– Michael Vick is now able to play for the Eagles beginning in week 3. Vick was originally supposed to sit out of action until week 7, but after meeting with the commish and being a “model citizen” according to Joe Banner, his return date was adjusted.
– Eagles have to cut their roster down to 53 guys by today’s 6:00 p.m. deadline. WR is an interesting debate. Do they cut Reggie Brown and/or Hank Baskett to keep Brandon Gibson and Danny Amendola? I would prefer to keep the latter and cut the former based on their performance thus far.
– Eagles have reworked Jason Babin’s contract and he will make the 53 man roster. What an impressive preseason this guy had. He could easily be the Eagles best defensive lineman other than Trent Cole. So who is the odd man out?
– Eugene Bright, Willie Williams and Curtis Gatewood have been cut.
– Winston Justice was injured during the Jets game with a pectoral strain and he’ll have an MRI on it. This offensive line needs to get healthy in a hurry. It’s the one concern going into the season.
We saw a lot of Michael Vick last night. A lot of flashes from the past — some nice runs, some nice throws, but some sloppy plays (fumbles, trying to outrun everyone on the field and getting sacked for 20 yards).
I really hope Eldra Buckley, Brandon Gibson, and Danny Amendola all make the final roster. Lorenzo Booker and Reggie Brown can get the ax to make room for them. Jason Babin looked great, he had a very effective pass rush. TE replacement Tony Curtis also had a nice TD grab, as well as several nice catches.
OUTCOME: EAGLES LOSE 27-25 AFTER AKERS MISSES GAME-WINNING FG FROM 43 YARDS.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: ELDRA BUCKLEY
8 CARRIES, 23 YARDS, 1 TD; 6 RECEPTIONS, 56 YARDS, 1 TD
GAME NOTES:
– Jeremy Maclin must have had some jitters early on. He fumbled his first punt return, which the Eagles recovered, but he shined later in the game. He had a couple nice catches and great returns later in the game.
– DeSean had a tremendous game. He made a great play on an end-around, as well as some very nice catches. LeSean McCoy was also outstanding. If Westbrook was out for the whole season, I would not be worried a single bit with McCoy taking every snap for the Eagles this season. With DeSean, McCoy, Maclin, and now Vick, the Eagles could have the fastest offense in the history of ever.
– Lorenzo Booker made a nice 30+ yard grab right by the sidelines from Feeley. He displayed his nice set of hands and showed why he deserves to beat out Buckley for that RB spot. Buckley one-upped him just a few plays later with a nice 6-yard TD run. I still like Buckley over Booker. He can block and he runs the ball hard. Buckley also had a nice 4th down reception form the 3 the next drive for a TD. I like this guy!
– WR Brandon Gibson, the Eagles 6th-round draft pick, received many praises. He caught everything that came his way and laid a sick block to help Eldra Buckley gain some extra yards on a reception. The Eagles have a lot of wide receivers. This guy is worthy of making the team, but how many WR’s can the Eagles keep? DeSean, Maclin, Curtis, Avant, and Baskett should be locks. Do the Eagles take a 6th WR and keep Gibson. Is Reggie Brown the odd man out? This should be interesting.
– Joe Mays played well. I would give his performance a B. He’s definitely no Stewart Bradley. That’s a huge loss, but if all 11 players on defense play well together, they should be able to overcome that loss. He has the skills. With more time with the 1st team, he can step up into that role.
– Brent Celek left the game with a sprained shoulder. Let’s hope it’s not serious. The last thing we need is another injury.
– Jason Peters didn’t look to good in his first preseason game. He’s missed a lot of time this preseason, so let’s hope he just has to get his timing down.
– Macho Harris looked good and was great at getting pressure on the QB. I love the Macho Man.
– The Falcons traded for Tony Gonzalez. All it took was a 2010 2nd-round pick. The Eagles were rumored to be in the mix by offering a 2009 3rd-round pick. I don’t see why the Eagles wouldn’t make the move when the pick wouldn’t even have to be dealt until next year’s draft. With Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, Roddy White, and Tony Gonzalez, the Falcons are looking pretty dangerous. If they add a few defensive pieces in the draft, watch out.
– The chance that the Giants trade for Braylon Edwards is almost dead. The Giants don’t want to depart with their 29th pick and won’t give up Kiwanuka either. There’s now talk that the Giants may trade up to take Darius Heyward-Bey or will go with Hakeem Nicks with the 29th pick.
