Eagles Trade Brown and Gocong

The Eagles have made a huge trade today. And it doesn't involve Donovan McNabb, or any of the 50 QB's the Eagles have on the roster. I guess Andy Reid wants to hang onto the QB's as long as possible so he can continue to tell us all how amazing the Eagles are for having 3 quarterbacks that could start. But I digress...

We have lost one of the members of our Wolfpack today... and not because the Eagles no longer have Chris Gocong. The Eagles also traded Sheldon Brown to the Cleveland Browns, and in exchange receive the Browns 4th round pick and 5th round pick in this year's draft, and linebacker Alex Hall. The Browns picks that the Eagles receive are the 105th and 137th overall picks in the draft. Linebacker Alex Hall was a 7th round pick in 2008, and is a former Division 2 All-American at St. Augustine's. Not surprising that the Eagles wanted Hall, as Reid loves former Division 2 and Division 3 guys who dominate in college... yet they usually aren't very good in the pros. Reid goes after D-2 and D-3 guys almost as much as he goes after Mormons. The 4th round and 5th round picks are decent, but I don't have too much confidence that the Eagles will turn these into solid players, especially like Sheldon Brown was.

Chris Gocong was below average in my opinion, and was on the field way too much. He can't tackle, he can't cover. The only thing Gocong is supposed to be good at doing is rushing the passer from the outside. Unfortunately, even though this was the report on Gocong on draft day, the Eagles still picked him, and did not use him properly. So if Chris Gocong does have any skill, which I don't think he does, we wouldn't even know because he is not used to his strength. Gocong could end having success in a 3-4 defense where he can play the outside linebacker spot and rush the passer.

Sheldon Brown on the other hand is a great player, and has been so ever since the Eagles drafted him. Brown was one of the longest tenured Eagles, and was definitely a fan favorite. He is probably the hardest hitting cornerback in a league full of cornerbacks who don't even like contact, including the Eagles own Asante Samuel. Brown thrived with his physical play. Everyone remembers the famous Sheldon Brown hit on Reggie Bush on one of the first plays of the game to start a divisional playoff game. Sheldon Brown not ever being a pro-bowler so far in his NFL career is an absolute joke. Eagles fans know that Brown has been playing at a pro bowl level for a while now, and he does not get the national attention that he deserves. Brown epitomizes what Philadelphia loves in their athletes. He plays injured, he plays his hardest on every play, and one time, he came out with a Jason mask on. Even though Brown is getting older, and is probably past his prime, he is still very effective, and is better than Ellis Hobbs any day of the week. Brown will definitely be missed.

The trade overall is a bad one in my opinion. If the goal is to get rid of an older player in Brown, and an ineffective player in Gocong, then they accomplished that. But the trade makes the Eagles a much worse team. Andy Reid loves his late round draft picks, and loves to try to have the most picks of any team in the NFL every year. This doesn't seem to translate into solid draft picks, however. If the Eagles plan is to rebuild, they need to do it right - get rid of the older guys, which unfortunately includes McNabb, and spend the next year improving the defense, to hopefully go along with the young offensive playmakers this team has in a season or two.

Philadelphia Eagles All-Decade Team

Our Eagles all-decade team was the hardest to come up with of all the Philadelphia teams, mostly because there are more players. We decided to go with 2 running backs, since no fullback is worth being on the all-decade team. This isn’t to say that we didn’t like Cecil Martin, or Jon Ritchie, because we did, and obviously we love Leonard Weaver right now, but the contributions of the 2nd running back were much greater than any fullback in this offense this decade. The 2nd running back was a close decision between Duce Staley and Correll Buckhalter. Ultimately, we went with Buckhalter for his overall body of work, although Staley was a great player.

Another tough call was the 2nd receiver. Terrell Owens gets the #1 receiver slot. Even though he had a short body of work this decade with the Eagles, we all know the Eagles receivers weren’t exactly the greatest this decade. The 2nd receiver came down to Todd Pinkston, and current beast DeSean Jackson. This was the biggest argument we had of any of the players on any team. It is a good argument – Pinkston was on the team longer and thus accrued more numbers, but Jackson is the better player. We decided on DeSean Jackson.

