Iggles Blog - Philadelphia Eagles Blog

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...

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...

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. 

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?

Interesting Perspective, But...

So here I was all ready to take the day off, and then Domo has to come out and attack what is by far my favorite pet theory about the Eagles.  So let's discuss.

Before we get into exactly what he said, a question for you all.  Objectively speaking, where do you think it's easier for receivers (meaning all players in pass routes, not just WRs) to get open?  Is it the middle of the field, where the defense is somewhat stretched out and has to defend not just horizontally, but also vertically? 

Or is it the red zone, where everything's compressed, the passing lanes are much narrower, and cornerbacks can jump routes with impunity, knowing there's no chance the guy's about to zoom past him for a 60-yard touchdown?

Ok, that didn't come out all that objectively ... but I think the answer is really pretty obvious.  In the middle of the field you can do a lot schemewise to get people open.  In the redzone, and especially from 10 and in, it's mostly just about winning match-ups.  (With the understanding that at times a great playcall -- say, play action that fools everyone -- can spring guys as well.)

Now obviously, there are also quarterback effects here as well.  But that's a little outside the scope of what we're discussing here and at any rate, hasn't been much of a problem for McNabb historically (click here, scroll all the way down).

So now, here's Domo's thesis (with annotations):

The Eagles, of course, insist their wide-receiving corps is just fine. And at the risk of being accused of being a house man, I tend to agree.

Their six wideouts - rookie DeSean Jackson, Kevin Curtis, Jason Avant, Hank Baskett, Reggie Brown and Greg Lewis - had 197 receptions in the regular-season, which was the most by that unit in Andy Reid's 10 seasons as head coach. For the first time in the Reid era, the Eagles had four wideouts with at least 30 receptions - Jackson (62), Curtis (33), Baskett (33) and Avant (32).

I'm ok with "fine."

While they have enough talent at wide receiver, though, Reid needs to find a way to maximize it. To borrow his popular line, he needs to put his wideouts in better position to make plays ...

And this is where you lose me.  With the possible exception of using Kevin Curtis more often in the slot, is there really any way in which Andy Reid is not squeezing every last bit of talent out of the wide receiver position?  I mean, you can criticize the big guy for a lot of things, but this is a little like criticizing Wade Phillips for being too hard on his players.

The whole reason this offense works as well as it does is because: A) Reid and Marty find ways to get even Greg Lewis open occasionally, and B) McNabb is so fluent in the offensive system that he can hang back there and make five reads before hitting the open guy.  Anyway...

... particularly in the red zone.

So here's where we get to the crux of the argument.  The Eagles' wide receivers do great in the open field, but not in the red zone, so Reid clearly needs to do a better job calling plays for them down there.  I'll skip the red zone ineffectiveness stats he cites (and which we all know so well) and move on.

"They just don't seem to focus on getting the ball to the wideouts in the red zone," Quick said. "Most of the focus is on trying to get the ball to Westbrook. Or to the tight end. I don't know the reason for that. Whether it's that [the coaches] aren't confident in their abilities in there or they feel safer with throws to Westbrook and the tight end, I don't know."

There are a couple things.  The first is that Westbrook is always the first option, no matter where he is on the field.  But by about the midpoint of the season, it became pretty clear that other teams were going to make someone else beat them down there.  Westbrook became less of a target down there when that happened.

But let's also look at some stats, just to see if they support Quick's observation:

 

I took these from the situational stats on NFL.com.  In the past, I've noticed one or two small issues with those, but they shouldn't change anything here.

Beyond that, these end result stats don't tell us all that much.  They do make it pretty clear that McNabb's not just ignoring his wide receivers inside the redzone.  They go from almost 60 percent of the completions to about half.  It's just that they don't seem to like making those catches in the endzone.  (Unlike, say, Doofus McDoofus, who knew how to make those count.)

The numbers also don't tell us much about the reasons for the shift.  Is it a scheme thing or a "these guys don't get as open down there" thing? 

Baskett, who presumably made the team because his size (6-4) and leaping ability made him an ideal red-zone weapon, had only seven red-zone passes thrown his way all season. He caught four of them, including two for TDs.

