But I swear to GOD every time this mediocre teams gets into the playoffs the stars absolutely F***ING align for them.

- 8 drops from the Green Bay team

- 3 fumbles from G.B.

- The last 4 games before the CG 4 SUPER long TDs that should've went for 10-15 yards, yet either Cruz or Nicks took it to the house

- A F****ING HAIL MARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The 9ers game

- 3 easy ints

- Not one, but TWO muffed kicks. One leading to a TD, the other leading to the game winning FG.

I'm sure I missed a few more but I'm so infuriated I can't even think straight.

Granted they have played pretty good football, and they have been relatively mistake free football, but they don't deserve to be in the Super Bowl... Oh Wait, they didn't deserve to be in the SB in 2007.

All I have to say is if they win the Super Bowl, I'm not watching anything football related for a LONG, LONG time.

Here's to Tom Brady getting his 4th ring and getting his revenge on this pathetic team.

FUCK NEW YORK

A - I'm sick of hearing of how the Eagles are just a pass, pass, pass team and everyone else runs a much more balanced attack. Yet, after watching the Patriots and Saints throw a million passes (Obviously NE ran more when they were up a lot), you never hear what a sissy unbalanced attack they have. Furthermore, I guarantee no New Orleans fan nor beat writer is going to say "Hey if we ran the ball with Sproles 5 more times the game we probably would've won."

B - I don't know how you can watch the Niners and not think the Eagles need MAJOR, MAJOR upgrades at line backers. These guys are big, fast, strong, and have good football instincts. They make plays laterally, north to south, and they can cover. They also forced quite a few turnovers and if SF had a better than just an "average" offense it really shouldn't have went the distance. How many times did they show a replay and Drew Brees had to throw to the ball away due to superior coverage not only by the safeties and corners, but by the line backers as well. Granted, the Saints got their yards and their big plays, but if you give Drew Brees 70 throws, that's bound to happen.

C - Speaking of offenses, in the NFC you NEED a big play offense. I know Philly is a blue collar town and much rather see the Steelers 90's smashmouth football compared to this finesse team... But you have Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers in your conference, you NEED to be able to score some points and make the big plays...Because if you don't, they will. Luckily for SF, they found a couple of big plays. On the other side you have Tom Brady, so if you want to get a ring you better be able to make the big plays.

D - Darren Sproles reminds me a lot of Brian Westbrook. Really under sized but a smart player and he needs special attention. Though, I think Brian Westbrook was better than Sproles, I also think Westbrook is better than McCoy. Maybe McCoy will go down as the better runner, but Westbrook was such a weapon. In 2006/2007 teams were just hoping that they could contain him to under 150 yards. In the 2004 Super Bowl, NE made sure that Westbrook was well covered and that he was contained in the run game. Even though the Eagles had Terell Owens, they focused much more on 36 than 81, hence the reason why Owens had a big game by catching everything underneath and making big plays. Westbrook won't ever have the stats, but he really was a HOF talent.

Some of you were following football yet, but let me give you an idea of what kind of talent Dallas had back then.

Quincy Carter at QB (Mediocre QB at best who had potential but ultimately squandered it to a cocaine addiction... A Cowboy with a cocaine addiction? I know, shocker!...

Quincy was relieved after a few short years and replaced with old time veteran Vinny Testeverede. Vinny wasn't even that great as a youngster, but the Cowboys were desparate.

Running backs? Troy Hambrick... Their wideouts were talented, but yet very troubled (shocking I know) Terry Glenn and Antonio Bryant.

The ony talent they had was on their O-line..Flozell Adams, Andre Gurode, Larry Allen, etc... All fantastic players back then and Larry Allen is a sure fire HOF-er. The guy could bench 700 lbs and was one of the meanest players in the game.

Their defense featured a bunch of no name guys except Roy Williams who really was only a big hitter and had to be masked in coverage. Greg Ellis was also on the team by then.

Let's just say this, until Jerry Jones made the sage decision of hiring Bill Parcells, they were terrible... Parcells installed a 3-4 defense and brought on a lot of talent, and even built quite an offense with a lot of play makers. Thank God Jerruh chose TO over keeping Parcells.

Fast forward to 2011:

Terrance Newman? Bradie James? Keith Brooking? Stick a freaking fork in these guys! Anthony Spencer!??

Is there really a legit defender on that team outside of maybe 4-5 guys? You got Ware, Sean Lee, Jay Ratliff (who's better days are likely behind him at this point as evidenced by David Baas owning him pretty easily).

Are there any young guys on this team who are poised to fill these holes?

How about the offense? Obviously, the line is terrible, Romo continues to be the guy who shows flashes of brilliance followed by deadly game changing mistakes.

Dez Bryant? Remember when I said let's hold off before we crown this kid a top WR in the NFC East (probably not). Well, I'm going to say it again, let's wait before he shows us he can consistently be a dominating wide out in the league. He has the talent, but like DeSean he straight up disappears for long stretches. Jerry said he would never pass up on a Randy Moss again due to attitude, unfortunately, Dez is no Randy talent wise, but like Randy his head is going to be his major limiting factor in this league. And for the love of God Dez, quit buying hundreds of thousands of dollars of bling. You're still on your rookie contract for crying out loud.

Miles Austin? Physical tools all over the place, but when I watched the Giants porous secondary blanket him, I had to wonder if his success early on was a bit of a fluke.

Offensive line? Is offensive. I won't even touch it, but thank you Jerry for waiting way too long to address it. Thank God we didn't pay Doug Free big money or that would've likely fanned more of the nightmare team flames. Though, Tyron Smith looks legit over at RT.

Now someone fact check me. The Cowboys will be in cap hell next year as well, correct?

Here's my early 2012 prediction: Cowboys will be dead last in the division next year. There's too many holes on this team that can be fixed in one year.

1. A PROVEN defensive coordinator. I like Juan as a person, but he's just not a NFL DC... Sorry, wins against Mark Sanchez (who by the way COULDN"T EVEN PASS ON THE GIANTS WHO HAVE THE WORST SECONDARY IN THE NFL!!!), Matt Moore, and Stephen McGee DO NOT put any faith that we have turned some sort of corner and will be a top defense next year. Sorry, but don't even come in here arguing how "hot" these guys were coming into any game. Spagnuolo anyone?

2. A PROVEN LB!!!! Sorry, no hybrid tweeners. No athletic guys with a football IQ of zero either (Ernie Simms). I don't care about their 40 time either, they need to be able to cover though (Chaney). One that could tackle consistently and run plug up the A gaps (Trotter) would be nice too.

3. We need to start getting "a little younger" in a certain areas... Jason Peters, Todd Herremanes, Trent Cole, Cullen Jenkins, Asomugha, Samuel, Babin, Vick, etc are all going to be on the wrong side of 30 next year. We need to get some players through the draft that can replace their production...Again, please stop it with these fast tweeners who never pan out.

4. Convince Howard Mudd to stay un-retired. Our O-line went from crappy to fantastic in a matter of a few games under Mudd. It's going to be huge for keeping Vick healthy.

5. Continue to develop Watkins and Brandon Graham. These guys need to play and play at a high level, especially Graham.. You just can't simply miss on a 13th overall pick, and your 27 year old rookie better be damn near pro bowl level at 28.

6. Keep Jim Washburn. The wide 9 works, it gets pressure on the QB without having to blitz all day. Sorry to the PFF and PFO readers, but Tennesse had a fantastic defense for years with Chan Gailey and Washburn.

And yes, SOMETHING needs to happen with drafting. I don't believe Andy has total control, I think Banner and Roseman have some power there as well. Either way, WE HAVE to start getting some talent in the draft. These 2nd and 3rd round busts are KILLING this team. There's not a single good player on the defense that we drafted aside from Trent Cole and that was years ago.

Don't be fooled by this 3 game win streak, and likely 4 game. We still haven't proved anything to anyone but when we don't turn the ball over 7 times a game we can beat the mediocre teams. There still needs to be change, and I want proven guys whether it's proven players or proven coaches. No experiments, no question marks to start the season.

Now that there has been enough games available, let's do just that. Also, let's discuss on who's going to stay and or/go.

