Lack of toughness...

Whoa boy.  It's been a while since I've posted - mainly because of my busyness.

This year has been the most painful year of being an Eagles fan since I began when I was 12.  Every game hurts more than the last...

It has gotten to the point where I sincerely hope the Eagles lose every single game from now on so we can get a better draft pick.

It has also gotten to the point where there are only a few players left on this team that I like.  To this point, I am going to go through the team and say who should stay and who should go.  Given that this is driven purely by my rage at this team's lack of toughness and heart.

Offense:
Vick - Go.
Foles - Stay.

McCoy - Stay.
Dion Lewis - Who knows!?
Bryce Brown - Stay.
Stanley Havili - Stay.

Celek - Go.
Harbor - Go.

Jackson - Stay.
Maclin - Stay.
Avant - Go.
Cooper - Go.
Johnson - Stay.

Peters - Stay.
Mathis - Stay
Kelce - Stay
Watkins - Go
Herremans - Stay, but we should move him inside to right guard and get a new RT.
Bell - Go
Dunlap - Go
Scott - Go
Reynolds - Go
Kelly - Go


Defense:
Cole - Stay
Babin - Go
Graham - Stay
Tapp - Go
Hunt - Stay
Jenkins - Stay
Cox - Stay
Landri - Stay
Patterson - Stay

Ryans - Stay
Kendricks - Stay
Jordan - Go
Matthews - Go
Chaney - Go

Asomugha - Go
DRC - Go
Allen - Go
Coleman - Go
Anderson - Stay (for ST)
Boynkin - Go
Marsh - Go

ST:
Henery - Stay.
McBriar - Go.
Dorenbos - Stay.

A new year

I cannot believe it has been almost a year since I last posted something.  I was hoping this would be a forum for me to get out my thoughts around the Eagles, but I guess I was too busy or something.  Who knows...

What a crazy ride it has been!  Last year was just ugly.  From the moment Vince Young made the stupid comment about the "dream team", last season was a huge disappointment.  Very little went well last year until the last 4 games of the year and even that wasn't all that great.  Bottom line is we missed the playoffs and the Giants went on to win the Super Bowl.  Given the way we were playing at the end of the season, I'm not sure any team, including the Giants, could have stopped us.  I spoke with a bunch of my friends who are Giants fans and everyone agreed that they were really happy that the Eagles didn't sneak in.

There's no use crying over last year.  This is 2012 and it's a new year.

There is a LOT to be excited about this year.  Even more than last year, IMO.

Here's just a taste...

1. All the pieces of the offense are back.
2. DeSean has a new contract,
3. Shady has a new contract,
4. Evan Mathis has a new contract,
5. Herremans has a new contract.
6. Vick gets a complete offseason to work with the Eagles coaches, WRs, RBs, and Oline.
7. Maclin is healthy and stronger than ever.
8. We have some new WRs and RBs that could be exciting in backup roles. (More on this in a later post)
9. We lost Jason Peters (our best Olineman) for the year with an achilles injury, but we quickly signed Demetress Bell as a replacement and all signs are that he'll suffice.  Peters was a perennial all pro so he's not a replacement, but hopefully he can step in and we'll survive.

So all those guys are happy players.  Happy players make happy fans.

10. Juan Castillo (our D coordinator) has a year under his belt and considering that we finished in the top 10 in defenses, I think this D can be much improved.
11. We infused some talent at LB.  We traded for DeMeco Ryans at MLB and drafted Mychal Kendricks at SLB.  Brian Rolle (our best LB from last year) will stick at WLB.
12. We let Samuel and his bad tackling go and seem to have changed to more of a man defense, which plays into Asomugha and DRC's strengths.
13. We had a devastating pass rush and it has been improved with a first round draft pick in Fletcher Cox at DT, a third round pick in DE Vinny Curry, as well as DE Brandon Graham and DT Antonio Dixon coming back from injury.

More to come...

I'm dyin over here!

Normally at this time of year, I am salivating over the new composition of the team and counting the days until training camp starts at Lehigh.

But this year is different and it SUCKS! The NFL lockout is ruining one of the most enjoyable parts of the summer and it is killing me.

Now, I am really looking forward to a settlement so free agency can begin and we'll know what the season is going to look like. Will we have an abbreviated preseason? Will we miss any regular season games?

The craziest part of all this will be free agency. We've already learned that players will become unrestricted free agents (meaning they can sign with any team they want) after 4 years of playing, rather than 6 like last year. That would mean some important players will be able to explore the free agent market. Players like Stewart Bradley who has been at the core of our linebackers. But what makes it all the more crazy will be the speed at which transactions take place. Given that we're almost at the time for training camps, teams will want to fill out their post-draft rosters as soon as possible. This means getting guys on board immediately.

The big names like Asomugha will sign within a day or two. Huge trades will happen. Craziness will ensue...

Can't wait!

But c'mon people - make this happen!

The offseason so far

SOOO much has already happened this offseason, it is hard to believe how different the team is going to be next year. Here's a rundown...

