittsburgh started at its 20-yard line and gained four first downs to reach the Eagles 35-yard line before the defense stepped up. First, Michael Lewis came off the edge and pressured quarterback Ben Roethlisberger into an intentional grounding penalty and a loss of 15 yards. Then Darren Howard sacked Roethlisberger, using a nice stunt move, and the Steelers faced a third-and-33 play.

A penalty for delay of game moved Pittsburgh back another 5 yards, and on third and 38, Roethlisberger rolled right away from pressure and threw down the field. His pass was intercepted by Brian Dawkins and returned 5 yards to the Philadelphia 40-yard line.

Defensive pressure will be the hallmark of a successful Eagle’s season… And has been the brightest spot of this year’s preseason. (especially after last year)

From the 40 on its first drive, Philadelphia went to work. Donovan McNabb completed a quick hitch to Hank Baskett for 5 yards. On second and 5, Clark Haggans reached McNabb for a sack and a loss of 1 yard.

On third and 6, McNabb went to Reggie Brown running a slant route and the pass was completed for 13 yards to the Steelers 43-yard line.

…..But Andy Reid challenged the call and his challenge was upheld, so the Eagles resumed play with a third-and-13 play at the 32. McNabb completed a pass to Jason Avant to the 22, and David Akers came to attempt a 40-yard field goal. His kick was good, with Dirk Johnson holding, and the Eagles had a 3-0 lead.

For the fourth straight preseason game, the Eagles put points on the board on their first offensive drive. They drove 38 yards on 9 plays and one penalty to get on the board first.
Akers, who kicked off 5 yards deep in the end zone to open the game, kicked off again and this time it went through the end zone for a touchback.

So the Steelers had the ball on the 20-yard line. Roethlisberger faked a handoff to Duce Staley and rolled left and threw behind tight end Heath Miller. On second and 10, Staley ran up the gut and gained 2 yards, with LaJuan Ramsey making the stop.

Not only was Avant and other WR better, but Buckhalter is on the field as well. The defensive players have all been stepping up. If Ramsey is already making plays the defense will have a much better year.

It’s All About Stephen Davis

2006-08-24T15:32:00.000-04:00

Probably the biggest news so far out of Eagle’s camp is the try out of Stephen Davis. The Eagles seem to be tight lipped about this trip and in the end he was not signed, but with looming running back troubles, the proven quality of Davis and the Eagles past success with seemingly over aged runners may all be good signs for a Davis arrival.

I don’t think we know much at this point, but this is what we do no.

Stephen Davis visits Eagles, leaves without a contract

Looking to shore up their unsettled running back situation, the Eagles brought in veteran Stephen Davis for a physical and workout today.

The 6-foot, 230-pound Davis has played 10 NFL seasons with the Washington Redskins and Carolina Panthers and has rushed for 1,300 or more yards on four occasions.

Davis also has been troubled by a knee injuries the past few years. He played in only two games in 2004 with Carolina and last season appeared in 13, but averaged just 3.1 yards per carry, rushing for 549 yards and 12 touchdowns on 180 carries for the Panthers.

His last truly productive season was 2003 when Davis rushed for 1,444 yards (4.5 per carry) and eight touchdowns.

"He has been a pretty good player, very productive in this league and we want to investigate it," Eagles coach Andy Reid said.

Davis had already departed by the time the Eagles were set to practice this afternoon.

He left without signing a contract, although that doesn't mean that there won't be a deal. It's likely that the Eagles will have other bidders for Davis' services. With Clinton Portis sidelined with a shoulder injury, the Redskins could be looking for running back insurance.

Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb wouldn't be averse to adding Davis to the team, but he insisted that it was the choice of Reid and the coaching staff.

"Obviously everybody has talked about needing a power back," McNabb said. "He's not only a bigger running back than the ones we have, but he runs hard and catches the ball out of the backfield. He was successful in Washington and Carolina running screens and picking up blitzes."

And with so many injuries at the RB position and history of injuries… we need a quality back up. Picking up Dorsey Levins worked out for the Eagles, this could as well.

Reid said that starting running back Brian Westbrook continues to make progress. Westbrook suffered a sprained left foot in the Eagles' opening preseason game on Aug. 6 and hasn't practiced since.

