A Bit More on Sanchez
Posted: March 28th, 2014 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 332 Comments »Mark Sanchez will sign with the Eagles today. I think this is a good thing. Some people are caught up in the “Butt Fumble” and other moments like that and see only a player who failed to live up to the hype with the Jets.
I see a player in his prime with good ability and plenty of experience. Is he flawed? Heck yes. That’s why the Jets let him leave and he’s signing a cheap deal with the Eagles.
Part of the situation with the Eagles is that many of the top QBs out there had no interest in coming here. Those guys, just like Michael Vick, want to go somewhere with a hope of winning the starting job. Josh McCown got a taste of starting last year. Did you really think he’d come to a team with a young QB in place?
The Eagles had to find someone who can start, but also understands his role coming in here. Sanchez would love to come in and play lights out. He’d love to force Chip Kelly to make some crazy decision and give him the starting job. But for now, Sanchez just wants a job and the chance to get back on track.
His primary focus will be battling Matt Barkley for the backup job. Hopefully that will bring out the best in both players, but we’ll settle for just one. The Eagles need someone to emerge as the top backup. Barkley is a player the coaches love and have high hopes for. Sanchez is a player they like and think fits the system well. He also brings experience to the table, something both Foles and Barkley are lacking in.
Sanchez didn’t get good coaching in NY. Rex Ryan failed to hire top offensive coaches and the team hasn’t done a good job of developing offensive players. Sanchez will get good coaching in Philly. It is up to him to show what he can do with that.
Sanchez was part of the problem with the Jets. He is a fun-loving guy that enjoys joking around. QBs can’t do a lot of that. They have to be more business-like since they are the face of the team and the coach on the field. Sanchez also seemed to spend a lot of time enjoying himself with a good nightlife. Few guys who do that live up to their potential.
Kelly could be the ideal guy to fix Sanchez. The Eagles require a commitment to football. Sanchez is out of NY and if he’s willing to really buy in, could thrive in the new situation. He’ll be in top shape. He’ll be working in a system that is user-friendly. He’ll have good pieces around him. I also think getting out of the spotlight will help him. Sanchez won’t be The Guy with the Eagles. He will be a side story, not the main attraction.
There are no guarantees of course. Sanchez could struggle to fit in or could have injury issues. He might prove to be a failed experiment, but he comes at a cheap price and still has upside. I think he is a smart signing.
The Eagles are getting the failed QB from the Jets, but the guy who will play this summer should be very different after getting coached up all spring. Hopefully the new and improved Mark Sanchez will prove to be a good backup and good signing.
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I watch more than just a few Jets games. Sanchez stinks. Has nothing to do with the butt fumble.
Having said that, he is going to the Eagles as a back up. If he was any better, he would be going somewhere to start.
I have no issues with him coming in to compete/push Barkley. In that respect, I think that is a good thing.
Fans are usually all in on a reclimation project. Imagine if this were a top 10 pick at any other position. Fans would be gung ho.
I’m pretty sure people still want us to sign Aaron Curry.
Double Curry would make a spicy defense on Sundays. And then an explosive defense on Mondays…
I was hopeful that they would extend a contract to salt n pepa.
The greatest thing about this is that it relieves us of the need to spend a high draft pick on a backup QB. Because we would have had to. There were no vets worth signing who you can count on as a #2. And we had Barkley who doenst look ready, and who I think never will be. And after him, no one else.
Now we have a vet backup with lots of starting experience, and even some big playoff wins under his belt.
We can now use a late round pick on someone like Aaron Murray who will fall due to injury and we have the depth at the position to give him an IR red shirt year. When he is healthy, he is talented enough to compete for the #2 job, and possibly play well enough to eventually get us some good value back in a trade.
So you’re saying Chip missed on the Barkley selection and the Eagles would be better off with Aaron Murray??? Let me guess, SEC fan? BTW, Aaron Murray is coming off an ACL and will likely underwhelm in his rookie season, much like Barkley and his shoulder. Chip is excited about Barkley this season, and now he has a veteran to push him in Sanchez – Eagles QB position is solid entering the season. Watch Barkley turn some heads in training camp…
It seems you missed the part where I said we can red shirt IR murray is a rookie now that we have 3 QBs on the roster.
While it is my thinking that Barkley was a miss, he will compete with Sachez this year, and Murray is talented enough to compete for the backup job in year 2.
Im not an SEC fan. I dont have a favorite college team. Im completely unbiased in my evaluations of players.
Im an NFL fan who watches college solely for the purpose of scouting players Id like for the eagles to draft.
Youre acting as if Ive already cast Barkley aside without giving him a chance to compete this year, and that Im handing something to Murray in year one. To both points, Ive suggested nothing of the sort.
We don’t have a whole lot of picks in this draft…..I am not a fan of using anything more than a 6th to get a QB to stash….as we have other holes on D to fill (S and OLB)…..doubtful that Murray falls that far….
Probably have to take him in the 4th or 5th. But QB is a very important position. Foles has missed games. Sanchez is on a 1 year deal and Barkley has a LOT to prove. We have names on our depth chart, but which of those can you trust to play extended time?
Even though 3 QB spots are filled on the depth chart, the position is far from complete if you look at it even just 1 year down the road.
We arent drafting for just this season. You always have to keep an eye towards the future.
@tommylawyor: Can you do a post on who the eagles are bring in for visits like you did last year?
knowing we don’t get all the information — it appears that Mark didn’t really shop around to see if he could get a starting gig somewhere. There are a few teams with very little talent at QB. I wonder why he didn’t push to go to those teams…
Maybe $$, maybe it’s the respect Chip Kelly has (already) as an offensive guru. Don’t underestimate that. If he has to start a game or two due to injury and looks good (because Kelly coached him up and has a good scheme), he will get a starting opportunity somewhere, because GMs will think: “he was bad with the Jets, but with good coaching, he could be solid. Of course we have good coaching, because I hired that dude.”
Moving on from one Ron Mexico to the next…
(…i will see myself out…)
I don’t see the reason behind all the hate. Low risk.
The man has won games in the league. If he’s our starter, we obviously won’t be as good, but he might be able to keep the ship upright until Foles is healthy.
Sanchez had 1st round talent coming out of college (although the Jets probably reached at 5) and has a lot of on-field experience in the pros, including in the playoffs.
Living here in the NY area, I have seen a bunch of his games and came away very unimpressed. That said, what you say about coaching is absolutely true (Rex is Buddy’s son after all) and the Eagles definitely needed to add a veteran backup to the mix. There weren’t a lot of other good options out there (McCown and Vick are getting starter jobs so that left Ryan Fitzpatrick, Shawn Hill, ????). I’m totally fine with this move. Maybe he’ll grow up in the process too.
At the end of the day, who our third string QB is probably won’t make or break the season, so meh.
Tommy,
please correct me if I’m wrong but I seem to remember you joking about Sanchez not a long time ago, saying that his head is not really focused on pro football who rather enjoys being a model for GQ. And now all of a sudden he’s a good signing for the Eagles?! Sounds more like Dave S. Jr. to me…
What criteria do we use to evaluate this signing? For me, it’s (1) is he better than G.J. Kinne, and (2) is he better than the rest of the QBs left on the market? You can’t answer no to either of those questions, right?
Uh, DJax story is about to re-explode.
http://www.nj.com/eagles/index.ssf/2014/03/eagles_desean_jackson_off-the-field_troubles.html
Good call, DeSean have been released. http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/news/article-1/Eagles-Release-WR-DeSean-Jackson/fbc919dd-eb59-4eec-a8e6-2a086c874d76
Eh…nah. Lots of people in the NFL has or had very unsavory friends. It’s what you *do* with unsavory friends that get you in trouble.
I guess reportedly skipping meeting to associate with them is one of those things…..
yea failing meetings and practices while you hang out with gangmembers is not smart
Kempski doesn`t look so ignorant anymore,does he?
They actually did it. I don’t know what to say. Good bye DeSean.
wow
Maybe we’ll find out in the next written contract what the issue is.
DeSean is Gone. Nothing for him- is a real disappointment. He must be radioactive with his off-field behavior.