"Most cornerbacks aren't even 6 feet tall," Quick said. "When you got a guy like Baskett, who is 6-4 and can jump the way he can jump, you really need to take advantage of him down there."

This is true.  Everyone loves the fade to Baskett.  I'm down with this part, although, you're still only talking about a couple of plays a year.  And see more below.

Other than Baskett and the 6-foot, 212-pound Avant, the Eagles' wideouts aren't terribly big. Critics have suggested that defensive backs are able to be more physical with them in the red zone. But Quick doesn't see that as a problem.

"Again, most cornerbacks are no bigger than those guys," he said. "A lot are smaller. I don't think size is that big a deal down there. I just think you have to put more of an emphasis on getting the wide receivers involved in the red-zone offense. And they just simply don't."

Well, no, it's not just a size thing.  I mean, that's definitely an issue.  The bigger the target, the better, down in the red zone.

But really it's just a "beat the coverage" issue.  It's a lot easier to get open for those seven-yard gains when the defense is sitting back in a cover two shell, taking away the big plays.  It's a lot harder when the guy's up in your grill.

Unless, of course, you're Larry Fitzgerald.  Then it doesn't matter much.

At training camp last summer, McNabb frequently threw fade passes to Baskett during their red-zone reps. But the quarterback threw very few of them to him or any of the other wideouts once the season started.

Some have suggested that McNabb, who doesn't have the greatest touch on the ball, doesn't like throwing fade passes. But Quick doesn't think that's it.

"If you become proficient at it, he's going to feel comfortable throwing it," he said. "When you start to have success with the fade and they start looking for that, then you can run the slant. You just go back and forth on that like most teams do that use it.

Seems like no one's remembering the awful fades to Curtis and Baskett this year that are primarily responsible for putting that part of the playbook away. 

"When Jerry Rice used to catch so many short passes for touchdowns, that's what he would do. They would either put him in motion and run him on that real quick route out into the flat, or, early in his career, he ran a lot of fades, a lot of slants. Because when you start looking for one, it's real easy to run the other one."

Which is great, but it also basically means that in that whole article, the sum total of Quick's suggestions were:  "Run more fades." 

And if you were still playing receiver, Mike, we definitely would.

Bottom line?  Not real convinced.  Although there is one thing Reid could do schemewise that would help fix the redzone passing game.

Fix the redzone running game.

Programming Notes And Thoughts On The Future

So you may have noticed I haven't taken much part in the "now what" discussions that are always so popular after the final meaningful game has been played each year.  That's partly pragmatic.  I was pretty much offline from Friday morning through early Monday when I got home after my (much delayed) redeye flight back.  That left me -- in order -- very tired, very busy at work and quite behind in my parenting duties.

Not too mention somewhat depressed by how this whole thing sorta fizzled out there.

But there are a couple other factors in play here, as well.  The first is that I'm frankly a little worn out.  According to the little equation I just typed into Excel, I started this blog 901 days ago.  In that time, I've churned out 1,408 posts, read through 5,647 comments, and deleted dozens of spam "trackbacks" before I finally realized I should just turn that crap off.

If there were an easy way to figure out how many posts I've written since, say, August, I'd look that up too.  Really though, knowing the exact number wouldn't change the underlying point that it's been a lot.

All of which is to say that things are going to slow down a bit here for awhile.  I don't know how much or for how long, but it will be noticeable.  I'll probably even -- shudder -- skip posting some days, especially once things really slow down at the NovaCare in a week or two. 

I realize this will annoy some of you all.  Sorry about that.  You guys are Eagles fiends (in the best possible way), what can I say.  At least sign up for the feed over there on the right so you can keep tabs without having to stop by every day. 

But there's at least one benefit.  Freed from the need to ALWAYS keep track of and chime in on the DISCUSSION OF THE DAY, I may even have time for more of those long-form analytical pieces that used to be a higher percentage of what we did around here.  So that's cool. 

Also, and I'm not going to say anything publicly until it's actually locked in, since I don't trust this guy to not just go off and start taking sandwich pictures again, but we may have some pretty cool news coming up for the IgglesBlog that's going to make this place even better, by adding a third voice to the current dialogue (me and you).  I'm really looking forward to that and if [insert appropriate and lengthy caveats here] it happens, I think y'all are going to like it too.

