2008 Draft Eagles Day 1 Picks

Trevor Laws

College: Notre Dame
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 304
40 Yrd Dash: 5.09
20 Yrd Dash: 2.90
10 Yrd Dash: 1.72
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 35
Vertical Jump: 30 1/2
Broad Jump: 8'7"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.49
3-Cone Drill: 7.37
Arms: 33-3/8"
Hands: 9-3/4"

espn.com scouting report

Strengths: Plays with outstanding motor. Is at his best when on the move. Will never give up on a play and makes a lot of tackles in pursuit for an interior defensive lineman. Plays with very good leverage, discipline and technique. Gets good forward lean in stance, anticipates the snap well and can get into the backfield. Moves well laterally, slants well and runs line stunts well. Works from snap to whistle and takes sound angles to the ball. Very good spin move. Shows great awareness. Reads keys fairly well and can sniff out screens. Stays balanced, uses hands to protect legs and rarely gets knocked to the ground by cut blocks. Wraps up upon contact, shows good body control and is an effective open field tackler. Hands are active, flashes good power at the point of attack and flashes effective rip move. Times jumps well and gets hands up when isn't going to get to the quarterback.

Weaknesses: Lacks ideal height and lower body strength. Can get driven back when he doesn't win with first step and struggles to hold ground against double teams. Though never stops working, lacks the power to consistently collapse the pocket and isn't a great bull rusher. Is very quick but lacks great closing burst and there are concerns about ability to get to the quarterback at the NFL level. Sat out the 2003 season with an injury and durability is somewhat of a concern.

Overall: Laws arrived at Notre Dame in 2003 but sat out the entire season because of an injury. In his first three active seasons (2004-'06), he played in 37 games (25 starts) and amassed 112 tackles (14.5 for losses), six sacks and three blocked kicks. He was a terror as a senior last season, starting all 12 games and turning in 112 tackles (eight for losses), four sacks, five pass breakups and three blocked kicks. Laws was college football's only defensive lineman to record 100 or more tackles in 2007. Laws is a three-technique prospect that lacks ideal height but makes up for it with good quickness, technique, upper-body power and a non-stop motor. Laws built on a strong senior season by turning in impressive showings at both the Senior Bowl and the NFL scouting combine. His draft stock is soaring as a result. In a weak class of defensive tackles, Laws could come off the board as high as the second round.

other scouting reports

nfl.com
newerascouting.com

compares to

- luis castillo
- kelly gregg





DeSean Jackson

College: California
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 178
40 Yrd Dash: 4.35
20 Yrd Dash: 2.52
10 Yrd Dash: 1.53
225 Lb. Bench Reps:
Vertical Jump: 34-1/2"
Broad Jump: 10'00"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.19
3-Cone Drill: 6.82
Arms: 29-3/4"
Hands: 9-3/8"

espn.com scouting report

Strengths: Possesses excellent top-end speed, does a good job of tracking the ball downfield and is a vertical threat. Changes directions smoothly, explodes out of cuts and can run crisp short-to-intermediate routes. Reads defenses well and locates seams working against zone coverage. Drives corners off the line with excellent initial quickness and does a nice job of getting turned around when running come-back routes. Has excellent body control and can make the tough catch in traffic. Times jumps well and is tall enough to compete for jump balls. Isn't afraid to go over the middle and flashes the ability to hold onto the ball after taking a big hit. Makes defenders miss in traffic and is fast enough to go the distance. Runs with balance, flashes an effective spin move and can pick up yards after contact. Is a dangerous return man that reads blocks well and shows a second gear when gets a seam.

Weaknesses: Lacks ideal bulk and can get pushed around by bigger corners. Appears to lose focus at times and drops too many passes that he should catch. Footwork is inconsistent and rounds off cuts at times. Effort is inconsistent and appears to pull up when isn't going to get the ball. Doesn't lock onto defenders and struggles to sustain blocks. Doesn't play with a mean streak, doesn't deliver a powerful punch and isn't going to knock defenders back at the point of attack. Missed 2005 Washington State game with an injury, hindered by a thumb injury in 2007, hindered by a thigh injury in 2007 and lack of ideal bulk makes durability that much more of a concern.

Overall: Jackson started ten of the 11 games he played in during his true freshman season in 2005 finishing with 38 catches, 601 receiving yards, seven receiving touchdowns, eight carries and 48 rushing yards. He also returned a punt 49 yards for a touchdown that year. Jackson started all 13 games of the 2006 season finishing with 59 catches, 1,060 receiving yards, nine receiving touchdowns, five carries and 19 rushing yards. He also returned 25 punts for a total of 455 yards and four touchdowns that year. Jackson started 11 of the 12 games he appeared in during the 2007 season finishing with 65 catches, 762 receiving yards, six receiving touchdowns, 11 carries, 132 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. He also returned 12 punts for a total of 129 yards and one touchdown last year. Jackson would benefit from adding some weight and needs to show the thumb injury played a big role in his numerous drops in 2007. However, there's a reason he should be one of if not the first receiver to come of the board. Jackson can stretch the field vertically, he excels at turning catches underneath into long gains and he is the most dangerous punt return specialist in the 2008 class. It may take Jackson a year or two before emerging as a No. 2 starter on offense, but he should make an immediate impact on special teams.

other scouting reports

nfl.com
newerascouting.com

compares to

- santana moss
- steve smith

Trade Down?

for the second year in a row, the birds traded out of the first round today. i'm scratching my head as much as anyone right now. while they did receive *very* good value in getting a 1, 2, and 4 for a mid-level 1, it seems especially curious is that jeff otah and devin thomas -- two players who were reported to be targets -- were both still on the board when they traded out.

here are some possible reasons off the top of my head:

- this draft is supposed to be short on difference makers but deep in overall talent pool while the 2009 draft is supposed to be very strong. so a possible reasoning here is that the eagles trade down to get essentially the same player they could have gotten with their mid-first round pick, and as a bonus, end up with 2 first rounders next year.

- we're all fixated on wideout and finding replacements for dawkins, thomas, and runyan, but if you think about it, the biggest problem area with the birds last season (aside from shoddy QB play) was special teams. the coverage teams were awful and the return teams were worse. if you listen to the media chatter on and on about how the eagles finished in "last place" in the nfc east you'd never guess that they finished ranked 6th on offense and 10th on defense. those are pretty good rankings. they couldn't score in the red zone, but maybe if they had shorter fields to work with, their points/yard output would have been better. maybe the birds are trading down because they expect to turn over a fairly significant number of players this season -- purely based on ability to play special teams. since there are few difference makers in the draft anyway, why pay someone first round salary when you are targeting special teams players?

- the bengals, cardinals, and lions have stated that chad johnson, anquan boldin, and roy williams are not going to be traded. at least one of those teams is going to come around and end up trading their guy. who'd be in a better position to trade for that player than the birds, sitting with 2 first rounders and lito sheppard as trade bait?

of course, it is possible that they're just idiots, but i highly doubt it. i know it's human nature to think that people are screwing up when you don't have insight into what's happening inside the black box, but andy still has more hits than misses on his track record and you have to give him the benefit of the doubt until we see what happens. i'm sure they have some reason for doing it, but we'll be in the dark until it plays out.