Westbrook isn't expected to play in Friday's preseason game at Lincoln Financial Field against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Coupled with Westbrook's extensive injury history, the Eagles realize they need depth at running back. Reno Mahe has currently been the No. 1 running back in Westbrook's absence, but he is not considered even a viable No. 2 option.

Second-year back Ryan Moats has been set back this preseason by a sprained knee. Moats returned for his first action in Thursday's 20-10 loss at Baltimore against the Ravens. He gained just seven yards on seven carries and lost a fumble.

Bruce Perry, who was activated and played well during the final two games of the 2005 regular season, has not enjoyed a strong camp. Despite his ability to return kickoffs, Perry's spot on the team appears tenuous, especially since he has gained a reputation for not holding on to the ball.

Correll Buckhalter saw his first action in two years against the Ravens, rushing for 8 yards on five carries and catching a 48-yard pass that led to a touchdown.

Buckhalter has missed the last two seasons with a torn right patellar tendon and while the Eagles are encouraged by his progress, they have to be wary of his injury history.

Buckhalter said after today's practice that he was feeling fine.

With this list it is clear that adding Davis maybe become a need.

McCants Moving up the Depth Chart

2006-08-22T15:19:00.000-04:00

It’s been a long time since the Eagle’s have had a player over achieve at the Wide Receiver position. That is why McCant’s pressuring for a starting role is such a welcome surprise. He has played well but just as important, he has pressured and pushed the other receivers to compete for playing time. Via Philly.com

The Eagles had an unexpected starter at wide receiver in last night's preseason game against the Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.

Darnerien McCants, who enjoyed a solid training camp, started opposite Reggie Brown.

The Eagles added Hank Baskett on the second play, going with a three-wide-receiver set.

On the game's first play, McCants forced a 33-yard pass-interference penalty on Ravens cornerback Samari Rolle.

Let’s hope his good play continues, he certainly has the talent and speed to produce. If we get equal quality out of the WR with all of them raising their games, the Eagles will go far.

Fraley the New Starting Guard?

2006-08-20T14:54:00.000-04:00

I like Hank Fraley, he plays the game just barely legal but with the passion that any Eagles fan would play with if they could play for their team. He plays hard, tough and to the whistle. So while I am excited about Jackson as a younger quality center, I hope the Eagles find a place for Fraley.

Fraley and Jackson were supposed to be this big battle, but it turns out the younger Jackson seems to have already sown up the job.

So when Fraley came into the game with the first team on the 3rd series at Guard it was worth noting.

Eagles' changing of the guard

One of the expected battles for a starting spot on the Eagles hasn't been much of a competition. Hank Fraley and Jamaal Jackson each started eight games at center last year, and they were supposed to vie for the starter's job.

…The 6-foot-4, 330-pound Jackson has been with the first unit throughout the preseason games. Fraley has worked mainly with the second unit.

…In that series, the 6-2, 300-pound Fraley replaced Todd Herremans (6-6, 321) at left guard with the first unit. Herremans returned with the first unit for the next series, but Fraley's appearance generated plenty of postgame interest.

"I just wanted to get Hank in there with the first unit," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "It was a way to get him in the mix there."

Fraley, who suffered a season-ending shoulder injury during the eighth game last year, opening the door for Jackson, was more than happy to try a new position.

Last week in a 20-7 win over Cleveland, he played some right guard, but not with Donovan McNabb at quarterback.

"You want to be starting anywhere," Fraley said. "The more you can do is always better. Guard isn't much different with the sets."

I hope he gets into the games because he is mentally such a value. Also under appreciated but equally important I think he sets the tone for the offensive line. Yes he is undersized, but the way he plays the game tough and hard is exactly the sort of lineman that will define this Eagle’s season.

As hard as it is to believe, a 300-pound man like Fraley is actually considered small to play either center or guard. Fraley, however, is a cerebral player, known for his intelligence, which is important since the center is the one who makes the line calls.

Before being injured last season, Fraley had started 71 of 72 regular-season games since 2001 and 10 postseason games, including the Super Bowl following the 2004 season.

In his mind, he is still capable of being a starting center, although it's difficult for him to prove himself while working with the second team.

"I definitely would like to get there with the first unit and play with them," said Fraley, choosing his words carefully. "But I don't make those decisions."

