The Franchise

McNabb is traded and the Phillies sign their super slugger to a monster contract extension.

Ryan Howard: the new undisputed king of Philadelphia sports.

Eagles Draft Evaluation

A thumbnail description of the Eagles' draft picks courtesy of the NFL's evaluators. Warning: the following list contains numerous references to special teams and back up duty.

# 1 (13) Brandon Graham DE- "should be productive at the next level in the right defensive scheme."

# 2 (37) Nate Allen CB - "a good football player that has the mental toughness, size and athleticism to work into a starting position in his rookie season."

#3 (86) Daniel Te'o-Nesheim DE clearly overachieved in college and is not likely to transition well at the next level.

#4 (105) Trevard Lindley CB - "isn't an elite corner but has the tools to develop into a solid contributor as a corner in sub packages (nickel back) as well as special teams."

#4 (121) Keenan Clayton LB - " a good football player but is limited due to his size, which likely will relegate him to a back-up role and special teams duty."

#4 (122) Mike Kafka QB - "has too many physical limitations to be considered more than a backup."

#4 (125) Clay Harbor TE -  "possesses the kind of athleticism that makes him an intriguing option in the Eagles' diverse passing game."

#5 (134) Ricky Sapp DE - "should bode well as a special-teams contributor, as well as providing depth to a defense at the next level."

#5 (159) Riley Cooper WR - "can struggle on his release against a good press corner and will need some work on running more precise routes. "

#6 (200) Charles Scott RB - "a punishing blocker but needs a lot of technique work for the next level. He is an adequate receiver out of the backfield but won't be much of a factor in the downfield passing game."

#7 (220) Jamar Chaney LB - " very good football player that is likely to be productive as a rookie."

#7 (243) Jeff Owens DT - "a tough hard-nosed lineman that has some athletic limitations but his intangibles (motor, leadership qualities) gives him a great chance to contribute in his rookie season."

#7 (244) Kurt Coleman SS - "should be a contributor on special teams as a rookie but may take some time to get on the field defensively."

Flyboys

Congrats to the Flyers for beating the hated New Jersey Devils in the playoffs...10 years too late.

Another Reach

D'oh!

Andy picks a 6th round sleeper...in the 3rd round.

From Moving the Chains:

In his series with the Daily News, NFL Network's Mike Mayock had Te'o-Nesheim listed as a sleeper:

A 4-3 end /outside linebacker. He's a hustle guy. A core special-teams guy. I think it's going to be difficult to cut him because he works so hard. He's a little quicker than people think. I think he's a good player and makes a team.

However, that can be a little misleading. Mayock had him projected as a sixth- or seventh-round pick. He was saying that Te'o-Nesheim would surprise some people by making a roster. Expectations are different when a guy is taken in the third round.

Te'o-Nesheim=McCoy?

Faster, smaller

The one thing to worry about the Graham pick is that it has all the hallmarks of those infamous Andy Reid reaches or too smart for his own good. 

What concerns me is the Eagles traded up and didn't pick one of the two top DEs - Morgan and Paul-Pierre - but a guy who was ranked only a little further down the scale like in #4-5 among all DEs.

On the bright side, Graham comes from a big school and a big program so he should not be a complete bust like some of the reaches Andy's made to smaller schools (San Diego State anyone?) and D-II and III schools.

Brandon Graham

A friend and Michigan alum writes about Eagles' first round pick Brandon Graham:

Brandon Graham is one of my all-time favorite Wolverines.  Not just because he was unbelievably good, but because he was unbelievably good on two of the worst Michigan teams in school history, and yet he never complained or let-up.  I love the guy.  If Jim Johnson were still running this defense, Graham would be a Pro Bowler within two years.   Here is a taste of what you are getting, and really just a taste.   http://mgoblog.com/content/godspeed-brandon-graham   In this one, watch it all, or skip to 3:31 to see a series of clips from the Iowa game in which he abused first round pick Bryan Baluga, and then 7:10 to see 2 of his many great plays against OSU.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQfcytu6ItI&feature=PlayList&p=79035A25579BE6E9&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=5

McNabb

I recently contended that McNabb was still a top 12 qb in the league and a friend scolded me by saying he was top 8 or top 10.

