I Hate Philly...

Failure at its best...

2009-06-15T14:45:00.001-05:00

All thoughts about the Draft.

2009-04-25T13:01:00.004-05:00

2:37 pm:

With the draft less than 2 hours away I want to throw out m predictions and thoughts about what should happen. This has the possibility of being the Eagles best day since Andy Reid took over in '99.

The Eagles off season which people have bitched about relentlessly, my self included to a point, has not been bad. Actually, come Sunday night it could rival the off season of 2004, when the Eagles got Jevon Kearse and Terrell Owens.

Already they've signed Stacy Andrews to take over a RT and traded one of their first round picks for Pro Bowl LT Jason Peters. This move was great. The Eagles were planning on moving into the top 10 to get Andre Smith. Instead they were handed a Pro Bowl LT, and still have their original first round pick. Not bad.

Here are my thoughts about what could happen. The Eagles have made an offer in the last 2 days for Anquan Boldin. It was a 3rd and a 5th and Winston Justice. They are low balling cardinals at the moment cause their first need is a RB. It will be either, Moreno, Brown, or McCoy. Brown and McCoy are not worth the 21st pick. If the Eagles draft Knowshon Moreno with 21st pick or trade up to get him. They will absolutely give up their 2nd round pick for Boldin. They can't do that until they get a RB. If they have to trade down or use their 2nd round pick on a RB then , no Boldin.

If the Eagles walked away with, Peters, Moreno, and Boldin at Midnight tonight. They will be by far the favorite to win the Super Bowl.

Here We Go, Joe! Here We Go, Joe! So What, So What, So What’s the Scenaro?

2009-03-11T10:53:00.010-05:00

With the Eagles turning the page on old players who have been with the team since the Ray Rhodes era, what's next? Where the hell do we go from here? Drafts of the past that were supposed to cement replacements for when this day came, have yet to pan out. The plans that the Eagles used when trading away first round picks, and using later round picks to get mediocre talent, are just not working. Using that fluke at the end of last season, and the fall ass backwards way of getting into NFC Championship game as the platform to say that this team is among the best in the league, isn't cutting it. We fell for the banana in the tailpipe trick far to many times to know how this is going to turn out. So what is next? What do the gold standard capologist's do to get this team in a position to win the big game. The answer, more of the same.

Well let's start with, who else, Brian Dawkins. I fall into the I'm sad to see him go, the Eagles should have tried harder or just TRY to get him back, but I understand to a point why he isn't here. Lets face it, he is older, but he still brought something to the defense that you can't measure with a stop watch or look at on film. He was the soul of that defense, bottom line. When you have guys almost coming to tears over the loss of Dawkins, that says something. But to Banner, it does't mean shit. To Banner, Dawkins is a walking, talking, headhunting, 35 year old cap number. Its a business, as Dawkins, Runyan, and Tra have all said in the last week. It is what it is, expect nothing more and nothing less.

So where is the soul now. Will Sheldon Brown or Stewart Bradley or Sean Jones step into that role? I don't know, you don't know. But what we do know, is that if the Eagles did sign or franchise tag Dawkins, you wouldn't be hoping that someone will be there to fill that void. The Eagles secondary is still a good secondary, but the defense as a whole lost something when Dawkins signed with Denver, and more importantly, the people who pay good money year in and year out for this product lost something.

When Tra Thomas first heard that Dawkins signed with Denver his response to his wife was, "Honey, pack your bags, we're movin' up outta here." Not in the sense that he was mad that Dawkins was shown the door but because he knew if they didn't sign Dawkins, they weren't going to sign any of them (Runyon, Dawkins, Thomas). That should tell you something about the disconnect between an Eagles player and the front office. The Eagles like to throw Banner on the radio and have the Burger King throw him softballs, and have Joe remind everybody how smart the Eagles are with using the cap. Guess what? It doesn't mean shit if you don't win a Super Bowl. You can be the most consistent team that always makes the playoffs and is always competitive but in the end, that means absolutely nothing if you never win a championship, nothing. Also don't think that there isn't a bigger motive to them not signing more free agents this season. Banner is always scheming, and he knows that losing Runyon, Dawkins, Tra, LJ, Buckhalter and then not signing more players, will in turn give the Eagles more, better compensatory draft picks in the 2010 draft. Its them scheming and planning to stay consitantly mediocre for as long as possible. So keep pinching pennies, and trading away first round picks so you don't have to pay first round salaries on players and eventually it will bite you in the ass.

Just look at the offensive line. This is a great example of how they've managed the salary cap and the draft right into a disaster. You have guys like Winston Justice and Max Jean Giles, who both were picked to be the future of this o-line. Not so much anymore. Justice was a high second round pick and after 3 season hasn't developed into anything more than a blocking dummy for others to practice on. You have an average center who disappears in games like the invisible man. You have Nick Cole who is currently listed as the second string guy in 3 out of the 5 offensive line positions. And then you have the biggest headache of them all. A Pro Bowl Guard who can't decide whether or not he really is committed to his job as an NFL player and turns a back spasm into a potential career ending injury, a year after getting his big payday. So now you need to coddle a 25 year old kid, and in turn sign his big brother, who is coming off a broken leg, to baby sit him. The writers from Armageddon couldn't write a bigger disaster. This is a 4-12 season waiting to happen. And you know where it starts, the Draft.

The Eagles could be the worst when it comes draft day. Not that they draft horribly. They are batting around 40% which is very good in the NFL. But the way they mismanage picks and draft high on some players is astonishing ,and their long term planning abilities are very suspect. Not to mention the long contracts they give these guys before they are proven.

This whole mess with the offensive line could have been fixed starting in the 2007 draft. The Eagles were sitting with the 26th pick in the first round. Now the year before, the Eagles drafted Winston Justice in the early second round. By 2007, it was known by people who saw Justice practice and play that there was little chance he would live up to his second round billing. One former Eagle, *cough* Hugh Douglas, said that he is a puppy and that he doesn't have the bite of a dog in him. Add to that, Justice has been heard in the past saying he doesn't really like football and this is just a job for him. Right there, I've heard enough. So knowing this with the 26th pick in '07, what do you do. What you should do, is draft the best available player, maybe Anthony Gonzalez or Greg Olsen. Or you could draft a position that you regard at the highest, offensive line. You had Joe Staley, Tony Ugoh, Ben Grubbs, Justin Blalock, maybe Ryan Kalil out of USC, regarded as one of the best centers to come out in the last 5 years. So what do the Eagles do. The Eagles trade the pick to Dallas and drop down to the 36th pick. Christ almighty, whats next? Trying to be optimistic I'm thinking: Okay, still a good position, you gained some picks, what now? Oh and look, Ugoh is still out there, so is Blalock and Kalil too. Nope the Eagles draft Kevin Kolb, QB, University of friggin Houston. He comes from the same mold as, David Klingler and Andre Ware. Now that's great company. Add Kolb to the short list of QB's from UH, who couldn't read a defense to save their lives. Honestly it's pathetic. You have Donovan McNabb, like him or not he is a good QB, and you draft a QB in the second round. Dumb as they come. So here is the long term strategy as of '07. McNabb is gone by '09 at the latest. Now me, being from the future, I have the ability to tell you that in 2009, McNabb is still HERE, and you wasted the 36th pick on a back up, bravo. "Good draft picks? Where were going, you won't need good draft picks."

So the '06 and '07 draft didn't go well for those in the business of planning a long term future for the Philadelphia Eagles. After all this is a business. With Lurie and company, they just happen to being running a team in one of most starved for a championship cities in the last 25 years, till now. Time is running out for them. But luckily, every year like clockwork, the Eagles get another chance to make a brighter future only to dim the hopes of 99% of their fans.

So what do you do this year. It's '08, you have just witnessed the Giants win a Super Bowl with the help of....are you ready........rookies. Look at that, a team who actually plays rookies succeeded. And to think we sat around this whole time making rookies sit for two years to "develop" and "learn the system", again, pathetic. Here it comes, the 19th overall pick, the Eagles select.....there has been a trade. See, I forgot that the Eagles had just won the 2007 Super Bowl and were in no rush to get an immediate impact player. Silly me, I slept through last winter, my fault. With the 19th pick the Carolina Panthers select, what do you know, a offensive tackle, Jeff Otah. It turns out, Jeff Otah had a Pro Bowl caliber season in '08 and was an instant starter. Isn't that friggin peachy. Now the Eagles could have taken Otah or maybe, since they were so secure with Tra, Jon, and the rest of the bunch, maybe draft, the best available player. Maybe someone like, Sam Baker, another stud offensive tackle, or Felix Jones or Rashard Mendenhall or Chris Johnson or Dustin Keller or Kenny Phillips or Eddie Royal or Matt Forte. You know, any of those random players. But no, they ended up having their first pick be, Trevor Laws. Specfriggintacular. Now they hit right on with DeSean Jackson, I will give them that. But they could have had any one of the players above instead of Trevor Laws and still ended up with DeSean.

So they also got Carolina's first round pick in'09, but they were banking on the Panthers having a rebuilding season and that being a high pick. Turns out the Panthers were very good all along and now that maybe 9th overall pick or 15th overall pick, is just an okay 28th overall pick. The value of that pick plummeted over the course of the '08 season. It back fired bad. So instead of getting immediate help in '08 or maybe future tackle like Baker or Otah. You get Trevor Laws and hopefully something good with the 28th pick. Good luck with that. Knowing your history I'm sure well end up with something wonderful.

Check me out on Twitter.

2009-03-09T15:35:00.001-05:00

I will now be talking Eagles on Twitter. Its an easier faster way to talk about the Philadelphia Eagles.

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2009 Philadelphia Eagles Draft Preview.

2009-01-14T19:53:00.019-05:00

The Eagles aren't even out of the Playoffs yet and my mind is already wandering to what moves need to be made this off season. It doesn't help that the NFL draft is my single favorite sporting event of the year. I've always loved the draft since I was kid, and to this day when January/February rolls around I start getting hype.

So with that said, over the next couple of weeks I'm going to highlight 10 Players I would love the Eagles to target, even knowing that they probably won't draft one of them.

First on my list,

RB Knowshon Moreno,Georgia - 5-10 / 210.

Brian Westbrook isn't getting any younger and his durability is becoming an issue week in and week out. It's to the point where he isn't even practicing during the week. Correll Buckhalter has been a good back up when healthy, but also has had multiple serious knee injuries during his career and is pushing 31 this year. Lorenzo Booker is well, mediocre at best. When picked up this year we were led to believe that Booker and Westbrook would see a lot of playing time together. Not the case. Barring a significant change in Booker's ability, he won't be on the roster come next season.

The Eagles need to draft their RB of the future and Moreno fits the mold of what Andy Reid loves in a RB. In the '05 draft the Eagles used a 3rd round pick on a player some called a "Westbrook clone(Sports Illustrated)" , Ryan Moats. They couldn't have been more wrong. But with Moreno, you are getting a guy is very similar to Westbrook and could be a better inside runner making him even more valuable. With his speed, vision, and natural play making ability, he is the "Westbrook clone" that the Eagles have been seeking since '05.

Moreno is currently projected by most "experts" and mock draft websites to go some where in the mid 1st round. The 2009 Draft Class is not deep at RB so a team with a serious need at RB might take a reach on Moreno around picks 14-22, a'la the Cowboys with Felix Jones in last years draft. It also doesn't help the Eagles that a couple of high profile underclassmen that were projected to be drafted in the 1st round have decided to return school. Moreno's stock seems to be rising with each passing day. With a stellar combine, Moreno could crack the top 10 but is more then likely to be a mid 1st rounder. So the Eagles have to either pray that he falls to 28th or trade up. Time will tell.

NFC Championship Preview.

2009-01-13T13:28:00.009-05:00

The Eagles have been able to do the unthinkable in a very short amount of time. After the horrible performance versus the Bengals and then the Ravens McNabb debacle, Nostradomus himself couldn't have predicted what the Eagles were able to do in the last two months.

The Eagles now have a serious shot at going to the Super Bowl, and possibly winning the Super Bowl. I know, slow down. One game at a time. With that I truly believe that the Eagles are the only team that can beat the Eagles this week. The recipe is pretty simple to beat Arizona, put pressure on Kurt Warner and you might as well put an Eagles jersey on him. It's that simple. The popular thing to say this week is that Larry Fitzgerald is going to be the key and he can't be stopped. Again its simple. You can stop Larry Fitzgerald, by putting pressure on Warner. If Warner isn't given the time, you could have my grandmother covering Fitzgerald, it won't matter. I'm going to go more in depth about what needs to be done exactly to get the win, but my main point will be, put pressure on Warner and he will hand you the win gift wrapped. With that, lets get into some more things that will make the Eagles day a little easier.

1) Control the clock: Slow the game down.

The one thing you absolutely can not do with the Cardinals, is let them get out to a fast start. What the Cardinals do a lot is stretch the field quickly and score quickly. When they do that, they sometimes force you to get away from your game plan. If they are up 14-0 or 17-0 in the second quarter, you might start to press a little and start getting away from what you do best. When this happens, mistakes are made, which leads to my next point.

2) Do not turn the ball over.

This is the biggest key to the Cardinals recent success. In the Panther first 7 possessions, they scored a TD, they punted 3 times, and they had 3 turnovers. If any team has that bad of a start, you will never stand a chance to win that game. The Cardinals scored 17 points in the first half off of turnovers. That's the game right there. You either have to be Tom Brady or a miracle worker to come back from that. And Jake Delhomme is far from being either of those two. Now with the score being so lopsided, instead of running the ball which they do well, they had to rely on Jake Delhomme to get into a shootout with Kurt Warner. Ten times out of ten Delhomme loses that battle. So either credit the Cardinals defense for stopping the run and forcing turnovers or give credit to the Panthers for making it easy for the Cardinals. In the first half, the Panthers ran 25 plays in 7 possessions, 8 were runs. The first 2 possessions of the game each had 3 running plays. One of the possessions led to a TD. So for the next 5 possessions they ran the ball just 2 times. They deserved to lose.

3) You can't play a zone, and only rush four men against Kurt Warner.

I don't have to worry about this with Jim Johnson being defesive cordinator. He's going to have guys on Warner all day. I just got done watching the replay of the Panthers/Cardinals game on NFL Replay. And you could see why Warner was carving up the Panthers defense. They were rushing their defensive linemen and thats it pretty much the whole game. They had the occasonal blitz but for the most part Kurt Warner could have been bagging groceries and he still would have had time throw against that defense. It was pathetic. The Panthers sacked Warner 1 time last Saturday, thats it. Again, you deserved to lose. Moral of the story, if get pressure on Warner you will win the game, end of story.

Questions, Questions, Questions.

2008-07-23T17:11:00.006-05:00

Will Brian Westbrook holdout? No.

Is Westbrook crazy for asking for $10M a year? Yes.

Will Lito Sheppard be traded? No.

Will McNabb get injured? Yes.

Is this McNabb's last season with the Eagles? Yes.

Will Kevin Kolb see any playing time this season? Yes.

Will Greg Lewis be on the roster come September? No.

Will Lorenzo Booker be Westbrook's back up? Yes.

How will the LB's perform? Above Average.

Will Asante Samuel be worth the money? Yes.

Who will start, Lito or Sheldon? Sheldon.

Can Stewart Bradley live up to the hype? Yes.

Will Trent Cole be better then he was last season? No.

Will Brian Dawkins break down again? No.

Will Desean Jackson help the offense? Yes.

How many TD's will Jackson score? 9

Who keeps a spot on the roster by getting hurt, McDougle or Moats? Neither.

Will the Eagles make the playoffs? Yes.

Many, many questions going into this season.

Where to start?

2008-06-20T20:04:00.005-05:00

Wow...Its been so long I don't know where to start. Since the last time I posted the Sixers made the playoffs, and exited shortly after. The Flyers did more then anybody could have imagined. If you say you predicted them making the Eastern Conference Finals, well, you're a liar. Liar. The Eagles drama has continued. McNabb has shoulder problems, oh my god. This couldn't be more blown out of proportion. Desean Jackson is very confident for someone who hardly saw the field during the recent mini camp. I just pray he's not another Freddie Mitchell. "I'm a special player, I wanna thank my hands for being so great." To bad his mouth was writing checks his hands couldn't cash. Apparently he's still bitter about the 2004 season and has been trashing McNabb and Hugh Douglas. Lito Sheppard is still an Eagle. Which is a little surprising. I do like it though. What else, what else. Oh yea the Phillies. Wow. What a start. Utley has been killing it. The bullpen is the best in baseball. Never thought I'd live to utter those words. But as I write this the Phillies are getting their doors blown off by the Angels. Adam Eaton has returned to earth giving up 12 hits and 3 walks. Very nice. Oh, and Chase Utley is battling through a bad slump right now. 0-22. I think that covers everything. I'm going to try to write more. Don't know if it matters cause I really don't know how many people actually check out this blog. But I'm going to write anyway cause I like to do it. I'm pissed at myself for not writing for the last 3 months. Oh well. Is anybody out there? HEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLOOOO?? No. Okay.

The Best Draft Picks in the Andy Reid Era.

2008-03-10T19:23:00.004-05:00

Originally posted on March 15, 2007: I have to say after looking at the drafts from 99-06, it was harder to narrow the best draft picks then the worst draft picks. I had a hard time picking 5 bad picks. Could of I put Na Brown or some other 5th round draft pick on the worst list, sure. But making those 5th round draft picks into really good NFL players is not easy. The Eagles have been able to do that on a few occasions. The best picks include 3 players that are already solid Pro Bowl caliber players and 2 that are on their way to being very good NFL players and look like they have a great future with the franchise.

Top 5 Best Picks

5) ~~Lito Sheppard, Florida, DB, 1st Round(26th Overall)~~ Sheldon Brown, South Carolina, DB, 2nd Round (59th Overall): Remember 3 or 4 years ago when the Eagles decided to let Bobby Taylor and Troy Vincent go at the same time. What the hell were they thinking? That they had Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown to replace them. Well, they were right. The Eagles DB's didn't flinch. Out of the two I'd have to go with Lito as the better. He's a solid DB. He made it to the Pro Bowl in 2004 and would have made his second trip to Hawaii had he not gotten injured in the Playoffs.

3/10/08: That was then, this is now. I still think Lito was a great pick. He is currently sixth on my list. In 2007 it was just the same old thing with Lito. He got injured in the first game of the season, and missed key games vs. the Redskins and Giants, both of which the Eagles lost. He played from week 7-15 and only had 2 picks. So this year it came down to Sheldon and Lito again. So I looked closely at both guys career stats and ended up going with Sheldon. Sheldon Brown is a good corner who doesn't get as much credit as he should cause he doesn't get a lot of picks. The thing that sticks out most to me is that he has played in every game since his rookie season in 2002. 96 straight games he's played in. He has started every game since taking over the starting RCB in 2004. That's impressive. Lito on the other hand has played in 77 games since 2002, 19 less then Sheldon. Now Lito has more picks than Sheldon with 17 for his career. Compared to Sheldon who has just 13. But again that's not what Sheldon does well. Sheldon is a great tackler and has good coverage skills. He breaks up a lot of passes but again, doesn't get a lot of picks. Sheldon's biggest problem is the fact that he can not cover Plaxico Burress. Now to his credit, Sheldon has one of the best hits ever in the history of the NFL. Of course you remember the playoff game vs. the Saints when Sheldon almost killed Reggie Bush. So this year I moved Sheldon up. Could Lito be here, sure.

4) Trent Cole, Cincinnati, DE, 5th Round(191st Overall): The fifth was hard to choose. You have guys like Sheldon Brown, Corey Simon, and Derrick Burgess. You could make a case for any of those guys to be in this spot, but I went with Trent Cole. It is still a little early to gauge how good Trent Cole will be, but as of right now, he is looking like he could be the Eagles future starting DE. Is there anyone who doesn't think he should be starting over Darren Howard. Cole had 5 sacks his rookie year and 8 sacks last year. He had 8 sacks basically splitting time with 3 guys. Not bad. Right now, I can say that for 191st pick in the draft, Cole is pretty good. The Eagles have locked up Cole up for pretty much the rest of his career barring a trade of some kind.

3/10/08: Trent Cole is slowing climbing up the board. I don't ever expect him to crack the top two, cause with McNabb and Westbrook there, it would take a lot. But if continues doing what he has been doing he could pass Shawn Andrews. Trent Cole had another stellar season in 2007 posting 12.5 sacks, 70 tackles and 4 forced fumbles. Cole also made the Pro Bowl. In his first three seasons Cole has seen action in 47 out of 48 games. Very impressive for the 191st pick.

3) Shawn Andrews, Arkansas, G, 1st Round(16th Overall): The 2004 Draft. I remember it like it was yesterday. The Eagles had traded up to the 16th pick. They were finally were going do it. Draft a RB or LB in the first round. Sitting there were, DJ Williams and Steven Jackson. Which one do I like better? I like both so much, which would I like to be Eagle more. Then with the 16th pick, the Philadelphia Eagles select: Shawn Andrews, G, Arkansas. Shawn Andrews, what the hell? Well in hindsight, it turned out to be a good pick. Would've Jackson or Williams be great for the Birds, sure, but we have a offensive lineman that could be one the best in the NFL in the near future. Made the All-Pro team this past season. His first season as a starter. Great Pick. Start 15 games in 2008.

3/10/08: Nothing more to add still a great pick.

2) Donovan McNabb, Syracuse, 1st Round(2nd Overall): I really don't think I have to go into great detail on why McNabb was a great pick. Looking back, the 1999 draft had some stars in the rough, but also had a lot of land mines that the Eagles could have easily tripped over. Um, Ricky Williams, Akili Smith, and David Boston to name a few. Overall the Eagles made the right decision and I don't think there would be much argument that Donovan is in the top 3 players to come out of that draft class.

3/10/08: Donovan had a rough year in 2007. He struggled after coming back from his torn ACL a couple of months early. I will McNabb a mulligan for last season, but even without it he still deserves to be here.