Let's start w/ the coaches

Howard Mudd - I don't know that Howard will be back, especially is Andy is gone next year. I don't know that he wants to come back, I think he'll wan tto retire. Unfortunately, he proved to be a heck of a coach. Two rookie starters and we now have one of the better lines in the NFL. Certainly the best in the NFC E, although that's not saying anything. Our line was TERRIBLE last year under Juan Castillo.This signing is an easy A

Jim Washburn - I like the fire in this coach. I think Philly, with a blue collar fan base can appreciate Washburn stirring things up with heated emotion. His wide 9 scheme turned out to be pretty good. We have gotten to the QB many times with just rushing four. It really is up for debate how the scheme hurt us defensively though, as it doesn't appear we had the line backers to carry it out well.

Ike Reese made a good point, it took Washburn a few games to finally move in the ends in just a little bit to help out the run game...However, that seemed to come a few games too late as we have already dropped a few games with the run being an issue. I liked the off season signing back then, I still do... B+

Juan Castillo - We orignally thought that there was no way we could get a worse co-ordinator than Sean McDermott. We also figured there was no way to screw this defense up having an all pro corner, along side a pro bowl corner, with another pro bowl corner playing slot. Not to mention a 3 stellar pass rushers in Cullen Jenkins, Jason Babin, and Trent Cole. As it turns out, it could get a lot worse. This move was a complete bust and I originally was willing to give it a chance -- F

Trades.

Kolb/ 2nd rounder + DRC

Honestly, Kolb was just going to be a backup this year anyway. We ended up landing a high 2nd round pick and a young corner with pro bowl potential. Given the chance to play on the outside I thought he did really well. Had trouble playing out of his positon in the slot and he certainly is the worst tackling corner he was billed to be last year. I still think we did a good job on that trade though -- A if that second round pick turns out to be good, B if it's another LB/DE hybrid you can't play.

Signings

NA - When used properly he did what he did most of his career -- shut down corners. When Juan decided to turn him into something he's not? He looked a bit lost. I still think it was a great signing and if used properly next year he's going to help us out - A

Cullen Jenkins - I haven't seen a pass rushing talent at the DT position on the Eagles squad since Darwin Walker's good days, or Hollis Thomas' better days OR Corey Simon. Great hustle, love this signing, I hope he comes back next year - A

Vince Young - He did what I thought he was going to do and played like a mediocre QB. Although like Tebow, if the defense affords him the opportunity in crunch time, he doesn't fold under pressure. I still thought Marty would develop him better as a passer much like he did Vick. He also brought this whole dream team on us, that I don't see us living down anytime soon. C

Ronnie Brown - He's a good back up to LeSean McCoy. Didn't get any chances behind McCoy, who's lucky to get chances himself in some games. Also had one of the dumbest plays I have ever seen since Plaxico spiked the ball in his rookie year. C

Steve Smith - We basically paid 4 million dollars for a guy to sit behind Jackson, Maclin, Avant, and Cooper. He clearly wasn't ready to come back with his knee and gifted his old team an easy red zone INT in week 3. We could've easily resigned David Akers and Sav Rocca with this money -- both having pro bowl years. Heck, Akers is probably having an all-pro year.

Jason Babin - He's not the most disciplined player, he racks up penalties in each and every game. He plays with a lot of intensity and heart though. He also gets a lot of sacks while Cole gets all the blocking attention. This was the signing we needed to have a pass rush opposite side of Cole while Graham heals up this year. Good signing: A

Jarrad Page - The WORST safety play I have seen in a long time. And since Dawk got old/left, we have seen a lot of that. Helped destroy our defense tremendously in the first quarter of the season. F

Who we let go.....

Akers/Rocca - Our kicker hasn't kicked many long FGs, but seems to be money from 30-40 yards out. He also costs us the SF game by missing two chip shots. The punter Henrey hasn't impressed me at all. It's not like he's even inconsistent either. He's just good for about a 45 yard punt with avg hang time in each game.

Kolb - Probably would have beaten the Giants and lost to the Pats which makes the trade pretty good.

Ernie Simms - Well, it's not like our LBs improved all that much, so not a huge loss here.

Mikkel - He got paid and I don't blame him. But wow, we could have really used him. We really REALLY could have used Q. He had heart too, which is a shame, we needed that.

Stewart Bradley - Another guy who got paid and I don't think the Eagles were interested in signing him. It figures, a LB with size and the ability to stop the run and the Eagles didn't re-sign him. It helps ease the sting that he's not exactly grasping the 3-4 system, but we could've used him instead of the Casey Matthews disaster.

The Vick Resigning...This is an interesting one because in the preseason this was something we all thought had to happen. Vick looks like he has regressed a bit and has fumbled and turned the ball over all too often this season -- especially in the red zone. He has still shown brilliance at times with his ability to escape the pocket and run, but he definitely had a down year from last year. He also takes a lot of hits and predictably got injured from the concussion in week 2 to the ribs a few weeks ago. I still don't think Vick was a huge problem this year say as much as the defense, but he needs to improve as a passer next year.

All in all a few things stick out

- For going "ALL IN" we really let a few key pieces go including Mikkel, Akers and Bradley. You could make an argument that it even costs us games not having these guys in green.

- Again for going all in why why why would you sign an unproven coordinator? This absolutely costs us games and the season..

- Some of the signings were fantastic. Babin, Jenkins, and NA (when used right.)

- Again, when I look at the roster, I see enough talent to win. Absolutely more than enough talent to be better than 4-7. This season HAS to go on the coaching staff.

First, I'm glad I won't have to hear all the stats and metrics of how great Vince Young is. He showed us again why Tenn had absolutely zero problem shipping off their franchise QB. He should of shredded that weak secondary today, absolutely shredded.

Yes, he got no help from DeSean "I'm a top 10 WR" Jackson. Horrible drops.

Member "Mike Campy" brings up a great point. Please, stop pinning EVERY single loss on the run/pass ratio. That's insane. The Patriots have the worst secondary in the league besides the Eagles. We exploited it early on, the Patriots were begging us to pass w/ the stacked boxes. We could've ran it 40 times,  there would have been no difference. We would've seen drops from DeSean on 3rd and 6 or 7 instead of 3rd and 10.

Which brings me to my next point

DEFENSE DEFENSE DEFENSE

This is where we should be assigning our blame. Once, again, we were TOTALLY TOTALLY outcoached on this side of the ball. Not just by a little bit, but the only time I saw a stop was when a NE player dropped the ball.

I know most of Philadelphia thinks we would be undefeated if we ran the ball 35 times a game, but the fact is, this defense is just terrible, and it has been ALL season long.

The Burnt Toast Awards

1. Joselio Hanson - Joselio I would introduce you to Wes Welker, but you were nowhere near him all game.

2. Nate Allen - I don't know what the Pats saw on tape, but they exploited every flaw they found

The Yellow Flag Awards

1. Jason Babin - Jason, I love your fire, but you're LEADING THE LEAGUE with penalties.

2. Trent Cole - Cole, You're our best defender year in year out, but again, please quit it with the infractions.

I honestly don't see why we don't fire Juan by tomorrow. We at least can start giving some other coaches some chances to show what they've got.

Listen, I'm frustrated, you're frustrated, coaches are frustrated, players are frustrated, the whole city is frustrated.. The players get blame, the FO gets blame, Andy gets blame, his staff gets blame, and the list goes on.. It's a long one...

But one thing I'm starting to get tired of seeing is "Omg, we had the chance to resign Dawkins, and we freaking BLEW IT!"

Let's make a few things clear here

1. Dawk is HIGHLY over paid at the moment.

2. He's AWFUL in coverage, and was pretty bad in 2008 until J.J. masked him as a hybrid LB

3. Sure, he's a leader. But remember how 85% of the Eagles fan base put the blame on the 08 CG loss on the defense? Do you remember who was abused that game? Our fearless leader -- Dawkins...

Listen it hurts to talk about Dawk like that, and I really could go on (his SB game was sub par too). The fact is, the front office shares blame, and maybe you can say they did a poor job replacing him with the draft. But in no way shape or form would Brian Dawkins magically make this team, or defense any better.

Let's stop killing Howie Roseman too. I think he did a fantastic job wheeling and dealing. Not only building the team for the present, but for the future too. It's exciting knowing we're going to have high #1 and two high #2 draft picks next year (which hopefully are not spent on undersized, FAST, high motor LB/DEs ie Bryan Smith, Matt McCoy, Casey Matthews, Victor Abirimiri, DTO, Joe Mays, Chris Gocong, Keenan Clayton, YIKES).

