Tuesday Night Roundup

Posted: May 30th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 32 Comments »

No huge news tonight, but a few nuggets of interest.  Since we’re Eagles fans, let’s start by talking about an Eagles fan.  “Eagle Joe” Brown died on Sunday.  I never met him, but he was a Training Camp fixture.  I saw him interviewed on Eagles Live a time or two.  Always seemed like a good guy.  Here’s the PE.com story.

There were a few players today on Twitter talking about Eagle Joe.  That tells you that he was special.  Buddy Ryan liked him and let him walk around at TC.  Buddy wasn’t an overly sentimental type so the fact he gave a fan special treatment is another sign of how special Eagle Joe was.  All coaches since Buddy had let Eagle Joe keep his unique privileges.

One of the things that makes the NFL so special is the generational mixture among fans.  We have fans that are new to the Eagles because they are young or are overseas and just getting into the NFL.  There are people like me who have been fans for 20 to 30 years.  Then there are guys like Eagle Joe or our own AC Viking that go back a ways.  We all love the game (the Eagles in this case) and we’re able to mix our backgrounds and insights.  Compare that to the NBA, where history seems irrelevant.  Or MLB where history can be overwhelming.  The NFL has a good balance.

My condolences to the family and friends of Eagle Joe.

* * * * *

Now let’s jump to the opposite side of the spectrum.  Terrell Owens was released by the Allen Wranglers of the IFL.  Owens wasn’t exactly a special player on the field for them.  He really ticked off the owner when he skipped a charity event at a children’s hospital.

Oh, the irony.

TO wants people to feel sorry for him because he’s broke and pays a lot of money in child support and then loses his primary source of income because he skips an even for sick kids.  The Onion doesn’t write material like this.

I look forward to the day when the letters “T” and “O” mean turnover or timeout and that’s it.

* * * * *

Juan Castillo met with the press today.  I’ll get into some of the content later, but the quote that got the most notoriety is that Juan would “take a bullet for Andy Reid”.  Lots of jokes to be made here.  I’ll see what readers like Baloophi, ATG, The Guy, and Thunder Lips have to say on this.

The more important item of note is that Castillo has started talking to the media and won’t stop until the season concludes.  This is not a great thing.  Juan is one guy when he’s talking to coaches and football people.  Watching him at the Senior Bowl, he was right at home talking to his peers.  Watching him talk to the media is generally painful.  He over-explains some issues and under-explains others.  His stories confuse rather than clarify.  Worst of all, he’s not convincing.  You feel like he’s guessing as he explains things.

Again…and I can’t stress this enough…Juan is very different when talking to football people.  That’s him in his element.  I don’t know what happens when the press is involved.  Does he not trust the media?  Does he think no one will understand football talk?  Is it just lack of experience, since the NFL keeps assistant coaches basically hidden?

I wonder if Mychal Kendricks ever ate dinner with Casey Matthews family.

* * * * *

Just a technical test here…


32 Comments on “Tuesday Night Roundup”

  1. 1 Steve H said at 3:58 AM on May 30th, 2012:

    No one lines up for the Eagles on defense before they’ve had dinners with the Mathews family.

  2. 2 ChaosOnion said at 8:02 AM on May 30th, 2012:

    Can we just stop talking about the player?

  3. 3 Matthew Verhoog said at 9:22 AM on May 30th, 2012:

    what player?

  4. 4 rage114 said at 10:44 AM on May 30th, 2012:

    He who shalt not be named.

  5. 5 pjxii said at 6:25 PM on May 30th, 2012:

    Oh yeah, that one.

  6. 6 Cvd52 said at 8:46 AM on May 30th, 2012:

    I totally agree about Juan talking to the media. I think if he talked like John harbuagh people would think he is a better d coordinator. But the fact he was the oline coach and the way he sounds when he talks to the media, I think it’s gonna be hard to get respect from fans and talk radio.

    When he talks he kind of reminds me of a preschool teacher and a butler mixed. but as long as he gets th job done I hope people don’t worry about how he seems when he talks to the media.

  7. 7 Jack Waggoner said at 4:33 PM on May 30th, 2012:

    I prefer the type of coach who acts annoyed to be answering stupid questions and snarls his responses to the reporters like they’re a bunch of know-nothing pests.

  8. 8 P_P_K said at 8:49 AM on May 30th, 2012:

    “You feel like he’s guessing as he explains things.”

