The New Special Teams Coach...

The Eagles announced some coaching moves today.  Here's your new Special Teams Coordinator:

Ted Daisher, the assistant special teams coach under John Harbaugh in 2004-2005 and then the special teams coordinator in Oakland and Cleveland since, has returned to assume the role of special teams coordinator here. "Ted broke into the league with us, so I have had the chance to see him coach," said Reid. "Then he moved on and had success in Oakland and for the last couple of years in Cleveland. I had the chance to interview a few guys, and Ted did a great job. Ted became the obvious choice to fill this role."

Wouldn't mind hearing a bit more about this.  Seems like he was yelling at the right people to me...

In re: whether or not the team “ cares ” more than the fans

In article dissing Jeffrey Lurie's comments regarding how bummed Lurie was about the Eagles losing the NFC Championship Game, arguably-"fresh"-but-inarguably-"derivative" local columnist John Gonzalez wrote the following:

The truth is, being part of the Eagles organization is a job for the players and coaches and even the owner - one they get paid handsomely to do. For them, it's a business. Which is fine. It really is.

But for fans here, sports are something radically different. Rooting for the Eagles (or Phillies or Sixers or Flyers) has nothing to do with money and everything to do with our collective identity. It's a passion passed down from parents to children before many kids can walk or talk, read or write. Growing up here means you're part of an exclusive, rabid (sometimes dysfunctional) tribe.

You can't fake your way into something like that. What Lurie and the players and their advocates too often forget is that the fans were around long before they arrived. And they'll be here long after Lurie sells the team and decamps. He may own the club on paper, but not in spirit.

Ultimately, Lurie and the Eagles are merely custodians. They couldn't possibly care as much as the natives. And that's cool. Frankly, it would be unnerving if they did.

Anyway, someone should tell them to abandon the hard sell. No one's buying it. [Emphasis mine.]

Well, I'm buying it.

Especially after reading the following:

“He presented with the back pain the week of the Minnesota game,” Burkholder told Daily News and Inquirer reporters in a hastily arranged call from the San Francisco airport, where Burkholder was changing planes for his trip to the Pro Bowl. “We got him an MRI right after the Giants game, and the MRI looked funny. We thought he was going to have a disc problem, because of the symptoms, but it actually looked like there was a tumor beside this stress fracture in his spine. That alerted our doctors that something else might be going on. They did further testing, further scans, had him see some other doctors, and it looks like the melanoma is back, in his back. It’s manifested itself in a tumor in his spine....

“Thursday and Friday, going into the Arizona game, we were suspicious that he needed more testing. He had more testing done on Monday, when we got back, and that’s what proved for sure that it was cancer,” Burkholder said.

Without going into too much detail, those don't seem like the sort of decisions you make if you don't care deeply about the team and your job.  If anything, I think you could argue that maybe Jim Johnson cared a little too much.  I sure as hell would have taken the weekend off, big client meeting -- or whatever -- be damned (sorry, employer!).

Anyway, I'm sure Eagles fans everywhere will have Johnson and his family in their thoughts.  I sure will.

Oh Man

Philly.com reporting Jim Johnson has cancer; has begun radiation treatments:

This is obviously terrible news.  Now isn't really the time to talk about the team impacts, but this certainly puts a different light on the Sean McDermott discussions from a few weeks ago. 

Somewhat Interesting Signing

Given the Eagles' track record of successfully plucking usable cornerbacks from the bargain bin, you have to be at least a little intrigued by this signing:

Parker, 27, has previously been cut by Dallas and Jacksonville and the Argos would retain his rights if he is cut by the Eagles in training camp. "He and I talked about it. and, as tough as it was emotionally for him to leave, the CFL can't compete financially with the NFL," Parker's agent, Lance Riddle, told the National Post.

Parker was All-CFL in 2006 and 2007, and holds the league record for interception return yardage in a game and for a season. 

Among the more interesting factoids about Parker is that he went to Tulane initially on a basketball scholarship and won the NCAA slam dunk contest -- held at the Final Four each year -- in 2003.

So he can jump and has body control.  Always nice things to see in a corner.

More from the original story:

Parker was heading into the option year of a contract extension he signed with the Argos three years ago, meaning he was free to explore his options in the United States. Toronto had been working to retain him, but sources said his asking price would have shattered the team's salary cap.

The CFL's salary cap will be $4.2-million per team in 2009.

The NFL's projected cap is US$123-million.

"He didn't get what he thought he deserved," Argos general manager Adam Rita said. "He basically decided, and it really had very little to do with us because we couldn't go where he wanted to go. And nobody in our league could."