On the defensive side of the ball, there were discussions about the defensive tackles, between Corey Simon, Hollis Thomas, and current tackles Broderick Bunkley and Mike Patterson. We ultimately went with Patterson and Simon. Donovan McNabb gets the team MVP honors.

Check out our full Philadelphia Eagles all-decade team--

Offense
QB: Donovan McNabb
RB: Brian Westbrook, Correll Buckhalter
WR: Terrell Owens, DeSean Jackson
TE: Chad Lewis
OL: Jon Runyan, Shawn Andrews, Jamaal Jackson, Jermaine Mayberry, Tra Thomas

Defense

DL: Trent Cole, Mike Patterson, Corey Simon, Hugh Douglas
LB: Jeremiah Trotter, Carlos Emmons, Stewart Bradley
CB: Sheldon Brown, Troy Vincent
S: Brian Dawkins, Michael Lewis

Specialists

K: David Akers
P: Sean Landeta
Special Teams: Ike Reese
KR: Brian Mitchell
PR: Brian Westbrook

MVP: Donovan McNabb

Coach: Andy Reid

Close Calls: Hank Fraley, Duce Staley, Todd Pinkston, Hollis Thomas, Broderick Bunkley, Bobby Taylor, Lito Sheppard, Quintin Mikell

Eagles Win 4th Straight

The Eagles closed out their time in Giants stadium most likely, putting on an offensive show, and winning the game 45-38, in a much needed divisional matchup. The Eagles now sit alone atop the NFC East with a record of 9-4.

The Eagles came out of the gates strong, took the opening kickoff, and marched right downfield and scored a touchdown, and made it look easy. The Giants first possession didn't go so well for them, as Sheldon Brown scooped up a Brandon Jacobs fumble and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown. The Eagles were up 14-0 five minutes into the game. From that point on, it would be an offensive shootout for both teams. The Giants got the game to 14-10, and the Eagles then pushed it to 24-10. The Giants responded with a touchdown, and then the Eagles marched down the field right before halftime to score another touchdown, but missed the extra point to take a 30-17 lead.

In the 2nd half, the Giants continued to play strong on offense, and took a 31-30 lead in the 3rd quarter. It didn't last long, because literally the very next offensive play, McNabb found DeSean Jackson for a 60 yard touchdown. The Eagles then went on a very successful, long 91 yard drive throughout most of the 4th quarter, capped off by a 1 yard Leonard Weaver touchdown run to put the game away.

The Eagles offense played very well. McNabb continues his strong play, and ended the game 17-26 for 275 yards with 2 TDs and 1 INT. McNabb threw a couple very nice deep balls, bought some time on some other plays, and hit his check downs well. Mike Vick also continued his strong recent play, and threw a 32 yard dart to DeSean Jackson on the first drive, which set up the first touchdown of the game. Vick also ran the ball 3 times for 11 yards, including a touchdown. Not only does Vick look like he is getting better every week, the play calling that involves Vick has been a lot better. I will give credit to the Reid-Mornhinweg play calling combo when Vick has been in the game lately. By letter Vick throw a couple passes each game, it doesn't allow the defense to stack the box when Vick is in the game. Also, I like the use of the trick plays they have tried when Vick has been in there. 2 trick plays were used. The first one being a reverse to Vick in which he almost threw a touchdown pass to Reggie Brown. The 2nd one was a Vick handoff to McCoy, who pitched to McNabb, who looked to go deep back to Vick. Even though he didn't have anything deep, McNabb made the right read and dumped it short to Celek. So, not only is Vick getting better and better each week, and becoming more a weapon in the rushing and passing game, the play calling has made more sense as of late.

Donovan McNabb led 4 very important drives in this game. The Eagles took the opening kickoff and marched right down the field the score, which was very important to get a 7-0 lead. Then, right before halftime, the Eagles marched down the field and scored a touchdown with 10 seconds left in the half, which was also very important. Sometimes McNabb often gets criticized for is not playing well with 2 minutes and under in the half or game. The Eagles came into this game 2nd in the NFL in scoring with under 2 minutes left in the half and end of the game, and they continued to add to that total. The 3rd drive was the 1 play drive, which was the 60 yard pass to Jackson. The Giants had just taken a 31-30 lead and had all the momentum at that point. And the final and most important drive was a 91-yard drive which took up most of the 4th quarter, and was eventually the game winning drive.

