Entries Tagged 'Eagles' ↓

Let me start by saying that the Eagles have earned my trust in the draft even if they don’t do what I think they should have done. Why? Because 18 of 22 starters in 2008 will be players they have drafted, and it could be 19 of 22 if Victor Abiamiri beats out Juqua Parker (formerly Juqua Thomas) for the starting DE spot. They have built primarily through the draft and have been more consistently competitive than 90% of the NFL since Andy Reid took the reigns. If I was a Lions fan? I think I’d be a little more critical if I disagreed with a pick. Right now - I’ll give my opinions, but wait to see how things play out before I get too upset. OK - on to the analysis

Pick #19 (1st Round) - Traded to Carolina for Pick #43 (2nd Round), Pick #109 (4th Round) and Carolina’s 2009 1st Round Pick.

If you followed the mock drafts and rumors leading up to the draft, you were absolutely certain that the Eagles were going to take OT Jeff Otah here. I was even excited we didn’t have to trade up to get him. Instead, the Eagles manage to shock us once again andtrade out of the first round for the 2nd straight year. Personally, I was disappointed we didn’t take Otah, who would clearly fit a need. That is, until I saw what we got. I’ll let Sports Illustrated’s Peter King take it from here:

The Eagles always ask for too much in trade. Always… They were able to auction off the 19th pick in the draft for a mind-boggling sum, which they got from Carolina — second- and fourth-round picks this year andthe Panthers’ first-round pick next year. On the draft-trade chart, the 19th-overall pick is worth 875 points. If you assign Carolina an average 2008 season and give them the 16thpick in the first roundnext year, this trade will be worth 1,546 points on the trade chart — almost double what the 19thpick is worth.

And that’s only IF they Panthers are decent next year. Personally, I think they could be terrible and that pick may end up top 10. Otah would have been nice, but you HAVE to make that trade, that was highway robbery.

Pick #43 (2nd Round) - Traded to Minnesota with Pick #152 (5th Round) for Pick #47 (2nd Round) and Pick #117 (4th Round)

Move down 4 spots, get the same guy you wanted, and move up 35 spots in the later rounds. I like these trades.

Pick #47 (2nd Round) - Trevor Laws, DT, Notre Dame

FINALLY! After about 5 hours of drinking, I mean, waiting, the Eagles fans have a player. I recently graduated from Notre Dame, and don’t miss a single play, so I can honestly say I’ve seen every down of football Trevor Laws played in college. Here is what you are going to get: A very, very strong player with an incredible motor who NEVER quits on a play. During ND’s disastrous season last year, Laws played every down like it was the BCS Championship and as a result led the team in tackles as a DT and led the nation in tackles by a d-lineman all while being keyed in on by opposing offensive lines. He was “unblockable” at the Senior Bowl, and has an incredible knack for blocking field goals, with 3 blocks last year. During my time at ND, the only better d-lineman we had was Anthony Weaver, now on the Texans. Laws was better (at ND) than Victor Abiamiri (Eagles), Justin Tuck (Giants) and Derek Landri (Jaguars). DT might not have been a big need, but Eagles fans will love Trevor Laws.

Pick #49 (2nd Round) - DeSean Jackson, WR, California

I love this pick. Jackson is so fast and has such playmakingability, he was projecting in the first round the entire year despite his ridiculously small frame (5′9”, 169 lbs). Jackson will immediately be a game changer in the return game, and could very well develop into a Santana Moss-type threat. Scouts Inc. had him as the 26th overall prospect, and the 3rd best receiver, so getting him at #49 was a steal - and will also put a big time chip on his shoulder to prove himself.

