State of the Eagles - A Pre-Draft, Post-McNabb, Offseason Summary
by yomjoseki on Apr 5, 2010 12:51 AM EDT
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Now that the biggest (going out on a limb here) move of the offseason has gone down, it seems like a logical place to recap the offseason so far. So let's step back, take a deep breath, and look at what has happened to our precious Eagles since we fell to the Cowboys in the wildcard round. Get comfy, put on your reading glasses, and maybe get a drink, because there's a lot to go over, friend.
January 11th - Tom Heckert becomes the new GM of the Cleveland Browns
January 19th - Eagles get the ball rolling by signing CFL Rookie of the Year Martell Mallett, a running back formerly of the Montreal Alouettes.
January 29th - Howie Roseman is promoted to be the new Eagles GM, replacing Tom Heckert.
February 2nd - This Groundhog's Day, Punter Durant Brooks is signed to provide Sav Rocca with competition and motivation.
February 23rd - Eagles announce their intentions to release Brian Westbrook. Some Eagles fans riot, while others had half a brain and realized the Eagles would never pay $7 million+ to 30 year old running back who could very well be one head injury away from serious damage.
March 5th - The first day of free agency proved to be a busy day for the Eagles. They released linebacker Will Witherspoon and re-sign Leonard Weaver to a 3 year deal that made him the richest fullback in league history. Also of note is the expiration of the contracts of LB Jeremiah Trotter, DE Jason Babin, TE Alex Smith, S Sean Jones, and LB Tracy White.
March 8th - KFC Spokesperson and Eagles WR Jason Avant signs a 5-year contract extension (with the Eagles, not KFC). Stacy Andrews chooses to restructures his contract rather than get cut for being vastly overpaid. To finish off this glorious day, the Eagles convince the Buccaneers to take Reggie Brown off their hands for a 2011 6th round draft pick.
March 10th - "Legless" Marlin Jackson signs a two-year contract to compete for the starting free safety position.
March 11th - Former Air Force standout Chad Hall signs a 3 year deal to play 15 different positions. AT THE SAME TIME.
March 12th - Husband of Kendra Wilkinson and Saints Super Bowl MVP "Hammerin" Hank Baskett signs a one-year deal in which he is expected to make 2 significant plays for the Eagles.
March 16th - The suicide hotline in Seattle becomes the most-dialed number in America for a day when the Eagles trade Chris Clemons and a 4th round pick for the only player Seahawks fans like, Darryl Tapp. Mike Bell also signs an offer sheet with the Eagles. The Saints will later refuse to match the offer, making Bell an Eagle.
March 17th - On St. Patricks Day, the Eagles inform (former) Pro-Bowl Guard Shawn Andrews that he is now free to pursue his music career.
March 18th - Darren Howard and Kevin Curtis are unceremoniously shown the door. Andy Reid gives the same quotes for them as he has for every player he's ever released.
March 22nd - Akeem Jordan and Nick Cole sign their restricted free agency tenders, putting them under a one-year deal.
March 24th - Andy Reid announced the Eagles are listening to and evaluating offers for their quarterbacks. This is something the whole world knew, but everyone freaks out anyway.
March 30th - Ellis Hobbs and Chris Gocong sign their RFA tenders.
March 31st - Omar Gaither signs his RFA tender.
April 1st - To begin the worst 4 day weekend in the life of EvilBanner, the Eagles re-sign Joe Banner to a 3 year extension.
April 2nd - The Eagles trade Sheldon Brown (because he's old) and Chris Gocong (because he's Asian not very good in our system) to the Browns for Alex "You Never Heard of Me Before Today" Hall and their 4th and 5th round picks (105th and 137th overall).
April 4th - Easter Sunday (what's up with working on the holidays, guys?) Donovan McNabb is traded to the Washington Redskins for their 2nd round pick (37th overall) and a conditional 3rd or 4th in 2011, finally putting an end to the McNabb/Kolb debate and ushering in the "Start Vick"/"Why'd they trade McNabb to a division rival"/"we r doomd" era on Bleeding Green Nation.
OUT
- Donovan McNabb
- Brian Westbrook
- Sheldon Brown
- Shawn Andrews
- Darren Howard
- Chris Gocong
- Will Witherspoon
- Kevin Curtis
- Jeremiah Trotter
- Reggie Brown
- Jason Babin
- Chris Clemons
- Alex Smith
- Sean Jones
- Tracy White
IN
- Darryl Tapp
- Mike Bell
- Marlin Jackson
- Hank Baskett
- Durant Brooks
- Chad Hall
- Alex "No Relation to Chad" Hall
- Martell Mallett
What does this mean? Are the Eagles, in fact, rebuilding? Nope.