Well, now comes mcnabb/philly hater the Sports Guy with his mock draft and this list of top 12 qbs based on an open lottery.

Digging deeper, let's say the NFL pressed the reset button, made every QB a free agent, then held a QB lottery for the 32 teams. The top 12 order of preference would look something like this: Peyton Manning (picked first overall); Tom Brady (sixth round); Drew Brees (second round); Philip Rivers (fourth overall); Aaron Rodgers (24th overall); Ben Roethlisberger (11th overall); Mark Sanchez (fifth overall); Matt Ryan (third overall); Eli Manning (first overall); Tony Romo (undrafted); Joe Flacco (18th overall); Matt Schaub (third round).

Not sure how McNabb doesn't crack the top 12. I would think it was partly due to age and the preference to go with much younger QBs, a la Flacco and Schaub. But if that was the case, wouldn't Manning and Brady be slightly lower and younger guns given the nod over them? how does Aaron Rodgers rate 5th overall?! The jury is still out on Flacco who still only has to manage games. Sanchez seems kind of high after one season. And by the way, did you know Tony Romo is 30?

Has Matt Schaub (East HS grad...Viking Pride!) ever made a pro bowl or gotten his team to the playoffs? Cutler must really suck not to make this list.

This is just crazy. And his general argument for the Rams NOT to take Bradford is also an unspoken argument for more teams to have tried to trade for a prove pro bowl qb commodity like McNabb.

BTW, later in the column he mentions that San Fran is so desperate to win that they should consider trading for Roethlisberger. Again, we all have to ask - how did the Niners not give up a 2nd and 3rd rounder for McNabb right now?

Also later sports guy suggests Eagles may benefit from losing McNabb - the Ewing theory.

He really hates McNabb.

Playoffs?!

it can't be a good sign for either the Flyers nor the NHL that playoff tickets are still available for Flyer home games in this series, incredibly for game 3 - particularly since they are playing the hated Devils (who should be a good draw and whose fans are close enough you might expect them to buy any excess tix and make the short drive down to watch their team at the Wachovia Center).

Boorish Bank Fans

Gonzo comes to the defense of vilified Philly fans after the latest national attention to boorish behavior at a sports event -this time a Phillies game.

Funny, though. In citing other cities' instances of bad fan behavior Gonzo doesn't actually mention that a Phillies fan was MURDERED outside of the Citizens Bank last year.

Games Played

Um, do Ripken and Gehrig know about this?

Jimmy Rollins is listed as having played in seven games this season, which is technically correct even though he didn't see a pitch or report to a single position for even one batter in Monday's home opener. The reason: Once the lineup card was turned in, which was before he suffered the calf injury that landed him on the disabled list, he was technically in the game and therefore unavailable to pinch-hit or go in as a defensive replacement. So, logically, he has to be listed as having been in the game even though he didn't actually play.

McNabb "headline"

As usual - the Onion perfectly captures the reality of Philadelphia sports in a humorous way. Again, hard to tell if this headline and story are fact or fiction.

A $500 reserved bar stool

Essentially this is a PSL for a bar seat near Fenway Park. And yet, the line between genius and madness is very thin indeed.

Near Fenway, a $500 View of the Bar TV - NYTimes.com

Scenes from the Opener

My friend and intrepid journalist PK was at yesterday's Phillies-National season opener and offers this report:

It's hard to overstate how much the McNabb trade permeated the environment at the Phillies-Nats game today. Everyone -- and I mean everyone -- was talking about it. Inside the men's room, in the beer lines, walking to/from the game. 

"Hey, Giants suck," some Phillies fan chirped to my buddy as we walked into the stadium, him wearing an NYG t-shirt.

"Get a quarterback, you losers," his brother Jack shouted back at the Phils' fans.

They had no rebuttal.

All that being said, I've never been to a game like that where the road team's fans sooooo utterly dominated the volume throughout the game. It was a little ugly at times (our fans were yelling "sucks" after each National was announced at the start of the game, including guys who were assistant bench coaches and didn't even wear a uniform).

All in all, I'm now at peace with what the Eags did. It was the dumbest thing any team I've cheered for has done, sure. But I'm moving on.

