Philadelphia Eagles

What other NFC East fans are saying about the "new" Eagles....

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:09:50 +0000

(Writer's Note: I've been "away"...no, not that kind of "away", but my email service crashed and burned and I've been fighting my piece-of-junk computer all week trying to find the answer. Turns out it was my lousy provider Excite.com who somehow blew up their new email app last week and still haven't fixed it. How is this company still in business, and how stupid am I to still be with them? Anyway, I'll keep this column light and short today to see if it can be published from my new email links...thanks for your patience---T.J.)

Cruising the fan polls of the assorted city-states that populate the NFC East, I was curious to learn how fans in New York City, Dallas and Washington were reacting to the curious predictions of so many "experts" and pundits in the national media who have been predicting the "domination of the NFC East" by the new, improved 2009 version of the Philadelphia Eagles.

My Dallas fan-of-the-moment has to be "cmonromo" of Austin, Texas, who wrote on Matt Mosley's blog (myESPNgo.com) the following analysis, which is pretty objective, all things considered:

"Wanna split hairs? If Tony Romo shows up vs. the Rams, Dallas would be in last year, and the final reg season game where Philly beat us 44-6 wouldn't have mattered...No broken pinkie on Romo's hand, no Eagle playoff berth...The biggest improvement for the Eagles this season appears to be on their O-Line, and let's face it, the Eagles could've won the division easily last year if not for a few games lost on short yardage...the addition of Weaver at fullback will improve the short-distance game. I think the Eagles will miss Buckhalter at RB unless someone else besides Westbrook steps up to average 7 yards-per-touch...Eagles lose Dawkins at safety but they improve on coverage defense overall with younger, faster guys...Problem, bro', is the more Eagles fans think they will win the NFC East, they will never win a Super Bowl with McNabb at QB..."

Then there's "jimmyc345" from New York City, who writes: "Philly will disappoint its fans in 2009 precisely because they are favored to win...McNabb always makes crucial mistakes at critical times, and his players always drop the ball when it counts the most...Remember in the Super Bowl in 2007-08, if Asante made that pick then Eli don't have a ring? Well, Asante is with the Eagles now. That sums it up..."

Finally, "str8balla050" from D.C. states that the Redskins will neutralize any gains made by the Eagles in the 2009 offseason because of an improved defense in Washington, and that once again "Philly will choke away at least one game to the Redskins...and do you think the Eagles running game will work against our 8-man Box? The Eagles have been favored before and they have lost...Plus, the Eagles' schedule is a li'l crazy in 2009 with a bunch of Away games back-to-back. The Eagles' offense is still too weak and their QB can't escape the rush or run the ball like he used to. Sooner or later, he will throw the ball to the other team."

And so, the battle of the NFC East is ON, brothers and sisters. Wouldn't it be hysterical if all four division rivals finished with identical 8-8 records? Based on the opinions expressed above, that kind of finish would be plausible.

When the "experts" say Eagles will win NFC East, I worry....

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:26:16 -0500

It's not a bad thing to be getting raves from FoxSports.com or ESPN or Pro Football Weekly on the Eagles' offseason acquisitions and overall progress in improving the team. But it scares me a little when guys like Matt Mosley (ESPN.com) and others flat-out report their belief in the Eagles' winning their division before a single pad has been popped or a coin tossed or a flag thrown...

We all know how great it is to see Donovan McNabb happy and enthusiastic about his new offensive teammates and of course his new contract extension (guaranteeing him $12 million a year for the next two seasons). That's great, and it didn't hurt that McNabb was so active in all the voluntary mini-camps this Spring.

But all this unusual media hype forecasting an Eagles' romp through their division is premature at best and incredibly dangerous for fans to swallow as we enter the dog days of July.

As good as things look for the Eagles right now, let us not drug ourselves with false confidence that our guys are going to shred the NFC East and the NFL in general coming right out of the gate.

The way the "experts" are talking, Philadelphia is going to put 500 yards of total offense on the Carolina Panthers in the away opener on September 13.

Warning: probably not, and definitely the Eagles offense will be a re-tooled work in progress well into the second half of the regular season.

It will still fall upon the defense to hold it together until McNabb and his new supporting cast realistically get things going on offense.

Sure, it's great that LT Jason Peters will be protecting McNabb's blind side now that Tra Thomas is gone. But Peters still has to bounce back from a rather bland season with Buffalo last year, where he was unhappy with his contract and actually gave up a lot more sacks than usual. Experts say he will develop into one of the best tackles in the league. But the key word there is "develop"....

