Archive for January, 2010

This should be fun. Eagles stud wide receiver DeSean Jackson will face one of his biggest challenges to date next Tuesday. If he thought shaking Mike Jenkins was hard, he ain’t seen nuthin’ yet. Thanks to the fine folks at Gatorade, DJax will go toe-to-toe with one of my fellow sports bloggers (Will Brinson) in a grueling workout session in Miami. As hilarious as that sounds, the best part is we will all get the opportunity to watch these two unique talents live on the interwebs. Starting at 2:30pm on Tuesday, ustream will air the whole shebang, which will include [...]

It’s official. The Eagles have named Howie Roseman General Manager to replace the departed Tom Heckert. Howie has been with the team since 2000 and has elevated his way up through the front office ranks ever since. He’s 34 years old. 34! That’s it? Damn, the Birds really do find ‘em young. Anyway, I don’t know much about Roseman, but the guy has a big challenge in front of him this offseason. Free agency and a draft in an uncapped year. Good luck, Howie. Subscribe to ITI

If you believe NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora, Mike Vick‘s time in midnight green is drawing to a close. The Eagles front office isn’t planning on picking up the 2010 option on Vick, and will seek a willing trade partner instead. This news is hardly surprising, and if true, will end one of the strangest and shortest player/franchise marriages in recent memory. Vick arrived in Philly last August amidst a hurricane of controversy that died much sooner than I anticipated.

Word outta Jets camp is safety Kerry Rhodes and head honcho Rex Ryan are not seeing eye to eye. Rhodes, a former All-Pro/Pro Bowl player, was demoted earlier in the ’09 season, but still logged 63 stops, three interceptions and 13 PDs in 14 starts. A natural strong safety, Rhodes was moved to free safety and apparently struggled to adjust. The rift between he and the coaching staff could result in the organization not picking up a $2 million roster bonus due in March. If that happens, he’ll likely be looking for a new employer. Might the Eagles be interested? [...]

The Eagles offense finished the ’09 campaign ranked fifth in points scored and eleventh in total yards despite laying two giant eggs versus the Raiders and Cowboys. That’s pretty good considering how many youngsters and new faces were relied on to be key contributors throughout the season. Here’s a quick chart: Player # Starts as an Eagle before 2009 Leonard Weaver 0 Shady McCoy 0 Jeremy Maclin 0 Jason Peters 0 Stacy Andrews 0 Winston Justice 1 Nick Cole 6 Brent Celek 11 Max Jean-Gilles 11 DeSean Jackson 15

After rewatching a few of the Eagles losses in ’09, one thing became abundantly clear. This team lacks a superstar defender. Trent Cole is a smart, solid and hardworking end, but he’s not an elite player who dominates on a weekly basis. That fact that an aging Flozell Adams owned him for three games is disturbing. Asante Samuel is a ball-hawking corner capable of taking over a game, but he’s not Deion Sanders. Hell, he’s not even Defensive Player of the Year Charles Woodson. I’ve watched Woodson for years; he doesn’t miss tackles and avoid contact the way Samuel does.

Everyone on the bus. It’s time to hit the road to the blogosphere. Prince wrote a Vikings fight song. Not “Purple Rain,” a new one. (The Viking Age) NBA mid-season achievement awards. (Suicide Drills) Chicks dig Rafael Nadal. (Outside the Boxscore) Would Cubs fans welcome Sammy Sosa back with open arms? (Midwest Sports Fans) Chef Ramsay, Shane Falco and Tarheels basketball. (The 5th Corner) Famous NFL coaching meltdowns set to music. (Zoner Sports) Jersey Shore is over, but it won’t go away. (Warming Glow) Subscribe to ITI

Michael Vick‘s reality TV series is ready to roll. It’s called The Michael Vick Project and will debut on BET February 2. The show will document how Vick became involved in dogfighting and his attempt to seek redemption since being released from prison. It’s scheduled to run for ten episodes. Hopefully, it will be better than the drivel TO subjected audiences to last year. Subscribe to ITI

One thing that really sucks about an early playoff exit is the extra couple weeks of nothing of note to discuss as it relates to the Eagles. McNabb blogging about bringing a title to Philly? Been there, done that. New special teams coach? Mildly interesting. Brian Westbrook maybe, but probably not, retiring? Yawn. Jon Dorenbos named to the Pro Bowl team? I like Jon, but anytime there’s an offseason blurb involving the long snapper, you’re scraping the bottom of the barrel. We’re still a month away from the Combine and six weeks away from the beginning of free agency. Ugh. [...]

Good thing I had my covert ITI spies slip another mic into Andy Reid‘s office before Christmas. If not, I wouldn’t have gotten my grubby little paws on the transcript to this phone call that took place Sunday evening, after the Vikings annihilated the Cowboys. It’s quite an eye opener. See for yourself. Reid is tossing darts at a board with logos of all 31 NFL teams and yelling into his speaker phone. Reid: Chilly, is that you, you old son-of-a-pistol? Childress: Yeah, sorry to keep you on hold. Kinda busy up here right now. Reid: No problem. I still [...]

One of my fellow Eagles bloggers is celebrating his first birthday today. No, he’s not one year old, but his blog is. Cody Benjamin, who runs Bleed Green, wanted all you die-hard Birds backers to know he’s lined up some cool interviews for his site. So, skip on over and hit him up. Subscribe to ITI

This comes courtesy of Howard Eskin, so it might or might not be credible, if you know what I mean. According to Howie, Brian Westbrook may have to retire due to his ailing knee. Shocking. A broken-down running back over 30 who has battled all matter of injuries throughout his career, and barely saw the field in 2009, could call it quits. Really? In all seriousness, it will be tough to see Westy go out this way, but such is life in the NFL. It does make the need to get some depth behind Shady an even bigger priority though. [...]