Lito Trade Coming?

lots of chatter about lito's visit to the bucs yesterday:

- jay glazer reports that it will take second pick and another pick or player to get the trade done

- les bowen reports that lito didn't deny a possible trade to tampa, and that eagles message boards speculate that michael clayton would be coming to the birds as part of the trade

- bob grotz says that st. louis is also interested and would be offering the 33rd pick in return

- roy cummings of the tampa tribune says that the bucs would be reluctant to part with more than just a single second round pick

i don't know about you, but i'm not that excited about the prospect of michael clayton suiting up for the birds. he has some size, but in the 3-4 times i've seen him play, he's been more or less invisible. he didn't have enough catches last season to be ranked by footballoutsiders, but his DVOA would have placed him at #73.

still, i guess the worst that can happen is that they'd cut him in training camp (or they cut greg lewis finally). also, with 12 picks, i don't have any doubts that the birds will be looking to aggressively move up to get the players they want. let's hope they're targeting the right players.

no more jerome mcdougles, please.

Eagles Targeting 3 Players?

gcobb is reporting via blast magazine that the eagles are targeting three players for their top pick:

- chris williams, OT, vanderbilt
- jeff otah, OT, pitt
- devin thomas, WR, michigan state

here are some scouting reports for these three guys:

Chris Williams

College: Vanderbilt
Height: 6-6
Weight: 315
40 Yrd Dash: 5.13
20 Yrd Dash: 2.91
10 Yrd Dash: 1.75
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 21
Vertical Jump: 25"
Broad Jump: 08'07"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.85
3-Cone Drill: 7.95
Arms:
Hands:

espn.com scouting report

Strengths: Possesses a massive frame; is tall with good bulk, adequate arm length (33.5) and big hands (10). Displays very good overall mobility for his size, including quickness in his pass pro set. Does a very good job of using his long arms to ride pass rushers wide while he's still getting set. Displays great footwork and gets excellent hand placement. While he may not jar defenders at the point of contact, he can lock on and then sustain his blocks. He can engulf bigger defenders once he's in position and engaged. Displays versatility with experience at guard and tackle. He has been durable throughout his career.

Weaknesses: Still too much of a finesse player. Lacks explosive upper-body power. Does not jar defenders at the point of attack. Lacks the base and lower body power to drive defenders off the line of scrimmage in the run game.

Overall: Williams redshirted in 2003 and was ineligible in 2004, when he changed majors and didn't qualify to play football under Vanderbilt's stringent academic standards. In his first active season (2005), he appeared in 11 games and started the final nine at left guard, also taking game reps at left tackle. Williams moved to left tackle for good as a junior, starting all 24 games at the position over his final two seasons (2006-'07). Williams is a left tackle prospect with great feet but a bit too much finesse to his game at this point. He lacks ideal upper-body strength, which was confirmed in only 21 reps on the bench press. He also lacks ideal physicality. However, Williams possesses very good mobility for his big frame and he typically can overcome below-average strength by using excellent technique and positioning. Thanks to a productive senior season, followed by excellent showings at the Senior Bowl and combine; Williams has built tremendous momentum heading into the 2008 draft. He should be one of the top-five offensive linemen selected likely in the middle of the first round.

other scouting reports

nfl.com
newerascouting.com

compares to

- d'brickashaw ferguson
- matt light




Jeff Otah

College: Pittsburgh
Height: 6-6
Weight: 322
40 Yrd Dash: 5.55
20 Yrd Dash: 3.10
10 Yrd Dash: 1.83
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 27
Vertical Jump: 22 1/2
Broad Jump: 08'06"
20 Yrd Shuttle:
3-Cone Drill:
Arms:
Hands:

espn.com scouting report

Strengths: Is a massive, mauling right tackle type. Has a huge frame with very long arms (35.3 inches). Not a great athlete but does play with good balance. He has a massive base. Will get low and uproot DL. Does an excellent job of anchoring versus the bull rush. Shows very good overall strength. Rarely loses a battle once he is locked on. Will drive his legs and create a new line of scrimmage as a run blocker. Still learning technique but is intelligent and continues to improve with more experience and coaching.

Weaknesses: Below average athlete. The more space he's in the less effective he becomes. Lacks ideal initial quickness out of his stance and struggles to get set in time versus speed edge rushers. Struggles to reach the second level ass a run blocker. Will have trouble hitting moving targets in space. Hands are smaller than ideal (9.2 inches).

Overall: Otah was born in Nigeria, came to the United States when he was seven years old and did not play organized football until his senior season of high school. He attended Valley Forge (Pa.) Military College in his first two years out of high school (2004-'05), making 17 consecutive starts at left tackle. He also averaged nearly 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Valley Forge basketball team. Otah transferred to Pitt in 2006 and made an immediate impact, starting all 24 games of his junior and senior seasons with the Panthers. He was an All-Big East first team selection in 2007. The Nigerian-born Otah lacks ideal playing experience and is still unpolished. While he is not a great athlete, he is not as slow as his combine workout numbers might indicate, as he participated despite an ankle injury. Otah is a massive mauler with the size, power and short-area quickness to develop into a good starting right tackle in the NFL, which is why we grade him as a mid-to-late first round prospect.

other scouting reports

nfl.com
newerascouting.com

compares to

- max starks




Devin Thomas

College: Michigan State
Height: 6-2
Weight: 215
40 Yrd Dash: 4.40
20 Yrd Dash: 2.50
10 Yrd Dash: 1.47
225 Lb. Bench Reps:
Vertical Jump: 28
Broad Jump: 10'06"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.26
3-Cone Drill: 7.15
Arms:
Hands:

espn.com scouting report

Strengths: Possesses adequate-to-good height with a sturdy build for a wide receiver. Very smooth and fluid. Displays outstanding hands. Can consistently catch over his head. Strong hands to pluck in traffic. Can snatch the ball on the run with very little wasted motion. Is a treat after the catch. Does not possess elite initial burst but he does display a second-gear to run away from defenders once he gets going (see 2nd quarter vs. Wisconsin). He is a silky smooth runner with excellent vision and body control. Sees the entire field and shows the change-of-direction ability to make sharp cuts without losing speed. Is strong and will drag some defenders for extra yards after the catch. Was effective in the times we saw him take hand offs in the backfield and might have a future as a kick return man in the NFL. Has bulk and strength to sustain blocks when he's in position. Also flashes a mean streak.

Weaknesses: More dangerous after the catch than he is as a vertical route runner. Lacks ideal experience at the highest collegiate level. Still needs polishing as a route runner. Rounds off many of his routes. Not crisp enough to consistently separate from tight man-to-man coverage. Needs to improve his array of release moves versus press coverage at the line of scrimmage. Takes a bit too long to reach top speed. Doesn't always sell routes on play-action runs. Can sustain his blocks once locked on but takes some poor angles and doesn't always get in good position. Effort as a blocker is inconsistent.