Oh, and how the experts rave about Brian Westbrook at RB...but it seems they are oblivious to the fact of Westbrook's offseason surgeries and how it may be 6 weeks into the season before we see the "real" Brian...

And speaking of defense, It may take a while for DB Quintin Mikell to overcome the psychological burden of being the guy who has to replace Brian Dawkins, the former "spiritual leader" of the Eagles' defensive squad.

Yes, I think realistically, and I expect a real learning curve to be required before the Eagles are capable of clicking on all cylinders.

Meanwhile, Dallas has become obsessed with getting to a playoff game, and they're counting on WR Roy Williams and WR Miles Austin to help Tony Romo get them there. The Giants may have lost Plaxico Burress (who used to absolutely kill the Eagles), but they have WR Hakeem Nicks to replace him, and the G-Men also have Domenik Hixon and Steve Smith in the wings to help their receiving game stay constant. Eli Manning is relieved to be rid of the Plax drama not to mention the old Shockey nonsense, and he still has the best running game in the division. The Giants are still big-time and for real. And don't count out the Redskins...Washington didn't have any major losses of personnel, although Shawn Springs was a solid moral presence in their locker room and will be missed. But RT Stephon Heyer is the real deal on the offensive line as he replaces veteran Jon Jansen. And I believe it will shape up nicely for the Redskins as a solid defense, strong running-game type team that will excel in control of possessions and the clock.

So I don't think we should get carried away with the pre-season flattery of the "experts" who are calling the 2009 Eagles the "dominant team in the NFC East". I think there is no dominance in the NFC East, but rather a game-by-game struggle for survival and a relentless quest for an 11-5 or a 10-6 finish...if you're lucky.

(Thanks to all our readers here at Eagles Eye---I'm having a problem with my server so temporaily I'm posting from a remote location....I'll soon have that fixed and will go deeper into the above topic next time.)

NFL Top 10: The Best Offseason Moves Not Made

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:00:00 -0500

We tend to judge coaches by how their actions effect games. We tend to judge front office types by their acquisitions. These are fair game of course, but the best offseason moves are often the ones that weren't made.

In today's NFL Top 10 column, we'll take a look back at all aspects of the offseason, and narrow down just ten player personnel moves that were not made, and how the discussed party is much better off.

10. The Detroit Lions pass on an offensive lineman in the first round of the NFL Draft
This is coming from a man who thinks that Jason Smith should have been the pick at No. 1, the prior Lions regime might have decided that after taking Matthew Stafford at No. 1, the No. 20 pick should have been the best lineman available. And even with OT Michael Oher available, the Lions decided that TE Brandon Pettigrew was a more irreplaceable player, and snagged him. In the running game, he's basically another offensive tackle. The Lions decided that even if their pass blocking struggles again this year, they still have plenty of options going forward to address it. The team has extended the contracts of two interior lineman this year, so once you pass on that franchise LT, they were better off going the developmental prospect route, which they did.

9. The 49ers do not go out and sign/draft a quarterback
This would have been a very defensible move if it happened, but they aren't a) one QB away from contending, or b) in a position where they can cast off any of the current crew without risking losing your potential franchise QB. The shine is off of Alex Smith, but we're still not real sure what, if anything, he is. The thing about Shaun Hill is that you can put the ball in his hands for the time being if no one else steps up, and he won't embarrass himself. And the 49ers were one of the few teams who took advantage of a QB class that was far deeper than it was strong, landing Nate Davis in the 5th round. Davis could be a potential franchise player if he can overcome a learning disability that scared away most NFL teams. It makes sense to give Singletary a season to see if he can get his team to the doorstep of the playoffs before you worry about the next QB of the 49ers.

8. Marc Tauscher was not signed in the free agency rush
Tauscher, a right tackle who was coming off his worst season, not to mention a mid year-ending knee injury, was supposed to be one of the first OTs off the market in March this year. Given his health and declining play, a multi year contract would have been disastrous for the team that took the risk. Tauscher is much better served as a player on a one year deal this year. He remains unsigned, so he'll be allowed to rehab at his own pace, maybe even sit out the 2009 season, and get back on the field next year or in the middle of the season and he can hopefully contribute to someone's playoff push.

7. The Philadelphia Eagles do not match Denver's offer to Brian Dawkins
Denver just gave Brian Dawkins a lot of money for his age 36, 37, and 38 seasons. We all know how big a part of the Eagles defensive units he has been, but we also know how quickly these older players can become a weak link on their own units. The aspirations are too high for the Eagles this year to offer Dawkins more than they believe he is worth to them, and then to put his satisfaction before the team. I'm not at all suggesting Dawkins is a selfish player, just that he's human, and he's worth more to Denver right now than he is to the Eagles.

