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nonchalant

There is no placating T.O. Rosensars put in his head he deserved more money and thats the only thing that would have solved the problem. Banner is not parting with a penny before its time and no matter how much politicking and lobbying done by Mcnabb would have or could have changed it. All is peachy in Big D right now but its only a matter of time before that changes. GCobb's point was people judge Mcnabb more on frivilous stuff like his haircut, his mom, his moonwalks and bad jokes than they do his play on the field.

Banner is not parting with a penny before its time and no matter how much politicking and lobbying done by Mcnabb would have or could have changed it.

Maybe yes or maybe no. But Owens wouldn't have felt like he got stabbed in the back if McNabb would have gave him that little bit of affirmation. Would it have been that hard? What would be the big deal? Instead, he chose to play the "I'm the bigger ego here" card.

Like a wise man once said, the head coach's main job is handling different personalities. Reid failed. McNabb's job as a leader was to bring everybody together for the common good. He failed.

Maybe things will be better for McNabb in some other city. Maybe he will get some better WRs where he can return to form. But given what he was given here in terms of surrounding talent- he failed. And that's just as much an indictment of management as it is of him.

Ummm what? What bigger ego. He said I am not T.O's agent. Which was and is true. Not matter what confirmation or affirmation Mcnabb would have given T.O he would have not been happy without a new deal. If you think otherwise you are fooling yourself. Why to this day you stil pine over T.O is beyond me. He's been a train wreck everywhere he goes. Only a matter of time before it happens in Dallas.

Why to this day you stil pine over T.O is beyond me.

Because I'm gonna die never having seen my hometown team win a Super Bowl, that's why.

now please leave me to my tears

Just when things are going cool, Da Hoff sticks his head out:

Rich Hofmann | It's not the playcalling, it's the QBs

IT IS THE quarterbacking, not the playcalling.

You know the argument, the one that flared again after the Eagles' loss on Sunday to Seattle, the one that states that the way and the truth and the light was the playcalling that Jeff Garcia received last season after he took over as quarterback when Donovan McNabb tore up his knee.

It entirely misses the point. The playcalling has not changed between Garcia and this season. It is the same, and it is the same as the NFL average these days. The Eagles are not pass-happy. Coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg are not harebrained. Their offense is not lopsided by NFL standards.

They are not throwing too much. They are not underusing the great Brian Westbrook. This year has been about McNabb being inconsistent all season. Sunday was about A.J. Feeley being, uh, less than inconsistent. That's it.

Because this is the Garcia offense.

What follows is a list of called passing plays in the first half of games, before the score begins to dictate strategy. The categories are pretty self-explanatory.

We begin with Garcia's starts last season, then move through McNabb's and Feeley's this year, followed by the NFL average playcalling in the last 2 weeks.

And, so, the passing percentage:

Garcia . . . 59.1 percent.

McNabb . . . 61.6 percent.

Feeley . . . 59.7 percent.

NFL Week 12 . . . 61.2 percent.

NFL Week 13 . . . 60.5 percent.

The numbers are plain. Reid has had some wacky playcalling seasons in the past, but this is not one of them.

The Eagles were historically unbalanced in the first half of 2005 and very unbalanced at the beginning of last year. But after a hot start in 2006, McNabb faded badly. At midseason, during the bye week, Reid fired himself as the playcaller and gave the job to Mornhinweg. Since then this has been a typical NFL

offense in the new millennium. McNabb got this typical NFL playcalling, and then Garcia got it after McNabb went down, and then McNabb got it again this season, and then Feeley got it.

Typical. Average. That is what the Eagles are. Why people cannot see it is baffling. The town seems stuck on its first impression of Reid's offense, and it just is not true anymore.

But it was a lousy day, and Westbrook is such a good player, and they're not using him enough, and . . .

If you want to question individual play calls here and there, knock yourself out. Everybody does it. It is what makes the game fun.

But this had nothing to do with weather. It was raining and windy in Pittsburgh on Sunday night and the Steelers - yes, the Steelers - called 73 percent passing plays in the first half against Cincinnati. The Chicago Bears, in tropical Soldier Field, called 72 percent passing plays in the first half against the Giants. The Eagles didn't come close to that.

And, no, the Eagles are not ignoring Westbrook. He leads the league in touches per game with 26. Repeat, underlined: leads the league. He had 29 touches on Sunday, and only two players in the NFL had more - Willis

McGahee from the Ravens and Justin Fargas from the Raiders (whose real claim to fame is that his father played Huggy Bear on "Starsky and Hutch").

If he stays healthy and stays on this pace - and, remember, Westbrook has missed one game because of injury and barely practices these days, such is the pounding he takes - he will finish the season with about 70 more touches than last season. They can lean on him a bit more, maybe, but only a bit.