1) Brian Westbrook, Villanova, 3rd round(91st Overall): Going into the 2002 draft, if someone told you Brian Westbrook was going to be in the top ten best RB's in the league, you would have said they were crazy. Well, they weren't. The Eagles had high hopes for Westbrook and so far so good. He has had an injury here or there, but he is the key to the Eagles offense as it stands today. 91st overall, best pick Andy Reid has ever made. RB's taken before Westbrook: William Green, TJ Duckett, Clinton Portis, DeShaun Foster, Maurice Morris, and Ladell Betts. Clinton Portis is the only one worth mentioning in the same breath as Westbrook.

3/10/08: Ummmm, Westbrook is a top 5 Running Back if not top 3. There isn't much more to say then he continues to perform on a higher level year in and year out. One of the best draft picks in the NFL in the last 9 years.

The Five Worst Draft Picks of the Andy Reid Era.

2008-03-07T10:04:00.017-05:00

It's almost a year to the day that I wrote up the Best and Worst picks made by Andy Reid. A lot of things have changed obviously, but most of the picks I will keep the same. I remember when I made this, I posted it on a bunch message boards. You wouldn't think, but I caught hell. Mostly for having Matt McCoy on the worst list. People were saying that it was way to early to tell with McCoy. That I didn't have a clue what I was talking about, and the funnest one, that McCoy would be a starter in 2007. But I had seen enough and knew there was not a chance in hell that he would ever amount to anything. The Eagles don't normally don't cut players for making a mistake. But Matt McCoy made so many mistakes in such a short period of time that they just had to cut their loses. He will be moving up a slot in this years worst. But pretty much, I will keep everything the same.

5) Barry Gardner, Northwestern, LB, 2nd round(35th Overall): I have a hard time putting BG here cause I actually met him and had the opportunity to play basketball with him a couple of times. Very nice guy, not the best linebacker. He had some good games here and there, but never was an impact on defense. Was always second fiddle to Trotter. Was not worth the 35th pick in the draft.

4) Quinton Caver, Arkansas, LB, 2nd Round(55th Overall): Played like 15 games for the Birds. Big, strong, fast, and had the football IQ of a 9 year old. Never made the adjustment coming out of college. Never made any kind of impact on defense. Lifetime special teams player. That's what you look for in your 2nd round draft pick. Yes some how I managed to find a picture of Caver.

3) Matt McCoy, San Diego St., LB, 2nd round(63rd Overall): I know I said, give the 2005 draft picks time to develop, but if you watched any of the Colts game last season, I think you would agree, you've seen enough. Route 51 was consistently on his back the entire game. And really it wasn't just that game. He plays out of position and can't shed a block to save his life. I'm sorry, bust. It took two seasons, but McCoy was cut after making multiple mistakes on special teams. The final straw was his roughing the kicker penalty which took the Eagles out of Vikings territory. After the play, McCoy was seen getting ripped by Brian Dawkins.

2) Freddie Mitchell, UCLA, WR, 1st Round(25th Overall): Ah yes the peoples champ. Yup the nick name given to him by none other than, himself. His top skills, charisma and personality, about 8th & 9th on the list of skills needed to be a great football player. Remember the days he would catch a 3 yard pass on 3rd and 8, then slap that belt on. Man he sure loved himself. Now Freddie had some good hands. But his attitude, and lack of speed are what killed him in the end. He always thought he was going to be an elite WR. He could talk the best game in town, but rarely backed it up. One time, he managed to step up to the plate, and yes I'll say it again. 4th and 26th. It deserves to be in bold every time its written. Other WR's the Eagles could have chosen. Steve Smith,Car (74th pick), Chad Johnson, Cin (36th pick), Reggie Wayne, Ind (30th pick), and Chris Chambers, SD (52nd pick). The Eagles would pay a hefty price right now to have pretty much any of those WR's with the exception of Chambers. If they had any ability to pick a WR, we would probably be in a lot better shape.

1) Jerome McDougle, Miami, DE, 1st Round(15th Overall): Where to start with McDougle. Well first things first, I really can't believe he is still on the Eagles at this point. I understand second chances, and the guy had some unfortunate things (getting shot right before training camp was about to be begin) happen to him. But enough is enough. This is a sport/business, and it is time to cut your losses with this guy. How long is upside going to carry you on the roster. With the Eagles, about 4 years. Every year its, McDougle is going to have a chance to start this year, next thing you know hes buried on the injury report or on the inactive list. Time for the permanent inactive list for Jerome. As of March 6th, 2008, McDougle is still on the Eagles active roster. Will this be the year he gets the boot. My money is on him getting injured the day before he's supposed to be cut, and the Eagles end up throwing more money in the toilet aka Jerome McDougle. McDougle's career statistics look like this: 35 total tackles, 3 sacks, and thats about it. To put that in some perspective. In his first three seasons DE Trent Cole a fifth round draft choice, has 178 total tackles, 25.5 sacks, and 1 touchdown. McDougle is due to make $1.9M this season and to date the Eagles have paid McDougle over $9M.

There are some honorable mentions. Corey Simon, Todd Pinkston, Bobbie Williams, Matt Ware. Bobbie Williams? Exactly, a 2nd round pick wasted away. Simon and Pinkston could be debatable depending on who you talk to.

Best draft picks in the Andy Reid Era tomorrow.

Takeo Spikes out, Stewart Bradley in.

2008-03-06T17:41:00.011-05:00

As you probably have heard, the Philadelphia Eagles released LB Takeo Spikes. Takeo is on the Howard Eskin Show as I write this and he has said some interesting things. He said the Eagles came to him last Friday when free agency started and asked if he would be willing to take pay cut. He was due to make $5M, and he was asked to take a $3M pay cut. Takeo said he slept on it and got back to Andy Reid on Saturday and told him that he wasn't going to take a pay cut. That's interesting cause Saturday was when the whole debacle with the depth chart happened. I actually took a screenshot of the Eagles Website depth chart early Saturday morning cause I knew it didn't look right. The depth chart, pictured to the right, has Akeem Jordan at WLB and Omar Gaither at MLB. But Takeo said when he talked with Andy Reid, he was told that Stewart Bradley will likely take over as MLB and Omar will be shifted to WLB. Takeo went on to say that he has no hard feelings and he appreciates the way that Andy Reid handled the situation. Andy first tried to trade Takeo but when they couldn't unload him they released him less then one week from the start of free agency. Takeo was glad that he was released now and not during training camp like Jeremiah Trotter, cause there are a number of teams thought to be interested. He said during this whole process he was really surprised at how much Andy Reid kept in contact with him and is happy with the way the Eagles handled it. It was probably best for all parties involved to part ways. This will give the Eagles some more cap room for if they make a trade, and its still early into free agency, to were Takeo can still find a place to play and make the money he deserves. Eskin is reporting that there are three teams that have been in contact with Takeo's agent, the Patriots, Browns, and Jaguars. With that, Stewart Bradley looks to be the Eagles new starting MLB. That means Omar Gaither will shift back to his old position at WLB. Bradley would be an upgrade from Gaither at the MLB spot. Bradley is listed at 6-3/255, compared to Gaither who is listed at 6-1/235. This will be better for Gaither. Akeem Jordan will be the back up to both Gaither and Bradley. I think the Eagles young LB core could be very good next season. If Stewart Bradley can perform like he did at the end last season, they should be a fun group to watch.

Andy Reid interview from The Howard Eskin Show.

2008-03-06T06:57:00.007-05:00

Andy Reid was a guest on the Burger King's show yesterday. Some interesting stuff. Listen below.

Andy Reid Interview - Part 1

Andy Reid Interview - Part 2

Andy Reid Interview - Part 3

Where will Lito Sheppard land?

2008-03-05T00:01:00.002-05:00

The possibility of Lito Sheppard being traded is around 99%. Right now every blogger and sports analyst has his or her opinion about where he might land. The most popular choices are the Arizona Cardinals and Detroit Lions. There is a shot that he could land in one of those cities but we might not know till draft day. The Eagles don't seem to be in any rush to kick Lito out but it is inevitable. The day is coming. So with the deadline for the Eagles to trade Lito being a little over a month away I thought I would go through what teams may land Lito and give the chances of Lito being traded there. And what who the Eagles might get in return.

Arizona Cardinals:

This has been the most popular landing spot being rumored for where Lito might end up. The biggest reason being the Eagles need for a WR, and the Cardinals being in salary cap hell because of their miss management of Larry Fitzgerald's contract. Fitzgerald is owed $32M over the next two seasons. Fitzgerald holds all the leverage in this situation and is using it to his advantage. The Cardinals have been trying to negotiate a new contract with Fitzgerald so that could lower his cap value over the next two years, but Fitzgerald is not budging at all. The Cards are either going to have to pay him, and not have any cap space, or trade him. Now the Cardinals say publicly that Fitzgerald is not available but the rumors say otherwise. The latest report is that the Eagles offered the Cardinals, Lito and a second round draft pick for Fitzgerald. The Cardinals said no, but said make it Lito and a first round pick and then we will talk. So right now the Eagles have to wait and see how contract negotiations go with Fitzgerald before they unload Lito. The last thing they need is to trade Lito, and then the next day hear Fitzgerald is on the trade block. The situation in Arizona may play out until the draft at least, and that would be the deadline for the Eagles. They have to unload Lito by draft day, when he may have his highest value.

Cardinals get: CB Lito Sheppard, WR Reggie Brown, 2008 2nd rd pick, 2008 3rd rd pick.
Eagles get: WR Larry Fitzgerald.

Chances of a trade happening: 25%

Baltimore Ravens:

The Baltimore Ravens are in need of a CB. They lack depth and youth at the position and Lito could start over Samari Rolle immediately. New head coach John Harbaugh is very familiar with Lito and has plenty of ties within the Eagles front office which could make a deal more likely. Now the Ravens don't have much to send back so a trade would probably involve swapping draft picks. The fact that this years CB class is very deep, the Ravens could gain a veteran CB, in Lito, and draft another CB with the Eagles 19th pick. This would solidify a position in need of a makeover. The Eagles in turn would get the the 8th pick in the draft. Now in terms of the NFL Draft Point Value Chart, which all NFL teams use to put a value on draft picks, the jump from 19th to 8th would be worth 525 points. 525 points is a early 2nd round draft pick. A 2nd round pick seems about right for what Lito should be worth straight up. Now the Eagles might jump to do this so they could get one of the top three OT's that are available. I think if they moved up in the first round they would target Boise St. OT Ryan Clady or Pitt's Jeff Otah.

Ravens get: 19th pick in 2008 Draft, and Lito Sheppard.
Eagles get: 8th pick in 2008 Draft.

Chances of trade happening: 65%

Detroit Lions:

This team is the second most talked about team that Lito could be traded to. The Lions secondary is horrible and has been horrible for years. Lito would be an instant upgrade. The Lions are thought to be willing to let Roy Williams go for the right price even though they have said publicly that Roy is not available. Everyone is available. They have Calvin Johnson who looks who is the future at the WR position, and with the rise of Mike Furrey, Roy could be expendable. The Eagles would have to package Lito with draft picks, most likely a 2nd this year and maybe a 2nd or 3rd for next year. With the Lions sitting at 15 in April's draft they could get a solid CB there. Add that with Lito Sheppard and they could have two new starting CB's by the end of April.

Lions get: CB Lito Sheppard, 2008 2nd Rd pick, 2009 3rd Rd pick.
Eagles get: WR Roy Williams

Chances of trade happening: 55%

Houston Texans:

The Texans are a team that I'm surprised isn't getting more attention. They have struggled at the CB position pretty much since they came into the league six years ago. Now the only trade piece they have is WR Andre Johnson. He has missed some significant time in the last three seasons but still is a great WR. He may not be Fitzgerald or Roy but he would be a upgrade from Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown. I really think that if you called the Texans they would have no problem trading Johnson. They signed Johnson to 8 year deal last season and the first year into the new contract he missed 7 games. The Texans are sitting at 18 in the draft could draft CB, or WR if they trade Johnson. I think this could happen as a last resort for the Eagles.

Texans get: CB Lito Sheppard
Eagles get: WR Andre Johnson

Chance of trade happening: 40%

New England Patriots:

If the Eagles can't get a deal done for Fitzgerald or Roy, this is the next spot I think Lito could go. With the Cards and Lions being so adamant about keeping their WR's, this seems to be the place Lito will end up. The Patriots lost Asante Samuel and Randell Gay to free agency and are in need of a veteran CB. Lito would fit great into there cover two scheme, and would strive if he can stay on the field. Now this would be an easy trade. Lito and the 19th pick for the 7th overall pick. This would put the Eagles in great position to get a OL or the top CB available. The Patriots on the other hand would fill the hole left by Samuel and still be in position to get a good LB. Not many teams have an immediate need at LB like the Pats do.

Patriots get: CB Lito Sheppard, 19th pick in 2008 and 2008 4th rd. pick.
Eagles get: 7th pick in 2008 Draft.

Chances of trade happening: 70%

There are numerous teams who may want to trade their 2nd or 3rd round pick straight up for Lito Sheppard. Those teams are Saints, Redskins Titans, Bengals, Chiefs, and the Vikings. Any one of these teams has a shot if all else above fails.

Chances of trade happening to any of these teams: 50%

The NFL Draft Magazines are out.

2008-03-04T19:52:00.005-05:00

In the words of my homie Ice Cube, I have to say today was a good day. I was driving home and realized it was March 4th. I thought for a minute, March 4th, March 4th, there is some reason why March 4th is important. Then it hit, NFL Draft Magazines. The Draft Geek in me was screaming March 4th and I almost forgot. Now something you might not know about ol'HatePhilly. I love the draft more than any other sporting event. It's true, you may say Super Bowl, or March Madness. Not me, I'm all about the NFL Draft. Its like a two month long event for me. The magazines, the horrible mock drafts people come up with, the scouting, and of course good old Mel Kiper and his big board. I like Mel sometimes but most of the time I just watch him for the shear entertainment of being annoyed. Same reason I listen to Eskin. Anytime I can take a swipe at Eskin I will. The scouting combine is the first leg of my triple crown of the NFL draft. The second was today, with Lindy's releasing their annual draft magazine. I like Lindy's but I'm more of a PFW guy. So I went to Barnes & Nobles which is on my way home and went right for the magazine section. There it was Lindy's 2008 Draft Mag. Then right next to it, PFW's NFL Draft mag. Jackpot. First week into March and I have two draft mags already and couldn't be more happy. Now normally I go right to the mock draft section and see what horrible pick they have the Eagles making. Almost every year they have the Eagles taking a WR or LB. I always think what the hell makes them think the Eagles will take WR or LB in the first around. It's funny, I guess from the outside they just look at the Eagles top needs and think thats how Eagles management make their decisions, when that couldn't be further from the truth. The Eagles will either draft a DL, OL, or CB in the first round. That's it. So to my surprise PFW had the Eagles landing South Flordia's Mike Jenkins. I would be okay with that. They have to draft a CB somewhere in the first three rounds. The Eagles need to start planning for the future and they are lacking depth at the CB position. Lindy's also has the Eagles taking a CB, but they had them taking Leodis McKelvin from Troy. Again, I like it. Wouldn't mind it. If he's there I could see them taking him. But with the signing of Asante Samuel, I think that pushes the need of a CB from first round to second or third round. And this years CB class is very deep.

GCobb is on top of Breaking Eagles News.

2008-03-04T15:16:00.007-05:00

With all th PFT's of the world taking credit for breaking news and rumors, I would like to give credit where credit is due. In the past week GCobb.com has been right on top of every single move the Eagles have made. GCobb.com is run by former Eagles LB Garry Cobb and his son Garry II. He must have some good sources high up in the Eagles front office cause he broke the Asante Samuel signing the night before free agency started. He was right on top of the Eagles pursuit of Randy Moss. His most recent news is that the Eagles offered the Arizona Cardinals Lito Sheppard and a second round pick for WR Larry Fitzgerald. They said no. Now as I write this I have WIP streaming on my computer, and I'm listening to Howard Eskin spew his bull crap. He claims that his "source", which doesn't exist, that the Eagles didn't make an offer for Larry Fitzgerald. Yesterday when Eskin started his show, he claimed that GCobb's story of Andy Reid speaking with Moss extensively about coming to Philadelphia, was just a formality. That it wasn't a serious need. Now who do I believe. A guy who was ahead everyone with Asante Samuel, and broke the Randy Moss story before Philly.com or the guy who's views change with the weather everyday.

Here is an article about Howard Eskin flip-flopping from GCobb.com.

I had a big laugh yesterday while on the way to Wachovia Center to do Comcast Sportsnet's Daily News Live Show. I was driving and my son Garry was riding in the passenger seat and we had the radio on listening to Howard Eskin on 610-WIP.

Howard was on and he got word of my report on GCobb.com that Andy Reid had been on the phone with Randy Moss and his agent for over a hour and a half on Monday afternoon before Moss decided to sign a 3-year $27 million dollar deal with the Patriots.

Upon learning of my report about the Reid/Moss phone conversation, Eskin said he thought that the conversation had probably been nothing but a formality, as the Eagles would never offer a wide receiver that type of money. He went on and on about how you can't justify giving that type of money to a wide receiver.

He gave numerous reasons why the Eagles should never give out that type of money to a receiver. Of course I didn't agree but I listened.

It was about 4:45pm in the afternoon and we arrived at the Wachovia Center. Garry and I left Howard and the radio and went inside and I did the television show. I broke the story about Reid and Moss being on the phone that afternoon for over an hour. When asked about what took place in the conversation, I told Michael Barkann, Les Bowen and Paul Domowitch, that I didn't know but didn't feel the Eagles had made a better offer than the Patriots.

When Garry and I got back in the car, we were shocked with what we were hearing from Howard. He was talking about how the Eagles had made a better offer to Moss than the Patriots. Eskin, who had been going off about how there was no way you can justify giving that type of money to a wide receiver, was now applauding the Eagles for doing just that.

All we could do was laugh and laugh and laugh. I nearly drove off the rode laughing.
Howard Eskin, one of the hardest-working and best sourced sports media persons, who has ever worked in Philadelphia had twisted himself into a pretzel on his own show. You can't argue that Howard isn't a staple in the Philadelphia sports community, but at the same time, you can't argue against his being a voice for the Eagles.

In the same show, he had given a million reasons why it was justifiable that the Birds should refuse to give big money to a wide receiver. In the same show, he had to tell us that the Eagles had done exactly what he told us that they shouldn't do.
You gotta love Howard, he's something else. Source: GCobb.com

Eagles offered Randy Moss more money than Pats, he turned it down.

2008-03-03T18:47:00.003-05:00

Not sure how much truth there is behind this, but the Philadelphia Daily News is reporting that Eagles coach Andy Reid spoke with Patriots WR Randy Moss today about joining the Eagles. The report says that the Eagles offered Randy Moss more than the $27M he got in New England. If this is true it gives fans in Philadelphia some hope that the Eagles might eventually land a true #1 WR. Randy Moss had this to say on his website after signing today, "I want to take time out to thank all of the fans for their support and for wishing me well in my return to New England," he wrote. "I'm ready to get back. We have some unfinished business to take care of." I don't know what color the Kool-Aid is they're drinking up there in New England, but it sure is working.
Source: Birds pursued Moss hard. (Philly.com), theRealRandyMoss.com

4th & 26 - One of the Greatest Playoff Games in Eagles History.

2008-03-02T07:47:00.002-05:00

Eagles sign DE Chris Clemons to 5 year deal.

2008-03-01T14:42:00.013-05:00

Signed a five-year contract on March 1, 2008.The 26-year-old Clemons registered a career-high eight sacks for the Oakland Raiders in 2007, despite being on the field for just 37% of the team's defensive plays. His sack total tied for the team lead with Derrick Burgess. Clemons, who played in all 16 games (two starts) for Oakland, also added 20 tackles, 13 knockdowns, 8 hurries, and two forced fumbles.Clemons was one of just four players in the NFL to record at least eight sacks while starting in fewer than 10 of his team's contests in 2007. The others were Giants DE Justin Tuck (2 starts, 10 sacks), Packers DE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (2 starts, 9.5 sacks) and Buccaneers DE Greg White (2 starts, 8 sacks).For his career, the five-year veteran has appeared in 36 games (three starts), tallying 36 tackles, 13 sacks, four forced fumbles and three passes defended. Clemons was originally signed as a rookie free agent by Washington in 2003 and recorded 5 sacks in 20 games for the Redskins from 2004-05. He signed with the Raiders in 2007 after sitting out the entire 2006 campaign.A native of Griffin, GA, Clemons played collegiately at Georgia. His brother, Nic, also played at Georgia and was a rookie free agent signee of the Redskins in 2003. Nic is currently a member of the Denver Broncos. Source:PhiladelphiaEagles.com

The Aftermath of the Asante Samuel Deal.

2008-03-01T07:32:00.012-05:00

Well the Eagles broke the bank open signing the top free agent on the market. Asante Samuel is an upgrade to a secondary that despite their big names, was arguably one of the worst in the league last season. The Eagles ranked 18th against the pass which isn't that bad, but when it came to turnovers, the Eagles were flat out terrible. They were last in the NFL with 11 interceptions and 0 defensive TD's. As much as people would like to think that this was not a need, it was. Was it an immediate need, maybe not, but Asante Samuel is an upgrade from Lito Sheppard. Those who say that Lito is as good as Asante are mistaken. There are three reasons why it was good to do this. One, Lito has missed 14 games in the last two seasons, and has only played one full season in his entire career. It is well documented that when he does get hurt, which is often, that he takes his time coming back and sometimes doesn't give the full effort to try and get back on the field. When he is healthy, Lito is a top ten cornerback. Not in the top five, or the best, top ten. He is not in the elite. Two, he wants a new contract. He told Comcast SportsNET's Derrick Gunn that he was going to ask the Eagles for a new contract or ask for them to trade him. He saw what Nate Clements got last year, and knew what kind of money Samuels would demand this year and was going to use that, along with his thought that he was one of the elite, as leverage to get a new deal with the Eagles. Bad move. Three, you don't want a disgruntled player in the locker room, see Terrell Owens. So knowing that Lito is unhappy, wants more money, and the fact that he has missed 30% of the games that the Eagles have played in the last three years, would you give him a new contract.

