SB Nation User Blog: Andrew B

The 53 Again

Andrew B — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:49:22 -0000

Lets take another look again, given how things are now shaping up.

Offense - 26

QB (3) - McNabb, Kolb, Feeley

RB (3) - Westbrook, Buckhalter, Booker

FB (2) - Davis, Lawton

WR (6) - Curtis, Brown, Baskett, Avant, Lewis, Jackson

TE (3) - Smith, Celek, Schobel

OL (9) - Thomas, Herremanns, Jackson, Andrews, Runyan, Justice, McGlynn, Jean-Gilles, Dunlap

Defense - 24

DE (5) - Cole, Parker, Clemmons, Howard, Smith

DT (4) - Patterson, Bunkley, Laws, Klecko

LB (6) - Gocong, Bradley, Gaither, Boiman, Jordan, Mays

S (5) - Dawkins, Mikell, Considine, Reed, Demps

CB (4) - Samuel, Sheppard, Brown, Hanson

Special Teams - 3

Akers, Rocca, Dorenbos

Injured Reserve - 2

Abiamiri, Ikegwuono

Notables On the Cutting Room Floor

Moats, Hunt, Wilson, Young, Studebaker, Togafau, Reagor, von Oelhoffen, Cole, Paschal, Graham, Gibson, Childress

Either Davis or Lawton can do what little Tony Hunt did last year. Both are way higher up the depth chart then him (he's not even on it), and both can also play Fullback. I just get the sense that even if Davis wins the FB starting job, Lawton will get kept as a special teams/fullback/big running back role, as the Eagles always keep 5 running backs/fullbacks, either in a 4/1 or 3/2 split. Its entirely possible one of the wideouts like Lewis or Avant gets traded or cut and an additional D or O lineman or linebacker or DB gets added to the roster, a bubble guy like Cole, Graham, Reagor, or Studebaker. Season ending injuries to anyone on the list above also opens the door up to the guys on the cutting room floor. Outstanding play from a UFA like Collins, McBride, Roland, and a causal attitude from someone who thought they had a spot locked up (like Jabar Gaffney a couple of years ago) could also make a bottom of the roster shift.

The inactive 8 with the above roster would initially be 1 QB, 1 RB/FB, 1 WR, 1 OL, 1 OL or TE, 1 LB, 1 DE, 1 S.

53 Man Roster Revisted

Andrew B — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:33:06 -0000

[Note by JasonB, 06/18/08 8:44 AM EDT ] promoted from fanposts

In light of the recent cuts, and signings, lets take another looksee.

QB (3) - McNabb, Kolb, Feeley

RB (3) - Westbrook, Buckhalter, Booker

FB (2) - Davis, Lawton

WR (5) - Curtis, Brown, Baskett or Avant, Lewis, Jackson

TE (3) - Smith, Celek, Wilson

OL (9) - Thomas, Herremanns, Jackson, Andrews, Runyan, Justice, McGlynn, Jean-Gilles, Gibson ---> Dunlap to practice squad

DE (5) - Cole, Thomas, Clemmons, Smith, Abiamiri or Howard

DT (5) - Patterson, Bunkley, Laws, Reagor, von Oelhoffen

LB (7) - Gaither, Bradley, Gocong, Jordan, Studebaker, Mays, Boiman

CB (4 or 5) - Samuel, Sheppard, Brown, Hanson, (Graham)

S (4 or 5) - Dawkins, Mikell, Considine, Demps, (Reed)

K (1) - Akers

P (1) - Rocca

LS (already counted) - McGlynn, Lawton

Normal gameday inactives - 1 QB, 1 TE or WR or FB, 1 LB, 1 CB, 1 S, 1 DT, 1 DE, 1 OL

I could see von Oelhoffen or Reagor getting cut along with Abiamiri and Howard being kept as a swing D-lineman. That would let them keep Dorenbos at Long Snapper. Then 2 offensive skill players would need to be normal inactives. I could also see either Studebaker of Mays being sent to the practice squad for the same reason.

