Iggles Blog - Philadelphia Eagles Blog

So Does This Mean No More Beer Ads on TV?

This is ridiculous:

NEW YORK (AP) -- NFL clubs may no longer serve alcohol at team functions or on buses or flights, extending a ban that until now applied only in locker rooms.

As if Al Davis needed another reason to sue the league.

NFL owners and executives were told Thursday by commissioner Roger Goodell that the rule pertains not only to players but to owners, coaches and guests.

Please partake mightily of the official beer of Super Bowl because those ads pretty much pay my salary, just don't do it in a totally irresponsible manner such as an official team function surrounded by other mature adults, all of whom should be capable of making their own decisions.    

"I believe that no constructive purpose is served by clubs continuing to make alcoholic beverages available, and that doing so imposes significant and unnecessary risks to the league, its players and others," Goodell wrote to all 32 teams in a letter obtained by The Associated Press.

Since when did Roger Napoleon Goodell become emperor of all he surveyed?  So I guess this means the NFL will take the next logical, safety-first step and ban beer sales in the stands at its games?  Because I guarandamntee you that you're at more risk sitting amongst / driving home next to a massive crowd of beer-swilling fans than you would be sipping champagne in Jeff Lurie's office.

The commissioner's letter separates him from, among others, baseball commissioner Bud Selig. After St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Josh Hancock died a month ago in what was ruled an alcohol-related auto accident, Selig said a decision on banning beer in clubhouses was a team matter, not a league one.

Holy crap.  I've lived to see Bud Selig arise as the voice of reason.

Goodell's letter is in keeping with his policy of setting strict standards for behavior by players, coaches and officials after a year of numerous arrests, many of them for alcohol-related offenses. He has imposed strict suspensions on those who violated those policies, including a yearlong suspension for Tennessee's Adam "Pacman" Jones, which is currently under appeal.

Because banning booze in the boardroom is definitely going to cut down on all that late-night carousing, strip club visiting and naked boating.

The letter is addressed to chief executives, club presidents, general managers and head coaches.

Joe Banner is already trying to figure out how he can exploit the new rule to shave a few bucks in cap charges.

"Effective immediately," it reads, "clubs are prohibited from providing alcoholic beverages, including beer, in any club setting, including in locker rooms, practice or office facilities, or while traveling, including on team buses or flights.

"Including beer." 

"This prohibition extends not only to players, but to all team personnel, as well as to other guests traveling with the team or who have access to club facilities."

Yes, Roger Goodell is now also the boss of you.  Deal with it.

The ban was sent with the approval of the NFL Players Association and the player advisory council, a group of veterans appointed in early April to advise Goodell on player issues.

Really?  Guys are getting busted left and right, the commissioner's getting ready to hand down mandatory one-game suspensions for jaywalking, Mike Vick is the mastermind behind an underground dog-fighting syndicate, and half of all ex-players can't remember their own addresses and yet this was their number one priority?

That group includes union president Troy Vincent, currently a free agent; safety Donovin Darius of Jacksonville; fullback Tony Richardson of Minnesota; center Jeff Saturday of Indianapolis; linebacker Takeo Spikes of Philadelphia; and wide receiver James Thrash of Washington.

Philly / Ex-Philly is totally dominating that committee.  I can't wait until the first time TiVo catches a beer can in the background of a post-game interview done somewhere within the bowels of a stadium.  Bet that will be a $50,000 fine.

Some More Eagles Wallpaper

If you check the comments on a previous thread, you'll find -- with no doubt some amazement -- that someone actually took the time to create desktop wallpaper for Eagles' long-snapper (and amateur magician) Jon Dorenbos. 

I know.

Me too.

Anyway, in case you're too lazy to find it yourself but just can't wait to get Jon on your computer screen, I've taken the liberty of linking to his wallpaper right here:

And as a special bonus, I've created another Eagles wallpaper that I think you'll find just as enticing:

Uh-oh -- LJ Smith Has Surgery

This is not good news at all:

The Eagles announced today that tight end L.J. Smith underwent surgery Wednesday to repair a sports hernia, the same injury that eventually ended quarterback Donovan McNabb’s 2005 season.

Smith, who is entering the final year of his contract, will miss the team’s final full-squad minicamp, which begins Tuesday and runs through June 14. The Eagles said his condition will be evaluated over the next several weeks to determine if he’ll be ready for training camp.

Smith and the rest of the Eagles’ veterans are scheduled to report to training camp July 30.

The sports hernia has a history of being a nagging injury that requires a good amount of recovery time.