I don’t think Sanchez is here to be a backup or “compete with Barkley”. Sanchez is here chiefly to insure somewhat above atrocious QB play. I do not think Sanchez would have signed here without thinking he could challenge Foles for the starting QB role, and I do not believe that Kelly hasn’t made some sort of indication that he’s willing to allow Sanchez to challenge Foles. Accepting one’s fate to be a backup QB forever at 27 aftering seeing Paree, like Sanchez…don’t think he has that beaten into him.
i think Sanchez would be happy to take any job he can get in the NFL, backup or starter…. but thats just me.
i think he`s coming here cause he knows that he`ll learn much more. Ryan`s team is such a defense first team. Probably wants to turn himself into better QB. Here`s all about fetting better all the time.Wasn`t happening for him in NYC.
And just like that ‘whew’ he’s gone.
Cutting DeSean Jackson does NOT deserve any benefit of the doubt, not even from the Pope (unless he killed someone or punched a baby in the face…). Shocking!
What about this?
http://www.nj.com/eagles/index.ssf/2014/03/eagles_desean_jackson_off-the-field_troubles.html
Again, nope. That’s just someone feeding chum to the usual suspects among the fanbase.
So why else would they cut him if it wasnt for his gang relation?
Again, a lot of people in the NFL do have pretty damned unsavory relationships. Try checking out the wiki for Sean Taylor. The probability was that he didn’t do anything wrong, just wrong time, wrong place, but people liked to talk about nefarious links and history anyways.
Desean Jackson has never had the sort of known history that Aaron Hernandez did at Florida, and all the way up to his arrest. So until we’re talking about *facts* that Desean did something, this is mere gossip intended to blacken his name and push attention away from the org. And yeah, football ops do do this.
On a day when a football agent is arrested for setting up a murder-for-hire op, I find that mere gossip is quite stupid. Do you think any of the players Marlon Sullivan represented, or his boss, necessarily was involved in the stuff Sullivan pulled? Not without evidence you don’t.
Innocent until proven guilty applies to the law, and only the law. The law must presume innocence.
The Eagles, however, have a right to protect their brand, and if they think the association alone is enough to tarnish it, then they’re not beholden to any concept of “until proven guilty”.
You don’t get it. It’s only a known association. It’s not even that anyone even thinks Jackson participated in the murders! So there’s no proven innoncent natch! It’s basic rumormongering that probably covers the real reason.
No, as per usual, you don’t get it. What I’m saying is, you can say “innocent until proven guilty” all you want, or call it just rumors. Even if it’s just rumors, if the Eagles decide they don’t want that mess at all, they’re within their right to remove it.
I also think that there’s a LOT more to this that we don’t know yet.
Desean Jackson has been in the league for six years, presumably cutting meeting to hang with his gangster pals all six years. The issue all of a sudden comes up *now*?
I think we know who the sucker is, and it’s not me.
according to reports, the Eagles already tried to trade him last year, so it is nothing new
Yes, you’re right, I’m a sucker falling for some vaguely defined conspiracy that the evil front office is trying to deceive me into believing.
The far more likely story, that things have gotten worse with Jackson in recent years, is simply preposterous. Better to believe that Howie and Jeffrey are in some secret lair laughing at me now that they’ve made me a sucker.
Is this not vague?
Do front offices not spread gossip when it’s to their advantage?
We have absolutely no independent record that things have gotten worse with Jackson. It might be as simple as Jackson being found at parties with lots of blow on whore-butts. It might be an issue entirely aside from his friends. Said issue might be pretty damned petty, or serious. But just talking about friends in deep trouble is not…particularly revealing.
You’re missing the bigger point. There is no reason to spread any gossip, or release him, unless there is something going on. None. If they do release him, you have to either assume that they’re idiots, or that there was stuff happening. You simply prefer assuming that they’re idiots. I do not.
Eagles kept him for all those Andy Reid years-even with that contract episode when he gave 0 effort and totally disrespected his teammates,the organization and the paying fans-…seems like they tried to trade him last year(no Reid—see where i`m goin here)…New coach, diifferent atmosphere created to play, and gangsta wannas be don`t fit.
What about failing to show up at meetings, missing practices and what else is reported now?
That could be it, but that’s a little, well, I’d want to know more.
not just a known association, but parading that known association all over social media.
chip thinks it’s detrimental to the team. end of story.
life’s too short for dealing w/ guys like DeSean (though, to be honest, i really hope this turns into a chris carter situation, and DJ uses this as an opportunity to get his priorities straight. Vick hinted at this….)
If I seach the pictures of all the players, and I knew who all the gang members are, how many would show up in the pictures of how many players?
but there is more too it than just a few instantgram pictures. It is the sum of all the small problems. It is not just 1 single problem
I don’t know do you? How many other players are flashing gang signs with known murderers?
No, you’re the one who doesn’t get it. An employee who not only flaunts his association with a criminal organization but openly socializes with known members of it who are accused of murder would be fired from a job with any respectable organization in America. Innocent until proven guilty has nothing to do with it.
And it’s pretty hard to call this “rumor mongering” when Jackson himself is the one touting his relationship with thugs.
but these are facts that Jackson have been tied but never charged in 2 murder cases.
There is now stories he was stopped with drugs and guns in his car in 09.
Sean Taylor’s unsavory connections got him MURDERED. There is hanging out with some old buddies from the hood who may have been mixed up in low-level drug dealing or petty larceny or whatever, and there is having yourself photographed with people who have been charged with murder. Two pretty different degrees of unsavory.
If the accusations in this story are true, I have ZERO problem with the Eagles releasing Jackson. No organization can be faulted for not wanting to employ somebody who openly associates with these kinds of people.
The long-knives are out now . . . at NovaCare, maybe?
Smells like Bull to me…
Why else would they dump a pro bowl WR who just had the 2nd greatest WR season in Eagles history?
F@@@ knows??? Looks like a big cock up by Howie to me. Just my opinion though.
Eliot Shorr-Parks put this together by himself? If there ever was a hit piece that has the Eagles’ fingerprints directly over it, this is it.
according to other reporters on twitter, the Eagles didnt knew a lot of this stuff before getting asked about it
Of course not. This would reply really detailed investigative reporting and likely strong local ties to the LA area including police & anti-gang unit.
Somoeone like Eliot Shorr-Parks couldn’t remotely put this together either especially this quickly. Barely is a competent journalist let alone an investigative sleuth.
Umm, maybe he’s been working on it a while? I love how everyone is so eager to believe conspiracies and coverups when the other alternatives are so simple. Because it always confirms the bias they so enjoy, bashing on how the Eagles are complete idiots.
Maybe, just maybe, ESP actually did some REPORTING, and spent some actual time on it, and obtained sources outside of the Eagles team (hmm, he references them in his article after all). Maybe everything isn’t some bizarre Watergate-like coverup to hide incompetence. Maybe jumping to those conclusions because it makes you feel smarter than other people doesn’t always mean those conclusions are accurate.
Man oh man, I am so tired of the endless negativity of this fanbase. I am so freaking tired of everyone assuming that everyone involved with their teams is a complete idiot, and that they could run things so much better, including the team management, the coaches, and the media.
I honestly think the sports world might become a lot more entertaining if we just shut down every web site comment system, chat room, and forum, along with sports radio. let people spout their inanities to their wives and their friends at the bar. I’m tired of hearing it.
I have to say, I wasn’t that shocked. Some guy wrote an article about a month ago saying something like this was a possibility. A lot of people even attacked him and his work for posting it. Didn’t you see that?
Re: On the Topic of Failed QBs
Pro football once had an GM who made a career out of collecting QBs from other teams who’d failed to live up to their billing or just didn’t show why they were worth keeping around.
Yes, Al Davis — the one-time genius — made Oakland a destination sport of QBs who’d failed to cut it somewhere else.
His first reclamation project was former Bills QB Daryl Lamonica — maybe the greatest deep thrower in NFL history.
Then Davis picked George Blanda, who won the first two AFL title games leading the old Houston Oilers, off the scrap-heap. All Blanda did was win — with his foot and his arm.
Next in line was former Heisman Trophy winner-and-first overall pick in ’71
Dennis Green (with some help from Brian Billick) was better at this, though.
S8:
Cunningham and Jeff George were 1-year wonders in the Vikings system. Davis’s QB projects were long-term performers.