He brought in Nnamdi, who when used right, shuts down pretty much every WR he's lined up against. Of course, the operative phrase is, when used right.

Cullen Jenkins and Jason Babin massively improved our pass rush too which was a little stagnant last year. He got them cheap, and their contracts were extremely reasonable as well.

The Kolb trade brought is likely going to bring in a high second rounder, and a potential pro bowl CB...who when used right, is pretty good... Operate phrase, when used right.

And please stop killing the Eagles for letting go aging veterans. I don't care if they were leaders. Troy Vincent was so done when we let him go, so was Bobby Taylor, Hugh Douglas robbed Jacksonville, Westbrook was done a year prior to his release, and it's arguable McNabb was done a year prior to his release also. It's also objectionable that some of these guys were actually leaders

I also find it amusing that a lot of these post are coming from fans with the name in the form of "Djackson" or "Djack10" or "actionjackson10".. Why? Because everyone of these posters are the ages 17-19, they don't even remember Dawkins when he was in his prime. Nor do they remember much about Troy Vincent or Bobby Taylor. They don't even remember when Dawkins could line up on the near side of the field and then make the tackle (or huge hit I should say) to stop the call carrier for a 2 yard gain on the other end of the field.

Talent is not an issue on this team. Even EvilBanner apologized to the front offing in the pre season. Blame everything you want, but please if I have to hear "we need Dawkins" one more time it will be to soon.

According to LeSean McCoy Kevin Kolb was tipping off the Cardinals defense on what plays they were running. This makes sense seeing as he knows the system, it also makes sense, because other players have done this before.

Today on WIP Ike Reese admitted in 2005 he not only gave all the plays to ATL, but helped devise the defensive game plan to stop the Eagles in the season opener. Not surprsingly, the Eagles struggled mightily on offense that gane and this one.

It's also hard not to believe, that Steve Smith didn't give Juan Castillo all the information he has on the Giants offense either. But, seeing as you can give Juan the best cover corner in the league and see terrible results, it didn't seem to matter.

Lastly, this also just reflects on Andy as well. At some point, you have to know Kolb is tipping off the defense. Shady knew it, which means the offense knew it, which means Andy knew it as well. You also have to figure that he was going to do this...and to be honest, why wouldn't he? It's not illegal and it has happened before.

But you would think, knowing that it has happened before, and knowing it was currently happening in the game, the Eagles would've done something differently to counter act this .. FULL ON KNOWING WHAT PLAYS YOU'RE GOING TO RUN!

What an exclamation point, to a terrible game, and a terrible season.

1.  A REAL DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR!!!!

First off, let me say that EVERYONE has sucked this year, coaches, players, assistances, etc... Everyone has taken a piece of the pie at one point or another, HOWEVER, if this season can be defined by one thing it is the fact we have one of the worst defenses that I have ever seen.  Remember when we all thought that everything will be OK under Castilla because a) it couldn't get worse under McDermott and b) there was too much talent to fail? Well we were wrong on both accounts becaus Castillo is off the charts bad, and in a comical way.

Let me explain.

Most defenses are bad because they lack talent in more than a few key areas. They may lack a pass rush, a good secondary, or in our case -- line backers. They are bad no matter what because there is just not enough talent... The Eagles on the other hand HAVE enough talent to be a competent defense See: Dallas game.

The remarakble thing about our high motor amigo Juan Castillo is that we are seeing talent being used wrong -- on purose, game after game.

3rd and long? Put a rookie with his first start on the league's premier WR!!

Have the best press corner in the league? Put him in zone!!!

Have a pro bowl caliber corner? Play him out of position in the slot!

That's not all. Make sure you put a LB on Larry Fitzgerald in the red zone, perhaps one of the BIGGEST mis matches I have ever seen.

But don't worry guys "we're going to get it right."

2. Can we please get a line backer who can play at a high level in the NFL?

You know, someone who weights more than 230 lbs? Someone can run downhill, beat the blocks or plug up the holes in the middle? We haven't seen one since Stewart Bradley, who for some reason thought wasn't worth resigning here. Yes he had some freak injuries, but I don't recall the running game ever being a liability when he started here. How about Trotter? Now there's a guy who owned the middle of the field.

3. Can we get a WR with some size and play making ability?

Fantastic, Maclin and Jackson are great in between the 20's. But how many times are we going to have to run screens or little shovel passes in the red zone to get a TD? Why don't we have a WR who can run a slant, fight for the ball in traffic and win? Or how come we can't get a WR who we can run the fade route to? Can we get one who can win some jump balls? The Cowboys have Dez and Miles, the Giants have Nicks... The Redskins don't count as they have the worst offense in the league. The Eagles have two explosive WRs , but they are pretty much negated in the red zone where the field shrinks and speed isn't a factor.

And no, I have been saying it forever, the answer is not Riley Cooper. He's just not athletic enough to do those types of things I mentioned. I know he has climbed into the hearts of BGNers, but he's simply not all that special.

4. A couple players who can hit?

I know Adrian Wilson is a freak of nature, but wow, that dude can lay the wood AND do it without spearing players with his helmet. Did anyone remember that whiff on Early Doucet by Kurt Coleman? A safety should be knocking a WR directly on his ass, especially with the angle Coleman had. I like Kurt, he plays smart, but he's just not athletically gifted enough t o play the position. That's not his first whiff for a TD either see: Victor Cruz.. Can anyone remember a game or even plays where our defense has PHYSICALLY handed an offense?

5. A new head coach

Wow, I can't believe I am saying this, as I am a big of a Reid supporter as you will find around here, but I'm about ready for Andy to go.

I don't like huge changes mainly because one of Reid's strengths is keeping us contenders year after year as the GM. I fear the days getting a GM that would do something like mortgage the farm for a WR (IE Falcons), or take Tim Tebow in the first round, or trade away a bunch of picks for Mike Mamula, etc... That scares me to death!!!

Truth be told it's time we get ourselves a defensive minded coach. Back to the early 90s we go and let's get ourselves another nasty defense-- someone told me they win championships. I don't know that I know the answer to who should coach this team and how to appoint a new GM that doesn't turn this franchise into the Raiders, Dolphins or even Jerry Jones esque Cowboys..

But we should remember guys like Dawkins, and before Dawkins there was another #20 named Andre "dirty" Waters..Trotter, Williams Thomas (Willie T), Reggie White, Clyde Simmons etc...

Some of you guys won't know any of those guys from the 90s but let me tell you this. They all played with a chip on their shoulder and they would call the 2011 Eagles team a flag football team by their standards. We have built an undersized "finese" team. I don't even know why we even have a weight room at the Nova Care Complex, we are so weak.

This game brought me back....In 1998 I was grounded (I was a young teenager by then) for kicking my little box TV over (I saved all my money for it over the summer) because I watched Jake the Snake throw a game winning TD over Troy Vincent to Frank Sanders. The Cards, no matter how bad, had a knack for doing that..... Now we have a knack for 4th qtr game winning tds every game and Im so immune I wish I was mad enough to even curse at the T.V...But I'm not.

I'm laughing at the small, weak defense led by an O-line coach...How can we even get mad??

[Note by JasonB, 11/12/11 12:20 AM EST ] Promoted from fanshots. Joe D takes us down a crappy memory lane.

Not counting the playoff losses, regular season only.

10. November 10th 2002 - Colts 35 - Eagles 13

We had a tremendous defense back in 2002, and even when we lost games , it wasn't by much -- except this blow out. This game didn't have any playoff implications either but it was supposed to be the big show down between the up and coming McNabb and Peyton Manning who at the time was establishing himself as one of the best QBs in the league. In a typical blowout the defense gets smoked and the offense does nothing, which was exactly what happened. With the Eagles sporting a stout 6-2 winning record coming into the game, it really took the wind out of our sails and knocked us down a few pegs. It's just one of those games that really stung and I remember the announcers or maybe it was the paper saying something to the effect of "Not yet McNabb," which was rubbing salt into the wound.

Continue reading this post »

Guess what? Not only have the bandwagoners jumped the ship because the Eagles suck, but the people who have been watching every single Eagles game for forever, ALSO think the Eagles aren't going anywhere...because they suck. So suck on that...oh and you know the difference between a few weeks ago and now? When you sucked a few weeks ago you actually had a CHANCE to right the ship. Now I recommend you go on priceline.com and book a nice vacation in January... A warm one, since it'll be cold in Philly--real cold by then.

