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Funny, ... McNabb's current outlook/comments and his behavior when Kolb was drafted.

Just sayin'.

Same outlook as now, I think.

He wants players who can help his 31 year old ass win or he wants to be dumped. He doesn't want them drafting the "corner back of the future", avoiding FA, and counting on the Jason Avant's of the world to become great.

Nah, I have no issues with it.
He was sayin the same thing on Draft day- enuff with the future, im old, lets win now.



And Im no McHomer.


Moving on: I was just on Pravda, I mean the EMB, and had to laugh. HOnestly, I actually kinda like Spuds' unabashed homerism, it's such a part of him now, its as tho it's done subconciously. Since he's his own editor, he likely didnt realize when writing today about how Philly wants to dramatically improve the WR position, he begins his detail by leading with this:

"Now, the Eagles have a good group here. So far, without free agency and without the draft, the Eagles have eight players who have some game. Jamal Jones played in 12 NFL games for the Saints in 2006, caught six passes, scored a touchdown and understands the tempo required to make a team and play in the league. He injured his knee in the summer and was waived by the Saints prior to the 2007 campaign.

Here is he, trying to make an impression. So is Michael Gasperson, who had a taste of the good life with one game on the active roster and one game of regular-season NFL action. And so is Bill Sampy, who was expected to make a roster push last year. He is healthy after battling a knee injury last year and he knows the scheme and he will be ready to go."


If you are talking about the good corps, I guess I'd START with Curtis, Brown, etc., and maybe throw an add in for the guy signed from Nola, and the usual camp suspects- Sampy and Gasperson.

Oh, loved the line about Gasperson gettin a taste of the good life- playin in a game in which he was thrown to early, dropped it, and never saw the field again.

The good life, ahhhhh, can ya smell it?

Oh God. More:

The safety position intrigues me. We're all talking about how the Eagles have to draft one, or add one in free agency, but who goes if that happens? Quintin Mikell and Brian Dawkins aren't going anywhere. Sean Considine is coming off surgery and should be a productive player at the line of scrimmage and on special teams. J.R. Reed proved himself in the second half of the season and Marcus Paschal is a good, young prospect. Interesting picture, don't you think?


Um, not so much.
If the right guy's drafted, or signed, I see all but two who I'd be willing to show the door.

Paschel earns an auto bid to stay?

Hell, Sean Constantmiss does?

UGH.

One could even make a case for Reed if they dramatically added talent/depth there- but I think he should remain.

Bill Sampy's coming back? And NOW HE KNOWS THE SCHEME?!?!

2008 is gonna fuckin' rock!

why does God hate the Eagles?

Jules he doesn't hate the Eagles at all he loves the Eagles, he hates the fans...

That would imply he hates himself.

I just wish McNabb had made these comments circa 01-02 when his WR were next to useless and Rhodes' defense was still there.

Going back to the Billick thing. Maybe it makes sense to bring Billick in as consultant if Reid plans to turn over the coaching duties to him and concentrate on being general manager. I wonder how Morningweh and Johnson would react to that?

About the Eagles offseason, I don't really think it matters much what Donovan McNabb says on his blog, so long as he doesn't start saying stupid stuff, ala Terell Owens.

I have to say though that I am a little depressed about the Eagles prospects for next season because the Eagles almost never get an "impact" starter in the draft that can start the same year they draft him, and the chances of the Eagles spending big bucks on a non-injured free agent seems to be fairly remote as well. Free agent Howard didn't pan out.

Did anyone hear Gargano say the Eagles are going to try and get Holt this offseason?

Trying to become the Rams of the East?

I don't see how the Rams let Holt go. Is he in the last year of his contract?

He'll be 32 this year, and he has had some injuries. Plus, he had a sideline tirade this season, so maybe they're looking for a fresh start and a youth movement, considering the fact that they may need a little rebuilding.

I would take holt in a second.....

Mcnabb wont be here after a year....Holt certainly has a couple good years left....Like we have all said, it '08 or nothing....

From Bengals.com

"[Chad Johnson is] telling some people he'll never play for the Bengals again and Philadelphia fans already think he's tradeable and headed to the Eagles."

I refuse to delve into the pipe dream that is Chad Johnson, Roy Williams, Dallas Clark playing in midnight green. Nor do I think that the Eagles need any one of them. Instead, I'm preoccupied by a name that brings back bad memories, but would make perfect sense for a lot of reasons.
Dante Stallworth. There's no way N.E. will pay him his due next season after falling to the fourth option on the N.E. offense. As long as neither party (the F.O. and the player) feels jilted from last offseason, he would make the offense fairly scary. While Brown and Curtis often got beat up trying to beat press coverage, they were pretty damned good when given a clean release. Since Stallworth usually outran most bumps at the line while he was here, I think it would work really well.

