Pre Season Recap

Ok, everyone I have been on vacation but would like to give you my take on how the preseason went for the Eagles.  So here it goes…

Who Cares!  Thank goodness it is over with!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There you have it for my analysis on each game.  I used to be one of those people that would put the jersey on and watch the entire game looking for players to focus on.  But I have come to realize I just hope nobody gets hurt.

Nothing beats NFL football to me, but let’s face it the preseason is a joke.  If you go to the games you are forced to pay full price to see JV football.  Not only do you see limited time for the stars (which is wise obviously) you really aren’t getting a good feel for your team.  They certainly aren’t going to implement any of their plans for the season leaving you with the 50th best player on the roster running basic plays.

So there you go fans!  Let’s go on to the regular season and get fired up to play the Rams.

Lurie Gives State of Team Address

Jeffrey Lurie gave his yearly state of the team address yesterday.  Some highlights:

• Scoffed at the notion that the Eagles always look down the road instead of going for it now.  Lurie said, “That’s our approach. It’s pedal-to-the-metal. That’s what every move is based on, or what every attempted move is based on, with an eye toward the present and an eye toward the future. But we’re going for it.”

Eagles fans are always skeptical of this with some even believing “going for” Randy Moss in the offseason was only done knowing they had no chance.

• Lurie does not see a team on the decline but a team that is “very fast”

We’ll see here though a healthy McNabb takes care of some of that potential decline.

• He doesn’t have any problem agreeing that Brian Westbrook has outperformed his contract but deferred to Andy Reid when talking about the status of Lito Sheppard.

Brian, do me a favor.  Get ready for a load of money!

Lito, do me a favor.  Don’t unpack all of your luggage.

• Claims McNabb “when healthy” is the best quarterback in the NFC.

Agree with him or not (and I know you Romo lovers will disagree) the word “healthy” is the key here.

So there is a brief wrapup for you on the owner’s vision of the team.  Typical news here with Lurie saying the right things.  You certainly don’t expect him to come out and say we suck.  The only real shock here is an owner admitting that a player has outplayed a contract.  Consdering how “thrifty” the Eagles are known to be it will be interesting to see how the Westbrook contract plays out.

Andrews Comes Clean

So finally the news comes out for Shawn Andrews about his no show at mini camp.  Read in the Philadelphia Daily News today where Andrews discusses his battle with depression.

“I’m willing to admit that I’ve been going through a very bad time with depression,”

It helps bring some clarity to the saga with this talented offensive lineman.  While the Eagles have claimed his absence was unexcused it appears they had no idea what the issue was.  My guess is they just heard the word “personal problems” and didn’t take kindly to that.  I myself even pegged it as a contract issue.

Depression is a dilemma that you never quite think of with athletes.  We hold them on this high level overall and look up to their abilities.  It seems part of that high regard is what hurt Andrews in the long run.  He has had issues for some time now and was even referred to a therapist a year ago from a friend.

“Sometimes I feel kind of embarrassed,” said Andrews, who added that he had worried about a fan perhaps recognizing him in a waiting room. “I felt, ‘I just can’t do it.’ “

Hopefully the simmering bad blood from his teammates will be forgotten with this news out in the open.  Jon Runyan had been quite critical of Andrews not being in camp.  Shawn hopes when he finally gets to camp he can talk to his teammates and “stop some of the bleeding, start some of the healing process maybe a little bit,”.

I can certainly understand where Shawn did not want this in the public eye.  But in the long run it will help him immensely.  Not only will this now make the rumors die down but maybe even in the long run he can be a focal point to help people better understand depression.

I certainly wish Shawn a healthy recovery, and hope to see him on the field shortly living up to his potential as a top offensive lineman.

Lito Sheppard Update

Not much to say right now, but wanted to post up a video by Drew Rosenhaus who is Lito Sheppard’s new agent.  The plan now is they are asking the Eagles to work out a new deal by the beginning of the season.  So basically we have upgraded the position and we should now give Lito more money for being a nickel back.  Good luck with that!

One other note when watching this video.  Am I the only one that gets annoyed that he says Lito like Leeeto?

Get Moving Rookie

DeSean Jackson is going through what a lot of rookies go through each year.  There is the fun of carrying other player’s stuff, the singing of your college fight song, and all of the other abuse you get as a rookie.

