Iggles Blog - Philadelphia Eagles Blog

So No, We Shouldn't Be Mad At Andrews

From Eagletarian:

Shawn Andrews says not to believe any of the salacious rumors about his absence from the Eagles. Don't even believe the more mundane "speculation that I just don't want to go to camp," Andrews said in a phone conversation with the Daily News from his home in Arkansas Monday afternoon.

"I'm willing to admit that I've been going through a very bad time with depression," the Eagles' two-time Pro Bowl right guard said. "I've finally decided to get professional help. It's not something that blossomed up overnight. I'm on medication, trying to get better."

Andrews didn't want to go into the origins of his depression, which he said began a little more than a year ago and steadily worsened. "I really was kind of at my end," he said. "I've really had a lot on my mind, really (been) contemplating a lot of things."

Fine.  Glad things seem to be working out now, for him.  There isn't a single Eagles fan out there who's going to hold any ill will toward Andrews now that the situation is out.

Which is why I'm calling BS on this part:

Andrews has been reading some of the comments fans have made online about his situation.

"I don't expect sympathy," he said. "I know there are harsh people in this world, but dang, that made me feel low. I do care what people think about me, to an extent."

Shawn, if you'd told us what the problem was you would have had everyone's sympathy right off the bat.

And sure, you can say it's nobody's business but his own, but:

1. That's not the way professional athletics works.  It's not like Andrews could have just shown up next week, declined to talk about what the problem was, and assumed everyone would just drop it.  Not gonna happen.
2. For every guy who has a serious challenge like this and just needs some time to get things together, there are 25 who are pissed about their contracts, don't want to work out in the heat, or accidentally slipped on a McDonald's wrapper and lacerated their arms. 

We were just playing the odds, dude.

Football Season Is Here

It's a sign of the current sports world pecking order that I spent far more time last night watching an NFL preseason game so meaningless the Colts held out 14 mostly uninjured players rather than an important midseason clash between the Phillies and Cardinals. 

I caught some of the last couple innnings, but I'm guessing I wasn't the only one with misplaced priorities.

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Stewart Bradley really is the guy.  I thought there was at least a decent chance this year that Bradley would go through the season being somewhat protected, much like what the Eagles did with Chris Gocong last year.  That really doesn't seem to be the case, though, since we're still learning things like this:

Linebacker Stewart Bradley practiced with the first-team dime defense as the lone linebacker, a role he's adjusting to.

"It's working the communication with the safeties," Bradley said. "It's like your regular defense, but just with a lot of safeties in there. You have to make sure everything's straight."

On my list of things to watch for in preseason, Bradley's coverage skills are right up there. 

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Speaking of the preseason...  Friday night's game against the Steelers will be shown live on NFL Network (in HD).  Other national game times and channels:

Thursday, Aug. 14
Carolina Panthers -- 8:00 PM (FOX)

Saturday, Aug. 23
New England Patriots -- 7 a.m. (NFLN HD)
New England Patriots -- 1 p.m. (NFLN HD)

Wednesday, Aug, 27
New England Patriots -- 8 p.m. (NFLN HD)

Saturday, Aug, 30
New York Jets -- 11 a.m. (NFLN HD)

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And while we're at it, here's my full list:

1. McNabb's mobility and command (duh)
2. Special teams coverage and return units
3. Kolb's progression
4. Bradley in coverage
5. DeSean Jackson returning punts
6. DeSean Jackson playing wide receiver
7. Chris Clemons as a pass rusher
8. Darren Howard to see if all the hype is for real
9. Trevor Laws' and Dan Klecko's ability to get penetration
10. Who plays where on the offensive line once the starters go out

And of course my own personal #11:  Tony Hunt's overall performance.

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As I've said before, I don't really get the whole 'Bash Spadaro' thing.  With that said, he does have a tendency to just assume stuff away:

DeSean Jackson, after seeing him in the spring and now in training camp, appears ready to make an impact.

Jackson is a threat every time he is on the field because of his down-the-field speed and his explosiveness with the ball in his hands...

The size isssue isn't one for Jackson. He has superb hands, great body control and the ability to change direction as well as anyone the Eagles have had in a long, long time at receiver.