Let me put this way. Say you're working at the office or where ever it is that you work. Now there are roughly 253 work days in a calender year. Over three years that's roughly 759 work days. Say you miss 30% of work at the office over those three years, which would be 228 days or 76 days per year. Which broken down further, you would be missing one and half days of work per week. You decided over the last three years that you like to call out on Monday's and on Friday's you leave work at lunchtime and go get drunk with your homies, or whatever it is you do when your skipping work, or maybe your actually sick. Then one day you come to work, which is rare for you on a Friday afternoon, and you hear that Bob, who does the same job as you but better, and rarely misses a day, has gotten a promotion and a nice raise. So you, "feeling" that you're just as qualified, which you are not, and have been with the company longer, deserve the same promotion and raise that Bob has gotten. So the next day you go to your boss and tell him you would like the raise and promotion Bob got or you would like to be traded to another office. Now the boss has the choice of letting you go or giving you the raise you want but don't deserve. The boss has the money and the ability to give you the raise but doesn't want to. He likes you. You perform great every once and while. You have great potential, but you've been here six years and have not lived up to your resume. So, instead he looks on Monster.com to see what new talent is available. He sees Mike available. Mike worked for Microsoft for five years, and has numerous achievements. He wants a salary which is around Bob's and would like to start immediately. Mike has a great resume, and never misses work. Now if you were the boss, what would you do? Give Lito a raise that he doesn't deserve or hire Asante off the street. Lito demanding the same money, maybe a little less, then what Clements and Samuel got when he doesn't deserve it, is not right. So now what to do with Lito Sheppard. For those hoping that we would keep Lito and use him with Sheldon and Asante or move Sheldon to safety, keep dreaming, its not going to happen. Lito is on the trade block. The NFL network reported that the Eagles are shopping Lito to other teams right now. The Eagles have already updated the depth chart on their website and it shows Lito as a second string CB. Quick note off the subject, Takeo Spikes is not on the depth chart, they have Akeem Jordan as starting WLB. Anyway, Lito is out. It could happen in the next week or by the draft, but it is going to happen.

Recent Eagles posts:

The Benchwarmers - The Story of the Eagles 2007 Draft Class

The Philadelphia Eagles Offseason Part 1.

The Philadelphia Eagles Offseason Part 2.

The Philadelphia Eagles Offseason Part 3.

Asante Samuel is an Eagle.

2008-02-29T16:03:00.025-05:00

Asante Samuel to sign with Eagles. UPDATED 4:14 pm.

2008-02-29T03:10:00.056-05:00

Asante Samuel is on his way to Philly. The Eagles landed the first visit from the top free agent on the market, and word is the deal is done. Samuel is now in route to Philadelphia and they should have a deal inked by the end of the day. Samuel is not the only pick up the Eagles are thought to have gotten done. There is also talk that free agent safety Gabril Wilson also is ready to sign a deal with the Eagles. But Newsday.com in New York is reporting that Wilson will sign with the Oakland Raiders. My full belief is that if he stops in Philly first, he won't be going anywhere. It looks like the Eagles are completely overhauling there secondary for the upcoming season. Not surprising after last years poor performance. The Eagles ranked 18th against the pass in the NFL last season, and tied for 31st (dead last) in interceptions with a total of 11. So if Samuel is in, most likely Lito Sheppard will be out. There is no rush to move Sheppard at the moment but the Cardinals may be looking to do a deal quick for Larry Fitzgerald to free up cap room for free agency.

I will be posting updates all day with the latest Eagles news and rumors that you won't find anywhere else.

UPDATES:

3:58 - The Denver Broncos have released former Pro Bowl WR Javon Walker. There is a good chance that the Eagles will be taking good look at Walker.

3:16 pm - The Daily New is reporting that Oakland Raiders DE Chris Clemons is in route to Philadelphia, and it is likely he will not be leaving. Clemons was under the radar last season but posted 8 sacks. He is a explosive, fast DE with a great motor, from what I've read and heard.

2:18 pm- SportingNews and Comcast SportsNET are reporting Asante Samuel is set to sign with the Eagles for 5 years $47.2M. That is just over $9M per season. Seems kind of low. Most likely that is the base salary, and there probalay is incentives to make the deal worth $55M. If that is the price the Eagles get him at though, that is good news.

10:15 am - 610 WIP's Howard Eskin is reporting that within 24 hours the Eagles will be signing free agent DE Chris Clemons formerly of the Oakland Raiders. Here is Chris Clemons Bio from the Raiders website.

9:53 am - GET'CHA POPCORN READY. The Eagles are reporting on their website that Asante Samuel will be in Philadelphia today, and that he will be available to the media at the NovaCare Complex at 4:30. Huge news.

9:21 am - There is a new report coming out of Kansas City that Eagles could trade for DE Jared Allen. It was reported on FoxSports Radio overnight that the Eagles would send Lito Sheppard, their 19th pick, and a fourth round pick for DE Jared Allen. Don't really like it. I think a First Round pick and Lito is just to much.

8:33 am - GCobb was just on 610 WIP and he said that his sources inside the Eagles front office have told him that the signing of Asante Samuel is a done deal. It should be announced later this afternoon. He also said that Lito Sheppard is out, and that Arizona is the leading candidate for Sheppard. He made some great points on why Arizona will be trading Larry Fitzgerald to the Eagles. The Cardinals cap problems, the fact that they already have Anquan Bolden, and the Cardinals serious need for a cornerback. GCobb said that the Eagles plan the whole time was to sign Samuel and trade Lito for Larry Fitzgerald. If this goes down, it could be a better offseason then 2004.

7:59 am - The Boston Globe is reporting that Philadelphia will likely be the only stop Asante Samuel will make today. A six year deal worth $60M is rumored to be what Samuel will be getting.

7:54 am - PhillyBurbs.com has said that the Eagles have been talking to Asante Samuel's agent since just past Midnight last night. He said Samuel's asking price is $12M per year. Damnnn.

7:51 am - Donovan McNabb was a guest on ESPN's Mike and Mike show this morning. They grilled him for a couple of minutes about him being traded. McNabb responded that he plans on being an Eagle this season and in the future. Nothing new there. Well he may get the playmakers he wants in the next couple of days.

Other signings and FA news:

RB Michael Turner will be visiting the Falcons today.

G Justin Smiley signed a 5 year deal with the Dolphins.

RB DeShaun Foster signed a 2 year deal with 49ers.

The Jets will be trading Jonathan Vilma to Saints for Draft Pick.

Saints trying to trade for TE Jeremey Shockey.

Packers traded DT Corey Williams to Browns for 2nd round pick.

WR Bernard Berrian is set to visit the Vikings today.

DE Justin Smith will visit 49ers today and Vikings tomorrow.

Top Guard Alan Faneca will be signing with either the Jets, Rams, or the 49ers.

CB Drayton Florence will sign with the Bucs, Lions, or Redskins.

DT Shaun Rogers of the Lions and Jaguars DT Marcus Stroud are both on the Block.

Jets have offered the Panthers 3rd and a 5th round picks for DT Kris Jenkins.

The Browns have re-signed QB Derek Anderson.

The Dolphins are expected to make huge offer to Free Agent LB Calvin Pace today.
Jaguars DT Marcus Stroud is set to visit the Buffalo Bills this weekend.
WR Donte Stallworth will be meeting with the Browns this weekend.
The Vikings have signed free agent safety Madieu Williams.
The Jaguars have signed WR Jerry Porter.
The Vikings are staying busy signing FB Thomas Tapeh.
Dolphins sign WR Ernest Wilford.
The Seahawks are close to signing TE Alge Crumpler.
The Bengals have traded for Lions DT Shaun Rogers.

Top Ten Teams with most Cap Room:

1) Jacksonville Jaguars, $46.27M
2) Tennessee Titans, $42.73M
3) Buffalo Bills, $39.61M
4) Minnesota Vikings, $35.49M
5) New Orleans Saints, $35.25M
6) Tampa Bay Buccaneers, $33.41M
7) San Francisco 49ers, $3.274M
8) Philadelphia Eagles, $31.34
9) Cincinnati Bengals, $31.21
10) Oakland Raiders, $30.59

Recent Eagles posts:

The Benchwarmers - The Story of the Eagles 2007 Draft Class

The Philadelphia Eagles Offseason Part 1.

The Philadelphia Eagles Offseason Part 2.

The Philadelphia Eagles Offseason Part 3.

Threat Level Midnight: 2008 Free Agency

2008-02-28T15:06:00.018-05:00

If you haven't heard the recent rumblings that are being thrown around Philadelphia in the last six hours or so, you're in for a treat. Apparently the rumors of Lito Sheppard being on the trade block and the Eagles wanting to sign Asante Samuel may have some truth behind them. Blogs and all the radio hosts on 610 are chattering like crazy that there are some big moves in the making. And the leak last week of Lito being on the trade block could have been a strategic move to gage interest from other teams, and it may have worked. First lets talk about what the Eagles did today. They cut about 230lbs of dead weight letting Jevon "da Turd" Kearse go. They also signed JR Reid and Josello Hanson. But lets get to the good stuff. So if you have not heard, this is what many are speculating that may transpire in the next few days. The Eagles would trade Lito Sheppard and a draft choice to A) the Arizona Cardinals for WR Larry Fitzgerald or B) the Detroit Lions for WR Roy Williams. If you have not been following what has been going on in Arizona. They have a serious problem with their salary cap this year. The problem is that their WR Larry Fitzgerald is due to make $14.6M in '08 and $17.4M in '09. That is crazy money for a WR. What the GM of the Cardinals did, which is kind of funny, he built into Larry's contract a bunch of incentive clauses that they thought were unattainable. But he hit every single one of them. When they drew up the contract they had the option to either give big money to Larry in '08 and '09 or let him be a UFA if he hit them. They chose to go with the big money option, and now they will be paying for it. Now they have been trying to get Larry to restructure his deal and add years to draw the money out over a longer period of time so that their salary cap this year won't be shot. That ain't happening. So with them needing help in the secondary badly, and needing to get rid of Larry and his contract, the Eagles may be able to make this happen. Now the news out of Detroit is that Roy Williams could be available. Earlier this week the Lions parted ways with their starting CB Fernando Bryant, leaving a hole open in their secondary. So some are thinking that Lito could be shipped to the Lions with a draft pick, most likely a third, for Roy Williams. So if either of these deals get done, there is one important thing that has to happen first. They have to sign Asante Samuel. The rumor is that at 12:01 am tonight the Eagles will be on the phone trying to get Asante to come to Philly. They want this to be done fast. With New Orleans, Tampa Bay and other teams lurking with barrels of money, they are going to have to move fast and make great offer quick. Now they are not going to give him the 10yr/$100M deal the Saints are rumored to be offering, but they will instead pay him more per year for less years. A five year deal worth $11M-$12M a year has been rumored. If this deal with Asante does not happen within the first day of free agency it ain't happening at all, and that means no Fitzgerald or Williams. It has to be the perfect storm for them to make this work. Now if this doesn't happen, they might throw a 4yr/$40M deal at Randy Moss. Its going to get interesting in the next day. It's going to be, THREAT LEVEL MIDNIGHT. Please tell me you got that.

Poll:

The Philadelphia Eagles Offseason - Part 3 - Randy Moss to join Cowboys ?, Asante Samuels to ink deal with the Saints, Kearse to be cut.

2008-02-27T02:12:00.026-05:00

Well this Friday the free agency signing period will begin, and the Eagles should be big players. The rumor mill has been going strong the last couple of weeks. The talk about Lito Sheppard being traded, Jevon Kearse being cut (which will become reality soon), and the Eagles being very interested in Randy Moss & Asante Samuel. The latest report on Moss is from AOLsports. They are reporting he will signing a long term deal with the Patriots. But FoxSports is reporting the opposite. They are reporting that talks with Pats have stalled and a deal with the Cowboys could happen on Friday. Chris Mortenson reported two weeks ago that the Eagles would be willing to throw Moss a 4 year, $40M deeal if he hits the market. If the Eagles let Moss go to Cowboys without trying to get him, that will be infurating. The news on Asante Samuel is that the frontrunners to land his service are the Saints, Bucs, and the Jets. Rumors coming from the NFL scouting combine say that the Saints and Samuels have a deal ready. It is said that the deal will be worth $10M per year if not $11M. Now the Eagles have been negiotions with Jevon Kearse for him to take a pay cut this season. When asked about Kearse, his agent Drew Roshendouche had this to say: “Yeah, we expect Jevon to be released,” Rosenhaus said. “I expect Jevon to be a free agent. We tried to work out a contract restructure with the Eagles. We thought he had a wonderful career there, they’re a great organization. We weren’t able to do it.” You thought he would have a wonderful career here? So did we but that thought ended about two years ago. In his four years here, Kearse has had a grand total of 22 sacks, and 72 tackles. Kearse signed a 8yr/$62.6M deal in 2004. If that isn't the biggest waste of money I've ever seen. So far they have paid him roughly $30M of that money. Including a $12M signing bonus. Kearse has base salary of $6.5M this year, but his cap value is $8.5M. Second highest next to Donovan McNabb. What a turd. The best was when he showed up to mini-camp last June weighing 230lbs. He's 6-4. He's the same size as Dwayne Wade. Thats what you want at the DE position. The Eagles and their puppet Howard Eskin are always saying that championships are won on the offensive and defensive lines, which I agree with. But do you really trust Andy Reid and the front office to make good choices a that position. I will give them props for their work at the DT position but they have had a rough time at the DE position. Trent Cole, great job, other then that they have signed and drafted crap at the DE position. And there is no help in sight. The free agency market for DE's is very thin. They should really give Victor Abiami a chance, they really don't have any other choice. I would think about taking a shot the Bengals Justin Smith but he probalaly will get over paid elsewhere. And if they draft a DE, which they will do early, you won't see him play for another 2 years. The whole system is screwed up. With all this in mind, lets take a look at the defensive side of the ball, and see where the Eagles might go.

Cornerbacks - So Lito Sheppard is not happy with his current contract, whats new. The Eagles have been doing this for 9 years. Lock up young players early with contracts that pay with a huge signing bonus, mediocre salary in the middle, then heavy at the end knowing that the player will never see the last two years of that deal, unless they are in the top 5 at their position. It's the players fault for signing those things. So with that the Eagles are weak at the CB position. They have two solid starters, and that is it. Hanson and James are both free agents and only Hanson is expected to be back. The Eagles need a solid nickel back to challenge both Sheldon and Lito for their position's. As I said earlier the Eagles are thought to be in the mix for Asante Samuel but that may not happen.

Targets: There are three guys I think they will be targeting. Drayton Florence, Domonique Foxworth, and newly released Fernando Bryant. I really think will end up with one if not two of these guys. They most likely will take a CB in either round 1 or 2 of this years draft.

Safeties - Its no secret the the Eagles safeties are weak. I love Brian Dawkins as pretty much everyone else does but he is on the downside of his career. He was hurt all through training camp and played poorly at times last season. Then you have Sean Considine. Played okay at best, but then got injured. Quintin Mikell is a back-up at best. They need a playmakers at both positions.

Targets: There is a young guy who could be availible on Friday that I like a lot. Atari Bigby. This guy is a hard hitting, aggressive strong safety who has nose for finding the football. Good in coverage. This is the guy besides the obivious Moss, Samuel, that I want the most. Things will have to the Eagles way in the next two days to get this guy. He is ERFA. If he is not resigned by the Packers by Friday he will hit the market as a UFA. Now if they can't get him they will get Gibril Wilson from the Giants. Word is that the Eagles are very high on getting Wilson. I do like Wilson also, but would rather go Bigby. Wilson has alot if the same qualities as Bigby but will most likely get a bigger contract. So if they get one of those guys to start right away that puts more depth at the FS spot. Consindine was drafted to play that position and Mikell can play well there. They have to draft a FS for the future this year though.

Linebackers - This is a position where they finally have some depth. Spikes, Gaither, and Gocong make a decent starting core. With the emergence of Stewart Bradley at the end of last season they look to be solid here. No immediate needs in free agency or the draft.

Defensive Tackle - Same as the LB position. The Eagles have some depth here, could use another guy though. Bunkley and Patterson make up one of the top ten DT tandems in the league. Most likely there won't be a major signing at this position. Our old friend Sam Rayburn could be a possibility.

Defensive End - Huge need for a DE. Trent Cole is as solid as they come but after that its a crap shoot. Jevon "the Turd" Kearse will be gone. There is a chance that Darren Howard could be released but that seems unlikely. His contract is big but they need the depth. The thought now is that he will be a Nickel package DT. They need address the DE position during free agency and in the draft. They most likely will use a 1st or 2nd round pick on a DE. But again, I'm not confident they can pick the right guys. They are just bad at picking this position.

Targets: The top DE out there is Justin Smith. They will have to over pay to get this guy if they want him. The Titans Travis LaBoy or Antwan Odom could be options. Both are young guys that have shown flashes that they could be good DE's in the NFL. Other then that, I honestly don't know.

As it stands right now the Eagles are in good shape going into free agency, money wise. They are 8th in cap space being $31.3M under the cap. Below are the top ten teams with the most cap space going into this seasons free agency period.

1) Jacksonville Jaguars, $46.27M
2) Tennessee Titans, $42.73M
3) Buffalo Bills, $39.61M
4) Minnesota Vikings, $35.49M

5) New Orleans Saints, $35.25M
6) Tampa Bay Buccaneers, $33.41M

7) San Francisco 49ers, $3.274M
8) Philadelphia Eagles, $31.34
9) Cincinnati Bengals, $31.21

10) Oakland Raiders, $30.59

Car accident, Smoking Pot, Getting Arrested. A night out with Eagles DT Mike Patterson.

2008-02-22T18:43:00.007-05:00

Breaking news this Friday, is that last Saturday, Eagles DT Mike Patterson was arrested for possession of Marijuana. I don't get how athletes are getting caught for weed all the time. If smoking weed is your thing fine. But stay home and do it. You shouldn't be doing it, but IF you are, why take the risk of being caught outside your home driving around with weed. Police said they found a vehicle on the side of the road with damage caused by a minor motor vehicle accident around 6 a.m. They said they smelled burning marijuana coming from inside and found Patterson and the marijuana inside. They said Patterson admitted it was his. He was charged with possession and released. So, you get into a accident and instead of getting the F out of dodge, you decide to blaze up on the spot. Riggggght. Also inside the car was Patterson's brother, Tyrone, who had several outstanding warrants for his arrest, police said. Police said he resisted arrest. His brother was charged with resisting arrest, posted bail and was released. This is the last thing the Eagles need right now. Patterson is coming off of a breakout season and was a key to the Eagles defense last season. The Eagles and NFL have not commented on the news of Patterson's arrest.

Ryan Howard Wins Arbitration, Scores $10M.

2008-02-21T16:16:00.004-05:00

Ryan Howard won his arbitration case vs. the Phillies and will be awarded with $10M this season. This is obiviously great for Howard, but the Phillies won by losing this case. In the court of public opinion they were losing ground fast in the last week. After the bad start last year, Howard has taken this offseason very serious. He showed up 5 days early looking trim. For the 5 weeks prior to showing up to Clearwater, Howard was working out with the likes of Derek Jeter, Ryan Zimmerman, and Ryan Braun. He was part of a 5 week, 7 days a week,that worked on core strength and flexibility, took batting practice, did some fielding work, and ate from a specialized training table heavy on proteins and organic fibers. Howard has said that he has dropped about 15 lbs, and is feeling great, unlike last spring. It looks like the stars could be aligning just right for Howard to have a great start.

Lito Sheppard Update.

2008-02-19T15:51:00.004-05:00

So now it seems that there is not much truth to the Lito Sheppard trade rumors, as of right now. But come on, there has to be some truth to what is going around. Derrick Gunn from Comcast Sports Net reported at 6:30 pm last night, that he talked to Lito to see if he knew what was going on and Lito said he knew nothing about this, and that he thought Derrick Gunn was trying to pull a joke on him. Then the Eagles release a statement saying that the all reports of Lito being traded are false. Now its really not so far fetched that Lito could be traded in the near future. It is now coming out that Lito is not happy with his contract and would like to redo his current contract. Lito feels he is a top 5 Corner and deserves to paid like one. Lito also told DGunn that he felt he had outperformed his current contract and was going to see if the Eagles would redo his contract or he was going to push to be traded. So basically, he knows how the Eagles work and most likely he will not get a new contract, and someone in his camp leaked this to ESPN and the NFL Network. No offense to Lito, but he is not a top 5 Cornerback, and he might not be a top 10 at this point. It is his own fault that he is where he is. The Eagles do a great job of locking up young players early, and then hope that they outperform their contracts. Thats what they do, sometimes it works, sometimes it doen't. In this case I think that they both got a good deal. When Lito signed his contract in 2004 he was given a up front bonus of $8.7M. His salary for 2004 was $9.2M. The Eagles gave him a lot of money up front then gave him less for the next 4 seasons, and loaded up the end of his contract. 2005 - $532,000, 2006 - $615,000, 2007 - $1.5M, 2008 - $2M, 2009 - $3M, 2010 - $3.7M, 2011 - $4.25M. Basically the Eagles threw Lito $9.2M when he was unproven, which is a risk, and Lito, knowing that nothing is guaranteed and he could get injured and have his career be over at anytime, took the deal. They both took a risk and the Eagles ended up winning in the deal. Not the Eagles fault. Now should they redo Lito's deal. Absoulutly not. Lito saw what Nate Clements got last year and sees what Asante Samuel is going to get this year and feels he is worth what they got. If I'm the Eagles and Lito tells me he wants a Nate Clements type deal or trade me. I'm on the phone with the Bengals. The Bengals have struggled at the Defensive Back position for the last ten years. I would offer them Lito Sheppard for Chad Johnson straight up. Then I would go after Asante Samuel or Marcus Trufant, both are better than Sheppard. I like Lito. He just takes to many chances and is always injured. If Lito wants out, I give him his wish.

Derrick Gunn Report: http://philadelphia.comcastsportsnet.com/view_content_0p.asp?ID=62496

Breaking News: Lito Sheppard given permission to seek trade.