They're turning a new page. We already had replacements (Kolb and McCoy) on the team for the biggest names to go (McNabb and Westbrook). I'm not here to speculate on their future, but merely pointing out Andy Reid was prepared to make these moves. Shawn Andrews and Kevin Curtis were barely here the last two seasons. Sheldon Brown was probably the most surprising departure, but it makes sense after the fact.
Some say this team has a lot of holes to fill. Holes imply there is a serious, obvious deficiency that needs addressed immediately. Do we have holes on this team? I don't think so - yet. We have question marks.The closest thing we have to a hole is safety. What question marks do we have?
Quarterback - How good is Kevin Kolb? Can he handle the pressure of being the guy in Philadelphia? Will Michael Vick stay? Will he keep his mouth shut?
Runningback - Can LeSean McCoy handle the load? How important will he be to the offense? Is Bell a suitable backup?
Center - Who will be our center to begin the year? Signs point to Nick Cole or Mike McGlynn as of right now. Some think the Eagles will look to find a starter in the draft, but I think that's bollocks.
Guard - Will Stacy Andrews return to the caliber of player he was before he tore an ACL as a Bengal?
Tackle - Will we have a legit backup for Peters and Justice, or will we simply continue to slide out our interior linemen?
Tight End - If Celek gets injured again, are we in deep doo-doo? Is Cornelius Ingram healed up and ready to rock? Martin Rucker anyone?
Linebacker - Is Big Stewart Bradley ready to anchor our LB corps? Who will he play between?
Safety - Who will be our free safety this year? Will they play better than the abysmal revolving door of 2009?
Corner back - Who will replace Sheldon Brown? Ellis Hobbs seems like the most likely candidate, but is he fully healed from the neck injury he suffered?
I don't have answers for you, guys, but we're in for a rocky ride, and we still have 3 weeks before the draft.
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I really liked your recap
I found it to be both comprehensive and quite funny.
I now turn all of my attention and excitement (the football portion at least) to the draft. We are seriously loaded with picks.
i said a couple days ago
after sheldon got traded that “andy reid’s eagles dont rebuild, they renovate” but looking at this now, this is a lightning fast rebuild
with so many early picks in a draft this deep and so much young talent on the team already, this draft combined with the 5 players left on the roster will determine the fate and face of the franchise for the next decade. i am anxious to see the results, and wont be dissapointed with a less than stellar year, but i have faith in the FO to make the right picks and decisions to make the 2010-2019 decade even better than the past one, and have a few rings to show off too
i am now immediately changing my signature and declare my full time return to BGN
I absolutely decline to offer my opinion on or read any posts about the McNabb v. Kolb debacle. Those posts never end and I choose to sit back and wait to see what happens. This is going to be a long offseason.
by BadCo'09 on Apr 5, 2010 1:10 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
nice write-up
Another question that I’ll be yelled at for asking is “should we still consider trading Vick?”
it’s nice to have a veteran backup that can come in and play well, and I certainly wouldn’t be opposed to keeping him another year. However, with so many question marks, it’s nice to have as many chances as possible to answer them. Also, if he nets us a 4th rounder, we have more ammo to move up to get the guy we want/need. Is keeping Vick as a gimmick player/backup QB worth it over getting another pick to replace the departed? I guess we’ll probably end up drafting a QB with any pick we receive anyways, so maybe it’s not worth it, but just thought I’d pose the question.
I think we keep Vick
With AJ Feeley off the market, we need someone behind Kolb who has some experience in the system.
If we trade Vick, do we consider giving Garcia another run in the NFL?
"EFF YOU, WE'RE WINNING ANYWAY!!!!!!" (Bye, Dawk)
That would be my preference.
I don’t see how Vick makes for a decent backup to Kolb. His style of play would be totally different than Kolb’s, while Garcia would slide in nicely I think. I would love to see us sign Garcia, trade Vick on Draft day for a pick or with another pick to move up. Then draft a QB somewhere in the middle rounds to groom into a backup role.
i agree with signing garcia again. do you think the rams will give up their 2nd rd pick next year for vick? i’d even take a 3rd rd pick actually…
by ringordietryin on Apr 5, 2010 10:55 AM EDT up reply actions
No, I do not think they'd give up their second.