Ok, but none of what follows explains why the highlighted sentence is true.  All of that may be so, but we still have to worry about the little guy getting his head taken off out there.

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I had no idea Ryan Moats was so interesting.  I was searching for more info on the P90X traing regimen that Akers is so fired up about and came across Moats' page on pe.com.  Follow that link, then click the "personal" tab. 

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Want to know today what everyone will be complaining about tomorrow?  Here ya go:

"Lurie is scheduled to give his state of the team address after practice today."

Just One Long Conversation

News fly around so fast during training camp, there really isn't much point in focusing on any one issue.  So let's just keep the conversation going.

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Following up on at that Booker point from a couple days ago.  First, here's Andy Reid on the issue:

On how RB Lorenzo Booker and WR DeSean Jackson are fitting into the scheme so far: "Book is doing very well. He's a real smart guy, and I had mentioned this before that RB Brian Westbrook picked this thing up as fast as any running back that I'd been around in this system, and Booker seems to be doing the same thing. He's a fast learner. And then he knows he's playing with a great player, a couple of great players with (RB Correll) Buck(halter) and Brian, and he's willing to learn from those guys. And if a young guy is willing to learn, normally the veteran player will help them out. If it's a rookie that's stubborn, they kind of shy away from sharing things with him. Listen, he's come out here and he's made plays.

Sounds pretty definitive.  Andy Reid's not someone to blow smoke up a guy's tailpipe for no reason.  But wait, there's more:

Though used in a wide variety of institutions, the Wonderlic test has become best known for its use in the NFL pre-draft assessments of prospective football players.

This assessment roughly corresponds to examples from Paul Zimmerman's The New Thinking Man's Guide to Pro Football. According to Zimmerman, examples of average scores for each position are:

• Offensive tackle - 26
• Center - 25
• Quarterback - 24
• Guard - 23
• Tight end - 22
• Safety - 19
• Linebacker - 19
• Cornerback - 18
• Wide receiver - 17
• Fullback - 17
• Halfback - 16

And we just so happen to have many 2007 draftee Wonderlic scores available right here.  Current/former Eagles on that list:

RB Lorenzo Booker 17/23
FB Nate Ilaoa 22/30
TE Brent Celek 24/28
DE Victor Abiamiri 27/33
LB Stewart Bradley 30
S C.J. Gaddis 23

I think the PFP guys may need to mark that one down as bad information.

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One more interesting Wonderlic result.

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This Shawn Andrews saga is really starting to test my patience.  One minute it sounds like a holdout.  Then it's emotional problems.  Then he let himself go and blew out his waistline.  Then we're back to money.

I felt kind of bad about this when it then seemed like maybe the guy actually had a problem that wasn't measured in dollar signs.  Now I don't know what to think.

Someone, please, tell me how to feel.  Right now I am seriously pushing the limit of how long I'm allowed to reserve judgment while still calling myself a blogger.

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More from Andy on rookie safety Quintin Demps:

On what he sees in S Quintin Demps: "I've been happy with Demps. You can see that first of all, he had a lot of interceptions in college and you always want to see if that carries over to the pro game. In these practices here, you see him getting his hands on the ball and making catches. Now, we've got him playing both corner and safety, and he's able to handle that mentally and physically and that makes him a valuable guy as long as he can continue to improve in those areas. Then the rest of the rookies are doing great. I think they've been working their tail off and they're playing very well out here."

I'm telling you right now:  J.R. Reed is not going to get cut to make room for a fifth cornerback.  Demps is going to be the swing guy and fill in as the emergency corner from his safety position. 

Of course, then it becomes an interesting question as to who gets deactivated each week. 

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In regards to Hank Baskett:

On how he plans to use WR Hank Baskett in the upcoming season: "Again, you're dealing with a smart guy there. That gives you a little flexibility with what you can do with Hank. He's playing very well right now and he's catching the ball real well. We're seeing him go up and the quarterbacks just put the ball up. He's covered, they put the ball up and he goes and gets the thing. He can about jump out of the house. He's got a great vertical jump and he's utilizing that better. He looks to me stronger than what he's been in the past and he's got that big body to go with it. He's playing very well right now."

Two-parter on this one, in reverse order.  Hank seems to be having an outstanding camp.  Last year, whether it's because he was out of position a lot or because he came into the season thinking he'd arrived or just because it was one of those things, Baskett didn't really take that step forward that we were expecting. 

