A Mixed Bag

There are a few things I want to cover today, so rather than splitting them up I'll just cover them all here:

There's more support for the idea that the Eagles are going to be aggressive this offseason.  From Ashley Fox in the Inquirer:

There apparently has been acknowledgment internally, if not yet publicly, that the team needs another prominent wide receiver, another speedy pass rusher to compliment Trent Cole, a pass-catching tight end, and another cornerback who potentially could be a starter.

It wouldn't be surprising at all to see Donté Stallworth come back to Philadelphia after he wins a Super Bowl ring with New England. Stallworth is due a monstrous bonus in February, one the Patriots likely won't pay because they will have to spend money to keep Randy Moss.

Stallworth qualifies as a playmaker and probably one who would be acceptable to the Eagles' high-maintenance quarterback.

Yes, there's the typical snarky crap at the end, but I'd throw this on the pile of reasons to believe the team is going to go hard after playmakers this offseason. 

I wouldn't be too sure about Donte though.  I'm sure the Eagles would love to have him back, but so would about 25 other teams.  Hopefully he doesn't have much of a Super Bowl, because if he puts up a 150-yard, 2 TD day, we can pretty much forget bringing him back.

(Also, "Trent Cole, you're just the best, man.  I sure am glad the Eagles brought me in so I could tell you how great you are.")

I ... kind of like this Giants team.  I'm sticking this one in the middle in hopes that everyone will immediately forget I said it, but the truth is that while I still hate "The Giants," this particular group of guys is growing on me.

I'm sure most of that is due to their upcoming contest against my least favorite team of all time, but there's something to this team.  It's not just the way they play on defense, it's also the maturation of Eli Manning.  During his interview with Pam Oliver yesterday, I was sort of thinking, "Wow, nice kid." 

Look, I feel bad enough about this already, so you don't need to pile on.  But I do respect what these guys are doing.

For two more weeks.  Then they die again.

Harbaugh is screwed in Baltimore.  I love John Harbaugh.  I stopped watching the coordinators' press conferences this year because while Jim Johnson was still great, Marty and the new special teams guy both bored me to tears.  Better to catch the transcripts.

But as much as Harbaugh seems to be a great communicator and a coach guys love to play for, I'm not sure he's in a position to succeed in Baltimore.  The fundamental problem for that franchise is that the mindset is "win right now," despite the fact that the quarterback is over the hill, the heir apparent probably isn't the long-term answer, and the team is getting old fast at a number of key positions.

Anything can happen from year to year in the NFL.  Heck, this year's Giants team proves that.  But to truly fix that franchise over the long-term, Harbaugh would have to be allowed to strip it down and start over.  I don't think that's going to happen.  So what if he does a great job this year turning things around and manages to carve out a 9-7 -- or even a 10-6 -- season?  That's only going to raise the stakes for the following year, when all the structural problems are going to be even worse.

Somehow, Harbaugh is going to have to reshape a roster and figure out the QB issue, all while managing to improve every year to keep his defensive unit (with their massive entitlement complex) happy. 

That's gonna be tough.

The worst part about yesterday's New York win?  It delays by two more weeks Atlanta's chance to hire away Steve Spagnuolo.  I just hope they don't panic and pull the trigger on someone else.

Along the same lines, it took Green Bay too long to learn that you can't screen the Giants' defense.  They've spent too much time working to stop the Eagles' screen game and they're really, really good at recognizing when it's coming.

Comments

[BrianS]

This is the worst superbowl matchup ever from a "Who do I root for?" perspective. (I didn't care about last year's, so it was just a game I could enjoy)

I'm so sick of the patriots, but I can't bring myself to root for the Giants, even if they are scrappy underdogs.

Favre picked a great time to go back to his gunslinger mentality.

[Gabe from BountyBowl]

I'm with you ten-thousand percent on the Spagnuolo thing. He _really_ needs to get hired by Atlanta. Immediately. Out of the division and soon.

[MSE69]

Wouldnt Stallworth still feel a little uncharitable towards the team that burned him on his way out of town? How did that information about a failed drug test come out anyway? You think they call Eskin direct or do they email him his talking points?

[GFF]

If Belichick thinks so highly of Greg Lewis, package him in a deal for Stallworth.

[Me]

I don't think the Eagles were behind the Stallworth dirt. They didn't expect to have any chance to re-sign him, it was only after the market was semi-weak that they (halfheartedly) got back in.

Nothing Donte has ever said suggested he had any hard feelings. Can't imagine he's all that upset about how things ended up anyway.

As for Glew, if he went to the Pats and turned into Wes Welker 2.0 I just might kill myself.

[slackerjoe]

What a terrible SB matchup.

On the bright side, at least on these teams is guaranteed a loss a week from Sunday!

[Andrew]

Stallworth still has an Eagles jersey hanging in his Patriots lockerroom stall. How much hard feelings could he really have?

The bigger problem is his scumbag agent, Rosenhaus.