SB Nation User Blog: ajay

Trading McNabb

ajay — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 04:02:32 -0000

Okay, there are obviously a lot of people on here who want to trade McNabb. I'm not one of them but that isn't what this post is about. I'm just envisioning what could happen if we DO get rid of McNabb. A few points:

1.) He carries a roughly 10 million dollar salary cap number next year. We don't owe him any guaranteed money (from what I understand).

2.) He's turning 32 on Tuesday. I don't need to remind you of his injury history.

Now, that being said, what do you guys think we could get if we trade him? A team like Chicago or Detroit or Minnesota (basically the entire NFC North) would have to be at least interested. Maybe we could get a first rounder in return? And if so...we'd have three next year. And, from my perspective as a McNabb fan, he might be put in a better position to succeed elsewhere.

Just thinking out loud but what do you guys think?

Ed Reed on the Eagles

ajay — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:53:18 -0000

Yet another opponent on our beloved Eagles:

"They've been throwing the ball 40-plus or 50-plus times a game. You throw the ball like that, eventually, you know, something's got to give," Reed said. "Either you're going to have an awesome offense and everybody's going to be talking about you, which rarely happens when you're throwing the ball 50 times because you have no running game."

"It's not just one guy. It's not just McNabb," Reed continued. "Your offensive line might be struggling a little bit. You're not running the ball as much. You've got to help your quarterback in this league. You can't just drop back and throw the ball the whole time. We knew that coming into this game. When you become that predictable, it's going to happen. Especially against a good defense."

http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/eagles/20081123_McNabb_benching_surprises_Ravens.html

Two things:

1.) Donovan has a lot of friends around the league. And they think he's getting a bum deal. He'll be welcomed with open arms wherever he ends up (but I hope he doesn't leave).

2.)I'm glad to see our opponents have taken such an interest in righting the ship in Philadelphia!

Defending Donovan

ajay — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:43:54 -0000

If you throw the ball 15-20 times, what are the chances that you'll throw an interception? All things being equal, probably pretty low. If you throw the ball 58 times - and you have no running game to speak of, and your opposition can consistently drop everyone into coverage without worrying about said running game - what are the chances you'll throw a few interceptions? Pretty good.

I'm not going to defend the actual interceptions; Donovan threw some horrific passes. Everyone could see that. But quarterbacks have bad games. It's not like Donovan is having a bad year statistically - in fact, it's pretty good. He's not throwing 3 INTs every week.

But usually head coaches try to compensate for bad games (see Coughlin, Tom) by utilizing the running game. Now I don't know why the running game doesn't work, especially with the size of our offensive line. But I think more of the blame has to fall on Andy Reid than Donovan McNabb for this game/season.

Reid's Future

ajay — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:24:07 -0000

Okay, so let me make one thing clear from the beginning of this post: I am not trying to suggest that Andy Reid should be fired. I'll leave that up to people much smarter than myself to debate. I can't begin to understand the complexities of owner/coach relations so I'll demur. But I do want to ask another question: how LIKELY is it that Andy Reid is fired after this season? I have one major assumption in asking this question: at 2-3 this team probably doesn't win more than 10 games at most and potentially only 6 to 8. I guess if things get turned around and we somehow finish 13-3 then maybe this topic will be dead. But as things stand, what do you think? Here are my thoughts:

1.) If we do have a losing season or an 8-8 season, except for one magical end to the '06 season this team has been mired in mediocrity since the end of the Super Bowl. There's no way to justify keeping Andy around if that's the case.

2.) The mistakes aren't getting fixed: poor playcalling, time management, too many passes, etc. At some point you think Jeffrey Lurie has to say: "Why can't we ever fix any of these mistakes? Why, after 10 years, are these still problems?"

Anyways, I'll leave it at that...how likely do you think it is that Andy is still the coach next season?

Hank Baskett engaged to Playboy Playmate?

ajay — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 22:18:18 -0000

Can this be true?

Perez is saying today that Kendra Wilkinson MIGHT be dating Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Hank Baskett, which just proves all his inside sources are nonsense because Kendra is engaged to Hank, and has been for some time. Lots of people know this but everyone likes Kendra so no one was in a hurry to blow her up, me included. But if their relationship is out there, you might as well know the whole story. And, um, yeah, so I guess that was the whole story. Amazing, wasn't it?

Maybe this is the reason why he's having a great year thus far...? After all, Kendra is well-known as a big Eagles fan. She probably thought: "If I marry him, maybe he can hold down the fort while Curtis is hurt..."

Personally, I figured if anyone would get a Playmate it would be Westbrook. I know you all must have thoughts on this one...

Controversy at Minicamp?

ajay — Mon, 05 May 2008 20:34:02 -0000

Sal Paolantonio writes (pretty pessimistically) about the Eagles minicamp...What do you guys think? Is it hard to take the analysis seriously when the photo of Lito Sheppard is actually Correll Buckhalter?

Here's what I thought was the most interesting snippet from the article:

"The Eagles, 8-8 last season, always seemed to be just a play away. In fact, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Eagles played in more close games last season than any other team in the league. For 78 percent of the playing time, Philadelphia was within eight points (or one possession) of its opponents -- either leading or trailing. That was the highest percentage for any team in the league in 2007."

Anyways, here is the link. Thoughts?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=paolantonio_sal&id=3381815

Offensive Tackle

ajay — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:50:42 -0000

This is my first attempt at a diary so bear with me. I know that most mock drafts (the intelligent ones that don't have us taking a wide receiver) suggest we'll go after an offensive tackle in the first round of the draft this year. However, check out part of an interview with Andy Reid recounted in the Inquirer today:

Q: How concerned are you about the age of offensive tackles Jon Runyan and Tra Thomas?

Reid: "They're getting older, so I'm concerned. You have to be. But I also know that both my guards can play tackle, so it gives me a little flexibility there."

Q: Would you prefer not to move Shawn Andrews because he's been so successful at guard?

Reid: "Not necessarily. Shawn was one of the finest tackles I've ever seen come out of college football. I really brought him here to do that, and to get him on the field sooner, I put him in at guard. I have no problem moving him, and I think he could play the left side as well as anybody in this league."

Assuming that Justice is still the future at RT, do you think we'll still go after an OT to replace William Thomas or does Reid's interview make you think he's planning to move Herremans or Andrews out to LT? Does that mean we draft a guard then or look at another position in the first round? I'd like to hear your thoughts.