6. Nnamdi Asomugha does not bolt a bad situation in Oakland
The Raiders may be a total laughingstock, but they could have easily let a mismanaged situation turn into the loss of their best player, CB Nnamdi Asomugha. But the Raiders did the right thing, they stuck to their guns, didn't extend their top player for longer than they were comfortable (the deal is three years) and compensated him like the best defensive player in football, which he just might be. These trade offs have bitten the Raiders in the past, but they avoided a Doomsday scenario with some shrewd negotiations.

5. Ray Lewis stays with the Ravens
The Ravens would have been okay letting their leader walk, but considering that they were willing to offer 8 million dollars per year to the pro bowl linebacker, it would have been unfathomable if Ray had spurned them and gone elsewhere. Because of the legend that Lewis roles with, and the fact that the Ravens are on the verge of something special, it would have been just weird had the team played deep into the playoffs to have Ray sitting and watching from his couch.

4. The Ravens don't overpay for Jason Brown
About four days before free agency began, contract negotiations between the Baltimore Ravens and Center Jason Brown stalled, and Brown publicly criticized the team in leaving them. He got the money he was looking for for the Rams, but ultimately Brown loses out. For less money, the team brought in pro bowl C Matt Birk from Minnesota, who was also being lowballed, and used their first round selection to draft an offensive lineman, Ole Miss' Michael Oher. If they had gone over the top for Brown, I'm not sure those moves are possible, and Birk would still be a Viking.

3. The Browns don't sell low on Braylon Edwards
Yes, his year last year was horrific. Which is all the more reason not to go and trade him. The Browns are a team that needs to hoard their talent right now, not deal it. This is especially true since the team decided that Kellen Winslow was too much of a cancer, and sent him to Tampa for a second round pick. Losing Edwards and Winslow in the same offseason might have handicapped the Browns a bit too much, so by choosing to move Winslow, keeping Edwards became the right move, and allows Edwards to re-establish himself in 2009.

2. The Redskins do not replace Jason Campbell
The one move this year that could have easily been an unmitigated disaster was the proposed three team deal between the Bucs, the Redskins, and the Broncos that would have sent Campbell to Tampa for a second round pick in 2010, and Jay Cutler to the Redskins for two firsts. Cutler would have found himself in a Vanderbilt-like offense with only one competent target and a declining defense. Instead, the Redskins invested in a pass rusher and a cornerback in the 2009 draft, and now have young reinforcements to help out an aging starting defense. The offense is better off as well. Cutler and Campbell don't play the same game, and Campbell's the one who may win more games this year going forward.

1. The Cardinals don't lose an integral part of the 2008 NFL runner-up team
Between Bertrand Berry, Karlos Dansby, Anquan Boldin, Adrian Wilson, and Kurt Warner, and the limited amount of cap space the team had, it's amazing that they've kept all of those parts, have extended Wilson, are close with Dansby, and have made all moves without jeopardizing the team's ability to improve itself elsewhere, via the draft (Beanie Wells) and free agency (Bryant McFadden). It's a remarkable adjustment from the same old Cardinals talk that had flooded airwaves when they let Kurt Warner take a cursory tour of the Niners practice facility. But much more importantly, it gives the current group another go at it, without having to spend a critical season or two replacing the talent lost. This was the very best offseason move not made.

Jeff Fisher pays a compliment to Andy Reid....

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 04:08:41 +0000

What a pleasure it was to listen to Jeff Fisher, head coach of the Tennessee Titans, on the Monty Show on Sporting News Radio last night, after Monty likened Fisher's success with the Titans to the overall winning record of Reid. Fisher was so gracious in his acceptance of the comparison, and said he "was humbled" by the comparison.

What a class act... Jeff Fisher is the epitome of class and professionalism, and it's no wonder he has the longest tenure coaching one team (15 years) as compared to Andy Reid's 11th year coming up with the Eagles.

One of the most striking comments made by Fisher was his answer to Monty's question: "What is the most important role of a head coach in the NFL?"

Fisher barely blinked an eye in his answer: "Player development..."

I totally get what Fisher was saying. Basically, he flat out admitted in that two-word answer that all the X's and O's in the world will never produce a winner without a complete investment by the coaching staff of a team into making their players constantly improving as NFL works-in-progress....

This is why Kerry Collins runs the Titans' offense today, and not Vince Young...because Young, for whatever reasons, psychological or otherwise, stopped developing as a player. Fisher pulled no punches on the point, but he did manage to say he was still squarely in the camp of Young's potential development, and that the two get along well (despite Vince Young's recent public tantrums that he needs to know he'll be getting more playing time).