Yeah, no kidding.  McNabb finally had the surgery and it took him a long time to get back.  Dirk Johnson tried to play through it, then had the surgery, but still didn't look right last year.

L.J. finally made some real progress with his run blocking last year.  A few months of not lifting weights isn't going to help there.   

A Too Early Look at the Final Roster

Unless they get hit with a serious injury bug, the Eagles are going to have some tough decisions to make come preseason cut-down time.  There certainly are still roster spots up in the air, pending performance evaluations from training camp and those meaningless games, but you can already start to see how the roster is shaping up.

In looking at the current roster, I think it's relatively easy to get down to a final 56.  The hard part is finding those last three cuts.  Here's what I came up with (a list of 56 with my last three non-injury cuts in red):

Position	In	Out	Notes
Quarterback	Donovan McNabb	Kelly Holcomb	No surprises here.
	AJ Feeley
	Kevin Kolb
Wide Receiver	Reggie Brown	Bethel Johnson	I think Greg Lewis is going to be a surprise cut here.  With too much talent at other positions, the Eagles can't keep six WRs.  Lewis was effective last year in his role, but check out how much his numbers dropped off once teams started paying attention to him: 12 catches for 198 yards in his first six games, 8 for 98 yards in the next nine.
	Kevin Curtis	Bill Sampy
	Hank Baskett	Michael Gasperson
	Jason Avant	J.J. Outlaw
	Jeremy Bloom
	Greg Lewis
Tight End	LJ Smith	Lee Vickers	Vickers would be great for the practice squad if we can hang on to him.
	Matt Schobel
	Brent Celek
Running Back	Brian Westbrook	Ryan Moats	Moats is gone unless he puts on a Heisman-level performance in the preseason.  Ilaoa could be this year's IR stash if he's slow to pick things up.
	Correll Buckhalter
	Tony Hunt
	Nate Ilaoa
Fullback	Thomas Tapeh	Jason Davis	Never a good sign: "At the first three-day camp, still a bit heavy from the offseason, Davis was not in top condition. He has since shed a few pounds and expects to be about 15 pounds lighter for training camp."
Offensive Line	Jon Runyan		The Eagles kept 10 offensive linemen last season, but I can't see the same thing happening this year.  Cole is safe as the back-up center and Justice is the LT of the future.  Barring a surprise Thomas trade, that leave MJG, McCoy and Young fighting for the last two spots.  MJG probably makes it through on talent and draft position.  I'm going to go with Young getting the boot here, just because it's so much easier to find guard prospects than tackles and he's had a bit more playing time to showcase his trade value.  In any case, a good football player is going home.
	Shawn Andrews
	Jamaal Jackson
	Todd Herremans
	William Thomas
	Winston Justice
	Max Jean-Gilles
	Nick Cole
	Pat McCoy          Scott Young
Defensive Tackle	Mike Patterson		If I were Montae Reagor I wouldn't get too comfortable out there.  I think he's probably safe, but if some other guys have strong showings and he starts slowly, he could face some heat.  The other guys are no-brainers.
	Brodrick Bunkley
	Montae Reagor
	LaJuan Ramsey
	Ian Scott
Defensive End	Jevon Kearse	J. McDougle	McDougle is gone.  Darren Howard is the only other guy with any pressure, and he's not likely to go anywhere.  This group is pretty set.  Murrell would be great on the practice squad.
	Trent Cole	Marques Murrell
	Darren Howard
	Juqua Thomas
	Victor Abiamiri
Linebacker	Takeo Spikes	Dedrick Roper	Some interesting things could happen here with McCoy or Trotter, but in the end I think it's going to be pretty straightforward.
	Chris Gocong	Greg Richmond
	Jeremiah Trotter
	Matt McCoy
	Omar Gaither
	Tank Daniels
	Stewart Bradley
Safety	Brian Dawkins	Marcus Paschal	Gaddis is the wild card here, the other three are set.  But his ability to play CB could have an impact on the next slot.
	Sean Considine	Chris Smith
	Quintin Mikell
	C.J. Gaddis
Cornerback	Lito Sheppard	Dustin Fox	This is a tough call.  Gaddis' versatility means the Eagles can keep just four CBs if they need to.  Hanson did an OK job last year in a tough situation, but his long-term ceiling doesn't seem that high.  Barksdale is a much better athlete, but only played college ball for one year.  It's a cop-out to say this, but it really does come down to the preseason.  If Barksdale looks good, they probably cut Hanson.  If he doesn't, they have a better chance of stashing him on the practice squad for a year and calling on him if someone gets hurt.
	Sheldon Brown
	William James
	Joselio Hanson
	Rashad Barksdale
Special Teams	David Akers	Saverio Rocca	Punting is like golf, it's all about technique and a swing that holds up under pressure.  Rocca has to be perfect in the preseason -- and I mean flawless -- to have a chance.  Bartrum seems ready to retire.
	Dirk Johnson	Mike Bartrum
	Jon Dorenbos

Stupid Internet Explorer 7

I was putting the finishing touches on a lengthy post regarding the current state of the Eagles special teams when I opened a new tab in IE7 to check Dirk Johnson's punting stats from last season, which proceeded to crash the browser and kill my post. 