Oh and hey Juan, your defense SUCKS. We're tired of seeing them get GASHED for 8-12 yard runs game, after game, after game. I don't care that you're high motor or have a lot of experience in the NFL. You have a pro bowl DL and a pro bowl DL and they can't stop the likes of Earl Bennett , Roy Williams or sack Jay Cutler when he falls to the ground... Your zone scheme SUCKS and gets beaten like a two dollar hooker. Do you have more than two blitzes in the arsenal? Even with you have 7 playing the pass, they still get beat IE 3rd and 18...Inexcusable...

Hey Andy and the front office. Did you NOT see Lance Briggs and Urlacher tonight? You know, LINE BACKERS!? Not only were they chasing down McCoy and making the Eagles one dimensional, but they were making plays in the secondary as well.... Maybe it's about time we bring in a line backer who can make a play? AND NO they are not some undersized DE or slightly larger S tweener with "high" motors. They are BIG, strong, and can play laterally. Not every big guy is slow and unable to play the game. Christ.

DRC -- You should sign up for a flag football team. I have not seen one player in my life that is soo disinterested in contact. Worse than Deion, he would at least dive at the ball carriers feet.

DeSean, thanks for opening up the field for everyone, but how about making a play or two yourself? And when there's two guys BARRELING down on you theres NO NEED to try and make something happen that's not there and gift a TD on your fumble. You're 150 lbs, and you're not a top 5 WR.. Hell, I think I could name 10 other WRs that I rather have 1. Andre Johnson 2. Calvin Johnson 3 Greg Jennings 4. Mike Wallace, 5 Steve Smith 6 Larry Fitzgerald 7 Roddy White 8 Julio Jones 9 AJ Green 10 Vincent Jackson.... There 10 WRs who are either better than you or will be better...

Oh and before I go to bed and have to wake up in 5 hours and bust my ass , I wanted to say this:

To the 2011 Philadelphia Eagles

FUCK YOU..

FUCK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

No not Jesus, AL DAVIS!! Just when you think the Raiders couldn't get ANY DUMBER.....

THEY TOTALLY REDEEM THEMSELVES

They trade 1, possibly TWO #1 draft picks for a 31 year old QB who has been mediocre at best ever since his major knee inury.... WOW this is truly a head scratch-er, this is worse than Jery Jones giving up the farm for Roy Williams. Heck probably worse than Atlanta giving up the farm for Julio Jones...

This isn't as bad as the Herschel Walker trade not  nearly as bad, but this has to be top 10 worst trades in the past 10 years.

Per NFL.com

So much for that. By trading Palmer to the Raiders on Tuesday, Brown rewarded his franchise by securing a first-round pick in 2012 and a second-round pick in 2013 that could turn into a first-rounder if the Raiders make the AFC title game this season or next. Nice reward for the Bengals.

 

The scary difference is in 2005 19 players went to the IR, the 2011 Eagles are healthy.

Same old Eagles team

- Can't stop the run (please don't show me stats, even when they make stops, it's only a matter of time before (insert RB) pulls off a 40 yard gain.

- Of course the pass defense says "hey, don't forget us, we suck too," and give up big plays, especially in the red zone. I think they like to drink Dos Equis(SP) .. "We don't like to give up big plays in the passing game, but when we do, we prefer to do it in the red zone."

-The offense says "hey, stop talking about the defense, we do what we can to embarrass ourselves in the redzone." How many times did we get stuffed on 2nd, 3rd and 4th and 1 plays???????

Hey at least in the late 90s the games were blacked out and we didn't even have to suffer through this crap visually... We could live vicariously from Merill Reese

Going into the season we all thought a team that was 10-6 and barely losing to the eventual SB champs would be poised to have another solid season with all the solid FA acquisitions. It's safe to say the majority of BGN thought this team was at WORST an 11-5 team with 12-4 not unlikely, and 13-3 a real possibility.

We beat the lowly Rams, who don't really appear to have turned any corners as they appear to be another 1-2 years about still.

We lost to the Falcons, who we probably should've beat by 10-14 points, but in hindsight, this is the same Falcons team who got stomped by what appears to be a mediocre Bears team and outplayed by an even more mediocre young Buccaneers team.

It gets worse, we lose to an injury laden Giants team who had to have the Rams gift them a win the week before. Not to mention they got torched by no name WRs with Rex Grossman at the helm.

As Jason mentioned, the problem is, this team is like a broken record. The same exact mistakes, the same players at fault, the same exact reoccuring themes in each in every game. Poor o-line play, bad LB play, mediocre S play. The run defense, the defense that lets up a TD when it needs a stop. Vic getting crushed every play, Vick holding onto the ball too long, Vick fumbling (not all his fault). There appear to be no fixes even though the level of competition has been very poor.

Rant over....where do you see this team now that they have shown very little in terms as being a consistent team in all facets of the game...

I hope I'm wrong but my brain is saying 9-7

Brandon Stokley!!!!!

http://www.giants101.com/2011/09/14/new-york-giants-closing-in-on-deal-with-wide-receiver-brandon-stokley/

75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75wordsv75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words 75words LOLFANSHOT

OK the Giants, who in preseason, I thought were going to be our biggest competitors to get the NFC E title. They very well could be, but I found a couple of things interesting about that team.

1. Their strength is SUPPOSED to be the secondary along with a formidable D-line. Granted, they were super banged up on the line, but their high priced free agents, and "big names," were getting tuned up by guys like Anythony Armstrong, Fred Davis, an aging Moss, and Rex Grossman. Rolle, Webster, Boley, Ross were getting equally torced.

2. Just like a few of us had a little too high hopes for our O-line, I think the Giants optimism was worse. They thought David Diehl was going to be great back there, he wasn't. I was also a bit disappointed in Chris Snee who is like Jason Peters to us -- our best lineman. If Reese did do one thing right, it looks like he hit it big with David Baas at center.

3. Can we all start laughing in unison now when the Giants fans try to tell us they have a better WR corps than we do? Nicks is a beast, Manningham is good, but kinda raw when it comes to instincts a WR would have (ie not knowing where his feet are on the sideline), but there is a HUGE drop off of talent after that!!! Victor Cruz or Hixon would not even make our team. Clearly, Eli misses a reliable third down target which he's not going to get from any of those guys, nor their TEs.. Beckum is another guy who wouldn't even make most NFL teams roster. A guy they have been trying to develop for a long time.

At least Giants fans have Nicks and JPP to look forward to. These guys will be studs for a long time.

Hat tip to Jimmy K for analyzing the Redskins moves and calling it perfectly. The Redskins are much improved on defense. Their offense still doesn't instill any fear into me, but they have some guys on the  defensive side of the ball who can make some plays. Mabe the Skin will be our biggest competition? OK, that's pushing it but that would be interesting.

If I had to do a kudos and wet willies BGN style from last nights game here's what it would look like:

Kudos

Mike Patterson - Limited reps, got a sack, welcome back Mike. He has been called mediocre his whole career by fans here. I personally think he was an unsung hero.

Phillip Hunt - Nice move for the sack. I loved Juqua Parker (Thomas) because he was a good role player with us for quite a while but with Hunt's upside and Parker's cap # the writing is on the wall here.

Trent Cole - Joe Thomas got him good a couple of times, but he still nabbed a sack. This guy is  an all pro and the most under rated Eagle in recent times next to Quintin Mikell and Sheldon Brown (in his prime of course)

Casey Matthews - The first few plays and I was thinking to myself "Oh not again," but he bounced back nicely after getting stiff armed pretty hard and seemed to be in the right spots at the right time. He needs some more reps, the lockout didn't do him any good.

Jason Peters - WOW, this guy is such a monster. Eats up lineman in the pass and run, we simply can't afford to lose him at any point this season, he's irreplaceable.

The Thee Headed Monster - Asante looked AWESOME in coverage, obviously so did NA, and DRC didn't seam to make any mistakes out there either. If we get a solid pass rush going this year , good luck trying to pass on us.

Ronnie Brown/Shady McCoy - I honestly thought McCoy got to many reps. He looked great, why was he out there anymore than he had to? Ronnie looked good again too.

Jamar Chaney - Fastest 40 time and Al Davis didn't nab him in the 2nd round? Weird. Peyton Hillis beat him on a slant otherwise he did a great job in coverage and I imagine he's going to tested a lot this year.

