No Allegiance
Posted: June 19th, 2011 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 11 Comments »For SB Nation Philly I wrote about some potential lineup changes that could be coming with Juan Castillo and Howard Mudd taking over the defense and O-line. Castillo and Mudd will want guys that fit their systems. Maybe as important, they won’t have special feelings built in for players. Guys will truly be judged on current performance.
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Someone asked if we might have interest in JaMarcus Russell.
No. I can’t see that as likely. JaMarcus has character and performance issues. Andy Reid hasn’t gone for QBs like that. He took a chance on Mike McMahon when he was less than a stellar player. Mike was a good guy and the kind of player you wanted to turn his career around. Andy took a chance on Vick when his character was bottom of the barrel. Andy partially took the risk because of just how good of a QB Vick had been in Atlanta.
Russell needs to be rehabbed off the field and on the field. I just don’t see him as worth the time. If we didn’t have a developmental player like Mike Kafka in place, I might be more open about adding Russell.
We will deal Kolb. Kafka isn’t ready to be the main backup. We need a veteran #2 QB. I’m curious to see who we’re going to pursue. Matt Hasselbeck is the top choice, but I don’t know if he’s willing to be a backup. John Clayton recently reported that he turned down a 1-year deal from Seattle woth $7M. I find that very had to believe. Why wouldn’t Matt take that money for one year? It isn’t like any other team sees him as a long term answer at QB and will give him a major deal.
ProFootballTalk has speculated that Matt could go to the Titans. Maybe. He’d be the starter, but that doesn’t look like a great team. Would Matt want to be Jake Locker’s QB guru for a year on a mediocre team? He’d be starting, but there wouldn’t be great circumstances. There is a new head coach. The offensive system will be adjusted. Plus, the Titans haven’t had a great offense in recent years. Is this an offense a QB wants to run?
Coming to Philly would make a lot of sense. Matt spent a year with Andy in Green Bay. They aren’t necessarily close, but do know each other. We have the kind of weapons and offense that QBs are dying for. We’re poised to make a Super Bowl run. Matt wouldn’t be the starter here, but with Vick in front of him there is a legit chance for Matt to start 2 to 4 games in a season. Matt has played for 3 different coaches in the last 3 years (Holmgren, Mora, Carroll). This year will make it 4 for 4, assuming he leaves Seattle. He might want to go to a stable situation.
If we can’t get a guy like Matt Hasselbeck, then (to quote Michael Douglas) you have to try and pick one with the least amount of fleas. I think a strong argument could be made that Kafka is that guy.
He’s already been the primary backup for a game (week 2 last season). Howie, Andy, Vick and (perhaps most importantly) Marty have all given Kafka strong praise. Vick has publicly said Mike Kafka is ready to be the backup. Players tend to make the biggest leap between their 1st season and their 2nd. The locker room seems to love him.
And what vets are going to be out there? Bulger? Gradkowski? Tarvaris Jackson? Volek? Maybe Leinart or Trent Edwards are guys we’d consider. No sure things out there…
I guess what I’m saying is that Hasselbeck should be the primary target, but if he goes elsewhere, then I think Kafka will, and should, get the preseason to prove he’s ready to be the backup. They’ll be vets to bring in later if necessary.
I guess if the Eagles bid on Pryor, we’ll have our answer as to what they think of Mike, because they’re not going to have Vick and two developmental guys as our depth chart.
I highly doubt that Hasselbeck accepts a job as a backup.
Assuming we like Kafka’s potential long-term, we’re likely going to be looking for older vets on 1-year deals with Kafka assuming the #2 position next year. Granted, Hasselbeck fits those criteria but he’ll want a bigger role.
So, I’d rate the likley possibilities as a backup as follows –
1. Bruce Gradkowski, Oakland – Has WCO experience, some Jeff Garcia in him. Not that old but probably can’t expect more than a 1 or 2 year deal.
2. Jake Delhomme, Cleveland – Likely to be cut, NO ran the WCO when Mike McCarthy was there.
3. Donovan McNabb, Washington – Most will discount this scenario but McNabb might want to go back to a coach he gets along with than a new situation.