I've been high on Baskett for a long time.  I think this could very well be the year he makes the leap.  (And by leap I mean "ahead of Reggie Brown" not "2008 Pro Bowl," so calm down.  Of course, this will only make that a higher hurdle.)

Not as sanguine about this part, however:  "Again, you're dealing with a smart guy there. That gives you a little flexibility with what you can do with Hank."

If that means "move him around a lot to where he gets some good matchups," then I think that's great.  If that instead means, "We don't have enough competent tight ends and McNabb is getting killed again so we're going to keep lining him up close to the formation so he can help out our tackles before running his route," then ... I don't like that as much.

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Finally, the starting DT tandem:

On how important DTs Brodrick Bunkley and Mike Patterson are to this team: "They are very important. They're a big part of the middle of your defense. How they play is important. I'm a little hard on those two, but it's for a reason. I expect their play to be top notch. You've got to be strong through the middle of your defense and it starts with those two...

On how he is hard on Bunkley and Patterson: "I want them to keep their game high; every play. There's no time to relax. I know it's hard in there. You've got people coming from all different directions. You've got a lot of big bodies beating on you. It's important that you are mentally tough and that you utilize your strength throughout the practice. You can't be like a thermometer where you start up here and end down here. You have to maintain that strength throughout a two hour practice, and be fine for a game."

Yeah, I just think that's cool.

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Obligatory Hunt mention (my dander's up now):

9:48 AM - Lot of Tony Hunt action today, all on screen passes. It's obvious that Andy Reid wants to see more of Hunt, who really hasn't had a standout camp so far. You'd like to see Hunt run closer to the ground. Still, he's catching everything and getting upfield. We'll see.

Dude. That's just how he runs. 

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What's with all the hamstring problems?

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If Plaxico is injured and pissed and Shockey is gone, who exactly is supposed to scare us this season in New York? 

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Lastly, I think this continues to be good news.  For Eagles fans.

Oh, he wasn't as sharp the next day?  That's amazing.

Counterintuivity

Sounds like a Sting song, doesn't it?

Anyway, some backwards thoughts for today.

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The Cowboys might have a stronger coaching staff this year than last. 

Doesn't seem possible, right?  After all, when Bill Parcells left for Miami, he took with him anything that wasn't nailed down, including a #2 tight end, a spare linebacker, and five coaches (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), four of whom were with the Cowboys last year (QB coach David Lee spent last year with Arkansas).

That certainly seems like quite a hit.  The Eagles lost one guy last year and he ended up playing a big role in the Giants' leap past the Eagles in the division. 

But take a look at the guys Dallas has brought in as replacements (and while you're at it, check out the Jones family gravy train at the executive level):

• Secondary -- Dave Campo, former head coach, long-time assistant in Dallas, Jacksonville and other places where his units have had success.
• Linebackers -- Reggie Herring, college-level coach mostly, worked under Jimmy Johnson at OSU.  Dat Nguyen stays on as his assistant.
• Defensive line -- Todd Grantham, defensive coordinator in Cleveland the past three season.  Fired under strange circumstances, but he has more NFL experience than the guy he's replacnig.
• Offensive line -- Hudson Houck, 25 years of NFL experience, coached the Dallas line from 1993-2001, more recently with the Chargers and Dolphins.

Losing Sparano is certainly a hit, if he's as good as everyone says he is, but three of these four guys easily fall into the category of overqualified for their positions.  The fourth, Herring, is no spring chicken himself and also keeps Nguyen around for help. 

I'm not sure salvation is going to come from poor coaching -- unless you count Wade Phillips.

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Max Jean-Gilles just might win himself a starting guard spot ... playing next to Andrews.

Here's an interesting thought.  The coaches made it pretty clear that big MJG was going to have a chance to unseat Todd Herremans at the left guard spot during this offseason.  But then the big fella stayed a little too big and Herremans worked his tail off to keep his job (or for this?) and by July it was looking like a competition that was set to fizzle.

The problem for MJG is that he wasn't going to get the reps needed to make his case with both Herremans and Andrews doing what they had to to keep him on the sidelines.  But now that Andrews is off scaling Mount Everest for a few weeks, Jean-Gilles is getting all the opportunity he needs.

