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Let's get to the links...
Cowboys give kicker $22.5 million extension - Rotoworld
Only in Jerry's World. More cap strapped than any team in football, the Cowboys will likely have to convert salaries into prorated "signing" bonuses elsewhere on the roster to fit Bailey's head-scratching new deal into their already in-the-red finances. Bailey gets a $4.5 million signing bonus and $3.4 million per year in new money. We don't have any problem with Bailey -- he's 26 and one of the top placekickers in the game -- but the Cowboys' contractual dealings are annually the most preposterous in football. Maybe they'll bulk up Bailey and get him to double at defensive tackle. Dallas is currently nearly $22 million over the cap.
Senior Bowl practice notes: Day 3 - JimmyK, Philly.com
North Carolina State CB Dontae Johnson was an Eagles fan growing up. "(The Eagles) were my dream team growing up," said Johnson. "They were my favorite team when I was a little kid, so they were close to home and it would be a dream come true if I could play for the Eagles... Brian Dawkins was my main guy."
More Senior Bowl Stuff - Tommy Lawlor, Iggles Blitz
Players are people. And who they are can affect how much you like them. Chip Kelly loved Matt Barkley and Bennie Logan. He then drafted them. A group of Philly reporters spoke to Safety Jimmie Ward yesterday and I have to say that I’m more intrigued by him after listening to him than when just going off the tape. Ward isn’t big at 5103, 191. He is aware of that and after talking to teams he’s going to try and bulk up to 200 pounds. Being a shade over 5-10 and 200 pounds isn’t ideal size for the NFL, but that is big enough for a starting Safety. Ward admitted that proper nutrition hasn’t been part of his life to this point. You really want this kid to succeed. He is from Mobile, AL. Sounds like he grew up poor and has made the most of his life. He knows he’s coming from a small school and he’s got a bit of a chip on his shoulder. A good chip. He’s not angry at anyone, but is driven. Some pro prospects have a sense of entitlement. Ward is hungry. He wants to be an NFL player. He’ll do what it takes to make it in the league.
Senior Bowl – Day 3 - Tommy Lawlor, ScoutsNotebook
QB Jimmy Garoppolo is a player I like. Not everyone is sold on him, though. One of the questions with Garoppolo is his ability to throw the deep ball. He doesn’t have a great arm. He doesn’t have great downfield accuracy. I stood down on the field to watch him throw some today and loved his smooth motion, quick release and tight spirals. The short and intermediate stuff is very impressive. His deep balls do need work. I do think that is an area he can work on in the NFL and I don’t think it will make teams rule him out. Garoppolo didn’t wow scouts and coaches this week, but he had a solid showing and helped himself.
Eagles Must Make A Call On Avant - Tim McManus, Birds 24/7
The Eagles have a decision to make when it comes to Jason Avant, and will need to make it fairly soon. Complicating matters is that the veteran wideout is scheduled to receive a $1 million roster bonus, which kicks in the fifth day of the league year (March 15). They will need to either release Avant or restructure his deal before then to avoid incurring that cost.
Eagles looking for next Dawkins - Les Bowen, Daily News
There's a gaggle of good-sized safeties here practicing for Saturday's Senior Bowl. You have to squint really hard to see any of them as a future star, though; most project as midrounders. That's partly because the top two safety prospects in this spring's NFL draft, Alabama's Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Louisville's Calvin Pryor, are underclassmen and aren't in Mobile. And it's partly because the demands of the safety position in the NFL of 2014 are extreme, much more about coverage instincts and quickly sorting through what you're looking at than wrestling ballcarriers to the turf. It has become a very difficult position to project, with college defenses often not translating well into what a player is going to have to do at the next level.
2013 PFF All-NFC East Team - ProFootballFocus
We continue our spin around the league with 2013’s best at each position. Here is the NFC East. In a division that nobody seemed to want to win for much of the season the Eagles eventually emerged as the team to beat late on and that is reflected with seven players appearing in this team. The Cowboys featuring 10 players on the team just goes to underline their overall failure to make the most of the talent they always appear to have. No team was shut out of the selections, but the Redskins and Giants both find themselves staring up at the other two teams.
Senior Bowl Practice Notes: North Day 3- Huff and Colter Have Strong Days - FanSpeak
Oregon Ducks WR Josh Huff shows great quickness and deep speed and was able to get open on multiple vertical and intermediate routes. One route in particular was a 15 yard route to the corner of the end zone where Huff blew past Jean-Baptiste and was open for a TD at the back of the end zone. Despite Jean-Baptiste having a huge size advantage and a short area to defend, he was unable to jam Huff and got beat to the corner of the end zone.
How different is the Eagles’ roster from that of a 2013 Super Bowl quarterfinalist? - FanPost by StoneColeKiller58
I decided to see what separates the Eagles’ roster from that of teams like the Seahawks, Patriots, Broncos, and 49ers. I look at this exercise as a way to try to tease out how much roster makeup played a part in the Eagles not advancing past the first round of the playoffs, as opposed to things like execution and coaching.
Tweet of Interest: Chip is Coach of the Year by fan standards.
RESULTS! The fans have spoken!! @Eagles coach Chip Kelly has been voted NFL Coach of the Year in our #NFLLiveFanVote pic.twitter.com/oXjxJZWWco
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) January 23, 2014