Of younger guys, players with WCO experience that the Eagles were previously reported to be interested in in the draft are most likely. We liked Tarvaris Jackson in the 2005 draft and Leinart in the 2006 draft. We’ve also been reported to be interested in Tyler Thigpen.
Any interest the Eagles may have had in Leinart is long gone after the unprofessionalism he’s shown. Add up his attitude (sense of entitlement), his off the field-party mentality (Hollywood punk), and his lack of progress as an NFL QB (he just flat-out sucks, and hasn’t gotten any better) and I can’t see them being interested at all. He’s no different than Russel. No good on the
(damn iPhone)
…He’s no different than Russel. No good on the field and does have off-the-field problems. No where near the headache that Russel had been, but still a developmental guy.
My first choice for backup QB would be McNabb, but I don’t think Don would go for it, so I’m not even going to go into the reasons why.
Hasselbeck is all the things Don is; proven, familiar with the style of offense; ready to command respect if they had to start in a pinch. The deal is why would he want to be a backup when he could take another shot in Seattle (which he probably thinks is a winner since they were in the playoffs last year) or keep Locker’s seat warm in Tenn.? To win I guess.
Absent those options, two overlooked guys I tend to like are Tarvaris Jackson and Alex Smith.
Both fit the mold of guys who have talent but who have been stuck in odd situations where they lacked guidance and confidence. Those could both be good buy-low guys if they could come in here, get some coaching and get acclimated and be able to play without having to win the game by themselves. Just feed it to the good players quickly.
Particularly Tarvaris since he also had the WCO familarity and the mobility. I think really all the guy needs is confidence.
Kafka is going to be here either way so if we think he has No. 2 talent we might as well try to strike gold with the other QB pickup.
I know AR has had a good track record with QBs. I also know that he, as well as some players, have been positive about Kafka so far, but what has he shown so far that makes everyone so confident that he is the long term plan for the Eagles? I didn’t really think he looked all that impressive last year in the preseason. Am I missing something?
Now, granted, I understand he was a mid-round draft pick, so you hope he fits into the long term plans. I also understand that the preseason sample we saw is under tough conditions (his rookie year, learning the playbook, playing with guys who most likely will not make the team/are on the bottom of the roster), but doesn’t he have to prove himself a bit more before he is anointed Vick’s successor? On that same note, in reference to mcud’s post, other than having been an Eagle for a year, what makes you so comfortable with him as the 2nd string QB if Hasselbeck is not available?
Personally, I think the backup QB spot should be one of the bigger priorities for the Eagles once FA starts. Unfortunately, I am not really sure there are a lot of good options available, especially because I think several of the much more starting QB needy/shaky teams will go much more aggressively after Hasselbeck than we will.
We will never sign Jamarcus Russell. Andy would never tolerate that kind of competetion on the buffet line.
I think I’d rather have Sav Rocca play QB than Russell.
What about Bruce Gradkowski? He wasn’t tendered and has shown *some* capability (in spurts) when playing. I’m sure he wouldn’t be Reid’s first choice but fits the bill as a guy who won’t be a candidate for a starting job anywhere but has starting experience.
Obviously Hasselbeck and/or Bulger (Kurt Warner thinks he may want to remain a backup) would be ideal but they will be pursued by teams that are looking for a starter.
Any chance that Jamarcus Russell would pay to be on the team? I’m thinking about 600,000/yr would be worthwhile. He would use up a roster spot, but wouldn’t have to be activated for games and could theoretically increase our cap space? We could use that extra income to buy a new car for trent cole, or something cool like that.
Just a thought…
I’m not that big a fan of Hasselbeck. Maybe I need to tone down expectations since we’d be talking about Hasselbeck as a back-up as opposes to a starter. However, Hasselbeck just doesn’t inspire confidence.
I’d go for a veteran like Volek who would just go in and sling it around if need be. I mean, what the hell, just one game with a QB whipping it around the field to our playmakers can’t hurt *that bad*.
No mention of Shaun Hill? He performed well in Detroit with a mediocre line and a broken hand. Plus he is decently young.
He’s got to be in the convo.