Here is a YouTube guide to the newest offensive weapon in the Eagles offense - dynamic wide receive Jeremy Maclin.  I never thought we’d have a chance to get a guy like Maclin without having to give up a lot, but thanks to Al Davis obsession with 40 yard dash times, the Raiders took Darius Hayord-Bey and Maclin was available to us for a cheap cost.

Even McNabb can’t complain a lack of weapons with a guy like this.

Read the rest of this entry »

What is it about the NFL draft that captivates football fans throughout the country? Starting with the completion of the Super Bowl, through the combine, pro days, free agency and accompanied by an endless supply of mock drafts across the Internet and ESPN specials, the excitement culminates with the draft itself, a weekend extravaganza lasting 2 full days.  During that time, your favorite team selects a group of 7 or so college players whom most professional football fans have never actually seen or heard of.

One probable reason for the enthusiasm is that in no other professional sport can your team immediately enhance its roster by obtaining up to 15% new team members in one sitting. Compare this to baseball, basketball or hockey, where a team is fortunate if it acquires a single player who can contribute in the upcoming season. We dream that our front office will “hit the lottery” like when the Steelers drafted 4 future Hall of Famers in the 1974 draft (1st – Lynn Swann, 2nd- Jack Lambert, 4th – John Stallworth and 5th – Mike Webster). Trivia quiz – who was their 3rd round pick? As Eagle fanatics, we pray that our management comes up big! And, its not that the chances are nil, but that they are just improbable.

Click here to read Prof. Blick’s full Eagles draft day analysis

Denver's jerseys are close, but the Eagles 75th Anniversary uniforms are the closest thing the NFL has to Wolverine's costume

The future of Brian Dawkins has already been written…

In Marvel comic books.

Before we go into the future of Dawkins, here’s what the Eagles front office had to say about the departure of the best Eagle I ever had the honor of witnessing play in my lifetime.

Jeffrey Lurie:

Brian Dawkins has been one of the pillars of this franchise for 13 years. He helped lead us to five NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl. Brian embodies everything you look for in a professional athlete and human being. I have been fortunate to witness his impeccable character, his passion for the game of football and his commitment to being the best player he could be. I look forward to continuing a close relationship with him once his playing days are over. His legacy as an Eagle will last forever and will ultimately land him in Canton as a Hall of Famer.

Andy Reid:

Brian is one of the best players in franchise history and one of the most popular players to ever play in the city of Philadelphia. The Eagles organization, as well as the entire fan base, will miss him not only as a player but as a tremendous person. This is the toughest part of my job, no question. He gave this city 13 years of emotional, energetic football. We wish Brian and his family nothing but the best as he continues his career in Denver.

Hopefully Dawkins won't go down as painfully as Weapon X

But back to the future of Dawkins.

Weapon X still can use his fists (claws) with the best of them, but his fumble-causing tackle/punches won’t work if he can’t get within reach of opponents.  If B Dawk can’t stay on the field on passing downs it’s going to be hard for him to be the leader that Denver expected when they signed him, plus his heart doesn’t seem to be fully committed to Denver.

Dawkins unfamiliarity with the new system in Denver will expose his weaknesses, just like Magnito exposed Wolverine.  It’s going to be hard to watch when it happens too, just like it was hard to watch Magneto use his magnetic powers to rip Wolverine’s metal skeleton out of his body back in the day.

Although Dawk will survive, his sense of indestructibility will be severely damaged.  Weapon X will never be the same, and neither will the Eagles.

I think they call that the Huck-a-Buck

Oh my dear sweet God, finally we have a fullback.  The Eagles have addressed their most obvious need of the off-season, inking former Seahawk Leonard Weaver to a one year deal.  Assuming that the 2010 season is uncapped, Weaver will be looking to improve in every facet of the game and prove he should be a big money guy.

Leonard Weaver’s role in the offense of ‘09 is unclear.  Last season, the Eagles fullback position was a joke, and epitomized the arrogance of the Eagles front office (again thinking they were smarter than everyone else and a DT could play FB).  Having such a glaring weakness at fullback must have had some type of impact on the way Andy Reid uses the position, and the Eagles frequently ran out of the singleback.