Pick #80 (3rd Round) - Bryan Smith, DE, McNeese State

Meh. I know I said to trust the Eagles because of how many of their starters were drafted by Reid, but, let’s look at the schools from which their starting defense was drafted. Cincinnati, Florida State, USC, Oklahoma St., Tennessee, Nebraska, Clemson, Boise St., UCF, South Carolina and Cal Poly. That’s 10 D-1A schools and Chris Gocong. The only other player from a small school who saw the field last year was undrafted LB AkeemJordan. My point is not that you shouldn’t draft small school players, but I don’t think you should reach for them in the 3rd round when there are other quality players available andyou can likely take the same player in a later round. There were a lot of good defensive backs on the board here and I was disappointed they didn’t take one. Smith is very small and could be a good situational pass rusher, but I’d be surprised if he ends up being worthy of Pick #80.

Pick #109 (4th Round), #184 (6th Round) and #230 (7th Round) -Mike McGlynn, OT, Pitt - Mike Gibson, OG, Cal - King Dunlap, OT, Auburn

I bunched these guys all together because they are all now in the care of one of the Eagles best assets, OL Coach Juan Castillo. Castillo has taken many low round picks and turned them into good offensive lineman in the past, and I’d bet he can do the same with one of these guys. The most intriguing of these is Dunlap, who is absolutely MASSIVE human being, at 6′9” 310. Apparently his technique is poor, but he has a lot of potential.

Pick #115 (Round 4) - Traded to Miami for Lorenzo Booker, RB

This was another good Day 1 move. Booker went in the 3rd Round just last season, had a good year for rookie RB and we get him for a 4th rounder. Booker is extremely talented, he was the #1 player in the country coming out of high school but his college career fell short of expectations due to a horrible O-Line and O-Coordinator at Florida State. He has good speed and can line up in the slot as a RB. His versatility makes him an immediate upgrade to our running game and I think this move has the potential to be a real steal.

Pick #117 (4th Round) - Quintin Demps, FS, UTEP

This was the only 2nd day pick I liked. Demps has the athletic ability to be a starter in this league, and safety was definitely a position where we need somebody we can develop for a year or two. And judging from his comments upon being drafted, he certainly isn’t short on confidence.

I am a playmaker. If the Eagles wanted a playmaker, they got one as a steal in the draft. I am going to take what I can from Dawkins and just come in there to play with passion. I am not a Pro Bowl player; I’m a Super Bowl player. I am ready to go. I am fired up.

QUINTIN DEMPS IS FIRED UP! If he’s this fired up on draft day, he might injure someone on the first day of training camp.

Pick #131 (4th Round) - Jack Ikegwuonu, CB, Wisconsin

I’m not really sure how you can defend taking this guy here. Ikegwuonu is currently facing a felony charge of residential burglary and criminal trespass, but it’s OK, because he’ll have the entire year to get that sorted out while he is recovering from the ACL surgery he just had. Andy Reid said that this guy has the talent to be a 1st round pick, and Tom Heckert said he would have been a 2nd rounder based on talent, so they clearly think they got a steal here. However, we need CB help THIS year, andwho knows whether or not his legal problems are fully behind him and/or he can make a full recovery from his surgery. Had they not used their 3rd rounder on a project as well, I would probably feel a lot better about taking a risk here.

Pick #200 (6th Round) and Pick #203 (6th Round) - Joe Mays, LB, North Dakota St. and Andy Studebaker, LB/DE, Wheaton

OK - HERE is where you should be taking flyers on small school prospects. Chances are neither of these players will ever see the field for the Eagles, but I don’t mind taking these kind of players this late. You never know how their game will translate, and you might end up witha diamond in the rough. Considering you probably have a better chance of finding a gem in the unsigned FA pool, might as well take a chance here.

Overall Thoughts: I really liked the Eagles first day of the draft. If you had told me going in that they would end up with DeSeanJackson in the first round andTrevor Laws in the second, I would have been OK withthat. But, we managed to get both of them while also picking up a 1st, 2nd and 4th ndpick. I also think the trade for Booker was a solid move. On the second day, the Eagles picked up too many developmental prospects. This team went 8-8 last year and isn’t quite as well off as the Front Office seems to think it is. Grabbing a player or two on day 2 that could help in 2008 would have been smart. Finally, the Eagles lose some points for not yet trading Lito Sheppard. There is no way this is going to work out if they keep him. The longer they keep him, the worse it will get. Hopefully they can get the rumored deal with the Jaguars done.

