More Dawk

Dawkins is a devastating loss personally. he should have retired an eagle. the team should have made a reasonable offer before he became a FA to keep him for his leadership. That being said, we all were severely depressed at the beginning of last season when even the casual fan could see that BDawk had lost a step. i think jim johnson rearranged his schemes to help cover it up - much as he did for Michael Lewis before - but it's important to remember that in all this.

i'm not surprised about Bucky. he wanted to play more and for some unfathomable reason, the Eagles never gave him the carries that his stats and success would have warranted.

Good riddance to Considine - though with Dawk gone perhaps the fans might have appreciated him a little more.

A Record of Mediocrity

Hope this helps Eagles fans feel better about the Skins signing of Albert Haynesworth. From Mark Mosely.

Anyway, this seems like as good a time as any to remind you of some of the defensive players the Redskins have "landed" over the years. Our trip down memory lane needs to begin with defensive end Bruce Smith and Deion Sanders. Smith will soon be inducted into the Hall of Fame and Sanders won't be far behind him. But they didn't do any resume-building with the Redskins.

That leaves us with Adam Archuleta, Jeremiah Trotter, Jesse Armstead, Dana Stubblefield and Mark Carrier. I know Smoot's been a decent player, but he hasn't justified the big bucks.

The Great Wall of Philadelphia

Is this the first time in league history that two brothers will be playing right next to each other on the line of scrimmage? Or at least the offensive line?

Eagles Don't Tamper, Lose Brown

Jason Brown's agent basically says that the Eagles played by the league's rules and didn't tamper with his client before he became a free agent. How else to take this Harold Lewis comment:

Brown agreed to a contract with the St. Louis Rams last night. His agent, Harold Lewis, said the Eagles were among the first teams to inquirer about his client when free agency started at 12:01 a.m. yesterday. But the Rams called first.

"The Eagles showed some really strong interest in Jason, but we had no inkling until midnight passed," Lewis said. "Who knows? Maybe if they'd have called first, they'd have had the first chance to talk. Jason is not the kind of guy who wants to take a tour."

You know, the Eagles didn't call until Brown was actually a free agent. Silly Eagles, they should have gotten in touch while Brown was still under contract. Like Dan Snyder did with Albert Haynesworth.

Farewell B Dawk

Looks like Brian Dawkins gave the Eagles one last chance to match Denver's two year contract offer...and the Eagles declined.

What else can you make of the earlier reports - which turned out to be false - that Dawkins had signed with the Broncos last night. It was a shot across the Eagles bow that he was serious about switching teams. Well, this afternoon - sadly - it's a done deal. The Eagles just didn't want him back that badly, notwithstanding the mancrush nearly every Eagles fan has with BDawk.

And Dawkins goes to a team where aging, hammer hitting, future Hall of Fame safeties play out their remaining days: Dennis Smith, John Lnch, Steve Atwater

Still, its not just going to look right with Dawkins in Denver blue and orange. Here's looking for the day two years from now when the Eagles and Dawkins do the one day contract so that he can retire an Eagle. The way it should have been all along.

Farewell, #20. Godspeed.

Oh Brother

The Eagles not only get younger at O-line if, as expected, they sign Stacy Andrews. But they also get an insurance policy on the happiness and mental health of their potential Hall of Fame guard Shawn Andrews, Stacy’s younger brother.

What the?

Given that offensive line is the Eagles primary need to upgrade, the team’s decision to allow Tra Thomas to become a free agent suggests that the Eagles will be going after one of the younger available linemen to replace the 11 year veteran. Aside from allowing Jon Runyan to test the market before re-signing him as a free agent, the Eagles don’t typically allow key players to become available.

 

The decision to let Thomas go on to the open market is surprising since many considered him the most likely of the two tackles to be kept since he had a decent year and has been a blind side stalwart for more than a decade. Indeed, Thomas’ quietly dominating play at left tackle is one of the most underappreciated things in the Reid era (though it was Ray Rhodes that drafted him).

 

For those same reasons, Brian Dawkins’ new status as a free agent is both jarring and dramatically increases the possibility he won’t be with the team next year.

 

As of right now, doesn’t this all mean that at least on the official depth chart that Winston Justice is the Eagles starting LT (yikes!) and soon to be second year man Quinton Demps is the opening day free safety.

Sweet Deal

Say what you want about Asante Samuel's play this year (notwithstanding the playoff INTs), but his deal is looking better and better from the team's point of view in light of the Raiders' insanity with CB Nnamdi Asomugha. His payout must be driving Lito bonkers one moment and then causing him to salivate at the the prospect of somehow getting a similar type deal in the future.

