First order of business: Get well Jim Johnson!  Jim was unfortunately diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer in his spine.  The good news is that the treatment is going well and Jim and doctors remain optimistic.

If you’re a frequent reader of the site, you know that my bread and butter is covering free agent signings and the draft for all sports.  Before I get into some draft talk, I want to give you my quick thoughts on the Arizona game.

Great second half by the Eagles, but you can’t beat a team by playing 30 minutes in a 60 minute game.  After the miserable first half, I thought the game was all but over, but DeSean Jackson gave us hope by taking the lead 25-24 before the Cardinals milked the clock with a seven-minute drive to take back the lead.  As usual, Philly fans start the blame game.  Some people say it was Donovan’s fault for playing like crap in the first half, others want to blame the defense.  Still, some want to put the blame on Reid.  I say it’s no one on the Eagles sideline who is at fault.  I’ll give credit where credit is due.  The Cardinals are a great team.  They have an incredible veteran quarterback and the best wide receiver in the league: Larry Fitzgerald, who is only 25 years old and I can guarantee you that this will not be his last Super Bowl.  They also have a tremendous defense.  That secondary of theirs is up there with any secondary in the league.  They may have the best safety tandem next to Dawkins/Mikell with Adrian Wilson and Antrel Rolle.  With corners Rod Hood and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who is coming along as a rookie, that’s about as solid a secondary that you can ask for.  Well, enough about the Cardinals.  The point I am trying to make is the Eagles can compete next year with the team they have.  They aren’t “a player away” from being a Super Bowl team, but picking up a solid piece or two in the draft certainly won’t hurt.

OK, it’s time to talk draft.  Mel Kiper released his Mock Draft v. 1.0 and if that’s how the real draft ended up, I would be 100% satisfied.  If you missed it, Kiper has the Eagles taking Ohio State RB Chris “Beanie” Wells with the Eagles first, first-round pick and then just a few picks later, he has the Eagles going for OT Michael Oher.  That may be a bit generous, but I love it!  The Eagles need to get one amazing OT with one of their first two picks.  With the other, add an offensive weapon: a RB like Wells or a TE like Pettigrew.  The Pittsburgh RB, LeSean McCoy, would be a good pick too, but I would be thrilled to have Wells.

Wells is a hell of a back.  I thought he was overrated until I watched the Fiesta Bowl.  Wow!  And he fits the Eagles need for a big back.  The good news is that most teams needs at RB are set.  My boy, Knowshon Moreno, Kiper has going to the San Diego Chargers.  LT v. 2.0 would be a great pick for them.  I can’t wait to see where he goes.  Even better is that could set up the Eagles to take NFL Draft Countdown’s #1 RB in this year’s draft: Chris Wells.  Wells, at 237 lbs., is  a punishing back and he has some speed to boot.

I would also love it if Brandon Pettigrew, the Ohklahoma St. TE, would fall to the Eagles.  Most mock drafts have Pettirgrew going to the Bills at #11.  There’s a great chance of that happening, but if they pass, there’s a chance he may fall down the board since most teams after the Bills don’t have TE needs, but have other huge needs.

The bottom line: Wells would be sick.

Do you think he could be an Eagle?

Watching Material:

It’s been a while since I’ve covered the Sixers.  Obviously, when its football season, the 76ers kind of take the backseat.  Let’s recap the season so far.  In a nutshell, they started the season off slow, Elton Brand got injured (he has now returned to practice), they went on a 7-game win streak before losing to Dallas, and they are now currently 2nd in the Atlantic Division and 7th in the East.

Well, the more important news is that I’ve gotten word that the 76ers are switching back to their old uniforms permanently starting next season.  If you recall, my website and Ricky’s Sixers 4 Guidos were lobbying with the 76ers PR department to get the 76ers to bring back the old unis.  Their original response was that it was a complicated and sensitive matter, but it looks like they finally saw the genius in this idea and they said that the 1983 uniforms would be brought back permanently next season.

Here is the unofficial word:

Kate Price, Sixers’ Vice President of Business Operations, said yesterday to a group of season ticket holders in a fan forum that the franchise will be switching back to the old logo and the old 1982-83 uniforms (white/home, red/away) starting next season.

Damn, these are beautiful! Thanks to everyone who signed the petition to make this happen.

The Cardinals beat the Eagles to move onto the Super Bowl.  Yeah, it sucks big time, but I’m trying to attempt a little humor to lighten the mood.  Here are the top 5 reasons the Eagles lost to the Cardinals.

1.) Kurt Warner loves Jesus more than McNabb.

2.) McNabb picking up the phone on the Giants sidelines last week was bad karma.

3.) The non-call on Kevin Curtis on the Eagles last drive was just totally bogus.

4.) Larry Fitzgerald is a complete freak of nature. Larry is a player that is just born to play in the Super Bowl.  You have to admire his talent and he is relatively modest for the position that he plays.  Good for Larry.

5.) The flight out West and playing the early game killed them in the first half. I don’t get why this game was scheduled at 3 pm EST, 1 pm MST.  Why couldn’t the NFL switch the starting times with the Pittsburgh game?  I guess perhaps these things are prescheduled and then you have to deal with the TV Networks, but there’s no question that the Cardinals have a tremendous advantage at home playing an east-coast team.

Unless you’re a fantasy football junkie or a Denver Broncos fan, you might not have heard of Peyton Hillis.  Peyton Hillis is a rookie Broncos RB converted from FB.  He is a complete beast at 6’2″, 250 pounds.  Hillis became the Broncos feature back in week 10 once Selvin Young and Andre Hall went down with injuries.  Unfortunately, Hillis himself got injured in week 14, but boy was he impressive in that five-game stretch.

Hillis ended the year with 68 carries for 343 yards — a 5.0 yards-per-carry (YPC) average.  He also showcased the ability to catch the ball with 14 receptions for 179 yards — a 12.8 YPC average.

After seeing Hillies play, it reminds me a lot of a guy that the Eagles have on their roster that is seldom used: Kyle Eckel.  Maybe the similarities end at them both being big, white runningbacks, but there may be more similarities between the two.  Eckel is a solid 5’11″, 237 pounds.  Not as big as Hillis, but close.

Eagles fans are in search of a “big back,” but who says Kyle Eckel can’t be that guy?  When he’s touched the ball this season, he’s had some impressive carries.  He only had 24 carries for a mere 79 yards — a 3.3 YPC average, which isn’t stellar on paper, but he’s mostly been called in a few times just to convert short yards for a first down (or just run out the clock against Arizona and Cleveland).

Of course you want Westbrook and Buckhalter out there 99% of the time, but Eckel has been valuable on 3rd and 1.  I wouldn’t object to a few more carries for the big fella.