Oh, Those Experts

Just like to point out that the answer to the primary question posed here was a resouding no.  No one was dumb enough. 

For posterity's sake, you can find the experts' takes here.  They seemed to think lots of people would be dumb enough.  I find it somewhat comforting that Brandt was not among the breathless ones.

Everything Ends In The End

Yes, it sucks that Brian Dawkins' skills have declined to the point the Eagles felt it was time to move on.  Dawk was, is, and forever will be The Man.  No one in Philly is happy that this day has come.

But it's one thing to be bummed about the situation.  It's quite another to direct all that emotion back at the organization in the form of a foot-stamping temper tantrum.

Here's an extremely tame version:

No one knows what the Eagles offered but you have to assume they did make an offer -- based upon Reid's stated optimism at re-signing Dawkins, if nothing else. And if they did make an offer, it means they did want him. The fact that Dawkins went to Denver means that the Eagles wanted him, but only on their terms. That just isn't good enough, not for a franchise with so much money it cannot possibly spend it.

Well, no, it doesn't necessarily mean that at all.  Maybe the Eagles really didn't want Dawk back, but they felt -- for a variety of reasons -- that they had to make him an offer.  If they intended to give him a hint, he sure took it.

The other specific issue there is that the Eagles (reportedly) offered a one-year deal.  Dawk wanted something longer term.  That's also not just about money.

Here's the bottom line.  We all want the organization to do everything it can to put the best possible team on the field.  That's what all those people who consistently say that nothing other than a Super Bowl win matters.

So why does that go out the window, just because the Eagles ended up letting your favorite player go?  Are they supposed to put the best possible team on the field at 21 positions, but grandfather in the free safety?  How long are they required to keep a guy they no longer feel can get the job done, just because he's really, really popular?

Do you want them to keep the guys you like or do you want them to win a Super Bowl?  You can't have it both ways.

Now certainly one could argue the point of just how effective Dawk still can be.  Despite some limitations, he had a pretty good year.  But you're kidding yourself if you think he's remotely the same player he once was.  (Watch a Redskins game next year and keep an eye on LaRon Landry.  That's what Dawk used to be.)

And for those who say his value goes beyond his on-field performance, you're right.  Dawk is one heck of a person, leader and mentor.  I even changed "hell" to "heck" in that last sentence out of respect for his personal aversion to cursing.

The problem is that leadership really only goes so far.  And the Eagles have other leaders.  Are they all of the stature of Dawk?  No.  But, collectively, they're good enough to get the job done. 

Emotions are pretty raw right now, so I'll stop before tying this into my larger theory of the rampant woe-is-meism of modern fans.  But the key point here is that this was a football -- not a business -- decision and if you want to scream at the organization about it, you're basically arguing the Eagles should have entered next season NOT doing everything they think they need to do to win.

If you're ok with that, great.  I'd rather win a Super Bowl.

Yes, even as much as it would suck to do it without #20.

So, Does This Make Holt Seem More Likely?

If this is true, it's hilarious:

Sources have told Gunn that Houshmandzadeh's agent, Kennard McGuire, called the Eagles on Friday and claimed his client was willing to sacrifice salary in order to play in Philadelphia.

But after doing their due diligence, the Eagles discovered that McGuire was actually asking more from them than he was from other teams.

Go figure.

The Eagles, who had little interest in Houshmandzadeh to begin with, told McGuire they’re not interested in the 31-year-old, eight-year veteran.

Seems like the Eagles are the last team you'd try to pull something like that on.  That agent better just hope Joey B. doesn't send someone to break his legs.

Lito's In Play

From the ESPN NFL blog:

Rich Cimini of the New York Daily News reports the New York Jets are far enough along in working out a trade for Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Lito Sheppard that the two-time Pro Bowler will visit the Jets' headquarters Saturday.

That's a pretty sexy bulletin for a team trying to get over the hump and fulfill their new head coach's brash prediction of a Super Bowl within a couple years.

Imagine a cornerback duo of Sheppard and Darrelle Revis. The rest of the AFC East would rather not.

Still Hope

"The San Francisco Chronicle has reported that the team has agreed to terms with Philadelphia safety Brian Dawkins and that a press conference will be held Saturday. However, a source close to the situation said no press conference has been set. Dawkins could be headed to Denver but the deal is not done yet."

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nflnation/0-5-544/Broncos-working-to-close-out-several-deals.html

It's been two hours, with no confirmation.  This is still in play.

UPDATE:

DAWKINS NOT DONE IN DENVER

Contrary to reports linking free-agent Eagles safety Brian Dawkins to the Denver Broncos, Adam Schefter of NFL Network reports that the deal "definitely" isn't done.

"He's in the air, on plane, not even in Denver yet," Schefter says. Earlier in the day, David White of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that an agreement was reached.

IgglesBlog to Acquire BountyBowl

Combined offering to create leading independent voice of Eagles-themed commentary, homecooked stats, snarky jokes about Philly media

PHILADELPHIA, Penna. -- February 27, 2009 -- IgglesBlog today announced it will acquire BountyBowl for $2.43 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $2.43. 

