Entries Tagged 'Chad Johnson' ↓

I’ve been working diligently on my 7-part baseball preview, so I’ve been a little lazy of late in terms of posting. But unless I want Dannie to take over the blog entirely - I figured I’d spend my 25th birthday with some quick hits on what’s on my mind in the Philly and National sports scene.

1. The Big-5 is in trouble - Since the creation of the NCAA tournament, 1 team from the Big-5 + Drexel has made the tournament every single year. Right now, it looks like our best bet is St. Joes, and they have lost 2 straight. ‘Nova looked like they would make it, but their very young team has looked, well, very young (and phantom fouls to end the games against NC State AND Georgetown don’t help either). Usually in these types of years, we could rely on Penn to win the Ivy, but they are struggling at 2-2 in the conference and 7-14 overall. Hopefully St. Joes can finish up their A-10 schedule tough and keep the streak alive.

2. That’s all it costs for the best pitcher in baseball? The Johan Santana trade was an absolute punch in the gut for Phillies’ fans. Before that trade, the Phils had made some solid, albeit small, upgrades and the Mets and Braves had done very little. We were the solid favorites to win the division. But, not only did the Mets get the best pitcher in baseball, but they got him for LESS that the Mariners gave up for Eric Bedard and lost NO ONE who was going to be of impact to their team in 2008. The real victims here are the Twins fans (who also lost fan-favorite Torii Hunter), who just watched a once in a lifetime pitcher leave for no other reason than they don’t live in New York or Boston. Phillies fans will moan your ear off that we don’t spend enough, but I can’t imagine being as passionate about baseball as I am and live in Kansas City, Minnesota or Pittsburgh right now.

3. The Sixers are a half game out of the what?? The recent 4-game home winning streak has put the Sixers in a position that neither their pre-season expectations, nor their 22-30 record would seem to indicate: 1/2 game out of a playoff spot. Part of the recent surge has been the outstanding play of Andre Miller (NBA player of the week) and energy of the young guys. In particular, Thaddeus Young, 19, has shown he may be special player. He had a great feel for the game, is an elite athlete, and is already showing some big time moves. Also, if you watched the Dallas game tonight, he completely shut down Dirk Nowitzki. Dannie will write more about him soon, but I’m excited about him (Young, not Dannie).

4. Pitchers and Catchers on Wednesday - Please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt, please no one get hurt.

5. Chad Johnson is ticked off - TRADE FOR HIM! I very much enjoyed the recent espn.com headling “Johnson’s agent says he will not sit out ‘08″ for a couple reasons. First of all, I love the stories where they announce something isn’t going to happen that they never originally announced might happen. Something like “Bob Knight decides he will not go on a homicidal rampage” - wait, Bob Knight was going to go on a homicidal rampage? When did that happen? This is usually a big hint that ESPN is trying to make a non-story a story. The second reason I love this headline is because it means the rumors of Ocho-Cinco wanting out are true. With B-West getting McNabb’s back that we could use a big-time receiver, I still say you offer up an impressive package that the Bengals can’t resist.

The 2007 Eagles team was better than their 8-8 record showed. They had a coach that was seriously distracted much of the year. They lost one game because they couldn’t catch a punt. They lost another, because they let the Bears inexplicably drive 97 yards in 1:52. They lost two games on A.J. Feeley interceptions and lost a 5th game when David Akers clanked a 57-yard field goal that had the distance for 67 yards. And yes, they lost a 6th when the absence of William Thomas and Brian Westbrook resulted in a 4-quarter long Osi Umenyiora dance party.[digg=http://digg.com/football/An_Optimistic_Look_At_The_Philadelphia_Eagles_in_2008]

Don’t worry, I will not be arguing that the Eagles should have gone 14-2 in 2008. We all know that is just ridiculous. But, this is a fact: At full strength, the Birds only got outplayed twice all year. Week 2 against the Redskins, and Week 9 against the Cowboys. Both teams fell to the Birds when they played again.