Today, guys, we put on the field the greatest Opening Day roster in the history of the Philadelphia Phillies. A lot can still go wrong, and a lot might go wrong. 

But if we stay reasonably healthy, we're easily the best team in the National League. Easily. I personally suspect that we'll fall victim to a bunch of injuries this year, as we've been really lucky avoiding major injuries.

But on paper, wow, this is like the '77 Phillies, except with all the experience possible.

Wow.

Amazing crowd. Given the fear of Obama and Secret Service, I'd guess 30,000 folks were in the park before noon, which was a good thing, because if you waited till normal times to try to get in, you were screwed. SS closed down S. Capitol to move POTUS, so it was a nightmare on the streets outside. 

But I got into the park before noon. Between the national anthem and the First Pitch, there was an odd 10-min delay. They filled the time by honoring Zimmerman's Golden Glove and Adam Dunn's Silver Slugger award. 

It made me worried that there was some sorta Obama delay -- was he taking a crap, was he not warmed up and fearful of throwing a bad pitch, were the Lerners soooo stupid and ignorant that they delayed the president's pitch 10 mins so they could honor the only 2 players worth their weight from last year's terrible team?

As presidential pitches go, it was a strike. He pitched from the rubber, he got the ball to the plate, it didn't hit the dirt. Strike one.

The really big thing about our game yesterday was the top of the lineup. JRoll looked great. Line drives. That's the key to his game, not pulling off trying to hit homers and ending up with weak flies to the outfifeld. Polanco made GM Ruben look like a genius.

The 3-7 All Stars looked like All Stars. (Does anyone else in baseball have 5 consecutive All Stars in the heart of their lineup?)

The thing to know about great pitchers is, the 2nd time through the lineup, they get stronger. They've noticed a hitter's tendencies, and they take advantage. Doc looked great from the 3rd inning on.

The thing to know about bad pitchers is, they get rocked the 2nd time through the lineup.

Hence: The Phillies 5-run 3rd inning.

My guess is, Lanan probably through Howard the same exact first pitch he started him on in the 1st inning. So he just ripped it outta the park.

Our defense looked great. We turned double plays. Howard dug balls outta the dirt. 

There's simply no weakness anywhere in that lineup now.

With Polanco at 2, Werth hitting 5 and switch hitting Victorino hitting 7, they now have the solution to the overloaded lefty situation in the lineup.

Setting aside obvious pitching concerns -- is Cole back, the closer situation, Blanton's oblique -- there should only be 2 worries: Polanco's glove and Raul's bat.

Raul is old, and he might start falling off. We accepted the 2nd half fall off last year as an injury thing. Truth is, that's what he's done his entire career, been incredibly hot and then incredibly cold.

Now, he's a year older. We'll see.

Elway McNabb

I've said all along that McNabb's history and reputation closely tracked John Elway's (great QB, couldn't win the big game). Elway always had lousy RBs. McNabb has had lousy WRs.

Well, their history just got even closer with him going to the coach that helped Elway win two super bowls late in his career. Could it happen for McNabb. Possibly.

McNabb Appreciation

McNabb has the 20th most wins in NFL HISTORY.

He is 9 wins from the top 10.  without injury he'll get to top 6-7 regardless of where he plays, possible top 5 if he plays with good team.

Of the top 47 QB's (in wins - used 47 because that's where drew Brees is ranked at moment) - here are the players with a better win % -

Favre, Manning, Brady, Bradshaw, Stabler, Steve Young and Staubach.

7 players with better winning percentages.  SEVEN.  Problem obviously is they all have rings.  The other problem is that 3 of 7 are conmtemporaries and everyone always points to him not being Manning/brady - yes, he's not them - almost nobody has been in the entire history of the NFL.

92 wins.  He averages 10.4 wins per season (.651 win % times 16 games).

The guy wins - that goes for Andy too.  Say what you will about his playcalling and his stubbornness, but the guy gets it done.  Reid has 11th best win % in NFL history.

The Blindside

There is.

A couple different themes:

1 there is no more "rebulding". You can go from 5-11 to 11-5 in one year with sked fornat (worst play worst) and savvy acquisitions. Jeff has already made this point for several years but analysts still treat these huge improvement teams as wonders and flukes tho it happens every year.