The rushing attack wasn't as successful as it has been recently, but McCoy and Weaver both got their share of carries, and Weaver and Vick both has a touchdown run. The story on offense however was DeSean Jackson. Without Jackson's return from his concussion, the Eagles do not win that game. Jackson had 6 receptions for 178 yards, and a touchdown. He also had a huge 72 yard punt return for a touchdown. You see people who are fast, but Jackson is ridiculously fast. Brent Celek also played well and ended with 64 receiving yards and a touchdown.

However, I am not so optimistic as some other people are going forward... mostly now because of the defense. I hear people talking today about how they are now starting to get this feeling with this Eagles team that we could go far into the playoffs, and into the Super Bowl. Well, I think that if that Eagles team from yesterday played the Saints, the Saints would have scored 60+ points. The Eagles defense was horrible. It was one of the worst defensive performances I've ever seen to be honest. Sheldon Brown, Quintin Mikell, Sean Jones - all guys who I like and have praised, played horribly. Too many missed tackles, too many penalties still, too many blown coverages, and not enough pressure on Eli. The Giants put up 512 yards of total offense in the game. They ran the ball and threw the ball effectively.

I do think the Eagles defense is a proud defense, and Sean McDermott and the players on the defense will not be happy with this victory. I think they will treat this week of practice like they really almost lost this game for the team, and bounce back. However, if the defense continues to play the way they played on Sunday, this team is not going to the Super Bowl.

Eagles Rout Falcons

The Eagles took care of business on Sunday and got another much needed win against a banged up Falcons team in convincing style with a 34-7 victory. The Eagles came very close to getting their first shutout on the road since 1991, but the Falcons scored a touchdown on the last play of the game as time expired.

The Eagles were in control basically the whole game, and had Michael Vick and Kevin Kolb split the quarterback duties in the 4th quarter. The Eagles dominated the first half, but couldn't put the Falcons away. They got into the red zone 4 times in the first half, and only came away with 13 points on those 4 red zone possessions. Leonard Weaver had a great game both running and catching the football, and ended the game with 5 carries for 37 yards, and 2 receptions for 63 yards, and receiving touchdown. Jeremy Maclin led the receivers with 4 receptions for 83 yards.

The Eagles really spread the ball out in the rushing attack with McCoy getting 6 carries, Weaver getting 5, Michael Vick getting 4, Reggie Brown with 1, McNabb scrambling with 2, and Eldra Buckley in the game in the 4th quarter getting 8 carries. In total, the Eagles ran the ball 26 times for 103 yards. Also, even the offense didn't put the Falcons away in the 1st half, give them credit for opening the 2nd half with a touchdown drive to go up 20-0. Michael Vick even got some extended time in the 4th quarter and was able to run for and pass for a touchdown today.

The defense didn't really let the Falcons get much of anything, especially without starters Matt Ryan and Michael Turner. Chris Redman finished the game 23-44 for 235 yards, 1 TDs, and 2 INTs. Most of those yards from Redman came on the last possession of the game. The Falcons only were able to run the ball for 61 yards on 22 carries. The defense also had a goal line stand to close out the first half. If the Falcons had punched the ball in at that point, they would have only been down 13-7 to start the 2nd half. The defense had 2 sacks, 2 interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown by Sheldon Brown.

With Ryan and Turner out of the lineup for the Falcons, the Eagles had to take care of business this game, and they did just that. The Eagles move to 8-4 on the season, and depending on the outcome of the Giants-Cowboys game today, they could end up in a 1st place tie in the NFC East at the end of the day. Either way, the win was much needed with a trip to the Meadowlands next weekend to play the Giants.

The Eagles brass has to happy with this convincing victory so they can now expect us all to be happy when the announce the Andy Reid extension. I am happy with the Eagles victory, but will not be with the Reid extension.

Lito: Right or Wrong?