But your point is well taken. Green had success plugging talented “street” QBs into the most talented offense of the late ’90s.
Whew the more complete comment was still very interesting…
I wonder if the Eagles could have just suspended him for a season- without pay– and sent him for some intensive therapy?
suspend him for what? there are CBA rules that prohibit teams from suspending players without pay.
Everyone forgets this. It would have been great if they had that leverage over him, but with the new CBA, that leverage is gone. They cannot do what they did to TO in 2005.
actually the Dolphins did with the whole Martin case
“suspend him for what?”
Gee…why then, did they release him…for going to church too much?
28 March 2014, the day the Eagles signed Sanchez and cut DeSean that will go down as the worst decision by the Eagles FO since the days of Reggie White. #sadday
what the heck is going on? They have the money, they need the player. This is very disappointing.
Watch the Pats sign him and win another SB. That’s the only way this can get worse.
All hail Jimmy Kempski… “The greatest hack sports writer/blogger ever!”
Wow. We all knew there was more to this story. If Jackson has associations with gang members and murder suspects who can blame the Eagles for parting ways with him? You can argue that he didn’t do anything personally but the Eagles have a reasonable fear that the other shoe could drop at any moment.
Do the Eagles now have the record for cutting great WRs? Carter, TO and now Jackson?
I demand an explanation for this.
All he does is catch touchdowns?
To speak of something else, people really should listen to this:
http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/multimedia/videos/Video-Podcast-Journey-To-The-Draft/39bf3129-aa9a-49fc-a9f3-d3c461bf5b89
Some great nuggets about the Eagles. Like them using Stats ICE (the top basketball tracking site) to help them scout both college and NFL players and also some nice comments on Lane Johnson.
When listen and after reading this http://thesidelineview.com/columns/draft/ranking-top-three-qbs-2014-nfl-draft-johnny-manziel
I really really want Manziel
Re: On the Topic of Failed QBs
Pro football once had an GM who made a career out of collecting QBs from other teams who’d failed to live up to their billing or just didn’t show why they were worth keeping around.
Yes, Al Davis — the one-time genius — made Oakland a destination sport of QBs who’d failed to cut it somewhere else.
His first reclamation project was former Bills QB Daryl Lamonica — maybe the greatest deep thrower in NFL history.
Then Davis picked George Blanda, who won the first two AFL title games leading the old Houston Oilers, off the scrap-heap. All Blanda did was win — with his foot and his arm.
Next in line was former Heisman Trophy winner-and-first overall pick in ’71 Jim Plunkett. He brought two SB titles to Oakland in 4 years, after failing miserably in New England and San Francisco on two very bad teams.
Davis rolled the dice, and lost big, in 1988 when swapped LOT Jim Lachey to the Washington team for QB Jay Schroeder to resurrect the Raiders’ long ball offense. Schroeder premiered on MNF in Denver and led the Oakland to a thrilling OT upset win over Elway’s Broncos. But it was all downhill from there for Schroeder and the Raiders.
And Davis missed again with the ultra-talented but remarkably unmotivated Jeff George. (Maybe the best arm and quickest release I’ve seen, a tick faster than Marino and Namath.)
Davis’s last great acquisition at QB was Rich Gannon, who’d been an occasional and middling starter for 12 season. But in Oakland, running Gruden’s WCO, Gannon shined. Sure, Gruden deserves much of the credit. But Davis had to say “yes.”
______________
The greatness Davis accomplished all pre-dated free agency. His Oakland teams struggled to find an identity after 1992, except for the brief Gruden-Callahan run.
But back in his day, for 20+ years, Davis had an eye for QBs who were reclamation projects.
Not to mention Davis’s great handling of the NFL’s renegade players like Lyle Alzado, John Matuszak, Ted Hendricks, Dave Rowe, Warren Wells, Jack Tatum, and many more.
Davis made Oakland a place every NFL player wanted to be . . . until free agency.
As always, very interesting, AC. I sure feel a little dumb for asking, but could someone explain to me how the NFL was pre free agency (and pre salary cap)? I just can’t imagine that sort of NFL. FA and especially the cap play such a huge role in todays game, I literally can’t imagine it without it.
How did you aquire talent back in the day? Only via draft and released players? What happened when the contracts expired?
A history lesson in regard to those questions would be extremely appreciated. 😉
Kelce tweeted that he knows the decision will be unpopular but he’s happy with the direction the organization is going. WOW. Jackson doesn’t seem to have a lot of supporters on the team.
yea, kinda gives one an idea of what kinda of problems Jackson have caused internally.
First I was really pissed. The gang membership calmed me down a little bit, Kelces tweet made me feel okay. If a player like Kelce, whose really smart and whom I really respect, says something like that, it tells you something.
Do you think the Eagles will have any interest in DeSean Jackson now that he’s available? They have a ton of money under the cap and a glaring weakness at WR. Seems like a perfect fit.
Al Davis is laughing in Football Heaven. Jackson’s his kind of WR: Cliff Branch II. And Davis is laughing (assumption that the after-life allows this) because all he wants are great players who can help him win.
But I suspect DJax is not Raleigh McKenzie’s kind of guy.
DeSean’s not available. Jimmy made the whole story up for attention, remember?
Anders, in response to a GermanEagle comment, linked to a story on NJ.com about the Eagles’ alleged concerns w/ DJax’s “friends” — read: gang members.
Kelly is most often compared to Belichick.
Belichick, interestingly, had no problem signing one of the NFL’s best power backs of his era in Corey Dillon, despite Dillon’s well-know connections with the Westside Bloods. (During a MNF game, Dillon flashed the WSB’s sign while sitting on the bench.)
No one said Dillon was a killer. Just that he kept bad company.
So assuming DJax is friends with gang-affiliated individuals, does anyone at NovaCare seriously see DJax as someone who’d pull a trigger?
Some team is going to get a very motivated DeSean Jackson very soon. I’m assuming that team is in the NFL . . . and not the Justice Department.
I think the Aaron Hernadez situation have spooked NFL teams.
Also according to said article, it sounds like Jackson has had more troubles after his father died because it sounds like he was the only person who could keep him in check
A–
I think you’re dead on. (Unfortunate pun.)
But if that’s the case, what NFL team will take on Jackson?
Maybe even the Patriots, which would be kind of ironic, since Kelly is compared to BB so often (like you pointed out). They could be in the mix for Avant, too. Avant + BB + Brady + a good locker room could calm him down.
I sure hope the Eagles will have a locker room culture like the Patriots do in a few years. Ironically, the release of DJax is Kellys way of trying to establish this, imho.
D —
Excellent
I thought Jets, Oakland and Skins.
Oakland makes a ton of sense because of Cali, Jets makes sense because of Vick and Marty and the Skins have money and could use a guy like Jackson (him+RG3 might be a combo I would hate to face)
I’m not inclined towards shouting, but dude…
That article is clearly a hit piece. Who the hell takes such an article like that at face value?
There is bad rep, and then there is *bad* rep.
Nobody at the pro level is all that sincerely interested in Mallet, as a starting QB. I’ve seen some pretty consistent and seemingly credible comments over the years that Mallet has some fairly serious issues with personality and drug use (but it’s probably his ultraslow forty, and the tape that backs it up that killed any notion of starting QB–people did dry out Brett Favre, as much as they could, successfully). Mettenberger, from a variety of clued-in scouts, has a pretty damned dark cloud over him, that involves more than just groping some female bottom in a bar. The comment section of the SBNation Ryan Perriloux has a lot of credible sounding people talking about the antics of Perriloux, as in not the half of it was told. People gossip, constantly, and the personal character gets out within certain circles.
So far, all the comments through the years have always been about how difficult a personality DJax is. At the end of the day, however, he’s far more manageable and trouble-free than Santonio Holmes or Brandon Marshall. So until I hear something far more grounded and far less attack-motivated, I’m going to suspend judgment, because stuff like this *always* comes out in an ugly divorce. I mean, I just saw this last year when people ganged up on Josh Freeman. It doesn’t mean that Josh Freeman doesn’t have his problems, but Schiano definitely took advantage of his position to blacken Freeman’s name as much as possible to boost his own credibility.
