Philly Sports Today

Normally, the changes that have been made to the Eagles’ roster this off-season would be characterized as “rebuilding.” However, rebuilding normally means replacing the players that leave. So far, the Eagles haven’t done much to fill the holes left by the numerous departures. I know there’s still players out there in free agency and the NFL Draft is coming up at the end of April, but if the Eagles are going to rely mainly on the draft and players already on the roster to play prominent roles next season, are they honestly going to be a Super Bowl contender? The wild card would be making a trade for a stud playmaker, someone like Anquan Boldin. However, as of now, there aren’t a lot of rumors that the Eagles have a big time trade in the works.

Apparently, the Eagles know what they’re doing since they have a case full of Lombardi Trophies in their front office. Oh wait, no they don’t. They actually just think that they’re smarter than everyone else, yet have nothing to show for it, unless you count coming up short in big games every single year.

Left tackle Tra Thomas became the latest Bird to leave the nest. After the Eagles seemingly showed no interest in bringing Tra back, the former first round pick and three-time Pro Bowler signed a three-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars. A few weeks ago, safety Sean Considine became the first of Philly’s unrestricted free agents to sign a deal with the Jags. In addition, safety Brian Dawkins and running back Correll Buckhalter both flew off to Denver, and L.J. Smith seems poised to sign with either Atlanta or Detroit. Jon Runyan also remains unsigned, but after undergoing microfracture surgery on his knee, it’s unlikely that he’ll return.

On top of that, the Birds also dealt Lito Sheppard to the Jets and Greg Lewis to the Patriots. They’ll receive draft picks in return for both players.

The only unrestricted free agent that the Eagles re-signed was Joselio Hanson, who will be the nickel cornerback. The signings of tackle Stacy Andrews and safety Sean Jones should be very beneficial, but both are coming off of knee injuries. On paper, they look like good signings, but who knows? Only time will tell. The rest of this off-season should be very interesting.

E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES!

With the departure of starting free safety and seven-time Pro Bowler Brian Dawkins to the Denver Broncos, the Eagles were left with a major hole in their secondary. With the addition of former Cleveland Browns safety Sean Jones, the Eagles appear to have found Dawkins’s replacement. At least for now.

After missing four games with a right-knee injury last season, Jones didn’t receive a lot of interest on the free agent market. As a result, Jones agreed to a one-year worth $3 million with the Eagles in hopes of parlaying it into a more lucrative multi-year contract either in Philly or somewhere else next year at this time. If the 27-year-old safety shows that he is healthy and has a big year, it will definitely mean getting big money from somebody in 2010.

The Eagles have been through this dance before with former linebacker Shawn Barber, another Brian Mackler client. In 2002, Barber was coming off a knee injury and wasn’t generating a lot of interest on the open marker. Barber played well as the Eagles went to the NFC Championship Game and wound up getting rewarded with a more lucrative contract from the Kansas City Chiefs. I wouldn’t be shocked if Jones follows Barber’s template.

Even if Jones is only in Philly for 2009, as long as he’s healthy, it seems like the Birds landed a playmaker who will be a fantastic fit in Jim Johnson’s defense. On paper, the Eagles don’t look like they’ve lost much by replacing Dawkins with Jones. In fact, statistically speaking, Jones is somewhat of an upgrade. Since 2006, Jones ranks third among safeties behind Baltimore’s Ed Reed and St. Louis’ Oshiomogho Atogwe with 14 interceptions. He had four picks in Cleveland’s final six games last season. In 60 career games and 44 starts, Jones has 286 tackles, 14 interceptions, nine sacks and two forced fumbles. Unfortunately, his production has declined each year since 2006, so that may be somewhat of a red flag. Who knows?

For comparison, since 2006, Dawkins only had six interceptions, with four of them coming in 2006. Overall, during the length of Jones’s career (i.e. since 2005), Dawkins has 290 tackles, nine interceptions, 7.5 sacks, and 15 forced fumbles. The numbers are pretty even. The one thing that cannot be quantified through statistics is Dawkins’s leadership, which will certainly be missed. However, this looks like a very good signing for the Eagles and Jones should provide at least similar production to Dawkins, even if it’s just for one year.

E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES!

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me three more times, shame on me. That pretty much sums up what many Eagles fans are thinking the day after yet another disappointing loss in the NFC Championship to a team that had never been to the Super Bowl. The Iggles have been to five NFC title games in the past eight years. Four times, including yesterday, they were kicked in the teeth. The other time, a 2004 win over the Atlanta Falcons that sent Philly to its second Super Bowl appearance, led to a crushing defeat at the hands of the New England Patriots. However, this year was supposed to be different. The Eagles looked like a team of destiny. The Cards were just another speed bump on the road to a Super Bowl title. The Phillies supposedly had broken the curse on Philly sports. It was supposed to be OK for Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid to win big games. Apparently, they didn’t get the memo. The Cards partied in the desert after their 32-25 win.