Brent Celek - Nice blocking dude

Wet Willies

Danny Watkins/Jason Kelce - Oh how wonderful it isn't, because this line still has question marks. Vick to an enormous beating against a team that wasn't exactly bringing the heat every single down and the weak links were these two guys. I think these two will be fine, fine players and the lockout obviously hurt BIG TIME but Howard Mudd has some serious work to do to get these guys ready. We simply can't afford to have Vick run for his life every play like he did last year and it really hurts our versatility in utilizing Celek.

Riley Cooper - BGN's favorite hype machine was invincible

DeSean Jackson - I didn't watch any tape so I couldn't tell if he was just getting doubled and phased out of the game but he like Cooper wasn't much of a factor.

D'Qwell Jackson - Hey douche, it's preseason, why are you spearing the QB? What's the gain?

Kwillies

Mike Vick - Granted his line did him ZERO favors but he did force a few throws and threw a ton of check down passes. That could be on the WRs as well (see Riley Cooper), but he still doesn't look comfortable back there as he did last year (and who would with that kind of protection?). Did not like when he just launched the ball into coverage. I think Mike is going to be fine once the regular season rolls around, but he did throw a few head scratchers this preseason.

Jarrad Page - We would be pissed had t the wide-out not dropped a TD that Page seemed to have covered well, but completely whiffed in a jumping attempt to break it up.  He did seem solid after that, but ouch please don't whiff so hard in the regular season Jarrad!!!

I will certainly wait until the regular season starts to pass any type of real judgment. The lockout is going to hurt some things, like the young guys development, but let's see how this thing shakes out

Ok there are arguments and there are STRAIGHT UP REACHES!! You know, like the NFL MVP candidate being lucky and the INT leader being UNLUCKY.

By Dan Graziano

I love a contrarian point of view, and K.C. Joyner's got one here. While everybody is gushing over the Philadelphia Eagles as free-agent champs and NFC East favorites, K.C. has written an Insider piece listing eight reasons to think the New York Giants should be the favorites instead. Like I said, it's an Insider piece, so if you want to read it you can either buy the insider subscription or call my cell phone and I'll give you my password.

K.C.'s eight reasons are:

[+] Enlarge

1. Michael Vick was lucky last season, as a high percentage of his potential interceptions weren't actually intercepted.

2. Eli Manning was unlucky last season on the opposite end of the same scale.

3. Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham are better against good coverage than DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin are.

4. Manning can overcome the loss of Kevin Boss and Steve Smith simply by throwing to Nicks and Manningham more.

5. Jason Pierre-Paul and Marvin Austin will improve the Giants' already strong pass rush.

6. Steve Weatherford is a better punter than Matt Dodge, who cost them games last season.

7. Offensive line coach Pat Flaherty is the best in the NFL, and that should help the transition to the reworked alignment there.

8. Kenny Phillips is fully healthy.

K.C. has numbers to back up many of these points, and many of them are points with which I agree. I think Phillips will be a huge help, agree completely on Weatherford and can easily believe both that Manning will throw fewer interceptions than he did last season and that Vick won't be quite as awesome as he was last season. On the comparison of the two teams' wideouts, I have no reason to doubt K.C.'s numbers.

I have specific issues with points 4, 5 and 7, as follows:

4. I don't think it's as simple as "throw it to Nicks and Manningham more." Nicks and Manningham surely benefited from defenses having to pay attention to Smith, who'd caught 107 balls the season before, when he was on the field. He's gone and has not been replaced.

5. I like Pierre-Paul and Austin fine, but they're not being added to the mix. They're replacing people who have departed. Mathias Kiwanuka moved back from the line to linebacker, and Pierre-Paul will take his spot. Barry Cofield signed with the Redskins, and Austin replaces him. It's a big leap to believe that those two young players will approximate the production and performance of those two veterans and a bigger one to believe they'll improve on it.

7. Flaherty could be a wizard, but if William Beatty isn't ready for the starting left tackle job in his third season in the league, the Giants' line will struggle. And as of right now, we still don't know if he is.

So what do I think of K.C.'s basic thesis? I think the Giants have a very good team as far as the front-line starters go, and I don't think it'd be some huge upset if they won the division. I have all kinds of respect for the work K.C. does and the numbers on which he is basing his conclusions. He makes a strong case and a case worth making amid all the Eagles hype.

But the way I see it, the Giants' problem the past couple of seasons hasn't been one of measurables.

The Giants' defense over the past two seasons has been inconsistent and hasn't always played up to the level of the talent on the roster. The same can be said, in places, for the running game and for Manning. The Giants were good enough to make the playoffs in 2009 and 2010 but didn't, and the reason they didn't was because the good players they have in key spots like that didn't always perform the way the numbers would expect them to perform. Supposedly reliable parts of the roster let them down when it mattered most. Ahmad Bradshaw fumbled. Manning threw interceptions. Kareem McKenzie had an inexplicably bad game against the Titans. Half of the defense quit on its coordinator in 2009.

That's the kind of stuff that doesn't show up in preseason projections, when we're imagining everyone playing as well as they can possibly play and predicting outcomes based on that. If the Giants stay healthy and play 16 games that reflect the talent on their roster, sure, they can be division champs. But that was true last season and the season before, too. And those teams, which looked a lot like this team except maybe deeper, didn't do it.

1. NA was wearing an Eagles form. No really, the most coveted free agent we all wanted was REALLY suited in in green. Wow

2. Ronnie Brown wearing #36... Westbrook was the definition of a classy player who put his head down and did work. 40% of our offense and made the whole defense watch him. Bye Westbrook :'(

3. Our defensive ends ling up like that...We have been used to a JJ defensive front since 1999...bye JJ :'(

4. One of our DTs using a spin move... OK, call me crazy but in my lifetime I don't remember ANY of our guys utilizing the spin move

5. Actually being EXCITED to see Jason Babin again and what he brings to the table under Washburn

6. Seeing Vince Young under center.. With our crazy offseason anything seems possible, but c'mon Vince Young is our back up. Who would've thought that?

7. Watching Giants fan favorite, the same Giant who dissed us weeks ago, on our sideline

8. Watching someone other than Akers kick off... Before Akers I can only remember Gary Anderson, Chris Boniol, and Roger Ruzek

9. Come to thin of it, not seeing Kolb, McNabb, Bunkley, Bradley, Mikell, etc. Also surreal. It's amazing how this roster keeps turning over... Qbs in 2009 Vick  , Kolb and McNabb... 2010 Vick Kolb Kakfa...2011 Vick, Young Kafka

10. Seeing the 3 headed monster... DRC, NA, and Samuel all on the field and thinking "Holy crap, teams have to actually pick which match up they like against 2 all pros and a pro bowler!!!!"

I can not wait for the season to start already. 2 months I could do without, February and August!

Crying AGAIN?

{quote]"I was there for 11 years, and the biggest thing we brought in was T.O. [Terrell Owens]," said McNabb. "Now they’re getting the so-called 'Dream Team.' It’s amazing, but I look back on my career and what they’re doing now ... that’s great; that’s excellent. But you’re seeing another side. You’re seeing Andy (coach Andy Reid) taking that chance. It’s not just taking that chance on one guy. They’re taking a chance on a bunch of guys. And they’re spending money. That’s amazing. Ever since the lockout [ended], teams have to spend money."[/quote]

"With T.O.," he said, "after the first two or three weeks of training camp we felt like we had something. But you never say, 'Aw, we’re going to win the Super Bowl. Fans say that. Radio says that. But now they expect them to win.

"Now they bring in a Cullen Jenkins, and we all know he’s a dominant force. They bring in a Nnamdi Asomugha. You have Rodgers-Cromartie, who is the one they don’t mention the most because they have Asante Samuel, too. The problem is: What do you do with Asante Samuel?

"Then, you've got to worry about DeSean (Jackson). When he comes back are you going to give DeSean the ball or throw it to (Jeremy) Maclin? Remember, you have to give LeSean McCoy the ball, too. And then at the end you still have to pay Mike Vick. They have more problems than people are looking at."

I guess Brian Westbrook, a good o line, a good defense and T.O. wasn't enough for McNabb. In fact in 5 NFC CG that the Eagles helped orchestrate in his 11 year career there.

McNabb isn't class, he's a whiner, and it's the reason multiple black people have came out and flat our criticized him calling him white lol (which im assuming is the ultimate diss for brothers). He has no heart and will always play the victim and the blame game.