– Anquan Boldin is being shopped around and the Cardinals downgraded their demands. Now, they are willing to take a 2nd-round pick and “other considerations.” The Giants, Jets, and Eagles are all in the mix. I say trade Reggie Brown and the 2nd-round pick for him. Maybe even through in Juqua Parker to sweeten the pot. I love Juqua, but how many DEs do we really need? I expect Abiamiri and Bryan Smith to contribute big time this year.
– All I want is one thing tomorrow: KNOWSHON, KNOWSHON, KNOWSHON!
– What’s a pre-draft update without some pre-draft speculation and throwing out random names? If Knowshon is taken earlier than expected (let’s hope not), I say trade out of the 21st pick (maybe to the Giants so they can take Heyward-Bey), take the Giants 29th pick to take Donald Brown (or LeSean McCoy) and take the Giants 3rd-round pick. In round 2, TE Jared Cook may be our guy if he falls that far. If not, I would look for a CB, Utah’s Sean Smith and Vanderbilt’s D.J. Moore could be options. It may be a bit early to take Chase Coffman in round 2, let’s try to target him in round 3. If we get that extra 3rd rounder from the Giants, Oregon S Patrick Chung may be the guy we take in round 3 — watch these highlights — the dude’s half Jamaican, half Chinese, and is a beast — watch the dude block during an interception return — he lays out an offensive tackle! Not only would we get a tremendous safety, but he can instantly contribute to special teams. We could also take Chase Coffman in round 3 with the other pick. Sound like a good strategy? Who knows. I can’t wait to see what happens tomorrow.
Sheldon Brown Demands Trade [The 700 Level] — I’m so sick of pro athletes complaining over contracts. You’re being paid 8 figures to do something you love. When you sign a contract early in your career, you have to realize that your accepting financial security over giving up some money in the event that your talent hasn’t been fully reached. It’s natural for the guy who signs a contract after you to get paid more money, especially if there is a high demand for that position. Get over it. Shut the fuck up, cash your $5 million check for one season, and play. If you want to blame someone, blame your agent.
Now, I love Sheldon Brown. I love his play on the field and I particularly love his blunt and candid interviews. Good thing the Eagles said they will not entertain a trade whatsoever. Asante and Sheldon could be the best CB tandem in the league. Let’s hope this doesn’t blow up into a distraction this season.
Eagles may trade up to draft Moreno [Bleeding Green Nation] — YES! Potential trading partners would be New Orleans at 14 or Houston at 15. We need to make sure that we draft before the Chargers, Broncos, and Jets at 16, 17, and 18. I’m wondering what the cost would be. I don’t see the Eagles giving up the 21st and their 3rd-rounder to move up 6-7 spots to grab him. Or maybe they would. I would be extremely satisfied with Knowshon Moreno and Chase Coffman on Day 1 of the draft, but we’ll be without any 3rd and 4th round picks. However, we will have 4 5th-rounders. Would a deal of the 21st pick, a 2009 5th-round pick, and a 2010 4th-round pick be enough to move up to 14? I don’t know. Somebody go grab an NFL value chart and let me know what it would take to get a deal done with New Orleans at 14.
Possible Trade Bait [Inside the Iggles] — Could Juqua Parker, Omar Gaither, Reggie Brown be used in a deal?
Do we have to worry about Shawn Andrews? [Iggles Blog] — You know contracts are a bitch when you’re arguably better than your brother and your college roommate, but they’re both making more money than you. Shawn Andrews signed a 10 year, $35 million deal back in 2006. Do you think he’ll start speaking up about his contract? When your undrafted college roommate (Jason Peters) is almost making twice than you and you’re a first-round pick, that could be pretty annoying. Let’s hope Shawn is cool with it.
Walter Football DOES NOT like the Peters Trade [Walter Football] — The guy did give up 11.5 sacks in 13 games last year. Let’s hope that’s because he missed some camp and was unhappy about his contract and that he returns to his 2006-2007 form.
All the speculation of whether the Eagles will trade into the top 10 to grab Jason Smith, Eugene Monroe, or Andre Smith is over. The Eagles have solidified their offensive line with Bills Pro Bowl LT Jason Peters. The Eagles gave up the 28th pick, a second-day pick (presumed to be a 4th-round pick), and a 2010 late-round pick to acquire Peters.