Overall: After proving his explosiveness and versatility by averaging 105.5 all-purpose yards at Coffeyville CC in 2005, Thomas enrolled at Michigan State. He played 10 games in his first season in East Lansing, but finished with just six receptions, 90 receiving yards and a touchdown. He broke out as a junior last season, playing in all 13 games and delivering 79 catches, eight TDs and a Big Ten-best 1,260 receiving yards for a Spartans offense that relied heavily on the run. He added 177 rushing yards on 27 carries and starred as a return man, averaging 29.1 on 39 kickoff returns. Compared to most prospects, there's very little information to go off of when evaluating Thomas. He only played one year at the FBS level and, as an underclassman entry, he was not able to compete in a post-season all-star game. His inexperience and lack of exposure naturally creates some doubt. However, the more film we study of Thomas the more impressed we are with his overall physical tools. He possesses the size, athleticism and hands of a future starter in the NFL, which is why we graded Thomas out in the second round. He will fit best in a West Coast system, where his run-after-catch ability will be maximized.

other scouting reports

nfl.com
newerascouting.com

compares to

- koren robinson
- dwayne bowe

2008 Draft Preview

for eagles fandom, i think the upcoming draft represents a greater unknown than almost any other draft during the andy reid era. by this time in the offseason, fan and radio speculation has typically converged on specific players or positions that they are sure the eagles need to draft. not so much this season. to be sure, the constant whining about the wideout position is there, but with the lack of true gamebreakers in the wideout draft pool this season, it's more of a low simmer than the violent boil it usually it around this time of year.

one big reason is probably the uncertainty around lito sheppard's status, which likely directly impacts where the birds will be drafting. just like everyone else in town, i think lito is going to be traded. for what i'm not so sure. the birds likely don't want any more draft picks -- already having 11 for this year's draft -- so trading him for another player or better picks is probably what they're trying to do. i don't think they're going to get the first round pick they seem to want for him because of his salary demands, but i'm sure they're going to try. one thing i'd like to consider is trading him for a first rounder in next year's draft. next year's pick is worth less than this year's pick so more teams may be open to it, and many of the teams that are likely to need lito will have a better pick than the eagles in next year's draft.

another reason is that while the birds can definitely improve their depth, they're solid or better at almost every position on the field. really.

QB - mcnabb
RB - westbrook
FB - klecko?
TE - smith
WR - brown, curtis
T - thomas, runyan
G - andrews, herremans
C - jackson

DE - cole, abiamiri
DT - patterson, bunkley
OLB - gaither, gocong
MLB - bradley
S - dawkins, mikell
CB - samuel, brown

it would definitely be nice if the eagles can upgrade their wideout corps, but i don't think the draft is the place to do it. with a few rare exceptions, it takes wideouts a long time to adjust to the pro game, and that isn't what this team needs. they need players who may be lower ceiling but who can make an impact quickly -- especially on special teams.

my sense is that the eagles are going "all-in". they're making a push this season and it probably will determine whether it's mcnabb's last with the team. i haven't heard anyone talking about it, but their attempts to sign randy moss and trade for larry fitzgerald indicate to me that they think this team is ready to contend for a championship. they view WR as one of the last pieces to the puzzle, not one of the first, and their flirtations at bringing in a big-time wideout indicate to me that they think they're just about there. it all depends on mcnabb's health really.

as far as draft needs, they need immediate help on special teams -- coverage and return -- so some of the draft hopefully addresses those areas. they also need some heir apparents to brian dawkins and john runyan/tra thomas (depending on where andrews ends up) and depth at DT, RB, and CB (if lito gets traded or holds out).

Asante Samuel in Town

as reported by a number of media outlets and confirmed by the eagles, asante samuel is in town and is expected to sign with the birds today. he's the best corner available and the birds are awash in cap room, so i'm pretty happy with the signing. not thrilled necessarily because i think he's a little overrated and i'm not sure exactly how he fits into jj's defense (considering jj likes to play man on the outside and ne played a lot of zone), but adding a playmaker to the team is almost always a good thing.

gcobb is speculating that this is a precursor to a lito to arizona trade for larry fitzgerald. i'm more excited about the samuel (possible) signing opening up this option than with the signing itself. larry fitzgerald can be a difference making player for the birds. i was hoping the samuel speculation earlier in the week might lead to something like this.

one thing that is going to annoy me about the signing is that the morons at wip are going to say the eagles are "finally changing their cheap ways and opening up the wallets to sign free agents", when that is an absurd position to take. do the eagles sign big free agents every year? no? but there also aren't difference making free agents every year. when there are free agents that the eagles really like, they have always been willing to pony up with a big contract, even when ray rhodes was coaching.

jevon kearse
troy vincent
darren howard
lecharles bentley (who ultimately spurned them to go home to cleveland)
kevin curtis
carlos emmons
jon runyan
steve everitt
kevin turner

have they always been right? no, but my gut tells me that they're probably better than most at hitting on their high dollar free agents. cheapness has not been a factor. they horde their cash waiting for the right players (or what they perceive to be the right players) rather than foolishly spending their money on fringe players just because they're the "best available".

if they get samuel and fitzgerald and are able to improve their passrush, the eagles will be one of the top 2-3 teams in the nfl this year.

World's Smallest Bodybuilder

at first glance, i was sure this was a photoshop but it's freaking real. this guy is awesome




















read about it here.

some eagles thoughts:

1) LJ stinks - have no idea why they'd want to commit that much money to keeping him.

2) kudos to eli manning for being a decent game manager in the playoffs, but he still stinks. superbowl should have ended when asante samuel dropped the pick.

3) giants may have the best overall passrush i've seen in years, maybe ever. that was the single biggest factor in the superbowl.

4) eagles are not that far off but they need to shore up a few areas (WR, DE, DB). terrell suggs and jared allen are not going anywhere. the one guy who is semi-available and no one is really talking about is larry fitzgerald. if i were the birds, i'd do anything i could to get that guy. i think he's a better player than chad johnson and less of a headcase. he has some of the best hands in football and probably only randy moss has better ball skills in the nfl. if i could only have one thing for the birds, it would be larry fitzgerald. i've never seen him drop a pass -- at pitt or in the pros.

5) i think spagnuolo showed this year that the guts of jj's defense still works as long as you have the players to run it. the eagles lack of success at acquiring difference making defensive ends either in the draft or free agency may be one of the big things holding jj back recently.

Powerthirst

Me-O Post Game Interview

for those who may have missed terrell owens' post-game interview, here is a video of the entire thing:

my favorite part occurs at 6:05

question: TO, is this the best relationship you've had with a quarterback? here?

me-o: i've always had good relationships with quarterbacks. i've always had that. i've always had my quarterbacks' backs regardless of whatever situation, whatever you may think. i know what type of person i am on the inside. it's you guys that are judging me from the outside by what went on and what happened. i know who i am.

i think deep down inside, he actually believes this.

More Reid as a Drafter

ok, so the debate has evolved from "reid is a bad drafter" as we discussed/debunked here, here, here, and here, to:

I am not down on Reid's drafting as much as I used to be, but his forte is definitely not Playmakers, especially offensively (outside Westbrook of course)

the original analysis showed andy reid drafts to be more than competitive against the teams originally identified to be very good at drafting, but this is a more specific concern so let's take a look at his playmaker drafting vs other top teams.