Fisher was so impressively upbeat in his interview that I actually started believing him----player development is "job one" for any NFL head coach.

Let's face it, the coaches don't perform the playbook, the players do...If you don't see your main job as developing the talent you draft into its fullest potential, then you will soon see yourself on the NFL unemployment line.

Fisher made this point clear. And by deferring to Andy Reid as an esteemed colleague, I believe it's safe to assume Andy Reid smells the same coffee, too.

Reid has been often criticized for brain-freezing in the big (I mean BIG) games or perhaps screwing up some clock-management. But one thing he is absolutely great at is player development.

I can give you chapter-and-verse on the players he has stuck with and goaded to their ultimate professional achievement. Donovan McNabb is the obvious poster-child. So is David Akers, Reid's athletic kicker who has had more resurrections than Jim Morrison's ghost.

There are dozens of other player-development examples. But the unifying theme is always, "Coach Reid saw something in me and he brought it out to its fullest..."

Let's hope this player-development charisma continues to flourish with names like McCoy and Maclin and Peters and Andrews and several other key acquisitions made by the Eagles this offseason.... Because if it does, the Eagles are going somewhere this year, brother, and it's about time Andy Reid got his due as one of the top 2-or-3 player-development coaches in the league.

Burgess situation a win all-around

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 16:35:05 -0800

Every season since Derrick Burgess was signed by the Raiders, the question has come up about his contract. And every year, the Raiders and Al Davis have brushed it aside with little regard.

The Raiders acquired Burgess from the Eagles prior to the 05 season and signed him to a thrifty five year deal. His first season in Oakland he burst on to the scene with 16 sacks and made the pro bowl. He immediately asked for more money to closer match the kind of production he had on the field.

The Raiders, of course, balked at the idea. The thought was that they wanted to see him duplicate that kind of performance before they threw more money at him. Afterall, Burgess was seen as injury prone during his days in Philadelphia which is why the Eagles let him go in first place.

Assistant Coach Otis Smith released: is this an Eagles omen...?

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 05:29:57 +0000

This one was supposed to go under the radar. All the good news about Donovan McNabb restructuring his contract for the next two years (at $12 million guaranteed for each of the next two seasons) was supposed to have buried the news of the demise of Otis Smith into the back pages. More good news was that WR Kevin Curtis feels fine after his sports hernia surgery in April. Still, we were not supposed to care that much about the dismissal of a fine assistant secondary coach who also spent 4 years of his 13-year playing career with the Eagles and was mainly responsible for the innovations of the gap-coverage schemes and the blitz-back-up strategies that enabled aging and slowing Brian Dawkins to put up one more great season in 2008.

Maybe I'm making too much of this. But I fear the dismissal of coach Otis Smith (a Jim Johnson alumnus) portends a major change in Eagles' defensive secondary strategy---and more importantly, the impending demise of Jim Johnson as the Eagles' defensive coordinator.

Mike Florio, the attorney who doubles as a sports commentator, was outspoken in his daily column on ProFootballTalk.com. Florio flat-out speculated that Otis Smith was gone because Jim Johnson will not be back from cancer therapy to run the Eagles defense in 2009, and that maybe the reason Smith was fired was because he criticized the Eagles on his Facebook site for giving up on Johnson so quickly. The Eagles PR staff declined to elaborate on the situation in response to my phone call to the team office.

As we reported here in an earlier Eagles Eye column, former Cowboys' defensive coordinator Brian Stewart was recently hired to assist with the team's defensive backs, given that last season's Eagles DB coach Sean McDermott has replaced defensive coordinator Jim Johnson on a supposed "interim" basis.

What the sudden release of Otis Smith means to me is that Jim Johnson will not be back in 2009, and the Eagles top brass knows it. With Brian Dawkins gone and off to Denver, there is no longer a need for Otis Smith's expertise in devising gap-sharing and moveable-zone coverages to make up for the decreasing foot-speed of the once-rapid Dawkins, who clearly lost one-and-a-half steps in his coverage ability over the past two seasons. Furthermore, Sean McDermott is obviously not buying into the passion of Jim Johnson for secondary blitz packages.

What I see as the resultant omen of Otis Smith's release is two-fold: Jim Johnson is not coming back except as a ceremonial symbol of hope and determination who will occasionally be featured in the Eagles' scouting booth by TV cameras as the noble wounded veteran, while Sean McDermott is actually calling the shots.