Arizona completely molested Philadelphia for the first 30 minutes of the game. Despite the fact that the Eagles saw Larry Fitzgerald completely destroy the Carolina Panthers last week, they still allowed him to run buck wild and Fitz torched them for THREE TOUCHDOWNS! IN THE FIRST HALF! How could they let him get open that often? It also didn’t help that McNabb was absolutely terrible. At halftime, the Cards led 24-6. To their credit, the Iggles fought back and led 25-24 late into the fourth quarter. As everyone should have expected, this is the Eagles. They always seem to rope you in just so they can get close enough to rip your heart out with their hands. They certainly didn’t disappoint in terms of disappointing the city of Philadelphia yet again. Kurt Warner and Co. orchestrated a 14-play, 72-yard drive over the course of 7:46 to put Arizona back in front. As has been the case throughout his entire career, McNabb came up short. 47 yards short to be exact. Hey, he got five yards closer to the winning TD yesterday than when he lost to Kurt Warner and the Rams.

Another star of the game for the Birds was David Akers. A missed field goal, a missed extra point, and a kickoff out of bounds. Could a kicker have a better game than that? While Akers was not the reason they lost, he certainly played a pretty big part in it.

Now where does the team go from here? Who knows? There are a lot of veteran players that are free agents. McNabb and Reid will certainly be back after a late-season push that saved both of their jobs. However, it seems fairly evident now that these two have hit their ceiling, and that ceiling is losing in the NFC title game again and again and again and again. On paper, the Eagles have a lot of talent and young pieces in place that should keep them competitive. Hopefully Philly will sign an impact player in free agency with their tons of cap room and make some good draft picks like they always seem to do. They need to rebuild their aging offensive line, get some more play-makers for McNabb, maybe get some linebacking help and just general depth all over the defense.

Will this team ever get back to the Super Bowl with McNabb and Reid. Personally, I think their window of opportunity is now officially closed barring the addition of some more impact players on both sides of the ball. It’s going to be another long off-season in Philadelphia and the mantra of “There’s always next year” is definitely getting very stale. If they can’t beat the Cardinals in an NFC title game, who exactly are they going to beat in the NFC title game? As always seems to be the case with the Philadelphia Eagles, there are way more questions than answers. Oh well, there are only 25 days until Spring Training.

Not much to talk about on the Philly sports scene, so this is just going to be some quick points. Check back tomorrow for the NFL picks.

The Flyers and Sixers both had off days yesterday before continuing their road trips tonight. Coincidentally, both teams will play back-to-back games. Tonight, the Flyers will battle the Anaheim Ducks and then will take on the Los Angeles Kings tomorrow. The Sixers will tip-off against the Dallas Mavericks tonight and will meet up with the San Antonio Spurs tomorrow. In a perfect world, each team would go 2-0. However, it’s more likely than not that the Flyers will win one and lose one, and that the Sixers will drop both. I also believe that there is a better chance that the Flyers win both games than the Sixers winning one game.

The Eagles are 3 point favorites over the Minnesota Vikings and pretty much everyone is picking them to win. I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but they shouldn’t take the Vikes lightly. While I expect the Birds to win (at least as of now), I wouldn’t put it past Andy Reid and Donovan McNabb to completely lay an egg on Sunday.

Finally, one point about the Phillies. They should definitely get into the bidding for Derek Lowe. Signing him would give the Phightins the best rotation in the National League and put serious pressure on the Mets. Why should they let him go to their chief rival at a below-market price? Also, I really don’t know where the Phils are going to get all of this money to make it through arbitration with all of their players. They are going to get wrecked in the arbitration hearings. I don’t see them winning a single case. Ryan Howard, Cole Hamels, Jayson Werth, Ryan Madson, Shane Victorino, Greg Dobbs, Chad Durbin, Joe Blanton were all essential to the team’s success and each had a great season. The Phils will definitely have to break the bank to keep this team in tact. They need to figure out how to lock up Hamels, Victorino, Werth, Madson, and maybe Howard long-term. However, I fear that Ruben “Will be worse than Ed Wade” Amaro is going to ruin a great team, but I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

The defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants are clearly the class of the NFC and may be the best team in the NFL. For the fourth year in a row, Eli Manning and Co. marched into Lincoln Financial Field and handed Andy Reid’s Philadelphia Eagles a loss. The G-Men just ran the ball down Philly’s throat all night and came up with big plays through the air when necessary. I was very impressed with the way that they played and at this point, I don’t see another NFC team being able to beat them in the playoffs. On the other hand, it was the same old story for the Eagles. They made too many mistakes in key spots, displayed terrible clock management, and were unable to run the ball for a first down on third- or fourth-and-one. It was pathetic how bad they are in close games. In Philly’s four losses, their inability to convert in short yardage situations and their inability to stop the run have been the reasons that the Eagles are on the outside of the playoff picture. I really don’t think the Birds are going to make the playoffs this season, and if that is the case, major changes will need to be made. Dallas and Washington both had bye weeks.