Sooooo….
Just because some organizations are willing to deal with these situations doesn’t meant Chip or the Eagles want to, or are required to.
There’s talent out there that doesn’t have this baggage. But DeSean was a holdover, and Chip decided he wasn’t worth the baggage.
You can cry about it all you want, but Chip obviously wants players that are 100% committed to football. This seems obvious to me. If that means cutting guys like DeSean, so be it.
We’ll know in a couple years if its possible to build a Super Bowl team this way.
There is difference between drinking, doing drugs and having serious connections to a gang and have some kinda of connection to two murders
I didn’t want to be a sooth sayer at the time, but I predicted DeSean unraveling with his dad’s death. Some people need an “anchor” person. Someone steadfast who can help him/her hold things together. I think Andy tried to be that person for DeSean, but even Andy wasn’t enough.
I hope that DeSean can wake up, and right the ship of his life.
Yea, I thought about it too. Also after watching his film, you really got the impression how much his dad meant to him.
but thing is, there is also all that anti bullying and this
This is the sort of thing I had in mind when people were talking about gang related activity. I just count not get it.
yea look at that purple thing throwing signs
Yeah, my heart really goes out to DeSean. I’ve known a lot of people in my life who have had to deal with a parent dieing when they were young (even younger than this) and there is often a period of unraveling. I actually had a really weird dream about all of this because I wish I could help him out like I was able to help my friends…lol
Absolutely right about the Hernandez effect. The mere appearance of a connection to gangs, violence, killings, etc. is enough to be kicked off a team. Can’t say that I disagree with it, as much as I’ll miss DeSean.
There is more too it than that. Also the whole messing meetings, lazy in practice etc there are with him
Well, of course, we all know a little more now.
One could argue that Aaron Hernandez was Bill’s comeuppance for that little maneuver.
Belichick definitely rolled the dice and lost on Hernandez.
T-Law would know better, but I think Hernandez was already involved some violent behavior in college. There were no known “unknowns” with that guy.
I’m not sure that Dillon had that problem (any more than Charles Barkley throwing idiots through bar windows).
A friend of mine, Patriots fan, told me the only negative thing that came up during Hernandez college behavior was smoking pot and he admitted that to the coaches who spoke to him.
Don’t know if he’s right about that one, but when it comes to the Patriots, I trust him. 😉
I highly doubt that a player with Hernandez’ abilities fell to the 4th round just because he smoked some weed. Teams knew there was something more, although obviously not how bad it was.
Before Gronk and Hernadez, teams really didnt draft TEs high unless they was super talented and had super production in college
The year before Chase Coffmann and Travis Beckum was drafted in the 3rd. Comp picks, but still, the 3rd. How was any of those “super talented” or “had super production”. The whole Pats started a new trend and now everyone is more likely to use TEs is highly exaggerated.
Anyhow, the point still stand. Hernandez fell and i doubt that it was just because he smoked pot.
I do not consider 3rd high.
My patriots buddy told me that Herandez was largely considered the 4th or 5th best TE of his class at the time of the draft. He was the 6th TE picked, just before Pitta and 18 picks after Jimmy Graham.
If you look at the 2010 draft, there was Gresham (1st), Gronk (2nd), then three 3rd rounder and then Hernandez. I don’t think that’s ununsual.
Also Hernadez was small and no teams really used the move TE that much
But why was he considered the 4th/5th best and why was he a 4th round prospect? What you’re saying doesnt really have anything to with where he went. Odell Beckham Jr. is what, the 5th rated WR this year? Does he go in the 4th? If i remember correctly Hernandez had a great combine and a good production in college, and he still fell. Something doesnt add up and my point was that I have a hard time believing that that drop was solely because he did something relatively ignorable like smoking weed.
The 5th best TE and the 5th best WR goes in different spots. Last year Travis Kelce was the 5th TE and he was taken in 5th and and Robert Woods was the 5th WR taken in the start of the 2nd
Yeah, thats what I’m saying? you can’t just argue that because Hernandez was the 4th or 5th best rated TE, he was supposed to go in the 4th. You had to look at why he was rated the 4th and why he was projected to go there?
Hernadez was a very good but not great athlete (former Eagles TE Clay Harbor actually was a better athlete). He had good but not super great production while been undersized and had some weed problems, that alone is enough to drop a TE to the 4th round
I disagree about the good athlete part. Clay Harbor was a monster, which was why the Eagles held on to him for so long despite him not showing anything worth mentioning. I think Hernandez was a very good athlete, but I agree that his production was not anything outstanding, but it was still good. He goes to the NFL, a league notorious for just needing that one team to fall in love with a players athletic ability and he goes in the 4th? Compared to the players ? mentioned below who went in the 3rd(Beckum and Coffmann), where would Hernandez have gone if he was in that draft class? I still can’t believe that he dropped because he was fond of the ganja. how many other prospect have we encounter who smoked some weed? How many prospects who goes in this years first round do you think tried weed? How many of them has done more than just tried it? I think both those numbers are pretty high. The NFL knew that Hernandez was friends with some bad people and had a bad attitude, which he showed regularly by doing drugs and showed he was an idiot by not stopping that shit before he declared for a job interview where he knew he was gonna get tested. Obviously the whole thing was way worse than anybody knew, but the league knew something about Hernandez and it wasn’t just him being a pothead.
http://mockdraftable.com/player/720/
Harbor had a great combine, he just never showed it on the field
Yeah thats what i meant, and his athletic ability was why the Eagles kept him, but how is that a fair comparison. If you want to compare his athletic ability compare him to Gronk. Hernandez was faster in pretty much every category according to: http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=68947&draftyear=2010&genpos=te
Yes Gronk was better on the field and Gronk was bigger(Hernandez did bench more though). Would you describe Gronk as just a “good” athlete? If so, then yes, then Hernandez was a good athlete, but I would like to know who you think is a great athlete.
I meant great athlete for his size, a 33 vertical and 9’03 broad, are bad numbers for a supposedly great athlete.
Also, size plays a part, been under 6’3 for a TE is very low
I seem to recall an assault somehow related to underage drinking. Too lazy to look it up, though.
Thx for the backup, even if unintentional.
I agree with the Belichick comparison. But I also think there is a Lurie-to-Kraft comparison as well.
I still think there were differences of opinion in the FO and the Hernandez case has caused some to be extra sensitive to these reports.
Also it isnt like Kelly will just cut players for no reason. Its not like he didnt support trouble makers at Oregon.
Oregon did not have the sort of interest in supporting trouble makers like the major Florida football schools or some of the Big Ten schools. They’ve always been pretty quick to discipline people or throw them off the team.
Chris Harris got several chances and there was other guys in legal troubles as well who stayed.
It wasnt Florida bad, but a guy still had to keep doing stupid things
Cliff Harris did not get several chances. Neither did Masoli or Lyerla.
You mean Lyerla that missed a ton of meetings while at Oregon and first got kicked of after Kelly left? What about Harris who still got to play after his weed bust?
One can lead a horse to water…
Is that the same Lyerla who quit the team in the end midseason?
yea, but still didnt get kicked off by Kelly and Lyerla also missed meetings during Kelly’s time
Yeah I know that I was more implying the fact that no one gives second chances to a guy who quits, especially not midseason
Releasing a Pro Bowl caliber asset and getting nothing in value in return. Regardless of how the Eagles spin this, it is a clusterf@ck.
I know I’m replying to you — but it applies to everybody with your thinking — it has nothing to do with football. I get the knee jerk responses. I’m annoyed too(I have way too many DJ jerseys) but this isn’t a football move where Chip is trying to better the team through football decisions.
It isn’t a knee jerk reaction. This was just handled poorly (possibly ineptly) with bad timing and piss-poor execution.
According to you. You have no clue any due process Chip(and other Eagles brass) went through to arrive at this decision.
They released a Pro Bowl caliber player, got nothing in return, and are very hard pressed now to address the issue.
How was that handled well?
It is very likely, in fact almost certain, that there is more to this story than we know. Like most NFL teams the Eagles are known to do their homework on background stuff with players (they have a guy on staff whose only job is to do this), and I’m sure they’ve investigated the allegations about Jackson thoroughly. Why are they hard-pressed to address the issue? Because unless/until it’s proven that Jackson’s done something wrong, they would be leaving themselves open to legal retaliation if they did so. The fact is, NFL teams do not release 27 y/o star players without good reason, whether they tell you the reason or not.