2008-02-18T18:02:00.005-05:00

This is big news in many ways. The NFL Network, and ESPN are reporting the Eagles have given Cornerback Lito Sheppard permission to talk with other teams about a possible trade. Sheppard has been played one full season in his NFL career, and has been plagued by injuries. When on the field Sheppard is a great corner but he tends to take alot of chances. So now we are starting to get a better idea of where they are going to go during the off-season. The Eagles are already set to lose Josello Hanson, Will James, and JR Reed. There is a clear need for depth at the Defensive Back position. Already people are speculating that the Eagles will be making an attempt at getting Free Agent CB Asante Samuel. Samuel is one of the top five CB's in the league and will be demanding big money. Last season Nate Clements was made the highest paid defensive player in NFL history after being given a 8yr/$80M contract with $22M guaranteed money. So expect Samuel to demand at least that. This also could mean that they will draft a CB in the 1st or 2nd round in this years draft.

Shenanigans!! Kyle Kendrick gets Punk'D.

2008-02-18T06:28:00.001-05:00

"To Jimmy Rollins: We are the team to beat."

2008-02-16T18:13:00.025-05:00

Well Carlos Beltran has officially started the war vs. the Mets for this year. The first thing out of over paid Center Fielder's mouth was, "To Jimmy Rollins: We are the team to beat." Its funny he wasn't talking all that smack till they picked up Johan Santana. Now he feels a little tougher to come out and start taking shots, which is fine, and time will tell who steps up to the plate this season. But we all remember the most historic collapse of the 2007 Mets. It was so great. Remember. Remember Paul Lo Dookie saying something about, we will see who wins in the end. Its about time someone in that clubhouse got a set of balls to speak up. Their biggest problem is that there is nobody in that clubhouse who will step up and be the leader. But if Beltran wants that role, good luck. And even with Beltran proclaiming, "We are the team to beat.", at least come up with something new. Its like when you call someone an idiot, and they go I'm not an idiot your an idiot. Hes got the come back skills of George Constanza. Seinfeld fans got it. "The jerk store called they're running out of you." Then to boot, his teammates aren't even backing him up. Third baseman David Wright said, "I've said all along, I have the utmost confidence in this team to win, But just personally, I don't feel the need to declare anything. Talk is cheap when you're talking about February." Basically he told Carlos Beltran to STF. So with that I was able to dig up every horrible NY newspaper cover I could, so we could rejoice again in last seasons epic COLLAPSE. We have about two more months to ride this out.

It makes me laugh. If you would like to see full pictures of these newspapers just do a quick Google Image Search for: METS COLLAPSE or METS NY POST.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/wires/02/16/2010.ap.bbn.mets.beltran.s.boast.0946/

The Philadelphia Eagles Offseason - Part 2 -UPDATED

2008-02-14T16:13:00.010-05:00

So as the Eagles go into Free Agency they have some area's that need some serious attention. But the only problem is that this is not a deep free agency class. There are a couple of big name guys, that will get huge contracts from teams with more money. But after that there isn't much. So I'm going to into this in the way I think the Eagles will go. Not really what I want them to do, but what I think they will do. The Eagles need some major retooling this offseason, an down the line they are going to need help at almost every position. Let's start on offense.

Quarterback - I really believe that Donovan McNabb will return to normal. He will be the starting QB next season barring someone offering the Eagles at least two first round picks, and/or him getting injured which is very much possible. The Eagles honestly think that they are a couple of players away from being a true contender. I'm not so much a believer of that. With that don't expect to see a Kevin Kolb appearence just yet.

Running Back - Brian Westbrook is the franchise right now. Bottom line. He goes out for a significant amount of time, and the Eagles are in trouble. I love Westbrook but he is fragile. The fact that he didn't practice at all last season says a lot. He's probably got about 2-3 years left in the tank. As far as his back-ups ago, we still have Buckhalter as the number 2 and then we have Tony Hunt, who had ten carries last season and did not smell the field in the last seven games. It's infuriating how little that they play their young players. Had they given Winston Justice some play his rookie season we might have been able to avoid that debacle vs. the Giants last season. Bottomline, the Eagles should think about shifting some of Westbrook's load towards Hunt this season.

Wide Recievers - Most people are in agreement, with the exception of the Eagles front office and Howard Eskin, that the Eagles need to upgrade at WR. Kevin Curtis is a good WR but not a number 1. Reggie Brown just is not a good wide out. He's okay at best. He doesn't do anything great, but everything average. Thats about it. Don't give me Hank Baskett. He was a nice story his rookie season but he struggled last year, and doesn't seem have as much upside any more. Then you have Greg Lewis. Don't get me started on Greg Lewis. I would be here all day. So as usual, the Eagles need a solid number 1 WR.

Tight End - They actually have some depth here for this season. But they need to think about the future this season. If healthy, LJ Smith will have a very good season but he is not the future anymore. With the Eagles signing Smith, they must not think to much of Brent Celek. Celek is a decent TE, but more of a back up. They need a big playmaking TE. Like a Shockey, Gates, or Olsen type. I think they may let Schobel go, and add another TE.

Offensive Line - The Eagles O-Line is getting old fast. Jon Runyan and William Thomas are on the downside of their careers and will be Free Agents in 2009. It is time to start getting ready for them to be gone. We saw last season after Winston Justice got man handled by the Giants that they really need to start planning for the future. Herrimans, and Jackson both had rough seasons, and we really need to see what Max-Jean Gilles has. Expect them to sign a solid guard and tackle.

So as much as they want you to think they are as good as any team that was in the playoffs this past season, they are far from it. They are getting old fast, and this is going to be the last run with this core of players. Now let's look at who they will target on Offense.

Ben Utecht, TE - I know that I said they have good depth there but I think that Schobel could be cut, and Utecht would be nice 2nd or 3rd TE.

Ernest Wilford, WR - He is a poorman's Plaxico Burress. Big, Physical, good hands, but lacks big play ability. Also seems to disappear at times. That could be cause he played for the run happy Jaguars though. Has upside, if he isn't asking for much I would not be surprised to see the Eagles go after him.

Marty Booker, WR - Just got cut by the Dolphins. Veteran WR that has big play ability, good size, and is physical. I think they could get him on the cheap, which is what the Eagles love to do. Probably not the Eagles first choice but could be an option.

Randy Moss, WR - I don't really need to explain why they would target Randy Moss. ESPN's Chris Mortenson reported that if Moss hits the market the Eagles will offer him a $40M deal on the first day. The Patriots have 7 days from today to designate their franchise player, most likely it will be Moss.

Alan Faneca, G - Faneca is finally getting his wish to hit the free agent market. I think the Eagles might go down this road. Faneca is 31, but should have another good 5 years left and he is one of the top guards in the NFL.

Mushin Muhammad, WR - Mushin Muhammad was released on Monday, and I could see the Eagles being interested. Veteran guy. Big Physical. Could be an option.

Phillies sign Anna Benson, and Spring Training has started.

2008-02-14T15:40:00.008-05:00

I know everyone was hoping this would happen and finally, it happened. The Phillies signed pitcher Kris Benson to a minor league deal, and asked him to join the team in Clearwater. Now the signing is all fine and good but the best part about Benson is his semi-famous wife, Anna Benson. She's graced the cover of FHM and Sporting News, and also was on the Howard Stern show. While on the Howard Stern Show she told Howard that if Kris ever cheated her, she would sleep with all his teammates. Damn. In the words of Eric B. and Rakim, she ain't no joke. She's super hot and maybe she'll up our standing as the US's ugliest city. I was listening to the Morning Show on 610, and Keith Jones had a great line. He said, " I'm pulling for Kris Benson to make the team, and I'll be pulling for Anna Benson also." I thought it was funny.

Pitchers and Catchers reported to Clearwater today along with some other players who have already been working out in Clearwater. Pat Burrell and Chase Utley were already in Clearwater training today when Pitchers and Catchers reported, but there was bigger surprise when Ryan Howard showed up. It really shows his class when he shows up a week early even though is in a battle with the front office. It's good to see that the core players are serious about another run this season.

The Philadelphia Eagles Offseason - Part 1.

2008-02-12T19:53:00.001-05:00

The NFL Offseason has officially begun with teams franchising players and teams cutting dead weight. The Eagles have started by tagging TE L.J. Smith for what looks to be a 1 year/$4.5M a year contract. When the free agency period begins on Feb. 29th the Eagles will be about $17.17M under the cap. The cap in 2008 will be raised to $116M, up from $109M in 2007. The Eagles don't have a lot of money to play with this offseason which isn't all that bad cause there really isn't much out there. Asante Samuel, Lance Briggs, Randy Moss head the list of big name free agents. Randy Moss almost surely will be hit with the franchise tag so you can stop wishing for him right now. As far as the Eagles go, they really don't have a lot of players hitting the free agent market. And most the guys that they are losing, will still be on the free agent market come September. Most notable free agents, Reno Mahe, JR Reed, Jasello Hanson, and William James. Are you losing sleep over losing any of those guys. Didn't think so. Below is a list of important dates for the offseason.

February 7 - Commencement of 15-day designation period for Franchise and Transition Players

February 20-26 - NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana

February 21 - Deadline for teams to designate Franchise and Transition Players

February 28 - Deadline for submission of Qualifying Offers by teams to their Restricted Free Agents whose contracts have expired and to whom they desire to retain a Right of First Refulsal/Compensation

February 29 - Start of Free Agency and Trading period

March 17 - Begin Offseason Workout Programs

April 18 - Deadline for signing of Offer Sheets by Restricted Free Agents

April 25 - Deadline for old team to exercise Right of First Refusal to Restricted Free Agents

April 26-27 - NFL Draft in New York City

May 19-21 - NFL Spring Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia

July - All teams begin Training Camp

Coming next, Part 2:

Looking at the Eagles needs, and who they might target in free agency.

The Benchwarmers: The Story of the Eagles 2007 Class.

2008-02-08T17:12:00.002-05:00

With the draft being about 78 days away, I think its time to reflect on last years draft picks, and in the coming weeks look into the future. With the Giants having their rookies making big contributions during the playoffs and a lot of rookies getting major playing time this past season there has been a lot of talk about the Eagles philosophy to not play rookies a whole lot. There are a lot of people that are acting like this is something new from the Eagles, but this has been a common theme in the Reid era since the beginning. They are stubborn in their ways from top to bottom. From not negoiating with players who want to redo contracts to there inability to admit a mistake. From the same boring press conferences where Reid reveals nothing about anything to them signing medoicre unproven players to 7 year deals. Do I need to go any further?

Its the same song and dance every friggin year, and this is coming from someone who actually likes Andy Reid. He just needs to be a little less selfish and maybe rely on some outside help sometimes. Maybe shake things up a little bit every now and then. Maybe lets say, let your rookies get some playing time so you can determine whether you A) have somebody who could be a starter or B) be a bust. Like right now, the Eagles as usual, need another DE. For a team who preaches every year that games are won on the line, they sure do a horrible job of making a good line. So, Jevon Kearse's career is pretty much over. Darren Howard has been average at best. We know that Trent Cole is solid but after that, there is a clear question mark. Now last season they draft Victor Abiamiri in the 2nd round. Now you would think with the question marks that you have in that area, and the fact that you are not going to the playoffs, which they knew in about week 13 or 14, wouldn't you give the kid a shot for at least 1 game or more, just to see what you have. Abiamiri ended the season with 3 tackles and did not play a full quarter worth of time the entire season. What is the logic behind this? If you can tell me please do? What would it hurt to let the guy play. You could have the next Clyde Simmions, but you'll never know cause the coach does not give his player the oppourtunity to prove himself. I don't want to hear that the playbook is difficult or any other lame excuse that Reid brings to the table. Thats bull. Your team was not going to the playoffs and DE is not the hardest position in that defense. Its not MLB. I can name at least 5 guys who had the same level of talent as Abiamiri, that started games, played in playoff games, and had huge impact's in games this season. Did they make mistakes, sure, but their good plays out weighed their bad plays. And now those teams know what they have.

The Giants, just for example. They know that they have found a back to compilment Jacobs with Ahmed Bradshaw. They have a new solid possession reciever in Steve Smith. They now know that Jeremy Shockey is espendable. They now know they have a solid shut down CB in Aaron Ross, and a decent Safety in Michael Johnson. Do you see where I'm getting at. Going into this years draft, and free agency, the Giants have a lot questions answered for them by playing young players. Back to the Eagles. Next up to bat, Tony Hunt. I'm sure you were as happy as I was when I heard that the Eagles drafted a big back who can pound the rock. But we won't know if he can pound the rock in the big league cause Reid refused to let Hunt play. Hunt had 10 carries for 16 yards on the season. 10 carries. 4 carries came late in that blow out game vs. the Lions. I mean are you serious. Brian Westbrook is the Eagles offense but I think I've seen enough of Correll Buckhalter. We know what he brings to the table, and no offence to Buck, its not much. He has heart and a good motor.

But again how are you going to know what you have if you don't give guys the oppurtunity to play. Hunt did not even get one carry in the last 7 games of the season. Hunt, we thought, was going to be the big back we've waiting for, false. Again if I hear that the playbook is complex I'm going to smack somebody. YOU ARE NOT GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS. Here's the play. McNabb calls hike, he hands Hunt the ball, the O-Line blocks, Hunt runs. Wow, hard. Next up, Stewart Bradley. We saw at the end of the season that it looks like he could be a good player. If it wasn't for the lack of depth at LB we would not even be talking about Bradley. I don't have much to say about him, except he should be competing for a starting job next season. Next, Brent Celek. Celek got a lot of playing time but did not get many looks from McNabb. He has potential, but with the franchise tagging of L.J. Smith, that tells me that Reid doesn't love what he sees. I'm not going to go into the Kolb situation cause thats a whole different topic. So as excited as I am about this years draft, I always get sucked into thinking that this year will be different and that the Eagles rookies will actually get some playing time. And every year I'm sadly disappointed.

Eagles put Tag on L.J. Smith.

2008-02-07T20:06:00.000-05:00

The Eagles have decided to put the Franchise Tag on L.J. Smith. The Eagles currently have a question mark at the Tight End position with Smith coming off a injury plagued season, and second year TE Brent Celek still being very much an unproven player. There was a clear hole at the TE position last year that needs to seriously be addressed. As far as tagging Smith it is a win-win situation for both parties for the 2008 season not so much the future. The Eagles will not have to pay Smith much and in return if healthy, he will be the starter and add depth. Smith on the other hand will get another chance to market himself after the horrible season he went through in 2007. If L.J. Smith is offered a contract by any team this season the Eagles have the option to match the offer or if they lose Smith get two first round draft picks in return. Now, if the Eagles do not make smart decisions this off season at the TE position it will haunt them down the line in 2009 and the years after. It took the Eagles about two seasons to bring Smith along when he was drafted. So they need make a decision and find out if Celek is the TE of their future or draft another this spring. Which probaly won't happen cause that would take the Eagles management admitting that they made a bad decision, and we know how much they like admiting mistakes. With that there is some talent at the TE position in this years draft. They should take a long look at USC's Fred Davis, and Texas A&M's Martellus Bennett.

Its a Philly thing. Sixers box office woes.

2008-02-06T20:07:00.000-05:00

In case you haven't noticed, which I really don't expect anybody to, the Sixers are hurting bad with attendance. The Sixers are in the bottom of barrell ranking 27th out 30 teams. As of now they have not had a single sell out, and the biggest attendance they've had thus far was on opening night getting about 19,000 to attend. I knew the Sixers were going to be hurting with attendance this season when I was approached the Saturday before opening night. Here's how it went down and how desperate the Sixers were and still are. This young woman approaches me and my soon to be wife at the time. She's staring me down from about 10 ft and it was a little awkward. I was like, dude I'm with my chick. With this bubbley, ditsy voice she starts giving the cheeseist pitch ever. "Hey, Do you like sports?" I was wearing an Eagles hat, so yes I obiviously like sports. Yes I do. "Well theres this little team, the Sixers, have you heard of them? It was just so awkward. She was actually asking me if I have heard of the Sixers. I really couldn't believe what was happening. I thought I was being Punk'd. "Yes I know who they are." Then she hands me a stack of about 300 tickets. "Check'em out." Wow. These are tickets to, what did you call them, "the Sixers." "We are having a great deal right now, buy one get one free lower level seats." Any other time I would have jumped on that but I was getting married in 2 weeks and just didn't have the time to squeeze in a Sixers game. So I told her no thanks and tryed to hand the tickets back but she refused to take them. "what you don't like basketball?" She was questioning my fanhood, in front of my lady. What the fuck? No I love basketball, then I proceeded to tell her that I was getting married, and with this smurk and fake laugh she say's, "oh I'm sorry to hear that." Now mind you, it didn't bother me so much, but that shit was not flying with my wife. I for sure thought this chick was going to get punched "What did you say?" my wife says to the Sixers chick. The Sixers chick sensed the danger quickly,"I was just kidding.", grabbed the tickets and bounced. So what I got from this was that the Sixers must really be desperate to send out some lame ass chick with the worst sale pitch ever. So as of right now the Sixers are struggling to get people to come to games, they are hitting the promotions hard. Some are okay, but most are just lame. If you haven't seen the commercial for the Guys Night Out deal, man, I'm rushing to get in on that deal. I mean you do get an autographed Sixers Dancers poster, thats got to be worth, like a dollar or two. I would frame it, and hang it up in my living room. My wife would love that. Family Fridays (4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, 4 sodas for $99) - Got kids? Not such a bad deal. All You Can Eat (upper-level ticket, all the hot dogs, soft drinks, popcorn, chips, and salsa you want for $31) - They'll keep you busy eating, cause you won't be seeing the game from where your sitting. The last sign of the desperate times, the Sixer will most likely be playing a game in the Spectrum. According to a report that first appeared in Monday's Delaware County Daily Times, the Sixers are thinking about moving their March 22 game against the Nets across the street from the Wachovia Center, which opened in "96, to the Spectrum. Not such a bad idea. They will be knocking the Spectrum down probablly within the next year and this would be one last hoorah. Well not really hoorah. More like a hooahhhh. The Sixers are just that bad. Oh well, here's to the future.

Some other great promotions that you really should think about getting tickets for.

Guys Night Out (4 lower-level tickets, 4 domestic beers, 4 hot dogs, 4 Holt's Cigar passes, and 4 autographed Sixers Dancers posters for $149). - They stole this from the Heat. Probably the best deal, but I'm not rushing out to get in on this horrible promotion. Are you?

Prom Night. The only thing that would make this Prom Night promotion good is if at halftime they brought the team out to center court, then dumped buckets of pigs blood on them. Then have the

Wachovia Center burst into flames. If you've got a taste for terror.....take Carrie to a Sixers game.

Sci-Fi Night. Great combo. Basketball. and Sci-Fi. Rigggggght. Oh, and remember: next Friday... is Hawaiian shirt day. So, you know, if you want to, go ahead and wear a Hawaiian shirt and jeans. That'd be nice. Thannnnks.

2007-08 Promotional Schedule

Thursday, Feb. 7
Miami Heat
Gatorade Battle of the Bands

Saturday, Feb 9
Los Angeles Clippers
Teddy Bears Scout Night

Monday, Feb. 11
Dallas Mavericks
Magee Spokesman

Wednesday, Feb. 13
Memphis Grizzlies
Mr. Potato Head Giveaway courtesy of Gatorade, '83 Tribute Night, Dollar Dog Night
Mark Iavaroni and Franklin Edwards will be honored

Wednesday, Feb. 20
New York Knicks
"Gamble & Huff's Sound of Philly" Anthem ,Clash of the Choirs,
Musiq Soul Child will be honored.

Wednesday, Feb. 27
Orlando Magic
La Liga Gatorade Battle of the Bands

Friday, Mar. 7
Seattle Sonics
Faith and Family Gospel, Read for Ronald

Monday, Mar. 10
Boston Celtics
Rally Towels Giveaway, '83 Tribute Night, Dollar Dog Night, MASH Theme

Saturday, Mar. 15
San Antonio Spurs
Prom Night

Wednesday, Mar. 19
Denver Nuggets
Rally Rackets Giveaway courtesy of Chevy

Saturday, Mar. 22
New Jersey Nets
Sci-Fi Night, Filippino Heritage Night

Friday, Mar. 28
Phoenix Suns
Book Drive, Gatorade Battle of the Bands

Saturday, April 5
Atlanta Hawks
Kids Appreciation/ Hip-Hop's Birthday, Gatorade Battle of the Bands

Friday, April 12

Indiana Pacers
Faith & Family Post-game ,Christian Rock Concert, Tribute to Dance, Sixers Neighborhood Basketball League,
Singer Jeremy Camp will perform after the game.

Monday, April 14
Cleveland Cavaliers
Fan Appreciation Night
All Giveaway All the Time; Jerseys Off the Back

I really like the MASH theme. Umm, MASH. It's 2008 right. Okay just checking.

Pat Gillick is the worst GM; Schilling re-signs w/BoSox

2007-11-06T10:36:00.000-05:00

I'm going to start by saying, I hate Pat Gillick. Always have and always will. I never liked him, even before he came to the Phillies. He's a primitive GM. He's stuck in the 80's with the way he thinks about building a baseball team. He's a caveman. Thank god this will be his last season as GM, cause I can't take another 3 years of this crap. My feelings for Gillick erupted after I read the Philly.com article this morning. "I don't know that [third base] is going to be addressed," Pat Gillick said as the annual general manager meetings got under way yesterday at the posh Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress resort. "We'll go with [Wes] Helms and [Greg] Dobbs. Because we're going to concentrate on pitching. If we go in any direction, we're going to concentrate on pitching.'' Greatttt. This numb nuts can't figure out a way to get a little bit of an upgrade at 3B. That's his job. Instead we get another season to watch that bum Helms fumble around third base. This just boggles my mind. I understand the need for pitching but, there is an immediate need at 3B also. And at this point do you trust Pat Gillick with making any trades or signings for this team. He was handed the team that we have right now. All the good things* you like about the Phillies come from Ed Wade. Not Gillick. He's a smug old fart. We need some new blood in the front office. Someone along the lines of a Theo Epstein or Billy Beane type. That will think outside the box, not some old hack GM who is 15 years past his prime. But we all know that the job probably will be gift wrapped and handed to Ruben Amaro Jr. Another thing, Curt Schilling re-signed with Red Sox for $8M. Schilling said he was contacted by several teams and at the time would not specify who they were. Today we found out who didn't contact him. And guess who did not make the effort to talk to Schill. You got it, Pat Gillick.