Day 1 Grade: A-
Day 2 Grade: C+

Overall Grade: B

Back in December, I listed the things that I really wanted for Christmas. #1 was that in the off-season, the Eagles trade for a true top-flight receiver and give Donovan McNabb one last chance with a wide array of weapons.

Clearly, as of yet, the Eagles have not done so. But what’s worse than not getting what you want? Being told you MIGHT get what you want, about a million different times, getting your hopes up, and then crashing violently back to earth. Let’s recap:

“Moss was almost an Eagle,” March 3rd

The Boston Herald is reporting that Randy Moss came within a hair of signing with the Philadelphia Eagles. Quoting a source, the newspaper’s Web site said that Moss and the Eagles negotiated throughout the weekend and that Philadelphia thought it had him locked down at one point.

Larry Fitzgerald rumors, March 8th

The Larry Fitzgerald-to-the-Eagles trade scenario takes on new intrigue daily, with a report surfacing Friday that the Eagles have submitted a trade offer to Arizona to obtain the Pro Bowl wide receiver. The Cardinals and Fitzgerald have hit an impasse in contract renegotiations, according to The Arizona Republic, which also reported that the Eagles have offered cornerback Lito Sheppard and wide receiver Reggie Brown as trade bait with hopes of forcing the Cardinals to deal away the wideout if they can’t reach an agreement to restructure his contract.

What about the other, now underpaid, Cardinals WR?

The Cardinals’ salary spotlight shifted instantly to wide receiver Anquan Boldin, who is scheduled to be paid considerably less than his receiving counterpart. Last season, the Cardinals offered Boldin a contract extension, and here’s the key fact to consider: Boldin told them he wanted to wait for Larry Fitzgerald to finalize his new deal. Now that he has, it dwarfs Boldin’s, whose average annual salary is three to four times less than Fitzgerald’s. Philadelphia, Washington and Dallas have explored the possibility of acquiring a big-name wide receiver, only to find that there aren’t any readily available. Now those teams could wind up exploring Boldin’s availability.

Roy Williams? Apparently he should have been traded this week.

Mike Quick who is the analyst for the Eagles games with Merrill Reese says there will be news about Roy Williams before the week is out. Mike Quick says he thinks the Birds are going to make a major move at the wide receiver position. He talked about Roy Williams and the potential that the Eagles will make a deal to acquire a wide receiver. He says there will be news on Roy Williams before the week is out. That means the Cowboys, Redskins or the Eagles will probably wind up with the receiver before the week is out.

What about a WR DEMANDING a trade? Mr. Ocho Cinco?

The Bengals have not only rejected the Redskins, but two other NFC East suitors — the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles — have been informed that there has been no change in the team’s position that Johnson’s contract will remain with the Bengals.

Randy Moss, Larry Fitzgerald, Roy Williams, Anquan Boldin and Chad Johnson. Those are 5 of the top 10 WR in the NFL, and the Eagles made a play for all of them. Each time, each rumor, Eagles fans hearts leapt, and they got visions of the pre-Super Bowl offseason when we acquired Jevon Kearse and Terrell Owens. Each time the rumors didn’t amount to anything. Can you remember any team, any off-season being linked to SO many high-end players and landing none of them?

It’s nice to know that the Eagles did make this a priority, but to those of us who religiously follow the rumor mills, it has certainly been an offseason full of disappointment. Considering there is a 90% chance the Eagles will package picks and overpay to move up and take an OT in the first round, things aren’t looking like they will get much more exciting.

While I’ve been engulfed in my MLB Preview, a whole bunch of things have happened in Philly sports that I felt I should comment on, but didn’t have the time to write a whole post on. So I’m gonna do what I can here in bullet point form. Please hold back your excitement.

- The Asante Samuel signing was very interesting to me. It was a typical Eagles move to draft/sign someone at a position that they did not need help. However, I’m certainly happy this guy is an Eagle. He is an upgrade over Lito Sheppard in that he will stay on the field. He can hit better than Lito and provides the same, if not slightly better, play-making ability. However, considering the money they put forth, I really hope they can get a good deal for Lito and turn it into another impact player.