….Despite the changing of the guard at center, Fraley and Jackson have remained friendly. The 26-year-old Jackson is always lauding Fraley for his help. Jackson was more than happy to play alongside Fraley, even if it was for one series.

"He is the guy I still look to for help and guidance in things like reading blitzes," Jackson said. "To see him with me at the same time, that was kind of a blessing because if I made a mistake I knew he was there to back me up."

Fraley did more than back Jackson up in their one series together on Thursday.

"There were times he came up to the line and was making all the calls," Jackson said. "I said, 'I will go with it.'

This is why we need him not just on our team but on the field starting. Fraley should be an Eagle, not just because of his assets to the team, but also cause we don’t want him benefiting potential competition. Frankly the Eagles have 2 of the best centers in the game right now and one position. I think we all have bee under whelmed by Herremans and Fraley at the very least steadies that position

Fraley has long enjoyed a strong relationship with McNabb. The two have spent extra time during the regular season watching film together, getting on the same page.

"With Hank playing guard, that just gives us more depth," McNabb said. "He certainly has the ability to play either position."

This is not to suggest that anybody was lobbying for Fraley to replace Herremans, who gives the Eagles a more physical presence.

Still, this provides the Eagles with yet another option on an offensive line that is considered one of the team's strengths. The fact that projected backup guard Adrien Clarke underwent back surgery on Wednesday provides a need for depth at the position

After last year we can see why its so important to keep Fraley. I hope the Eagles do find a way to utilize both Fraley and Jackson’s talent.

Finally a year for Buckhalter?

2006-08-19T14:04:00.000-04:00

Is this the year we finally see a healthy Buckhalter on the field contributing. He has so much talent and potential; as much for him as for the Eagles it would be great to have him playing this year. via philly.com

Eagles running back Correll Buckhalter, who missed the last two years with a torn patellar tendon in his right knee, had talked all week about how excited he was to finally see some action in the preseason.

Last night, that enthusiasm showed.

Buckhalter, who has missed three of the last four seasons with knee injuries, took another step in his long road back to the Eagles' running-back rotation during a 20-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.

Playing the second and third series of the game with the first-team offense, Buckhalter gained just 8 yards on five carries, less than eye-catching numbers. But he made his mark in the passing game.

He took a monster hit by Adalius Thomas on his first carry, which gained 2 yards. But Buckhalter quickly popped up, in the same enthusiastic fashion he has displayed during training camp.

I was worried as I think we all held our breaths so it was great to have him pop up and continue, I hope it doesn’t stop. And he showed lots of promise afterward.

Buckhalter also set up the Eagles' lone first-half touchdown, taking a shovel pass from Donovan McNabb and darting 48 yards to the Ravens' 1-yard line.
Only a tackle by safety Ed Reed prevented Buckhalter from reaching the end zone. Two plays later, Reno Mahe caught a 1-yard touchdown pass from McNabb.

"I feel great, man," Buckhalter said. "I feel like the old [number] 28."

His teammates were just as excited.

"For him to come back and bounce back this strong, we cheer for him," McNabb said. "He can regain some confidence from this and be able to move on.

I think McNabb summed up all of our hope for Buckhalter. Lets face it, the Eagles are thin at RB and we could use his strength and speed.

Preseason Game III Recap

2006-08-18T16:07:00.000-04:00

It wasn’t a great game, but the first team still looked good. The Eagles defense which had been looking excellent for the first time in the preseason looked suspect against a very weak Ravens Offensive team. That being said, McNair is the new QB and he looked good in his return. It should give the Eagles something to finally evaluate talent with. via philly.com

The Eagles' first-stringers outscored the Ravens' first-teamers by 10-3 in the first half. Both teams used second- and third-stringers in the second half.

On the negative side, the Eagles defense was pushed around for much of the first half, even though the mistake-prone Ravens were able to generate only one field goal, a 30-yarder by Matt Stover.

The Eagles' first-string defense had been unscored upon in five possessions during the first two exhibition games against Oakland and Cleveland.

While the Eagles played against inconsistent quarterbacks Aaron Brooks and Charlie Frye in those games, the Birds faced an elite QB last night in Steve McNair.

A former Tennessee Titan, McNair has thrown for 27,141 career yards and 156 touchdowns in a career that has been marred by injuries.

