dhockster

To support your point: 2008: 6 sacks in first 5 games; finished with 12 sacks 2010: 5 sacks in first 4 games; finished with 8.5 sacks -While he had 5 sacks in the first 5 games in 2011, we still don't know if he would've become less productive over the course of the season with all the additional running he would have had to do as LB. -Most analysts think he is better suited to a 4-3 defense. -Aside from his good sack numbers, Mario doesn't seem to elevate the players around him. The Texans defense has gotten better as they have added better players, not because of anything Mario is specifically doing. -The Texans simply don't have the cap space to sign such a high priced player, and the defense seemed to perform at a high level without him. -He is an injury risk: played hurt most of one season, and has missed 14 games over the course of the last two seasons. You shouldn't pay top dollars to someone you know is an injury risk.

You have used $18 million as what they are paying Foster twice now. I think that is misleading. While that is the dollars he will receive in 2012 if he plays all 16 games, his cap hit is only $8 million in 2012. The breakout of payments vs. Cap hit is as follows: Payments: 2012 $18,000,000 2013 $5,750,000 2014 $6,250,000 2015 $6.500,000 2016 $7,000,000 Cap Hit: 2012 $8,000,000 2013 $8,250,000 2014 $8,750,000 2015 $9,000,000 2016 $9,500,000 So Foster is really a $9 million a year player and not an $18 million a year player. They did not overpay for him. Signing Mario Williams to a minimum $15 million a year contract is overpaying for someone.

Awesome. I do think MIKE Kafka should do pretty well if he starts this week. Because it is only his first start, teams really don't have a book on him yet, so that gives him a little advantage. He looked very good in pre-season, and like some others have said he has great weapons to work with. Combine that with the Giants banged-up secondary and he should put up some pretty decent numbers.

Danny White lost 3 straight NFC Championships. To lose 3 straight NFC Championships you have to get to 3 straight NFC Championships. Danny White > Tony Romo. Plus, Danny White could punt.

Jets Patriots Texans Steelers Browns Chargers Eagles Saints Falcons Packers Lions Rams Steelers over Texans Saints over Eagles Steelers over Saints

Sure. Anytime.

As it currently stands, With Gurode cut and Costa Hurt, Dallas has two starters back from last year, Free and Kosier. Kosier is switching positions from LG to RG. Tyron Smith is new at RT. Nagy is a 7th round rookie probably starting at LG. Costa, who was an undrafted FA from last year, will be a first year starter if he is healthy, and if he isn't than an undrafted rookie will start at Center. While these guys may be good in the long run, there are going to be some breakdowns this year. Keep in mind that defenses are typically not gameplanning in the pre-season and will be throwing a lot more at these guys when the regular season starts. That is when we will know how truly vulnerable Romo will be this season.

Is this anti-Eagles bias, anti-Vick bias, or anti-ESPN hype train bias that is driving your opinion? Here are the facts: -Eagles were 10-5 in the regular season last year (last game loss was played by back-ups) -Eagles lost to the eventual SB Champs by 5 in the playoffs. They had an opportunity to win at the end, but failed. Off-season pluses: -Eagles added the top corner in free agency and added another pro bowl corner through trade. -The Eagles significantly upgraded their dline by adding Babin and Jenkins and the new dline coach Washburn. -The Eagles added veteran depth at RB and WR, by signing Brown and Smith. If Maclin cannot play, Smith would be a more than adequate substitution (if he is healthy). -The Eagles hired Indy's Oline coach. While there may be some transition time, the overall pass protection should be improved this year. -Vick will have a full training camp with the first team offense which he has not had in Philly. This should help him get even more comfortable in Andy Reid's offense. I look for the Eagles to have some counters to teams blitzing from the left to force Vick to run to his right. -Schedule: The Eagles get the AFC west, as well as Buffalo and Miami from the AFC East, which are all very winnable games. Even though they finished 1st in the division last year, they caught a break in that they have to play Atlanta and Chicago while the Giants have to play Green Bay and New Orleans. Even Dallas has to play two up and coming teams in Detroit and Tampa Bay. Off-season minuses: -The Eagles lost some experience at LB by losing Bradley, but he missed part of the season last year with injuries. -The Eagles are young at safety, losing Mikell. However, Allen looked to be really good in his rookie season before he got hurt, so the Eagles should be okay at safety assuming he is fully back to health. -RT is a concern due to injury, but could actually be better than last year if Harris stays healthy. -Maclin's health issues. Without Maclin and Smith, I think Riley Cooper steps in at the #2 spot, and he would be a downgrade. However, he does have some potential which he showed in flashes last year and in the first preseason game, so I don't think his presence in the line-up would be a significant drop-off. Yes, the Eagles have some question marks, but what team doesn't? With the corners and the pressure by the defensive line, it is going to be very hard to score a lot against the Eagles. I think they have more than enough weapons on offense to win at least 11 games. And who, by the way, are you picking to win the division? Just Curious.