Q: Have you heard from Pat or Ruben?
A: I have not, no.

Schilling Interview.

This is what bothers me. Schilling was in Philadelphia for 2 days this past weekend. He hosted a golf tournament, he watched the Eagles-Cowboys game with Jeffery Lurie and Gillick didn't give any effort to reach out to Schilling. As much as he says he wanted to stay in Boston, Schill liked the idea of being on the Phillies. At least make the effort. They did not even call him to see what he was looking to get. The Sox signed him for $8M. You can't tell me, if Gillick had offered him $11M with some bonus' totaling $2M-$3M, he wouldn't sign here. That's crap. Just try, give some damn effort.

*Except Aaron Rowand. Doesn't matter cause he will not be in Philly this season.

The Philadelphia Eagles: The Abusive Spouse

2007-11-05T14:56:00.000-05:00

It's good when they win, but man is it bad when they lose, especially to the Cowboys. But those are the rules of being a fan. You have to stick by rou team through thick and thin. When McNabb was throwing 5 TD's on a broken leg he was a god, when he's having a bad season or a couple of bad games, images of Bobby Hoying and others come flooding into your brain. I will say, McNabb is not the only thing wrong with this team right now. As Andy Reid said in his press conference today, everybody has a piece of the pie when it comes to the Eagles awful play, not just the QB. It is hard to watch an end of something great. That's truly what this is. It's probably one of the greatest runs of any Eagles teams, and sadly its almost over. What makes it harder is that everyone knows its the end, except for the people its actually happening to. And if you don't think its the end of an era, you're in denial. Which I honestly have no problem with. But its Reid, the management, and most of the players that just don't realize it yet. That's not their fault though. They actually think if they tinker with this and adjust that, poof, they will be on their way to the playoffs. In the word's of Ross Perot via Dana Carvey, "Not gonna happen." The team is getting older with every passing minute. I never thought I would say this, but I honestly think Brian Dawkins should be a back-up at this point. I love Dawk, everybody loves Dawk, but his play is in a tailspin. Missing tackles, out of position defending the pass, and last night he just seemed to disappear. It's all very sad. And it is hard to cut your loss' sometimes, but at the end of this season, its time to snip away. The only problem with what this team is doing right now is if the Eagles win next week when they play the Redskins, there will be some who will believe that the season still can be saved, but they will continue to be disappointed. Being an Eagles fan the only way I can think to describe this relationship is that of an abusive spouse. The spouse who gets smacked one day, then told that they are loved the next. Then the next week, smack. At this moment we are currently being smacked, and if the Birds win next week everybody will get their hopes up thinking they'll never be smacked again only to be disappointed with a sudden kick to the shin. At the moment I'm seperated. I love the Eagles but will not fall into the trap. To me its over and time to start the rebuilding. Now how and where do you start, I don't know. But I know having a top ten draft pick sure would help.

Eagles vs. Cowboys Preview.

2007-11-01T14:58:00.000-05:00

As this weekends game approaches all the talk has been about how the Eagles might be able win, I'm not totally sold yet but I am leaning towards the Birds, and more or less about Tony Romo's contract. Add in Andy Reid's family problems, and there has been little T.O. talk. Not that he isn't trying to get the attention. He has said this week that him and Donovan have cleared the air, which Donovan confirmed, and that he's looking forward to playing in front of Philly fans again. As far as the game goes, I really am starting to believe that the Eagles can beat the Cowboys. The Cowboys have been getting a slow start in games this season but Tony Romo is red hot in the third quarter, which I will show in later on in this preview. The Eagles have to get going early, keep the Cowboys offense cold, and create turnovers. Bottom line, create turnovers. If the defense can contain Romo in the pocket and not let him roll out and create plays, the turnovers will come to them.

Philly Fans do the T.O (OD) Chant. You might not have heard it if you were watching on TV, but it was a classic moment.

Some stats and stuff I found to be interesting. NFL Rank in parenthesis.

Cowboys Pass Def. : 208.9 ypg (13)
Eagles Pass Def. : 210.3 (15)

Cowboys Run Def. : 87.0 (5) , 3.6 ypc
Eagles Run Def. : 90.4 (8) , 3.7 ypc

Cowboys PPG Allowed : 22.6 (21)
Eagles PPG Allowed : 16.7 (7)

Cowboys Int. : 10 (6), Forced Fumbles : 8 (13)
Eagles Int. : 5 (25), Forced Fumbles : 3 (30)

The Cowboys and Eagles are really close defensively, except when it comes to turnovers. The Eagles have only 5 picks, and have forced only 3 fumbles the whole season, 3rd worst in the NFL. I did hear on WIP that the Eagles were practicing stripping the ball all week during practice so hopefully that pays off this Sunday.

Now I will put my attention on Tony Romo and Donovan McNabb. They will be the keys to winning this game. More Romo then McNabb though. I will start with the generic, Romo has 9 ints this season which is bad compared to McNabb's 2. But Romo takes more chances kind of like Brett Favre. McNabb will not make a throw unless his WR is open. The Eagles allow the 2nd most sacks in the NFL with 27. The Cowboys are the second highest scoring team in the NFL scoring 32.4 ppg.

1st half QB rating : Romo: 78.6
1st half QB rating: McNabb: 107.4

2nd half QB rating: Romo: 118.8
2nd half QB rating: McNabb: 72.8

QB rating inside the opp 20: Romo: 85.1
QB rating inside the opp 20: McNabb: 84.8

QB Rating away: Romo: 75.3
QB rating home: McNabb: 106.1

3rd & 8+yds : Romo: 24%
3rd & 8+yds: McNabb: 18%

Basically after looking at this it shows McNabb plays very good at home. It also shows he has poor second half's though. As for Romo, he struggles a little bit on the road, but at halftime seems to make the right adjustments to come our firing. Now here is the part that blew me away.

Tony Romo's 3rd Quarter Stats

39 of 62, 612 yds, 65% completion percentage
15.7 YPP
8 TD passes. First in the NFL.
0 Interceptions. First in the NFL.
152.1 QB rating. First in the NFL.

The Cowboys are probably the best 3rd quarter team in the NFL right now, so the Eagles need to come out after halftime and contain Tony Romo.

Eagles vs. Vikings - Episode II: Attack of the Clones.

2007-10-24T12:36:00.001-05:00

Attack of the clones is not far from the truth. These two teams are almost a mirror image of each other. And really it shouldn't be surprising. Having Brad Childress and student of the school of Big Red. The Eagles are favored by 1 in this game which is surprising to some considering they have not covered a single game this season. The Vikings are not favored I believe because of how close these teams are in what they do, and the fact that Vikings may have pulled out all stops to win last weeks game vs. the Cowboys but came up short by ten. As an Eagles fan, I really have no faith in them at all right now. I pray and hope they win but I would not bet a dime on it. They should win this game, but they also should have won at least two other games this season. The keys to the Eagles winning this game. Number one is that they have to force some turnovers and let the offense start with the ball on the Vikings side of the field. The Vikings do have a turnover ratio of +8 which is not good for the Eagles. The Eagles are a +1. The second and most obvious thing is, contain Adrian Peterson. It is that simple. Next is pass the ball early and often to soften the defense so Brian Westbrook has room to run. Also it wouldn't hurt to give Buckhalter some more carries. Oh yea and execute in the red zone which is a whole other problem. I was able to dig up some stats I thought were interesting. Another factor that is not getting talked about to much this week is that Brad Childress ran the Eagles offense for 6 seasons. He knows the weakness' in the offense and in McNabb. Expect him to have a good game plan against the birds.

NFL rank in parenthesis.

Vikings Def. vs. Run: 76.5 ypg (4th) Rush TD's Allowed: 1 (1st) YPC: 3.0 (2nd)
Eagles Def. vs. Run: 88.0 ypg (8th) Rush TD's Allowed: 2 (2nd) YPC: 3.7 (9th)

Vikings Def. vs. Pass: 282.5 (32nd)
Eagles Def. vs. Pass: 220.2 (18th)

These teams are almost dead even on paper with the Eagles taking the edge against the pass. With that the Viking do have a TO ratio of +8 to the Eagles mediocre +1.

Rushing Yards on 1st & 10

Adrian Peterson, Min: 300 yds (1st)
Brian Westbrook, Phi: 283 yds (2nd)

I thought that was telling. As much as people cry for the Eagles to run the ball, they are ranked second only to the Vikings on 1st and 10.

Games on Turf

Buckhalter, Phi: 21 carries for 126 yards at 6 YPC (2nd-t)
Westbrook, Phi: 20 carries for 120 yards at 6 YPC (2nd-t)
Peterson, Min: 63 carries for 344 yards at 5.5 YPC (5th)

Both of these teams are extremely well on turf. The Eagles backs sitting at 6 YPC is very good, with Peterson having an amazing 5.5 YPC with 20 more carries.

YPC in 1st half of games

Peterson, Min: 54 carries for 367 yards at 6.8 YPC (2nd)
Westbrook, Phi: 49 carries for 312 yards at 6.4 YPC (3rd)
Buckhalter, Phi: 23 carries for 142 yards at 6.2 YPC (4th)

YPC in 2nd half of games

Peterson, Min: 54 carries for 303 yards at 5.6 YPC (3rd)
Westbrook, Phi: 40 carries for 178 yards at 4.5 YPC (14th)
Buckhalter does not make the list.

At this point Peterson has run for exactly 54 carries in the 1st and 2nd halfs of his games this season. He is dominant in the first half, while his YPC carry drops 1.3 yards in the second half which really is not bad at all. Westbrook on the other hand drops almost 2 yards from 1st half to 2nd half. Still, that's not bad. Again it appears the Eagles and Vikings are almost the same team on paper. You may say we have the edge at QB, but after you look at McNabb's QB rating during away games you might say they are even at QB.

What I thought was interesting.

McNabb's QB rating: at home: 106.1 (4th) away: 69.4 (24th)

McNabb's completion %: inside the 20: 40% (28th) inside the 10: 20% (32nd)

Wow. Once the Eagles get into the red zone they really do fall apart. I mean 20% inside the 10 yard line. Add to that the fact that he is not playing well on the road, and it could be another long day for the birds. Now keep in mind the Eagles WR's tend to drop the ball in the red zone. See Reggie Brown.

Eagles vs. Vikings - Episode One: The Hairless Menace

2007-10-24T11:05:00.000-05:00

This week the Eagles will be traveling to Minnesota to face an old friend now turned foe, Brad Childress. With this match up against and old friend, it is taking a back seat in the news to the Eagles inability to do anything really good these days. With the thoughts of facing off against Childress I started to think of some great battles in history, where friends turned into enemies. Now obviously there is no animosity between Big Red and Childress but there is nothing like the challenge of trying to whoop on your mentor or your student. Now there are the obvious recent football battles like Bill Belichick vs. Bill Parcells or Eric Mangini that come to mind first when thinking of battles between coaches, but I want to turn to cinema for this. What are the top 5, friends turned into enemies movies of all time. Now this was, and is harder than it sounds. Cause finding movies were there were two people who were either friends, or had a student teacher relationship which in the future turned them against each other is not easy. Now I just stared at my DVD collection for about 5 minutes and was able to pull out five movies that I thought fit this criteria the best. You may not agree but oh well.

5) Star Wars III: The Revenge of the Sith - This was the obvious choice for the student vs. teacher category. Personally I like all the Star Wars movies except for the corny Phantom Menace one. But watching Anakin turn into a scitzofrantic sociopath right before your eyes was cool. Then add in the fact that he got his ass handed to him by OG Obi Wan was pretty sweet. Especially after Anakin was talking smack the whole time.

4) Gangs of New York - When I was thinking about at first I didn't think that this fell into the category cause Vallon hated Bill the Butcher from day one. But I remembered that Vallon started to kind of like Bill for a moment but then tried to off him which failed miserably. Great fights, and good movie overall.

3) Training Day - Again Alonzo knew the whole time he was going to use Hoyt, but Hoyt didn't know that. He thought he was being trained by the best NARC in the city. In turn he was being set up, so Alonzo could rob a drug dealer for $1M. Again great movie. With a great shoot out scene in a small cramped apartment in Compton.

2) Fight Club - A crazy insomniac, played by Edward Norton, meets a soap salesman named Tyler Durden and they become inseparable. In fact, they were never inseparable at all, cause they were the same damn person. Great all around movie with Ed Norton in thee end shooting himself in the face to kill his split personality, Tyler Durden. It worked.

1) Kill Bill - Now for this movie I was going to say the Bride vs. Bill, but the Bride vs. Oren was the best fight out of the whole movie. So either way it works. She was originally friends with all the people she killed. But that fight scene in the snow with the blood and the yellow suit was just bad ass.

Mike Lowell raising his stock in post season.

2007-10-24T10:24:00.000-05:00

Mike Lowell is playing as well as anybody this post season. With that he is raising his stock for being the best all around third baseman on the market excluding A-Rod of course. His defense is lights out and hitting and getting on base consistently. Teams can expect to pay $10M-$12M per year over at least a three year span for his services. Now will the Phillies step up to the plate. I wouldn't bet on it. They will probably trade for an average third baseman that is a slight upgrade from Nunez. Joe Crede or Garrett Atkins have been rumored, which would be better then Nunez or Helms at this point.

Mike Lowell's Post season numbers through ten games.

11 RBI, 3BB, 3 SO, BA .333, OBP .369, SLG .533

While I was in the John....

2007-10-18T07:05:00.000-05:00

I'm going to start a new weekly segment thing here where I bring some old crap or a gem or two from old issues of the Sporting News and Sports Illustrated. Of course involving Philadelphia sports stories only. So I went to the bathroom to ummm, take care of business, and was looking through my collection of SN and SI's that are in my magazine bin. I came across a issue of SI from May 2, 2005. It was the 2005 draft review. Nice. I love reviewing past drafts and seeing who's doing well and who's been locked up for making it rain on strippers then slapping them silly for thinking that they could actually keep any of the money they were showered with. Silly Ho's. I know I just rambled like crazy. But anytime I can bring up making it rain with Pacman, I just have to. So anyway. I was flipping through and came across a segment, Winners and Losers. As soon as I read it, I knew I would find the Eagles as the winners. In every draft for the past 5 years they have been known as winners. As I read the list of winners; Cowboys, Dolphins, Cardinals, Browns, ah, here we are the Eagles. With every word of this 40 word piece of crap I read I just had to cringe. Here it is. EAGLES: I love the way they chose solid performers rather than workout warriors. I'm talking about USC defensive tackle Mike Patterson, only 5'11 but what a motor; outside linebacker Matt McCoy of San Diego State; free safety Sean Considine of Iowa; and running back Ryan Moats of Louisiana Tech, (and I quote) a Brian Westbrook clone. Cue the laugh track for that one. Where to start. Of course its easy to rip this to pieces 2 years later, but that's the fun of it. The first line alone is enuff to make he heave. " I love the way they choose solid performers". I'm leaving more solid performers in my toilet than they chose in this draft. Let's start with Mike Patterson. As of right now he is an average DT. Probably worth a third round pick. And they probably could have gotten him there. That's the one problem with the Eagles. They pride themselves on being so much smarter then everybody else. Picking players 2 rounds before they should and acting like they got a steal. News flash, Mike Patterson at 31st is not a fucking steal. He's a $5 DVD of a movie you kind of like but not sure if its worth the $5 in the bin at Walmart. You ponder for a minute, end up buying it, thinking the whole time your waiting in that long ass line that this really isn't worth the $5. Then you go home a little excited, watch it, and then realize you could have used that $5 for something much better. Next, Reggie Brown. If I hear Howard Eskin say one more time that he's a "nice" receiver, I will murder a small defenseless animal. I know better then to listen to Howard but I like to be annoyed sometimes. Reggie Brown is below average at best. He only catches a pass when hes got two steps on a DB and that's so rare cause he runs like he's in friggin quick sand. I have never seen anybody move so fast and get nowhere. Its horrible. Again, below average at best. Here's the next gem in the second round. With the 63rd pick in the 2005 draft, the Philadelphia Eagles select, Midget Linebacker who gets run over on a consistent basis, Matt McCoy. See my review of the Eagles-Colts game from last season to see how I feel about this turd. Next, the Brian Westbrook clone. That is the biggest insult to Westbrook I've ever heard, and I think BWest deserves an apology for being linked to this bum. Ryan Moats. I know he's thanking god every day that he blew out his knee this summer cause he would have ended up being a substitute teacher in some high school Louisiana. Horrible. With the first pick of the fourth round the Eagles select a lanky white safety. Woo Hoo. Sean Considine. Alright, I will give him this, he is having a okay season right now. Okay, not good, not bad, again, just average. The theme of the Eagles 2005 draft should just say, average. Last year was different for Considine. He was the solution to Michael Lewis being on the outs and it was horrible to watch. Again see Eagles-Colts game review. The next two picks were hits. Todd Herremans in the bottom of the fourth and Trent Cole in the bottom of the fifth. Great picks, salute to your ability to be able to pick good players in the fifth round. So there, would you consider the 2005 draft a success?

2006 - Eagles vs. Colts Recap

Great Philly Sports Videos.

2007-10-17T20:33:00.001-05:00

I added some new videos to my VodPod on the left side of the page. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Keith Byars gives one of the best blocks I've ever seen. Pepper Johnson meet Keith Byars, and turf. Night night.

Brian Dawkins suplexes some horrible Redskins reciever. The only thing I hate about this video is listening to Joe Theisman give his two cents. Thank god we don't have to listen to his garbage anymore.

Allen Iversons top ten plays. Brings back great memories of a better time for the Sixers. Now we have to watch Iguodala and those other four guys.

Chase Utley gets his own figure.

2007-10-17T20:15:00.000-05:00

This Febuary McFarlane Toys, created by comic book writer and avid baseball fan Todd McFarlane, will be releasing their 20th series for MLB. Included in that series will be the rookie figure of Chase Utley. In the sports figure world this is going to be a huge hit and many are looking forward to picking up Chase. In MLB series 18 Ryan Howard made his debut and just this month the Eagles Brian Westbrook made his debut in the NFL 15 series.

More photos and info a here.

Aaron Rowand has a list of demands, Croce would like to buy Phillies, and Two AL East studs could be in Philly.

2007-10-12T14:06:00.000-05:00

One day after the Phillies cut ties with Nunez and the worthless Rod Barajas. There are rumors that Aaron Rowand has let teams know what they could be expected to pay if they would like his services. Quite frankly its comical. He would like a 6yr $84M contract. Wow. Umm your not Torii Hunter and your not Andrew Jones. I mean he had a career year, and was probably one of the best leaders on the Phillies the past 2 seasons, but that is a ridiculous demand. First off, there is no way he's worth 6 years. That money is guaranteed and 6 years is far to long for a guy like Rowand. And I do not know how the hell he thinks he is going to get paid $14M a season. Re-donk-u-lous is what that is. Funny part is the White Sox are so in love Rowand that they will probably end up paying close to that. Bye bye Aaron Rowand.

Pat Croce told the Daily News that he was not trying to buy the Phillies at this time. He did say that two years prior he tried to approach David Montgomery about making a deal but was turned down quickly. When asked if the team were to be on the market, would Croce again be interested? "Yes," he said. "I have people who would be willing to do it with me."

Rumors are running rampant over Philadelphia about the Fightin's and most include Mike Lowell, Curt Schilling, and Mariano Rivera. Wow, that would be a hell off a winter. Let's start with Mike Lowell. Good third baseman, but has stated recently that his first choice is the Red Sox. Personally I would like to see the Phils go after Joe Crede or Garrett Atkins. I wrote last spring that I thought they should have tried to make a deal for Crede or even Josh Fields. At the time Josh Fields was the back up and Crede was healthy. As far as Schilling goes, that would be a great signing on many levels. Fans have missed him since losing him back in 2000, plus hes still throws hard. Now for the Sandman to enter Philadelphia, would probably require a small miricle. First hes in love with Joe Torre. He looks into grandpa Torre's eyes and just melts. Second, if the Yankees kick him and Torre to the curb, believe he will be sitting in the bullpen up at Fenway playing the set-up role for Jonathan Papelbon.

Prediction:

Phillies get Joe Crede and Jon Garland trading away Pat Burrell (of course paying some of his enormous contract, and probably over $1M to Burrell to waive NTC) and some minor league players.

Phillies sign Curt Schilling.

Red Sox resign Mike Lowell and add Mariano Rivera to their bullpen.

Would love to see them trade for Dontrelle Willis but it would cost us Shane Victorino.

Phillies for Sale? Well, maybe...