That completely sucked.

I'm not interested in re-writing the whole thing, particularly seeing how it wasn't that good in the first place, so I'll just recreate the gist.  Look at the special teams depth chart and then consider the following:

• Our #1 long-snapper suffered a serious neck injury last season, has a wife and four kids, and probably shouldn't be in a position where insane 300-pounders are ready to snap his head back 0.1 seconds after he snaps the ball.
• Our #2 long-snapper is roster deadweight who can't play any other position -- a bad thing on a team with so much young, marginal talent.
• Our #3 long-snapper chucks snaps that look like too many of my golf drives -- worm-burners.
• Our #1 punter had a net average of 34.9 yards last season and had a number of flat-out shanks (again, compare to my golf game).
• Our #2 punter has never played professional football (American style).
• Our kicker has fully recovered his leg strength but seems to hate it when anyone other than Koy Detmer holds his ba-- holds for him.
• Speaking of which, our #1 holder sucked at the job last year and may not even win a spot on the roster this year.
• Our #2 holder has, again, never played professional football, although he has spent most of his life trying to corral that crazy-bouncing Australian pigskin, which should come in handy should our #3 long-snapper be called into service (see above).
• Our #3 holder is Matt Schobel, which is ... sort of funny.  Isn't catching an integral part of the whole holding experience?
• On the plus side, we may have the best back-up punter returner in the league.

Looks like the new guy has his work cut out for him.

Encouraging Signs on Defense

I think we all could agree that -- other than the slightly increased risk of injury and/or burnout for the players and coaches involved -- it would be much better for everyone if we could just go ahead and get training camp started right now.

Heck, they could do rotating training camps and show 'em on the NFL Network.  I actually wasted some of my Memorial Day yesterday watching "NFL Follies" hosted by Nick Bakay.  You think I wouldn't watch a live look-in from Cardinals mini-camp? 

"Coming up next on the Network, it's big dudes stretching as a bunch of pasty old white dudes yell at them to stay hydrated."

Unfortunately, because the NFL Network doesn't understand what it's audience really wants, we're left with the tea leaves stage of the offseason.  We can't actually watch anything, so we just need to read everything we can and see what we can sort of pick up.

The long weekend had a few encouraging signs for the Eagles defense, so let's take a look at them:

Jim Johnson Revisits His Defense
With a revamped defensive staff, Johnson spent the off-season breaking his whole defense down and rethinking some things.  "It was great for us and I think he enjoyed it," Harbaugh said. "He went back and went through the whole package with a fine-tooth comb - the details, the history of it, why you make this adjustment or that adjustment. It was a great learning experience."

Now I'm already on record saying that I don't think the biggest problem with the Eagles defense the last few years has been Jim Johnson.  I still think it's the talent.  But I'm glad to see JJ doing a full self-scout, just to see if there are areas that have gotten a little stale or predictable.  Maybe the old dog will have a few new tricks up his sleeve next year.

Chris Gocong Looks Like a Starter
"Chris is ahead of the other guys because he's been around, and he looks good," Johnson said. "This has been a great camp for him. No question about it that Chris Gocong is the guy right now, and he's handling it like he's the guy. He's not making any mistakes, and he's playing good..."

The last time the Eagles had such a young and inexperienced competition at a linebacker position during training camp was back in 1999 when rookie second-round pick Barry Gardner battled a third-round pick from the year before for the starting middle linebacker job. The third-round pick - Jeremiah Trotter - won the competition even though he went in as the underdog.

"I do remember it was a good competition, and I always felt Trotter was going to be the guy because he was such an athletic linebacker," Johnson said. "That's the thing you see with Chris because he's such a good athlete playing linebacker, and Trotter was, too. Bradley is a pretty good athlete, too, but I do remember Trotter was an exceptional athlete for a guy that size."