This team has talent. In an “off” offensive year, the Eagles finished 6th in the NFL in total offense and their young defense finished 10th in total defense. Below is a position-by-position breakdown of where the Eagles stand heading into the offseason

Quarterback - McNabb finished with the 9th best QB rating in the NFL, higher than Carson Palmer or Drew Brees. For all his accuracy issues, he had the 4th best interception rate in the NFL. He looked great in the last two games when he seemed to be fully healthy, has been to 5 pro-bowls, led us to 4 NFC Championship games and is the winningest QB in team history. He’s not Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, but that is no reason to run him, or anyone, out of town. Let’s stop with the trade McNabb talk, it’s really just makes us seem stupid.

Running-back - There is not a single running-back I would take on my team over Brian Westbrook. Not much more to say except it would be nice if Tony Hunt learned his blocking assignments so we could get him on the field next year.

Wide Receiver - This is the key to whether or not the Eagles are a title contender next year - or just a wild card team. When Donovan had a true #1 receiver on the team, he had a 104.7 QB rating and we went to the Super Bowl. Umm…. WHEN DONOVAN HAD A TRUE #1 RECEIVER, HE HAD A 104.7 QB RATING AND WE WENT TO THE SUPER BOWL! I’m not entirely sure how to make that more clear for the front office. Reggie Brown and Kevin Curtis are good receivers and upgrades from the Pinkston/Thrash era. But they are not #1’s. Chad Johnson may be available, Larry Fitzgerald may be available, Randy Moss is a free agent. There are options out there and the Eagles MUST be bold to take the next step.

Tight End - I like what I saw from Brent Celek this year. Good hands, and when he catches it, he looks to make a play with his feet, not just fall down. There are rumors L.J. Smith might be franchised and brought back. Personally, I would prefer Celek as the starter in ‘08.

Offensive Line - Runyan and Thomas are getting up there in age, and Winston Justice was mostly horrendous when he played, so it might suit the Eagles to pick up some depth at OT in the draft. At Guard, Shawn Andrews is the 2nd best player on the team behind Westbrook and I really hope Max Jean-Giles steps up and takes the starting spot from Todd Herremans. A guard tandem of Andrews (335 pounds) and Jean-Giles (358 pounds) could be comically dominant.

Defensive End - I was confident about our depth here to start the season, but it looks like it is still an issue. Trent Cole is a pro-bowl caliber end and Juqua Thomas impressed me all year with his ability to run down quick running backs. After that, I still think Victor Abiamiri can make solid contributions, but what would really help this defense would be to sign an elite end (Jared Allen of the Chiefs is available) to go with Cole and have a super sub in Thomas and solid back-up in Abiamiri. There will also be a handful of quality DE’s there at pick #19 in the draft (Derrick Harvey from UF and Calais Campbell from Miami). I’m assuming that Kearse, Howard and McDougle will all be gone. An interesting scenerio being tossed around is using Stewart Bradley at LB and letting Chris Gocong be a full time DE or a DE/OLB hybrid. Personally, I love that idea.

Defensive Tackle - Like DE, thought we had more depth here with the additions of Montae Reagor and Ian Scott, but it didn’t turn out that way. Broderick Bunkley played well all year, and should continue to improve after an awful rookie year. With Mike Patterson next to Broderick, our starters are very solid (though not spectacular), but we could use a couple back-ups to spell them and keep them fresh.

Linebacker - The threesome of Spikes, Gaither and Gocong started the year off slow, but really seemed to come on down the stretch. Gaither and Gocong aren’t great players yet, but they showed they have the potential to be once they fully grasp Jim Johnson’s system. Spikes also played well down the stretch, but is getting up there in years. Nonetheless, it seems as though he will be back with the team next year. Stewart Bradley really looked like a player in the last couple games and could play outside next year.

Safeties - Andy Reid said Quintin Mikell played like a “pro-bowler” the last couple games, and it is hard to argue with him. Brian Dawkins is still a very good player and leader. However, I would now consider him an injury risk and would like to see someone who is not Sean “cleat marks on my chest” Considine in a back-up role.