That would be highway robbery if we could get it. I would take a 3rd rounder and run with it if I were the Birds.
Yea. That's why I'm saying I'd take that 3rd hands down.
5th is reasonable, 4th is nice, 3rd is great, 2nd is impossible.
I don’t know about a 5th. I’d rather keep him around than dump him, really. With a 5th we’d be lucky to simply replace Vick.
I guess I shouldn’t have said I’d take their 4th, easily. I would take their 4th. Anything lower than a middle 4th and it’s really not worth it.
I am the people's troll :3™
I might agree, but value wise, it's hard to argue he's worth much really.
He really didn’t show a whole lot last year, so any team taking him would be basing it partially on what he is (or once was) capable of. It’s hard to argue much value for that. That could mean he really is going to stick around though. Of course, I doubt he come back here next year, so why not get whatever value there is? I think more than a straight trade for a pick we might see him get used as the equivalent of a 4th or 5th round pick in conjunction with another pick to move up at some point.
Campbell was on the ground… A LOT.
46 sacks and hit 97 other times.
Look at the other teams on that list (sort by QB hits).
Jaguars, Bills, Rams, Raiders, Lions, Buccaneers. All of those teams had a better rushing game.
Campbell still managed a 64.5% completion percentage and 7.1 yards per attempt. Of the other QBs who were hit as much as he was, what QBs put up numbers like that? And who is Campbell throwing to? Santana Moss and Chris Cooley (for 5 games).
I think Campbell really did a hell of a job.
The other important thing is that Campbell has gotten better each year. I have a friend who is a Redskins fan, and he agrees with me that you could do a lot worse at QB than Campbell, and that he’s got toughness and class that few display.
I am the people's troll :3™
Yomjo ...
… I love your stuff man, but I admit I skimmed right to the comments. Mostly because I was here for most of this stuff, as were you … the crazy part is we’re SO far from finished.
Remember how we were all like ’don’t judge this team til Lehigh?’ Well, yeah … we could have up to 11 more new faces (though its highly unlikely).
After the Cowboys losses I was a fix the defense & make one more run with McNabb guy. Since the purge began, I’ve become more and more excited about the possibilities for the next five or six years.
We cut all those guys you listed and we’re still a safety, corner, two LBs and a center away from having another playoff-caliber team, give or take a little.
P.S. Give US the Eric Berry. We wants, now!
Still waiting for the Eagles to Bring It Home For Jerome
For the record
I’m going back and reading your post now. I didn’t mean that as a dis, I just got the gist of where you were going and couldn’t wait to comment. (is huge dork)
Still waiting for the Eagles to Bring It Home For Jerome
What would we have to package
to move up and get Berry? Breaking the top 5 seems like it might take our 1st and both of our 2nds (but I don’t know much about this stuff)
"EFF YOU, WE'RE WINNING ANYWAY!!!!!!" (Bye, Dawk)
that'd probably do it
but i think the only way we nab Berry is if he slides to, say, #8 or #9, which a first, second, and third (in exchange for the #9 and a fourth) is probably enough to get.
NPK suggested we "settle"
for Thomas. That might be okay with me. With five picks so high, I’d hate to give up more than two of them to get one player. Man,with five cracks at a key contributor, we should be able to land two or three at least.
I think this team is 4 players away from being pretty good … if I had to quantify it numerically.
Still waiting for the Eagles to Bring It Home For Jerome
according to the draft chart it would take our 24th, 37th, and 70th pick to get in the top 7. If you asked me, id rather take a beast lineman in the first round like Iuputi then use our 2nd round picks on cornerbacks/safeties. Our third round picks should be used for linebackers/corners/lineman. Its pointless to predict right now though. Andy always moves around on draft day. With the 24th, 37th, 55th, 70th, and 87th picks, im very excited at the talent we could get with those 5 picks in the first 3 rounds. Andy could make this one of the best drafts in the past 10-20 years if he doesnt draft any busts in those first 3 rounds.
KC is looking to trade down
that would get us berry. We might be able to swing something with them if we really want Berry that bad.
Won’t happen, but the thought is nice.
"I will never have my best season," Brian Dawkins
"All I have in this world is my balls and my word and I don't break them for no one." Scarface
Team McNabb
sooooo many questions
honestly, i can’t remember a season in a long time with more POSSIBLE flaws in the team. it’s overwhelming to say the least.