I’m extremely happy about the move. They’ll have to end up paying Peters whatever money they would had to have spent on a rookie LT like Jason Smith or Eugene Monroe so it makes sense to trade for the 27-year-old with experience and still get to hang onto the 21st pick, which many think will now be used on a RB. Knowshon Moreno, if he slides that far, would be a dream come true and I wouldn’t have any complaints with Donald Brown either. I’m not bummed out about losing out on the chance of getting Anquan Boldin. I’m confident going into the season with a healthy Kevin Curtis and DeSean Jackson, especially with that all-star line with the Andrews Brothers and Peters. Maybe Reggie Brown can even return to his 2006-2007 form after letting the hammy recover. The Eagles will likely add TE phenomenon Chase Coffman in the second round. It’s all coming together for the Eagles in 2009. The secondary is set, the linebackers are set, and defensive line is set. The offensive line is fixed. Now let’s get us some weapons in the draft. Hopefully those weapons come in the form of Knowshon Moreno and Chase Coffman. My Plan B if the Eagles don’t take a RB at 21 and opt for a defensive player like Robert Ayers or Vontae Davis, Mike Goodson in round 3.
Most Eagles fans are extremely frustrated with how the Eagles have handled free agency this offseason. Notably, letting Brian Dawkins go, who to my surprise is going to be the highest paid safety in the NFL as far as cap numbers are concerned. I guess you can’t blame the Eagles for having to let him go to greener pastures.
I’m still waiting for the Eagles to do something besides sign Stacy Andrews. We could have boosted the receiving corp with T.J. Houshmandzadeh, but the Eagles clearly had no interest in him and they would be paying a lot of money for guy that is just a bit of an upgrade over Jason Avant. Houshmandzadeh signed a 5-year, $40 million ($15 guaranteed) contract with Seattle.
I still think the Eagles have to go after Seattle FB Leonard Weaver. Weaver was set to visit New Orleans, but that trip was canceled after Weaver was informed that he would be a backup to Karney.
This rumor has Reggie Brown being traded to the Rams for Tory Holt.
Here is a great video on what the Eagles approach may be in the upcoming days. Here are the highlights:
– Eagles were interested in Patriots CB James Sanders, but he resigned with the Patriots.
– Eagles may sign a veteran safety for one or two years until Quintim Demps is ready.
– Bills CB Jabari Greer may be targetted by the Eagles.
– If the Eagles pick up Greer, that may lead to Sheldon Brown moving to safety.
– Tra Thomas visited the Jacksonville Jaguars, but the Eagles said that he can go out there and see what his value is, but they’re prepared to match any offer than he receives since they need a starting LT next year. As you can imagine, most teams aren’t willing to may much for a 34-year-old tackle.
– Eagles may try to trade for Anquan Boldin, but the Cardinals would demand a CB.
– There’s a lot of solid WR talent in the draft. The Eagles could get a guy outside the first round.
– Eagles need a TE. Bo Schaife was their guy — he was franchised by the Titans. Don’t look for the Eagles to go after a TE in free agency. They like 3-4 guys in the draft. Brandon Pettigrew is the guy they want, but 3-4 teams are interested, so they would have to trade up to get him.
Any Reid finally got the memo to run the ball and look at what happened. Brian Westbrook had 4 TD’s. Of course the Cardinals defense isn’t anything close to the Ravens defense, but I’m just saying that Donovan McNabb is only as good as his running game.
I, among most others, threw Donovan McNabb under the bus after the Bengals game. Four turnovers in that game, another three turnovers to boot in Baltimore. That’s seven turnovers in seven quarters of football.
Was it all Donovan’s fault? No. The playcalling was terrible, the offensive line played poorly, the Eagles had no running game, and the wide receivers were dropping passes and not getting open. That still doesn’t take away the fact that Donovan McNabb should have won that game against the 23rd ranked defense. That was the worst game from McNabb that I have ever witnessed. Balls were thrown right to defenders, balls were thrown right into the ground 20 feet shy of a receiver. Balls were thrown 15 feet over receivers heads. Donovan was terrible.
Things didn’t improve much the next week at Baltimore and Andy decided to light a fire under McNabb’s ass to get him playing better. If McNabb still played at this poor level, there’s a young guy that we drafted #1 that we could throw in there.
The McNabb I saw against the Cardinals is someone I haven’t seen play all season long. He wasn’t the careless player who laughs when he makes a terrible throw. He had a little hustle in his step. Instead of being a statute in the pocket like he has been most of the year, he actually tried moving around a little bit and look at the results. McNabb finally played like his job was on the line. If there’s anything positive that came out of the benching of McNabb it’s that the pressure of losing his job is making him play with more passion and pride. That’s something that should have been in his head from the start.