And consider this ... what if Andrews is out a few more weeks and misses a couple preseason games?  If Jean-Gilles comes in and plays like a monster, are the Eagles really going to send him back to the bench?  I don't think so, which means Herremans could be in trouble (thanks Shawn) OR that we might be seeing the surprise retirement of Jon Runyan, after the coaches move Andrews to the outside to figure out a way to get all three guys on the field. 

I'm not saying it's a foregone conclusion, especially since no one has any idea if Andrews can even be counted on for the full season, but at some point you have to put your five best guys on the field.  We now have a chance to find out if Jean-Gilles is one of them.

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Jerome McDougle might survive again.

This Victor Abiamiri injury doesn't look good.  Here's a good overview.  If he's done for the year, the Eagles are down to five healthy defensive ends, counting McDougle.  Undersized rookied Bryan Smith is still sitting out with a hamstring injury.  Given Smith's status as a project and the verrrrry convenient timing of his injury, you have to believe the Eagles were at least thinking about giving this guy the PUP redshirt year to build up his body and come back strong in 2009.

With VA's status in doubt, things now get a lot trickier.  Do you, um, "rush" Smith back from his injury to try to get him the snaps he needs to be effective when VA might be back in a couple months and then you have roster issues?  I'm not sure you do.  (Nor do we even know if the guy can play at this level.)

At some point, we all have to concede that Jerome McDougle is the luckiest man on the fact of the planet, right?  I mean, it's not just that he somehow manages to magically stay on the roster every year -- the guy got SHOT and it couldn't keep him down.

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By eyewitness accounts, McNabb is looking better than Kolb in camp so far this year.

Wait, this one isn't counter-intuitive at all.  Moving on...

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Did the Eagles actually go get offensive playmakers -- real, effective playmakers -- while no one was looking?

Leaving aside TE Kris Wilson for the moment (whose reported struggles come as no surprise to IgglesBlog readers), the other two significant offseason acquisitions seem to be coming along nicely. 

I think we have to reserve judgment on Booker until the first time we see him make an adjustment and pick up a blitzing linebacker, but you can't teach the ability he seems to have to make people miss.  Same for DeSean Jackson.  The question mark is still his size, but his physical skills seem to be unmissable.

Here's the counter-intuitive part there:  Since first-round receivers so rarely pan out right away, draft one in the second round instead.

Or something.

No No No NO NO NO

Todd, man, you're a professional athlete.  This shouldn't be necessary to get a date.

An Embarrassment of Riches

I have to tell you, after five months of having very, very little to write about, the last few days have been information overload.  Wow.  So this is what almost-in-season football is like again.  I had almost forgotten.

Let's start with the special teams.  In yesterday's post, I mentioned the truly awful special teams results for the last few years.  Since it's also special teams interview day for PE.com, it seems like we can probably make some hay here.

First off, I think it's pretty clear at this point that the problems with the special teams can be traced to the same issue that affected so many other areas -- poor drafting.  The Eagles had top five special teams units from 2000 to 2004, then things started to get ugly.

Not coincidentally, the 2003 draft was probably the worst the Eagles have had under Andy Reid.  Compounding that problem was that the 2002 draft was one of the best, at least at the top end.  The three secondary guys and Brian Westbrook would all have made great special teamers, but they were too valuable to use in that role.  The result is that as core ST performers like Ike Reese moved on, there was no one ready to their place. 

In an interesting twist, the Eagles seem to have decided the answer to fixing the special teams isn't the draft any more, which is why they brought in guys like Chris Clemons, Rocky Boiman and (we'll see) Dan Klecko.

And wouldn't you know it, here's ST coordinator Rory Segrest on the unit's leaders:

On who the leaders are: "(LB) Rocky Boiman, (DE) Chris Clemons, you know, Q (S Quintin Mikell) stepped back into the role as he knows the leadership. Last year, he was really focusing on his defensive reps and, this year, I think he feels more comfortable with his defensive reps and he's able to give a little bit more attention back to special teams."

Interesting that the first two guys he mentions are free agent signings.  I guess he really wants to make sure they all (especially Boiman) make the team. 