2007-10-11T18:59:00.000-05:00

Where there is smoke, there is fire. As cliche as that phrase is, its the truth. Yesterday, two Philadelphia journalists ( I use that term loosely ) Howard Eskin and Stan Hochman reported that their inside sources told them that the Phillies were approached from a group looking to buy the team. Now if this was just one reporter saying this, you could say, they're making this crap up. But Eskin and Hochman are positive that this is the truth, and I fully believe them. The story continued today, with Eskin saying that the majority owner of the Phillies, had convinced the other lesser partners that it was time to sell. David Montgomery was quick to put the rumors to bed, stating the Phillies were not for sale, right this second at least, cause they can't. Why can't they? Most likely because when the City of Philadelphia helped the Phillies get CBP built, they stipulated that they did not want the Phillies ownership group to make a quick buck and sell the team within the first 5 years of the new ball parks existence. So pretty much this story was leaked about a year to early. Right now the Phillies ownership has to make it through the 2008 season, the fifth and final year in the agreement before they can sell. Now the question is, who is the group that wants to buy the Phillies? Most likely it is a group of 3-5 partners with deep pockets that have other vested interests in this city. Now just about every fan has the dream of Pat Croce or Mark Cubian buying the Phils but I do not think that is the case. Now this is complete speculation but I believe I know who it is. I just got done reading a book about the Boston Red Sox called Feeding the Monster. Very good book. Now this was about the selling of the Boston Red Sox in 2002 and how new ownership came in and changed the Red Sox losing ways. The book goes in depth into the whole behind the scenes story of the bidding wars between different groups trying to buy the Red Sox. At the high point the bids were in the $650M to $750M range. They ended up selling the team for $700M ($40M donated to charities) to John Henry, former Marlins owner. Now the highest bid for the Sox of $750M was not accepted because the group did not follow the guidelines set in place in order to bid. Now this group was dead serious about purchasing the Red Sox, and if another opportunity to purchase a good ball club came along they might jump on it. They were so serious about buying the Sox that their original bid of $700M was bumped to $750 within a day. They wanted that team bad. So who is this group. The leader of this group is a man named Miles Prentice, who is involved in minor league baseball but is also a well known lawyer in New York City who represents many big corporations worldwide. At the time he was ready to buy the Red Sox he had the backing of two big corporations. The first is the Quadrangle Group, which is an investment firm with $6B in assets. Not bad. Now the second group was a Philadelphia based media company called Comcast. With $110B in assets the Comcast corporation was ready to back Miles Prentice and go forward and buy the Red Sox for $750M. Now I'm going to go out on limb and speculate that I believe that Comcast has been waiting to purchase Phillies since they lost the bid for the Red Sox. Now with the Phillies clearly being only steps away from being a true contender, I think they are ready to ponce. With the last year of that 5 year agreement with the city only being 2 months away, they probably wanna get the bid down and the ball rolling on something that could take up a year to complete. We can only hope. With the new Comcast building taking over the skyline already with a March 2008 completion date, Philadelphia is Comcast's city. Owning a sports franchise like the Phillies would be great for business, especially if they can bring a parade down Broad St. one day. My feeling is they wouldn't have a problem pushing the Phillies payroll up to around $115M to get championship to this city. And I would gladly have them bump my cable bill up to $200 to help them make that happen. Comcast's Triple Play anyone?

Tomorrow I play GM. Look out Pat Gillick, I'm breaking hips and taking names later.

Dick Vitale is a god damn jinx.

2007-10-11T18:33:00.001-05:00

In the words of the famous Lloyd Christmas, "You're one pathetic loser." Huge favor Dickie V, please keep your horrible sports predictions to yourself. Bald bastard.

2007-10-11T18:01:00.000-05:00

Guess who's back, back again,

Yes he's back, tell a friend.......

2007 Philadelphia Eagles Schedule.

2007-04-11T14:28:00.000-05:00

Eagles Schedule

Sunday, Sept. 9, at Packers, 1 p.m. (FOX)

Monday, Sept. 17, REDSKINS, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Sunday, Sept. 23, LIONS, 1 p.m. (FOX)

Sunday, Sept. 30, at Giants, 8:15 p.m. (NBC)

Sunday, Oct. 7, Bye

Sunday, Oct. 14, at Jets, 1 p.m. (FOX)

Sunday, Oct. 21, BEARS, 4:15 p.m. (FOX)

Sunday, Oct. 28, at Vikings, 1 p.m. (FOX)

Sunday, Nov. 4, COWBOYS, 8:15 p.m. (NBC)

Sunday, Nov. 11, at Redskins, 1 p.m. (FOX)

Sunday, Nov. 18, DOLPHINS, 1 p.m. (CBS)

Sunday, Nov. 25, at Patriots, 8:15 p.m. (NBC)

Sunday, Dec. 2, SEAHAWKS, 1 p.m. (FOX)

Sunday, Dec. 9, GIANTS, 1 p.m., (FOX)

Sunday, Dec. 16, at Cowboys, 4:15 p.m. (FOX)

Sunday, Dec. 23, at Saints, 1 p.m. (FOX)

Sunday, Dec. 30, BILLS, 1 p.m. (CBS)

Overall this is not a bad schedule. The Eagles could go 4-0 right of the bat. The Giants and Redskins are the only two games to worry about there. Although the Redskins are coming to Philly for the first game of the season, on a Monday night, I think they can take that game. After that they have their bye week. The Giants will be a totally different team without Tiki Barber. Tiki has been the source of many problems for Eagles for years and now he is finally gone. The next four games could go either way. They could be 4-4 after this run. You have the Jets. Who could be one of the top teams in the AFC next year. Next the Eagles host the Bears. Now the Bears crawled into the Super Bowl last season and this could game could be a lot easier than it looks on paper. The Bears are going into the season again with Rex Grossman. They have no Thomas Jones, Cedric Benson is a question mark. On the defensive side they will be without Lance Briggs and most likely Tank Johnson. After that the Eagles travel to Minnesota to face our old friend Brad Childress. Andy Reid helped Childress get where he is at. Now can the student beat the teacher, its possible. But don't forget, Obi beat Anakin. The Vikings don't look to bad on paper and I would imagine after the draft they will look better. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Vikings make a move before training camp. The Eagles then return home to face Homo Romo and temper tantrum T.O. This is a Sunday night game which gives Eagles fans an extra 7 hours to drink and get ready to heckle T.O. for 4 hours. With this being a home game at night, I'd chalk it up as a win looking at it on paper. So that's the first 8 games. I can see them going 7-1 losing either the Jets game or the Vikings game. The last 8 games seems to be a lot harder. They go face the Redskins in week 10. Not a hard game, but they could lose this game. Next they take on the Dolphins at home. Win. Now comes what could be a Super Bowl preview. Yea I said it, Super Bowl baby. The Eagles go to Foxboro to face the Patriots. How sweet it would be to win this game. But I'd have the Eagles as big underdog here. The Eagles then get two home games versus the Seahawks and Giants. I could see losing one of those games, but not both. Then they have a road trip going to Dallas then New Orleans. I can see losing the Dallas game but I think the Saints game has revenge written all over it. Looking at the Saints schedule this game could make or break their playoff hopes. The Eagles alst game comes against the Bills. Even our back-ups could beat the Bills.

Full NFL Schedule.

NFL Toughest Schedules.

Top Ten NFL Match-Ups.

Douche Chills, free with every ticket.

2007-04-10T15:45:00.000-05:00

A lot can happen in a week. You can go from the team to beat, as quoted by JRoll, to the team that can't stop getting beat in a matter of a week. As the second week of the season begins the "Phillies Suck" bandwagon is getting really crowded. Just a week ago everybody was on the playoff bandwagon but the wheels feel off that about two days ago. There is still plenty room for optimism but Philly fans are not easy to please and right now is not a good time to be part of the Phillies organization. At least the Phils won't pick up a loss today, cause today is an off day. I think its a good time to take a look at the seasons first 7 games as a whole and take a look at the bad and the good, which isn't much. First I want to state that the Phillies slogan going in to this season could be the worst ever. I thought the 76ers "Its a Philly thing" was bad but no this is worse. "Goosebumps, free with every ticket." Oh thanks. Thanks for the goosebumps I get every time Madson or Geary step on the mound, its a real pleasure. I get goosebumps every time the bases are loaded with one out and we ground into a double play. Its a great feeling, and those are not goosebumps. Those chills and bumps you get when the Phils do something really embarrassing are called, Douche chills. The slogan should be Douche chills, free every time you watch a game. Anyway I'm going to start with the good. Jimmy Rollins and Pat Burrell are off to a pretty good start. Burrell is batting .385 with 5 RBI. Rollins is batting .269 with 3 HR's and 6 RBI. On the flip side of Rollins getting off to an okay start, he had a costly error in NY yesterday and really hasn't stepped up to take charge and be the leader of the Phils. He was running his mouth during spring training but now that the Phils are 1-6 he's quiet as a church on Tuesday. Instead of being a little fiery and trying to get this ball club a little bit heated, he just said this kind of stuff happens. "You have times when you're up and times when you're down, and right now we're down," Rollins said, smiling. "But if we can get up and get things rolling, it's going to be a helluva season." Oh well lets hope you guys decide to get rolling soon. Cause right now your out of gas on a hill and rolling backwards into the bottom of the NL with the likes of the Nationals. They are digging themselves into a hole that come September they might not be able to get out of. But all is good in the clubhouse. It's just frustrating that there is no leader or voice of this team. No one out in front that is upset with the way they are playing. Instead you get, this happens, and we'll turn it around, we have a really good team this season. Ummm, no you don't. They are playing all around terrible baseball. It's the same old song and dance with this team. For another good note the starting rotation isn't too bad. Yes Adam Eaton struggled and so did Segovia but Garcia should be back soon hopefully to give some relief there. But Cole Hamels and Brett Myers have pitched well. If it wasn't for our terrible bullpen Cole would be 2-0 right now.

Now let's move to the meat and potatoes of the Phillies problems. Bullpen and hitting with RISP. Their bullpen is hor-ren-dous. Ryan Madson is already 0-2. Geoff Geary aka the alien from the movie Mac and Me, it was a good movie when I was a kid, has already blown an important game. Oh did I mention Lieber has a ERA of 27.0. Now for the offense. The Phillies as it stands today are the worst team with RISP. They are batting less than .200 with RISP and have a league high 68 runners LOB. I actually read a Phillies blog yesterday that asked what is wrong with the Phillies? They answered by saying "not a whole lot." The blog writer went on to say how the Phillies rank second in the N.L. in On-Base-Percentage (OBP) at .360, and they are sixth in slugging percentage. I'm so glad we are second in OBP. But there is a little problem, OBP doesn't matter if all those runners are left on base. That is a huge problem. Clutch hitting is something this team lacks and has lacked for years. Here's another problem. When your starting pitcher hands you the keys to the game when your up 5-4 , you don't drive the game into ground giving up 7 runs in the 8th inning. Its a problem, a huge problem. We haven't even delved into Ryan Howard and Chase Utley yet. I'm not fully ready to go bashing on either but they both are struggling right now. Howard is continuing his poor performance that started this spring and is batting .222 right now and has made some costly errors on the field this year. Most notably when he ran over Nunez in yesterdays game. It looked like a scene out of the Bad News Bears, it was embarrassing. Utley also has been pretty much non existent when he's up to bat. He's batting .258 and has knocked in 3 RBI. But again I really believe that they will turn it around. It is going to take Manuel making the right decisions, and some help form Gillick making a move here or there to get some bullpen help. There are a lot of games left to play, but these first 15-20 games could cost the Phils the wild card in September.

Rollins gets heckled by Mets fans.

2007-04-10T10:01:00.000-05:00

Jimmy Rollins still stands by his statements during spring training that the Phillies are the team to beat. Well, as it stands right now they are not a hard team to beat. During yesterdays game Rollins made a costly error and grounded into a double play with the bases loaded. It was not a good day for JRoll as Mets fans got on him all day. Here is a view from the stands from a Mets Fan's camera phone.

Groundhog Day: Phillies vs. Braves Game 2.

2007-04-05T03:53:00.000-05:00

Phil? Phil Conners? Phil Connors, I thought that was you! I swear tonight's game was like a scene out of the movie Groundhog Day. As soon as Brian McCann hit that 2-run home run in the top of the 9th to tie the game, it was like Monday all over again. I swore I just saw this happen a couple of days ago. Last time I saw this, Pop Pop Manuel put Ryan Madson in the game, and he lost the game for the Phils. No.. this can't be. Madson is coming in to start the top of 10th. Phil? Phil Conners? Then the Cher and Sonny song "I got you babe" starts up. Then it came to fruition just like I knew it would. Madson blew the game...again. This was a boring game up till the 8th inning when the Phils went up 2-0. Now there was a chain of events that toke place that ultimately cost the Phillies two runs if not more, and the game. First, after Shane Victorino hits a double knocking in JRoll to go up 2-0 with one out, he decides to get cute. He tries stealing third but stutter steps before he starts to run, out. Next, Ryan Howard walks.Then, Chase Utley comes up to bat and hits a double, and Howard was given the sign to take home. Now, I'm not the smartest guy around, but Ryan Howard is a big guy. He's not very fast or nimble, bam, thrown out at the plate. Right there, those two mistakes cost the Phils one run, if not two. It was terrible to watch. It was bad baseball. So now Flash comes in to save the day and gives up a two run homer to send it to extra innings. Next lets pull Flash, cause he's earned his paycheck after throwing for a half an inning giving up the lead, and put in the worst pitcher in our bullpen, Ryan Madson. Game over. The Phillies have beaten themselves in two straight games. Now you can say its only the first two games and they have a whole season, but these games when they start beating themselves are what is going to haunt them come September. It happened last season and it will happen again. The Phillies lost the Wild Card last year by 4 games. Out of 162 games, the Phillies playoff hopes came down to 4 games. Think about that. There are way to many good teams in the NL, and not enough playoff spots to be throwing games like this. I have full confidence that they can turn it around quickly, but the question isn't can they, it's will they?

Side Notes:

"The (Spring Training) Natural" Roy Hobbs made his second appearance of the season and flied out with his only at bat. Hobbs is 0-2 so far this season.

Michael Bourn also made a brief appearance as a pinch runner and went o-2 in the game.

The Phillies left 8 men on base.

Cole Hamels pitched 7 shut out innings only giving up 4 hits and had 8 strike outs. All that hard work for nothing.

Madson is officially 0-2 this season. He has a ERA of 9.0 for the season.

Ryan Howard will be appearing on the David Letterman Show
next week.

Mike Doss to visit the Eagles today.

2007-04-04T08:35:00.000-05:00

Today the Eagles will be getting a visit from free agent safety Mike Doss. Doss is a very talented safety who came into the league in 2003 being drafted by the Indianapolis Colts. Doss has spent the last 3 years with the Colts and tore his ACL in the middle of last season. That is a rough injury to come back from, but he would add depth for the Eagles at a very thin safety position. As it stands right now the Eagles would be going into next season with Dawkins, Considine, and Mikell. Depth at safety is very much needed and most think the draft is where it will come from. But adding Doss would help. Doss was a solid safety in college, playing for thee Ohio St. University. The only knock on Doss besides his injury, is he just hired a new agent, Drew Rosenhaus, captain douche bag himself. Don't get me wrong if I was a player, I'd hire him. Some how he's able to get okay athletes huge pay checks, and can re-negotiate anytime he feels like it. Rumor has it Rosenhaus sold his soul to the devil for good negotiating skills, a boat load of money, a Mexican landscaper and a bag of Lay's baked potato chips. For the record those potato chips, could be the worst chips in the world. I'm a kettle cooked chip man my self. As a joke to himself, the devil made Drew a bag of douche. Which to the devil was very humorous, but for Eagles fans has been anything but humorous. If any Mexican landscapers were offended after reading this, I apologize. But the fact is you guys can landscape your ass off, have a great work ethic and you work for very cheap. Which in turn is good for captain douche bag's profit margin.

Mike Doss Highlight Video from Ohio St.

Opening Day: Phillies start the season with a...thud.

2007-04-03T04:03:00.000-05:00

Ahh yes spring is here and that means baseball season is upon us. Nothing like going down to Citizens Bank Park for some beers, BBQ from Bull's, and ball girls, oh yea and to watch the Phils.
There is nothing like Dollar Dog Days, peanuts, Chickie's Crab Fries or grabbing a cheesesteak from Tony Luke's. Our perhaps your one of the alcoholics who just likes to buy a ticket to the game only to spend the whole game at McFadden's getting shit faced. Hey I'm not judging, I've done it. There are many ways to spend a day at the CBP, and today it all begins. As far as the Phillies, they started this season off on the wrong foot to say the least. Starting off the game, Pop Pop Manuel pulled the ol' switch-a-roo by putting Utley in to bat clean up and Howard to bat third...interesting. To boot he said he likes it, and he plans to keep it that way. To start the game, the Phils did not look sharp at all. Jroll is a cool muthafuc..shut yo mouth fool. But he started the game with two of the worst at bats ever, bottom line. First day jitters or not they were terrible. The first at bat he had to actually move his feet in to swing at a pitch that would have easily hit him in the shin. Pretty much the same thing in the second at bat. He might as well move to Utah or some shit and get a job chopping wood if he's going to be swinging like that all season. He did redeem himself with a double, and a nice home run. All in all it was a good day for Jroll. Brett Myers had a solid outing. He did get rocked in the 8th, but what the hell was he doing in the game in the 8th anyway. Oh yea we have no bullpen, forgot about that. See Ryan Madson. He had a good thing going till he had to face Renteria. He was up on him too with the count at 0-2. But he just laid a fastball right over the plate and Renteria just pounded it. It sucks too cause the crowd was rockin' there. At that point it was game over if he had struck him out. But thats the Phils luck. Yea we still have the whole season but its always good to win on opening day. I also saw The Natural himself Roy Hobbs make an appearance. He grounded out on his first pitch and wasn't seen after that. I think that about covers it. Great game, very entertaining to watch until the 10th inning when I was ready to throw my glass of Cherry Coke through my TV when Renteria hit his second HR. No I do not get paid for product endorsement....or do I? A little side note, Pat Gillick was in the booth talking with Chris Wheeler, and said that with Freddy Garcia out, Zack Segovia would start on Sunday vs. the Marlins.

And it begins...

2007-04-01T15:09:00.000-05:00

The 2007 Baseball season is about to be in full swing and every major sports news outlet has their own opinion about who will finish where. Most have the Phillies finishing behind the Mets, booooo, and making the playoffs as the Wild Card team. I'm going to post all the predictions so you can view them for yourself. Also big news, Ryan Howard is on the cover of the new ESPN the Magazine. As Borat would say, Very Nice. Sporting News has the Phils losing to the Tigers in the World Series. Pretty much everyone is in agreement that the Phillies have a really good team, but that their bullpen is still to weak to make it through the Playoffs. Baring a trade, the Phils go into the season with medoicre relievers at best. Relying on Ryan Madson in the 7th or 8th inning is going to get old real quick.

ESPN MLB Projections.

CBS Sportsline Predictions.

Sporting News Prediction.

Sports Illustrated Prediction.

Takeo Spikes Lands in Philly.

2007-03-28T17:26:00.000-05:00

Today the Philadelphia Eagles formally announced the signing of Takeo Spikes, and Kelly Holcomb, that will be the only time I mention Kelly in this, at the Nova Care Complex late this afternoon. As expected Spikes had nothing but good things to say about the Eagles, and that he is beyond excited to be in Philly. This will be the first time in his ten year career he will have an opportunity to be playing for a playoff caliber team. When asked about how he is feeling these days, Spikes said this is the best he's felt since before his season ending injury in 2005. As you can see in the picture, Spikes will be rocking number 51 this season, so no more jokes about Matt McCoy being route 51, he currently does not have a number, and the Eagles are thinking about keeping it that way. When asked how he was able to get the number 51 from McCoy, Spikes said he challenged McCoy to an arm wrestling match. When McCoy accepted the challenge and extended his arm to start the match, Spikes bitch slapped him and told him that he was taking his number and his spot at LB. McCoy fell to the ground, like he did all last season, and said that sounds like a good plan to him. Spikes then proceeded to look for, and I quote, "that sissy with the bow tie who plays a banjo." I have no idea who he could be talking about. This guy is friggin nuts. You can watch the press conference here. Unfortunately there is no video of the "bitch slap" Spikes laid on Matt McCoy.

State of the Franchise: The Philadelphia Eagles Offseason Update.

2007-03-27T14:20:00.000-05:00

When the Free Agency period started in the beginning of March, their wasn't much joy within the Eagles fan base. When the Eagles let Jeff Garcia, Michael Lewis, Rod Hood, and "the great" Donte Stallworth go, some fans were pissed and had doubt about how the team was being run. Some wanted Jeff Garcia to stay and compete for a starting job with Donovan McNabb, yea okay. Garcia did a great job as back up but come on, he's 36, and last time I checked, he didn't lead us to a win vs. the Saints in the playoffs. I say that cause that's what critics of McNabb would say. They would say he didn't step and lead his team past the Saints. Don't get me wrong Garcia did a great job rallying the troops through the season, but he also got a $5M contract from the Bucs. McNabb has a salary of $5.5M this season. $10M on two QB's, not gonna happen. We know why Michael Lewis is gone, so I won't really delve to deep into that. His job was lost during week 6 in New Orleans when he let Joe Horn get past him for that 48 yd TD. Lewis was biting on the play-action fake all game. Enter Sean Considine, who is not much better by the way. Rod Hood, not a big loss. He didn't want to be an Eagle anyway. The Eagles actually offered Hood a better contract in the middle of last season, then he received from the Cardinals this season. He was a good nickel cover corner, but he wasn't the best tackler. Joseph Addai put Hood on his back or broke his ankles on several occasions in the Colts game and he missed tackles on a regualr basis all season. He's replaceable. Enter William James, and hopefully Brandon Meriweather. Now for Donte Stallworth. How will we ever deal without him playing 10-12 games a season. You would think that Stallworth was one of the top 20 WR's in the league, which he's not, with the money he was asking for. Now did Stallworth do a good job last season, yea, when he was on the field, he was okay. He had 2-3 good games, besides that he wasn't that great. Would I have liked to see the Eagles re-sign him, sure, but in turn the Eagles would have had to give up their 3rd round pick for this years upcoming draft. In the long run, that pick could turn out to be more valuable than Stallworth. WR's are not going to make or break this team.