Grounds for legal retaliation would be weak at best and if the Eagles knew this was an issue why wasn’t there more of a sense of urgency to move him promptly after the offseason for what they could?
Also think your giving teams way too much credit on their ability to completely know what goes on with their players especially in the offseason. They have maybe a general idea but to know all of a player’s dirty laundry?
Uhh, Jackson has some serious issues. You don’t get draft pick compensation for such a player often.
The Patriots got nothing for Hernandez either.
Timeline and set of events were completely different with almost nothing in common. Hernandez was dealing with actual criminal felony charges.
DeSean getting kicked out of Philly nightclubs. The amount of money robbed from his house getting constantly revised. Flashing gang signs on and off the field. Hanging out with people who are known gang members associated with criminals.
He’s a ticking time bomb. You think every other team didn’t know this? There’s a reason only a handful of teams are interested and those teams are on a 1 to 2 year Super bowl window, because there’s no way in hell they can handle DeSean for that much longer. If the Eagles, known for committing highway robbery in past trades, could get nothing at all for DeSean, that speaks volumes to his character. That and his being late to team meetings, throwing tantrums, etc. was the final nail in the coffin.
No two situations are alike but the Patriots endured hell for the Hernandez saga. There’s no way the Eagles want any part of that.
So Jackson releases a statement via Schefter, but misspells Andy as ‘Reed’ either that wasn’t him or he really doesn’t care. Flash back to the ‘i dont give a f***’ after the pick in the Vikings game… Maybe Kelce is right and it goes to show how the locker room thimks of DJax..
GTOH. Autocorrect
That obviously was not written by him. I doubt any of the Eagles beat writers could put together a paragraph of such perfect PR-speak, much less DeSean Jackson.
Maybe not but it bugs me… If you were to be sincere about thanking someone you would surely at least read the statement before it went out if not write it yourself …
Jackson no more wrote that statement than I wrote “Hamlet”.
I’m trusting that Chip did not wake up and say “Let’s get rid of DJ”. I’m also trusting that Chip did his due diligence(including consulting people outside of the organization). As T-Law said, there’s a united front in the Eagles organization concerning DJ. This has nothing to do with how good DJ is or how good he can be or about money. Kudo’s to the guy who wrote WAY back that the Eagles are trying to move DJ. He saw something and went with it. All Hail!!!
Well, you know what they say, if it’s strongly insinuated in an article in the Trenton Times, then it’s got to be true!
The tweets from knowledgeable league insiders all in the same vein:
Chip is trying to build a winning culture, DeSean was one of the highest paid players on a young team, and there was a concern he wasn’t setting a good example.
_________________
So is one player *ever* bigger than the team’s culture? Chip clearly thinks not.
If it’s actually like that, then screw Chip.
I know, it’s like he thinks things besides talent are involved in winning.
yea if the most talented player was always the best right
No, because my-way-or-the-highway style coaches are a dime a dozen. Handling egos is part of the job. If the coach doesn’t want to do it, he’s not going to win.
If Kelly was so overly strict, why does he want to get rid of only one player? The player who constantly flashes gang signs, spells his rap name with 2 Cs in his purported gang’s tradition and then gets photographed with murderers, no less?
This isn’t my way or the highway. This is a leader doing what he thinks is overall the best decision with a whole lot more information than either of us have.
reread what you wrote, carefully.
I’m gonna go ahead and recommend you do the same.
Where you seem to be getting tripped up is you assume everyone is some egomaniac. There’s no way Desean could DESERVE to be cut, Foles could win the starting job, Webb could be benched/moved to WR…unless the people in charge just have a personal vendetta and are so unamenable to reality they will act on it!
The world is your mirror, though. Be careful.
Guys with egos are one thing. Guys with lackadaisical work habits and/or a me-first mentality on the field are another. The stories about Jackson suggest more the latter.
I just hope you won’t be celebrating the inevitable Super Bowl victory.
There’s like 10 irreplaceable players in the league. Shady is one. DJax is not.
Building Culture > Collecting Talent
The numbers he had will be replaced, just not in the same fashion. Ertz/Sproles and Draft pick, assuming there is one will take over the production
Maclin as well
Why screw chip? Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.. For all his qualities on the field, DeSean isin’t really a try hard guy when things start to go wrong and that is important to Chip
Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.. …tremendous
So you do not like the HC and the QB now? Gonna be a long season for you
Now the Eagles have to leak out more info than this NJ piece. I need more information to be less depressed. There were lots of reason to expect a slowdown from the offense next season (OL getting old, Shady slim chances of being this healthy again, N.Foles won’t be able to repeat this performance), now there’s even more.
4 teams already called his agent
wondering if T-Law is feverishly downing some PBR to come with an article to calm the masses….
Well..looks like we need even more replacements/upgrade with this major setback.
So..pass rusher or WR now?
Well, at least we got more ammunition for the draft so we can replace DJax. Oh, wait..
Re: The NFL’s Golden Years from 1958 to 1992 — read NO FREE AGENCY
Dominik . . .
Here’s some highlights on the NFL/AFL pre-free agency.
The NFL draft last 24 rounds, then 17, then 12 — and finally the 7 we now see.
Way back when, the draft took place during the week. With no coverage to speak of outside of the next morning’s newspaper. You had to wait two days to find out who selected whom.
Draft picks, particularly 1st Rd picks, were regularly traded for players on the downside of their careers. Little premium was put on picks because teams weren’t spending money on scouting. Literally, GMs made draft selections using STREET & SMITH’s college preview.
The first team to build a real “scouting department” was the Dallas Cowboys. Otherwise, teams depended on tips from college coaches, old college buddies, and the AP All America team. By the mid-70s, teams had begun to see the importance of actual scouting.
The most notorious trader of picks was former LA Rams and Washington Head Coach George Allen. From the mid-60s in LA through the mid-70s in DC, he regularly unloaded future picks for experienced, quality players. When he moved from LA to Washington in 1971, he traded a slew of picks over 3 years to acquire more than half the players from his Rams defense.
Great example: in 1971, Allen gave up a future 1st Rd pick to Baltimore for All Pro WR Roy Jefferson, entering his 7th season. Jefferson was holding out, so the Colts unloaded him. Allen’s premise was he’d be getting a known quantity for a lousy pick late in Rd 1. Jefferson gave Allen 6 more years, 4 of which were top quality and helped Washington get the SB in ’72 and the playoffs all but one season before retiring.
[The Eagles’ hired HC Mike McCormack in ’73 off of Allen’s staff in D.C. McCormack ran the Eagles ’73 draft, which was among the very best in franchise history. But he traded five 1st Rd picks, plus a 2nd, a 3rd, and a 4th for 3 players: QB Roman Gabriel, QB Mike Boryla, and MLB Bill Bergey. Only the Bergey trade was close to worth it.]
Besides player-for-draft pick trades, there were many player-for-player trades. An example I’ve mentioned here several times was the Eagles’ 1964 trade of QB Sonny Jurgensen for Washington QB Norm Snead and DB Claude Crabbe. In 1970, the Eagles traded S Joe Scarpatti to the Saints for S Steve Preece. (Scarpatti became the holder for then-Saints PK Tom Dempsey’s 63-yard FG that year against the Lions.)
There was no “salary cap.” Teams like the Raiders and Rams could generously spend on their players — and other teams, like the Cowboys, could be penny-pinchers. Players were at the mercy of management.
Becaue there was no free-agency, a team could keep its core players together for 6-7 years or longer. The great Lombardi Packers had an 8-year run. Al Davis’s Raiders were the best team in pro sports for 20 years — as he slowly turned over the roster. HOF O-linemen for Oakland Gene Upshaw and Art Shell were together for nearly 15 years. Davis regularly made deals, trading picks and players. HOF CB Willie Brown was acquired from Denver. All Pro FB Hewritt Dixon was a TE for Denver but Davis moved him to FB. .