He is hardly being ignored.

But back to this first-half stuff. Why fixate on that? The game is 60 minutes, and the Eagles ran more for Garcia in the second half than they're doing now, right?

Yes, right. But the reason has been the score, as it has been in the NFL forever. In case you

haven't noticed, the Eagles are perpetually behind this season.

Garcia started eight games. In the last six, the Eagles held the lead at halftime. In those six games, the Eagles held the second-half lead for an average of 26 out of 30 minutes. That's why they could run more at the end of those games.

This year? Forget it. In 12 games, the Eagles have held the halftime lead in only four - and not since the Minnesota game on Oct. 28. For the last 5 weeks, they have been behind at the half in every game. And when you are behind at the half, you throw more.

Look at every NFL team that was trailing at halftime last week, and how it called plays in the third quarter. It went like this:

Eagles . . . 71 percent passes.

NFL Week 13 . . . 68 percent passes.

Every trailing team throws more after halftime. And if the Eagles had turned one of their third-quarter passes into a run, they would have been below the league average for passes. One play. Does that really suggest playcallers who have lost their minds?

Why people cannot see this is inexplicable, but Mornhinweg acts just like the average offensive coordinator in the first half, and just like the average offensive coordinator when his team is behind.

And why are the Eagles always behind?

All together now: Because of the quarterbacking, not the playcalling. *

Hoffman can suck a fat, throbbing hard-on for that article.

Yo Rich, take your pencil-dick head out of your ass and consider this:

1. The hidden pass attempts. McNabb has been sacked 30 times and run the ball 30 times in 9 games. That's 6.7 hidden pass attempts per game and 3.3 fewer "running attempts" per game.

When you factor the hidden attempts in for the Eagles this season, they throw the ball 65% pf the time and run the ball 35% of the time.

2. The fat fuck propagated myth of "passing because they are down". This season, these are the scores at halftime (Eagles score first):

10-10
6-10
42-21
0-7
10-6
9-3
17-10
7-21
7-12
3-7
21-24
17-21

So they've been down at the half 7 times. They've been down by more than 7 points just 1 time.

spare me the "we have to catch up!" bullshit when you are either winning or down by 1 or fewer scores in all but one of the games this year.

Fuck you Hoffman...seriously.

Make the same adjustments to the Patriots, who are throwing it a TON, and they have a 60/40 pass run split.

3. The "this is what everyone else is doing" excuse.

You know what? Fuck you very much there, too.

If the problem is "QB play", as you suggest, why would you keep the ridiculous pass calling offense and continue to act shocked every time your QBs fail? How fucking stupid is it to continue calling these plays and continue acting surprised when your sucky QBs fuck it up again?

Do what you do best. Do what it takes to win. The Steelers ran the ball more than they threw when they went on to win a recent super bowl. The Patriots are going to win this year throwing 60% of the time.

Which is the right way to win? Neither , you fucking asshole.

The "right" way is the way that's right for your team. This team, as it's constructed, wins when they commit to the run...so fucking run.


That article really pissed me off.

you go girl

FD, weren't you the one asking us what our problem with Da Hoff was?

Just messin'. Seriously, tremendous breakdown for calling out a nimrod who wants to distort the facts towards his argument.

Phil Sheridan going after Draft Day Gaffes

The Eagles? They outsmarted only themselves


I read this over the weekend. Like the last line in the column (see above)

Kind of seems to be the Eagles theme.

We are so much better and smarter than every one else.

That's why we are the.. cough cough GOLD STANDARD

dam I totally misunderstood last years draft, I for some reason thought the Eagles also got Dallas' 1st pick in this years draft for the trade last year... I had no idea how badly they got hosed... I hope Jerry at least had the manors to wipe the load off Lurie's face after he got the happy ending...

Hosed is all a matter of opinion. They got Kolb, Bradley, and Gaddis for Anthony Spencer.

It will all come down to how the players pan out.

Essentially, the Cowboys dealt their 2007 1st round pick for the identical pick in 2008. They then traded their high 2nd round pick, third round pick, and 5th round pick to get back int eh first round.

The Eagles dropped 10 spots and picked up the guy they wanted plus 2 other players.

NOW, if the Browns would have been bad again this year it would have been a great, great move by the Boys.

You can practically hear Rich Hoffman gagging on Reid's cock as he goes to ridiculous lengths to prove the Eagles "really do pretty well in the draft."

His scientific backup is here.

Good going, Rich! I knew you had it in you!

His philosophy is inherently flawed, since he accounts for players that have started on this team that were drafted. Thank you Matt McCoy/Greg Lewis.

And a real contribution? Please - even a scrub can contribute with a tackle every now and again.

Looks like they're still holding on to 2002, as I still wonder how much of that was Heckert and what was Modrak.