NOTE: there is some noise in this because position assignments were based on what the player played in college or how they were listed in the draft rather than where they ended up in the pros (e.g. shawn andrews and todd herremans are both classified as tackles)

Hit Percentage by Position (offense)

	Broncos	Eagles	Steelers	Ravens	Cowboys	Chargers	Patriots	Colts
QB	25.0%	33.3%	25.0%	0.0%	0.0%	50.0%	20.0%	0.0%
RB	28.6%	20.0%	0.0%	40.0%	33.3%	25.0%	14.3%	66.7%
WR	0.0%	10.0%	22.2%	10.0%	0.0%	25.0%	16.7%	100.0%
TE	50.0%	33.3%	20.0%	25.0%	20.0%	0.0%	12.5%	50.0%
T	100.0%	50.0%	28.6%	66.7%	0.0%	37.5%	28.6%	0.0%
G	0.0%	0.0%	50.0%	50.0%	25.0%	25.0%	50.0%	33.3%
C	25.0%	0.0%	0.0%	60.0%	0.0%	33.3%	100.0%	0.0%

Average Rating by Position (offense)

	Broncos	Eagles	Steelers	Ravens	Cowboys	Chargers	Patriots	Colts
QB	1.50	2.33	1.50	1.40	1.00	2.25	1.80	1.00
RB	2.14	1.80	1.50	2.20	2.00	2.25	1.57	2.67
WR	1.38	1.50	1.67	1.40	1.33	1.75	1.67	4.00
TE	2.25	2.00	1.60	1.75	1.80	1.67	1.38	2.00
T	3.00	2.33	1.71	2.33	1.25	2.00	1.71	1.00
G	1.00	1.17	2.00	2.00	1.50	1.75	2.50	1.67
C	1.75	1.00	1.00	2.20	1.50	1.67	3.00	1.00

the small sample sizes preclude a definitive conclusion, but they haven't fared all that well at some skill positions. the birds are competitive at QB, TE, and T, but RB, WR, G, and C not so hot. the birds fare significantly better on average rating than hit percent on offense, which is interesting, possibly indicating that they don't draft as many 1s as other teams but also don't draft as many 3s, 4s, and 5s.

Friday Links

- i've been looking for this for a couple of days and someone finally uploaded to youtube. 6'1" louis williams stuffs 6'11" mehmet okur as he's coming in on the break (especially impressive because williams has his back turned to okur until the last second) then runs down the court and skies for an alley oop slam. of the guys who are in the regular rotation (haven't seen much of thaddeus), louis williams has by far the most star potential.


- saw this on profootballtalk.com a few days ago. with their 8-8 finish, the birds locked up the 19th pick in the draft. i haven't seen it mentioned by the local media, but it's interesting to note that the eagles had the toughest schedule in the nfl this season based on opponent win percentage (.563).

Game 16 Thoughts

this was a win and it's always good to win, especially with a 'c' performance like today. the offense was carried by the two playmakers and the defense played a little worse than the 9 points they allowed.

- mcnabb at the end of the season looks like a completely different player than mcnabb at the start of the season. in hindsight this probably should have been expected and the unrealistic expecations on mcnabb's performance heading into a season just off ACL surgery was a big cause of fan discontent. not sure how those expectations could/should have been tempered coming into the season, but clearly there was some expectation setting that should have been done but was not. i think phil sheridan correctly identifies reid's strategy coming into the season in his column today:

Reid and his staff clearly thought the team could hang in there while McNabb worked through the early part of the season, then peak in time for the playoffs as the quarterback got back to form.

That plan looked better on paper than in practice. Ultimately, that strategy was doomed by the muffed punts in Green Bay and the defensive collapse in the final minutes against Chicago.

i don't think this is a bad strategy on the surface, but i do wonder whether most of the mcnabb uproar could have been avoided altogether simply by playing aj to start the season and letting don get healthier before jumping onto the field. i think the mcnabb we saw the last couple of games was much closer to the 'old' mcnabb and still gives the birds the best chance to win. i heard that some minnesota newspaper was speculating the the vikings would be willing to give up two first round picks for mcnabb. if that's the offer, i think it's too hard to turn down, but barring an offer of 1st round pick plus another first day pick, i think you stick with this guy for at least one more shot at a title.

- in order for that to happen, the o-line needs to improve. starting with the jailbreak they allowed on the first play, the o-line had pass protection issues for much of the day. even though mcnabb has historically had issues with holding the ball too long, this was not one of those games. the ball came out on time with great accuracy all game. if it hadn't this could have been a 5+ sack day. justice had some rough patches, but overall he looked athletic and got his hands on people. they do need to get him on "the good vitamins" however. he looks pretty weak and cannot handle a bullrush. jamaal jackson didn't play very well this season. while he is a physical upgrade over honeybuns, it seems like he's making the wrong block or the wrong call several times a game.

- celek already looks like an upgrade over LJ. i'd be completely comfortable going into next season with him at TE. he's a more fluid athlete than LJ, catches the ball more naturally, and doesn't carry the ball like he's afraid to have it touch his torso. little john is a fumble waiting to happen, goodbye and good riddance.

- the young linebackers had an up-and-down game and were most responsible for the uneven defensive performance. bradley took a stupid roughing penalty and he also got eaten by a blocker on the long marshawn lynch run (so did gaither). gocong made a huge hit on someone early, but then took a horrible angle on a swing pass and let lynch get by him for a long gain. still, i continue to be optimistic about their future. these guys are physical, active, and don't appear to be dummies. hopefully, we'll see them continue to develop and make fewer mistakes.

- abiamiri looked pretty good. he had a few decent pass rushes and seems to be pretty good at hand fighting.

- jr reed keeps laying the wood. i've always liked this guy.

the birds have some holes, but my understanding is that they had very little free cap space last offseason but they have a lot of free cap space this offseason. also, they do a good job at drafting and have their usual bevy of draft picks. i'll post my thoughts on what they need for next season in a few days.

Game 15 Thoughts

christmas kicks off with an eagles win, never a bad way to start the holidays.

- stewart bradley looked terrific. the patriots and steelers were supposedly targeting him in the draft and it's easy to see why. he's pretty big, but he plays very naturally and was able to find the ball consistently (especially when he was playing in the middle). those two stops bradley made at the goal line were impressive -- most notably the one on karney, who is a load. the eagles young linebacker corps has a shot to be one of their better trio's in a while.

- mcnabb played his best game in a while and only good comes out of him playing well. it's either a sign that he has a shot at being the player he once was or it solidifies his trade value. i'm not looking forward to the sucking that will likely happen at the start of the kolb era, but if it's going to happen, the birds need to maximize what they can get for don. they won't be able to get a herschel walker package for him, but they can probably get a first day pick or two. i'm still hoping for one more shot next year. mcnabb looked pretty darn good today, sticking the ball in tight places and escaping trouble when necessary.

- the defense is playing pretty well and i think they have a shot at being dominant again with just a few additions. bunkley and patterson are monsters. cole is pro-bowl caliber. thomas is solid. the linebackers look promising. sheldon and lito are borderline pro-bowl. reed and mikell are solid. he's my favorite eagle, but b-dawk is done.

- tra thomas doesn't have much left in the tank. he's always had more trouble with power rushers than speed guys, but he simply cannot handle guys with a decent bullrush.

Game 13 Thoughts

- andy and marty went heavy on the run today, which was good, but alas, the running game we've all been begging for was heavily involved in causing the loss today. a costly fumble and repeated inability to grind out tough yards factored heavily in the loss. questions: 1) didn't the eagles draft a short yardage back this year? can't seem to remember his name it's been so long since we've seen him. 2) don't we have a more powerful backup averaging 5+ yards per carry? why only give him 2 carries today? westbrook looks like he gained 10 lbs. in the offseason (probably with some lenny dykstra-style vitamins and mostly in his arms and shoulders), but he still has trouble grinding out tough yards.