2 THERE IS NO MORE SALARY CAP. Has anyone adjusted to this fact yet? The notion of any concern for mcnabb's $11 million salary in 2010 is pointless.

More to the point. Why aren't the cards willing to give up on leinart? There's no salary cap hit for cutting him. Do they think he can start? If so why hasn't he already.

With no cap you can carry 2 quality qbs on your team all the time.

Under this scenario and for a team like the rams, mcnabb can serve like doug pederson while they groom bradford - only mcnabb is a pro bowler and will win games so you haven't wasted a season or two getting bradford ready and are totally competitive. Heck, you can even franchise mcnabb so you get him for two seasons. He's also insurance in case bradford turns out to be more ryan leaf/tim couch than carson palmer.

I think the roethlisberger/flacco situations have fooled some where 1-3 year qbs aren't asked to do much and awesome D stifles opponents and this system is seen as as a good and replicatable model - which it isn't.

Finally, maybe we (and the eagles) are overestimating mcnabb's ability. But objectively he is still a top 12 qb in the league. Why the 20 teams with worse qbs aren't interested is beyond me.

A Blindside?

Is there something we're missing in all this? Remember a few yrs back when GMs decided RBs weren't very valuable? That's when GMs decided/realized that most RBs were a function of their system and their O line. Denver produced 4 or 5 different Pro Bowlers in 6-7 yrs. Didn't matter if it was Terrell Davis, Mike Anderson or Clinton Portis running the rock. 

Has there been some such evaluation at the QB position that I'm unaware of? Have GMs in Phoenix and Minneapolis decided they're so smart they can plug someone into their system and win, so it's not wise to spend on a guy like McNabb? Or is Donovan secretly rated very poorly by all the GMs of the world because he's not accurate? Because it's all very confusing. I really don't understand the lack of interest in McNabb. 

The Clayton pts are all well noted, but there are a half dozen teams that are 6-8 win teams that would instantly transformed into AFC or NFC title contenders with him. I feel as if we're in a Michael Lewis/Blind Side/Steve Wallace moment, where the entire shape of the game is being changed and we can't all see above the day-to-day fray to realize how significant a moment this is.

Why Not More Interest In McNabb?

Herm Edwards brought up that the Niners should trade their 1^st (one of them) for Brandon Marshall and their 2^nd for McNabb and still have a 1^st round draft pick (13 or 16 whichever they don't trade to the Broncos).  Then they are the clear favorites in the West and legitimate shot at playoff run.

 

The 2 problems are 1) Alex Smith 2) spending the money on McNabb and Marshall.

 

How as a Niners fan are you not clamoring for that.

 

Your skill players are –McNabb, Marshall, Crabtree, Vernon Davis, Frank Gore.

 

Your D is pretty good and Patrick Willis will be making run at NFL D player of the year soon.

 

You would instantly be in the conversation with the Saints/Vikings/Cowboys – I mean instantly.  Think about it –automatic 1 home game as division winner and  by going 6-0 (that team would go 6-0) in division you would have legitimate chance at bye.

Eagles Asking Price

very nice summary of the situation by Clayton. One point i think needs to be made in defense of the Eagles and their "high" asking price is that some of the onus has to be put on the teams that declined to trade for him. I mean, if you have a playoff contending team - or even perhaps a super bowl worthy team - why in the world wouldn't you spend a little more to get McNabb. Why in the world would you opt for such failed talent as Derek Anderson - who got benched in favor of Brady Quinn. Why would the Browns then turn around and put their faith in Jake Delhomme and Seneca Wallace!! for gosh sakes.

In signing David Carr, the Niners are clearly still relying on Alex Smith, which is a questionable call.

And don't get me started about the Vikings and this annual Favre drama. The Vikings were a blown Eagles-Cowboys game from not having a bye. they won a couple games they shouldn't. If i were childress, i would think long and hard about cutting Favre loose and just going out and getting mcnabb.

Who's the QB in Jacksonville? He's better than McNabb?