Futbol!

Andrew B — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:59:14 -0000

Now here is a soccer game I could watch over and over again.

Hat tip to Don McKee at the Inquirer for his article.

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080617_Morning_Report__Soccer_with_a_topless_twist.html

http://soccerblogs.net/blog/post/167218/

The pages on both links are SFW but the second one leads to things that are NSFW. As to the links below ... you have been warned.

http://209.85.215.104/search?q=cache:jq56AQPsbJMJ:sports.yahoo.com/sow/photo%3Fslug%3D6c7143f7e46a26a97835fe0eff6d08ce-getty-fbl-euro-2008-aut-ger-feature%26prov%3Dgetty+German+soccer+bodypaint&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us

http://friendsoftheprogram.net/2008/06/15/euro-2008-you-have-our-attention-now/

http://slanchreport.com/2008/06/16/one-way-to-get-americans-to-like-soccer/

To get this back to Eagles topics, could we get the Eagles Cheerleaders to play touchfootball in bodypaint? I'd pay to see that.

Domowitch's Retarded Rankings

Andrew B — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 13:17:15 -0000

Why do they do this every year?

Every year, the pundits go and predict this season will end with the teams that were good last year on top.

Yet every year, each conference has 1 to 4 new teams in the playoffs. Every year there is a worst to first type of team. Can't any of these guys look past the final record of last year and try to see who's on the rise and who's going down?

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/20080603_Paul_Domowitch__Cowboys_are_the_team_to_beat_in_NFL.html

1. DALLAS (13-3): Memo to Tony Romo: Women weaken legs.

2. NEW ENGLAND (16-0): The Pats have some age issues on defense, but oh, that offense.

3. JACKSONVILLE (11-5): Jags are done playing second fiddle to Peyton Manning and the Colts.

4. INDIANAPOLIS (13-3): Stood still in the offseason, but Manning gives Colts a chance to win every week against every team.

5. SAN DIEGO (11-5): Chargers will run away with the AFC West, regardless of how fast Philip Rivers recovers from his torn ACL.

6. GREEN BAY (13-3): If Aaron Rodgers can give the Packers anything, they have a chance to make it back to the NFC title game.

7. CLEVELAND (10-6): Additions of defensive linemen Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams give the Browns the run-stopping ability to thwart the Steelers in AFC North.

8. NEW YORK GIANTS (10-6): They caught lightning in a bottle last year, but free-agent losses at linebacker and likely retirement of Michael Strahan have weakened them.

9. PITTSBURGH (10-6): Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall are going to be one hell of a one-two running punch.

10. SEATTLE (10-6): Seahawks will be in a win-one-for-the-walrus mode as Mike Holmgren heads into his final season.

11. EAGLES (8-8): Their pass rush and QB play will determine how far the Eagles go this season.

12. MINNESOTA (8-8): Getting defensive end Jared Allen from the Chiefs was big, but the key to the Vikings' success will be the progress of QB Tarvaris Jackson.

13. BUFFALO (7-9): If defensive tackle Marcus Stroud has any gas left in his tank, Bills could make a playoff push.

14. TAMPA BAY (9-7): Offseason pickup of running back Warrick Dunn was huge. He will improve both the running and passing games.

15. NEW ORLEANS (7-9): Saints offense will be potent again, but did they improve their defense enough?

16. WASHINGTON (9-7): Added some big wideouts for its West Coast offense, but the defense is showing some age.

17. CAROLINA (7-9): The Panthers need more, much more, than 2 1/2 sacks from Julius Peppers this season.

18. TENNESSEE (10-6): It's time for Vince Young to step up and carry his share of the offensive load.

19. ARIZONA (8-8): Ken Whisenhunt has changed the locker-room mind-set, but the defense must improve if the Cards are going to make a playoff run.

20. HOUSTON (8-8): It's going to be difficult to improve on last year's 8-8 record in the tough AFC South.

21. BALTIMORE (5-11): Joe Flacco is nowhere close to being ready, so who's going to be the Ravens' starting QB?

22. ST. LOUIS (3-13): If the offensive line can keep immobile Marc Bulger upright, last year's 3-13 could be this year's 8-8.