    Tommy, your statement about Juan sums it up for how the glass is fille. Is his problem that he has trouble explaing things, or is it that he is guessing about football matters that a Defensive Coordinator should know?

  9. 9 Thunder_lips said at 8:58 AM on May 30th, 2012:

    Oh no! I’ve been called out! Let’s see, let’s see… ok, got one:

    If Juan is going to take a bullet for Andy, he’s got a lot of ground to cover. The only way he’s going to do it is through hard work, and fundamentals. I know you guys think of Juan as the best combination O-Line Coach/D-Coordinator in the business, but he’s always seen himself as more of a bullet taker. I know it may not seem like he has a lot of experience taking bullets, but I’m sure all of you remember early in your careers when someone gave you a chance to take a bullet, and I’m sure that those of you who survived are grateful for the opportunity.

  10. 10 TommyLawlor said at 9:29 AM on May 30th, 2012:

    Did it take you 22 hours of work to come up with that?

  11. 11 A_T_G said at 5:43 PM on May 30th, 2012:

    Oh, the pressure! I can’t work like this…

    …the differences in their statures…
    …bullet-taking is defense, not offense…
    …now we know why Mudd is tasked with protecting Vick…

    God, I feel like Ronnie Brown right now. Dive into the line and throw one up for grabs: I don’t know about taking bullets, but a lot of reporters looked interested when Castillo shared how he is looking forward to trying Cox in a variety of different positions.

  12. 12 TommyLawlor said at 6:24 PM on May 30th, 2012:

    When in doubt, go with Cox.

  13. 13 A_T_G said at 7:18 PM on May 30th, 2012:

    Just like Ronnie: totally unexpected and thoroughly disappointing.

  14. 14 Matthew Verhoog said at 9:23 AM on May 30th, 2012:

    OH, I get it, never-mind I don’t even know what player you could be talking about, I’ve already forgotten

  15. 15 ultramattman said at 10:19 AM on May 30th, 2012:

    Speaking in front of a crowd is *hard*. More than that, it’s a very specific skill, and not everyone has it. There are incredibly intelligent and competent people that just can’t handle that particular social setting. Speaking to a mob of reporters asking you difficult questions is a whole other layer of difficulty. I’ve spoken to crowds hundreds of times, but I can’t even imagine what a press conference is like.

  16. 16 TommyLawlor said at 10:33 AM on May 30th, 2012:

    I’d agree with you, but Juan seems to struggle even when it is just a couple of reporters.

  17. 17 Jack Waggoner said at 4:39 PM on May 30th, 2012:

    He has yet to master the art of saying nothing but appearing to actually say something. But he’s working on it. He’s got the first part down.

  18. 18 Mac said at 10:43 AM on May 30th, 2012:

    The silver lining here is this: If Juan becomes a high quality DC he might be less likely to get an offer to be a HC because of his lack of ability to do a good press conference.

  19. 19 D3FB said at 11:04 AM on May 30th, 2012:

    Juan is also 52 and I would imagine it would take another 3-5 years for him to have put together enough of a track record to be considered an elite DC and somebody that you would want to run your team. Especially with the recent youth movement with some head coaches, I just don’t see someone who is in his mid to late fifties as a viable candidate most places. Granted there is always Oakland…

  20. 20 brza said at 10:40 AM on May 30th, 2012:

    Eagles Insider tweeted this earlier:
    Eagles Insider ‏@EaglesInsider

    #Eagles release RB Graig Cooper and WR Aaron Pflugrad, roster stands at 87 w/second week of OTAs set to kickoff

    Is there any reason why the team would choose to have 3 fewer than the max amount of players during OTAs? I thought at this point its important to have numbers because you never know what can happen in regards to injuries.

    Also even though he probably had no shot at a roster spot considering how much they’ve raved about Brown’s as well as Polk’s upside, its interesting that Cooper got cut already despite being on the PS pretty much all year.

  21. 21 Jack Waggoner said at 4:43 PM on May 30th, 2012:

    If you don’t want someone around, you release him. No need to wait until you have another guy to bring in… I’m sure they’ll be bringing in some more players for TC

  22. 22 A_T_G said at 5:49 PM on May 30th, 2012:

    It could be a message to the other players – scrubs late to a meeting serve as a lesson to the rest of the guys kind of thing.