When Mike Vick hoists the Lombardi we can finally say VICK was this franchise's best Quarterback

First off, let's start with the Redskins

Redskins - OK this team has more holes in it then the valley ranch in Nevada. It's not even worth discussing this team, although, I do think they actually got decent FAs this off season. They're still going to be jockeying for  a 3rd place finish at best.

Giants - OK this is a team who had not one, but two mid season collapses in a row.  How did they improve so far this year? IMO, not much.They are now extremely thin at O-line like the Eagles with no talent to immediately step in. Unluckily for them Andrews decided to test the market and sorry I'm not buying WB as a top talent to replace their losses. Imagine if Diehl or McKenzie goes down? Ouch.

Secondly, as much as our LBs are touted as horrible, the Giants are just as unsesnsational as ours. The only difference? They actually paid Boley a lot of money to be par.

Their secondary is interesting. I think their safeties are good and Kenny Phillips should be better now that he's more removed from his injury. CB can can be a question mark because they have a rookie who may or may not be stellar and Terrell Thomas who really wasn't all that great last year. Corey Webster had a monster season in 08 and played well in 07 but has since to duplicate that level of play. He's very good, but top talent can beat him.

Skill positions? They have Brandon Jacobs and it doesn't look like they are willing to play Bradshaw. Meaning they have a guy who's a powerback who played really well back when the Giants run blocking could blow up some serious holes, but can't catch or make something out of nothing like a smaller , shiftier back could. Giants also have to be worried about his style of play. Marion Barber went from very feared to back up very fast.

Giants also may not be able to resign Steve Smith who's a great possession WR and  Eli's favorite target. Nicks is a stud, I hate to admit that, Manningham is good too even though his football instincts are poor and have costed the Giants a few TDs...

TE is interesting as they have an underachieving player in Beckum and a very average Kevin Boss who may not even come back to the team.

And perhaps their biggest loss? DT Coefield who had a very fine season last year. Canty is just OK and they're going to hope one of 2 DT second rounders can produce.

If they can't resign some of their FAs or get some more help on the line, I don't see them being able to win more than the Eagles

Cowboys - The Cowboys could quite possibly be the Skins rival. Their secondary is awful. Newman is another year older and unless Jenkins returns to pro bowl fom they are going to really struggle this year. Oh and who are their safeties? lol. They couldn't resign Bowen which hurts their depth there.

On the offensive side of the ball they do have stacked skill posistions and even though Romos team struggled last year I think he'll bounce back a bit this year. Dez Bryant is going to be a stud and Miles Austin has a great blend of speed and power. Witten is the leagues best and most consistent TE.

I was praying they couldn't resign Doug Free as that would've been a huge blow to a line that has questions at a few spots, mainly center and it's expected that a #9 pick overall produces at a high level, but its never guaranteed.

Bottom line? We should be thanking Banner , Roseman and Reid (Hey evilbanner did it) But the Giants and the Cowboys are struggling due to poor cap management, while we were able to sign a flurry of talent and trade for more draft picks.

This season feels very special already.

I'll be honest, since the Giants have been our most heated rivalry the past 6-7 years, I really like reading their posts when they either lose or see us succeed by winning games or acquiring top talent in FA.

Needless to say, their blind Giant bias has to be some of the BEST reading material since MM2.

Pre free agency while the Eagles were one of the richest teams in cap space, Gmen fans were saying "Yeah but they have to resign Vick and Jackson, no way they have money to do everything and then go sign anyone." As if 25 million below the cap wasn't much money or something. And I guess they haven't learned that the Eagles are masters of the cap these past 10 years have they?

After the Eagles sign Babin

Gmen Fans: Oh he's only had one good year, he'll suck this year

After the Eagles trade Kolb for DRC and a 2nd

Gmen Fans: DRC is a sub par corner and now they have no backup QB, so it's a good trade for us

After the Eagles fans acquire NA

Gmen Fans: They have no LBs (who are the giants Lbs lol), safeties, and Dline? They are weak in the front 7.

After the Eagles sign Jenkins

Gmen fans: He was a 3-4 player only 1 good year.

Some other good tid bits:

- Vick isn't any good, he only had one "decent" season, he'll probably get injured

- They signed TOO MANY FAs and they won't have any chemistry like the Giants do lol

Mind you, this is AFTER the fact that the Eagles beat them 6x in a row, upgraded their personnel significantly more than the Giants have, while the Giants did nothing but cut half o their line (which sucked last year anyway, almost as bad as ours), lost Coefield, and still have a hard time with the cap. Speaking of which while the Giants were SIX MILLION over the cap they were so sure that they were going to find ways to sign good FAs while the Eagles were to struggle being 25 under LMAO....

The other posts are great. The Giants are so sure that their roster is better than ours in every aspect. They do concede that we have a SLIGHT advantage in the CB department LOL!!!!!!!! 2 all pro corners and 1 pro bowl corner or a rookie, Webster and lol terrell thomas. That's more than a SLIGHT difference brothers from up North.

And alas, there would be no Giants pep rally without a 2007 reference. Since the Giants defeated the Pats when David Tyree caught the ball on his head by a hail mary by Eli, they can beat anybody!!

Sorry Giants fans, you're cash strapped, your O-line is waifer thin, your WRs will be no match for our secondary and your defense once again, will not stop our offense. You can pencil in 2 more losses onn your schedule. You might as well start busting out the SB 42 videos cause it's going to be Philly all day every day in 2011. Fuck New York!

He's going to have to promote Kluwe's band lol!!!!

Donovan McNabb(notes), as you know, will be playing quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings in 2011. Also, as you probably know, McNabb has been wearing the number five his whole career.

What you might not know, unless you really love punting, is that Vikings punter Chris Kluwe(notes) already wears number five for the Minnesota Vikings.

Is there a deal to be worked out that would get McNabb the number five? There is! As it happens, Chris Kluwe is a prolific tweeter, and posted this upon the news of McNabb heading north.

Tripping Icarus is a progressive rock band in Minneapolis. Their bassist is Chris Kluwe.

You can visit their Facebook page here, and listen to some of their songs here. Rolling Stone said "they are to the Minneapolis rock scene what MouseRat is to Pawnee." OK, they didn't say that. I said that.

I admire Kluwe's creativity here. Punters generally don't get a lot of microphones shoved in their faces. If he wanted to be the subject of his own press conference, Chris Kluwe would have to, I don't know, take the snap and literally eat a leather football right there on the field of play. McNabb mentions that he has athlete's foot, and there are reporters camped outside his bathroom window.

I'm ready to name Chris Kluwe the second-best punting number-seller in NFL history. Jeff Feagles(notes) remains at the top of that list, having gotten Eli Manning(notes) to pay for a family vacation to Florida in exchange for the No. 10. He then later sold another number to Plaxico Burress(notes) for ... well, Plaxico may have shafted him on that deal.

Here is a guy where the Eagles drafted out of the first for (With the cowboys nonetheless) which got Eagles fans furious as everyone thought we were going to draft Dawkins eventual replacement here. A real surprising move by the FO, which of course, got the boo birds going and got the pundits thinking "what is Reid thinking/?"

It didn't get any easier for Kolb as his first "real" shot as playing QB was against the Steelers in week 2 after McNabb got dinged up. At the time I believe the Steelers were the #1 ranked D and Kolb struggled a bit, which earned him criticism. The very next time he got shoved in the Ravens game when McNabb was benched after struggled all game (again, earned him a LOT of criticism). As everyone knows, you don't really get a chance to settle in with Philly, you either perform well or get booed.

The very next year McNabb got injured in week 1 and that's where we finally saw the Kolb that got to prepare as a starter. He ended up playing really well against the eventual SB Champs Saints and beat up in a bad defensive KC team. This is where Kolb got the honors of throwing for back to back 300 yard games in his first two starts, something that's never been done before. It's also where I think he got his respect.

With a lot of McNabb fanatics, Kevin still didn't have a ton of support from the Philly fan base when he was given the reigns. Unfortunately, he got injured week 1 and after backing up Vick for when he got dinged up he didn't do so well. Although he played very well against SF, almost beat Dallas with our 4th stringers, and played so-so against a stingy Tennessee defense.

In any event, Kolb was always VERY professional. Never complained in the media, never let the criticism get to him, never blamed players for poor performances, always said the right things. I think he was dealt a really tough hand from the very get go and handled it very well.