Corners- Sheldon Brown is phenomenal. He rarely gets beat, and just ask Reggie Bush how he hits. If Lito Sheppard can stay healthy (and I would just assume he won’t), the Eagles have an elite CB tandem. Will James didn’t cut it as Rod Hood’s replacement at Nickel, hopefully we can pick one up so Joselio Hanson doesn’t spend too much time on the field.

If the Eagles stand pat, and only make minor adjustments, my guess is they will be a 10-6 team next year. Brian Westbrook makes this team special, and we have to capitalize on his prime years before they are gone. In my opinion, this is what they need to do to be a 12-4 or 13-3 Super Bowl contender.

Priority #1: Obtain, through trade or free agency, a new #1 receiver. Trade your first rounder for Chad Johnson if you have to, you certainly had no problem giving it away to Dallas last year.

Priority #2: See Priority #1

Priority #3: Obtain, through trade, free agency, or the draft, a solid DE. Aside from the options mentioned above, perhaps make a play for Jason Taylor, who may be traded from the Dolphins.

Priority #4: Draft a DT, OT, CB and S - sign FAs at any of those positions you don’t get in the draft.

Doing this, along with some development from our 2007 rookies (Celek, S. Bradley, Abiamiri) and sophomores (Bunkley, Gaither, Gocong, Jean-Gilles) will put the Eagles in position to be one of the elite teams in the NFL once again.

Subscribe via RSS feed or get email updates for fresh sports articles.

1. Chad Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, or any other elite WR the Eagles can get their hands on- Plain and simple, Donovan deserves another chance with a quality wide-out. He toiled through Todd Pinkson, Charles Johnson, Torrence Small etc, etc and still led us to playoff wins. The ONE year he had an elite WR, he had 104.7 QB Rating and we went to the Super Bowl, only to lose to a truly great football team. He is better than the majority of NFL QB’s and can be spectacular with a game breaking WR. Hopefully the Eagles take a break from their stubborn nature and give McNabb the weapon he needs. Getting rid of him is not the answer - yet.
2. A healthy starting rotation for the Phillies - As exciting as the So Taguchi signing is, the Phillies 2008 campaign will rest on the shoulders of their non-improved starting rotation. Luckily, there were so many injuries in the rotation last year that this crew can improve simply by going out there every 5th day. Unfortunately, the “crew” consists of 2 guys with a history of DL stints (Hamels and Myers), an unproven sophomore (Kendrick), a legitimately 45 year-old man (Moyer) and some combination of Adam Eaton, Chad Durbin and somebody so good, the last-place Giants didn’t protect him in the Rule 5 Draft (Travis Blackley, career ERA, 9.35).
3. That anybody but the Patriots or Cowboys win the Super Bowl - I tried to write a paragraph explaining this, but my dislike is just so engrained in my being that I couldn’t gather words to do so adequately.
4. That David Lee and Kyle Lowry get traded to teams that don’t suck - These two guys are a joy to watch, but their teams are so un-watchable they don’t ever make national TV. The world at large needs to see these kids play - they define leaving it all on the court.
5. That Notre Dame football is playing on New Year’s Day in 2009 - and that they deserve to be there- Notre Dame has a tendency to be placed in bowl games they shouldn’t be in because they are a huge draw for the bowl and the TV network. The result is they often play better opponents, lose, and look like, well, they didn’t belong there in the first place. Next year, I would love to see us in a bowl game for our play on the field, not the monetary benefits off of it.
6. Villanova makes the Final Four, at some point - For a city so in love with college basketball, Philadelphia hasn’t had the chance to go crazy for a final four weekend since Villanova took home the title in 1985. The current Nova team is filled with an exciting young core, a very good coach and a bright future (more on this in a future post). They are currently ranked #16 - and don’t have a single senior on the team. They will be good for a couple years, and have the potential to be great.
7. A Championship - For God’s Sake - I was born in 1983, the year the Sixers won the NBA title. Since that title, the 4 Philadelphia teams have played in 84 playoffs series (or games for the Eagles) and 7 championships. They have won 0 titles. If I could only get one thing for Christmas, I’d want to know what it feels like to have a team you love win a title, just once.

Subscribe via RSS feed or get email updates for fresh sports articles.