Recently, Lito Sheppard, former Eagle and current New York Jet blasted the Eagles, saying that the Eagles purposely limited his playing time after he put it out there that he was not happy with his contract situation. Not only did Lito talk about his own situation with the Eagles, he also intimated that Sheldon Brown will soon find himself in a similar situation, stating of Brown, "He ultimately won't even be playing before the end of the season. It's a known fact. I hope they prove me wrong." Most Eagles fans are not happy with Lito Sheppard, but is he wrong? Who is right or wrong in this whole contract situation in the NFL?

Each player and their agent are responsible for signing their own contract in the NFL, so if a player wants more money halfway through their contract, it is their own fault, because they are the ones who signed the contract in the first place. To make up for the fact that football contracts are not guaranteed, and the team can cut the player at any point, the player usually receives a sizable signing bonus when they sign the contract, which is guaranteed.

It also never helps when we as "normal," working class, non-millionaires have to listen to these multi-millionaire athletes complain about making more money. Sure, they are elite athletes, so they deserve the money that they make, but it still is not something that we as fans want to hear from the players. We generally feel that if a player signs a contract, they should honor it, and play through it.

Unfortunately, it isn't always that easy. Because football contracts are not guaranteed, the team holds the power. Not only does the team never have to renegotiate a contract, but they can also cut a player or ask a player to take a pay cut whenever they like. John Runyan was once asked to take a pay cut to stay here, and unfortunately, the player has minimal choices in that situation. The Eagles can go to a player, like they did to John Runyan, tell him that he has played well and done everything for the team, but is now getting older, and they would like him to take a pay cut, or he may get cut from the team.

Also, initially you would think that Lito saying that the Eagles purposely don't play players that give them the best chance to win regardless of their current contract situation is ridiculous. Let's take a look at the Michael Lewis situation. Michael Lewis was offered a contract by the Eagles, much like they offer a lot of their younger player, trying to lock them up for the long term. Most players sign this, as it is definitely tempting for a young player to sign and get long term financial security. Lewis, thinking that he was going to be the next Brian Dawkins, did not sign the contract, thinking he deserved more money. Lewis did not sign the contract, because he did not want to be in the situation that others like Lito, and Sheldon Brown find themselves in, regretting the contract that they initially sign.

So, even though the Eagles offered a contract to Lewis, as soon as he rejected it, all of a sudden the team felt he couldn't cover anybody anymore. Fact is, Lewis was not good in coverage, but the Eagles knew that before and after they offered him the contract. Not only that, they started Sean Considine at safety in place of Lewis after this, which was an absolute joke. You cannot honestly argue that Considine was a better player than Michael Lewis. Again, Lewis was by no means the all-pro safety that he thought he would become, but the Eagles were absolutely not a better team with Considine starting in his place. It was one thing to bench Lewis for a game or so, but to ride Considine into the playoffs seems fishy.

Another example may be Lito Sheppard himself - at least he certainly feels that way. Asante Samuel is better than Lito, and Sheldon Brown may be as well, but you cannot tell me that Joselio Hanson is better than Lito Sheppard, and should have been playing over Sheppard at the nickel spot in big games last season. If the team feels that Sheppard quit on them, or was dogging it out there, then that is fine, I do not have a problem with Lito sitting if that was the case.

I feel like there is no right or wrong answer to these contract questions and issues. While I find it annoying when a player feels they are entitled to more money because they play well, which is actually what they are supposed to do in the first place, I do not have a problem with a player asking for more money, simply because the team can cut or ask a player to take a pay cut. The signing bonuses are there for a reason, and many people feel like if a player wants to re-negotiate a contract, they should give back the signing bonus, which seems like a fair point.

Also, even though Michael Lewis may be a good example, I would like to think that Andy Reid, or more importantly, Jim Johnson is putting the most talented group out there to win each game.

