Iggles Blog - Philadelphia Eagles Blog

A Few Pre-Holiday Thoughts

Quick hitters today...

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Current questions I'd like to ask the coaching staff if only this were that parallel universe in which I had some sort of access:

1. The last couple seasons, you all have really seemed to put a focus on drafting small-school guys who dominated at their level of competition.  Was this just because you thought these guys best fit your draft needs or do you think you've identified (and can exploit) an inefficiency in the player selection marketplace?
2. Has apparent effort and -- for lack of a better term -- "love of the game" become a bigger factor in your player evaluation since 2005?
3. All right, Jim, the world wants to know.  How much 3-3-5 are you going to play this year?
4. Sticking with Johnson, is this the offseason Chris Gocong learns how to rush the passer at the NFL level?
5. As hyper-organized as you guys are, you must already have gameplans in place on the chance that the Kevin Kolb era gets an early start.  Marty, do you have a file cabinet somewhere in your office with a sign that says, "In case of McNabb injury, break glass"? 
6. Last one for the offense, if opposing teams come out this year committed to stopping 1) Westbrook and 2) Curtis, can Reggie Brown make them pay?
7. Rory, the team brought in a number of proven special teams performers this offseason.  How much is it gonna suck if/when most of them don't make the team?
8. If Koy Detmer is so amazing at holding for field goals, why don't teams bring him in as a "Special Holding Instructor" during mini-camps the way the Phillies bring back Michael Jack every season?
9. Which of the super-fast, small-school tweeners do you think is going to make the biggest impact on special teams this year?
10. Andy, last one.  Are you OK with Westbrook having the same workload as last year or would you like to trim his touches, at least during the early part of the season?

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Jason's on vacation so he's got Jay, AKA CavortingEagle, filling in for him this week.  Check out the site if only for the YouTubage of the Eagles' top 10 plays from this season, but Jay also has a post up about the Eagles' defense.  He wants to bag the 3-4 and go right to the 2-5.

I will say this about the Eagles' defensive ends being in coverage.  First, I don't generally think it's that effective.  It works as a surprise move, but if they did it too often, teams would start picking on Trent Cole something fierce.

Secondly, the one legitimate gripe about how Kearse was used in Philly was on this very issue.  I don't remember the citation, but some anonymous player asked a couple years ago why in the world Jevon Kearse wouldn't be rushing the passer on every play.  Given how crummy he was in coverage, I think it's a legitimate question.

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Brett Favre needs to go away.  I understand the regret of never playing again -- ok, I don't totally understand it -- but he needs to realize that he's holding that franchise hostage.  That's a crappy thing to do to a team you dedicated the last decade-plus too.

Nor should Favre take a second act somewhere else.  That's just asking to tarnish the legacy.

Stay home, Brett.

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Bounty Bowl, who's something of an actual expert in these areas, has an interesting post looking at the traffic generated by each of the NFC East team's official websites.  He's got a point about Giants fans.

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Pro Football Prospectus 2008 will be out next week.  I just got an email from Amazon saying my order would be even earlier than they had promised before.

Seriously, for 15 bucks you will NOT find a better primer for the 2008 season. 

I'll have a review when I get my copy, but in the mean time, just follow the link and get the book.  It will be worth it, even if they predict the Eagles to go 6-10.

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I had one more thought here, but as slow as it's been, I better save it for next week. 

Have a great 4th of July, everyone.

Where's The Speed On Defense?

Ok, so first of all, I know I've broken my at least one post per weekday rule a couple of times recently.  Honestly, with work being as busy as its been and Eagles news being as NON-busy as it's been, it's just gotten squeezed.  Only another week or two of the dead NFL time before everything spins up all crazy again.

On to the post...

One of the themes coming out of minicamps this year was all the speed on defense.  A number of players and coaches mentioned it, with a good example being this quote from one of Rich Hofmann's stories:

It will be interesting to see what Reid is looking to emphasize. Because he has talked toughness, yes, but he has also talked speed. The two can go together, but there are limits and there are tradeoffs - because toughness matters but fresh legs matter, too. And he has built a defense that is all about speed.

"Right now [the defense] looks fast," Reid said. "I want to see how that works out when we put the pads on. It's all good with shorts on, but we've got a lot of work ahead of us. We're going to get out there in the grinder and see how they maintain that."

He's making a larger point there about how hard Reid typically pushes his guys in training camp.  We haven't quite been able to figure out why the Eagles are such notoriously slow starters, with Hofmann suggesting that it could be an issue of tired legs. 

Maybe, maybe not, but the point I want to focus on is the speed issue.  Are these guys really that fast?

Starting in the secondary, you have to say no, right?  Lito Sheppard is certainly quick -- when he's healthy -- but neither of the other two "starting cornerbacks" is known as a burner.  They may look fast compared to the rest of the defense, but they're not fast in comparison to the universe of NFL cornerbacks.