- i wish i had access to the coaches tape. i'd really like to know whether there were open receivers and mcnabb was just not pulling the trigger or whether the coverage was just good or whether the birds were playing max protect and only sending 2-3 receivers out on pass patterns. 30 attempts for 179 yards isn't great. it's certainly better than 3 or 4 picks, but it's not great. wasn't able to make the game today due to basement leak in the house, so was limited to the tv view. moose johnson repeatedly stated that there was nobody to throw to, but it would be nice to see if that was really true or not.

- question: how can this defense be so successful (relatively) covering randy moss yet be so pathetic at covering plaxico burress? doesn't matter who we use to cover him, he consistently looks like a hall of famer against the birds.

- time to seriously cut down the workload for westbrook. playoffs are out, no reason to be wasting his touches playing out the string. running backs have a limited number of uses, time to conserve.

- i know last week i was proposing to shut down mcnabb and let him heal up for next season, but after today's game, i'm not so sure that's the right move. i think this team needs to find out if mcnabb still has it. he needs to get his timing or mojo or whatever back by the end of the year, or at least continue to show progression. not too excited about 2008 if this is the mcnabb we're going to get next year.

The King is Dead

billy king is finally gone. here is a scouting report on ed stefanski:

So they've turned to Stefanski, a Philadelphia native who played basketball at Penn. He teamed with Rod Thorn to reshape the Nets and is known as a sharp talent evaluator. Stefanski also served as New Jersey's director of scouting for four years and helped bring Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson to the Nets.

sharp talent evaluator. that'll be nice.

billy king drafts (this is not a joke)

2007
1 - Thaddeus Young - Georgia Tech University
1 - Daequan Cook - Ohio State University
1 - Petteri Koponen - Finland
2 - Kyrylo Fesenko - Ukraine

2006
1 - Thabo Sefolosha - Switzerland

2005
2 - Louis Williams - South Gwinnett High School

2004
1 - Andre Iguodala - Arizona

2003
2 - Paccelis Morlende - France

2002
1 - Jiri Welsch - Slovenia
2 - Sam Clancy - USC

2001
1 - Samuel Dalembert - Seton Hall
2 - Damone Brown - Syracuse
2 - Alvin Jones - Georgia Tech

2000
1 - Craig Claxton - Hofstra
2 - Mark Karcher - Temple

1999
2 - Todd MacCulloch - Washington

1998
1 - Larry Hughes - Saint Louis
2 - Casey Shaw - Toledo

1997
1 - Keith Van Horn - Utah
2 - Marko Milic - Slovenia
2 - Kebu Stewart - Cal State Bakersfield
2 - James Collins - Florida State


billy king trades (again, not a joke)

2006
Acquired Andre Miller, Joe Smith, and two first round draft picks for Allen Iverson and Ivan McFarlin

2005
Acquired Rodney Rogers and Jamal Mashburn from the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for Glenn Robinson

2005
Acquired Chris Webber, Matt Barnes and Michael Bradley from the Sacramento Kings in a six-player deal that sent Kenny Thomas, Brian Skinner and Corliss Williamson to Sacramento

2004
Acquired Corliss Williamson and an undiclosed amount of cash from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Derrick Coleman and Amal McCaskill

2004
Traded Eric Snow to Cleveland for Kedrick Brown and Kevin Ollie

2003
Acquired Glenn Robinson from the Atlanta Hawks and Marc Jackson from the Minnesota Timberwolves in a four-team deal that sent Keith Van Horn to New York and Randy Holcomb, along with a future-protected first-round pick and an undisclosed amount of cash to Atlanta

2002
Acquired Kenny Thomas from the Houston Rockets in a three-team deal that sent Mark Bryant and Art Long, along with a future first round pick to the Denver Nuggets

2002
Acquired Todd MacCulloch and Keith Van Horn from New Jersey for Dikembe Mutombo

2001
As part of a three-way deal, acquired Derrick Coleman from Charlotte for George Lynch, Jerome Moiso and Robert Traylor, as well as Corie Blount and Vonteego from Golden State for Cedric Henderson and a conditional first round pick

2001
Acquired Dikembe Mutombo and Roshown McLeod from Atlanta for Toni Kukoc, Nazr Mohammed, Theo Ratliff and Pepe Sanchez

2000
Acquired Toni Kukoc from Chicago as part of a three-way deal that sent Larry Hughes and Billy OWens to Golden State and Bruce Bowen and John Starks to Chicago

1999
Traded future 1st round draft pick to Atlanta for the draft rights to Jumaine Jones

1999
Traded Tim Thomas and Scott Williams to Milwaukee for Tyrone Hill and Jerald Honeycutt

1998
Traded future No 1 draft choice to Utah for Nazr Mohammed

1998
Traded Terry Cummings to New York for Herb Williams and Ronnie Grandison

1998
Acquired Joe Smith and Brian Shaw from Golden State for Jimmy Jackson and Clarence Weatherspoon

1997
Acquired Eric Snow from Seattle for 2nd round pick

1997
Acquired Theo Ratliff, Aaron McKie, and first round draft choice from Detroit for Jerry Stackhouse, Eric Montross and a 2nd round draft choice

1997
Traded No 2 draft pick (Keith Van Horn), Lucious Harris, Michael Cage and Don MacLean to New Jersey for No 7 draft pick (Tim Thomas), No 21 draft pick (Anthony Parker), Jimmy Jackson and Eric Montross

1997
Traded Clarence Weatherspoon and Michael Cage to Boston for Dino Radja (nullified)

What Now?

the playoffs are basically a pipe dream now, but i don't think it's all bad. as bad and heartbreaking as this loss was, there were some good things that happened today.

chief among them is the fact that the eagles would have won this game easily if they had gotten anything close to mediocre qb play. that's a good thing. while they obviously did not come out with the same fire as they did for the new england game, they controlled the game most of the time and only game up 14 points not gifted to them by qb picks. they ran the ball effectively, played decently on defense, and had a good day on special teams. all of this was masked by the horrible performance of feeley.

biggest concerns for me were in the secondary: lito's worst day as a pro and dawkins continued decline. not sure how it looked on tv, but lito looked like he was high out there. he was not his usual instinctive self and he was shying away from contact. he was either trying to hide an injury or he was on drugs. i've never seen him so uncomfortable out there. bumble mentioned that we may be overvaluing him, but i don't think that's the case. lito's not ever mentioned as an elite corner. he's a good corner with a penchant for the spectacular play. today's bad day doesn't necessarily change that. i really think there was something wrong with him today. he didn't look right.

more concerning for me, since he's my favorite eagle, is that brian dawkins doesn't seem like he can play anymore. he's s-l-o-w. this is a problem. mikell and reed have been the two best safeties on the team this season, but i don't think they'll make a good tandem -- while both are good tacklers they have limited coverage ability. safety is probably the top area to address in the offseason.

at 5-7, the birds are pretty much out of the mix for the playoffs, but i think there is a potential silver lining in today's loss. while i'm sure andy will take this opportunity to reinsert mcnabb into the lineup, i'm not sure that's the best decision. maybe what would be best is to regroup and gear this team up for a run next year. since there is little to be gained by putting mcnabb and westbrook at risk this season, maybe it makes sense to sit them and play feeley and buckhalter/hunt? i know "you play to win the game", but you also have to try to win a title. this team is not going anywhere this season, even if they make an improbable run to 9-7 and sneak into the last wildcard spot. why not try to get your qb as healthy as you can, and try to make one last run with a mcnabb/westbrook combo?

brian isn't getting any younger and his chronic knee problems aren't going anyway, he probably only has 1-2 good years left. if you switch to the kolb era now, westbrook will be done by the time he's ready to play. gotta maximize your chances while brian is still on the roster, and (a healthy) mcnabb is your best shot. take one more shot next year and then blow it up.