Do I still want Kevin Kolb as the QB of this team? Let’s look at the facts. Yes, McNabb was incredible in 2004, but we can’t keep living in the past. It’s 2008 going into 2009 and since 2004, McNabb has suffered two very serious injuries, is now 32, has gained a bit of weight, has lost his best asset (his mobility), and hasn’t had a single season that’s close to earning him a trip to the Pro Bowl.
I’m willing to give Kevin Kolb a mulligan. Andy Reid threw him to the wolves. He had to go in relatively unprepared against the NFL’s best defense. If you expected him to go in there and play like Joe Montana, that’s delusional. Kolb made two bad interceptions and a critical one in the endzone, but let’s give Ed Reed a bit of credit. He is the best safety in the NFL and if I was playing Madden and saw Reggie Brown come across the endzone, I probably would have made the same call. Throughout that drive, Kolb was looking sharp and looked like he had a good grasp of the West Coast Offense. Kolb throws a very nice ball, he’s more mobile, but his decision making is obviously poor due to inexperience. I don’t think he’s going to end up being a bust. Kolb will be a very good player one day.
The Bottom Line: The Eagles are 6-5-1, which is last place in the NFC East, and unless they win every single game on the remainder of their schedule, they will not make the playoffs, something that McNabb has gotten to since 2004. Remember who the QB was the last time the Eagles made the playoffs? That would be Jeff Garcia. McNabb: 5-5. Garcia: 5-1. Garcia clinched a playoff spot, beat the Giants in the first round, and then lost to the Saints in the next round. The Saints loss wasn’t Garcia’s fault. He played great. The Eagles run defense lost that game. If the 2008 Eagles defense played on that 2006 team, the Eagles could have played the Colts in the Super Bowl.
I’m tired of McNabb costing us a playoff spot season after season. McNabb plays very good at times, but performances like last night are few and far between. Westbrook won that game for the Eagles, not McNabb. Unless McNabb can miraculously get the Eagles a playoff spot, the Eagles need to go in a new direction. I still love McNabb. He’s given us many great memories, but let me define insanity to you. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. McNabb hasn’t led the Eagles to the playoffs since 2004 and his time is running out. The Eagles need to take a new direction and that means a change at QB and at head coach.
BRIAN WESTBROOK — Coach Andy Reid said Monday that Brian Westbrook (ribs) is “progressing” and has a chance to return after the Eagles’ Week 7 bye.
REGGIE BROWN – First a hamstring injury, then a groin injury. It doesn’t appear to be too serious and now he’ll have 3 weeks to get healthy again.
KEVIN CURTIS — He traveled with the team to San Fransisco, but was inactive for the game. Now that the Eagles have the bye week, I expect that he’ll be fully healthy and ready to go against the Falcons.
SHAWN ANDREWS — The latest word is that surgery on his back is not likely required and doctor’s are “optimistic” about it. After missing the last 4 games, and now with the bye week, I wonder if having him back in week 8 is a possibility. We’ll keep you posted when we hear more.
RECAP FROM ANDY REID’S PRESS CONFERENCE:
– Max Jean-Gilles – Shoulder sprain.
– Lito Sheppard – Hamstring strain.
– Tra Thomas – Foot strain.
– Reggie Brown – Groin strain.
– J.R. Reed – Ankle sprain. Hamstring strain.
– Brain Westrbook – Making progress with ribs.
– Shawn Andrews – Seeing 4th back specialist.
– Kevin Curtis – Making Progress.
– All players except Shawn Andrews should be ready for Atlanta.
I knew that Goodell would have none of this and that Pacman would be suspended at least 2 games, but an indefinite suspension is even better! Thank you Goodell.
The Eagles were in the mix, but were outbid by the Cowboys. The Cowboys gave up a 1st, 3rd, and 6th rounder for Williams, which I think was rather excessive considering the amount of dropped balls, health issues, and general underachieving he’s shown. The Eagles will be fine the rest of the year assuming Westbrook can get healthy in a hurry, Kevin Curtis contributes upon his return, and Reggie Brown stays healthy and keeps making plays. McNabb has been outstanding most games, and his bad games have been when he doesn’t get protection and the WRs don’t get open. Consistent efforts from a fully healthy offense will keep things going in the right direction. Shawn Andrews has been missed.
A quick re-cap of the latest headlines:
Most Eagles fans are extremely frustrated with how the Eagles have handled free agency this offseason. Notably, letting Brian Dawkins go, who to my surprise is going to be the highest paid safety in the NFL as far as cap numbers are concerned. I guess you can’t blame the Eagles for having to let him go to greener pastures.
Loading ...