23. DETROIT (7-9): Defense finished last in the league in '07. Don't look for much improvement in '08. Might be time for another Millen Man March.

24. KANSAS CITY (4-12): Chiefs had a dynamite draft (six of first 82 picks), but it could take a year for it to pay dividends.

25. CHICAGO (7-9): What is it going to take to make GM Jerry Angelo throw in the towel on QB Rex Grossman?

26. DENVER (7-9): Remember when Mike Shanahan and the word "genius" actually were used in the same sentence?

27. CINCINNATI (7-9): One positive of a possible Chad Johnson training-camp holdout: It will keep people's minds off the fact that the Bengals' defense stinks.

28. NEW YORK JETS (4-12): Jets were one of the biggest spenders in free agency. But a lot of it was on questionable purchases.

29. OAKLAND (4-12): What was Lane Kiffin thinking when he agreed to go to work for Al Davis?

30. SAN FRANCISCO (5-11): Another team that is paying dearly for an apparent first-round quarterback mistake.

31. MIAMI (1-15): Another 1-15 season is not out of the realm of possibility for Team Tuna.

32. ATLANTA (4-12): By midseason, the crowds at the Georgia Dome are going to look a lot like the ones Matt Ryan played in front of at Penn Charter.

First Round Picks

Andrew B — Sat, 03 May 2008 23:37:23 -0000

Listening to the 610WIP hosts continue to harp about the Eagles not making a 1st round pick in the draft and how terrible this is and how contrary to the rest of the league, I decided to take a look at see what other teams had done in the draft.

Vikings - no 1st round pick (traded 17th pick)

Eagles - no 1st round pick (traded 19th pick)

Redskins - no 1st round pick (traded 21st pick)

Browns - no 1st round pick (traded 22nd pick last year)

Colts - no 1st round pick (traded 29th pick last year)

Packers - no 1st round pick (traded 30th pick)

So 1/3 of the league left to pick in the 1st round (6 of 15 teams) after 16 decided there was nobody worth picking in the first round and they traded down to later rounds. The Browns and Colts made this decision last year, gambling on their having a good year in 2007 and thus losing a late pick.

First picks by these teams:

Redskins - #34

Packers - #36

Vikings - #43

Eagles - #47

Colts - #59

Browns - #104

Statisticians have done an analysis of the history of the draft and found the best bang for the buck in terms of performance to cap space comes from players picked very late in the first round to late in the second round. OTOH, we are very familiar with the brutal cost of first round busts like Jon Harris, Mike Mamula, Freddie Mitchell and Jerome McDougle.

Eagles 53 Man Roster

Andrew B — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 14:18:55 -0000

A few of these guys won't make it (and will either end up on IR, be cut, or hit the practice squad), because it adds up to 5 men over 53, but I think this is the general picture of your 2008 Eagles.

QB (3) - McNabb, Kolb, Feeley

RB (4) - Westbrook, Buckhalter, Booker, Hunt

FB (2) - Klecko, Davis

WR (6) - Brown, Curtis, Avant, Baskett, Lewis, D. Jackson

OL (10) - Runyan, Andrews, Jackson, Jean-Gilles, Thomas, Justice, Herremanns, McGlynn, Mays, Dunlap

TE (3) - Smith, Celek, Wilson

DL (10) - Cole, Patterson, Bunkley, Thomas, Abiamiri, Reagor, Laws, Clemmons, Smith, Clark or Ramsey or Howard

LB (7) - Gaither, Gocong, Bradley, Jordan, Boiman, Mays, Studebaker

CB (5) - Samuel, Sheppard, Brown, Hanson, Graham, Ikegwuono (IR)

S (5) - Dawkins, Considine, Mikell, Reed, Demps

ST (3) - Akers, Rocca, Dorenbos

I'm excited to see some of the deadwood go from the bottom of the roster.