It took some digging, but I finally found some numbers on the guy.  They're, if true, impressive:

What makes Parker's accomplishments more impressive, though, is that he's played just nine games with Toronto, re-signing with the CFL club in August after being released by the NFL's Dallas Cowboys. The six-foot-one, 196-pound Parker didn't start playing football until his final season at Tulane, where he played for the varsity basketball team and in 2003, captured the NCAA slam dunk title.

"Byron is special in what he brings to the table," said Argos head coach Mike (Pinball) Clemons. "It's amazing because he hasn't done this (play football) for very long."

At Tulane, Parker was used mostly on special teams, starting just one game at cornerback. Predictably, he had a 19-yard interception return in that contest.

"When I was playing basketball, I was always told I was a defensive back but I never believed people," Parker said. "I've always wanted to do something that was going to challenge me and football just seemed to be the right thing.

"I figured I'd give it a shot and it seems to be working out for me so far."

In only his second CFL season, it's not surprising that teams have routinely tested Parker. But the 25-year-old native of Madisonville, Ky., has used his speed - he ran a 4.3-second 40-yard dash at Dallas - and jumping ability - he has 43-inch vertical - to meet those challenges.

Normally you'd say, "Ok, he's 27-years-old, if he was going to make it, he'd have made it by now."  But given how late he picked up the sport, it seems like his growth is right on schedule. 

He sounds like he's a freakish athlete, so -- and no offense intended to the CFL -- his first adjustment is probably going to be learning that he can't just get by on talent with NFL receivers. 

Beyond that, is anyone else reading this stuff and thinking possible return man?  There might be plenty of reasons to lessen the return workloads of Demps and Jackson next year.  Wonder what this guy can do...

Shout out to Jim Johnson

Scary news indeed.

Best wishes to him and his family.

Some Odds & Ends

Don't worry, I'm not totally slacking on the job here.  A couple things are in the pipeline, but not quite ready.  In the meantime, a few things to comment upon in today's coverage:

Really?  From Les Bowen:

A source close to the situation confirmed last night that Doug Pederson, everyone's favorite former Eagles quarterback, is returning to the team in a coaching role. It would seem to make sense that Pederson would coach the quarterbacks, replacing Pat Shurmur, who was just hired to run St. Louis' offense by ex-Eagles assistant Steve Spagnuolo. But indications are that someone else will coach the QBs and that Pederson might just replace "offensive assistant'' Mark Whipple, who left the Birds yesterday after 1 year on the staff to become the offensive coordinator for the Miami Hurricanes.

"Everyone's favorite former Eagles quarterback"?   Hmmm ... no, put me down for Koy, at least until Donovan gets run out of town.

Speaking of Mark Whipple.  I'm really going to miss the guy.  Not that he actually did anything last year.  And not that he's actually sticking around to take a real job on the staff this year.  But this one post I wrote about him at the time of his hiring has been without a doubt the most popular thing I've ever written on this blog. 

I always knew when Whipple's name was coming up in the rumor mill because I'd immediately start to see dozens of incoming visitors from random college message boards.  If the rumors started to heat up, those dozens turned into hundreds.

And once Miami got involved, you could make it thousands.  Man, those people do love their football down there. 

Thanks to all that link love, we're the ol' #2 for Google on that guy.  We'll see how long it lasts.

What they said.  Yeah, Sapp and Sanders can be idiots.  But if even they can see it ...

And from Mariucci:

"They should have beat the Cardinals," Mariucci said. "But you know what, you've got to play the games. Just because you win 48-20 at home doesn't mean you're going to win the next one. At some point, I think they're going to want to have another receiver or two.

"They're good in so many ways, but they need to help Donovan McNabb out. Not to diss the receiving corps in Philadelphia - DeSean Jackson had a nice year - but they need a Pro Bowl guy. Arizona has three 1,000-yard receivers. If you give Donovan something close to that, they win a lot more. He's been carrying that team."

Pretty much.

Finally, the Banner stuff.  Yeah, so it's abundantly clear the local writers really, really don't like Joe Banner.  It's a measure of how well he does his job that the ISWs haven't figured out a way to call for his firing without looking like morons.

But when the writers can't help but say things like: "Eagles president Joe Banner will be on WIP this morning, continuing his trophyless tour of media outlets," you do kind of have to wonder a bit about their ability to see this whole thing objectively.

Anyway, it's same old, same old, for the most part and you can go check that stuff out if you like.  I do want to point out, however, that the new guy seems to be getting progressively less intelligent the longer he's been back.  May want to switch to bottled water for awhile, lest things go even further downhill from here:

Then, just to make sure we all understand, he added: "We believe we're very lucky to have them. The good news is that's overwhelmingly the view of our fans. I know it doesn't always come out that way."