Lehigh
Keep saying that to yourself.
11 draft picks is a lot of ammo. We could get more than one impact player and be very good much more quickly than the out-of-towners think.
I kind of like that we’ll fly under the radar next year. We’ll be picked for 4th by everyone, but I don’t think the Giants or Redskins are necessarily better than us. We’ll have to see how the draft goes and how good Kolb is.
Still waiting for the Eagles to Bring It Home For Jerome
I'd really like
to go into the season with a starting caliber CB. I really feel thats our biggest hole right now. The departure of Sheldon really caught me off guard. I don’t like the idea of Hobbs or Hanson starting, and I’m scared to death to start a rookie. I just imagine Miles Austin eating a rookie CB
"EFF YOU, WE'RE WINNING ANYWAY!!!!!!" (Bye, Dawk)
I have to agree here Jalarsen
I started to look at some young veterans that we might be able to acquire via a trade. I checked stats from last year, looked at individuals and tried to determine what we would have to spend to get some of them.
The reality is that the Eagles will most likely roll with Hobbs at the other position and draft at least 2 CB’s in this draft.
Corners I gave serious consideration to: Brent Grimes of Atl. He is 26, but was just resigned to a contract there. He is from Philly. Went to Shippensburg University. He had 13 passes def. last year and 64 tackles. He was undrafted in 2006 and is slated to play their 2 spot. The resigning makes me think he would take a decent pick.
Another corner I looked at was Zack Bowman of Chicago. However, he was moved into the 2 spot over Nathan Vasher 2 games into last year, so I don’t think we could get him either.
Brief glances I gave were to Brandon Flowers and Carr of KC and Derek Cox of Jac. All outside the price range we would most likely be looking for.
It looks like one of the rookie corners this coming year will have to get a crash course, because if we try to go with Hobbs or Hanson all year, it’s not going to be pretty.
"I will never have my best season," Brian Dawkins
"All I have in this world is my balls and my word and I don't break them for no one." Scarface
Team McNabb
Interesting
I like the idea of a guy already in the league contributing.
I’m warming up to the idea of Hobbs. I wouldn’t want him to be our only option, but if we draft someone to push him and he wins the job, maybe I could get behind that.
Also with an improved pass rush and LBs … look, if Hobbs is the weakest link on the field, I think I can live with that for this season. But if we’re average at CB, S, LB and DE, we’re gonna have big problems vs. Dallas, et. al.
Hanson, I hope the last 4 games was an aberration. He’s been a fairly solid nickel CB as long as we’ve had him.
Still waiting for the Eagles to Bring It Home For Jerome
For the past decade
This team has been so stable, and to see it being reconstructed over the past two seasons is kind of tough, but I hope we are still able to be the competitor of the past.
I am a bear of very little brains and big words bother me.
LOL ... he's gonna in rare form.
April 1st – To begin the worst 4 day weekend in the life of EvilBanner …
Still waiting for the Eagles to Bring It Home For Jerome
Boy am I pissed.
But I’m giving it to this piss-poor FO with both barrels.
...But if he pulls the rug on his quarterback, Reid must do it knowing that he let McNabb down more than McNabb ever let him down.
Phil Sheridan--Philadelphia Inquirer
I am
so excited about this season and draft!
by MightyJoeBanner on Apr 5, 2010 1:51 PM EDT up reply actions
Good recap
Even if I disagree with you on a few points especially about who ends up starting on the OL for this team, this was a solid & pretty funny recap.
I think we should demand a refund.
Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!
by alcatraz0109 on Apr 5, 2010 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions
Good recap
As far as the questions go, we really have to wait for the draft. With this many draft picks, anything could happen.
Alex Hall and Chad Hall
will Hall(haul) ass for the Hall(whole) season. The will be the Hall(whole) team! Therefore being the only tow guys ever to make the Hall after just one Hall(hell) of a season.
This will be a Hall of a season.
Those guys won't be Jack, son ...
compared to DeSean and Marlin.
Okay, I’ll just stop.
Still waiting for the Eagles to Bring It Home For Jerome
Excellent Recap
Good writing, too. You got you some schoolin’ past the thoid grade or sumptin?
Rec’d
I don't know if anyone mentioned this before...
but I find it ironic that division rivals are responsible for both our future and our past. McNabb obviously traded to the Redskins and we were involved in a trade with the Cowgirls the year we drafted Kolb.
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