Brian Dawkins used to be a guy with great speed, but now it's more about awareness and years of practice with good angles.  And the one thing we know for sure about Quintin Mikell is that he's not fast.

So no, it's not a super fast secondary.

Moving to the linebackers, it's tough to see this as a unit with great speed either.  After all, that's what happens when you wait a few rounds to draft these guys.  All the workout warriors are gone by then. 

Just going by what I can find on the web, I see Omar Gaither at 4.78, Stewart Bradley at 4.71, and Chris Gocong at 4.70.  Compare those times to the top performances for LBs at the 2008 combine and you can see that they're hardly elite.

Now obviously, 40 time isn't the only measure of a guy's speed.  For example, Poz came out of Penn State last year without great straight line times, but he was a monster in the other agility drills that test short-range quickness and change of direction ability.  But as an easy-to-compare metric, it seems pretty obvious that this isn't a super-fast linebacker corps. 

Whether or not that matters is an entirely different question.  I tend to think that once you're "fast enough" -- which these three guys clearly are -- then what matters if is you can play football.  Furthermore, I like seeing a linebacking corps with a little bit of size.  I'm tired of the Matt McCoy / Mark Simoneau types who can't hold up at the point of attack over the course of a full season.

Nonetheless, it's not a fast unit (unless you mean in comparison to the past few years of Kirkland, old Trotter, etc. -- then it's faster if not actually fast).

Which finally brings us to the line.  And I think this is the group everyone's talking about when they're looking at speed.  Bunkley, Patterson, Law and Reagor are all quick, rather than big defensive tackles.  Cole and Parker are both fast, undersized ends.  All the new guys they brought in to rush the passer are in the same mold.  Even Darren Howard should be faster this year now that he's dropped all that weight to come in with more of a Michael Strahan type of frame.

So yeah, this unit is loaded with speed.  Which is great and all, but since in the mini-camps you aren't actually allowed to block these guys, how much does that even matter?

Ramsey Story Comes to Light

G Cobb had been confused about the Ramsey release as well.  Unlike me, he has actual sources, and his have told him the following:

Former Eagle LaJuan Ramsey didn't think he had a future with the Birds, when they drafted Notre Dame defensive tackle Trevor Laws in the second round.   With that in mind, he approached the Eagles coaches and asked to be traded.  They did even better than that by releasing him.

Another note.  Some of the commenters are off in Blame Banner For Everything Land, but a few actually give the team its due for doing right by a guy who -- barring injury -- wasn't going to make the final roster.

Maybe it doesn't always pay off to be nice, but it's the right thing to do.  One of the reasons I like this coaching staff.

Searching For A Narrative

One of the weird things about this upcoming season is that the narrative hasn't yet been established.  If you go back the last few years, it's easy to remember what the story heading into the season was:

2007 -- McNabb's healthy again and ready to lead a playoff-caliber team deeper into January
2006 -- Putting the train wreck behind us
2005 -- Getting back and winning it all
2004 -- TO means SB
2003 -- We have to win one of these, right?
2002 -- Now it's our turn
2001 -- Young team on the rise

Now, obviously, we haven't gotten a lot of those right (although the early misses were closer), which demonstrates just how meaningless the preseason narrative can be.  But that doesn't mean it's not important, since it shapes fans' perceptions of the team, establishes a baseline for success, and can even have an impact on the field.

So let's take a moment to examine a few competing storylines to see if we can't determine what this year's story will be.

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It's Just Not Our Year (or Things Fall Apart)

There's a lot going for this one -- and not just because it's never our year.  I'm not overly impressed by the Giants, but they're not easy for us to beat even when they aren't good.  The Redskins' offense is worrisome.  And the Cowboys are the obvious preseason NFC pick.  Closer to home, you really need everything to go right the year you win it all, and let's be honest, things with McNabb are never going to be totally right again.  He's one more injury from never wearing green again and a run of bad early season losses would have the town clamoring to see what the new kid can do.  Add in the declining vets at keystone positions and the ongoing saga of Lito Sheppard and by December we'll be trying to figure out if there are scenarios for a 7-9 team to make the playoffs.  Then we'll lose the last game and it won't matter anyway.  6-10 and one unhappy fan base.

Chance of happening:  10 percent

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Running In Place

The Eagles aren't a bad team by any means, but they just sort of seem to be stuck in neutral.  Every year it's the same faces at Lehigh, a couple of free agent additions aren't changing the culture around here, and while it's a nice little team, they really don't do much beyond winning the games they should.  Also, McNabb gets hurt again.  We're looking at 9-7 with a possible early playoff exit.