Comparing Feeley and Garcia

lost in the ongoing mcnabb/feeley debate is what appears to be another good personnel decision by eagles management -- choosing to keep aj feeley over jeff garcia.

when donovan went down last season, the eagles completely changed their offense and became a run first offense centered around brian westbrook, i believe, based on limitations in garcia's arm strength and inclination. with feeley at the helm, andy seems to have kept his pass first philosophy in place. while aj doesn't have donovan's arm strength, he does seem to be able to make most of the throws and doesn't seem shy about sticking the ball into tight places.

jeff is not a gunslinger by nature and checks down to running backs more than any worst coast offense qb i've seen. from what i've read, garcia's reluctance to pull the trigger on downfield balls was one of the primary issues me-o had with garcia.

it's hard to tell since i wasn't at the game (and it's only one game), but aj doesn't seem to leave as many plays on the field as jeff did. one thing is for sure, he's certainly a lot more aggressive than the careful kid we saw in his first go round with the birds.

last season, feeley was an afterthought among eagles fans, who were too glad to have a real, live professional backup qb in jeff garcia after years of neckbeard playing the role. grateful at his decent performance in the second half of last season, eagles nation clamored for the team to resign him. the eagles, on the other hand, showed little, if any, interest in bringing him back. conspiracy theorists and angelo cataldi's of the world claimed it had something to do with mcnabb. as it turns out, it may have had a lot to do with feeley just being the better qb. in fact i wonder, given just how little interest the birds had in resigning jeff this season (remember he was publicly begging the eagles to make him any sort of contract offer), if they'd have even looked at him at all last season if they knew that feeley was going to be cut by the chargers.

QB Question Irrelevant

i'm starting to think the question of who should start at qb is irrelevant. the anti-mcnabb crowd is riled up to the point where they would root against him if he got back on the field. unless feeley does a nose-dive and uncorks a few stinkers, i fear they wouldn't accept mcnabb back. even then. sheesh.

the virulence on the radio is ridiculous. you'd never guess this guy has gone to five pro-bowls while QB'ing our team. you'd never guess this guy played with a broken leg for us. you'd never guess that this guy led the team to the playoffs 5 years in a row.

he's sucking right now, but he came back from a knee injury probably earlier than he should have. aren't you people going to be sorry when he's leading some other team into the playoffs and we're stuck with aj feeley (a guy who's been CUT by two teams)?

i have issues with his personality and over-sensitivity, but come on, the guy wins games when he is healthy and you're talking about dumping him because of a game the backup had during which he threw 3 interceptions. 3 interceptions!

i keep hearing on the radio that people hate how mcnabb throws the ball into the ground. i thought a lot about this "ball into the ground" thing as i was watching the eagles-pats game. see, the thing is, *every* qb has balls fall short of the receiver. both brady and feeley threw short balls a few times. it happens. the problem is that not every qb throws a ball as hard and with as low a trajectory as mcnabb does. when a qb lobs a ball and it falls short, it's just an inaccurate pass. when don throws a ball short, it literally looks like he threw it into the ground because it has no trajectory and it's flying at 100 mph. still, why does that matter so much? why do people get so pissed about that?

you know what the sad part about this is? for the ringleader (yes you, angelo cataldi, embodiment of all that is evil in sports radio), it has been more of a personal axe than anything else. cataldi has been out to get mcnabb ever since mcnabb refused to forgive him for that stupid stunt he pulled at the draft with his idiot cronies. cataldi loves jumping on anything negative involving mcnabb as a way to get back at mcnabb for shunning him during his career, you can hear it in his voice. that glee he gets anytime he gets a chance to rip mcnabb. you'll note that mcnabb only recently started to do guest spots on cataldi's show (once he realized the only way to rehabilitate his image in the city is to make peace with the embodiment of all that is evil in sports radio). too little too late unfortunately. cataldi is definitely petty enough to carry a grudge.

i wish it was a referendum on who should be the morning sports radio host and not whether the qb should be the guy who got cut by two teams vs. the guy who is the best qb to ever play for the eagles. isn't this the same lynch mob that was bitching about charles barkley, only to whine afterwards when we were left watching tim perry, andrew lang, and jeff hornacek?

Coaching or Talent or Time

topic for discussion today:

now that we've seen that this team *can* play at a high level do you think that this answers the questions about andy reid and drafting/team talent level?

i think that andy is a good evaluator of talent, and the inital analysis (i know i haven't done any other teams, but still intend to at some point) shows that premise isn't too far off-base. people have been blaming the team's poor performance on poor coaching and/or lack of talent and/or poor qb play and/or this morning i heard team cheapness (of all things). given the overall success level this team has had under andy reid, not all of those things can be true.

so which ones are the real reasons why this team has been underachieving?

to me, the single biggest reason the birds competed against the patriots was that the coaches did a better job of gameplanning than in previous games. jj did some creative things we haven't seen before (not the least of which was using a 3-4 look with more zone blitzing rather than overload blitzing). andy found a specific flaw in the patriots defense and attacked it repeatedly. player after player in the post game interviews praised the gameplan, specifically, which i haven't noticed in the past. sometimes, there is veiled grumbling about not running the ball enough after wins, while there was none on sunday even though they lost.

QB Controversy

others weighing in on the brewing qb controversy

- phil sheridan votes for feeley

Feeley wasn't perfect. Spotting the Patriots a seven-point lead with that early interception made the hill the Eagles tried to climb that much steeper. And the two late interceptions were killers.

"I take this on my back," Feeley said. "We put ourselves in a chance to win and basically I lost it for us."

That's harsh, but you do have to wonder how fans and the media would have reacted if McNabb played exactly the same game. Three picks. Three touchdowns. Feeley slipped and fell on the first play after the Eagles recovered that surprise onside kick, squandering an important early opportunity. He made some great throws and missed some open receivers.

Actually, McNabb has played exactly that game a number of times. You may remember a three-point loss to the Patriots in a game in Jacksonville a few years back. Three picks. Three touchdowns. As always, when the Eagles lose, McNabb got roasted for it.

But fair is fair. In between the interceptions, Feeley played a terrific game against an outstanding team. He moved the Eagles up and down the field. He read and reacted to blitzes. He threw for touchdowns instead of settling for field goals.

- john smallwood is also pro-feeley

There shouldn't even be a debate.

McNabb has had 10 games to figure things out, knock off the rust, recover from injury, regain his form. For whatever reason, it hasn't happened. The Eagles were lucky to be 5-5 in those starts.

Except for that spectacular game against the Detroit Lions and some flashes here and there, McNabb has rarely looked like an upper-echelon quarterback, much less the one who made five Pro Bowls in his first seven seasons.

I even surprise myself to say this, but the guy at quarterback at this particular moment is Feeley.

This really is as much about what McNabb hasn't done as it is about what Feeley has done in the last two games.