You also learn the great fact that even when in pain you better get your butt out on the field.  Jackson who missed part of June mini camp with a sore hamstring has missed a bit of camp time with the same issue.

Welcome to the kind, gentle, NFL DeSean.  A quote from Andy Reid, “”He needs to get healthy and get back out there is what he needs to do.” Reid continued, “This is a challenge for wide receivers, that first year, and you have to push yourself through these things, so that’s what he’s working on right now.”

It seems that DeSean got the message as he was back on the field yesterday.  Read an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer today and Jackson is saying the right things.

“I felt really good,” Jackson said. “The biggest thing is when I’m not practicing I kind of feel left out with my teammates. It’s hard for me to be in the training room and not on the field. That’s been the hardest thing for me so far. The biggest thing is I’m being pushed at a high level, and I have to keep working to make it through this.”

So Andy Reid won this battle (which the coach certainly should with a rookie).  I think Jackson will be a great special teams player for us but am still unsure on how he will be as a WR.  At least we have a promising sign here that he is listening to his coach and pushing through the pain.

The DE Dilemma

Going in to camp the Eagles were discussing how they were happy with the depth at Defensive End.  Well not even a week has passed and things are already changing.  Let’s take a look at the players in camp at that position.

Victor Abiamiri – 6′ 4″, 267 lbs. – Suffered a fractured wrist on Sunday and had two screws inserted in a surgical procedure on Tuesday

Chris Clemons – 6′ 2″, 240 lbs. – Left practice yesterday and went to the hospital for severe dehydration.

So that is two players down right now leaving us with:

Trent Cole – 6′ 3″, 270 lbs. – By far our best player.

Darren Howard – 6′ 3″, 260 lbs. – Still waiting for him to show why we signed him a few years ago from New Orleans.

Jerome McDougle – 6′ 2″, 264 lbs. – Has been nothing but injury prone and a disappointment since being drafted.

Juqua Parker – 6′ 2″, 250 lbs – Has been a solid performer but is more of a guy you want to rotate in.

Now while Clemons expects to be back shortly, I see a bigger concern and it is called Wear and Tear.  With two guys out at the position that means more work for the players left in camp.  With more work comes more chances for additional injuries.  Now if you are McDougle this may be a blessing since there was a chance he would not be making the team this season.

The bottom line though we now have to tread lightly at this position.  What once was a “position of strength” has now become more of a concern in a matter of a day.  Hopefully karma doesn’t continue to get to us anymore and we don’t lose any more guys.

Training Camp Soap Opera Scene 2

So after a few days of camp we still have some drama within the team:

Shawn Andrews

Still a no show at camp with no apparent reason besides “personal reasons”.  Rumors swell on the Internet from contract issues to him basically just being a nutcase.  The Eagles still call this absence unexcused but will not confirm nor deny if they are fining him $15,000 per day.

Personally I find this whole situation very weird as both sides seem to be drawing a line in the sand with neither side budging.  The craziest part is there is a face off and nobody (besides those involved) even know what the pissing match is about.  This guy does seem a bit mental to me, but he is a top offensive lineman in the league so hopefully it all works out.

Lito Sheppard

The depth here is fantastic considering Asante Samuel has a hamstring issue but Lito still wants out.  Agent Drew Rosenhaus met with Eagles president Joe Banner the other day likely trying to work his way out of here.

A fantastic quote I saw in the Philadelphia Daily News was:

“”I’m going to ask y’all a question,” Sheppard said to two reporters, as he climbed into his 4×4 pickup. “Y’all posted this – y’all said I’m trying to prove I’m a starter. I’m not trying to prove I’m a starter; I am a starter. So I think y’all need to recorrect that quote.”

What a great way to earn Eagles fans’ support Lito by sounding like a prima donna.

So while a lot of people love to grab some popcorn and watch drama, I would prefer it be in another team’s camp.  Hopefully these things will work out over the next week.

Surprising No Show

So veterans have reported to camp and we are ready to go.  Our concerns going into camp:

Westbrook – Check

Sheppard – Check

But there is one player who is not in yet.