Chance of happening:  20 percent

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Two Steps Forward, No Steps Back

You get to this one just by playing the game of " Worse / Better / Same."  Figure Westbrook reverts to the mean a little bit after a truly extraordinary couple of seasons.  Kevin Curtis is a little worse after defensive coordinators take a summer to gameplan for him.  The pairing of Bradley / Gaither at middle / weakside isn't as good right away as Gaither / Spikes.  Most of the rest of the team is in the "same" category, with the exception of Dawkins, McNabb, Runyan and Herremans (healed from injuries); Asante and Lawton (free agent), and special teams and defensive line (experience and new talent).  Possible injuries to important guys like Trent Cole are always the unknowable wild card, but the roster does seem stronger this year than it did in 2007.  Unfortunately, the lack of a big-time playmaker to complement Westbrook means the team has to do everything right to win in January, and that's a lot to ask.  That makes it 11-5 and one more NFC Championship game loss for McNabb and Co.

Chance of happening:  30 percent

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TO Take Two

Joe Banner pulls off the deal of the century and one of the veteran, playmaking wide receivers falls into our laps, giving this team the boost it needs to finally get over the hump.  Lovely picture, but unfortunately the odds look worse every day.  11-5 and on to the Super Bowl.

Chance of happening (today, but stay close):  5 percent

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Westbrook Wills The Team Onward

Brian Westbrook is the best football player I've had the pleasure of rooting for since Reggie White (sorry, Dawk, it's close).  This is the year he goes from "truly great" to "historic" by imposing his will on opposing defenses and simply refusing to lose.  From the 32-carry game against the Cowboys to the two late punt returns against the Giants, Westbrook amazes us all.  The turning point comes in after a 1-1 start that includes a pasting at the hands of the Cowboys.  Down 14-0 early against the Steelers, Westbrook roams the sideline, challenging every member of the defense to "Man the #@!*% up and stop someone after we score a touchdown here."  They do and four months later we're booking flights to Tampa.  Sadly, two weeks of gameplanning is enough for Belicheat to figure out how to stop Westbrook.  Lito catches a 50-yard bomb for the team's sole touchdown and Boston Wins Again.

Chance of happening:  10 percent (If he were the QB, rather than "just" a running back, this would be higher)

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The Second Coming of Donovan McNabb

All the drama -- some self-imposed, most not -- doesn't change the fact that Donovan McNabb is one heck of a football player.  The problem with McNabb isn't that he's old.  He's not over the hill in any way, shape or form.  (See this analysis of veteran QB performance I did last year for a much more in-depth take.)  The problem with McNabb is that he can't stay healthy.  Now that he's two years removed from knee surgery, this is his chance -- and he's going to take it.  McNabb's MVP season is enough to finally get the Eagles over the championship hump, forever establishing the QB's legacy in this town ... until the next season when he gets hurt again and the Eagles finally ship him out for a second rounder.

Chance of happening:  25 percent (but only because of the health issues -- if McNabb stays healthy, this chance doubles) 

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A boy can dream, can't he?

Gone Golfin'

Catching a flight here in a little while for a long weekend, so won't be around tomorrow.  In the meantime, here are two interesting links:

Football Outsiders looks at what happens to teams that gain or lose top offensive linemen

Alternate Eagles' offseason (Dork alert -- NFL Head Coach 08)

LaJuan Ramsey Picked Up By Niners

Apparently we're not the only ones to find the LaJuan Ramsey cut to be a little puzzling.  According to this 49ers blog, not only was Ramsey claimed by San Francisco, but the Giants and Patriots also attempted to get him:

This has been making the rounds, but the for those who missed it, the 49ers made a successful waiver claim of LaJuan Ramsey, a third year defensive tackle from the Philadelphia Eagles.  Apparently the Giants and Patriots also made claims, but are craptastic record last season got us in ahead of them.

My guess continues to be that this move was made for non-football related reasons.  The Eagles are pretty good at DT, but they're not that good.

Mailbag and Radio Alert

Couple of public service announcements. 

First off, I'll be on the radio again tonight, 950 ESPN at 8:25 pm.  The NBA pregame won't even have started by that point, so come over and check it out.    

Secondly, I'm thinking it's time to do another mailbag.  Long-time readers will remember the first IgglesBlog mailbag from last summer.  Reader interest was so high I even had to split all the questions across a second day...

But since there are approximately 10 times as many of you all as there were a year ago, I'm thinking this time we might be able to split the work, and I'll only have to come up with the answers. 

It may not work, but hey, let's give it a shot. 

Any thoughts about topics you think haven't been covered on the radio would be welcome as well.  The only problem with not making a complete fool of myself a couple weeks ago in my first go-round is that now I'll be expected to again not screw things up.  That's pressure.

Happiest Man in Philadelphia

Would be our own Jon Runyan after hearing the news of Michael Strahan's retirement.