Watch Kolb hook up with Fitzgerald and have a good season and become a star in this league. I'll be rooting for him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7BULg8lMpg

Kevin Kolb Highlights 2009 (via 190k)

I love prediction threads as much as the other guy. However, it's funny when someone has 10 predictions, half are true and half are soooo wrong and off base. Yet, the poster will come forth with their right ones and act like the next Nostradamus. I think we all at one point have been guilty of that!

So let's see.. Who has the cojones to actually come out and admit their predictions that they thought were sooo right but yet so wrong. This thread will have possibilities for a lot of entertainment... I'll start

1. Reggie Browns rookie year, I claimed he would be the next Chad Johnson

2. DeSean Jackson was too small of a WR when we drafted him

3. Back when Buckhalter and Westbrook were part time players together, I thought Buckhalter would have the better career.

4. In 2004, I was betting dollars to donuts that we were going to select Stephen Jackson. When we moved up to 16, I about peed myself.

5. In 1999, I was in the camp that thought we should've drafted Ricky Williams instead of McNabb. But I was 14 at the time with limited knwoledge, so I get a pass I think

6. I predicted Matt Ware was the next Bobby Taylor -- I was in love with that whole bust of a draft lol.

I'll post more in the comments when I think of them

His job is to make sure the NFL remains prosperous and keeps a high level of integrity?

Common Arguments:

"He has pussified the NFL with all the fines and fabricated these so called "illegal hits."

Was there anyone calling the NFL pussy for fining Dunta Robinson's hit on DeSean Jackson? Was there anyone not screaming for a 15 yard flag after it happened?

Furthermore, players AND fans are breathing down the NFL's neck for increased player health benefits and sports scientists are encouraging even more research for the detrimental effects concussions may have on the brain.

Now does it make sense that the NFL would allow players to SPEAR other players in the head and neck area with their helmets? Not only is it an INSTANT concussion but now that player has to miss time and now that player is suspectable to more concussions. And if you can't figure out the financial problems a player would have by a career cut short with too many concussions or entering free agency with multiple concussions on the resume due to these hits, than your IQ and your age are probably very closely related.

Another common

"He takes the fun out of the NFL by limiting celebrations!"

Again, the NFL is a business and just like in every other business it needs to hold a high standard of professionalism. Spiking the ball and celebrating with your team mates on the side line? Professional. Taking the pylon and acting like you're putting a birdie, not.

The hardcore fans might find a good celebration funny, someone who is casually watching the game and not yet a hardcore fan, very well might be turned off by these elaborate celebrations.

Let me interject with my own analogy. I own a metal roofing business and like any and all businesses I try to be as professional as possible with a customer at all times. After I complete a job, the customer is pleased, and hands me a check, do you think it would be a good idea for me to do the Nestea Plunge in their pool in celebration? Or run into the middle of their lawn and spike my hammer and do the Dougie? Or perhaps fake mooning the neighbors and rub my ass on their mail box?

Likely, I would be thought of as a jackass and an unprofessional one at that.

I think some celebrations and funny and entertaining and the rules may be too harsh, but at the same time it forces some integrity.

And lastly:

He's making the NFL too business like

Uh yeah, that's his job. If the NFL started losing revenue then he wouldn't have one. I don't agree with the 18 game season either, but if you think about it from a monetary perspective it makes perfect sense. His job isn't to please us -- the hardcore devout fans. And why would it? We aren't going anywhere. His job is to reach out to the people who are just casual fans and potential fans. The more fans, the more TV viewership, the more merchandise sold, etc... The NFL is a business, and business decisions aren't going to please everyone.

With all that in mind, it's getting old seeing 10000 posts weekly declaring that Roger Goodell is Satan. All he is doing is continuing where Taglibue(SP) left off and he's doing a good job of it.

And remember, the reason why Michael Vick isn't stocking grocery shelves is because Roger gave him a second chance.

Fans are SO quick to over react instead of sitting down and looking at a situation with sound objectionable analysis. How many times does the FO have to make a crazy or what fans and so-called experts aka sports jouranlists think are crazy moves that are surely going to drown the franchise... Only to be proven wrong again and again and again.

Phil Sheridan thinks this is a crazy move that puts Andy Reids career in jeopardy. Oh wait, wasn't it when we decided to get rid of McNabb that Andy put his neck out there because it meant we were "rebuilding."

Oh, and starting that QB who no one (including myself) thought he was capable enough to run a complex offense... What as his name again? Michael Vick. How many claimed the season was lost after that surprising week 3 move? I think more than half of BGN made that claim.

Let's not forget these "irrational" crazy free agency moves too. You know, how could we survive without Bobby Taylor and Troy Vincent? That 2004 pro bowl secondary was made up of 2 new starters and was supposed to be the weakness because this FO is so crazy (and cheap too) and didn't want to pay Bobby and Troy. Dawkins, Trotter, Douglas, Duce, man the list goes on...  How does a team who keeps evolving their roster keep winning? So irrational!

Hell, the Kolb draft had people flailing. Why would we draft a QB, we already had a pro bowl QB (although had some serious injury history at the time). Hell that whole draft was pregraded at a D. It's a shame Celek and Bradley had to prove everyone wrong, once again.

 Sit back, and relax.

A couple of things about the combine since combine season is coming

1. The 40 yard dash is the second most over rated test and here's why:

a) How often does a player run 40 yards? How often does a player run 40 yards in a STRAIGHT line with the same mechanics they use in a 40 yard test?

b) Let's build on that for a second. One of the brightest soccer strength and conditioning coaches noticed something with his players. He noticed ever speed/agility drill he implemented with his players didn't seem to translate on the field. It DID make them faster at the drills they progressed, but not so much on the field.

His remedy? He made his players start doing drills dribbling a soccer ball instead of just straight up running. The results were much better why? Because the motor patterns learned while running without a ball weren't the same as running WITH a ball.

Now, the same goes for football players. The motor patterns for running in a perfect line without a football are totally different then when you have 250 lb players in your face/in your way. That's why there's a clocked 40 speed and a game time speed.

A good example is DeAngelo Hall and DeSean Jackson. If I remember correctly Hall actually had a better 40 time but we all watched with out naked eyes DeSean Jackson completely outran DeAngelo Hall who had an ANGLE on DeSean!

DeSean clocked in at sub 4.4s but his game speed is obviously a LOT faster. When he gets into the open field he is not running in a direct straight line, and obviously no one can catch him.

It's an absolute embarassment that talent scouts will have players fly up the draft board after a good 40 time or have them spiral downwards because of a bad one.

One last thing I wanted to mention about a 40 time is that it CAN be manufactured to a degree. There are strength exercises, drills, and even technique can award you a better time (Jimmy if I would have known you were going to tryout for the Soul, I would've helped you lol)

2. The Bench Press

Technically there really is no exercise that is "sport specific", but if you try and find one that's close to the movements you make in sports. The flat bench, going straight up and down, is not something you do in sports, or football. The Incline bench, is actually a better upper body strength test because the range of motion mimics sports movements much better. Although, truth be told, you use much more hips, lower back, glutes and hammies in football than you do upper body.

The other issue with the bench test is that after 15 or so reps the exercise because an endurance test. It's actually not even an absolute strength indicator!

My best recorded bench is 370 @ 200 lbs, my training partner can bench 450 @ BW 181. His muscle make up is much more fast twitch and can only do 225 maybe 20 times. My recorded record is 23. Obviously, he's much stronger than me at a much lower body weight. The rep test would not suggest that.

The shuttle and cone test are the same thing. You don't use the same motor patterns you do in football, they can also be coached to have better times also. The broad jump and vertical -- same story.

The reason why I posted this is because when we start talking about draft prospects I don't want to hear "OMG, so and so wasn't that great of a WR but WOW  his 40 time really intrigues me."

I want to see intelligent discussions more along the lines of "He demonstrated good speed on the field and runs good routes.:

With last year Super Bowl's contestants being offensive juggernauts with premiere passing games and this year's Eagles team lighting up the score board with the best offense in franchise history we got in about 100 debates on the run/pass ratio and play calling after putting up a paltry 16 points in our playoff loss.

Guilty myself,  I was/am part of the "Gotto pass to score," camp and a fraction of BGN was on the "Good teams have running games," camp.