I hope I'm wrong about all of this. But face it, Jim Johnson's days as defensive guru for the Eagles, a team that has several times in his career led the league in fewest points allowed, are over. And the Eagles, with the promotion of McDermott and the hiring of Brian Stewart, are clearly going in a new direction of Eagles secondary defensive scheme philosophy that has less to do with Johnson's madcap blitzing and more to do with man-to-man coverage.

If I'm proven wrong I'll be the first to admit it. But watch closely...in 2009, the Eagles' new defensive philosophy will be to stop the run at all costs, and DARE the opposition to throw into a secondary coverage that more and more will be man-to-man.

See, the Eagles think they have upgraded their secondary so much in the offseason that they feel comfortable in changing their Johnsonian defensive philosophy. Less blitz, less overlapping zones, more man-to-man...Obviously the goal is to force more turnovers in the passing game of the opponent. And trust me, I can hear the nay-sayers out there already complaining about how many potential interceptions Asante Samuel "dropped" last season...

Otis Smith's philosophy was just the opposite. Otis was trained in "containing" the passing game of the opponent, and preventing big gains, not so much about forcing turnovers and begging for one-on-one coverages to create match-ups that could lead to interception opportunities.

Maybe that's the real reason he was let go, not his alleged Facebook comments about the team's giving up too early on Jim Johnson's comeback

We'll know the truth soon enough, but maybe not until the first exhibition game of the pre-season when the new defensive philosophy of the Eagles' secondary is revealed under actual game conditions. Frankly, the change in strategic direction does not bother me as a fan. What bothers me is that Jim Johnson is apparently gone, and we will never again see the mad genius of his blitz packages, or the contribution of Otis Smith as his assistant in devising the multiple zone coverages that made the blitzes possible.

I guess the Eagles are turning a page. I just wish they could do it with a little more respect for Otis Smith and his defensive contributions. Okay, I get it, Smith got a nice paycheck for his efforts. But in a perfect world, Smith would be the remaining light of Jim Johnson's overall defensive philosophy, and he would not have been replaced by a former Cowboy coach.

The omen is there: Jim Johnson may be gone. And Otis Smith was sent packing with him. Not a tragedy, especially if the McDermott-Stewart collaboration results in a dynamic new take on Eagles secondary defense with a man-to-man coverage emphasis. But certainly an omen: change is upon us. And you know how much we Eagles fans mistrust change.

Eagles News Break: Team and City Squabble Settled

Thu, 18 Jun 2009 01:09:52 +0000

The financial tug of war between the city of Philadelphia and it's football team the Eagles is finally over.

Today a judge ruled on the second half of the case determining that the City owes the Eagles five million dollars. The five million is for lost revenue due to the canceled pre-season game between the Eagles and Ravens at the Vet. It was up to the City to maintain the field. They had just installed natural turf at the vet but apparently not well enough. There were seams of doom everywhere!

Well at least that's what Ravens coach Brian Billick said.

A little over a week or so ago this same judge determined the Eagles owed the City eight million dollars for Skybox revenue at the Vet. Simple 3rd grade mathematics show that in-turn the Eagles owe the City three million dollars. The Eagles will start paying shortly and both sides are happy this issue is resolved.

It does bear one simple question.....Was all that bad publicity worth 3 million bucks?

I know the city recently took a 8 million dollar or bust stance, but before Mayor Nutter the City did not take that stance. The Eagles claim they had a deal with former Mayor John Street for around 1 to 1.5 million. The Eagles knew they would owe the city something. They even said themselves they could see up to 3 million. They should have taken care of this earlier. It was not worth the terrible publicity that dragged out for years.

Here is more on the story:

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/cityhall/Judge_Eagles_Owe_City__3_Million_In_Skybox_Money.html

Eagles Tickets Sold Out In 15 Minutes

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:11:34 +0000

Greetings from the great beyond (and by that I mean "greater Philly-metro area"),

It's been a while since I contributed a post, and you'll all (seven of you) have to excuse me for that. Work has been crazy busy (both jobs), and the radio show over at www.VoltaRadio.com has been keepin DT and I very busy (can I fit another sentence in parenthesis here?). But I wanted to post a quick blurb about an interesting but obvious bit of news concerning Philadelphia Eagles tickets.

They're all gone.

Already.

The Eagles sold out their eight regular-season home games in about 15 minutes. The three November home games aginst the division rivals NY, Washington and Dallas sold out in five minutes.

5 minutes.

Wow.

Here's a link to the story where I got this info:

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/eagles/20090616_Eagles_to_sell_one-game_tix_at_10_a_m_.html