Glad he cleared that up. See, when Eagles fans go on the radio or craft e-mails to complain about the team losing to the Arizona Cardinals, their words just come out wrong. In the past, when they openly lamented that the Birds lost the Super Bowl - when they questioned how Reid and McNabb have performed in pressure situations - it was all a misunderstanding.

Same goes for this space, I suppose. I'm a columnist by trade but an Eagles fan by birth. When I wrote that going 1-4 in NFC championship games isn't good enough, it was a simple mistake. I must have accidentally mashed the keyboard with my hand that day.

What I actually meant to write after the Eagles lost to the Cardinals - a team that's long been an NFL punch line - was something positive. Something like, "Three cheers for Reid and McNabb! Huzzah!"

In order:

1. The most vocal Eagles fans, particularly those who like to hear themselves talk on the radio, are a very, very poor sample for understanding the entirety of the Eagles fanbase.  That's like saying Americans can't stand their new president because of what you heard on Rush Limbaugh.
2. Gonzo himself also does not represent the entirety of the Eagles fansbase, which is why it's possible for your personal opinions to be somewhat different than "the view of [their] fans."  I know, crazy right?  The world doesn't revolve around you.  (You want a second political story -- ok to post because it's the dead offseason and all?  Gonzo reminds me of the Manhattan socialite who said she couldn't understand how Nixon had won since she didn't know anyone who'd voted for him.)  
3. This is going to shock you, but apparently there's actually some statistical support for Banner's contention.  You won't find it in either of the above two stories, but it's here:  "He expanded on his comments to CSN about the popularity of Reid and McNabb. He said the team has been surveying both season ticketholders and those who follow the team closely for six years. Reid and McNabb have '80 plus percent and in some years 90 plus approval ratings.'"

(Oh, and notice how the emails above are "crafted," presumably because they agree with them.)

Gonzo does nail Banner on his messed up John Madden analogy.  Two points given back for that.

In Heaven, The Iggles Win It All Every Year

Ray Didinger's father has died.  Rest in peace.

UPDATE:  Edit made above. 

Unambiguous? Overwhelmingly the view of the fans, huh?

Amidst the curiously significant volume of non-news in re: the Eagles, including a few pieces that I would have considered too much of a stretch for even a blog (that the players don't care because they partied hard after a tough loss; an odd comparison of Eagles and Steelers fans), we have some fresh remarks from team president Joe Banner.

While the full interview won't go public until tonight, CSN has released some excerpts, and it sure sounds like certain people who play certain positions are in the good graces of the senior leadership team these days:

“I thought and still think my answer was unambiguous. We thought that was important to clarify it because you don’t want those things to take on a life,” Banner said. “The reality is, my view and our view is unambiguous, that we can win a championship with those people, and they will be back. We believe we’re very lucky to have them. The good news is, that’s overwhelmingly the view of our fans. I know it doesn’t always come out that way, but Andy is a heck of a coach.”

To summarize, not only do we think Andy and Dunavin are doing a bang-up job, but we've also spoken to some of the customers, and they seem to be cool with these guys being the core features of the 2009 edition as well.

I actually think it's kind of interesting that Banner was so confident regarding the view of the customers.  Do they poll?  Focus groups?  Or just check out the message boards and listen a bit to WIP and call it a day?  "Overwhelmingly" is a strong word.

****

By the way, we personally can't get enough of Paul Domowitch's ongoing class rage in re: NFL ownership and layoffs in various front offices.  Stick it to the man, Domo!  We can't help but wonder how much of this rage is motivated by the precariousness of your own profession.

After further review, a more reasonable (and oddly enthusiastic) take on the recent unpleasantness

Like Andy Reid says, "This is a very sudden thing when you lose in the playoffs."

Certainly for the players and coaches this makes sense, but it also feels a bit sudden for us fans.  Over the past week I've had to go cold-turkey on my daily feeding of Eagles content (the other Eagles blogs, Football Outsiders, the local papers, the team videos, PFT, you get it), and I'd be lying if I said I didn't notice.  With the Eagles out of the playoffs, I really just lost interest.  Could barely make it through the high-end NFL Films highlights on Inside the NFL.  And I wasn't happy about it (I like reading/ watching all that crap).

With time comes acceptance, and now I feel like I have to move on and do things like "start paying closer attention to the rest of the world."  Can't say that's been particularly thrilling, what with the ongoing global economic meltdown, a tough week for my employer, and the bitter cold darkness of winter.  I suppose the inauguration thing was nice, but that was just a brief pause from the aforementioned global economic meltdown.  Should be fun.