Ah, Hoff - whatever would we do without you?

Rich Hofmann: It seems McNabb's wish is no longer Eagles' demand

By Rich Hofmann

IN THESE recessionary times, another Philadelphia industrial concern - Trade for Larry Fitzgerald, Inc. - appears to have suspended activity. The news will come as a great shock to many, seeing as how the business seemed to be thriving just days ago. Especially hard-hit were the print and broadcast divisions of the company. Layoffs appear to be inevitable.

So, now what? The Eagles have to get somebody, don't they? And if they don't, what does that say about the strength of Donovan McNabb's voice within the Eagles' organization?

As political theater, this will be a fascinating performance to watch in the coming months. Because McNabb made it clear that he believed the Eagles needed playmakers in all three phases of the game - wink, wink. So far, the Eagles have not addressed his phase, other than to bring back tight end L.J. Smith and declare him healthy.

Now that the Randy Moss flirtation is over, along with the Fitzgerald fantasy, if McNabb cannot beg himself a wideout this spring - somebody, anybody; Bryant Johnson, come on down - does the quarterback have any juice at all within the organization anymore?

In 2004, McNabb lobbied for Terrell Owens and got him. In 2005, so many controversies later, McNabb proclaimed late one night after a loss to the Redskins that the Eagles were better off without Owens, and that was the final nail. The man, back then, was The Man. His opinion mattered, even as people criticized him for keeping so many of his opinions to himself.

Now, though, who knows?

Let's go back to the list of needs that the Eagles carried into the start of the offseason, and see what they have done so far. The order of need is mine, and it might even have changed a little along the way. (So sue me.)

But it was always defense first. It was the only sensible way to approach their problems.

So, the list:

1) Pass rusher. The Eagles have addressed that with the signing of defensive end Chris Clemons from Oakland. Time will decide if it was a good signing, but the need has been addressed.

2) Young cornerback. My thought was to draft a guy here, the eventual replacement for Lito Sheppard, on whom the Eagles soured last season (despite whatever they said publicly). Instead, the Eagles threw a sinkfull of cash at Asante Samuel from the Patriots. Need addressed.

3) Return specialist. The preference here would be for a veteran, not a drafted kid.

4) Wide receiver. Why only fourth on the list? Because if McNabb is still McNabb, if you still think he can play, then the need is not for a field-stretcher. It is for a big red-zone target the quarterback trusts. McNabb has complained enough that you need to give him this much. This cannot be a draft pick. Cannot. And they are pretty much down to Seattle's D.J. Hackett and Arizona's Johnson, unless there is some other trade improbability upon which we will now begin to fixate.

5) Young free safety. This is the highest draft priority remaining, finding the eventual replacement for Brian Dawkins. Maybe he returns punts, too. But this one is an absolute necessity.

6) Young offensive tackle. Given that nobody can be sure about what Winston Justice is or isn't, and given the age and contract status of Tra Thomas and Jon Runyan, having a potential starter in the pipeline is crucial.

7) Veteran backup linebacker, now that Takeo Spikes is gone.

8) Fullback.

9) Rotation defensive tackle.

If you look at what they have done so far, it is clear the Eagles are building on defense. It has been obvious for months that this was the way to go, that this was the way the Eagles could make the biggest impact on their 8-8 football team.

They didn't rush the passer last season, and they didn't create turnovers, and they needed to fix it and they have worked to fix it. The wide-receiver thing fell behind that on the priority list - it really did. That is how deficient the defense was in taking the ball away and creating field position in 2007.

If they use their first-round draft choice to take a safety, or if they package their second-rounder with Sheppard and move up to a better second-rounder and take a safety, they will have pretty much rebuilt the defense on the fly, and done it in about 2 years. If these guys are players, they will give defensive coordinator Jim Johnson enough coverage skill and enough versatility to be able to design the blitzes that will get there like they used to get there - and without giving up too many big plays.

True, true, they need to get McNabb some kind of a weapon - and, no, a healthy Smith at tight end does not entirely fill that bill, not given the clarity (and frequency) with which McNabb begged for help. If he is your quarterback - given the history, given everything - you need to give him somebody.

But what if they don't?

What would that say about

McNabb's stature then? *

I like how revisionist history comes into play here - McNabb asks for Owens and gets him. Never mind the fact that they didn't really pursue him until he practically fell in their laps.

And I also like the point he makes in how because the Birds can't get a #1 receiver, then that means McNabb's voice is resonating less within the organization.

And field stretcher? Why on earth would we need that?

4) Wide receiver. Why only fourth on the list? Because if McNabb is still McNabb, if you still think he can play, then the need is not for a field-stretcher. It is for a big red-zone target the quarterback trusts.

Yeah. Touchdowns aren't really that important and shouldn't be a priority, right?