There's no doubt that Feeley's three interceptions - the first resulted in the game's first score, the second came when the Eagles were in range of a game-tying field goal attempt and the third came with 11 seconds left - were costly, but no more so than McNabb's numerous miscues this season.

Still, Feeley did tons more to almost get the Birds a victory than he did to prevent one. There were times when I believed the same thing about McNabb, but now isn't one of them.

I'm not savvy enough to know if McNabb is done for good or just needs more time to get things back together.

The good things McNabb has done in the past are irrelevant to the situation at hand.

This isn't about loyalty or protecting some guy's ego. It's about making the playoffs.

- rich hoffman thinks mcnabb has earned the right to try

After the game, Eagles coach Andy Reid made it as clear as he possibly could: that he expected McNabb to continue to make progress with his ankle and thumb injuries, and that he expects him to practice at some point this week - but maybe not Wednesday - and that if McNabb is healthy, it will be his job again. Period.

It is how a real team acts.

There is a protocol here and it is simple: No man should lose his job because of an injury, and especially not this man - the very face of your franchise for the last 9 years. It is simply how you treat people. It is bedrock. Reid is absolutely correct.

This is not to diminish Feeley or what he did last night, nearly shocking the world. With the whole country watching, anticipating slaughter, Feeley played dynamically. To start the game, he threw an interception that Asante Samuel returned for a touchdown, but then managed to pull himself together. His final numbers: 27-for-42 for 345 yards.

Because it is obvious what last night pointed out - the same thing that the end of last season pointed out with Garcia; the same thing people who root for McNabb have feared for a while. That is, that time and the injuries have robbed him of . . . something. We can debate what that is, that missing ingredient, but there seems little doubt that it is missing. After a night like this one, it is really hard to argue the other side.

But McNabb needs to play again. He needs to be given that opportunity when he is healthy. If the leash is short in this next game, so be it - but he needs to be out there again. He needs that chance. He deserves that chance. If it goes badly, they can then make the hard call - a historic call for this franchise. But they owe him that chance.

- footballoutsiders thoughts are generally pro-mcnabb

Aaron Schatz: Well, this game is 14-14 right now because of the Eagles offense, not the Eagles defense. Which is very strange with A.J. Feeley at quarterback.

Mike Tanier: Haven’t you heard? Feeley is better than Donovan McNabb. Jeff Garcia is better than Donovan McNabb. Kevin Kolb is better than Donovan McNabb. Andy Reid has only started McNabb for the last seven years because he is trying to cover for the high draft choice he wasted on him. I know it is true because I heard it on the radio.

Vince Verhei: My dad also says McNabb is no good, because he has no passion. So now it’s confirmed by a reliable source.

Mike Tanier: He has no passion. He’s also a coward who is sandbagging it with minor injuries so he can skip this game because he doesn’t want to look bad against the Patriots.

Ben Riley: And yet, J.R. Reed seems to be having a good game. The real story here is the Eagles quarterback. What’s gotten in to A.J. Feeley?

Bill Barnwell: Not really Feeley. It’s more the scheme. The Patriots are much better vertically than they are horizontally defensively. They’re a very slow team horizontally, but a great team when you try to stretch them vertically. The Eagles are a team that does a great job of stretching defenses horizontally with Brian Westbrook.

Aaron Schatz: Yeah, but this isn’t a lot of Westbrook. This is a lot of finding holes in zones downfield, particularly with those in routes. This is by far the worst defensive game the Pats have played this year. Nothing else even comes close.

Ben Riley: All that may be true, but Westbrook has 25 receiving yards. Feeley is reading the blitz and finding the hot route, which, tonight, seems to be the property of Greg Lewis. The Patriots secondary is looking very human tonight, and this game is generating game film a-plenty.

Mike Tanier: The Eagles’ blitz pickup has also been good all game. That’s been a big part of Feeley’s success.

Bill Moore: As Aaron points out, Feeley is doing well picking holes in the zone, but they have also found New England’s secret defensive weakness: Randall Gay. He has made a number of bad plays this year, and is getting toasted tonight.

Bill Barnwell: Nah. Feeley’s nowhere near out of his head. The two interceptions aside, he’s been off on a few other throws high, he’s forced a couple of throws that have fortunately worked out well… Again, this just seems a total schematic match to me.

Aaron Schatz: Clearly, you did not watch San Diego play Baltimore.

If my ears don’t deceive me, Madden and Michaels are criticizing Andy Reid’s clock management. And all around the world, Eagles fans beat their heads against the closest table, wall, or cement block.

I feel really bad for the Eagles fans. Man, they must be so damn frustrated. I can’t believe this is the same team that came out so flat when Tanier and I were at the Linc for Sunday Night Football three weeks ago. This team has so much talent and plays so well at times, but also has some huge holes. The coaching staff makes some great decisions and some stupid ones. Cris Collinsworth is right, what the hell are the Eagles doing running a slant-and-go in field goal range, with three minutes left to keep working towards the goal line?

How obnoxious is the quarterback controversy talk going to be on Philly radio this week? Bad enough to make you want to kill yourself after listening to it, or bad enough to make you want to kill yourself and every single person in a five-mile radius after listening to it?

Stuart Fraser: I was wondering if we were going to have to put Tanier on suicide watch if the Eagles won. Now that they have lost, Feeley is clearly not clutch, doesn’t know what it takes to win, etc. With regards to feeling for Eagles fans, that horrible, horrible, throw did kind of give me Neil O’Donnell/Super Bowl XXX flashbacks for a couple of seconds there.

Mike Tanier: The worst thing is that I will hear it in my classroom. I will hear it in the lunch room. My mom, who gets her information from the doctors in the office she works at and believes everyone else’s opinion over mine, will tell me about it while trying to make chit-chat.

All that stuff I said earlier about McNabb: That’s real talk radio fodder. People are actually saying that McNabb was scared and ducked the Patriots this week. The McNabb haters apply every negative in the world to him: indifferent, lacks leadership, selfish. Cowardly is just the latest and most inane. And the McNabb Haters are legion, because the casual fans who don’t really follow the game just feed off the barstool logic.

Back in 2002, when Feeley replaced McNabb and won three or four games, people actually claimed Feeley was better than McNabb. OK, you want to argue that now, after McNabb has missed parts of three seasons with injuries, go for it. It’s stupid, but go for it. In 2002? You seriously heard the talk back then. Then, last year we had Garcia. The funniest thing was Mike McMahon in 2005. He came into that first game and completed three or four passes. Swear to God, sitting in the bar, I heard a couple of guys start saying, “this kid is good, really finds those open receivers, we might be better off with him in there.” That lasted about a half-hour, but it was amazing how fast they wanted to lay the groundwork. I think if my dog came off the bench and replaced McNabb and somehow tossed a one-yard pass to Westbrook with her mouth, the Haters would start talking about her leadership and guts and intangibles and intelligence and accuracy.

Aaron Schatz: I will say one other thing about “the game plan for beating the Patriots.” Offensively, sure, but the Eagles’ defensive game plan was not as good as it looked. If you blitz the Patriots, you simply can’t count on their receivers dropping this many passes next time. That’s not an excuse, but it is an explanation, or at least a partial one.

Ned Macey: To me, it seemed that the Pats assumed that 95 percent of the offense would go through Westbrook and were going to take that away from them. Then, the Eagles start throwing the ball down the field where the middle has been vacated worrying about Westbrook. Throw in the aforementioned blitz pick-up (which also empties the middle of the field), and we have an explanation for the oft-noticed open middle of the field.