Still, a few days off from consuming the content and writing about it has afforded me a bit of clarity regarding the 2008 Eagles.  After losing the NFC Championship Game, I wasn't sure if this season was a success or a failure, or if I was happy or bummed about it.  I mean, I was as pissed about the game as anyone, but that's not the right time to try to assess the full season.  But now I'm there.

May I now present my summary and non-specific (no talk of specific players, games, etc, plenty of time for that later) judgment regarding the 2008 Eagles: inconsistent teams really make for excellent TV shows, and this was both inconsistent and wildly entertaining.

This was not a great team.  Their record and the circumstances that propelled them into the playoffs (a 13.5-point favorite losing at home in Week 17) were fair and to be expected.  9-6-1 sounds like a slightly better than average team.  If the Eagles had been consistently good, they wouldn't have needed such an absurd set of circumstances to get into the playoffs.  But, given the chance, they gave us a spectacular treat: a couple of playoff wins, and a trip to the NFC Championship that was painfully close to working out.  And there was nothing that wasn't awesome about that.

So I think we're allowed to be bummed about all the missed opportunities throughout the season, but maybe the reason the Eagles didn't prevail in some of those winnable scenarios was that they weren't really that much better than their opponents.  They were in the mix throughout, sure, and when the bounces went their way -- say a failed snap by the Vikings, a stop on fourth-and-2 against the Giants -- there was much rejoicing.  But for every bounce that went their way, we can all remember a few that didn't -- fourth-down plays against the Bears and Giants, Quintin Mikell not getting off his block on fourth down against the Cardinals, the ball dropping through DeSean Jackson's hands against the Skins.  We tend to focus on the misses as if the team should expect to convert all of their opportunities, but it doesn't work that way.  There's a bit of randomness in there, and when you're a slightly better than average team, well, you can't expect much more than a random distribution of happy outcomes.  So the Birds were a bit "unlucky" at times, but they also had more than their share of "lucky" moments as well.

In that context, I think the last four weeks were an absolute treat.  Sure, they lost in the NFC Champsionship again, but they also destroyed the Cowboys (in what I hope will be remembered as the "Eagles porn" game), and beat the Giants in the playoffs!  On the road!  The Cowboys still haven't recovered from that loss, by the way, and who among us isn't loving that we get to enter the 2009 season with significant bragging rights versus the Giants?  Also the defense played super cool and Andy Reid had a ridiculous beard!  This is pure goodness.

Despite what they sold us last summer, the Super Bowl was not this team's birthright -- they weren't that good.  But they still almost got there!  As customers, how can we be bummed about that?  Leave the sunk costs -- and deep emotional scars -- of NFC Championships past behind you, and admit that this was all a blast, and certainly a whole helluva lot more than you thought you were getting from this team in November or October.

Like any good drama, this season had a twist and a surprise ending.  It may have been occasionally ponderous and sometimes dreary, but you can't argue with the trick ending.  Thus shall I remember this team fondly: they weren't actually that good, but I sure walked out with a smile on my face.  To borrow a phrase, the Eagles outkicked their coverage a bit, and I really enjoyed watching it.

Administrivia: we'll be mostly dark around here for the next couple weeks, with a bigger announcement looming.  I've got a couple season-review pieces I'd like to post in the next couple days, though.  Bear with me.

More Passing Game Context

Sorry about breaking this thread, but I can't load this picture into the comments of the previous post.

Something to consider in the whole discussion of how much the wide receivers get used where is the historical context of this offense.  I didn't update this chart for the 2008 season, but the percentage number for the wide receiver is about 55 percent.  One of the criticisms from the Domo/Quick school of thought is that the wide receivers are underused in the redzone because they fall from 60 percent elsewhere to about 50 percent of the passing game in the red zone.

However, if you look back at the last few years, you can see that the 55 percent figure is actually a continuation of a recent trend (click for full size):

  

No add-on to the chart, but to compare, here are the numbers for the three groups this year:

Wide receivers - 197 REC - 54.4% 
Tight ends - 67 REC - 18.5%  
Running backs - 98 - 27.1%

For all the crap the tight ends get, it was actually the running backs who were down a bit in this year's offense, presumably because we had to chuck the screen game out the window the second half of the year.

Anyway, no, I don't have historical red zone numbers and no, I'm not planning to dig them up, but all these data are interesting for different reasons.

Here's one:  Is the Eagles' screen game permanently disabled due to the evolution of opposing defensive schemes -- which would be a really bad development -- or is it really all about missing Shawn Andrews?