And since we're on Segrest, it's nice to see there's at least one other person who's not totally infatuated with Stewart Bradley:

On whether he knew last year how good LB Stewart Bradley would be on special teams: "He was a rookie last year. Anytime you've got a bunch of rookies on the field, they're going to make mistakes. Stewart made some mistakes last year, but he obviously, again, he had that physical ability. He got better as the year went along. From a physical standpoint, sure we knew he would be there, but it's just like on offense and defense, young guys make mistakes and that's what occurred last year on special teams a little bit."

The other thing I wondered yesterday is if we could use past special teams performance as a way of seeing who might have the edge in roster battles this year.  Let's take a look. 

I put this table together using the last two Eagles media guides.  Sadly, the older guides don't break out special teams production, so this is as far back as we can go. 

A few things jump out right away:

1.  There was a LOT of turnover on special teams last year.  The top five special teams performers in 2007 were either not on the team the year before or didn't make much of an impact.  Of the top five ST guys in 2006, only one (Joselio Hanson) played a similar role in 2007.  Jason Short was cut, Sean Considine was hurt, and Quintin Mikell and Omar Gaither became starters. 

2.  Rory Segrest is a much tougher grader than John Harbaugh.  In 2006, the Eagles had 161 punts or kickoffs.  In 2007, it was 151.  Small difference, but somehow Harbaugh's guys racked up 95 more "tackles."

3.  Greg Lewis shouldn't get too comfortable.  Lewis has always had a reputation as a standout special teams performer.  Not compared to the seasons Hank Baskett and Jason Avant had last year.  Guess we found our "sixth wide receiver." 

4.  If Nick Cole had 119 points, they must not dock you much for missed blocks. 

5.  Thomas Tapeh has a fair number of special teams points for a guy who "did not play on special teams."

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More later, but for now, one final nugget from PFP 2008 passed along without comment:

"Unfortunately, [Booker's] blocking was so bad and his knowledge of the offense so primitive that Cam Cameron limited him to scout team duty...  Pressed into action as the third-down back in December, Booker responded with several fine games as a receiver.  The trick to using guys like Booker is to focus on what they can do (catch passes, fake defenders out), not what they can't do (block).  The Eagles traded for Booker during the draft.  He'll replace Ryan Moats as the roster's running back least likely to complete a crossword puzzle."

A Time For Happy Thoughts

I had a post all planned out for today about how we can expect teams to try to attack the Eagles' defense this season.  Despite all the obsession attention we give to the offense, I still think the play of the defense is going to be the key to the season.  Not to steal too much from what I have on the issue, but when you're constantly dumping high-round picks and a big name free agent into a unit, you're hoping for something a little better than average.

But I realized this morning my heart wasn't in that post today.  It's the first day of full (minus one) training camp, the hitting starts tomorrow, and I'm not in the mood for critical thought. 

This is not a day for negatives. 

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Looking ahead, I think enough time has passed since the book came out that I can share some of the more interesting nuggets from the Football Outsiders' charting project. 

Preview:  Think the Eagles run/pass disparity washes out if you control for situations?  Think again.

So that's coming next week, along with the defensive thing listed above, a long list of reasons for optimism, and of course the obligatory obsession with the mental state of Shawn "Definitely Not Because Of Money" Andrews.

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Shaheer McBride is looking good for this competition, but Jason has a point about a potential sleeper.

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Finally, this is just extraordinary.  How one even notices that is beyond me. 

MARK WHIPPLE SIGHTING

The good news -- Mark Whipple finally gets permission to talk to the media.

The bad news -- He, um, doesn't say anything interesting:

Whipple was eager to get back into the league, after a year spent "being a dad," he said, to sons Spencer and Austin. "You got edgy, you got antsy," he acknowledged.

...

"That's the nature of this league," he said. "Sometimes the quarterback gets too much credit, sometimes he gets too much blame."

...

Whipple said the atmosphere around the Eagles is a lot like what it was like with the Steelers, the expectations and the intensity.  "The players are focused. There's leadership, they're showing the young guys," he said. "The goals are defined for the veterans. Somewhere along the road, you hope you can bring something" that will help achieve them.