As for Feeley, he obviously played great for him, but were he McNabb, he would have been considered the goat of the game. You lose by 3 points, and you throw an interception returned for a touchdown and an interception into your own end zone when driving for, at least, the game-tying interception? I didn’t think that play call was horrendous. Everyone assumed the Eagles would be methodical, so you see if you can slip one in. If the Patriots don’t bite, you have Samuel and a safety covering what amounts to a decoy. It appeared on a replay that someone (L.J. Smith?) was running free underneath for a short gain that would have gotten a first down. Of course, your quarterback cannot make that monumental mistake.

I know the Eagles defense didn’t exactly shut the Patriots down, but they did only allow seven (should have been 10) second half points. Sure there were drops, but they basically made the Pats a receiver screen and quick dumpoff offense. Brady had nothing down the field. If the Eagles still had Rod Hood or some third cornerback who had a prayer of staying with Welker, then they may have won.

Mike Tanier: Rocky went the distance with Apollo. Feeley played very well, but it wasn’t some other-worldly performance. He had three touchdowns and three interceptions, including one in desperation. Weren’t those McNabb’s Super Bowl numbers? In the end, you have to be more careful when you throw to Asante Samuel’s side of the field.

As an Eagles fan, I am a little happy to see the effort, particularly on offense. But I am also ticked. This offense would have beaten the Packers and the Redskins in the first meeting. It would have taken the ball out of the Bears’ hands. It would have made those fumbled punts irrelevant against the Packers. This was the offense of a seven- or eight-win team. Where has it been?

McNabb haters know who they will blame, but it’s not just about the quarterbacking. Where have these receivers been all year? Where has this offensive line been? Saw ‘em against the Lions and a little bit against the Redskins. DVOA has seen them much of the year, and I guess they have been there when the team has been between the 20s, but I haven’t seen it in the red zone, and I didn’t see it against beatable opponents early in the season, when the Eagles could have made this game more meaningful.

And the next morning, when Mr. Tanier heads back to school…

Mike Tanier: The custodian stopped me at 7:30 to talk up Feeley. My homeroom aide is talking up Feeley. They aren’t saying: Well, if McNabb is banged up, we can win a game or two with Feeley. It’s: Feeley is better, reads the field better, more accurate. I guess not only is Andy Reid an idiot, but the front offices of the Chargers and Dolphins are idiots for letting a potential franchise quarterback like Feeley slip through their mitts.

Game 11 Thoughts

i'm not a big believer in moral victories, but against this opponent and with the way the team played i think it's possible this might qualify. we'll know this time next week. will this game be a springboard to get the team and coaches out of their funk or will this be like the 4th and 1/"load left" game (where the birds didn't win again for the rest of the year)?

- the biggest thing that's going to come out of this game is that people are going to want to manufacture a QB controversy. feeley played a great game, probably the best possible game he can play... and yet his stat line is pretty much the same as mcnabb's was in the superbowl. feeley played a "great" game tonight. mcnabb played a "horrible" game in the superbowl. feeley got great protection tonight. mcnabb had horrible protection in the superbowl. feeley makes an ill-advised pass that results in an interception yet "he's not the reason the eagles lost the game" (as some talking head is saying now). mcnabb throws an ill-advised pass in the superbowl and he's a terrible qb. i'm not trying to be a mcnabb apologist and i'm not trying to downplay how well feeley played tonight, but if mcnabb got the protection in the superbowl that feeley got tonight, the birds win that game easily. i know don's been playing like ass this season, but if there's a chance he can get back to being the player he once was, he's our best chance to win a superbowl.

- o-line played terrific tonight. this was the best and most complete game they've played in a long time. richard seymour made zero impact on tonight's game. i can't remember the last time i watched the patriots play and seymour didn't appear to be the second coming of reggie white. the inside trio played exceptionally well, i thought. it was like night and day compared to the superbowl. none of the three was getting picked up and thrown into the backfield like hank fraley and artis hicks were. great game by the fat guys.

- kudos to the coaches for their gameplan tonight. they had a good plan and made no game management blunders. i don't even have a problem with trying the double move on asante samuel (even though the birds really should have been trying to run down the clock). at least they were being aggressive. love going for it on 4th down. love qb sneaks on 3rd and 1. love the 3-4 look by jj with gocong moving around as a pass rusher (where the heck was this all season)?

- sometime earlier this season, someone mentioned they didn't understand why jj wasn't using gocong to rush the passer (bumble possibly?). tonight, it appeared to me that gocong was the best pass rusher on the field.

- greg lewis sighting! how can we get him to believe he's playing the patriots every week?

- best game by any crew of eagles linebackers probably since the trotter/emmons/caldwell days. spikes was dynamic, gaither was solid in pass coverage, and gocong made an impact rushing the passer.

- jj is looking awfully old. those of us who have been criticizing him may get our wish. i got the feeling tonight that he has the look of someone who's ready to hang 'em up.

- good job by the offense to get back to business after that awful interception return td that spotted the patriots 7 points at the start of the game.

- brian dawkins is a shadow of his former self. he can't keep up in deep coverage anymore. it's probably why jj tried to use him down in the box last season, directly leading to michael lewis' departure once everyone figured out he was horrible in coverage. a younger dawkins would have had at least one and possibly two picks tonight (endzone play where he cut in front of receiver crossing in back of zone and possibly at a couple of deep ball he got his hands on). this is a big, big problem. jr reed was supposed to be the heir apparent, but he can't run like he used to either (though he played a decent game tonight and made a few big hits). sean considine was drafted in response to jr's injury and he's shown that he can't play... or that he at least can't play strong safety. big concern for me.

- patterson and bunkley were getting lots of penetration early in the game, but wore down as the game went on. still lacking depth at d-tackle.

all-in-all, this is the least upset i've ever been after an eagles loss. i'm not happy about it, but at least my week isn't going to be miserable.

Wednesday Links

- congrats to jimmy rollins for his mvp season

- phil sheridan says the eagles need "swagger" to beat the patriots. one bill belichick would disagree:

The Patriots gave their defense six concepts to remember entering the week of preparation. "Don't ever make the mistake of thinking [Marshall] Faulk is staying home to block,'' the Pats' game plan that week said. "That's either a screen or he's going to have a delayed release out of the backfield.'' And: "Remember, no matter what your eyes tell you, you'll never see the same play twice. It may look like the same play, but it's not. Don't play the actual play. Play whatever your assigned concept is.'' And "Be physical with them at all times. They don't like that.''

Belichick told Holley: "We're not going to say, 'Watch out for these 50 things.' It's too overwhelming. The concepts will get it done the majority of the time, as long as we don't give up the big play ... [If] they hit an out for 10 yards, life goes on. Let's take away something and then we'll try to scramble to handle the things that we know we're not quite as solid on.'' Faulk gained 130 yards in the game, but never hit a home run. Neither did the Rams. New England won 20-17 in one of the great upsets in Super Bowl history.

Football is a brutal business. Belichick is brutally frank with his players. In front of his team after a 28-10 loss to the Packers in 2002, Belichick said: "We have a lot of smart guys in this room, but on the football field we play like a bunch of f------- morons.'' Holley writes: "If you are one of the players flinching at the harshness of these words, you might as well begin packing. There is no way