Reports the King:

The most interesting thing I learned at the combine actually had nothing to do with the combine at all. It had to do with the contract the Raiders negotiated with agents Tom Condon and Ben Dogra for Nnamdi Asomugha. Put simply, this is the kind of revolutionary contract that will reverberate around the league for this entire off-season. Maybe longer.

Taken on an average-per-season basis, Asomugha's contract is 62 percent higher than any cornerback contract in NFL history.

This is what one general manager with several important players to sign told me about the deal: "I've already told two agents that if they include that contract in all the contracts in our negotiations, I'm not listening. It's insane. It's beyond insane. I've never seen a contract like it. The Raiders guaranteed a cornerback more money than Tom Brady or Peyton Manning ever got guaranteed. So I'm not going to listen to any agent who tries to use it as leverage. It makes no sense.''

The richest previous contract signed by a cornerback (and I don't count the eight-year, $80-million Nate Clements deal with San Francisco, because it has two phony years at a total of $27.3 million stuck on the end of it, years both sides know will never be played out) came last year -- Asante Samuel's six-year, $56.14 million deal with the Eagles. Let's compare the Samuel and Asomugha deals:

Player Date Years Total Guaranteed Ave. per year Samuel 2-29-08 6 $56.14m $20m $9.36m Asomugha 2-19-09 3 $45.38m $28.6m* $15.13m

Asomugha's average pay per year is $5.77-million per year more than Samuel's, or 62 percent more than any cornerback contract ever. Good for him. And good for the Raiders in one way -- they don't lose their best player, and because they don't force a franchise tag on him, they don't have their best player grousing about what a bad team he's on ... at least for now. But in this economy? With the Raiders always lobbying for a more revenue-producing stadium?

* One bit of clarification on the Asomugha contract: The deal is for at least two years and $28.6 million. Then the Raiders have a choice. They have until the fifth day of the league year (approximately March 5, 2011) to decide whether to keep Asomugha or allow him to become an unrestricted free agent. If they keep him, which is highly likely in what could very well be an uncapped year, they will have to pay him a minimum of $16.874 million.

Top Eagle FA

Two Eagles crack the top 25 free agents available according to SI:

20. Tra Thomas, OT, Eagles: The 11-year veteran hits the open market after spending his entire career with the Eagles. As a tall athlete with long arms, Thomas relies on his athleticism to lock up defenders on the edge. He still has enough quickness to handle speed rushers and is crafty enough to offset the various counters used by polished rushers. Though his skills have started to decline, Thomas still ranks as one of the top tackles in the game.

21. L.J. Smith, TE, Eagles: The oft-injured receiver teases scouts and coaches with his big-play potential. His exceptional speed and athleticism make him a matchup nightmare. He has averaged nearly 11 yards a reception over six seasons and is one of the few tight ends capable of stretching the middle of the field.

Subtraction by Addition?

NY Giants RB Derrick Ward is hours away from becoming a free agent. Might the Eagles consider meeting his $2.5 million asking price? The move would bolster the Eagles backfield and simultaneously weaken a division rival. Ward is 29 but seemingly a "young" 29.

A Rookie Move?

Very interesting article. Some really good points. Though Sam Donnellon must live in some happy world and not in the Philadelphia area.

 

The reason for McNabb’s leaking is for plausible deniability. Imagine the criticism that would come his way if he did take this stand more publicly. Though I think many fans would support him since they are in general agreement on the need for upgrades, there will always be a vocal portion who will absolutely kill him for whatever he said and somehow twist it in some warped way to make him look bad (not a team player?).

 

Seriously, the wonder at this point is why McNabb wants to stay with the eagles at all – what with the lack of offensive playmakers and a fair share of the fans’ seething hatred of him.

 

 And I love the irony in the reversal of fortune where before this season many fans wanted to trade him or cut him, clear cap space and begin the Kevin kolb era. Now, there is a collective, uh-oh, let’s hope that McNabb doesn’t demand to be traded or cut and we have to begin the Kevin kolb era.

 

Mcnabb really is a fascinating story – an unbelievably star-crossed career here.

Special teams good and bad

The good news: Rory Segrest is no longer coaching the special teams, which, while improved this past season, have been the worst performing unit on the team since John Harbaugh left.

 

The bad news: Segrest is now the defensive line coach in the wake of Pete Jenkins’ retirement from that spot.

Super bowl prediction

The cards are more than capable of an upset and their big play potential could put the steelers in an early hole they can't dig out of, but ultimately the steelers are the better team, the cards don't play nearly as well away from- especially travelling east - and their defense is phenomenol.

Cards 17
Steelers 27