Eagles Notes - Impact of uncapped year, another list

For anyone that's worried about the prospect of an uncapped year in 2010 and that a bunch of high revenue teams would spend like drunken sailors ala the NY Yankees... Let Bob Ford quell your fears.

If they haven't reached an agreement by the 2010 draft, things begin to change rapidly. There won't be a salary cap starting in 2010. Good for the players, right? Yes, except that all the four-year and five-year veterans who would have been eligible for free agency that season suddenly won't be. A player will need six years of service starting in 2010 if a new collective-bargaining agreement isn't in place. Second, instead of having either a "franchise" tag or a "transition" tag with which to tie down an unrestricted free agent, teams will have one franchise and two transitions to use as they please each season. So there will be approximately 200 fewer free agents, and the very good ones among those that remain will be tagged, bagged, and kept by their teams.

For the dross that remains on the market, owners of teams that made the playoffs will be restricted in how much they can spend and how many free agents they can sign. The deeper a team went in the playoffs, the less it can improve itself.

Long story short... teams will actually spend less money, not more, in an uncapped year.

Finally, here's yet another offseason list the Eagles were mentioned on. "13 Things I Can't Wait To See in NFL 08"

5. Asante Samuel sparking the Philadelphia Eagles' entire defense. Philadelphia just saw the Giants win the Super Bowl with a defensive mindset similar to its own, orchestrated by no less than former Eagles defensive assistant Steve Spagnuolo. Now, it's time for Spagnuolo's mentor, Jim Johnson, to deliver an improved, attacking unit.

The Eagles already have a good pass rush with end Trent Cole leading the way; they just needed more playmaking oomph to back it up. As solid as Sheldon Brown and Lito Sheppard have been, the Eagles needed someone to turn their aggressiveness into game-changing plays. Samuel has the acumen and swagger to reenergize the whole defense.