Sorry, my bad. That's what I get for DVR'ing the game. I think all my other opinions, which aren't based on Saturdays game, are valid (for what that is worth).

Keep in mind that Asomugha did not play, and the first string defense only played about one series. Also, Baltimore is not a great passing team, so there really weren't any great receivers challanging them. I did like the pressure that the defensive line had throughout the game. I think that comes from the new OC's enthusiasm and the new defensive line coaches approach to rushing the QB. Keep in mind that the addition of Washburn to coach the defensive line may be as big as any of the free agent signings they had. He had a tremendous amount of success in coaching the Titans defensive line over the years, and produced three big pass rushers who had limited success when they played for other teams: Kearse, Haynesworth, and Babin. Babin has said that he is the best defensive line coach he has ever played for. I do think the Philly defense will take some time to gel. But they should be really good if everyone stays healthy. With a good pass rush and Asomugha shutting down one side, imagine Asante on the other side, just waiting to jump the WR's route because he knows the QB does not have time to hold onto the ball. He could get a lot of Int's and TD's this year. The defenses weak point is inexperience at linebacker, so I look for other teams to throw a lot to backs and TE's. If the Eagles have the right coaching and have some talent at linebacker, I look for this to be less of an issue as the season progresses.

I did not mean to imply he was an injury risk, per se, rather that with a weak offensive line, he is liable to be hit more, and therefore his risk of injury goes up. Your point about his line being no worse than Vicks is not a good one, because Philly was near the top in sacks allowed last year. Some of that was due to Vick's scrambling and holding onto the ball too long, but they definitely were not one of the better pass protecting teams last year. Romo has upside no doubt, but he has an offensive line in transition with a lot of unproven commodities. I was just trying to make people aware that there was some risk there.

My one concern for Romo is his Oline. It was not good last year and they are replacing more positions this year. I think Romo's risk of injury has to be taken into account when you take him. The good news is with the Cowboys defense giving up a lot of points, Romo should benefit from being in a lot of shootouts.

Philly came into this Offseason as a very young team with most of their players still on rookie deals. So they were in good shape versus the cap. Also, the had very little "dead money" counting against their cap which gave them more room to manuever. "Dead money" is for players who were cut from your team that still had unamortized bonus money or guaranteed salary which has to count against your cap. The Cowboys have approximately $20 million of "dead money" counting against their cap this year which decreases their ability to sign free agents. Philly is also in a unique situation this year in that players are willing to sign with the Eagles for less to play on a team with Michael Vick. Now you can argue whether Vick is all that as a QB, but there is no denying that he has star appeal amongst his fellow players (see Tashard Choice getting his autograph last year). Finally, Philly has a couple million dollars of cap credits for this year due to their management of the cap in the past. This is helping them. Philly's front office is not playing by different rules, they are just using the rules to their advantage better than other teams. Now it is up to the coaches to get all these new faces playing together as a team to win football games. That is the downside to getting a whole lot of new faces; They have to learn to play together.