The Steelers of the ’70s were great for a decade because no free-agency existed. The Tom Landry Cowboys remained great for 25 years because they mastered the draft. Teams caught up to them in the ’80s. Then Jimmy Johnson took over and showed the value of stockpiling picks.
Anyway, pre-free agency, players were stuck. Their only leverage was a hold-out. And unless the player was a true star, hold-outs usually meant disappearing from the NFL sooner rather than later.
But those “35 Golden Years” were the best years of true dynasties and great rivalries,. For a decade, players on division teams would be facing each other twice a year. They weren’t paid enough to fraternize. Contracts were for 1 year — and there were no amortized bonuses to worry about as “dead money.”
Back in those years, the Eagles players hated the Cowboys more than the fans — well at least as much.
________________
There are lots of commenters on this site who have plenty to add.
Great, great write up, AC. Thank you very much!
What strikes me is how you can ignore the draft, like in the early days, when you gain so much of it. You get potentially great players without giving up anything and if they are no skill players, you can pay them as lousy as you like. You have total control over them.
I think (since I didn’t life in that time I can’t say for sure) I like todays NFL more – I like it that you have to be smart to keep a winning team for the long run. You can do it, like Belichick does it, but you need to be very smart.
Nonetheless, I really appreciate the history lesson. 🙂
on a separate note — anybody want to buy 2 Vick Jerseys and 2 DJ jerseys? It appears when I buy a jersey, the player doesn’t last long….
Based on that, I imagine you could crowdfund the purchase of a Sanchez jersey.
So do not buy any Shady jersey please?
We’re going to need to compile a list and keep it regularly updated of what not to buy and what to buy.
Time for him to invest in a Kurt Coleman jersey
How ’bout a Henery uniform?
I suspect after today’s activities there wii be those that suggest you buy an Eagles visor, too…
I’m willing to take “funds” to NOT buy a jersey…
I have never owned a jersey. If I had had one as a kid I would have gotten my ass kicked for it (tough neighborhood)
Can’t wait for the official team press conference on this one. I mean, I say that, but it’s not like they’re going to tell us anything anyway.
What’s difficult for the Eagles from a PR perspective is that it really doesn’t sound like its *ONE* thing, but more of a tapestry. They can’t just say “we cut DeSean because of X.”
They hurt themselves by cutting him right after the NJ.com article came out, because it implies that *THIS* was the reason.
While plenty of people are assuming the Eagles leaked the nj.com story to smear Jackson, I think Les Bowen’s twitter explanation is more likely:
March 28, 2014
Yep, me too. They hoped to trade him before the story came out. Once out, they knew noone was going to give them anything valuable in trade. The stuff in the paper isn’t the sort of thing that they would have had to affirmatively disclose, especially since most of it is public record anyway.
Re: Friday News Day
Governments, politicians, and big corporations routinely drop bad news on Friday. Weekend coverage is generally lighter. And by Monday, who even remembers.
The Eagles cut DJax today . . . Friday.
I don’t think the Birds are gonna get the same benefits that, say, a General Motors might get by recalling a who years’ worth of cars on Friday.
No. Not. At. All.
In less than 1 week, 99% of the media has forgotten this and will talk about why Bridgewaters size will be a problem again
A —
I think you’re right regarding the media. Absolutely right. Maybe in less than 7 days.
I meant my comment to speak to fans’ attitudes.
Should have been more clear.
I’d probably forget after Attaochu’s pro day and a few beers then it’ll come back like a nasty hangover.
Nope. This one is going to linger for a quite a while because there is nothing else to really talk about to the draft and there isn’t another compelling sports story in town.
Exactly and they are going to feed stories like the one to Eliot-Shorr Parks and selective media who will post the ‘hit’ or ‘smear’ pieces on Jackson & why the Eagles released him.
http://www.nj.com/eagles/index.ssf/2014/03/eagles_desean_jackson_off-the-field_troubles.html
Actually, if you read the article, it looks like they got it from a California detective, not the Eagles. The article even takes a shot at the Eagles, saying that the detective notified them of the association long ago, and the Eagles are essentially denying that claim.
The piece was far from a smear. It noted that Jackson is not a suspect in any investigation and his positive community activities, and how those who knew him can’t believe that he would be in a gang.
The problem is, he’s proudly displayed gang symbols, and proudly displayed photos with a gang member who was, at the time, sitting in jail on a murder charge. I actually don’t think Desean is a gang member. But he has no one to blame but himself for all his objectively verifiable actions that are mentioned in the article.
Eloit Shorr Parks has the relationship out to LA to get this kind of detailed info this quickly? BS.
This was a smear piece that has the Eagles’ FO fingerprints all over it. I expect a similar piece by one of the writers on Philly.com and possibly a few other outlets very shortly too. Definitely before Monday.
This quickly? There’s been speculation about this for at least a week. ESP is a journalist, and can make phone calls, I assume. A quick romp through DJ’s instagram apparently was all the lead anyone would need to contact the appropriate police department…
My uncle was a Philly homicide cop for a long time and this isn’t remotely how crime reporting works.
ESP is barely a competent journalist who has never covered a crime beat, has no professional ties to LA, and no juice. If he calls the anti-gang unit in LA blindly, they’ll tell him to politely or not so politely F-off if they even return his call.
Only way he gets this independently is if he paid for it or if it was provided on a silver platter for him including the photos which are a key piece of the article.
The photos are all from this new thing called “Instagram.”
Yeah and ESP knows who these people are and their criminal affiliations and ties to crimes where they weren’t formally charged and or prosecuted/sentenced.
this story has been going on for months, and EVERYONE has been trying to figure out why the hell the Eagles have been trying to get rid of DJax so hard, especially the other teams. People were digging like mad. Someone was eventually going to figure it out. Was ESP, called the Eagles for comment, their bluff was busted, so they released him.
So you are saying ESP figured this out independently and in the process forced the Eagles hand culminating in Jackson’s release today?
That is a completely ridiculous scenario.
More ridiculous than the Eagles themselves blowing up any chance of trading Jackson? You don’t think they could have gotten *ANYTHING*, not even a pick for next year’s draft (which is possibly going to be weaker if a record amount of underclassmen doesn’t come out again) if they held onto this hand longer? So they annoint ESP of all people to be the chosen one to save face with, at the expense of a completely innocent Jackosn? not buying it.
Jackson has been on the market for weeks now and possibly longer. If the Eagles would have found a buyer, they almost certainly would have at this point.
Ditto the timing of the release. ESP posts a breaking story that is going to get him a lot of attention on mid-Friday afternoon when web traffic is at a lull?
And they supposedly got offers, that seems insultingly low to us then, can’t believe nobody would give up anything unless there came a point when everyone know that us keeping jackson was simply not an option…and in this business you don’t pocket stories for ideal timing, you’ll get scooped. Anywho, we’ll have to agree to disagree on this until history tells the real story. Probably both somewhat wrong.
So… in your mind the Eagles are out to get Desean?
Oh and they received a warrant to search a commercial property owned by a family member of his, in connection with the second shooting. In the building they found his personal credit card receipts and a license for a firearm registered in NJ.
Generally people associate themselves with others they perceive to be like themselves. Unless of course DJ is an enigma. Which is fine unless he finds himself committing crimes….
Was thinking the same thing re: timing. You know the old saying: “Addled minds think alike.”
Get out the trash day, like the called it on The West Wing. But with social media + 24 hours news networks, it doesn’t work that way anymore.
To quote Sam Lynch on Twitter:
“(…) the Eagles don’t owe us any explanation for DeSean. By the same token, we don’t owe them the benefit of the doubt.”
Sad, but true!
What we do know now is that Jackson will find a new team and we haven’t improved while most of our division did. I don’t feel like this was an “addition by subtraction” move because there isn’t really anything to feel good about with what we have left in our WR corps. One fatal flaw with the production by committee is that we need players to step up and there’s a lower chance of that happening compared to having a proven productive player.
I’m sure a ton of fans are dejected by “regressing” when we seemed to be in the top 10 teams of the league already. What could of separated Chip from Andy is responsibility. Maybe Andy was a father-like figure for Jackson as well as a coach. On the other hand, Chip is just a coach and one that has more power than we thought. It’s a sad day for Philly sports fans regardless if you hated Jackson or not.
Two points.
