Archive for May, 2009

Les Bowen posted an article about DeSean Jackson‘s recent “Take a Player to School” trip to a Delaware County school. DeSean delivered his spiel about not being fat and lazy, then faced a kiddie Q&A firing squad. One bold lad asked this gem: “Why did you drop the ball?” Nice. Even the junior Philly fans get it. Jackson’s response was honest: “I couldn’t have cared less about that football. I got overexcited, overanxious. I just wanted to get there and do my dance,” I hope DJax cares more about the football this season. The dance floor will be still be open [...]

Mike Missanelli went head-to-head yesterday on his radio show with former Cowboys beat writer and current ESPN talking head Skip Bayless. I’ve never liked Skip. He’s one of those guys who spews so-called controversial soundbites for the sake of being controversial. Oh, and he’s always trashed the city of Philadelphia and its fans whenever he gets the opportunity. Evidently, Skip was talking on First Take about the Dallas Mavericks fans who were acting like fools a couple nights ago. I don’t watch the NBA anymore, so I don’t know much about what went down, although I think it had something [...]

I checked in on Matt Mosley’s NFC Beast chat today.  I like Mosley; he does a good job covering the NFL’s best division on his blog. A lot of hot topics were discussed: Jason Campbell’s future in D.C., Brian Orakpo being moved to OLB, Ramses Barden’s fantasy impact and the possibility of Felix Jones being the #1 back in Big D. Oh yeah, the Eagles were brought up too. I pulled some quotes that piqued my interest. Mosley on JMac: “I think he’ll [Maclin] be on the field quite a bit in Week 1. I know the Eagles had some [...]

Barring a complete mental meltdown or a serious change of heart from Jim Johnson, Quintin Demps will be the starting free safety in 2009. That may make some fans a tad nervous, but at this point, he’s the best option. Sean Jones is a strong safety and should assume B-Dawk’s role from 2008 as an in-the-box run-stopper and blitzer. Jones is huge for a safety (6’1″ 220). In fact, he’s only slightly smaller than Akeem Jordan (6’1″ 230). Expect Jones to play a lot, but with Quintin Mikell entrenched at strong, I can’t imagine Jones starting many games. The benefit [...]

Perusing the updated free agent list, some names jumped out. The Eagles are stacked at most positions, but taking a flyer on one of these guys might be worth the small investment. Here’s a sampling of players still available: Running backs: DeShaun Foster (Age 29) – Two years removed from rushing for 876 yards and scoring 4 total touchdowns. He’s fumbled 9 times in the last two seasons. Chris Perry (Age 27) – The former first-round pick has just 9 starts in four years due to various injuries. However, he has good size (6’0″ 225) and can catch. Selvin Young [...]

As we crawl toward Training Camp ’09 there is a lot of speculation about what the Eagles‘ offense will look like this season. Some believe the additions of two young, mammoth offensive tackles, a legit fullback and another running back means a more balanced, run-oriented attack will be implemented by Reid and Mornhinweg. It makes total sense when you consider how awful the Birds were last year (and previous years) in short-yardage and goal line rushing. It makes too much sense. Does anyone really think Reid will balance his run-pass ratio? I for one do not. When I examine what [...]

Domo over at Eagletarian posted an article earlier today regarding the possible return of the quarterback-who-just-won’t-go-away – Brett Favre. He thinks the Eagles should be afraid if Fav-re trots his washed-up self under center for the Vikings. Respectfully, I disagree. Brett Favre is done. I don’t care how he played early in 2008 for the Jets. I care how he finished down the stretch. He looked like what he is: a once great quarterback who can no longer cut it at age 40. His body has endured 16 seasons of punishment. His arm strength has decreased and his reflexes have [...]

Wash out your coolers and dry-clean those DJax and McNabb jerseys. Training Camp is just around the corner. The Eagles announced dates for the 2009 Training Camp. Rookies will report on July 26 to Lehigh University and vets will arrive on the 29th. Camp is scheduled to break August 12. Make your plans now. With the hype surrounding this team and all the new faces, expect some record-setting crowds. Hell, I think I might even attend this year. Follow ITI on Twitter

GCobb.com had an interesting article a couple days ago about Kevin Curtis‘ latest surgery. According to the post, Curtis had not planned on having another procedure done, but continued soreness in his groin precipitated the decision to go under the knife again. Curtis is supposed to “feel better” soon. This reeks of Danny Briere. The Flyers‘ sniper had multiple surgeries to repair his groin and missed the majority of the ’08-’09 season. When he did return, he clearly wasn’t the same player. His hallmark speed and stamina were gone. I hope Curtis will be okay for training camp, but we [...]

We’ve reached the lull period of the NFL off-season. The draft is over, the Eagles‘ first minicamp has wrapped, and now we’re forced to trudge through rookie camps and OTA’s for the next two months. Two months! Yuck. Scouring for interesting blurbs and analysis will be a chore, but I shall persevere. Today’s time-killing topic deals with the richest of the rich. Those gentlemen who don an NFL uniform who were the gold-standard during the 2008 season. I’m not talking about awards and all that nonsense. I’m talking about coin, baby! Serious coin. I give you last season’s highest-paid professional [...]

Ray Didinger from CSNPhilly.com reviews the Eagles first minicamp: One interesting quote from Reid regarding DeSean Jackson: “He’s playing faster. He knows what he’s doing. I’m comparing it to when he came to this camp the first time. It was all new to him, so he wasn’t moving quite as confidently or as fast as he is now.” Faster? Better? Look out NFL. DJax is ready to take flight! Do yourself a favor and read Peter King’s latest on the Birds’ draft weekend wizardry. Of all the post-draft praise given Reid and Co., this is without a doubt the most [...]

Remember when Sheldon Brown started whining about his contract a couple weeks ago and mentioned other players feel the same as him? Of course, you do. He mentioned Trent Cole being one of those guys. Cole signed an extension back in 2006. Well, Bob Brookover asked Cole about his contract situation. Here’s what Trent had to say: “I love the Eagles,” Cole said after one of yesterday’s minicamp practices. “I like playing for the Eagles. I’m going to keep playing and let the process take its course. I signed a contract with them, and I’m happy with my contract. People [...]