In the NFC North, the Bears and Vikings are currently tied for first with the Packers one game behind. Chicago lost a tough battle with the undefeated Titans, while Minnesota hung on to beat Green Bay after Mason Crosby missed a 52-yard field goal attempt. I think these three teams are pretty even and their positions in the standings will continue fluctuate for the rest of the year. Ultimately, the winner of this division is likely to be one-and-done in the playoffs. Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the Lions. They got blown out. Again. Not really surprising. And they’re still winless.

The Carolina Panthers continue to maintain their lead in the NFC South, but they were very unimpressive in their win over Oakland. Jake Delhomme (7-for-27 for 72 yards with 1 TD and 4 INTs) was absolutely terrible, but the Cats still beat the Raiders 17-6. The Falcons refuse to go away and blew out the Saints 34-20. With the loss, New Orleans is pretty much out of the playoff picture. The NFC South teams are pretty much unbeatable at home (17-1 combined), but they’re very mediocre on the road (6-12 combined). It’s going to be tough to win in Carolina, Tampa Bay, or Atlanta in the playoffs. Speaking of Tampa, they had a bye this week.

The Arizona Cardinals continue to dominate the NFC West. The 49ers, Rams, and Seahawks continue to take it on the chin every week.

In the AFC South, the Titans remained undefeated and moved to 9-0 with a 21-14 win in Chicago. The most impressive part was that they were able to win despite the fact that LenDale White and Chris Johnson combined for 22 rushing yards on 24 carries. I think Tennessee is the second-best team in the NFL behind the Giants mainly because the Titans’ offense isn’t nearly as good. The Colts kept their playoff hopes alive with huge a comeback win in Pittsburgh. It was Indy’s first win in the Steel City since 1968. However, I still don’t know if the Colts are good enough to be able to sneak into a Wild Card spot. Jacksonville beat Detroit. Yawn. The Texans got annihilated by Baltimore in the Hurricane Ike make-up game. Houston is cooked. Neither team is a playoff contender right now.

The AFC East is the tightest division in football with New England and the New York Jets tied for first at 6-3. Miami and Buffalo are both one game behind with a 5-4 record. The Patriots beat the Bills, who continued their free fall, to move into first, and the Jets annihilated the Rams. I really don’t know what happened to the Bills. They looked so good in the beginning of the year and then seemed to hit a wall. The Dolphins are also lurking in the shadows and may be able to steal the division title if they can get hot.

The Ravens are the second-hottest team in the NFL right now with a four-game winning streak. Baltimore crushed the Texans, and coupled with a loss by the Steelers, moved into a tie for first place. The Ravens have a relatively tough schedule coming up with the Giants, Eagles, and Redskins on deck in three of the next four weeks before the Steelers come to town for a huge game. This stretch will be the measuring stick for Baltimore. The Browns collapsed in Brady Quinn’s first NFL start and there were rumblings that a bunch of the players quit during the game. Not a good sign for Romeo Crennel’s job. The Bengals had a bye.

In the AFC West, the Broncos maintained a one game lead with a comeback win in Cleveland. The Chargers also rallied to win their game and escaped with a 20-19 win because the Chiefs went for two and failed instead of playing for overtime. The Raiders continued to suck and only scored 6 points despite the fact that they had the ball for 37:02. If it wasn’t for Kansas City, Oakland would be the worst team in this division. What does that say about the Chiefs?

Projected AFC Playoff teams through Week 10: New England (East; Last Week’s Projection: New England), Pittsburgh (North; Last Week’s Projection: Pittsburgh), Tennessee (South; Last Week’s Projection: Tennessee), Denver (West; Last Week’s Projection: Denver), Baltimore (Wild Card; Last Week’s Projection: Baltimore), New York Jets (Wild Card; Last Week’s Projection: New York Jets)

Projected NFC Playoff teams through Week 10: New York Giants (East; Last Week’s Projection: New York Giants), Minnesota (North; Last Week’s Projection: Green Bay), Carolina (South; Last Week’s Projection: Carolina), Arizona (West; Last Week’s Projection: Arizona), Washington (Wild Card; Last Week’s Projection: Washington), Tampa Bay (Wild Card; Last Week’s Projection: Tampa Bay)