First, Mike Vick’s very benign comment about DJax needing a shock to grow up seems, in hindsight, to have been a preview of what was coming.
I can only imagine what Vick said to Jackson directly.
And same with the comments the media ran about Avant and DJax after JA was cut . . . little dots to connect to today.
Second, as I wrote earlier . . . some NFL team is going to get a very motivated DeSean Jackson. If DJax takes Vick’s advice to heart, he could be truly great.
If DJax ignores what Vick’s said publicly and, I assume privately, he’ll be gone from the NFL fast than you can say Jaccsprat.
Mike’s comment were particularly interesting.
I still think there is so much we don’t know.
How ’bout Maclin’s comments yesterday?
He wouldn’t touch DJax.
What did Maclin know and when did he know it?
I wonder what Kelly’s said to the team, if anything?
Yeah.
There’s a lot of “DeSean needs to grow up” between the lines in these comments.
But there’s also absolutely zero “DeSean is a bad guy” IMO.
Like I said earlier, don’t put too much stock in Maclin’s comments. Though he’s been denying it since, no DeSean will mean more balls and eventually mo money thrown at him.
No DJax also means he will see more safety help. Maybe his motives were that selfish. Or maybe he saw a teammate headed down the wrong path.
What do we know?! F@@@ all probably, but my guts telling me that DeSean is not the guy the media is now making him to be. And maybe most Eagles fans ‘hope’ that there must be some truth to the gang related reports, because they are looking for a proper excuse to get rid of a top 10 WR in his prime without any return at all. It’s human thinking. But again, I want to believe that DeSean’s not heading down the wrong path and that he will have a happy life on and off the field.
I honestly hope so, or that this makes him reflect on what his father would say about all of this and he is able to correct his course.
But if you are going to give DJax the benefit of the doubt, why assume Maclin’s comments had such a dark motive?
At the end of the day life’s all about ‘survival of the fittest’, whether it’s in the NFL or in a bank office. It lies in everyone’s nature to look after yourself first. The fact that Maclin and DeSean were BOTH playing the same position did enforce this thinking. That’s why I am convinced that following DeSean’s release and being off the books Mac is hoping for a very lucrative payday after this season. Plus they were never supposed to be really tight friends.
Wouldnt it just be great if Jackson became the next Chris Carter for us?
yeah…they aught to give us some kind of trophy for the immature players we scare straight…into the hall of fame
“shock” in this context is… interesting… to put it mildly.
Hunh, 178 comments on a article about Mark Sanchez. I din’t realize the guy was THAT polarizing. Perhaps I will read on…
Spoiler alert: whatever ICDogg’s proctologist thought was coming down the pipe came through and went SPLAT.
Who do you guys want to pick up DeSean?
I’m rooting for the Jets, one less landing spot for Brandin Cooks or ODB.
… ‘Ol Dirty Bastard? I think its pretty clear at this point we don’t want rappers with gang ties…
Broncos
AFC! AFC!
Probably a team that wears blue…
Any CFL team would be ideal.
I might be in the minority here, but I think this decision will be remembered as the worst in the Howie R. era in 5 years from now.
But maybe it’s a good thing…Foles will most likely not repeat his stellar season from last year which will save the Eagles more bucks when signing him to a long term contract.
DJ has been very adamant this afternoon that he is NOT in a gang. However, his friends are gang members. He repeatedly uses gang signs. His business associates are gang members. So either he is lying or he is a wannabe gang member.
There’s more out there that the NJ.com piece did not publish. Must be.
Either a floodgate’s about to open that will bury Jackson.
Or we’ll never hear another word from anywhere about Jackson’s off-field activities and associations.
If it’s the latter, then (i) he grew up quickly as Vick said he needs to, or (ii) Jackson never was the person he likes to make himself appear to be on Instagram . . . .
And some NFL team will have gotten a bargain.
It just seems to me that the Eagles don’t cut bait TODAY unless there’s much worse news around the corner.
At least that’s one view of how the evidence is being made to shape up.
I agree with this. There has to be. On the surface, the Riley Cooper mess last year is much more of a reason to cut a player. But they weathered that storm. If this is it, I don’t see why they didn’t just trade him.
I think the key is “the person he likes to make himself appear to be…” That seems to be the scenario whereby teammates hint that he needs to grow up, but not that he’s a bad guy. So there’s a possibility that he goes on to have a successful career, but never changes, because there’s always some team that will humor such behavior. I have a feeling that Chip is not one of them, and I actually respect him a lot for that. I’m somewhat disgusted by how many people think that advertising for these violent gangs is no big deal. Hopefully, they never have to be close to someone who’s been a victim of one of them…
One thing I think we do know about Desean is that he is very reckless with money. Between 25K bar tabs and 400K burglaries of his house and huge unpaid debt to his former agent, we have a pattern of someone who, no matter how much money he receivers, piddles it away whether it’s parties or his record label or however else he finds how to spend millions of dollars per year.
Sure, it’s his money, he can do whatever he wants with it, but I think for a lot of people, including myself, this is a warning sign of someone that is in trouble or going to be in trouble.
Yes, but that may be a reason to trade him. It doesn’t explain why they just flat out cut him and are eating 6 mil in dead money.
It might.
*takes cover for coming media onslaught*
6.25M dead money, which nets to a 6.5M cap savings, according to overthecap.com
When the team cut TO I was glad, that wasn’t a guy representing the team I root for. When they signed Vick I was disappointed, for the same reason. When I saw what Vick had become, I was proud that the Eagles were an organization that could see a redeemed individual through the labels. I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt, at least for now.
Besides, how is a man encouraging kids not to be bullies, then drawing attention to his gang ties not featured in the Wikipedia entry for hypocrisy?
My question is how in the heck are these gang sign pictures and acts just coming to light?
Now I can find it in myself to have faith in their decision to move on. Not just because he was brat with some questionable friends. I am banking that having been contacted by the authorities back in 2011, that they have years of homework. So I will have faith in this decision, instead of outrage.
When New Jersey cuts Chris Christie, he might be a DeSean replacement. Big target, though has trouble getting off the jam.
Certainly better in a spread offense…
We know he beats up little people…
Will buy into the smoothies…
Some people call ’em “gangs”, others call the “Democrats” and “Republicans”.
“But politicians don’t have men killed.”
“Now who’s being naive?”
Wanna bet? Maybe a crisp 10-dollar bill?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burr%E2%80%93Hamilton_duel
I’m thinking the quotation marks are in his post for a reason…
The Godfather (part 1)
ICD:
You’re the man.
Oh dang, and here I was ready to give you credit for it.
If only I were that creative . . .
Where’s Baloophi? And BlindChow?
Yeah, I figured, but somebody has to be the setup man around here…
Speaking of big uglies
Attaochu’s pro day results.
http://yellowjackedup.com/2014/03/28/jeremiah-attaochu-puts-impressive-performance-georgia-tech-pro-day/?utm_source=FanSided&utm_medium=Network&utm_campaign=Around%20the%20Network
here’s the Combine results for LBs
http://www.nfl.com/combine/top-performers#year=2014&workout=TWENTY_YARD_SHUTTLE&position=LB
Other than his 40 time and vertical, Attaochu’s well down the list.
Well he has our interest though.
I like the guy. Split time helps.
Hope it’s not a smoke screen.
Compared to D-Ford, JA’s actually played a lot with his hand off the ground.
Plus, as I wrote awhile back, he was coached up by Al Groh — the master of 3-4 LB coaches.
yeah 3-4 teams need OLBs and their not many good ones around.
I don’t think it’s a smokescreen. It wouldn’t make any sense for it to be one.
I wrote this awhile back ago.
Insomniac • a month ago
IMO, (Marcus) Smith is the most agile/fluid of the 3. Attaochu could be the strongest. Ford would be the most explosive. I could be wrong on all of this though.
And boy was I wrong. At least the combine numbers says I’m wrong.
Pro day cuts? I’m sitting shiva.
I am floored. This is crazy and I never saw it coming. It will be extremely interesting to see what the heck he did and why they could get NOTHING for him!
probably held onto that hand on a weak bluff too long, probably should have taken that 3rd weeks ago. My guess: We always were going to getrid of him no matter what…because we knew. Whole league was scratching their head why we wanted him gone so bad. Owners meeting we make it look like we’re good with keeping him if need be…NJ paper figures it out, calls the Eagles for comment. The gig was up, had to cut him. Failed to unload that problem onto someone else and get compensation out of it.