Dr. G: Philly Fans Screwed Again

Yup, here we go again. Just as the Eagles' fan base had reason to start getting fired up with the Peters acquisition, the outside possibility of nabbing Boldin, and the upcoming draft, along comes the Sheldon Brown train wreck to take the wind out of our sails. This is all too familiar and all too disheartening: like watching a family member on the verge of success repeatedly self-destruct. You want to intervene, you want to scream & shout, you want to slap some sense into him, but you know there's really nothing you can do but watch the tragedy unfold again and again. There are no good guys in this case, no one to root for, and little possibility of a satisfying outcome. Brown is dead wrong for whining publicly in the depth of a dangerous recession about a multi-million dollar deal he agreed to -- and was in fact delighted with -- in 2004 that set he and his family up for life. Banner is dead wrong for publicly inflaming an already volatile situation, and for once again exhibiting the knee-jerk "screw you" attitude of a petty tyrant. And they're both dead wrong for putting the fans through this agony again. But, then, with the singular exception of Brian Dawkins, when has any component of this Eagles organization given a damn about anything beyond the fans' wallets? The official motto of Team Gold Standard, from the players through the front office, is best captured in the immortal words of Ricky Watters: "For who, for what?" And that's the real shame of it all...

Drama at NovaCare, Fans Come Out the Loser

We all know now that Sheldon Brown has requested to be traded, because he is unhappy with his contract and feels he is under paid. This is becoming a bad trend with the Eagles with players coming out unhappy about their contract situation. The main problem with this is who ends up suffering the most. It’s the fans.

Sheldon Brown signed a six-year extension in 2004 worth $30 million. At that time, Brown’s agent, Jason Chayut stated, "We didn't need to do this now, but this deal was too attractive and too important not to get it done, They made him a multimillionaire, taking all the risk out of injury. He's set for life."

Apparently that’s not enough anymore. Brown not only wants more money, he also said that this is not the first time this has happened with the Eagles players, and it won’t be the last. He is right. But the players aren’t suffering. The team isn’t suffering.

First off, these players are already rich to begin with. They are rich for playing a sport that any of us fans would love to play for a living. I understand that sports are immensely popular, I’m not saying that athletes don’t deserve to make a lot of money, it is just hard for me to listen to these players complain about making millions, and needing to support their families.

On top of that, you have the Eagles brass, who is about an annoying and arrogant as they come. Just for them to come out and comment on anything anymore annoys me, because no matter which one it is (Banner, Lurie, or Reid), it is always going to come off as cocky, and as if the player’s are meaningless pieces to them who mean nothing. Even if Sheldon Brown is in the wrong in this situation, the Eagles brass actually needs to act like they value their employee in any statement they make.

All of this started with Terrell Owens, and it’s a disturbing trend that as Sheldon Brown said, probably won’t stop anytime soon. And to us fans, it’s just flat out annoying. It’s a Soap Opera, and we are on the losing end of it. The same situation will happen every time. The Eagles will act all high and mighty because they will refuse to pay more money to the player. So they are on the winning side. The player, just like TO did, will just go to another team and get paid. And even if they don’t, they are already making freakin’ millions of dollars. So they are on the winning side. Who loses? The fans. Not only do we have to listen to all the drama of the player vs. the Eagles, but the Eagles as a team end up suffering on the field, which affects the fans. The TO saga ruined a season. TO might not care about though, the Eagles might not care about that, but we do!

Start Lito?

We all know what has transpired this off season. The Eagles sign the top defensive free-agent Asante Samuel. In doing so, the Eagles pissed off their best, but often injured corner back, Lito Sheppard. I believe Lito has handled this whole situation well, even when owner Jeff Lurie brought up the random stat of YPA (yards per attempt). Lito hired Drew "next question" Rosenhaus, and as a Eagles fan I was sure he would not be on this team for the beginning of the season. Sure enough he is and we are the deepest team in the league at corner, with Lito coming off the bench. Before I make the claim I am about to make, I would like all the readers to know, I am a huge Sheldon Brown fan. Lito Sheppard should start Monday night and line-up against Terrell Owens. Lito has always matched up well against TO. I compare this to the time we had Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor as our starting corners. Troy Vincent was the better corner, but for some reason Bobby Taylor had Michael Irvin's number so they would always match up. Samuel and Brown should be our starting cornerbacks every game except the two times we play Dallas, then our starters should be Sheppard and Samuel.