With all of that said, you know I'm not going to just head out without making my contributions to the current offseason discussion, so let's hit that now.

- - - - - - -

What I liked about this year's team.  Now that the Eagles lost, it's unfashionable to talk about the positives, but really, there were a lot of them this year.  In no particular order:

1. Donovan McNabb having one of his finest seasons ever at the ripe old age of 32 (an age I'll be exiting this coming Sunday), staying healthy the entire season, and proving you can teach a new dog old tricks by changing the way he plays the position to avoid all those sacks and nasty hits in the pocket he used to take.
2. DeSean Jackson exceeding our wildest expectations for what he could do in his first season as a pro and blasting a permanent hole in the idea that rookie wide receivers can't be big-time threats in this offense.
3. Stewart Bradley for blowing away another Eagles' myth by proving that playmaking linebackers actually do have a heck of a lot of value in this defense.
4. Quintin Mikell for shutting up know-nothing writers like me who focused on things like 40 times and draft position in our worries about his ability to make the transition to starter.
5. Jason Avant for finding his role and seizing it.
6. Dan Klecko for being, if nothing else, one hell of a gamer.
7. David Akers for rediscovering his preternatural ability to kick footballs a very long distance in a very straight line.
8. Todd Herremans for showcasing the value of hard work. 
9. Chris Gocong for finally finding his way to the lightswitch.
10. The entirety of the defensive line rotation.  These guys are fun to watch.  They never, ever give up on play.  How many times this season did we see a guy like Howard or Parker making a tackle 20 yards downfield?  That just doesn't happen on every team out there.

Beyond that, you have to give Andy Reid and his locker room a hell of a lot credit for never giving up this season when all the smart money was saying it was time to pack it in.  Look, it wasn't a perfect season, mistakes were made, blahblahblah.  When the chips were down, these guys showed up and fought for every inch.  This is a very different team than even the 2005 squad was.  And for that we should be grateful.

- - - - - -

What I think we need to do in the offseason ...

... About the offensive line. 

Obviously, the line wasn't good enough this year.  It's hard for those of us on the outside to isolate how much of that was simply the absence of Shawn Andrews, but I think we can rest assured that the people who matter know exactly how well the two old bookends played this season.  If they think they need to make a change, we'll know soon enough.

What's weird, though, is that a lot of people seem to be forgetting the Eagles have 10 offensive linemen on this roster not named Jon Runyan or Tra Thomas. 

I understand the appeal of getting a top-shelf tackle prospect early in the first round, but my sense is that you're really talking about a small percentage of the league's offensive linemen who arrive that way. 

The vast majority of these guys are dudes who have the requisite athletic ability, sure, but who also have 1) the brains to learn complex systems, 2) the willingness to completely rebuild their raggedy college-level techniques, and 3) the desire to work their butts off to get into that starting lineup. 

The reason the Eagles have drafted all those big eaters the last few years wasn't just to stash them on the roster and piss you off.  It was an understanding that the two All-Pros were one day going to retire and they better have some backup plans in place for that point.  So rather than rush out and blow picks on a guy who may or may not pan out, let those half dozen dudes fight it out in the trenches of Lehigh, and let the best men win.

I think there's an added benefit to opening this competition up as well.  If you re-sign Runyan and Thomas -- which might happen and would not be something I'd oppose without more information -- you're basically telling guys like Nick Cole and Max Jean-Gilles and King Dunlap, "The second string is where you're headed this year, so no need to kill yourself this offseason training."  I think the salutory effects of competition could work wonders with some of these young guys who might be the future of this team.  (Particularly for Jamaal Jackson, who should be having the public fires lit under him some time in the next month or so to get him to finally show up in better shape next year.)

Tell me, right now, how upset would you be if the Eagles went into the 2009 season with a starting line of Herremans, Cole, Jackson, MJG and Andrews?  Honestly, I'd find that pretty exciting.  There's a lot of potential there.

... About the wide receivers.

You might find this surprising, but I don't think wide receiver is even a top three need for this offense.  If Jackson works as hard this offseason as he has the past year, this is a pretty good unit. 