Over 230 comments. People must really be worked up about the Sanchez signing!
I think it has more to do with DeSean’s release (and I haven’t even read the comments below!).
He was making a joke
Your sarcasm is broken. Also… as stated before it’d be more harmonious if your screen image was Celek.
“I’ll start the petition on change.org”
-Pot
speaking of which I am away (way away, out of the country) for 2 weeks around the draft. I’ll have about 14 articles and 2,000 comments to read.
If you are visiting somewhere without internet, perhaps Tommy would be willing to print out the articles, put them in empty PBR cans, and throw them into the ocean. That way you could get an update with each tide.
yes and if they can wash up on shore, then make it over to Zimbabwe that would be perfect. I’ll ask the locals in their Pats 19-0 shirts for draft updates.
Hmm, landlocked. Maybe we should investigate carrier pigeons.
They might have Broncos SB Champions shirts now
Someone beat you to this down the line!
Damn’t! lol
Great minds…
Picking up on the conversation about this lingering or not lingering with the media and fans. Will the fact that we’ve discussed this move for a month affect how long we as fans are upset?
Everyone has weighed in multiple times with their feeling towards the move and the on-field implications. Are anyone else sort of fatigued by it and glad that, at the very least, chapter 1 of the jaccpocalypse saga is over?
I believe, in an effort to keep things fresh, the hashtag has been changed to #jaccpotacrip.
In related news, Pringles is set to release a special edition, blue can version of Jaccpotatocrisps. They will be bitter and hard to swallow, but you can always just dump them without getting anything back.
Double credit the excellence because they’re not chips… Literary genius on par with Billy.
I never really considered that we would cut him. We had the money, D Jax is a great receiver, surely we would be glad to keep him if nobody ponied up enough to grab him…I agree with the part of being extremely fatiqued by this story…but this outcome is pretty miserable. They say winning is the ultimate deodorant….soap…cleanser…whatever…when’s our next football game again?
When is Tommy going to change the damned logo at the top? Two of the three players are gone now.
Soon enough, we’ll hear Shady rumors, the way things are going…
Holy Crap! Change the freaking logo now!!! I say put Damaris on there.
You know, if Shady gets sent away now, you are going to be lumped together with Jimmy K, speculating like that.
Yo I heard shady threw some chick off of a party bus!
#worthit?
#nah
Maybe put pictures of Van Brocklin, Bergey, and Carmichael.
I say we go hipster on these plebes, big uglies, Kelce, Peters, and Lane Johnson (I want to have Mathis instead of LJ but…you know, that other bad news that broke earlier in the week).
PBR, Funyuns, and Megan Fox
Where’s Blind Chow been at, I bet he could make up something awesome.
Baloophi and BlindChow in tandem . . . a dangerous pair
Kevlar gloves, children’s scissors, and an electric razor. No one else gets cut.
How does Roc Carmichael still have a job? #inmourning
How about a picture of Bill Murray in PBR pants… You know Tommy has a pair of these somewhere…
How about a picture of Tommy wearing PBR pants? He clearly needs to step up his love of PBR like Bill Murray…
Yeah, its been 4 hours Tommy, why haven’t you changed the banner on your website? What are you some kind of FO apologist?
Honestly — eagles have had djax for a ton of years they knew what they had — this isn’t a gang thing. It’s just a culmination of everything (money, personality, work ethic, leadership, etc.). #inmourning
Nail’s head hit.
I think you’re right that this is the result of an amalgamation of issues and not just one, but I think they would’ve held onto him and traded him for whatever they could’ve gotten on draft weekend rather than cut him outright if not for the gang thing. You need something truly radioactive to make cutting a 27 y/o star player so that you can get rid of him immediately the right move, and ties to a murder in the post-Aaron Hernandez era are the only thing in DJax’s profile that potentially qualifies.
Article was absolutely a catalyst (they cut him like 20 minutes after article came out). That said they could have cut him and been like it’s b/c of x, y, z instead of letting that gang stuff sit there. Djax has made the organization a lot of $$ over the years. Understand parting with him but don’t do him dirty on the way out.
So much for BPA – it’s very clear eagles taking WRs w/ speed in the draft, which means defense is going to be where it is.
You have a point about the leaving Jackson out to dry bit…Jackson’s camp was extremely professional in their statement, birds could probably back them.
As for a replacement, “Catching radius” and YAC specialist may fit Nick better. D Jax might have actually been a tad too fast for Foles. By the time Nick would get to that read, Jax was getting to the edge of his range on the go routes, which is why i think they were so much more efficient on posts.
Eagles denied knowing about the details contained in the ESJ article before it came out this morning and ESJ released several tweets about it.
20 minutes after it comes out publicly, Kelly contacts Jackson and tells him he is being released.
So the Eagles made an executive decision in less than 20 minutes and decided to formally cut Jackson?
There is BS in this somewhere.
The eagles are pretending they don’t know so they can’t be sued for being unable to prove the gang affiliations.
Not to mention it’s totally plausible that we still wanted to trade him this morning, holding onto the ruse that we’re cool with D Jax and have no issues with keeping him if need be. Company line was still, if you want him, you’re going to have to pay us something.
Haha, yep.
I dunno dude, I just don’t think they would drop this dirt on Jackson. Smearing Jackson just lets someone in the NFL get him at a bargain, further rubbing salt in the wound. I still think you got the causation reversed, but we already agreed to disagree.
Yup. Releasing Jackson is one thing but I would love see what the Eagles players’ think about the ESP article and the strong likelihood the Eagles planted that story to provide justification/rationale for the timing of the move.
The question is why they choose ESP to ‘do the dirty’ on Jackson and publish the article.
Is it because he is a second-tier/third-tier journalist who covers the team and was willing to take any blowback that might be associated with it?
Man, maybe twitter is good for an old fogey like me. Lots of interesting and funny comments. Still hate the idea of joining up…
#JustDoIt.
What would I do with a twitter deck? Park a lawn chair on it and watch the cars go by like my gramps did in Detroit?
That’s what I do. No one says you have to produce anything.
Re-tweeting is fun thoughzzzz
Honestly, that’s what I do. I have 11 posts on Twitter after having been on for almost 4 years. I just follow a bunch of Eagles related people and it’s definitely the fastest way to get news.
Shit, I barely can keep the wordcount down on igglesblitz, how can I yap on some 180character shit?
But you don’t follow me?!!!
You need a deck for twitter. How big?
Since #jaccpocalypse and #jaccpodrama are over now, what’s the next hash tag to lead the headlines?! Post your suggestions here. The winner gets a #free.
#mathiscallsdibs?
https://twitter.com/SheilKapadia/status/449678280619466752
If this is true, the two teams with people who know DeSean Jackson best are among the teams interested in signing him…
Which tells you that the chances of the Eagles FO having made a huge mistake are even higher…
Or that another team is more willing to deal with DeSean’s BS. To each his own. Andy loves these tortured souls, Chip just wants football players.
If nothing else, the Jets or Chiefs signing would certainly not the PR of this move any better.
Nah, it wouldn’t have ever been a mistake in their eyes. They just wanted to do what they wanted to do. The rubes will watch Eagles football nonetheless.
interesting characterization for the Philly faithful. We’ve watched through worse haha.
I don’t think you understand just how cynical media professionals are, wrt their audience.
ah, their words not yours, sorry didn’t read the projection of the original statement.
Sorry Tommy, I doubted you and Jimmy about DeSean and hope that you will both accept my humble apology. I trust in Chip and unlike some fans that think we are now doomed, I want to believe that somehow we can become even better.
Tommy, please tell us how the Eagles will be better without DeSean?
I don’t think there is an argument to be made for the short term. Any benefit is sure to be abstract and inherently difficult to quantify. Not to mention, depending on if there is another shoe to drop, this may not be a matter of getting better so much as less worse.
Reading this was painfull:
http://stumblingandmumbling.typepad.com/stumbling_and_mumbling/2014/03/on-hedonic-adaptation.html