In the first half, Baltimore had 192 net yards, compared with 123 for the Eagles. McNair completed 14 of 18 passes for 148 yards and no interceptions. What was alarming for Eagles fans was how wide-open the Ravens' receivers were on many plays.

McNair coughed up one drive after getting leveled by Jevon Kearse and fumbling on the Eagles' 30-yard line. Brian Dawkins, in midseason form, recovered the fumble for the Eagles.

This was good to see the Eagles get pressure on McNair, if they can do it in the Preseason they should certainly be able to do during the season with the mad genius Johnson creates blitz packages just for those games.

The Ravens botched their final drive of the half. Faced with no time-outs, they failed to get a 34-yard field-goal attempt off before the clock ran out.

McNabb completed 6 of 10 passes for 97 yards. He has yet to throw an interception in the preseason. However, unlike the Ravens, the Eagles' receivers consistently found trouble getting open, forcing McNabb to throw some passes away.

Tight end L.J. Smith had two catches for 32 yards, but the only reception by an Eagles receiver in the first half was a 5-yard catch by Reggie Brown.

This is really the most worrying aspect of the game… Simply put the Eagle’s WR have to find a way to get open and make themselves an active part of the games. Or the Eagle’s offense will be in trouble.

More Injuries Worrying For Eagles

2006-08-16T22:22:00.000-04:00

Injuries in the Running Back position seem to be the biggest concern coming out of training camp this year. Preseason is always a worry as you want to prepare and get ready for the season but do it without injuries that cripple a season.

Enter another preseason where we have to worry about the health of Westbrook.

Westbrook likely out for preseason

It appears unlikely that running back Brian Westbrook will play in another preseason game.

Andy Reid said yesterday that his top running back is recovering from the sprained left foot that he suffered in the Eagles' Aug. 6 preseason opener against the Oakland Raiders. The Eagles coach is not in any hurry to put Westbrook back in harm's way during the exhibition schedule.

"Brian Westbrook is getting better every day," Reid said. "The swelling is out of the foot, but again, it's going to take a little bit of time. He stretched the ligaments in there a bit and sprained the foot, so we've got to wait until that heals... . He definitely won't be ready this week and it will be a struggle for him to get back next week."

Next week's game is a Friday matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. After that, the Eagles' only remaining preseason game will be Sept. 1 against the New York Jets. Reid, like most NFL coaches these days, tends to sit most of his starting players in the preseason finale.

"If he didn't play in another preseason game, then that's the way it goes," Reid said. "I don't want to risk any further injury on that thing. I want to make sure it's healed and healed right."

So far this preseason every Running Back has missed time because of injury. It seems that the main back up to Westbrook is a wide open position. Will we get a healthy Buckhalter for a year? A Moats Who breaks open as a quality RB? Will Perry step up to be the player we saw glimpses of at the end of last year? Is there a place for Mahe on the field? Of all the positions, such an important one on the field and a new focus on running the ball, this is a worry going into the season. Hopefully the coming out of Preseason we will get a healthy Westbrook which is key to Eagle’s success.

Is the Eagle’s Rookie WR Their Answer?

2006-08-14T19:41:00.000-04:00

All the talk after the last Eagle’s preseason game was the WR Hank Baskett. Could Baskett be the answer that has eluded the Eagles since Andy Reid took over the healm for the Eagles?

The Eagles have always wanted a powerful, big target wideout that can get open over the middle and relieve pressure when McNabb runs or to draw cover so Pinkston can go one on one at the corners.

Sam Donnellon is concerned we may be too exuberant. I think as Eagle’s fans we have a tendency to do that, but I am think we should be excited by his opportunity.

Could he be the luckiest break this franchise has received since last night's preseason opponent, the Cleveland Browns, picked Tim Couch first instead of Donovan McNabb?

"He could be," said Ron Jaworski last night, "the biggest story in the NFL this season."

….Can we settle for biggest surprise?

….Sure, it would be nice to have a tall guy who can leap for balls and fight for extra yards after a catch, they said. But those guys don't just fall out of trees.

Well... No, they don't.

Turns out you have to trade Billy McMullen to the Vikings to get one.

Terrell Owens was listed as 6-3, 226 pounds in last season's Eagles media guide. Hank Baskett is listed as 6-4, 220 pounds in this year's guide.