“The Eagles blogging business is evolving at an incredible pace, moving increasingly toward highly specialized and niche offerings, and readers are looking for hard-core football analysis as well as cheap jokes at the expense of beleaguered local sportswriters,” said Derek, chief executive officer of IgglesBlog. “We recognize today’s announcement comes at a difficult time for the media industry as a whole, but we see tremendous synergies through this acquisition, mainly resulting from the fact that we used to have just me writing the stories.  Now we'll have someone else doing it sometimes too.  That'll be nice.  I guess." 

The acquisition enables IgglesBlog to strengthen relationships with the seven readers of BountyBowl who don't also read IgglesBlog.  These incremental seven readers -- mostly friends and family of BountyBowl -- are essential to the future growth and development of IgglesBlog, especially as IgglesBlog seeks to target advertising to the coveted related-to-BountyBowl demographic.  The acquisition also provides IgglesBlog with a broader and richer base of content, including both Eagles-related articles and photos of food.   

Founded in 2007, BountyBowl is the leading provider of Donovan McNabb misspellings and snarky potshots at local Philly sports beat writers.  BountyBowl has never quite gotten over the Eagles teams of his youth, which, despite the fact that they never actually won anything, did a great job of injuring the opposition.  BountyBowl also likes justifying his aberrant behavior during Eagles games by referring frequently to his "sports feelings," which he considers to be valid emotions and which he believes legitimizes "shouting at the television."   

“BountyBowl’s mission has been to leverage the power of the Internet to call otherwise honest and hardworking journalists names and make snide remarks about Andy Reid's wardrobe,” said Gabe, chief executive officer of BountyBowl. “IgglesBlog has been a pioneer in independent Eagles journalism, offering data-driven analysis as well as passionate support of the team, and we look forward to combining forces and bringing the value of our combined assets to bear for the benefit of Eagles fans, or at least the hard cases that are as addicted to this nonsense as we are.”

“Combining the talented people and resources of these two companies will make IggleBlog at least 8 percent more interesting, mostly on days that I have other sh*t to do,” said Derek. “Joining the capabilities of these two organizations is an important step toward our goal of becoming an industry-leading source of Eagles commentary.  Plus, I totally have a kid now and there are going to be days where I can't get away with churning out 2,500 words on how Chris Gocong is doing in pass coverage.”

The deal is expected to be completed in the “next couple days,” pending regulatory and shareholder approvals.  The acquisition is not expected to have a significant impact on the financial guidance previously issued by the Company.

BountyBowl, which has approximately 1 employee, will continue to operate from its New York headquarters as part of IgglesBlog’s New York operations. 

About BountyBowl
BountyBowl was this blog that this dude made because he really really liked the Eagles and probably always secretly wanted to be a sportswriter.  You may have stopped by once or twice on Derek's generous recommendation, but we wouldn't be shocked if you never bothered.  BountyBowl's address is www.bountybowl.com.

About IgglesBlog
IgglesBlog is the leading independent source of Eagles commentary on the Internet, and was named one of the top nerdy football blogs by Football Outsiders, which is itself a nerdy football blog.  It's pretty solid.

Holy $#@!, He Signed In Denver

Up until the minute I read this, I just really didn't think it would happen:

After 13 years with the Eagles, safety Brian Dawkins will have a new home.

David White of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Dawkins has agreed to terms with the Broncos.

Dawkins, 35, had said during the season that he thought he'd work out a deal to end his career in Philly.  It could still happen, but only after a stint with the Broncos. 

Jason Brown Still Available

According to PFT in exile (and I'd be lying if I didn't admit I'm enjoying the fact that all those ad eyeballs are flushing down the drain since they can't keep their site up) semi-coveted C/G Jason Brown is at the dance, he's ready to dance ... but only the ugly girl wants to dance:

The good news for center/guard Jason Brown is that the St. Louis Rams are willing to pay him $7 million per year.

The bad news for center/guard Jason Brown is that no one else is.

A league source tells ProFootballTalk.com that Brown doesn't want to play for the Rams, and thus wants someone/anyone to step up and match the offer St. Louis has made to him.

Per the source, Brown was hoping that the Ravens would match the number that the Rams put on the table.  But the Ravens haven't, and apparently won't.

Other teams are interested in Brown, but not at the same level that Rams have demonstrated.

It's funny, we always hear before free agency, "Oh, this guy's a big name, he's going to get lots of offers, we should go after him," even though half the time we either haven't heard of him or don't really know much about him.

Clearly the Eagles don't think he's the next LeCharles Bentley.

Or maybe they do.

At any rate, I feel better now not having heard of this guy before a week ago.

Bowen Has Andrews Updates

Someone went to the airport:

Andrews, 27,  the brother of Eagles right guard Shawn Andrews, said the prospect of playing alongside his brother was thrilling.

"That would be great. It'd be a great feeling. It'd be a boost for Shawn and me, (and) the organization. It's something I'm looking forward to .. It'd be great to be playing right beside my brother, dominatin' over there.

"It was something we've been talking about every since we first got to the league" in the 2004 draft, he said. Shawn went from  Arkansas to the Eagles in the first round, Stacy went from Ole Miss to the Bengals in the fourth...

He said he will be ready for the start of training camp.

Longest-Tenured Eagles

Right now, with Tra, Runyan, Buck and Dawk out of the fold, your top five:

1/2. McNabb/Akers

3/4/5. Westbrook / Lito / Sheldon

Pardon me for a minute.  Grandpa's gonna go make himself a cup of tea.