1. Fired DC Sean McDermott and most of the defensive coaching staff including Rory Seagrest, the DL coach.

2. Secondary coach Dick Jauron took a coaching job elsewhere (Seattle maybe?)

3. Promoted OL coach Juan Castillo (whom I had the pleasure of meeting during the Eagles Academy) to take over as the Defensive Coordinator.

4. Lured OL coach Howard Mudd out of retirement to replace Castillo as OL coach.

5. Hired Jim Washburn from Tennessee to coach the DL.

6. Promoted Michael Zordich (whom I also had the pleasure of meeting a long time back) to coach the Safeties.

7. Promoted Mike Caldwell to coach the LBs.

8. Hired Johnny Lynn to coach the CBs and secondary.

9. Promoted James Urban (whom I also met at the Eagles Academy) to assistant OC.

10. Put the franchise tag on QB Michael Vick.

11. Put the transition tag on K David Akers.

Bottom line is that almost the entire defensive staff has changed. From top to bottom, there are new coaches in place. All of this means that it is going to FASCINATING to watch the defense next year and how each group of players plays. For example, in the past few years, the defensive line has not been a strong point. We have a pro bowl end in Trent Cole and high hopes for last year's first round pick, Brandon Graham. Last year the DL coach couldn't seem to get the most from those guys. We'll see if the new DL coach can. From what I've read, he was SUPERB in Tennessee. He made guys like Jason Babin look like a pro-bowler. Sounds like the guys are really going to attack opposing QBs and we'll have less complexity. No more crazy blitzes concocted in the mind of Jim Johnson (I loved those), but hopefully more pressure. The question in my mind is whether our LBs and secondary are up for that. If the front four have their ears pinned back for the QB, that means we are going to rely more on our LBs and Secondary to cover. It also means we'll rely more on our LBs to fill in the running lanes. We have some good LBs that might be great if given the opportunity. Our secondary needs another CB to have any chance. Assante Samuel is who he is - a superb cover corner who tackles like crap. Across from him, we really struggled all year. Ellis Hobbs may be done for his career with a neck injury and neither Patterson nor Hanson really showed that they're capable of holding that position. I would LOVE to see the Eagles get someone like Nnamdi Asomugha from the Raiders. With him and Samuel, we would have arguably the best corner tandem in the league. If I was an opposing QB, I would be petrified to throw the ball against either of them. And with 4 or more defensive linemen in my face, they're going to have to choose quick. Asomugha makes this defense from questionable to really good in one move.

On the other side of the ball, I have finally come to grips with Vick. I will NEVER love the guy. He will never hold the same spot in my heart that some of the great Eagles do (Dawkins, Akers, Westbrook), but I no longer look at him as evil. Over the past year, I have read a TON of articles about the fantastic efforts he is making within the community outside of football. He has done so much charitable work in the past two years, it is really outstanding. Regardless of whether his brain is wired wrong or not, his actions are commendable and I respect that. On the football field, he is fun to watch (most of the time). I'm glad the Eagles put the franchise tag on him. That means he'll get paid a salary next year equivalent to the average of the salaries of the top 5 QBs in the league. He deserves it for coming in a close second place in league MVP voting last year. He cannot even negotiate with another team, but if he did, the Eagles would get 2 first round picks for him. This also doesn't force the Eagles to sign Vick long term. They can wait as long as they want to sign him to a lucrative long term deal. The question becomes what do they do with Kevin Kolb? He's been groomed as the QB of the future, until Vick came back so strongly. He has stated numerous times that he wants to start somewhere and he has shown that he's capable. He won a lot of games for the Eagles. But here's the problem: Vick is fragile. Because of his athleticism and his style of play, Vick tends to get hurt. Given this, the Eagles really MUST have a capable backup that can play a few games each year and win them. Kolb's trade value is currently pretty high, in fact, I have seen articles about a number of teams that would be willing to give a really high first round pick for him (like 4 or 5). How can the Eagles turn that down? They "should" be able to get a pro-bowler in the draft for that. Is it worth keeping Kolb as the backup if you can get a pro-bowler in his place? Tough call for the front office. My opinion? I say take the draft pick and sign a backup QB to replace him. You can always find a David Carr or someone like that, even AJ Feeley. I'm REALLY excited to see how it all works out.

Unfortunately, all of this hinges on the NFL owners and the NFL players association working out a new agreement. For the past number of years, there was a Collective Bargaining Agreement in place between the owners and the players that defined all the contractual stuff around franchise tags, free agency, revenue sharing, etc, etc. That CBA ends on March 5. Without a new one in place, there is no football. That's right. NO FOOTBALL. No free agency, no training camp, no games. There will on the other hand, still be a draft, but I have no idea how the contracts would be ironed out with those kids getting drafted. The two sides are evidently far apart and there seems to be no hope in saving it. No one knows what this means... We just have to wait and see if they can work it out. I, for one, have ALL of my fingers crossed.

Kicking it off

I realized last night that I think about the Eagles on a daily basis. My thoughts run rampant for a while before something else supercedes them. Rarely, if ever, do those thoughts find their way to a piece of paper or a computer keyboard. I think it is time to change that and this blog will be my avenue.