Andy Reid on Whipple's role:

"I think right now Mark is just learning the offense and getting used to the system; this is a new offense for him. He's somebody who is another set of eyes, right now," Reid said yesterday, the final full day of workouts with rookies and select vets before the full squad reports this evening. "Pat does a great job with [developing Kolb], Marty does a great job with that part of it. It's a great opportunity for Mark to learn from those guys and then share ideas with them.

"He'll be another set of eyes. I'll give him some things to look at. Marty gives him certain projects to do. It's a matter of just kind of getting acclimated to what we do here."

Okay ... but when does he start the install on the Chattanooga formation?

(Now I almost feel bad about this.)

Morning Quick Hits

Is this good news or bad news:

The good news on this relatively dull day was that the tendinitis that forced the Eagles to shut down McNabb in June is gone in July. The quarterback said the tightness he felt had disappeared and his velocity was back. What said even more was the way he threw the football.

He hit wide receiver Michael Gasperson with a precisely thrown laser in the afternoon for a 20-yard touchdown during a seven-on-seven drill. Rookie DeSean Jackson said he could tell the difference between this McNabb and the one that was struggling to throw the football last month.

"That's more velocity than I've ever seen in my life," Jackson said. "It caught me off guard, and I dropped a pass that hit right off my chest. I won't let that happen to me again."

Yes, it's good that McNabb's shoulder is healthy.  But I think we've all seen quite enough of wide receivers struggling to adapt to #5's velocity.

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How exactly does one perform a "coordinated 'McNabb, you rock!' cheer"?  I'm having trouble figuring out where the accented syllables would go. 

McNABB You ROCK
McNABB You ROCK

McNaaaaaaaab Yooooooooou ROCK
McNaaaaaaaab Yooooooooou ROCK

You can almost see why he gets booed so much.  "Donnie Sucks" just flows off an inebriated tongue so much more easily.

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Following that same link, is Sean Considine really pretending to run back interceptions that are actually incomplete passes? 

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I'm loving the way reporters are finding creative ways to call Westbrook's contract demands "nuts" while still keeping that crucial journalistic objectivity:

Tomlinson's guaranteed money was actually $21 million, and he signed his eight-year, $60 million deal with the Chargers when he was 25. Westbrook will be 29 on Sept. 2, and age typically has not worked to the advantage of a running back in contract negotiations.

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Still love Jim Johnson:

"It's always been kind of a passing camp, without pads," Johnson said. "They're here, they're both signed, they're learning in the classroom and spending time with [defensive line coach] Pete [Jenkins] in the classroom. Right now, I don't think they're missing a lot on the field. Wait until we get the pads on."

Jenkins, by the way, got the morning practice off since he had nobody to coach.

"Pete's in the over-60 club," Johnson joked, a reference to Reid's plan to rest over-30 veterans for the morning practice every third day of camp.

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I dropped the link, but somewhere I read that Bradley and Gaither would have the helmet radios for the defense this year, with Bradley being the primary guy and Omar wearing the no-radio helmet when they're both out there.

Seems like that's kind of a pain in the neck, but I guess they can always just go back to the signals for a few plays if Bradley comes out.

Also suggests that Bradley really is going to be a full-time player this year.  It would be weird for someone other than the MIKE to call the signals, but still, if he's shuttling in and out, you'd think they'd do it.

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MSM Eagles blogs are proliferating at an alarming rate.  Eagletarian, which might as well be called LesBowenarian, came online this summer from the Daily News.  Now the Inquirer has gotten into the act with Birds' Eye View.  (Note the oh-so-newspaper-y use of correct punctuation.  That's not how we roll here in the blogger realm, my good man.)

And not to be completely left out, philly.com has started a more catholic NFL blog called: Moving the Chains.

Three seems like a good number for now, but should our local media goliaths find a need for YAEB, may I suggest a potential candidate?

About That "30+ Club"

Five points:

1.  Why is no one mentioning Kevin Curtis?  Guy's 30th birthday was four days ago. 

2.  Juqua Parker too.  Birthday: 5/15/78

3.  And what about Darren Howa--- oh right, he should probably try to stay on the field.

4.  Jerome McDougle is only five months away from qualifying.

5.  No doubt Reid is doing this to try to save the legs of his veterans, but surely it doesn't hurt that some of the most important position battles (Safety, OT of the Future) will come at those 30+ positions.