My emphasis added.  I've never seen Stewart Bradley, this year's second-round linebacker draftee, take a snap, so I have no idea how well he plays.  Gocong's pretty much in the same situation, with the difference being that he was a phenomenal athlete in college who pretty much destroyed Division 1-AA competition.  Everyone not from Nebraska has to be rooting for Gocong to win the job, because the more guys you can get on the field who present physical mismatches, the better you're going to be.  Sometimes it doesn't all come down to technique.

LaJuan Ramsey Gets BIG
Ramsey attended a "Get Big" program at his alma mater, USC. Ramsey spent two months there and, combined with his interest in increasing from the 285 pounds he played at last year, put on enough weight to check in here at 305 pounds.

"It was a lot of lifting, a lot of working out," said Ramsey. "At USC, I did a lot of power work concentrating on more reps and more weight. I did a lot of upper body and leg lifts, too. I did a lot of Olympic training, too, with power cleans and hang snatches all that kind of lifting.

"It has paid off. I'm a lot stronger. I feel great. The coaches say I look the same and that I'm moving out there, so I feel good about where I am."

Of course, a lot is still riding on the 2006 #1 pick, Brodrick Bunkley, but this is just one more sign that last year's position of weakness might be this year's position of strength.  Ramsey played well early last year before getting buried on the bench in one of those Eagles moves that just don't really make sense at the time.  Were they trying to showcase Sam Rayburn?  Did Ramsey do something wrong in the locker room?  We'll just never know.

IF Ramsey can play at 300 pounds and keep the burst he had before, the Eagles could be looking at one very fine defensive tackle rotation, with Patterson and Bunk starting, and Ramsey, Reagor and Scott rotating in to keep everyone fresh.

Is This a Make-or-Break Year for Jevon Kearse?

In 2002, the Eagles led the league in sacks.  Hugh Douglas had 12.5 and pass-rush specialist (and Rice grad) ND Kalu chipped in 8.0 from the other side.

Carlos Emmons even had 3.5 sacks as the strongside linebacker.  That may not sound like much, until you consider that the ENTIRE STRONGSIDE POSITION managed only 2.0 sacks over the next four years.  Total. 

(You think I'm joking, but I'm not.)

The following season, things didn't work out so well.  Douglas left for a better $ituation in Jacksonville and the guys who stuck around couldn't pick up the slack.  As we saw a few days ago, 2003 was a bit of a tipping point for the Eagles defense, but that wasn't readily apparent at the time.  Most people thought all we needed to do was bring in a new sackmeister to replace Douglas' production and things would instantly rebound.  And so they signed Jevon Kearse.

To a certain extent, it worked out, although by a lot of measures the increased pressure didn't really do much for the rest of the defense.  And sacks might have gone up anyway that season, as the Eagles' high-powered offense forced a lot of teams into catch-up situations where they had no choice but to pass-pass-pass. 

Truthfully, though, the Eagles haven't gotten the return on their investment they expected from Kearse.  There's definitely value in having a guy the other team always has to think about double-teaming, but for $60 million you're sort of hoping for more than 18.5 sacks in three seasons. 

Kearse seemed to be poised for a monster year last season.  In two games he already had 3.5 sacks, and his inspired play seemed to finally be lifting the performance of the entire line.  Then, of course, he got hurt.  And this time it was for real hurt, not one of his famous rolling around on the field like he just got shot but then being fine three plays later moves.

Everyone likes to talk about the advancing age of guys like McNabb and Dawkins, but Kearse also passed the big 3-0 threshold last season.  Which raises the question, have we seen the best there is from Kearse?

All this makes 2007 a make-or-break year for Kearse.  His contract situation is remarkable.  He makes more money than anyone on the team not named Donovan McNabb.  At the moment, he's completely un-cut-able, given the $6 million in dead money that would cause.  But next year that number goes down to $4 million -- and if the Eagles want to spread it over two years, which they can do, that's only $2 million per, which might seem more appealing than paying him $6.4 and $7.7 million over that same timeframe.

If Kearse throws up another sub-par seven sack season, I don't think he's sticking around.  Not with a rising Trent Cole, a re-signed JT Thomas, a newly-drafted Victor Abiamiri and a much cheaper Darren Howard. 

Howard is really the wild card, though.  If he comes back healthy this year and still lays another egg, then maybe he's the guy who takes the fall.  But, again, given his much lower salary numbers, he's got a little more margin for error.   

I like Kearse.  He plays hard.  He's always got a ton of energy.  His teammates seem to really like playing with him.  And even if he's not quite as fast as he used to be, he still scares opposing offensive coordinators and right tackles.  But he's got to step it up this year.  Otherwise, the Eagles are going to have a hard time winning the Super Bowl.

And there won't be much chance of him wearing the midnight green in '08.