    Or, 180 degrees, would the team do this if his agent got a call from another team, as a respect thing? Everyone knows he is not making our roster, maybe he asked to go take a shot somewhere else?

  23. 23 Septhinox said at 12:39 PM on May 30th, 2012:

    Rumor has it that the owner was looking for a reason to terminate Owen’s contract since he was making 6 figures and their attendance was only around 2500 or so a game.

  24. 24 Adam Brookland said at 12:41 PM on May 30th, 2012:

    “take a bullet for Andy” was a typo. Juan actually said he would “make a buffet for Andy” if it meant keeping his job a little longer.

    /jk im in the minority that thinks Juan will be a very solid DC in a couple years.

  25. 25 Mac said at 12:46 PM on May 30th, 2012:

    +1

  26. 26 P_P_K said at 1:24 PM on May 30th, 2012:

    Good one! If he doesn’t do a solid job as DC, he’ll “make a boffoon out of Andy.”

  27. 27 the guy said at 1:32 PM on May 30th, 2012:

    Juan “would” take a bullet for Andy Reid?

    If we’re speaking metaphorically, I’d say that this past year he’s done nothing but…

  28. 28 Mac said at 2:21 PM on May 30th, 2012:

    That right there is what I call a “zinger”

  29. 29 EJ said at 2:09 PM on May 30th, 2012:

    Every time I hear Castillio talking to reporters, I swear I can hear Low Rider playing in the background.

  30. 30 Skeptic_Eagle said at 2:54 PM on May 30th, 2012:

    Juan has not really done anything to inspire confidence in his football ability on the field, either. I would say his media persona and professional results kind of mirror each other at this point. He’s the guy that said Jamar Chaney was a “special” player. He’s the guy that picked Casey Matthews to man the middle of the defense from Draft weekend. He’s the guy that put the premier press-man cover corner of this era in off coverage and zones. He’s the guy that couldn’t create a scheme to stop 20+ point comebacks. He’s the guy whose defense has been picked up by DeMeco Ryans within a few minutes of Ryans’ seeing it.

    I mean, I hate to be a pessimist here, but why exactly, should I trust that he has figured anything out? Because he’s a likable, “try-hard” guy? I’m pretty sure everyone is trying hard. I think we’re going to be in a position of hoping the strengths of the defensive talent compensate for the weaknesses in safety position and coordinator. The real achilles heel of this defense under Castillo, has been, and I think will continue to be, the Big Play. I’d like to take a lot of hope from those 4 wins at the end of the season against backup NFL QB’s, but it just doesn’t feel true to me. Hope I’m wrong.

  31. 31 Steve H said at 3:03 PM on May 30th, 2012:

    I think we have some optimism because theres no way it could get any worse than last year. At least thats what we keep telling ourselves.

  32. 32 Mac said at 3:43 PM on May 30th, 2012:

    I highly doubt that Juan made the decision to target Casey Matthews as the MIKE of the future on an island. Further, I don’t know too many people who weren’t hopeful about Jamar Chaney after his 2010 campaign… most people didn’t believe he was some “savior” but that he could be a smart and solid football player for us at LB (similar to the prevailing opinion on 2011’s Brian Rolle) a young guy with upside potential. Unfortunately that same attitude was common with Moises Fokou…

    Under Andy Reid the LB position has had a deflated value. I believe there is good reason for this: the NFL is now a passing league which devalues the position and it is a position where career longevity is limited (just ask Stewart Bradley).

    My beef with the defense last year was a lack of what I would call “heart.” The D-line produced great stats (but they also had our best position coach). The guys in the secondary seemed a bit lost at times and the attitude problems of AS22 were a cancer for which there was no cure. You simply can’t be expected to eliminate big plays when one of your starting CBs is freelancing and your Safetys are constantly guessing what they need to do or simply being hung out to dry vs. Larry Fitzgerald. DRC was put in the slot and clearly didn’t know quite how to handle the position and Nnamdi was forced to play an unnatural style to match AS22.

    I would argue that the reasons you can be optimistic include:
    1. A natural born leader in DeMeco Ryans
    2. A year to learn, tape to watch, a full offseason for Juan
    3. Healthier version of Nate Allen
    4. DRC and Nnamdi doing what they were born to do
    5. A strong D-line that has the potential to be the best in the NFL this year
    6. New DBs coach who is specifically experienced with Safety
    7. Potential upgrade at slot CB with Boykin (assuming he stays healthy)