Signing Weaver definitely changes things in the Eagles backfield, and hopefully he isn’t the final backfield addition.  Assuming the Eagles draft a running back, touches may be limited, but then again with the current wide receiver core I hope we’ll be seeing a new-age three-headed monster early and often.

Click here to see why Leonard Weaver improves the Eagles offense.

Forget WRs, Defense Wins Championships

Although the Eagles haven’t been as flashy in Free Agency as many would have liked, they have added two potential starters at positions of need.  Stacy Andrews will contribute if healthy somewhere along the yet-to-be-determined new-look offensive line.  Sean Jones will be hitting on special teams and will have a chance to compete for a starting Safety spot.  Even with these solid moves, it sure seems like a lot of work remains to be done.

With over $40 million in open cap space and 12 total draft picks in April (including two 1st rounders and metric ton of 5th round picks), the Eagles have more flexibility to improve their roster than any team in the NFL.  Maybe that’s why we are all so anxious to be a part of the action.

This team still has a lot of room for improvement, and the glare from the window of opportunity closing is blinding.  I for one think the time to take the Eagles to the next level is now, and some of the stereotypical Eagles front office conservatism should be thrown to the wind.

Click here to read all the Eagles Free Agency News, including interest in Leonard Weaver, Jason Peters and Julius Peppers

Should the Eagles try to trade for Cutler? Yes. Will they? Nope.

Jay Cutler has told the Broncos that he wants to be traded after the Bronocos management handled trade offers for him about as horribly as they could possibly have. Without getting into the soap opera that is going on in Denver, I asked you SOB Nation, should the Eagles try and trade for Cutler? I’m going to say I think they should.

• Cutler is Only 25. First off, Cutler is only 25 years old and is just entering the prime of his career.  McNabb is seven years older and is reaching the age where he could start declining fast.
• Cutler was better than McNabb in 2008. Cutler’s numbers in 2008 were better than McNabb’s in almost every category except interceptions.  The one major negative with Cutler’s game right now is his turnovers.  He threw 18 interceptions in ‘08 - McNabb’s never thrown nearly that many in any single season in his entire career.  On the other hand, McNabb has never come anywhere close to the 4,526 yards Cutler threw for in 2008 either.  Cutler’s 7.4 yards/completion average looks pretty nice as well considering McNabb has only had two seasons in his career with a higher y/c.
• McNabb doesn’t really want to be here. McNabb hasn’t come out and said it, but his actions this off-season are speaking louder than words.  Donovan is still pissed he was benched against Baltimore - even though he was playing some god-awful football during that stretch.  Even people in the media have hinted that the benching still has McNabb upset that there has to at least be a little fire for all of the smoke.  McNabb’s never truly embraced this city and to be fair, the city has never fully embraced him either.   His relationship with the fans is sort of like those parents who stay together for their kids sake and then get divorced as soon as the kids are all grown up.
• The Eagles window opens up quite a bit with a young QB. The mythical window gets talked about all of the time, but if the Eagles were to trade for Cutler, the entire starting offensive line, QB, TE, and one wide receiver would be under the age of 27.
• We have the cap space to make it happen. With all of the cap space that the Eagles have been busy not using this off-season, the Eagles have the cap room to be able to take on his 6 year, $48 mil deal and still have plenty of cap space left to not use on free agents.
• McNabb actually makes sense for Denver. Denver apparently feels they are a few players away from being a contender with all of their FA signings (I tend to disagree), and acquiring a QB like McNabb with some picks might be enticing for the Broncos.  Not many teams would be able to give the Broncos as established of a QB as the Eagles could.

There are also plenty of reasons not to pursue Cutler - his turnover problems, medical concerns (diabetes), his attitude, etc; but if McNabb isn’t happy and wants out of Philly, is there any better possibilities for the Eagles at QB beside Cutler?   Just for kicks.  If the Eagles could somehow manage to trade for both Cutler and Boldin by using both first rounders, would anyone really be upset?  It’s becoming more and more clear that there won’t be any elite left tackles left when we pick at #21 so why not?

I don’t expect to see the Eagles pursue Cutler or even think about it much.  If word were to leak that the Eagles were interested in Cutler and they ended up not getting him could you imagine the damage it would do to #5’s fragile pyche?

Mikell will help continue Brian Dawkins legacy of aggressive and physical play to the Eagles Safety position in 2009

Dawkins leaving town has us all spinning.