A Few Crummy Thoughts

Should Donovan McNabb be saying things like this about anyone:

Earlier yesterday, McNabb offered his thoughts on the NBA Finals. Like nearly everyone, it seems, McNabb likes the Lakers. "But if Pau Gasol plays as soft as he played against San Antonio," the Celtics could win, McNabb said.

These stories were right next to each other:

The new Darren Howard ready to work for Eagles
Funny how moments earlier, Howard, who is entering his ninth pro season and third with the Eagles after leaving New Orleans via free agency, had to exchange the T-shirt he was given (an XXL) by the team to wear to a playground dedication because of the tight fit. "Too big up here, anymore," he said, flexing his upper body. He is now a chiseled 255 pounds, about 15 lighter than last year's playing weight.

NFL: Patriot linked to drug probe
A starting offensive lineman for the New England Patriots worked as an informant for federal drug agents after he was arrested in New York on a charge of carrying the powerful painkiller oxycodone without a prescription, an attorney said.

Finally, 40.9 percent (at 11am) of Eagles fans are true optimists, and I love them all for it. 

Crummily, I picked one to five.

What Actually Matters

First, some housekeeping.  I don't get 'em all right (see notably: Samuel, Asante), but you have to admit, no one's given you better offseason Scott Young coverage than the IgglesBlog.  Guess he saw the writing on the wall too:

Eagles coach Andy Reid ... received the same warning from Young's agent, Jeff Courtney, but still seemed miffed about the decision of his fourth-year guard from Brigham Young. Reid said he didn't know why the second-string guard wasn't in attendance.

Young, a fifth-round draft choice in 2005, is entering the final year of his contract and is scheduled to be paid $520,000 this season. After playing in 12 games in 2006, he dressed for just one game last season. If his intent is to get released, he may have helped his cause.

A little surprised a career backup is holding out, though.  Reid seems like the kind of guy who's willing to help out a player he respects by getting him into a good situation.  But not if you annoy him first. 

Maybe the agent had already asked for a trade and been shot down, though.

As for the big news from minicamp, I'm not sure it's Lito Sheppard's holdout.  I mean, of course it's the big NEWS, so let's not all start emailing Eagles beat writers again, but in the end, I wonder if this:

The mystery of Young's absence should be solved someday, but the far bigger story yesterday was that cornerback Lito Sheppard decided to boycott at least the first day of this camp at the NovaCare Complex.

Everybody noticed that, but no one should have been surprised.

"It's a voluntary camp," Brown said. "I know he's working out. He's working out with me, so he's cool."

Will end up mattering as much as this:

After finishing last season with a league-low 19 takeaways, Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson is stressing getting to the ball in these minicamps. In fact, the defensive players are required to pick up the football and sprint with it even after incomplete passes.

"I don't know who started that, but it's getting on my nerves," safety Brian Dawkins said. "No, I'm just kidding. It's different. To me, it's all a part of conditioning also. You get to the ball and you pick it up. It's about practicing turnovers and picking them up and scoring. At the same time, it's about having a good time. You're supposed to have a good time on the defensive side of the ball."

Think about it this way.  In the last four seasons, Lito has averaged four interceptions a year.  (Some of which have been painfully huge.)  Joselio Hanson, on the other hand, has averaged, well, zero.  He's played a fair amount during that time, but let's say for the sake of argument that if Lito leaves, Hanson will probably manage at least one INT in 2008.  So with all the brouhaha over Lito leaving, we're talking about a net of about minus-three turnovers -- arguably.

If turnovers are actually something you can coach -- if they're not just about playing good football, but also having a "take it away" mindset -- it's not such a stretch to think that all this effort in the offseason to get guys to focus on ripping the ball away at all costs could easily overcome that minus-three we get from losing Sheppard.

Here's the other key point there.  I don't want to lose Lito Sheppard.  Both as a fan -- I love watching him play -- and as a hopeful passenger on the Eagles Super Bowl Train, I have no desire to see him get shipped out of town.

But consider where losing Sheppard would hurt:

• Is it against the Cowboys? You'd say yes because of his history and how much talent they have, but assuming Chad Johnson stays out of Texas, Dallas doesn't really have a second wide receiver who scares people. It's more about Owens and Witten.
• It's not the Giants, where the Eagles just need to figure out a way to stop Burress. That's on Asante.
• It could be Washington, which has two receivers who give the Eagles some trouble and also loaded up on that position in the draft. But this year the rookies may not be too scary.

Now, obviously, I'm assuming away injuries and it never hurts to have a guy like Lito playing for you.  But you could at least make a case that the Eagles can get through the NFC just fine without him.

But then they could run into Indianapolis (Harrison, Wayne, Clark) or New England (Welker, Welker, Welker) in the Super Bowl.

And that might suck.