- I personally don’t think Randy Moss had any intention of ever signing with us. I think he was just using us to beef up the Pats offer. However, the best thing to come from this is that it shows that Eagles do actually know they need a big-play receiver. The word is that they want Larry Fitzgerald, but the Cardinals are inclined to keep him despite his absurd salary. Personally? I’d give them whatever they want. Lito, 1st round pick and a 3rd round pick? STEEP price, but if we get Fitz, we go to the Super Bowl. (Note: Gcobb.com is reporting today that the Eagles will make strong pushes for both Roy Williams and Chad Johnson)

- So the Eagles have added Samuel and Chris Clemons (who appears to be a real good pass rusher) to the defense. They have Lito to trade for a piece of the puzzle, and each of their draft picks. They need to package their remaining assets into 1 or 2 impact players for next year and it will be an extremely successful offseason.

- Cole Hamels is acting (and talking) like a damn child. The only thing that is clear in this situation is that he (and Prince Fielder and Nick Markakis and Jonathan Paplebon) do not understand how the MLB salary process works. This is a process that the players association has signed off on for years. When you are arbitration eligible, you can plead your case, until then, let’s just try to get through 200 innings without getting hurt before running our mouths about “respect.” I love Cole Hamels, but as you can tell, his little cry-fest really ticked me off.

- Speaking of the Phillies, I’m officially terrified of Kyle Kendrick and whoever our 5th starter turns out to be. I am rooting for Kris Benson to be healthy and “win” the 5th spot.

- I think Ryan Howard is going to be out of control good this year and that Jimmy Rollins won’t be able to put up the performance he did last year. I have nothing to back this up.

- I never really commented on the Phillies off-season because it abruptly ended when the Mets traded for Santana and everything we did seemed insignificant. However, I like nearly every move they made. Jenkins, Feliz, Lidge, Taguchi, Bruntlett, C. Durbin and Benson aren’t going to set the world on fire, but they are all slight upgrades (if healthy) over the people in their position last year (with the exception of the Rowand for Jenkins swap). The real reason the Phillies have been unable to make a move is our terribly thin farm-system. There were a lot of quality pitchers on the market that would couldn’t even get in the discussion with because we came up well short on the quality and quantity of prospects the teams were looking for in return. Overall Offseason Grade: B+.

- Couldn’t agree with Dannie more that people need to start watching the Sixers. They are young, exciting, and leave everything on the court. In the beginning of the year, I had them as one of the 5 worst teams in the NBA, but through sheer grit and determination, it looks like they are going to make the playoffs, and I’m kind of really really excited to see a playoff game again - even if the Pistons stomp all over us.

- You are killing me St. Joes. Absolutely killing me. Looks like the fate of Big-5 might rest in someone knocking off Xavier and winning the A-10. At this point, Temple might be the best bet.

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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.

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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.

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In a big win against the hated Dallas Cowboys today, the most spectacular play wasn’t a gravity defying TD catch, 95 yard kick return or even an ankle breaking scamper to the end zone. It was the best running back in the 2007 NFL season intentionally falling down at the ½ yard line with no defender in sight to secure a desperately needed win for the Philadelphia Eagles.

With just over 2 minutes left in the game and a 4 point lead for the Birds, Brian Westbrook found a crease in the Cowgirls defense and broke away for 24 yards. He could have easily added a TD to his already great season and given his team a ten-point lead. With less than 2 minutes and Dallas left with no time outs scoring wouldn’t have been a bad play at all. Instead, B. West was clearly aware of game situation, time and score. He sacrificed his personal stats and made a brilliant decision to fall down and seal the win for HIS team.

I don’t know if another player would have made that play in any situation. Maybe it wouldn’t occur to them or they wanted to get theirs. Either way it was the single most unselfish play by a superstar I have ever seen in a crucial moment like that.

Can you think of something better?