But one way or another, life and Eagles football will go on.  Jim Johnson will still call his style of aggressive defense, or at least I pray he is able to.  The prospective 2009 Eagles secondary may be built more like the past than we think, and may have the potential to be an improved unit in the upcoming season.

Asante takes Lito’s place as the gambling, INT making #1 corner (which is an upgrade), and Sheldon is better than he has ever been as a #2.  They may be the best 1, 2 corner combo in the NFL.

Hanson has cemented his spot as the Eagles nickel corner this off-season, even if only due to the contract he was given.  Hanson has shown flashes of playing every bit as well as the #3 corners of the past few years like Roderick Hood, Dexter Wynn and William James.  Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor haven’t been with the Birds since 2003, but it seems like a whole lot longer.

At Free Safety, Dawkins has always been the enforcer, emotional leader, and last line of defense for the Eagles secondary.  He has been coupled with quite a few Strong Safeties to mixed results.  Michael Lewis was a physical SS who got exposed for his lack of coverage skills after his Pro Bowl season in 2004, then walked away in Free Agency and didn’t amount to much in San Fran.  The Considine experiment was a miserable failure, and then Mikell stepped up.

Click here to read why we think Mikell is ready to step up in the void left by B Dawk

I had the whole case for signing McFadden outlined, and the post was scheduled for 7:30 tonight.  Of course, the good-for-nothing Cardinals had to ruin everything and sign McFadden to a 2-year, $10 contract at like 6:00 PM.

Not only does this impact the Eagles depth at corner, but also could undermine the sinister plot to trade for a #1 WR.  Trading Sheldon for Boldin doesn’t work if the Cardinals are now content with the CB depth.

Although frustratingly tardy, click here to check out the now outdated case to go after another quality CB like Bryant McFadden

I’ve heard fairly mixed reactions from the SOB Nation regarding Friday’s signing Free Agent Safety Sean Jones, but the Eagles are spinning it as a big plus.  For every positive that I can find in Jones, there is a negative or uncertainty that has yet to be answered.

We will all be watching Jones closely in training camp and and throughout the pre-season, it will be interesting to see how he pans out.   I think he will be given the opportunity to make an impact this season.  Not sure why, but I do feel a lot more comfortable with Jones on the roster than I did a few days ago when Demps was the only remotely viable Safety option outside of Quintin Mikell.

Jones, although coming from a 3-4 defensive scheme, he’s excited about coming to the Eagles and playing in Jim Johnson’s aggressive 4-3 defense:

I watch (defensive coordinator) Jim Johnson. He brings pressure defense and I’ve always admired that. I always wanted to be in that kind of defense. I have experience playing the 4-3 in college. I still have experience doing that. It’s going to be a great opportunity for me to just showcase my skills.

Jones (#26) looks significantly bigger than former teammate Safety Brodney Poole at the :34 mark.

Click here to read our full take on the Eagles newest member, Sean Jones

New England needed a washing machine. We really liked our washing machine, but when I heard the deal I hadda do it.

In the movie Semi-Pro, Woody Harleson’s character Ed Monix is traded to the Flint Tropics for a washing machine.  I’m reminded of this today, because the Eagles traded everyone’s favorite wide receiver turned punter returner turned wide receiver Greg Lewis.  I’m reminded of the movie because first off, Greg Lewis is a semi-pro football player. Secondly, who the hell trades for Greg Lewis?  The Patriots, who the Eagles traded with, could have found a wide receiver at any point in this year’s draft capable of what Greg Lewis can do.

The deal itself was actually Greg Lewis and a 7th round pick in 2010 for a 5th round pick in 2009.   Why the Patriots gave up a 5th round pick for Lewis I have no idea.  His two best games of his career have come against the Pats.  Maybe that’s the only time they’ve seen him play.   That would make sense because he’s never on SportsCenter or NFL Network or any of those, you know, “highlight” shows.

The last image I’ll have of Lewis is him streaking down the sidelines, wide open in the NFC Championship game against the Cards and dropping a very, very catchable ball.  That one play pretty much sums up his career in Philly too - he’d always show signs of being a legit wide receiver only before crashing back down to earth.

Enjoy your new washing machine, New England.