McNabb Deal

And here's Clayton's brilliant Donovan analysis, make sure to read to the very, very end, because he makes the point that Jeff has been making about Rogers and I've been making all along about riding out the great QB for as long as is possible:

McNabb suitors limited from the start

---

By John Clayton

ESPN.com

Apparently, the Philadelphia Eagles, one of the NFL's smarter organizations, didn't study enough history before trying to trade Donovan McNabb. 

Even though pro football revolves around the quarterback, it's hard to handle quarterback trades like auctions, particularly for quarterbacks in their mid-30s. McNabb is 33, not a bad age for a quarterback. He's still in his prime. Compared to Brett Favre, he's still a kid. 

But the team that would ultimately trade for McNabb must be a only quarterback away from contending for a Super Bowl. The top teams have their quarterbacks, so finding the right trading partner is a little trickier than the Eagles expected, and that's why you have yet to see McNabb move to a new home. The teams the Eagles targeted were the 49ers, Cardinals and Vikings. Minnesota didn't bite because it expects Favre to come back. The asking price of a first-round pick plus the $11 million-plus salary scared off the Cardinals enough that they made other moves, signing Derek Anderson. The 49ers signed David Carr. Unless both teams are willing to give up on their former No. 1 picks -- Matt Leinart in Arizona and Alex Smith in San Francisco -- those two NFC West teams can be scratched from the list.

History has shown that an aging quarterback with elite ability can add five to six points to an offense. Favre added 8.6 points to the Jets' offense in 2008 and 5.7 to the Vikings' offense last season. Steve McNair added 5.5 points a game to the Ravens' offense in 2006. A 37-year-old Jeff Garcia added 7.7 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' offense in 2007. Favre turned the Vikings from a 10-win team to a 12-win team that went to a conference championship game. McNabb could have kept the Cardinals at the 10- to 11-win level and maybe taken the 49ers to the same, but the price was too high. Favre went to the Jets for a second-round pick. McNair went to the Ravens for a fourth. He was the same age as McNabb.

So why wouldn't other teams jump at the chance to add five to six points to their offense? The answer: expectations. To make a bold move on McNabb for a first- or second-round pick, the team making the trade must be thinking about going to a championship game, not just being a wild-card contender.

Which brings us to the Oakland Raiders, who have been buried in a four- to five-win funk seemingly forever. WithJaMarcus Russell at the helm much of the season, the Raiders averaged only 12.3 points a game in 2009. There is no doubt McNabb could make a major impact on the Raiders. He's a 60 percent thrower, so you figure he would add a lot of efficiency to the Raiders' offense. But the Raiders' offensive line has problems, so McNabb might be sacked 45 times instead of the 35 he had in Philadelphia last season. Still, McNabb would give the Raiders about 231 net passing yards a game. Compared to the team's 159.8 yards a game last year, McNabb's presence should be worth three to maybe four more wins. 

Unfortunately for Raiders fans, three to four wins may not make enough sense for the team to give up a second-round choice for a chance at an eight- or nine-win wild-card run. The move would not be similar to the Rich Gannon signing of 1999, because getting McNabb might not be a long-term solution. The Raiders signed Gannon when he was 33 to a four-year contract. McNabb wouldn't want to sign a long-term deal with the Raiders. Sure, Davis could franchise McNabb in 2011 if there is a franchise tab, but McNabb wants to play only for the Eagles unless the Eagles find a trading partner that appeals to him.

Where the Eagles might have blown it is by letting the Cleveland Browns get away. Had the Eagles come to the Browns with an offer to give up McNabb for a third-rounder and maybe a conditional pick in 2011, Mike Holmgren and Tom Heckert might have been intrigued. The Browns instead signed an aging Jake Delhomme and traded for Seneca Wallaceand are now out of the market. At the very least, keeping the Browns involved might have started a bidding war that could have netted the Eagles a second-rounder. 

Back to the Raiders: Gannon did in his first year what McNabb could probably do, completing 19 of 32 passes a game. Still, the Raiders finished 8-8, but at least Davis knew he had three more years of Gannon. With Gannon, the Raiders became contenders until he retired. Unlike Gannon, whose offense averaged 24 points a game in 1999, McNabb might be able to get only 20 points a game out of the current Raiders offense. Getting 20 points probably points to a seven- to nine-win season, not good enough for Davis to hand over a second-round choice.

