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I stumbled upon this article penned by local sports TV anchor Billy Vargus on PhillytoPhilly.com, a site known for great articles such as "Philadelphia Eagles Spit In The Face Of DeSean Jackson With Avant Signing."
In the particular article I came upon, Billy V waxed poetic about how great the Flyers franchise is run and how they try so hard every offseason to get better. He also says the Phillies are well run.. But we care about the Eagles here so let's skip to his comments about how the Eagles handle their offseasons.
At times, the Eagles have been very aggressive in trying to address their needs, making the first and biggest splashes in free agency, such as when they signed Jevon Kearse in 2004 and Asante Samuel in 2008. (That Kearse never played up to his previous level isn’t the point; it’s that the Eagles made a bold move.) At other times, such as last year and this, the Eagles have done almost nothing in the off-season.
Let's address two points. The first being an incredibly stupid one and the second being just factually untrue.
Point 1 - "That Kearse never played up to his previous level isn’t the point; it’s that the Eagles made a bold move."
Are you kidding me? "That Kearse never played up to his previous level" is EXACTLY the point! Teams who sign high priced, big name free agents who fail aren't well run teams. They're poorly run. They made bad moves. They don't deserve credit for bad moves. The worst part is Billy V knows this and he basically says so in his comments about the Sixers.
"The 76ers aren’t even in the discussion" he says
Why not? They went out and made a "bold move" by giving huge money to big name Elton Brand. Don't they deserve credit for that, since it apparently doesn't matter that the move was a total failure? In the next breath, Vargas heaps praise on Ed Snyder for his "bold leadership" of the Flyers, seemingly forgetting that Snyder also runs the Sixers and has done a terrible job.
Point 2 - " At other times, such as last year and this, the Eagles have done almost nothing in the off-season."
This is the one that blows me away. He says the Eagles have done "almost nothing" in what most if not all Eagles observers say is the most momentous offseason in the past decade. Trading Donovan McNabb wasn't a bold move? Trading halfway up the first round to get Brandon Graham wasn't a bold move? Making numerous changes in the coaching staff, installing a new quarterback, parting ways with a legend like Brian Westbrook count as doing "almost nothing?"
You may not agree with what the Eagles have done... but you can't say they haven't been bold and have done nothing. I don't know if I can think of an offseason where more major moves have been made.
Hate to say it Billy V, but you might want to stick with reading from the teleprompter.
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