My Trial By Erosion Of Words

Thinking About The Eagles

Wow.

What a weekend to be an Eagles fan.

Nnamdi Asomugha. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Cullen Jenkins. Jason Babin. Man.

Cowboys and Giants fans will tell you that these moves don’t mean much. Building your team via free agency (which the Eagles aren’t doing) isn’t the way to go about things. It’s doomed to fail.

They’re all in denial.

Are the Eagles now the team to beat in the NFC as some are saying? No. The Packers still have Aaron Rodgers and that steroid freak Clay Matthews, not to mention a plethora of great young Wide Receivers. They’re still the gold standard at the moment. But are the Eagles close behind them?

You bet your ass they are.

With the moves the Eagles have made in the last few days, anything less than a Super Bowl is a failure.

So here are my thoughts on what has transpired thus far concerning the Eagles:

I was as shocked as the next person that the Eagles signed cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha on Friday. Even though I mentioned it in my end of the season post in January, I certainly didn’t expect it to happen given that the Eagles got Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (DRC) in exchange for Kevin Kolb, but they swooped in and got him even after New York Jets head coach Rex Ryan had Adam Sandler call him.
Just how good is Nnamdi? He’s given up one touchdown in the last three seasons. One. And he does loads of charity work. Nnamdi is a better human being than you’ll ever be. Praise Nnamdi.
What does this mean for Asante Samuel? Time will tell I suppose, but it wouldn’t shock me if they traded him. I’d like for the Eagles to keep him though. The guy is still one of the best corners in the game, but it’s a matter of how well he fits into the Eagles new defensive system under Juan Castillo. Asomugha and DRC are press coverage guys. Asante is more of an off-corner that tries to bait the quarterback into throwing his way. I do believe that if the Eagles were going to make a run at the Super Bowl, Asante Samuel needs to be part of it.
On the Kolb trade: I love what the Eagles received. They got a starting cornerback (DRC) and a second round pick for a guy that they now value as a back-up. The Eagles front office (Joe Banner and Howie Roseman in particular) did a great job of not blinking when they supposedly “lost their leverage” after the Seahawks signed Tavaris Jackson.
The influence that Michael Vick has had on these signings is huge. Guys want to come play for the Eagles because of Vick. He brings an energy to the team that is unreal.
They also want to come because the Eagles have money. I’m not that naive.
I like the Cullen Jenkins signing as well. Yeah he has a history of injury problems, but the guy is a great pass rusher, which the Eagles desperately needed.
Ditto on Jason Babin, who had a breakout season last year under the tutelage of Jim Washburn (now with the Eagles) and the Tennessee Titans.
Not too worried about DeSean Jackson’s hold out. The guy is grossly underpaid and deserves a new contract. I just wish he had gone about things a bit differently. He’ll get his money.
On that note, I imagine once the Eagles extend Michael Vick’s contract and re-structure his deal, DeSean will quickly get a new contract. Vick is owed $16 million this season under the franchise tag policy- a number that will surely go down once he receives an extension.
I really wish new backup QB Vince Young hadn’t made his “dream team” comment. I think it is being blown out of proportion, but he shouldn’t have said it. As if the target wasn’t already placed squarely on the Eagles back after they got Nnamdi.
While the Eagles certainly have great defensive backs, the group of linebackers that are currently on the team is still a big question. Jamar Chaney is good, but he only played in a handful of games last year. Moise Fokou wasn’t very consistent last year. The biggest question mark will be rookie Casey Matthews, brother of the aforementioned Clay Matthews. He is currently the starting middle linebacker, which scares me. You never want your middle linebacker, essentially the quarterback of the defense, to be a rookie. While I think Casey Matthews will be a solid player, it is easy to forget that he was a 4th round pick in the draft and there is probably a reason for that. It wouldn’t shock me if the Eagles brought in another MLB, just in case Matthews isn’t ready. I suppose I just have to trust Juan Castillo and the other coaches on defense.

So how far can this Eagles team go? I’d be lying if I didn’t say they had potential to win the Super Bowl, but I also know better than to say these free agent signings put them over the top. Nnamdi, DRC, Jenkins, and Babin are nice, but this team will only go as far as Vick takes them. Near the end of the year, Vick struggled. Part of that was due to offensive line play (something that probably improves with Jamaal Jackson returning), but there were times when he made some bad mistakes. If he continues his progression as a true QB, he can lead the Eagles to the promised land. Obviously the linebackers are a huge concern, as are the health of guys like Cullen Jenkins.

It’s going to be a fun year though.

Fly Eagles Fly.

1 August 2011 • Philadelphia Eagles Nnamdi Asomugha Praise Nnamdi Michael Vick DeSean Jackson

Philadelphia Eagles vs. San Francisco 49ers

The Philadelphia Eagles have won four games in a row and are currently in first place in the NFC East. Outside of the Colts, the Eagles are the hottest team in the NFL right now.

The Eagles have everything going for them: The Weather. The potential playoff berth. And most importantly, the chance to maintain first place in the NFC East.

The 49ers are 1-5 on the road and will certainly be playing in weather that they have neither played nor practiced in at all this year. The game has already been moved to a 4:15 start because of the snow storm in Philadelphia.

So why does this game scare me so much?

I’m not going to call it a trap game because this late in the season, there is no such thing. If anything, the last few weeks have been “trap games” and the Eagles have won all of them.

But lets be honest, sometimes the Eagles play down to their competition and often times lose when they do. If you don’t believe me, just look at this years game against the Raiders and last years game against the Redskins in Week 16. And that is what I’m most afraid of.

The 49ers have an outside chance at a playoff spot and have some very talented players on offense. Since the 49ers will more than likely think this game is being played in the Arctic because of the weather, they will give the ball to Frank Gore a shitload (that’s a synonym for a lot) of times. Not that he doesn’t get the ball a lot, but you can’t tell me that the 49ers trust Alex Smith in these conditions.

But Gore scares me. If last weeks game against the Giants was any indication, Gore could have a huge game. Saying that the Eagles tackling was poor against New York would be like saying that Tom Coughlin is an angry old codger. In other words, no shit.

If the Eagles tackling doesn’t get better, they’ll lose this game. Not just because of Gore, but because of physical playmakers like Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree.

On offense, the Eagles just need to run the ball. Give the ball to Leonard Weaver as much as possible. Make him the feature back in today’s game. The Eagles will be affected by Old Man Winter as well. I’m sure Andy Reid will call for the “Just run straight DeSean” play a few times today, but in this weather, the chances of it working are very slim.

I’m not going to say that the Eagles will lose, but I will say that this game scares me. It has all the makings of a typical let-down game that the Eagles seem to have a few times a year.

So Andy Reid (I know he’s reading this), please fire the boys up. I know that in the grand scheme of things, this game doesn’t mean a whole lot since all the Eagles have to do is win only one of the next three games to clinch a playoff spot. But please, don’t come out flat today. Don’t give a share of the division lead back to the Cowboys.

With that being said:

FLY EAGLES FLY!

(Photo of DeSean Jackson doing “the jerk”* courtesy of PhiladelphiaEagles.com)

*Thank you Deion Sanders for explaining to square white people such as myself that the dance that Jackson does when scores is called “the jerk”.

20 December 2009 • Philadelphia Eagles DeSean Jackson San Francisco 49ers NFL