So after 2 weeks of the Eagles doing nothing, some fans, a lot of fans, were hitting the panic button. WIP's phone lines were full of fans sick of Joe Banner being so cheap, and hoping Andy Reid would just quit. It was very annoying. Think I'm kidding, take a stroll over to the IgglePhans message board to get a feel for how some fans feel about the Eagles front office these days. Some fans just do not get how a team is run with salary cap and what not. The Eagles were not in a position to start signing over rated free agents. This was not a good free agent class. Why spend big money, that you don't have, to sign players that are just not worth it, and that don't fit into some of your systems. Then March 15th, two weeks into free agency, the Eagles strike, landing FA WR Kevin Curtis. Kevin Curtis was regarded as one of the best free agent WR's this off season. Some had him ahead of Stallworth. They are very much alike. Almost the same size, Curtis could be faster, he has good hands, and most imporantly, is not a injury risk. Still with that signing, fans were still not buying it. Some were. A lot were and still are pissed at the Eagles for what happened with Stallworth. Then after the dust settled some interesting things started to leak out about the Stallworth situation. It turns out Stallworth's agent, none other than Drew Rosenhaus, pretty much gave the Eagles the shaft. After Rosenhaus tried to get the Eagles to sign Stallworth to a 1yr deal for $5M, he went back to Stallworth and told him the Eagles offer was $2M and no more. When in turn, the Eagles were willing to pay $3.6M-$4M. So while the Eagles were waiting for Rosenhaus to get back to them, he never did. In the end, the Eagles should be happy that happened, cause they ended up with a pretty good wide out in Curtis and saved themselves the trouble of giving up this years 3rd round pick. Next the Eagles front office tried to do some damage control by hitting the airwaves on local radio stations 610 WIP and Sports Talk 950. First came Joe Banner on the Howard Eskin show. He did a nice job of trying to explain the Eagles position for this off-season and next off-season. He did have the tough task of actually fielding calls from pissed off irate Eagles fans. At one point he actually told a fan, who said he was wasting money on tickets and didn't really care for the Eagles any more, to stop coming to games if you don't care. Pretty ballsy. Of course most fans took it as, I don't care if you stop coming, we'll fill your seat with someone else. What he was saying was, if you feel like your not getting your money's worth out of your Eagles tickets and you don't like being at games, don't come. Yea I'm trying a little to help Joe Banner out here, not many people in this town do. Next stop, Tom Heckert hit the Jody Mac Show to talk about free agency, Chris Gocong, the draft, and many other things. If you want the details of that interview click here. The Eagles attempt to do damage control for the lack of off-season moves kind of worked. The signing of Curtis sure helped but fans still, were not happy. The only thing that would make fans happy would be the Eagles getting a top tier LB. Al Wilson, Lance Briggs, and Takeo Spikes were all on the trading block and fans would love any of the above to improve a weak LB crew. Next they signed DT Monte Reagor, umm, what? This was foreshadowing for what was about to take place the following week, yesterday, and the Eagles gave fans what they wanted, a really good LB, that makes everyone feel a little bit better about going into next season. As you know they traded DT Darwin Walker, with Reagor there to take his spot, and a 2008 7th round pick, which is fine cause they will have at least one compensatory pick to replace that one, and in return the Eagles got pro bowl linebacker Takeo Spikes and back-up QB Kelly Holcomb. Round of applause. They deserve it. As much as people started to panic in the first couple weeks of the off-season, they Eagles have done a fine job. Now we have the draft to look forward to, and hopefully the Eagles address some key needs.

Players Added

Bethal Johnson, WR/KR
Kevin Curtis, WR
Monte Reagor, DT
Takeo Spikes, LB
Kelly Holcomb, QB

Players Re-signed

Quintin Mikell, S
Juqua Thomas, DE
Correll Buckhalter, RB
William James, CB

Players Lost

Jeff Garcia, QB
Rod Hood, CB
Michael Lewis, S
Donte Stallworth, WR
Darwin Walker, DT

Gillick: Freddy Garcia could be traded.

2007-03-25T06:05:00.000-05:00

Pat Gillick was a guest on the Howard Eskin show on Friday and talked about a lot things.

The interview started with hot topic of the Phillies bullpen. Gillick said that they have been working the whole off-season trying to aquire bullpen help from numerous teams. He said that the market for bullpen help was not good right now, and that there were only about 2-3 teams that have excess bullpen help, and he was hoping that in the coming months that one of those teams would try and move some pitchers.

He said as it stands right now, they are going to have to rely on someone to step up from the bullpen that they have right now. Who does he think could emerge in the bullpen? Joe Bisenius or Zack Segovia.

When asked if the Phillies were at a point were they had to make a move, Gillick said it was highly unlikely that the Phillies would be making any trades at this point. He said its not from lack of effort, but that fact that the teams with extra bullpen help want to wait till the season starts and see how things turn out with injuries and such. He said the same goes for the Phillies with starters. They feel they need to keep Lieber for now in case a starter goes down.

But on the flipside of that, Gillick also made a comment that Freddy Garcia could possibly be traded somewhere down the line, and that "they can't rule out anything" when its come to trading one their starting pitchers. He said that if the right proposel came along they would not hold back on trading Lieber or Garcia. The whole interview was pretty much pitching talk as to be expected. One other note, when asked what would happen if Pat Burrell did not perform well protecting Ryan Howard at the 5th spot, Gillick said a change would be made.

The Stallworth Debacle: He said, She said.

2007-03-23T11:14:00.000-05:00

Its been roughly two weeks since Donte Stallworth signed with the Patriots and he was on the Howard Eskin Show on Thursday to clear the air, well kind of. The interview started with Eskin giving some softball questions, but then he went into what happened with Drew Rosenhaus. The interview started with Stallworth stating that he never wanted to leave Philly and that he loved it here. He also said that reports that he felt "unwanted", which were reported in the Daily News, were false. He felt like the Eagles always wanted him but in the end the two couldn't come to terms in a contract that both would be happy with. As far as his signing with New England he said he kind of looks forward to living in Foxboro away from all the city hype. When talking about the contract situation, Stallworth said there were teams that wanted to sign him for a one year deal, and teams that wanted to sign him to a multi-year deal. He claims via Rosenhaus, that the Eagles only wanted him to sign a one year deal, which is basically what he got from NE. A one year deal with ridiculous incentives for next season which Stallworth will never see. He said he wanted an option in his contract that could be picked up after next season, and claims the Eagles never offered that to him. The only way Stallworth would have signed a one year deal was if it was for $5M, which no team was willing to pay. When Eskin started to imply that Rosenhaus was lying to Stallworth about what the Eagles would have been willing to do, Stallworth said that Rosenhaus talked with the Eagles and they weren't going to change their offer, which is false, but okay Donte. In the end Stallworth said hes had Drew as his agent for two years and he trusts him and would take his word over the Eagles FO any day. The last topic they talked about was the leak of the fact that he is in the substance abuse program with the NFL. Stallworth said he thinks someone leaked it on purpose with the intent to hurt his stock in the free agent market. He went on to say that it could have been any body and that he doesn't put it past anybody, including the Eagles.

So who would you believe, Eagles FO or Drew Rosenhaus? Next question!

Down goes FEDORUK!!

2007-03-22T12:21:00.000-05:00

Not much to say here. Just a good video of the Flyers Todd Fedoruk getting knocked out cold.

Tom Heckert: Chris Gocong to play LB and DE next season.

2007-03-19T19:30:00.000-05:00

Eagles GM Tom Heckert was on the Jody Mac show today and had a lot of interesting things to say about the Eagles. He talked about the Safety position, Jeremy Bloom and the kick return situation for next season, Free Agency, Salary Cap, the Draft, and most importantly Chris Gocong.

The interview started off with Heckert saying that they feel good about the DE position as stands right now. He said they have a solid 4 guys at that position and that Chris Gocong could play there next season, I will get to Gocong at the end of this.

They also feel good about the Safety situation. They feel if they needed to , they could start Mikell if Consandine or Dawkins was to get injured. I hope they don't feel strong enough not to take a S with their first round pick.

He talked about the kick return situation for the Eagles and said, Jeremy Bloom and Bethel Johnson will be returning kicks next season, and if they had to, they would put Kevin Curtis back there cause he has experience returning kicks.

He went on to talk about the salary cap and free agency. He said they feel good about how they've done so far, but that they are still actively looking at free agents. When asked about cap space, Heckert said they would be able to move bonuses around to free up cap room if they had to, and that they would do that if a player comes along that they would like to make a deal with.

As for the draft Heckert said Compensatory drafts picks will be announced at next weeks NFL team meetings, and they are not expecting any picks for this season. Free agents signed this off-season will count in next years picks. As for the draft class, he said he felt that DE's, S's, and CB's were the strongest positions in the draft this year. That says a lot about which direction they are headed.

As for Chris Gocong. They are feeling very confident in him right now. He said he feels Gocong will play both the LB and DE position throughout the season. They feel he will be a strong LB this season, but if not he will play DE. He went on to say Gocong is up to 265, and has been working really hard since week 8 of last season. He's been hitting the weight room a lot and is prepared for this season.

So, I'm still not completely sold on Gocong, but I'm feeling a little more optimistic.

The Bourn Identity.

2007-03-17T08:43:00.000-05:00

As spring training starts to wind down we have a good idea of what the Phillie's roster is going to look like. One guy that is sure to be in the dugout sometime this year, whether it be opening day or during the summer sometime is Michael Bourn. The 5-11 speedster from Texas actually got some playing time last season but didn't turn any heads. So far this spring training, its the exact opposite. Everybody is excited about what Bourn has been doing in Clearwater. Bourn has been working hard this spring. After being called up to the Phillie's from AAA last season, Bourn, known as being very fast, was caught stealing 3 times. This spring he has Davey Lopez helping him with his base running, and so far, it looks like its working. He's tied for 1st in runs scored, has the most triples this spring and has 5 steals thus far. Bourn is on the verge of being placed into the Phillie's outfield within the year and could eventually work his way into the lead off spot. The Phillie's feel confident enough in Bourn, that Aaron Rowand is still on the trading block.

So who is Michael Bourn? After high school, he was drafted by the Houston Astro's with the 577th pick in 2000 draft. Rather than starting his pro career straight out of high school, Bourn decided to continue his education while playing ball at the University of Houston. It turned out to be a good choice for him. He played for the Cougars for 3 seasons. During his freshman year he started all but one game. He ended the 2001 season with a .303 batting average, a .431 OBP and led the team with 35 steals and 50 walks. In 2002, Bourn started all 65 games for the Cougars. He led the team in runs with 65 and in steals for the second straight season with 32. Bourn was known as a consistent offensive threat who always found ways to get on base, and when he did, he wreaked havoc on opponents. In 2003, the Philadelphia Phillie's drafted Bourn in the fourth round with 115th pick. The Phil's gave him a $299,000 signing bonus and Bourn accepted.

Bourn's career with the Phil's started out with the Batavia Muckdogs in the NY-Penn. League. His batting average in 125 at bats was, well, just average at .280. His slugging % was at very low point also, at a measly .296. He really was not known for being a power hitter and only had one extra base hit in the 35 games he appeared in. He did have a knack for getting on base though. He had a OBP of .404 and posted 23 walks, and 23 steals. In 2004 though, a different Bourn showed up. Playing for the Lakewood Blue Claws single A Atlantic South league, he showed a difference at the plate. Bourn was giving himself a new identity. Somehow he got some power. Who knows how. Whether he started hitting the weight room or had some coaching help with his swing, he was finding a way to get more than the average single. Their was a difference at the plate. In his 413 at bats, he hit .317, with a slugging % of .429. He went from .296 to .429 in less than a year. That is a nice improvement and showed that he was willing to work hard to play better. He ended the 2004 season with 20 doubles, 14 triples, and 5 home runs. He went form having 1 extra base hit to 39 in one season. To help his cause he was posting a good SO to BB ratio, having struck out 88 times and walked 85 times. And as usual to Bourn, he was tearing up the base path with 57 steals. All in all, Bourn ended up leading the SAL in triples, walks, steals and OBP.

In 2005 the Phillie's decided they saw enough good things in Bourn that he was sent straight to the Reading Phillie's skipping Clearwater all together. Playing against tougher competition Bourn continued to show promise but struggled at times. In 135 games he batted .268 with 80 runs, 44 RBI and 38 stolen bases, and was named to the Eastern League All Star team. In 2006, Bourn would do a lot of shuffling within the Phillie's system. He started the year off with Reading Phillie's then in March was sent to AAA with the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Phillie's. Then in September, Bourn got the call that he would be joining the the Phillie's in Philadelphia. He was not a major a factor, and was only able to muster up one hit in eight at bats.

So here we are, about mid-March with opening day rapidly approaching. Michael Bourn is having a very successful spring at this point. He is getting on base at a consistent basis. He's stealing bases and scoring runs every chance he gets while being coached up by base running guru Davel Lopes and starting shortstop Jimmy Rollins. When discussing Bourn's speed Rollins had this to say, "He's much faster than I'll ever be. Some guys are fast, and other guys fly. He flies. He's talented. There's no doubt about that." Thats high praise coming from the guy who leads the Phil's in stolen bases year in, and year out. Bourn has been getting plenty of chances to learn while on the job. When asked how he was taking the advice he's receiving from coach's and player's, Bourn responded with a smile, "I have a heavy load, but it's all about learning. No matter how much of a veteran you are, you've always got something to work on. I want to keep getting better." So this season Michael Bourn will be coming a long way from his 2003 identity of the speedster with no power to the 2007 identity of, starting outfielder who can get on base and score at will. When will this identity come to fruition, time will tell.

The Best Draft Picks in the Andy Reid Era.

2007-03-15T17:09:00.000-05:00

I have to say after looking at the drafts from 99-06, it was harder to narrow the best draft picks then the worst draft picks. I had a hard time picking 5 bad picks. Could of I put Na Brown or some other 5th round draft pick on the worst list, sure. But making those draft picks into really good NFL players is not easy. The Eagles have been able to do that on a few occasions. The best picks include 3 players that are already solid Pro Bowl caliber players and 2 that are on their way to being very good NFL players and look like they have a great future with the franchise.

Top 5 Best Picks

5) Trent Cole, Cincinnati, DE, 5th Round(191st Overall): The fifth was hard to choose. You have guys like Sheldon Brown, Corey Simon, and Derrick Burgess. You could make a case for any of those guys to be in this spot, but I went with Trent Cole. It is still a little early to gauge how good Trent Cole will be, but as of right now, he is looking like he could be the Eagles future starting DE. Is there anyone who doesn't think he should be starting over Darren Howard. Cole had 5 sacks his rookie year and 8 sacks last year. He had 8 sacks basically splitting time with 3 guys. Not bad. Right now, I can say that for 191st pick in the draft, Cole is pretty good. The Eagles have locked up Cole up for pretty much the rest of his career barring a trade of some kind.

4) Lito Sheppard, Florida, DB, 1st Round(26th Overall): Remember 3 or 4 years ago when the Eagles decided to let Bobby Taylor and Troy Vincent go at the same time. What the hell were they thinking? That they had Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown to replace them. Well, they were right. The Eagles DB's didn't flinch. Out of the two I'd have to go with Lito as the better. He's a solid DB. He made it to the Pro Bowl in 2004 and would have made his second trip to Hawaii had he not gotten injured in the Playoffs.

3) Shawn Andrews, Arkansas, G, 1st Round(16th Overall): The 2004 Draft. I remember it like it was yesterday. The Eagles had traded up to the 16th pick. They were finally were going do it. Draft a RB or LB in the first round. Sitting there were, DJ Williams and Steven Jackson. Which one do I like better? I like both so much, which would I like to be Eagle more. Then with the 16th pick, the Philadelphia Eagles select: Shawn Andrews, G, Arkansas. Shawn Andrews, who the hell? Well in hindsight, it turned out to be a good pick. Would Jackson or Williams be great for the Birds, sure, but we have a offensive lineman that could be one the best in the NFL in the near future. Made the All-Pro team this past season. His first season as a starter.Great Pick.

2) Donovan McNabb, Syracuse, 1st Round(2nd Overall): I really don't think I have to go into great detail on why McNabb was a great pick. Looking back, the 1999 draft had some stars in the rough, but also had a lot of land mines that the Eagles could have easily tripped over. Um, Ricky Williams, Akili Smith, and David Boston to name a few. Overall the Eagles made the right decision and I don't think there would be much argument that Donovan is in the top 3 players to come out of that draft class.

1) Brian Westbrook, Villanova, 3rd round(91st Overall): Going into the 2002 draft, if someone told you Brian Westbrook was going to be in the top ten best RB's in the league, you would have said they were crazy. Well, they weren't. The Eagles had high hopes for Westbrook and so far so good. He has had an injury here or there, but he is the key to the Eagles offense as it stands today. 91st overall, best pick Andy Reid has ever made. RB's taken before Westbrook: William Green, TJ Duckett, Clinton Portis, DeShaun Foster, Maurice Morris, and Ladell Betts. Clinton Portis is the only one worth mentioning in the same breath as Westbrook.

The Worst Draft Picks in the Andy Reid Era.

2007-03-14T19:40:00.001-05:00

So what were the worst picks that Andy Reid has ever made since coming to the Eagles in 1999. He has made some interestingly bad choices and some very good choices over the past 7 seasons. For obvious reasons I'm not going to include last years draft picks in this list cause its just to early to tell how Bunkley and Justice will turn out. The Eagles best draft by far has to be the 2002 draft. In this draft they were able to get their 2 current starting corners Lito Sheppard & Sheldon Brown (probably in the top ten of CB duos in the league), Michael Lewis (who up til last year was a excellent safety for the Birds), Brian Westbrook (no need to say much there), and in the 7th round they picked up Raheem Brock out of Temple (who never did much for the Eagles, but was the starting DE for the Colts last season). Their worst draft could be 2005 were they had 11 picks and managed to only hit on maybe 3 players. Time will only tell for the 2005 draft picks. Some of those players are still developing, McCoy, Patterson, Considine. Yes I did cringe when I wrote McCoy as still developing, but in the Eagles eyes, he still is competing for a starting spot at LB. Now the 2000 draft was pretty bad but I really think the 2001 draft takes the crown for the worst. Freddie Mitchell, Quinton Caver, Derrick Burgess, Correll Buckhalter, AJ Feeley, and Tony Stewart. Now Burgess is a good find. But some how they managed to let him go and now hes a top ten DE. Buckhalter has been injured almost his whole career. AJ Feeley is an okay pick. Actually the biggest thing Feeley's done to help the Eagles is when he was traded to Miami for a 2nd round pick, which turned out to be Reggie Brown. That's not so bad. Its how they used their first two picks that gets me. First, the peoples champ himself Freddie Mitchell. I have one good thing to about FredEx. 4th and 26th. That's it. Oh yea, they could have picked Chad Johnson. That always stings a little. With their second round pick, Quinton Caver. Terrible. The Eagles have to be one of the worst teams when it comes to scouting LB's and WR's. They need to hand that job over to someone else. With that here's who I believe were the worst picks by the Eagles in the Reid era(99-05). Now I'm not really gonna harp on 3rd to 7th round picks cause those are some hard picks to choose, but mostly 1st and 2nd round picks that they missed on.

Top 5 Worst Picks

5) Barry Gardner, Northwestern, LB, 2nd round(35th Overall): I have a hard time putting BG here cause I actually met him and had the opportunity to play basketball with him a couple of times. Very nice guy, not the best linebacker. He had some good games here and there, but never was an impact on defense. Was always second fiddle to Trotter. Was not worth the 35th pick in the draft.

4) Matt McCoy, San Diego St., LB, 2nd round(63rd Overall): I know I said, give the 2005 draft picks time to develop, but if you watched any of the Colts game last season, I think you would agree, you've seen enough. Route 51 was consistently on his back the entire game. And really it wasn't just that game. He plays out of position and can't shed a block to save his life. I'm sorry, bust.

3) Quinton Caver, Arkansas, LB, 2nd Round(55th Overall): Played like 15 games for the Birds. Big, strong, fast, and had the football IQ of a 9 year old. Never made the adjustment coming out of college. Never made any kind of impact on defense. Lifetime special teams player. That's what you look for in your 2nd round draft pick. Yes some how I managed to find a picture of Caver.

2) Freddie Mitchell, UCLA, WR, 1st Round(25th Overall): Ah yes the peoples champ. Yup the nick name given to him by none other than, himself. His top skills, charisma and personality, about 8th & 9th on the list of skills needed to be a great football player. Remember the days he would catch a 3 yard pass on 3rd and 8, then slap that belt on. Man he sure loved himself. Now Freddie had some good hands. But his attitude, and lack of speed are what killed him in the end. He always thought he was going to be an elite WR. He could talk the best game in town, but rarely backed it up. One time, he managed to step up to the plate, and yes I'll say it again. 4th and 26th. It deserves to be in bold every time its written.

1) Jerome McDougle, Miami, DE, 1st Round(15th Overall): Where to start with McDougle. Well first things first, I really can't believe he is still on the Eagles at this point. I understand second chances, and the guy had some unfortunate things (getting shot right before training camp was about to be begin) happen to him. But enough is enough. This is a sport/business, and it is time to cut your losses with this guy. How long is upside going to carry you on the roster. With the Eagles, about 4 years. Every year its, McDougle is going to have a chance to start this year, next thing you know hes buried on the injury report or on the inactive list. Time for the permanent inactive list for Jerome.

There are some honorable mentions. Corey Simon, Todd Pinkston, Bobbie Williams, Matt Ware. Bobbie Williams? Exactly, a 2nd round pick wasted away. Simon and Pinkston could be debatable depending on who you talk to.

Best draft picks in the Andy Reid Era tomorrow.

Eagles never had chance to sign Stallworth.

2007-03-13T19:45:00.000-05:00

I know its over and in the past, but now that the dust has settled. Howard Eskin said on his radio show today that the Eagles never had a chance to give a counter offer to any of the offers Stallworth recieved. He is reporting that Drew Rosenhaus never let the Eagles get a chance to make a offer to Donte Stallworth. According to Eskin, Rosenhaus contacted the Eagles the first week of free agency asking for $5M next season and a signing bonus in the area of $12M(according to Daily News). The Eagles told him to see what he could get else where, come back and they will see if they could match it. The Eagles were willing to pay, according to Eskin, at least the $3.6M and would have paid a max of $4M. Heres were it gets interesting. Again, this is coming from Eskin, who has contacts within the league and Eagles front office. After the Eagles turned down Rosenhaus' offer of $5M, Rosenhaus reported back to Stallworth that the Eagles had offered $2M, which was not true, and that was going to be it. Meanwhile the Eagles were expecting to here back from Rosenhaus after Stallworth visited with Miami but never got a call. I just found it really interesting and I'm wondering how Stallworth feels about that. Of course he is in a good situation right now in NE, for this season, but you trust your agent to be up front and honest with you. In the meantime you have Rosenhaus behind his back making decisions for him. I do believe the Eagles should have tryed harder this past week to reach out a little more. But for all we know, they did but Rosenhaus could have been c*ck blocking them the whole time.

