ARTICLE: Eagles seem content with what they've got

[apickmans]

Somethings got to give somewhere. I think this is the year the Skins and the Eagles take a step backward while the Cowboys and the Giants make their big push. We're the two teams that added skill players. Yes, the Skins added ARE and an LB in the draft, but what else?

That LB in the draft is Rocky McIntosh who the Coaches thought so highly of they moved up a bunch of spots in the draft to get him. I also love the fact hes from the U. We added someone that we hope can create a passrush w/o having to blitz all the time......Andre Carter. Dont forget we added Brandon Lloyd, who I believe will be a playmaker for us. Oh and SS Adam Archuleta was picked up. I wont deny we overpayed for him, but him and taylor back there will make for a sweet safety tandem. Are those the skills players you were talking about?

 

[Phoenix-Talon]

somebody better tell donovan that it isn't 2004 anymore, and that the past is the past.

I happen to agree with you here ...BTW, it's not 2005 anymore either!

 

[lostinomiya]

i think all the NFC east teams got better and all will be very strong this season. archuleta, lloyd and carter for washington...a good draft by the eagles...giants good too plus arrington.... dallas has tough competition and i wouldnt have it any other way.

 

[Phoenix-Talon]

I appreciate those of you who are giving the 2006 Eagles the benefit of doubt. Because in reality, the Eagles is an improved team. I'm just going to throw out a few names to give me statement credibility. Then you can make your own assessements ...

DARREN HOWARD, DE


...a technician when he rushes the passer. He isn't strictly a speed rusher and he isn't strictly a power rusher. Howard uses his hands expertly, works angles and takes advantages of linemen's weaknesses. It's an art form, the way Howard rushes the quarterback.
SHAWN BARBER, LB

...will share the WILL position. Barber is the nickel back here, an athletic cover man who is going to improve the Eagles' nickel situation.


BRODRICK BUNKLEY, DT

The No. 1 draft pick is off to a fine start. He's obviously very strong and quick and he seems to pick things up quickly.



ED JASPER, DT

The Eagles have a foursome that will be hard to crack with Mike Patterson, Walker, Bunkley and Sam Rayburn. Then there is Jasper and Keyonta Marshall (Paul Grasmanis hasn't officially retired, but he's on the way, apparently). Jasper is a big body and a veteran guy, so he'll help. But he has to earn it. Once Marshall returns, the young fella will have knocked off the rust from his game in NFL Europe. It should make for good competition.

CHRIS GOCONG, LB


Veterans who have come into this system have said it takes them a half season or so to master it, so imagine how much time it will take Gocong to really get it down. Gocong is a potential Monster!

LaJUAN RAMSEY, DT
He got his reps, and he will receive plenty more. The Eagles see him as a late bloomer who is going to get better and better. Truthfully, that's about all I know of Ramsey, who looked like he could use some strength as his frame fills out.


OMAR GAITHER, LB

Gaither makes this team if he is a special-teams standout and if he displays a maturity and an understanding of the defense from the middle linebacker position. The Eagles drafted him with the idea that he could maybe, possibly learn from Jeremiah Trotter.


JEFF GARCIA, QB

I like the way Garcia works the pocket with patience, always moving his feet, keeping his head up, refusing to make mistakes with forced throws. Garcia was tough to beat when he was with the 49ers and the Browns, and he'll be a savvy quarterback if he plays. And if he doesn't, he will have a great attitude in the locker room and on the sidelines.

WINSTON JUSTICE, OT
He has outstanding mechanics and tremendous athletic ability. We're talking about a tackle with long arms, a good punch and outstanding posture and base when he sets.


MAX JEAN-GILLES, OG


I see him as a pile-moving prospect! My sense is that line coach Juan Castillo is going to ride Jean-Gilles hard and get the best out of him. The best out of Jean-Gilles could translate to a starting-caliber, durable, powerful interior lineman. That is down the road. Right now, Jean-Gilles is working toward that goal.

MATT SCHOBEL, TE

...runs crisp routes, and gets separation I won't suggest that he is the next coming of Tony Gonzalez, but I will predict that he and L.J. Smith are going to cause a lot of headaches for defenses.
Like Dallas, the Eagles are going to use the two-tight end set He's tall, runs extremely well and catches the ball with ease.



JASON AVANT, WR

Rookie with serious potential

JABAR GAFFNEY, WR
Gaffney has good feet, gets off the line of scrimmage well and seems to be a fine mid-range piece in the passing game. I see him fitting in well in the slot and working the middle of the field with his strength and size.



JEREMY BLOOM, WR

As a return man, Bloom catches the ball well and is quick down field. He'll get his chances in the preseason, and that is when we will know how much impact Bloom will have in the return game this season.


Will a healthy McNabb, Westbrook, Pinkston, Akers, Buckhalter, and Tapeh make a difference in 2006? Does depth count, does the desire to make a statement to the rest of the NFL mean anything? I'm not about the business of making assessments about other team improvements in 2006, but ...have the 2006 Eagles improved ...? Most Eagle fans believe we have.