Shawn Andrews is not in camp yet for “personal reasons”.  The odd part is these personal reasons are not considered excuseable according to the Eagles.  From reports I have read nobody is quite sure yet if the Eagles will be fining him the potential of $15,000 per day.

Rumors are swirling that Andrews is unhappy with his contract but neither Rich Moran (Andrews’ agent) nor the Eagles say that was the case.  If you remember Andrews missed the final week of minicamp in June for personal reasons too.

Now I am no detective but my opinion here seems to lay out that these personal reasons are unhappiness with his contract.  It is one thing to miss the beginning of camp for something (especially considering how much players hate camp) but to miss a week in June and now this smells like a contract issue.

To add to this oddity, a quote by Rich Moran I read in the Philadelphia Daily News.  “We’re working with the Eagles” to resolve the personal problem, Moran said. “We’re working on getting him there as soon as possible.”

If this problem is “personal” why exactly are you working with the Eagles to resolve this problem.  We’ll see how this plays out over the next few days but hopefully this strange story gets some better information.  And as all Eagles fans know Andrews is a huge part of our offensive line so we need to get him mentally and physically ready for the season.

McNabb Speaks

Ok Eagles fans we got Andy Reid speaking the other day and now Donovan McNabb takes his turn.  Read through an article by John Smallwood in the Philadelphia Daily News today reviewing what #5 had to say.

Among the highlights:

• “It’s the NFC, period. I feel like we can compete with all of them. If you ask those teams, they’ll tell you the same, that we have the type of team you have to look out for.” – Ummmm Donovan weren’t we out of the playoffs last year?  Why would teams look out for us?
• “That was the frustrating part about it (last season’s start) because you don’t have all of your faculties – if it was the mobility or just the sudden movement to be able to react a little bit quicker. Fortunately, I’ve had a great offseason and look forward to having a way better start than last year.” – So even though we were all told evertyhing was fine last year with your knee it really wasn’t.

At 31 years old and 10 years in the league, I am glad that Donovan appears confident season to season.  Though I personally have my doubts at times it is confidence that you want coming out of your quarterback’s mouth.

One other quick note is how amazing it is in a world of information that players and coaches pretend that they weren’t aware of anything.  The other day Andy Reid claimed to have no idea about all of the Brett Favre talk and now Donovan claims he has no idea about Brian Westbrook fired his agent and is unhappy about his pay.  What really is the point of even pretending to be clueless about important issues?  In the future you don’t have to answer but at least make up a better lie.

One more day until the veterans show up so it is time to get going!

Happy Coaches

So as training camp approaches there are NFL coaches throughout the league full of optimism and happiness.  At least that is what they all will tell you.

I read an article today in the Philadelphia Daily News about how chipper Andy Reid is this year.  Here are some of his fantasy land spins on potential upcoming trouble.

Brian Westbrook and New Agent

• Andy has no worries here that Westbrook will be in camp and ready to go.  So even though he has been unhappy for quite some time over his contract feeling he is way underpaid it won’t hurt the team.  But the best part about how the Eagles handle their contracts was this quote, “We’ve always done a good job with those things, so I’m not worried about that. We’ve always been very fair and understanding to players we’ve approached about contracts . . . I’ll leave it at that.”  I am quite sure there are a number of players who may not agree with that.

Lito Sheppard and New Agent

• Once again no worries even though Drew Rosenhaus is Lito Sheppard’s new agent and he has been hoping to get traded since we signed Asante Samuel.  Well apparently instead we will have an interesting camp battle happening as Andy mentioned that he would be competing against Sheldon Brown for the other starting Cornerback position.  I’m not quite sure how this soap opera will now play out.  Considering Lito’s injury history, my bet is on Brown winning the job.

Changing As You Get Older

• The last tidbit is an adjustment by Andy Reid on training camp structure.  Andy has been known to have intense hitting camps but this year will shift as some of the players have gotten older (namely Brian Dawkins, Jon Runyan, and William Thomas).  All thirtysomething veterans, excluding quarterbacks and kicker, will work both practices for 2 days, then take the morning of the next day off, throughout camp.  So a little adjustment there from Andy who is hoping to keep some of his older stars fresh.

The days of camp are just beginning and it will be interesting to see how these three tidbits play out over the course of camp.  One thing you can always count on is your head coach saying all the optimistic things prior to the regular season kicking off.