The other history lesson the Eagles might not have studied is what happened to the Packers after trading Favre. Aaron Rodgers was a star sitting on the Packers' bench. I'm not sure Kevin Kolb can be as good as Rodgers, but let's say Kolb can be pretty good. The Packers traded Favre out of the NFC to the AFC, not totally blocking a chance for Favre to return to the NFC North. In his first year as a starter, Kolb can expect to lose the close games like Rodgers, who threw for over 4,000 yards in 2008 as a first-time starter but couldn't prevent the Packers' win total from dropping from 13 to six. 

Under Kolb, the Eagles might drop a couple of games. Favre ended up back in the NFC North with the Vikings, who have now won back-to-back division titles over the Packers. Let's say McNabb goes to the Raiders and leaves after a year. Where do you think he goes? You got it. McNabb could end up with the Vikings in 2011 as Favre's replacement, and if Kolb becomes good enough to keep the Eagles playoff contenders, McNabb may have the edge over the Eagles if they meet in the 2011 playoffs. 

History shows it's often better to ride your once-in-a-generation quarterback until he retires.

John Clayton, a recipient of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's McCann Award for distinguished reporting, is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

McNabb

My brother and friend had a long email conversation over the weekend leading up to the blockbuster trade sending the best, most successful QB in Eagles' history to a division rival. The following entries are excerpts from that back and forth.

just heard John Clayton on Mike and Mike talking about McNabb and trade. Gives chance of Raiders' deal at 20%. Said Raiders are in no rush to do this deal. Says Asomongue (sp) was never part of deal - Raiders want to keep him. Says Eagles asking price has been too high, suggested that some teams were interested - Cleveland - but were thinking more of a 3rd rounder for McNabb. Says asking price for Kolb is even higher - a first and a third. Seattle inquired but price was too high for Kolb. Says Rams were never really interested in McNabb

Says Eagles really want to deal McNabb before May 5 when they have to pay him $6 million roster bonus. If they pay it are most likely to keep him for season. Not sure what that means for who is the starter.

I don't understand this either. The Bears gave up 2 1st rounders and a 3rd, plus their starting QB (kyle orton) for Jay Cutler. Really, the only think Cutler has over McNabb is he age - he is 7 years younger, other than that McNabb is a better QB all-around.

The lack of interest in McNabb gives lie to the notion of team's desperately interested in franchise QBs.

I find it incredible that no team but the Raiders is interested in getting McNabb. What team wouldn't part with a 1st rounder to be assured of having one of the top 12 QBs in the entire league - immediately - for the next four years. Is the NFL becoming more like the NBA, where value is assigned more on your potential than, you know, what you are actually doing during the game?

Black Sunday

It is a sad end to an era. The Eagles have willfully given away their franchise QB - or as the Washington Post describes Donovan McNabb "Philadelphia's all-time leader in wins, pass attempts, completions, yards, and touchdowns" for a second round pick and a 4th rounder (maybe a 3rd if he plays well) next year.

It's somewhat surprising he was dealt to a division rival. Two ways of thinking about it: 

1) The Redskins were the only team willing to offer the value the Eagles wanted for McNabb

2) Andy Reid wouldn't do McNabb wrong by sending him to Oakland or Buffalo even if it meant having to face him twice a year.

Not sure what this does with the Skins 1st round pick and their interest in Jimmy Clausen. Presumably, they could still pick Clausen and groom him while winning games with McNabb. Or, having secured their QB for the next four years - a proven pro bowler at that - (assuming a contract extension) they can trade down and stockpile picks or select based solely on need.

The McNabb haters shouldn't be bothered he's now playing for a division rival and will get to play the Eagles twice a year. After all, if McNabb is such a loser this trade is good news for the Eagles.

Alas, the reality is that the Eagles now have the worst QB in the division and are looking at a 6-10 rebuilding year. Congratulations Kevin Kolb.

Big D in Philadelphia?

Are the Phillies a dynasty? Not yet, but they're getting national coverage asking the question like this Washington Post story. A third consecutive NL pennant may be the clincher. A second World Series title? Definitely.

Philadelphia Phillies are in their prime, yet the window is closing on their chance to be a dynasty - washingtonpost.com