76ers Draft "Very Early" Preview

2007-03-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

Everyone knows by now that the upcoming NBA draft in June, could be one of most defining moments in 76ers history. They have three first round draft picks and have to make good choices for the future to start looking brighter. As of right now, the Sixers are playing very well. So well that they are playing themselves right out of the Greg Oden and Kevin Durant sweepstakes. I'm still up in the air with how I really feel about that. On one hand its great seeing Andre Iguodala, Andre Miller, and the rest of this young team playing so well. Playing like a real "team" for the first time, in a long time. On the other hand both Durant and Oden would look damn good in a Sixers uniform. So assuming that they do not get the First or Second pick, there are still a lot of very good players to help build around the already existing talent that they have. With that heres a quick look at some players that Sixers are thought to be looking at courtsey of NBAdraft.net. Click players name to see preview.

Brandon Wright, UNC, PF

Julian Wright, KAN, SF

Marcus Williams, ARI, PG

Joakim Noah, FLA, PF

Hasheem Thabeet, UCONN, C

Tyler Hansbrough, UNC, PF

Spencer Hawes,WASH., C

Eagles Draft Preview

2007-03-12T07:00:00.000-05:00

Eagles needs this year are very broad. They need talent in many areas for immediate and future help. They need a Safety badly. Dawk is getting old quick and Considine is average at best. As usual Linebacker is a glaring concern. Trotter is to old to do all the things he does. If he has some good talent around him it will hide his weakness', and on the other hand its time to look for his replacement. I'm fine going into next season with Gaither but there is a gaping hole on the other side. And theres not a salesman in the world that can sell Chris Gocong as a starter. Then theres the need at RB, DE, DT, QB, amongst other postions. So with that, here is a list of players who I would love to see wearing green next season. I'm going to go with my top 5 and then finish the list with the rest of the players I like.

1) Laron Landry, LSU, S, 6-2, 205:

Yea its wishful thinking, but this guy is an animal. Hes big, fast, and has all the tools to be the next big safety in the NFL. This guy will be way gone by the time the Eagles are on the clock but seeing this guy next to Dawkins next season would put a smile on my face. To compliment his great abilities, Landry is a born leader. He was a 4 year starter at LSU, and has the ability to be the QB on defense. Someone who is vocal and will demand that his teammates work as hard as he does. Heres a quick look at Landry. You can find more on YouTube.

2) Brandon Meriweather, MIA, S, 6-0, 192:

Meriweather is an all around good safety with the upside to be as good as Ed Reed. Yes, Ed Reed. Meriweather is bar none the best cover safety in the draft. He is exactly what the Eagles need, and theres a very good chance he will be avalible to the Eagles. Even if he didn't start at Safety he has the skills to play the nickel. He has some character issues, stomping people in the Fla. International Brawl. Besides that incident, I'm fine with him. We are talking about Brian Dawkins replacement here. He can hit and cover. Theres no video avalible for Meriweather.

3) Brian Leonard, RUT, RB/FB, 6-1, 240:

Heres the thunder that the Eagles need in there offense. Leonard played RB and FB in college and excelled at both postions. He was a huge part of Rutgers success in the last couple of years. He could be the best pass catching RB in the draft. He would fit nicely in Andy Reid's west coast offense. You could line him and Westbrook in the backfield and shift either out or hand off to either. He also can double as a FB. he is a Hybrid running back who should be very high on the Eagles board and could be their second round pick.

4) Rufus Alexander, OKL, OLB, 6-1, 228:

Alexander is very good against the outside run and can shed blocks nicely. Some compare him to Lance Briggs from Chicago. He can hit, is very athletic, and is above average in coverage. He would be a nice fit in Dhani Jones' old spot.

5) Robert Meachem, TEN, WR, 6-3, 210:

Is an all round good wide out. Clocked a 4.32 in the 40 at the combine. Is a very smart player who can read coverage and adjust to such. He is made for the west coast offense, and would contribute from day one. Could be a big time NFL WR in 2 years.

Best of the Rest:

QB's

Kevin Kolb, Houston
Jordan Palmer, UTEP
Jared Zabransky, Boise St.

RB's

Antonio Pittman, Ohio St.
Chris Henry, Arizona
Tony Hunt, Penn. St.
Dwayne Wright, Fresno St.

WR's

David Bowe, LSU
David Ball, New Hampshire
Jason Hill, Washington St.
Steve Smith, USC
Anthony Gonzalez, Ohio St.

TE's

Greg Olsen, Miami

DB's

Chris Houston, Arkansas
Aaron Ross, Texas
Aaron Rouse, Virgina Tech.
Marcus McCauley, Fresno St.
Reggie Nelson, Flordia
Michael Griffin, Texas

LB's

Justin Durant, Hampton
David Harris, Michigan
H.B. Blades, Pitt.
Stewart Bradley, Nebraska

Joe Crede or Josh Fields could be in Phils future.

2007-03-12T06:32:00.000-05:00

There are trade rumors flying around left and right with the Phillies. All pretty much are about CF Aaron Rowand and SP Jon Lieber. Right now Jon Lieber is doing a nice job of raising his stock for a trade that could come sooner than later. Coming out of Chicago are rumors that the White Sox want Aaron Rowand back on the team bad. But the Phils are not going to part with Rowand for nothing. In comes Lieber. The Phils have been trying to move him for weeks with no takers. Now that he is playing well, the White Sox are thinking a Rowand/Lieber could be the deal the Phils would be able to work with. In return the Phils would want at least Joe Crede or Josh Fields. I know who Joe Crede is, a very good third baseman, but I didn't really know much about Josh Fields. So I started to read some articles and scouting reports on Josh Fields. I really like what I've read about this guy. He is on the cusp of being a starter at 3rd base with the ability to play outfield if need be. Either Crede or Fields would be a great addition, but in different ways. On one hand you have Crede, who is a solid third baseman with 7 years experience in the league, coming off the best year of his career. On the other hand, you have a young player in Fields who could be the third baseman of the future. Fields was drafted by the White Sox in 2004 and has quickly made his way up to the majors. So right now the Phils should put some serious thought in to dealing Lieber/Rowand to the White Sox quick. The Sox are so in love with Rowand they might part with Fields or Crede. If they get Fields, he could play 3rd or take over right fielder after Shane Victorano gets shifted to centerfield. In the next 2 years he could be the missing link that would make the Phils infield the best in the league.

BREAKING NEWS: Burrell to start wearing a Blind Fold.

2007-03-11T22:13:00.000-05:00

No this is not a joke. It should be, but its not. Phillies management have asked Pat Burrell to try wearing contact lenses. No, I'm not kidding. When asked how they were working out for him "They don't do anything for me." , "They make everything blurry. They're irritating, and it takes about three hours to get them in." Three hours to put contacts in?! I mean, was he trying to put them in with his feet. You know its bad when your Manager has to resort to the excuse that, "Maybe he just can't see the ball." "I've never had any problems seeing in my entire life." Hmm. I actually don't blame the team, the way Pat hacks away at the plate he kind of does look like a blind man trying to chop wood. Rumor has it next week they are going to have Pat Burrell try batting with a blind fold. Hey at this point its worth a shot.

http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/sports/baseball/16874400.htm

Iguodala is leading the Sixers in the right direction.

2007-03-11T07:07:00.000-05:00

With all the talk about the Sixers draft and the 7 game win streak there on, its time to give props where props are due. Andre Iguodala is playing like a star right now. How long it will last? Who knows, but its time enjoy it while its here. He had a great behind the back dunk that made #1 on Sportscenter's top plays. It was a hell of a play all around. Inguodala is on a tear averaging 25 pts, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists a game during this run the Sixers are on. The team itself looks like they are starting to gel a little bit, while the Nuggets fall apart, but that's another topic on its own. But right now, I just want to focus on how much Iguodala keeps stepping up and shows in his stats and in the win column. In November he averaged 18.9 PPG, 5 APG, and 5 RPG. Almost halfway through March he averaging 26 PPG, 6 APG, and 8 RPG. He has had a steady increase every month of the season. And at this point he is playing just as good as any superstar in the NBA. Here are his GAME LOGS for the season.

So right now Iguodala and the Sixers are putting up a huge fight right now. Not just against the teams they play night in and night out. But they have to deal with the fact that a good percentage of fans want them to fail to help in the draft. Right now their backs are against a wall and they are playing like it night in and night out.

Wanna see something that will make you sick?

2007-03-11T07:06:00.000-05:00

Its Pat Burrell's contract. Pat is due to make $13M plus bonuses. Bonus? Don't worry he won't see a penny of this bonus. When I was reading this over, I found it comical that the Phillies put in a MVP bonus for Burrell. Man, Ed Wade sure did have high hopes for Pat the Bat. MVP BONUS: $100,000 for 1st place, $75,000 for 2nd, $50,000 for 3rd. How much do get for 1243628917th place. Oh...nothing...damn.

Pat Burrell, Left Field
6 years/$50M (2003-08)

$1.5M signing bonus ($1M up front, $0.25M 1/04, $0.25M 1/05)
03:$1M, 04:$4M, 05:$7M, 06:$9.5M, 07:$13M, 08:$14M
$0.1M for 1st place in MVP vote, $75,000 for 2nd, $50,000 for 3rd
full no-trade clause

avoided arbitration 1/03
5 years/$8M (1998-2002)
$3.15M signing bonus
98:$0.75M, 99:$0.75M, 00:$0.8M, 01:$1.275M, 02:$1.275M
drafted 1998 (1-1)
agent: Greg Genske (formerly Jeff Moorad)
ML service: 6.131

Shane Victorino is due to make $410,000 this year.

Eagles "Please Don't" Draft Preview

2007-03-11T00:29:00.000-05:00

At this moment, alot of Eagles fans are not happy with how management is doing this off season. There biggest signing as of now is a kick return specialist. Me personally, I'm fine with what has happened so far. Jeff Garcia, thanks for the memories, but he is now getting paid almost starter money in Tampa. He was good in the Eagles system but bottom line, Donovan is the starter. Stallworth, bye bye. Thanks for those couple of good games here and there but the money you want, your not worth it. Donte has never had near 1,000 yards in a season, never had more than 9 td's in a season, and most importantly has never played a whole season. Does he stretch the field and make some big plays, yes, but for the money you can get better. Enter Kevin Curtis. I'm hoping they sign Curtis. He wants to be a starter big time. Curtis and Stallworth are pretty much the same minus the hamstring problems and "other" baggage Stallworth has. Now I do think they should be trying to do little more then they have. If they at least acted like they were trying to pursue some good free agents, but lost out cause another team over paid, fans would not be so pissed. But honestly this has been one of the weakest free agent classes in a long time. Teams are throwing money around at okay players. Look at the 49ers, Nate Clements, $80 million. Clements is good, but hes not that good. So with that the fans in this town are pissed, and they think the draft will be no different. Me, I have hope for this years draft. There is plenty of talent in areas the Eagles desperatly need help in. I'm going to run down a list of players I would love to see in green and players I hope to god they don't chose. So with that I'm gonna start with who I do not like and why.

Please Do not Draft the Following:

Troy Smith,OSU, QB, 6-0, 210
Do I really need to state the obivious. Troy is to small to be a QB in the NFL,hello Arena League. He's listed in most places at 6-0 but came in just shy at the combine. Some mock drafts have Troy Smith going to the Eagles in the 2nd round. If that happens all hope is lost.

Paul Posluszny, PSU, OLB, 6-1, 237
Paul Posluszny's stock is rising cause of his recent performance at the combine. He really was a beast during college. After getting injured during his junior season he had a nice comeback season but I'm just not buying that he is going to be that great of a player in the NFL. When I saw him do the drills at the combine and just reading about him, I just get the feeling hes going to be a bust. I have flashbacks of Mamula, Arrington, amongst others who had great combines, were killer players in college but just never produced in the NFL. Plus I really think some team will be dumb enough to take him in the the middle of the first round, see NY Giants.

Dwayne Jarrett, USC, 6-5, 215

see Mike Williams. Don't know who Mike Williams is, stop reading this.

Sidney Rice, SCU, 6-4, 210

see Ashley Lelie. Has bust written all over him.

Any player(Except Brandon Meriwether) from the following colleges:

Florda St., Miami University(Except Brandon Meriwether), and Flordia. I just have a problem with those programs when it comes to the Eagles drafting from them. I feel like everytime someone picks a Jonathan Vilma or a Ed Reed, the Eagles pick a Jerome McDougle or a Brodrick Bunkley. I know its early but as of right now Bunkley is a bust. Time will tell and I think he can grow but will he. The knock on him coming out of college was that he was not a hard worker until his senior season. Sounds right, try really hard have a great season, get drafted early, get paid, and thats that.

In the first three rounds, no DT's, no DE's, and no Offensive Linemen.

Do I need to go into specifics here. Every year they waste valuable picks on players with some upside.

2007 Christmas List for Eagles Fans.

2006-11-28T14:28:00.000-05:00

Since pretty much everybody in this city has written this year off, lets take a quick look at what free agents will be hitting the market this March. This is not a stellar free agent class at all, but there are some players who could make an immediate impact in some areas of weakness on the Eagles. There are some very good RB's and LB's in this crop, but will Andy Reid finally obey fans wishes of picking up either one. Probably not, but you can always dream. So with that lets begin the list.

Matt Schaub, ATL-QB, RFA:
Schaub is arguably the best back-up QB in the NFL. He could start for any team in the NFL today and make impact that second. With the injury to McNabb which could sideline him well into the '07 season fans will clamoring at the thought of picking up the University of Virgina product. Schaub is 25 and has been in the league for 3yrs. In the two games he has started Schaub threw for 486 yds, 3 TD's, and 2 picks.

Michael Turner, SD-RB, RFA:
Michael "The Burner" Turner is a small, fire hydrant type RB that is fast enough to out run a cornerback, and strong enough to run over a linebacker. Turner is listed at 5-10-237, and he will use all 237 to get a first down. Earlier this season when Tomlinson was in a rut, the Bolts turned to Turner and he gave them a huge boost during several games. His stats this season are, 58 carries for 357 yds and 2 TD's. He has a rushing average of 6.2 YPC, 5 carries over 20+ and converted for 17 first downs. He may be on the short side but Turner knows how to move the chains.

Ladell Betts, WAS-RB, UFA:
How nice would it be to take one of NFC east rivals key back-ups. Betts is a solid back-up and could start for some NFL teams. He is fast, has nice vision and can hit the holes hard. He's averaging 4.3 YPC for the pathetic Redskins, and is one of very few bright spots on that team. He could fit in well as a change of pace back to Westbrook though its unlikely he will settle for a back-up role again.

Chris Brown, TEN-RB, UFA:
Here's a great talent who just happened to get drafted by the wrong team at the wrong time. Brown has a the skills to be a starting RB in the NFL but has been injury prone. Brown has said in the recent months he is tired of sharing carries and wants to be a full-time starter. Brown is a tall back, but is kind of on the light side for his height. At 6-3, 220, Brown also has an unorthodox way of running the ball. He looks like Eric Dickerson minus the toughness and thunder to lay out defenders. I'm not saying he soft, he has shown plenty of promise. He would be a great change of pace RB for the Eagles.

Ernest Wilford, JAX-WR, RFA:
Wilford is a big strong WR, built like Randy Moss. At 6-4, he can leap with the best of them, and has good skills running with the ball after the catch. Wilford has been stuck in a mediocre Jaguars offense, and is looked at as the 3rd WR on the team behind Matt Jones and Reggie Williams. He would be a nice fit next to Stallworth and Brown in this offense and would be a major red zone threat.

Cato June, IND-LB, UFA:
If there is one player Andy Reid should break the bank to sign, its Cato June. The fans would thank the lord if Reid signs this stud LB. He is the type OLB that the fans of this town want so bad. It would erase all the nightmares of Dhani Jones doing the guitar dance after he makes a tackle on a guy who just ran for 30 yards. And finally get rid of those damn bow ties. June is great in coverage and almost never misses a tackle. He has 9 picks and 312 tackles in the last three seasons. Jackpot baby.

Lance Briggs, CHI-LB, UFA:
If June isn't available, Briggs is the next best. He possibly could be better than June. This guy has all around good talent. Some are skeptical that he is a product of his environment, which is, that his MLB is Brian Urlacher. Either way he would look good next Trotter. Briggs can stuff the run with the best of them. He would be a great replacement for Route 51 aka Matt McCoy. He lacks a little in coverage skills but would be great on the weak side.

So there is the first installment of this years X-Mas list. Reid has almost always went against fans wishes when it came to free agent signing. This year is not full of big names, but some big talent. Especially in two areas Eagles are lacking: RB and OLB.

Eagles vs. Colts recap.

2006-11-28T13:06:00.000-05:00

With 3:24 left on the clock in the forth quarter the Eagles had just taken a time out to try and get the defense together and stop Joseph Addai on first down. Addai got the ball on the same stretch play they had been running all night and ran for 9 yds. Just then the camera cut to Andy Reids face and it summed up how the whole night had gone. He looked like a beaten man physically and emotionally. His little reading glasses were askew in a 45 degree angle, his face beat red, eyes all watery, like a kid who had just lost his puppy. At that moment I actually felt sorry for him. He is the coach and GM who built the team that is on the field, but in the end, the players on the field have got to do their jobs. Reid is not the one on the field making some of the worst tackling attempts since LJ Smith tryed to hug Demarcus Ware in Week 4 against Dallas. It was pitiful to watch. On the offensive side of the ball you have to give some credit to the play calling and efficiency of the offense. Give Garcia credit, he played well and didn't make any stupid mistakes. When they had the ball the Eagles moved the ball pretty well. The first drive of the game was really great to watch. It was a 14 play drive for 59 yards that kept Manning and company off the field for 8:18. That was the game plan and it was working. After they failed to complete on third down, Akers was sent in to kick a chip shot. No good. Right then, you knew what type of night it was going to be. On defense it was pathetic how bad they were. It wasn't everybody on defense. It was mainly 3 guys. Matt McCoy aka Route 51, Dhani Jones, and Rod Hood. First lets start with the main culprit McCoy. He could be the worst OLB in the NFL. He is out position on every play, can never get off a block, and couldn't tackle his way out of a wet bag with a pair of scissors in his hand. Cliche I know, but that's how bad he is. McCoy was either A) on his back or B) missing a tackle on every play of the game. Next is Dhani Jones. The most well dressed overpaid LB in the league. Hes such a nice guy he just hates to make a tackle. Hes the king of tackling a guy after he runs for 10 yards, and he can't cover a TE to save his life. Last but not least Rod Hood. Now I know why you were on the inactive list last week when you perfectly healthy, YOU CAN NOT TACKLE. This guy is a solid cover corner and that is it. The Eagles defense was in the nickel almost the entire game, so they shifted Hood to cover Reggie Wayne, and put Sheldon Brown in the nickel position cause hes more physical then Hood. Unfortunately the Colts kept running the same stretch play at the corners all night which in resulted in Rod the Hood ornament being laid out or just flat out not wanting to make a tackle on the strong Addai. Before you annouce to everyone how you should be a starting corner in this league, take this spring off, go down to Ray Lewis' camp he holds for 12 and 13 years olds who DON'T KNOW HOW TO TACKLE, then think about calling yourself a starting corner. So in the end it wasn't, could the Eagles stop Manning, but could they contain Addai, and the answer was no. The Eagles had virtually 8 men on the field on defense and it was no match for the Colts running game.

Notes from the game

Garcia: 19/23, 140 yds, 2 tds. Nice game.

The Eagles were extremely well balanced. 149 yards on the ground and 151 threw the air.

How about the half ass job NBC did in giving Andre Waters a farewell. I know he isn't as brave as Pat Tillman or as well known as Reggie White, but come on. He got a little RIP from Madden and Michaels after they had ran out of material in the fourth quarter. At that point I think there was a total of 13 people watching including myself.

Again how bad is Matt McCoy. The worst was when Dallas Clark laid him out on a block to seal a Joseph Addai TD run.

Sean Considine is no better than Michael Lewis. Considine bit on a play action fake that left Reggie Wayne wide open for a TD. That's the same way Lewis was benched. His was only worse cause it was about a 40 yard TD pass and Considines was a 10 yard pass. Oh yeah, guess who was covering Wayne. Yup the Hood ornament himself.

AJ Feely threw a nice strike that hit Hank Baskett directly in the face. Threw his hands, into his face. Hes on his way to HOF.

How small is Greg Lewis. He looks like the kid from the movie Little Giants running around out there. His pads are 3 times to big, and he just looks out of place. He took a mean shot from Colts corner Nick Harper and got right up though. He just looks out of place.

Happy Birthday Donovan !

2006-11-25T06:49:00.000-05:00

Here's a big Birthday wish to one the most loved, and most hated, players in the history of Philadelphia sports. Me personally, I think D-Mac is one the top 5 greatest Eagles of all-time and by the end of his career here in Philly, he will be #1 on that list. People in this town have a little amnesia in remembering what this town was like before Donovan arrived here in '99. As a B-day present to Donovan, let's go back and remember together. Here's the list of QB's under center before Donovan, and after "The Great" Randell Cunningham, and I use the word great very loosely. Rodney Peete, Ty Detmer, Bobby Hoying, and who could forget Doug Pederson. Man those were some great times, lets reminisce for a couple of minutes. The Eagles record from '94-'98 was 36-43-1. From '94-'98 the Eagles scored a total of 1,467 pts and the defense allowed 1,705 pts. Now lets look at the other side of things. From 2000, the first year Donovan was starter, to 2004, the Eagles were 59-21. They scored 1,869 pts, and allowed 1,241. This was done mostly with average WR's, except '04, and no true running attack. The Eagles of '94-'98 had a couple of big time RB's in Hershall Walker and Ricky "Running" Watters, and still couldn't get the job done. So before you go and bash McNabb, for being inaccurate, though he is ranked 36th all-time in completion percentage in front of every QB in Eagles history, or for not being fan friendly, who would be friendly to a group of people who booed at his draft and never cut him slack at any time during his career here, take a long look at the Eagles of the past and you will see the Eagles of our future without McNabb. Happy Birthday D-MAC.