More information on Juan Castillo. It gives me a little bit better feel for the move. http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Who-is-Juan-Castillo.html There's no doubt; when the Eagles named Juan Castillo as their new defensive coordinator, it sent shock waves through Eagles nation and even the NFL coaching community. However, players and coaches who have worked directly with Juan quickly understood the move by Andy Reid. You see, Juan is a very special unique breed of coach. He is as tough as they come both mentally and physically, he’s a teacher and could be the hardest working coach in the NFL. People who know him know that he’s always been a defensive guy at heart. When I first transferred to Texas A&I University in the spring of 1982, I realized that I was in for a type of football I wasn't quite use to at Millersville University in Pennsylvania. My new teammates were bigger, stronger, faster and really rough around the edges. They were bred to play football and most of them were just downright nasty, especially the defensive guys. I first met Juan in the weight room, which back then looked more like a scene out of a Rocky movie then a college weight room. He told me he was training to play in the NFL even though he went undrafted the previous year. He also just became a grad assistant who was coaching the linebackers. After a brief conversation he politely and enthusiastically asked me if I wanted to fight him in the weight room. I said: "No! I don’t want to fight you." His professorial type reply was, (as he was getting the boxing gloves) "it’ll make you tough, its good training, and we used to do it here in the weight room all the time." When I turned him down he then hung out at the doorway looking for any takers to go a few rounds with him. I did eventually get in a scuffle with Juan a few weeks later during spring ball after one of his linebackers blindsided me while I was going across the middle for a pass. I bounced up and went after the LB when Juan stepped in to take me on, we went at it, me in full gear and him wearing a whistle; we eventually got separated and it was business as usual. As I went back to the huddle I remember Juan yelling at the offense "the field belongs to the defense and you are going to get hit and pay the price if you come over here". That’s the Juan I know; a defensive guy at heart who loves to fight, hit, train and intimidate. That's who he really is and always will be. He belongs on defense. Hard working and determined Juan's years at A&I were spent doing 3 things; going to school, coaching and training. When the USFL went into full swing in 1985 Juan was determined to play. We would hear him running bleachers at midnight by himself from our dorm next to the stadium. He had the key to the weight room and would be in there at 5am punishing himself. On top of graduate school and training he still found time to drill his linebackers for hours on end as well. I don't think the guy ever slept. In his early days with the Eagles, he used to make sure that he was always the first coach to the office and the last to leave. It practically became a contest between him and Jon Gruden. They both eventually would end up sleeping at the Vet. A Fundamentalist Regardless of whatever position Juan coached, he has and still does emphasize fundamentals. I have represented 4 players who Juan coached in college (including Jermane Mayberry and Jorge Diaz) and they said they never been drilled in fundamentals the way Juan drilled them. The good news for Eagles' defense is that they will most likely end up being the most disciplined unit in the league after Juan gets through with them. He will instruct his position coaches to get back to sound tackling and basic drills which has always been the core of his coaching philosophy. You probably didn't know Even though Juan coached the Offensive line for 13 seasons, he was also a fixture in the defensive meetings of Jimmy Johnson, Leslie Frazier and Ron Rivera. He once told me that if he understood how the best defensive minds planned and strategized, he could better prepare his offense. Those same great defenses coaches would then pick Juan's brain about how he would scheme and block their defense. Teacher and teammate One of the biggest disconnects in pro coaching is the ability for NFL coaches to teach and communicate. Unfortunately, many coaches lack this ever so important trait. While many NFL coaches don't put in the time to teach fundamentals anymore, nor be patient with young players and are quick to give up on a guy after one bad game, Juan is the opposite of all these. He's a patient teacher who possesses the ability to communicate with the 1st round star and the undrafted free agent and even treat both as equals. The fact Juan is well liked and respected by the players will give him the ability to get the most out of them and get them playing to their full potential. Former Eagles center Hank Fraley once told me that; "he owes his whole NFL career to Juan because he made me better than I ever knew I could be". Relax bird fans Our family had season tickets to the Eagles for 20 years and we grew up bleeding green. So I’m sure the bird faithful are skeptical about this move by Andy. But trust me, there is no need to panic. Juan truly represents the fighting Philly spirit that is the DNA of their fans. He's a self-made, hard-working blue collar guy who will find a way to win. The D is in good hands if it reflects the work ethic and fight of their new coordinator. One additional note. The Eagles landed two of the best trenchmen in the business, DL coach Jim Washburn and OL coach Howard Mudd. Also keep in mind that John Harbaugh went from special teams coach to defensive backs coach with much success. So give Juan a chance and I am certain you will see the Eagles made a great move.

I totally agree that Romo is fine. I just thought of this thread when I saw the article of him trying to qualify for the Byron Nelson and his plans to try to qualify for the U.S. Open

Just for fun, I had to pull up this thread. http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Romo-p...-over-golf.html

I really like how you show a Christian and a dog murderer to be equivalent

On another discussion board, someone with a very good source within the Eagles says it is highly likely that the Eagles use the #37 pick on a QB (probably McCoy or Pike). I think with the Eagles needs elsewhere, using the 37th pick on a QB is not the thing to do. However, I think I see the Eagles line of thinking. If Kolb works out and the Eagles sign the #37 QB to a four year contract, in three years, the Eagles are presumably in the same position they were in this year with Kolb. They have a QB that they have developed in their system for 3 years that is ready to start. However, Kolb has worked out and is a pro bowl QB and therefore, the Eagles trade this #37 QB for a 1st round pick and possibly another pick. The pick this year wasn't wasted, it was deferred and enhanced in the future. Now if Kolb does not work out in the next 1-2 years, you have another QB on your roster who hopefully, is ready to take over the helm from the failed Kolb. I think they are targeting the QB they want at 37 so they make sure they get him, similar to what they did with Kolb 3 years ago. They did not want to risk that they would not get him so they drafted him higher than he was thought to go. Remember the Eagles history: they turned AJ Feeley who was a 5th round pick into a 2nd round pick when they traded him to the Dolphins. I am just going by hearsay, but supposedly the Eagles were being offered 1st round picks for Kolb this year, they just didn't do it because they were asking for more. If this is in fact what they are doing, I hope they explain it to Kevin Kolb so he is not looking over his shoulder. Again, I don't like the move because it defers getting better sooner, which in the long run may keep the Eagles good for a long period, but like we have seen over the last ten years, not good enough to win a championship.

