Archive for April, 2011

  With the 116th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles selected Casey Matthews, linebacker out of Oregon. While he doesn’t possess his older brother’s power or size, Matthews is quick, instinctive, and durable. If coached up properly, Matthews has a chance to excel in the pros. The best example of the kind of intangible potential this guy has came in this past year’s BCS National Championship Game, when Matthews stripped the ball from Auburn QB Cam Newton late in the game to set a tying score for the Ducks. He steps up big when it matters, [...]

  The Philadelphia Eagles, after trading the 85th pick in the draft to the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for their 3rd round (90) and 6th round (191) picks, have selected Curtis Marsh, cornerback from Utah State. Marsh (6’2″, 197) earned All-WAC honors and finished the year 6th in the nation in pass defenses a game. Originally recruited by Utah as a running back, Marsh has speed, hands and an impressive vertical. He will need to be coached up a bit, but has the potential to compete for a starting job immediately.

  With the 54th  pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles have selected Jaiquawn Jarrett, safety out of Temple. Jarrett, a 2010 First-Team All MAC selection, played in every game of his college career, excelling in coverage as well as in kick and punt returns. In 2010, he led the team with 74 tackles and grabbed two interceptions. More on Jarrett and the team’s reaction to the pick in a bit.

 With the 23rd overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the Philadelphia Eagles selected Danny Watkins, offensive guard out of Baylor. Watkins, the 6 foot 3, 310 pound Candadian fireman, is a relative newbie to football, first learning the sport when he enrolled at Butte College in California in 2007. He then transferred to Baylor as a replacement for Jason Smith. At Baylor, Watkins was an All Big 12 O-lineman, starting the Senior Bowl in 2011. He started all 25 games for Baylor, totaling 134 knockdowns in his senior year alone. Projected prior to the Draft as a late [...]

  For centuries, dozens of cultures throughout the world have shared a common belief in something called a “Grand Birthday,” the once in a lifetime event when a person’s calendar birth date and age collide. Today, for example, I turned 27 on the 27th of April. Today is my Grand Birthday. According to folklore, a Grand Birthday – or Champagne Birthday, or Lucky Birthday – is supposed to be a perfect storm of good luck, 24 straight hours of winning lottery tickets and green lights. Well, as I am just about a half hour away from the end of my [...]

  by Ryan Thompson While the NFL Lockout situation still remains up in the air, we know one thing for certain: the NFL draft will take place Thursday night at Radio City Music Hall, and Andy Reid will once again be put in the hot seat. Many people expect the Eagles to select an offensive lineman with the 23rd pick in this year’s draft, hoping to fill a void in a group that allowed Eagles quarterbacks to be slammed to the turf 49 times in 2010, good for 4th most in the NFL. However, based on Reid’s success rate in [...]

  This Thursday night, when Roger Goodell bangs his gavel and puts the Panthers on the clock to officially begin the 2011 NFL Draft, ITI is going to be following it all – every pick, every trade, every dumbfounding reach and every unexpected slide – live, right here at InsideTheIggles.com. Beginning a half hour prior to every round and concluding with each day’s final pick, ITI will be hosting a live, moderated chat between draft experts, industry analysts, FanSided editors (including myself) and, of course, you! Submit your questions, comments, or all-out rants and find out what other Eagle fans [...]

  U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson ruled on Monday to end the NFL lockout, siding with the players and stating that the ongoing work stoppage in causing “irreparable harm” to their careers. As expected, NFL team owners immediately vowed to appeal the decision, citing a jurisdictional conflict between the court and the National Labor Regulations Board, which they believe is the proper governing body for NFL operations and labor disputes. Mediation sessions between the players and owners are still suspended until May 16th, and there has still been no decision in the player’s anti-trust suit against the league, which [...]

  There is nothing in the world like being a sports fan. It is one of purest and most consuming forms of entertainment available in this world, part of the reason why athletics and the organized following of athletics has been a part of human culture since the dawn of civilization. Beginning with the Olmec Indians, who were playing a version of basketball on massive stone courts as far back as 1700 B.C., and continuing on through the ancient Greek Olympics to early Chinese baseball games and up through the advent of Arena Football, sports and sports fans have persisted [...]

  Hello again fellow Eagle fans, and happy holidays to those of you just wrapping up the day’s parties, dinners or barbecues. Today, if you haven’t heard, is Easter Sunday, which for many of you means a day of family, friends, food, and festivities. Egg hunts and glazed ham, too much wine and a mid-day nap. For others, however, today is just another Sunday, a random blip on the calendar when everything closes early and there’s nothing left to do after 2pm but watch HBO and maybe order a pizza. My sympathies to those in this latter group. God knows [...]

Any Eagle fan is sure to remember that fateful day in 1999 when the commissioner took the stage and said, “With the second pick in the NFL draft, the Philadelphia Eagles select…Donovan Mc-BOOOOO BOOOOO!” Well, five NFC championship appearances and one Super bowl catastrophe later the Eagles are still right where they started: searching for their first Lombardi Trophy. As that chapter in franchise history has closed, Eagle’s fans have a new hope, a new savior, and a new supporting cast leading them in to 2011. Oddly enough, though, the heart of this young squad is not comprised of super-talented, [...]

Uncertainty is a common phenomenon in the mind of a football fan. Often, it is more what we don’t know, what we can’t know, that drives us and keeps us on the edge of the bleachers than what we know for certain. Sure, stats are nice. There’s enough media attention paid to wins and losses, trades and firings, but nothing is more exciting and involving for a fan than contemplating what will happen next. Will it be run or pass? Catch or incompletion? Lindley or Patterson? Right guard or right corner? At this time of year, when the schedules are [...]