The 3 best offenses in the playoffs IMO were Pats #1, Eagles #2 and Green Bay #3. The Eagles and the Pats both had MVP candidates on their respective teams yet both were first round playoff exits. The dichotomy between the two top offenses and the Packers is defense.

Let's throw away all the defensive stats, if you're a hardcore fan of the NFL like most of us, we all know who the good defenses are in the league. Yeah Pitt and Baltimore was a high scoring affair, and yeah the Jets defense didn't help them out too much in the championship game, but let's be honest. Aside from the 3 teams aforementioned the other teams got in the tournament, and lasted in the tournament because of their defense.

The Packers can get after the QB and they even displayed a lot of Jim Johnson like blitzes sending in DBs and attacking Chicago's protection schemes. They have a good NT, a stud in Clay Matthews, and a pro bowl secondary. You have to gve Dom Capers credit for having his defense come and and take out PHI, ATL, and CHI all in a row.

Yea the Pack have a nice offense, but when they can't light it up on the scoreboard against solid teams they can rely on their defense to help them win games. This year, the Eagles couldn't say that.  I can't remember the last turnover or game where we applied a lot of pressure on the QB.

The Steelers are much like the Packers. They have some weapons on offense to score points but when that doesn't happen they have Dick LeBeau dialing up an aggressive plays and those 3-4 LBs they have go out there and make plays for them.

Face it, the "defense wins championships," holds true about 75% of the time. Good teams make plays when they have to and IMO the Eagles defense didn't even threaten to make big plays down the stretch.

As much as I look forward to seeing Vick play with our young talented skill players next year, with a likely revamped line, I REALLY REALLY want to see more talent on our defensive unit with a coordinator that knows how to use it.

That way, we won't be arguing whether 8 runs or a couple more completed passes would've changed the game, we can say a good performance from an all around good team finally won us a Lombardi!

Since I can't work when the weather is so poor, I decided to pay homage to my favorite games under Andy Reid. I think it would be cool for the guys that have only been following the birds for a couple of years or so to see some of the great games we had.

10. January 19th, 2002

Philadelphia Eagles 33 Chicago Bears 19

This game was awesome because it launched us into our first championship game in years. Our defense was feared with Troy Vincent, a young Brian Dawkins, Bobby Taylor, and Jeremiah Trotter to name just a few. The Eagles were not expected to make it this far in the season, but they easily stomped Tampa Bay in the wild card round and marched into Soldier Field and played an overall great game. McNabb despite throwing a pick 6 played very well throwing for 2 TDs and rushing for 1. I had to look this one up but even Akers had a tremendous game kicking 4 FGs to help end the Bears season.

9. November 25th 2002

Philadelphia Eagles 38 San Francisco 49ers 17

This was a Sunday Night game to remember for Eagles fans. The week before McNabb went down with a fractured ankle against the Arizona Cardinals, which I attended. We were pretty uncertain Koy Detmer was going to be able to lead the team to Ws with McNabb out and I remember the very first play of the game just being UGLY and you got the "oh ..great" feeling. Detmer ended up lighting it up before getting injured himself and having A.J. Feeley finish out the game and the remainder of the season while McNabb rehabbed back to health.

8.November 15h, 2004

Philadelphia Eagles 49 Dallas Cowboys 21

When we ultimately look back at Donovan's best years 2004 was pretty much the year that you remember. We had a good O-line, Terrell Owens, Chad Lewis, and a pretty good defense too. McNabb was the most accurate and consistent that year and put up monster numbers. This was a game where we went into Dallas and pretty much smothered the Cowboys, it was a microcosm to the whole season offensively. This is where Donovan scrambled for 14 seconds and launched the ball 60 yards and completed 1 of Freddie Mitchell's 5 relevant catches. Terrell Owens also gave us something to laugh after he scored he decided to pose on the Dallas Cowboy's star...the one in the end zone. It was pretty embarrassing night for Tuna and Jerry but pretty awesome for the Eagles.

7. December 15th 2003

Philadelphia Eagles 34 Miami Dolphins 27

For the newer guys on here, the Miami Dolphins were actually a pretty good team back then. They had Jason Taylor and Zach Thomas in their prime leading a stout defense and Ricky Williams carrying the Miami Dolphin's offense that year. If you want to talk about predictability and play calling, the Eagles had some really nice play calls and great execution and it started right off the bat. A deep bomb to Pinkston for the first play of the game and then Brian Westbrook made a great 20 yard scamper for the score right after. The most amazing play came when I believe it was Freddie Mitchell with the WR pass to Brian Westbrook over Zach Thomas for the TD -- it was beautiful. Eagles critics were a little unsure if we were going to be able to stop Ricky Williams who at the time was having a monster season -- but besides from one long scamper the Eagles did a good job.

6. January 11th, 2004

Philadelphia Eagles 20 Packers 17

This game was pretty wild as most of you remember it quite vividly. Sheldon Brown gave up 2 quick TDs to the Packers making it an uphill battle from the get go. Brown at the time was in for I believe Bobby Taylor and was quite raw back then. He remembers telling the coach he was "cool," after the two TDs and went on to play a pretty good game after that. The offense was without Brian Westbrook, and most of the game the offense struggled. However, this is back when McNabb could make Vick-esque plays with his feet and towards the end of the game that's exactly what he did. The Packers defense was pretty good back then and I think they had 8 sacks that game with the last one setting up the infamous 4th and 26th. 4th and 26th is like 9/11 in the regard that you knew exactly where you were and what you were doing when the play happened. After the Dawkins INT and run back you just knew the Eagles were going to win and it ended up being one of the greatest plays in playoff history.

5. December 25th 2006

Philadelphia Eagles 23 Dallas Cowboys 7

Merry Christmas to Philly seeing as this was a HUGE game coming down the stretch. The Eagles who lost McNabb in the middle of the season were pretty much fizzling out after a hot start and were forced to start Jeff Garcia. The first game wasn't pretty against the Colts, but Garcia led an amazing comeback including this game where the Eagles were supposed to lose. Instead the Eagles put on a beautiful defensive effort with a couple of sacks, picks and a goal line stand to boot. T.O. for most of  the game was shut down and had a couple of his proverbial weekly drops. The crowd was crazy and for the Eagles to go in and take it to the Cowboys like that was just beautiful. Michael Irvin guaranteed the Eagles had no shot to win the week before and called their fairy tale over -- he was wrong. Say what you want about Jeff Garcia, the guy had great football instincts and could run the WCO extremely well.

4. November 15th 2010

Philadelphia Eagles 59 Washington Redskins28

A month after McNabb claimed the Eagles made a mistake by trading him the Eagles handed the Redskins a HISTORIC butt kicking. This game reminded me of the 1995 playoff game versus the Lions. The Eagles offense could just do no wrong that game and everything worked. It was so bad you actually felt sorry for Redskins fans

3. December 19th 2010

Philadelphia Eagles 38 New York Giants 31

Ah, still fresh in our minds! What a victory!

2. January 11th, 2009

Philadelphia Eagles 23 New York Giants 11

The entire season was marred by inconsistency seeing as we finished 9-6-1 and at one point benched McNabb in favor of Kevin Kolb for a game. The one thing we did have going for us was a really strong defense which really helped our team in the playoffs. The Giants that year were the SB favorites after winning the SB the previous year and having one hell of a regular season. Although it all started to crumble once Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg (LOL) and when the Eagles took it to them in their last regular season game (the first of 6 straight victories).

This game was a real battle and both offenses struggled mightily but if this was one game you had to give McNabb credit for in his later, less productive years, it had to be this one. He made some great plays with his feet, extending the play and ultimately leading the Eagles to score more points than the favored Giants. The Eagles/Giants rivalry has really heated up since 2006 and since both teams are run pretty well I don't see it dying down anytime soon.

1. January 23rd, 2005

Philadelphia Eagles 27 Falcons 10

We finally did it! We made it to the SB and there were plenty of story lines before the game started. We were without starting WR Terrell Owens and we were facing Mike Vick and a play making Falcons offense. Just like the 4th and 26th game you remember exactly where you were and who you were with this game. It just had such a special feeling and energy at the end of the game when you knew the Eagles were going to win it. The whole season had that feel but to finally make the big dance felt so good. The defense came up big that game and the offense made due without Owens. Who doesn't remember the hit Dawkins put on Crumlper or Derrick Burgess terrorizing Vick with his speed on the outside? What a game!

What games in the Reid era did I miss?