 

[Longboysfan]

I second that big time. The Eagles front office just doesn't get it. You need PLAYMAKERS to win the Superbowl. They only have 1 in McNabb. They reached the Superbowl when they had Owens in the lineup. Relying on Brown, Lewis, Pinkston, and Gaffney won't get it done.

In the draft, they should have picked up Lendale White in the 2nd round and traded for Javon Walker. But I still like what and how they have ran their draft this year.

I look forward to seeing the Eagles finishing in the cellar of the NFC East again.

Good thought here. The Eagles - current management had just come off TO. But even though this not being there - do not invest a lot of $$$ in players from outside Eagle land. If Reid had known Walker then maybe they would have went after him.

The Eagles ownership always keep a lot of the CAP money in his pocket.

But remember the Eagles are always a team of ...Iff a ... Could a... Would a... Should a..

Which has led them to this.....

:trophy:

 

[Phoenix-Talon]

Here's what very well could become OL for the Ealges


LTE: Justice
LT: Thomas
LG: Herremans
C: Jackson
RG: Andrews
RT: Runyan
RTE: Jean Gilles

 

[tyke1doe]

I second that big time. The Eagles front office just doesn't get it. You need PLAYMAKERS to win the Superbowl. They only have 1 in McNabb. They reached the Superbowl when they had Owens in the lineup. Relying on Brown, Lewis, Pinkston, and Gaffney won't get it done.

In the draft, they should have picked up Lendale White in the 2nd round and traded for Javon Walker.

I look forward to seeing the Eagles finishing in the cellar of the NFC East again.

No. The Eagles reached the Super Bowl without Owens in the lineup.

The difference in the Eagles team wasn't TO necessarily because without TO the Eagles still went to three championships. And they cruised through the playoffs without TO.

The Eagles still would have reached the Super Bowl, IMO, without TO because, really, there weren't any challengers in the NFC. The NFC was that weak.

I do agree, however, that the Eagles should have taken Lendale White, if to spell McNabb. But if the Eagles have successfully rebuilt or retooled their offensive line, I don't it matters as much. Donovan will still be a running quarterback and that dual threat, along with a tough offensive line, will make the Eagles a dangerous team.

Don't take this team lightly.

 

[visionary]

the eagirls are content with what they have = 0 SBs
we are not content with what we have = 5 SBs

that is why we are the cowboys and they are the eagirls

'nuff said

 

[Phoenix-Talon]

the eagirls are content with what they have = 0 SBs

Perhaps I can be of some retrospective assistance to you in your attempt to minimize the Eagles.

Eagles - Vince Lombardi trophy;Superbowl NFL Championship Trophy = Zero.

Eagles - NFL Championship Trophies = 3

Cowboys - Superbowl Trophy = January 28, 1996 (over 10 years ago).

While we have the best record in the last 5-years, the Cowboys owned us in 2006!

Welcome to 2006 -- it's a new season!

 

[theogt]

Perhaps I can be of some retrospective assistance to you in your attempt to minimize the Eagles.

Eagles - Vince Lombardi trophy;Superbowl NFL Championship Trophy = Zero.

Eagles - NFL Championship Trophies = 3

Cowboys - Superbowl Trophy = January 28, 1996 (over 10 years ago).

While we have the best record in the last 5-years, the Cowboys owned us in 2006!

Welcome to 2006 -- it's a new season!

Interesting that you emphasize that the last Super Bowl the Cowboys won was 10 years ago directly after mentioning (in bold font) 3 trophies the Eagles won over 40 years ago (2 of which were nearly 60 years ago).

If you're going with the "what have you done for me lately" approach, I would pick a different time for doing so considering we swept you last season.

 

[burmafrd]

The Birds- what offensive threats do they have? McFlabb is not VIck, who can hurt you rushing. So all he can do is pass- buy extra time scrambing. BUT who has he to throw to? Westbrook is not a full time RB, so who will make the D respect the run? They just do not have the horses to be a real threat on O.

 

[Stash]

Spare us the "NFL Championship" talk. Please. A 10 team league isn't entitled to have a "championship" and we sure don't want to hear what happened way back before the Cowboys even existed.

Here's the fact:

Cowboys:

:lombardi:

Eagles:

:trophy:

The Eagles were never that good. They benefited from a pathetic NFC Conference. They never beat any good teams during their entire "glorious" run. When the Cowboys were winning championships, they beat quality teams in San Francisco, Washington, Philadelphia and Green Bay along the way. Not to mention a very talented Buffalo Bills and Steelers teams. The Eagles never beat any team worth a #$%@.

They regularly lost in the NFC Championship Game until the NFC really fell off and several 8-8 teams made the playoffs. Only then did the Eagles actually make the big game.

They played poorly before Owens was deactivated or McChoker got hurt.

The fact is that the rest of the division has passed them by. Their window of mediocrity has closed.

:suxiggle:

 

[LeonDixson]

A lot of guys here were dissing the Skinks all last year saying how bad, but lucky they were. They beat us twice and won a playoff game. I think you are underestimating Philthy in the same way. IMHO the NFCE has four good teams in it that could all end up .500 and over.