I really don't see how you call the wildcat experiment a bust. Did it do mind-blowing things like maybe some thought it would? No, but remember that when the Eagles went on their six game win streak, the wildcat was very effective in helping the Eagles pick up 1st downs in 3rd and short situations, and helped the Eagles in the red zone, two areas the Eagles had struggled before. I think the Wildcat can help the Eagles offense in 2010, and think it probably should be used a little bit more than in 2009 to make it more effective. I am not in love with Vick as a back-up, but he definitely gives the offense some big play capability and he should be better than last year as he presumably knows the wildcat offense and is coming into the season already in football shape. Who knows, maybe he will have gained some of his former quickness back.

I am not saying Cage didn't do a great job in this movie, I just left the theatre thinking what was the point of this movie. A guy gets hooked on booze, can't turn it around, and drinks himself to death. Other than Elizabeth Shue playing a hooker, what was the point of this movie? I wouldn't waste my time renting it, if I were you.

I know Reid messed up in calling a TO right before the 2 minute warning last year against Oakland which allowed them to run or pass and then they got a 1st down to ice the game. Other than that, I have a hard time remembering all the time management mistakes that cost the Eagles wins. I am not trying to be argumentative, I just don't remember any. If you have some please let me know. I am definitely a Reid guy. McNabb was a great QB for the Eagles, but I still think Andy Reid has more to do with the Eagles overall success over the last ten years than McNabb. I keep thinking about 2002 and 2006 when McNabb got injured, that the Eagles seasons were over. Instead, with back-ups, the Eagles actually improved their winning percentage both years, made the playoffs and won playoff games (in 2002, McNabb came back for the playoffs). 2002 with McNabb: 7-3 2002 with Detmer/Feeley: 5-1 2006 with McNabb: 5-5 2006 with Garcia: 5-1 The only other season McNabb missed significant time was 2005 when the TO fiasco occured. Notice that without TO McNabb was 0-2 compared to McMahon's 2-5. QB was less of a factor in the teams overall 6-10 record that year, than was the 27th ranked defense which gave up 388 points: 2005 with McNabb, TO: 4-3 2005 with McNabb (no TO): 0-2 2005 with McMahon (no TO): 2-5 Based on the 3 seasons above, the back-ups listed had a record of 12-7 all without TO. In those same seasons, McNabb had a record of 12-10, not including the games McNabb had TO in 2005. This is why I think the Eagles will be fine without McNabb, because Reid has shown that he can win without him. Unfortunately, the Eagles may not be able to win now unless they pick up some more defensive talent. Hopefully, they have set themselves up to do that in the draft.

I think Reid modified his normal west coast offense to fit Donovan's strengths. In 2002, he went 5-1 down the stretch with a more traditional west coast offense when Detmer/Feeley were filling in for an injured McNabb. In 2006, he went 5-1 down the stretch with a more traditional west coast offense when Garcia was filling in for an injured McNabb. The only other backup who any significant playing time was Mike McMahon who was horrible and filled in for McNabb after the whole TO debacle. He was not successful. I think the Eagles will be just fine with Kolb, if Reid goes back to a more traditional west coast offense. If he throws it as much with Kolb as he did with McNabb, then yes, the Eagles may struggle because there will be to much pressure on Kolb to do it all.

Who is in a better position to improve? The Eagles with 11 draft picks and 7 in the first 4 rounds or the Redskins with 4 draft picks and only 2 in the first 4 rounds? When I see that I have to laugh knowing the Eagles finished 11-5 and the Redskins 4-12 last year. Honestly, I don't worry about trading McNabb in the division because I think by the time the Redskins fill all their holes and are a true contender, McNabb will be done.

The more I think about the Eagles QB situation, the more I can see one scenario where Vick plays for the Eagles next year, and I think it could be very productive for the Eagles: The Eagles decide to go with Kolb as their starting QB. They trade McNabb and get one or several draft picks back. Since they lose McNabb's salary, they excercise the option on Vick for 2010 and pay him $5 million. Vick is used more in the wildcat then in 2009 because Reid doesn't have to worry about hurting his starting QB's feelings by playing Vick. If Kolb plays well, then more than likely he is given a long term deal during the season. If he does not, or gets hurt, Vick would be their starting QB. Reid runs a much more balanced offense through use of the wildcat and more standard running plays. While Vick started out slow in 2009, his use in the wildcat definitely helped the Eagles late in the season. He made the Eagles much more effective in 3rd and short and red zone situations. I think if used a little bit more in 2010, he will definitely help keep defenses off balance.

Based on how Reid has called games when McNabb is not playing, I think he is a far better playcaller without McNabb then with him. That is why I want to see what the Eagles and Reid can do without McNabb. I think (and hope) that Reid will look alot better as a gameday coach than you think he is.