Today's Second-String Punter Update

I might just have to make Sav Rocca his own category, the media loves writing about him so much.

Here's today's update in the SavStakes:

The Eagles signed a potential future Hall of Famer this off-season, and nobody seemed all that excited about it.

Yes, Saverio Rocca was that good when he played Australian Rules football in his native country. He couldn't shop for groceries in Melbourne without being recognized by the fans who admired his work with the Collingwood Magpies and North Melbourne Kangaroos, the two teams that employed him during his illustrious 15-year career.

It also sound like the guy was born to be a Philadelphia Eagle:

Rocca said he was disappointed that he never won a championship in Australia.

"I played in three playoffs and lost the first game in each playoff," he said. "I never experienced a winning playoff game. I didn't want to play 15 years and not experience the winning feeling of a playoff game. Hopefully, that can transpire over here."

In all seriousness though, if we're really looking to make a punter change, why not give this guy a tryout:

Pittsburgh Steelers released veteran punter Chris Gardocki less than a month after selecting Baylor punter Daniel Sepulveda in the NFL draft.

Gardocki, a 16-year veteran and Pro-Bowl selection in 1996, never saw a punt blocked and averaged a career-best 45.7 yards per kick last season.

Drew Rosenhaus Speaks Better English than You Do

Ah, Drew Rosenhaus.  Really just one of my all-time most despised favorite sharks people.

He's back in the news again, having somehow finagled a connection to the Michael Vick dogfighting story, just like you always knew he would.  You can't have an NFL story getting this much attention without Rosenhaus eventually becoming part of it.

And so it was yesterday, a few days after Rosenhaus' client Clinton Portis made the following remarks in defense of Vick:

"It's his property; it's his dogs," Portis told a Norfolk, Va., television station. "If that's what he wants to do, do it..."

In the TV interview, the Laurel, Miss., native added: "I know a lot of back roads that got a dog fight if you want to go see it."

Now I don't know about you, but to me the meaning of those two statements is pretty clear.  There aren't that many ways I can interpret: "If that's what he wants to do, do it."

But that's because I'm not a genius like Drew Rosenhaus.  Here's the famous agent explaining what his client really meant to say:

Rosenhaus, speaking at a Charlotte Touchdown Club luncheon, said he talked to Portis about it. "He said, 'Drew, I didn't mean for the way that came out. All I was saying, I wasn't condoning dogfighting. I wasn't condoning Michael Vick's conduct. All I was saying is that people should give him the benefit of the doubt until he's been charged or found guilty,' " Rosenhaus said.

The agent then immediately began a public-relations campaign to clear Portis' name.

"I like the fact that Clinton stood up for another athlete, but I want to clarify that he in no way, shape or form condones dogfighting or any type of illegal activity," Rosenhaus said. "I spent the last day or so with Clinton trying to get that message out."

First of all, it sounds to me more like he was trying to get the message in.  ("Repeat after me, Clinton baby, 'I do not condone dogfighting.  I do not condone dogfighting.'")  But beyond that, there's not even a superficial resemblance to Portis' actual remarks in what Rosenhaus said.  Let's look again:

Portis: "It's his property; it's his dogs.  If that's what he wants to do, do it."

Voldemort: "All [he] was saying, [he] wasn't condoning dogfighting.  [He] wasn't condoning Michael Vick's conduct.  All [he] was saying is that people should give him the benefit of the doubt until he's been charged or found guilty" 

One more time:

Portis: "If that's what he wants to do, do it."

Satan: "[He] wasn't condoning Michael Vick's conduct."

Right.  Makes perfect sense.

Here's the kicker.  Death, the destroyer of worlds, even managed to say this with a straight face: "It was awkward for me, because it was one of my clients and I'm a real dog lover myself."

Go to hell, Drew.

Rude Eagles Fan Wanted

I'm loathe to contribute to the nationwide perception of Eagles fans as uncouth, beer-swilling, 700-level trolls, but hey, it's up to you.

I received an email today from a casting person at TLC.  They're working on a new show and here's what they want:

I'm essentially looking for really obnoxious people who would benefit greatly if they were forced to take a crash course in good manners. They can be rude, crude, loud, immature, whatever. They can be unapologetic or desperate to make changes. Doesn't matter. There's an episode for all types of rude people.

I'm wondering if you know of anyone who-d be good for the show ­-- a friend, family member, colleague, etc. I'm also hoping you could help spread the word for me. It would be cool to get a EAGLES FAN on the show ­

If you've got what they're looking for -- or know someone else who does -- you can find the Word document casting notice here.