McNabb has complained enough that you need to give him this much. This cannot be a draft pick. Cannot.

Yay! Rich is finally talking sense! I knew ya had it in ya, boy!

And they are pretty much down to Seattle's D.J. Hackett and Arizona's Johnson, unless there is some other trade improbability upon which we will now begin to fixate.

Oh, Rich. You're such a tease. You were just so close to actually criticizing the team. I really had high hopes for you this time. Ah, well. I look forward to your late summer "The Eagles Didn't Need a Wide Receiver" column that blames every failure of the last 9 years on McNabb.

Didn't know where else to put this, but here's A Q-A with F-B

- He pretty much admitted he doesn't share the fanbase's sentiment about WRs.

- Reggie Brown's better than people think. I think he's average, so I gotta disagree.
- Lito's on the team (for now, anyway).
- They can upgrade at returner, though reno Mahe is a "very soild answer". Yeesh.
- Clemons could be a starter, as Reid isn't opposed to sending in undersized fastballs.
- Linebackers are probably the best he's seen in a while (can't disagree with that).

"And field stretcher? Why on earth would we need that? "

To carry McNabb off the field the next time Justice starts at tackle.

Gotta point out Paul Domo giving the Birds a 'B+' in this draft. What?

Here's more:

Domo's Take: The trade for Lorenzo Booker and the additions of return man Jackson and Laws give the Eagles three guys who should be able to make a contribution right out of the gate. Multiple picks in the fourth round made Ikegwuonu an affordable investment.

'Affordable investment'? I hear birds all around me now......

Final minicamp thoughts on Grouchy Andy- Les Bowen

I don't get as offended by Andy Reid as some folks in the media. I don't pretend to understand the Eagles' coach, why he is like he is. I think he's an extremely uncomfortable public speaker who, much like his quarterback, sometimes has a hard time articulating what he's trying to say in plain English. I think his unease at being in front of the microphones factors into his perceived testiness. And, bottom line, I don't think it much matters how a coach treats us if he wins football games, which Reid has done, more often than not. I think reporters who evaluate coaches and players primarily on how they treat reporters are doing their readers, viewers, or listeners a disservice.

All that said, I have no idea why Reid got snarky yesterday when radio reporter Brian Seltzer asked a perfectly legitimate, respectful question. Seltzer wondered if the fairly smooth minicamp that ended Monday was an improvement over the situation a year ago, when Reid was still dealing with the aftermath of his sons' arrests, and Donovan McNabb was still sidelined following ACL surgery.

Reid's answer: "I thought you guys struggled to find a positive story. You did a good job finding the negative ones, but there are plenty of positive ones that you could find out there. There are some good young players that you could really focus in on and look at. Other than that, it was business as usual."

If Reid was talking about finding negative stories last year, well, I thought everybody in the local media handled Reid's family problems with dignity, empathy, and courtesy -- more courtesy than the people who regularly cover the team have gotten in return, with Reid making his most extensive comments about his troubles in Philadelphia Magazine and The New York Times.

Reading over Monday's remarks again, it seems more likely he was talking about this year. I suppose he is disappointed that the focus of minicamp coverage was 1. Lito Sheppard, here and untraded, and 2. Donovan McNabb, returning to an offense that did not make any dramatic upgrades at skill positions, something McNabb and other Eagles had seemed to imply was necessary.

If that's the coach's gripe, well, Andy, tough beans. I think our collective news judgment is a lot better than yours. I'm not getting a lot of fan e-mails asking me to stop writing about Lito and Donovan and focus on Andy Studebaker. You ought to have been very happy and relieved by the way this minicamp went. Nobody on your team got hurt, arrested, or found himself on the wrong end of a firearm registered to Marvin Harrison.

Sheppard, McNabb, Brian Westbrook, and Sheldon Brown all spoke with reporters and not one of them poured any gasoline. A few people acknowledged that the crowded defensive backfield has to be a little uncomfortable for the protagonists in that drama. That was about it. Yeah, a few reporters and commentators (not all of us, by a long shot; not the ones most fans take seriously) might have worked feverishly to stretch these meager ingredients into chicken salad. You're touchy about that, and you've been in Philadelphia how long now?

All is well, dude, or as well as it ever gets around here. Relax. At least until June 3, when Lito either shows or doesn't show for full-team OTAs.

If you need a mood-lightener, there's nothing better than a BANG! cartoon mocking the Cowboys. And yeah, it probably should be rated PG-13. Rule of thumb: If "SouthPark" offends you, don't click

Screw Obama. I'm voting for Bowen!

This guy has a real way of telling it like it is, putting in in plain English and using logic to such a degree that Bannercorp can't really get offended.

YES WE CAN!

This guy just unloads on Spuds:


click here

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