Wow. I spelled the cat's name wrong. Donte. My bad.

AZ,
What if, after winning a Super Bowl, NE dumps Moss and renegotiates Stallworth's contract? Stallworth is Moss-lite. They crushed competition this year. Maybe they can still win with Stallworth playing Moss' role for a fraction of the cost.

That puts Moss on the market. The Eagles won't go for him, but it pulls Stallworth from consideration.

New England has proved that youth is overrated.

So, the Eagles philosophy of youth means they will never beat New England or compete with the other teams in the higher cap number era.

Even if they sign Stalworth, or Moss, or Holt, it's just one player.

Of course, the Patriots have a built-in advantage that no one thought about at the dawn of the salary-cap era. People like playing for a winner. Randy Moss will never play in Philly for the salary he'll be willing to take from N.E. next year, just as it would have taken Philly more cash to get Adalius Thomas. That's not because Philly sucks. It's because they're not N.E. The perfect season only plays more to this advantage. If you want to enjoy the advantages of being the champ, you have to beat the champ, which means, at the very least, several consecutive Super Bowl appearances.
As for N.E., I couldn't see them letting Moss walk after this season. The only way he walks are if his demands are absurd, in which case, the Eagles won't get him, anyway. Even if Moss does walk, I doubt the Pats keep Stallworth. Brady prefers throwing to Gaffney, and Gaffney is a lot cheaper.

Off-Season Plan For The Eagles

Some of this is already done or in the works.

Retain McNabb. Hate him or find him only mildly more appealing than a greasy pork sandwich served in a dirty ashtray, he’s a good quarterback on average and a very good quarterback when in his groove. The Eagles need to keep his services for another year. He’s affordable ($6.3 million) and can give Kolb time to grow and learn the offense. More than likely, he’ll get injured at some point next season. At that point, Kolb will be put on display and the Eagles will get a feel for whether they have a keeper or if they need to revisit the post-McNabb plan. If he stays healthy next year, he can be traded for as much as or more than he can get this off-season.

Scour the league for immediate WR help. The Eagles have a poor record of WR development. Some blame poor drafting. Some blame poor player development. Either way, the current crop is not enough to create the mismatches a short, high percentage passing attack requires. Speculation has Holt hitting the streets. Holt may be exactly what the Eagles need. He’s a polished WR that understands the position and can mentor younger players if the problem is coaching. Further, the need for the Eagles is not a deep threat. They have a good deep threat in Curtis and a solid ham-and-egg WR in Brown. They need a WR that can break zone coverage and create mismatches for himself or other players. Curtis may move back to the slot, but with an increased use of the three WR set. Holt has two more years left on his contract, if they trade for him. He’s scheduled to make $5.65 million in 2008. A trade will likely be with promises of a new contact.

Let LJ Smith test the waters. Smith, because of his injury this season, has lost money this off-season. Let him test the waters, but leave the door open to his return. Much like the QB situation, Smith can be brought back affordably for one more year if it falls that way. Celek showed some promise, but it’s a risky maneuver to put all the eggs in the basket when McNabb needs more proven weapons.

Move Tre Thomas in the off-season for whatever the Eagles can get. The wheels are going to fall off Thomas sooner, rather than later. The Eagles have had an unusually good record at developing linemen. Move Justice to LT and keep much of the line as is, though open competition between Herremens and Jean-Gilles. Thomas has one more year left on his contract, so if they want to move him and get something in return, this is the off-season to do so.

Dump Kearse and put Howard on notice. Both were ineffective and are on the downside of their athleticism. Can a six round draft pick contribute less than either did last year? Brutal statement, but not other-worldly. Howard’s still affordable ($2.5 million), but draft picks are cheaper. Cutting him June 1 of 2009 significantly reduces the cap hit.

No major change at LB.

An ultra aggressive and fairly unrealistic scenario is to pursue a top CB in free agency and move Sheppard to free safety, not Brown. Have Sheppard and Dawkins split time (neither are making a lot, compared to their peers around the league). This will preserve the bafflingly fragile Sheppard for kick and punt return duty and will keep the aging warrior Dawkins fresher and very much involved in on field and sideline motivation. A more realistic expectation is drafting CB on the first day and safety on the second day (or first, if an opportunity presents itself).

Special teams needs some help. Akers may have struggled with the new holder. It’s hard to tell from an outsider’s perspective. The kickoffs didn’t suddenly shrink, but once boomed. Regardless, serious competition at the kicker and punter position is needed next camp. The return game is really a disappointment. Was Harbaugh really that instrumental? Possibly. The special teams needs better coaching for returns, at a minimum. As suggested earlier, maybe Sheppard needs to move to a limited defensive role so he can contribute on returns.