I want us to be the best team in a very strong division.

 

[Billy Bullocks]

Pheonix, I think Bunkley and Howard are the main additions to that team.

Bunkley fills what proved to be a huge void left by Corey Simon (lets see if he can be as effective)

Howard adds another pass rusher opposite Kearse..that is a scary DE tandem. The LB's would worry me a little bit, but the front 4, and the back 4 are pretty strong.

The Defense should be back, but the offense? That's teh biggest concern. You dont have an every down type of pure runner, no one who can wear down a defense. LJ Smith and Westbrook are the only proven options at WR, while the rest of the offense is a bunch of question marks.

I think McNabb should be given the title of best QB in the NFC East, but it's not like any of the other teams really need to worry too much about their QB.
Especially since the other teams all have far superior weapons for their respective QB.

One could argue that LJ Smith is the worst TE in the division, especially when you stack him up against Cooley, Shockey, and Witten. Westbrook, well I'd definately rather have Tiki Barber or Clinton Portis...the jury is out on Julius and MB3, as neither of them have proven anything except for flashes of brilliance.

 

[Phoenix-Talon]

Interesting that you emphasize that the last Super Bowl the Cowboys won was 10 years ago directly after mentioning (in bold font) 3 trophies the Eagles won over 40 years ago (2 of which were nearly 60 years ago).

Do you really believe I didn't realize the time differentials here ...give me a break that had to be the ultimate in obvious.

If you're going with the "what have you done for me lately" approach, I would pick a different time for doing so considering we swept you last season.

Not at all ...this isn't anything close to a "what have you done for me lately" scenario either.

It's somewhat difficult when a poster responds to a post from another member and a completely different poster interjects. But if you read the post that I weas responding to, you'd realize that his dialogue was traveling in another direction.

Bottom line is ...let's talk about 2006, not Paul Revere's ride.

 

[Billy Bullocks]

Bottom line is ...let's talk about 2006, not Paul Revere's ride.

Im going to agree with you here. Great, we sweapt Philly, at the end of the season, we really didnt accomplish that much more than them. We both were sitting at home in January.

And on top of all that, the 5 rings argument is absoultely stupid unless you really have to shut somebody up. Dont be too pompous about it. This thread is about 2006, specifically how Philly stacks up offensively with the rest of us. Why is anyone referring to ancient history on this one.

 

[Phoenix-Talon]

Im going to agree with you here. Great, we sweapt Philly, at the end of the season, we really didnt accomplish that much more than them. We both were sitting at home in January.

And on top of all that, the 5 rings argument is absoultely stupid unless you really have to shut somebody up. Dont be too pompous about it. This thread is about 2006, specifically how Philly stacks up offensively with the rest of us. Why is anyone referring to ancient history on this one.

I appreciate your candor BB. That's all I was trying to say. None of us really know what's going to happen at the start of the regular season. We can discuss what should happen, what we'd Like to happen, and what we Hope will happen. But the truth of the matter is that we learned a valuable lesson last year. I mean we always knew that injuries can be highly detrimental to any franchise. But multiple injuries to key players can ultimately stop a team in its tracks. Depth is one of the keYs to ensure consistent performance ...the other side of that coin is protection and good coaching.

With a certain amount of reluctance to delve into the past, I'd be remise if I didn't mention Terrell Owens into the mix (calculation). The Eagles 2006 lockerroom will be much more cohesive without the "distractor." He's someone that when "happy" he's productive ...when "unhappy" lookout! And He can flip that switch whenever a pass isn't thrown to him if he's open. Let that scenario happen and watch his performance shift. This guy adds a new meaning to "double-edge sword."
He's a threat to his opponents and capable Of becoming a threat to his own team ...he's done it twice before.

They'll be some dogfights in 2006!

 

[theogt]

TO's production doesn't stop when he's unhappy. Happy or not he performs on the field. I assumed it was just a matter of time til the "TO screwed our team up" excuse came out.

The bottom line is that the Eagles seem content with the team they have. That makes the rest of us in the NFC east VERY HAPPY.

 

[Phoenix-Talon]

quote=theogt]I assumed it was just a matter of time til the "TO screwed our team up" excuse came out.

What vacuum world Have you been living in? While I can't account for his future, I dayam sure can tell you about his past, his scrupulous reputation, and unethical antics that create havoc in locker rooms the likes of the 49ers, the Eagles and disruption with certain Ravens' players.

I'm not giving you any excuses, as a matter of fact if you comprehended correctly you'd have realized that I merely mentioned adding the TO debacle to the mix; not using it soley as an excuse. I don't mind mixing it Up with you ...if you have all of the facts straight.

The bottom line is that the Eagles seem content with the team they have. That makes the rest of us in the NFC east VERY HAPPY.

I'm not certain how you seem know what the Eagles are content with or not, but I'll have to take your word for that.

 

[theogt]

Hey, at least if we tank this year we'll have TO as a scapegoat. It's a convenient EXCUSE.