Did I mention he has a 6-11 high jump on his resume?

"It's a God-given talent," Baskett said of his jumping ability.

"I can't run as fast as some guys, but I can jump real high. That gives me more chances to go up for the ball. Instead of always running under it."

Baskett used the word trust about a dozen times in describing the evolving chemistry
between he and quarterback Donovan McNabb, who had the foresight to invite him to work with him and the other receivers in Arizona before camp began this summer. That work, and the two-a-days at Lehigh have provided an avenue toward that, but catches like the one last night, Baskett said, forge it.

"I think he's comfortable with it now," Baskett said. "My first times with him he wasn't as willing to throw the ball up. He has to see that I can do it. It's not going to happen right away. I mean, it's just awesome that he's trusting me to do that right now. That's what you want. You want that quarterback to trust that you are going to make that play.”

I really hope he does pan out. He seems to be building that trust with McNabb and by all reports he is the exact opposite of the self-obsessed pariah that TO is. We certainly need him to.

Referee Stripes

2006-08-13T19:27:00.000-04:00

I guess I can finally talk about how it was back in my day.

This report

Coming this fall to an NFL stadium near you: fashion-forward referees.
Gone are the traditional vertical black and white stripes that have been a staple of the league seemingly since its inception.

In their place will be a flashier look that features wide white stripes and thin black stripes that flare around the shoulders and upper arms.

In addition to giving their annual lecture on rules changes for this season, several referees debuted the new threads yesterday at the New York Giants' training camp in Albany, N.Y.

Not everyone was enamored of the new look.

"They should be riding on a horse at Saratoga," a spectator cracked while watching the officials oversee a practice session.

Making a fashion statement was not the motivation for the change, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said.

First was the desire for a lightweight, more efficient fabric that would be cooler in hot weather and warmer in cold weather, he said. The second aim was to make the uniforms accommodate the gear referees need to carry.

Referees will wear the new Reebok-designed shirts and the traditional white knickers for most games, and will switch in cold weather to black, full-length pants that will allow more room for additional layers.

Call me old fashioned but I really liked the old one’s better. I mean I am honestly ok with updates if they are better, but this new outfit is horrible.

I mean great that they are more comfortable but these things are just ugly.

On The Road To Victory: The Philadelphia Eagles Blog

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The Comings And Goings Strange Moves In the Off-Season

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Stallworth Wants To Stay, Can the Eagles Keep Him?

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Eagles Linebackers Coaches Very Popular

The Tragedy Of Genarlow Wilson's: What Modern Day Racism Looks Like

Why The Eagles Lost

A Historic Moment Worth Noting

Why Beckman Made The Right Move

Lloyd Carr Should Quit

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Keys to the Game: Eagles vs. Titans

Eagles Defense Turning the Corner?

Haynesworth Back From Suspension

Play Calling Not in Reid’s Hands A Good Thing?

A Needed Win

Washington vs. the Eagles

Receivers Drop Too Many Passes

Securing Brown

Eagles Do What They Do Secure Patterson

Getting A New Cornerback

Defensive Line Losing Its Luster

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Keys to the Game: Eagles vs. Jaguars

Injuries Could Play Big Role, But Maybe Not For Eagles

Leftwich Out?

What Its Like To Be An Eagles Fan

Another Heartbreaking Loss

Eagles v. Bucs: Keys to the Game

Lewis Off Form

A Little Pick Me Up

Home Field Advantage the Edge

Eagles v Saints: Keys to the Game

Injuries for Eagles Saints

Better Fans in Philly

RIP: Corey Lidle

Eagles Beat the Boys

Eagles v Cowboys Post Game

Birds v the Boys: Keys to Matchup

More Post Packers and Looking Forward

Getting It Done on Monday Night; Now Onto the Circus

4th and 26: Are You Ready for Some Football

Phillies Disappoint Again

Eagles v Packers: Keys to the Game

Kearse Not So Bad, Sheppard Doubtful: Injury Report

Terrell Owens and Depression

After Effects: More Post Game Thoughts

Getting It Done: Eagle’s v. 49ers

Sorry For Being Away

Letting One Get Away

Rules Changes Making A Difference

Effects of Sheppard Injury

Epilogue: Eagles vs. Texans

It’s a Good Start