Archive for May, 2011

    The NFL offseason calendar, in any normal year, usually goes like this: Superbowl, coaching moves, break, free agency, combine, pro days, pre-draft analysis, the draft, post-draft analysis and then, sometime in early May, draft grades. This year, even with all the labor issues and lawsuits, seems to be no different. It’s early May, and regardless of whether or not the 2011 draft class will actually become a part of the NFL this year, the grades have arrived. Personally, I’ve never paid attention to grades. They’re arbitrary, childish, and in the long run they’re about as accurate as fortune [...]

    It was disappointing, but not shocking. After all, what were the chances? There are 32 teams in the NFL, and many of them – including a couple in the NFC East – are simply unwilling to give up a home game. The Eagles, I know, are no different. But against all my better judgment, I held out a little bit of hope anyway. The day the new NFL schedules came out, I took a deep breath, said a silent prayer, crossed my fingers and opened up the web page. No dice. This year, the International Series Game will [...]

  With the draft now over, all eyes in the NFL have turned to free agency. Hundreds of undrafted college players and possibly 500 more veterans are currently marooned on a deserted island, waiting for the labor storm to pass and the churning, violent seas of the open market to calm back down, so they will finally be able to see into the depths and figure out just where they stand. If and when a new collective bargaining agreement can be settled and signed into effect, in may include a swath of new regulations, rule changes, and contractual amendments in [...]

   It was another long draft weekend for the Philadelphia Eagles, one that wasn’t short on surprises, trades, controversy, and debate. Andy Reid proved, once again, that he is as unpredictable and unconventional a head coach as there is in the National Football League. Combined with the ongoing – and sometimes utterly confusing – courtroom developments in the NFL labor situation, the past four days have been enough of a whirlwind to put any professional sports journalist in the loony bin, and I’ll admit I wasn’t immune.