Draft strategy. The Eagles need to have a serious and realistic understanding of how ready the young players are to step in. Victor Abiamiri has to be thoroughly checked to see if he can take the job full time or if the Eagles need to spend a first day pick on a DE. Assuming they are ready to give him the starting role going into camp:

First day picks should be (in no particular order): DB, OL, and WR.

The cornerbacks haven’t had their best games the last few years and part of that is because the front four failed to generate inside pressure to collapse the pocket. The edge rushers got around and the QBs were able to step forward, buy time, and hit receivers. Now that the DTs are upgraded and finally catching on, that problem should start to go away. The problem facing the DBs is injuries. Sheppard and Dawkins are getting injured too often to be part of a consistent gameplan. The Eagles need to look at cornerback or, failing that address the FS position with legit talent and not just products of the scheme.

The OL will need some reconstruction this off-season. Justice needs to step in to take a tackle spot and Thomas has been less consistent than Runyan. Runyan will need to be replaced this year or next, as well. The Eagles talked about moving Andrews to RT when Runyan moves on, but I’d hate to mess with a good thing. He’s really established himself as a dominant guard. Eagle fans remember when the coaches kept moving Mayberry around and how that seemed to slow his development. If a good RT prospect is there, draft it. If not, add competition to the LG spot or the C position. The duo of Jackson and Herremens can be improved.

WR needs to be drafted again on the first day. The WRs drafted on the second day rarely have the impact of the first day guys and for good reason. WR is a heavily scouted position. The Eagles cannot afford more late round guys if their instincts on talent have been suspect in the past or if their development is substandard (whichever school of thought you belong to). Hedge against it by drafting earlier.

The second day belongs to DL, TE/FB, DB, OL and RB. Depth is needed at all those positions. I don’t think I need to go into detail, since I’m talking about depth and not immediate impact players. I’ll say this, though. Buckhalter’s still a question mark every camp and Hunt struggled to break into the lineup. Competition is needed.

The coaching staff should remain the same, though I’d dump the WR coach if for no other reason than to make an example out of him. He’s failed to develop any talent and his players take too long to contribute, if they do at all. The reports from Atlanta paint a different front office picture for the Eagles than often thought of by fans. A combative Heckert probably indicates Reid doesn’t have as much control as believed and probably has a useful foil.

The Eagles should look to restructure Westbrook’s deal and maybe see about locking up Gocong, Gaither, Celek, and Abiamiri for long terms, if they have good feelings about the last two. Hanson should also get serious consideration for a new deal, since his deal ended this year.

probably not the best place for this, but someone on the Eagles message board pulled out some of the article quotes from Spuds over the summer. Pretty hilarious and this is only a sampling:

- "Eagles Better Now Than in 2004? I'm Saying Yes..." 6/26/07

- "Jeremy Bloom can play. It is time to take him seriously." 7/28/07

- "Jeremy Bloom is coming, folks." 8/1/07

- "Jevon Kearse is having such a good camp, it's ridiculous." 8/6/07

- "David Akers is the best in the history of the franchise and not ready to slow down anytime soon." 8/6/07

- "Takeo Spikes is going to make a gigantic impact." 6/26/07

- "There is more young talent waiting in the wings along the offensive line than this franchise has ever had. It isn't even close." 6/26/07

- "[Reggie] Brown is likely to be the "No. 1" receiver, whatever that means." 6/26/07

- "Brown Continues To Grow Into Top-Flight WR" 7/10/2007

This is pretty much the standard Spuds image, as well. Poor guy.:

Those quotes are hilarious, though looking through th earchives you prolly see Seth saying some of the same stuff.

I'm sure I have, too.

It's pretty easy to be wrong about a lot of stuff when you post opinions every day on a wide range of topics and i know I've been guilty of that.

Regarding the Eagles, the "homers" as they've been called have been more or less right for about half of Reid's tenure and the robed ones have been right for the other half...The Eagles have been great and sucked at the same time.

F-d, the Birds were great for ONE year. They were good compared by virtue of the surrounding shitty competition.

The Eagles' strategy in some ways is moribund. The impact of an elite WR is clearly visible in NE and even TO's brief "tenure" here. He was having a very good year before his benching. So, the FO does the logical thing and avoids acquiring an elite WR. I am surprised they didn't even go for Chambers. He's done well in San Diego.

The undersized lineman continue to wear down or get swallowed up. Until JJ realizes (or convinces Reid) that they need to get serious pressure from their front four, then they will continue to live and die by the blitz.

I'm getting tired of hearing every commentator talk about JJ's exotic, unpredictable blitz schemes that many opposing teams seem to be able to pick up. Jettison Howard and Kearse (Kearse for sure).

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