Oh sure, I'd love to see another stud out there catching passes from McNabb, but looking around the league, most of the good options seem to be locked up and the guys who may be available are all damaged goods.

Something obviously needs to "happen" with Reggie Brown.  Either he gets with the program or he goes out the door, but either way he's not helping us right now.  And there's no point in using up a roster spot on Greg Lewis.  He's a fine NFL player and by all accounts a good guy -- and yeah, you have to be careful mucking with the chemistry -- but it's time to fill that fifth WR spot with a young guy with a higher ceiling. 

... About the fullback position.

Bring in a guy to make it a competition in camp, but seriously, does anyone out there think Dan Klecko isn't going to be working his tail off this offseason to become a better fullback?  I wouldn't bet against him.

... About the tight end position.

Soooo, Brent Celek.  Again, he's decent enough player.  He catches the balls that come to him and runs hard after the catch.  He even had a very nice postseason run, although the true measure of a player is what he's able to accomplish after the defense starts paying attention to him.

The problem is there's a certain "Dhani Jones halo effect" about him, in that the guy who starts at his position is so universally despised that most Eagles fan think there's no way the new guy could be worse. 

My big issue with Celek, though, is that he's not really great at any one thing.  He's a decent pass catcher and a sub-par run blocker.  Either one of those would be fine in isolation, but together it's not a great combination.  And frankly I'm tired of watching other teams' tight ends slapping around our defensive ends while our guys are getting planted into the turf next to McNabb. 

If Celek's not going to be a great blocker, then why not bring in a more athletic guy who could provide the same lack-of-blocking, but also be a truly exceptional athlete on the route-running side of things?

It seems to me the Eagles need to fundamentally re-think the way they attack the tight end position.  Keep Celek as the #2, fine, but bring in a Manumaleuna-type road grader as your #3, and make a run at an athletic #1 guy who can provide another riddle for opposing defenses' to solve in the middle of the field. 

... About the running back position.

I said it last year and I'm saying it again.  This offense is incredibly dependent upon the home run hitting abilities of its franchise running back.  It's time to bring in another one of those.

I'm not saying we need to take that on in the first round.  As BFH pointed out to me in an email yesterday, the running back position was something of a sure thing in the first half of last year's draft. 

Although I would quibble with the emerging talking point that the Eagles need a "big" back -- had one of those, didn't really work.  What the Eagles need is a home run threat.  A guy who can scare defenses with the five carries a game he's likely going to get, but also step in and be an every-down guy in the games Westbrook can't go. 

I like Buck.  He's a heck of a character guy and a fine running back, but the perfect complement to Brian is a guy who can score any time he touches the ball.  At this stage of his career, Buck isn't that guy.  I'd love to see them keep him, but if he really wants to play a bigger part of an offense, he probably needs to go somewhere else. 

... About the defense.

Honestly, not much.  Bring back Dawk, because they're going to pry those pads out of his cold, dead hands and it would kill us to watch him anywhere else.  Beyond that, draft for depth and find out what we have in this Ikegwuonu character.

I will say, however, that I'm not sure I'm sold on the Akeem Jordan experiment.  The guy did a nice job taking over for Gaither in the regular season, but check out the way he disappeared in the postseason, especially against the two power-running teams. 

Jordan's problem is always going to be his size.  Remember the way Mark Simoneau started out so well, then wore down as the season went on because he wasn't that big?  I'm worried we'll see that again next year from Jordan, which isn't a great thing in a division with Barber, Jacobs and Portis. 

I like Jordan as an Ike Reese type, but we all remember what happened with Reese when he went elsewhere to start.

- - - - - -

Last bit of housekeeping here.  It's been a very long time since I refreshed my blogroll over there on the right.  I wanted to point out Eagles Perch, a new addition to the list, as well Sportsdork, where our friend BFH makes his regular home.  Seriously, check 'em out.

Also, it's ... sigh ... almost baseball season, so it's time to start checking out Balls, Sticks & Stuff again.

Go on, I'll catch up in a few.  I just -- I just need a minute alone with the casket.

Pat Yourselves On The Back

You made philly.com today.

The More Things Change...

Different beginning to a (cold, dark) offseason, same headlines.  Every year.